How Should We Respond to Confrontation?
Written by Erin Richer
My obsession with Peter began to grow during our first Dive Study through the book of Matthew. Now everywhere I see him, I stop and take it in. I imagine the setting, the context and his emotions. He’s spontaneous and somewhat erratic. He’s all in on whatever Jesus doing. He’s my favorite. Of all of the places I find Peter, Galatians is one of the most precious because he makes a big mistake. Peter made lots of mistakes and Jesus loved him so very much, mistakes and all.
I make a lot of mistakes, so Peter’s life as a believer brings me a great deal of comfort.
About seventeen years after Paul’s conversion, Paul went to Peter in Jerusalem to confirm the truth of what he had been teaching the Gentiles. Paul knew it was true, but felt compelled to get Peter’s stamp of approval because it was people from the church in Jerusalem (where Peter was leading) who were making the believers in Galatia feel compelled to follow the customs of the Jewish Christians in order to be “Christian enough.” Peter affirmed Paul’s theology and Paul went on his way continuing to teach freedom and grace to Gentile believers.
Later, Peter comes to Galatia and lives out this theology. He affirms their status as full co-heirs with one another and Christ by living among the Gentiles and embracing their freedom without condemnation, but…
When his counterparts from Jerusalem come to visit, Peter forgets himself and ostracizes the Galatians (Galatians 2:11-21). He removes himself from their company in favor of the more Jewish Christians. Thus sending the very same message the Judaizers were sending that caused Paul to have to go check-in with Peter in the first place. Peter was communicating by removing himself that somehow Gentile Christians weren’t as good, or clean, or faithful as Jewish Christians. Paul knew Peter was wrong, but even more, he knew Peter knew he was wrong. So Paul confronts him in front of an audience of Gentile believers. Paul desperately loved these Gentile believers and was probably heartbroken when he saw the message Peter was sending these brothers and sisters. The Rock of the new Christian Church (Peter) had fully embraced them and then treated them as less than the best when his friends came to town.
Paul’s entire mission in writing the letter to the Galatians was to plead with them to understand that for those of us who believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are as Christian as we will ever get. Redeemed. Paid for by the blood of the Son of the Living God. Period. We can’t do anything to be more righteous. There are no customs we can follow, no actions we can take to make us more qualified to come before God. Jesus Christ alone qualifies us for everything.
As we learn from Paul throughout the book of Galatians, we must be mindful of the simplicity of the gospel at all times. We have a responsibility to not let anyone shackle us to laws and rules that burden us to qualify ourselves. Those burdens weigh us down and keep us from living and loving freely in Christ. If anyone makes us feel like we’re not “Christian enough,” they’re wrong. Period.
Have you ever experienced this kind of rejection? Or worse, have you ever been the one to unintentionally communicate this kind of condescension toward others?
What’s more, Peter’s role in this story both comforts and convicts me. Even the most theologically astute among us are capable of forgetting ourselves and making others feel “less than.” This convicts me as a leader and is one of the reasons Peter is so dear to me. He’s the the leader of the church. He’s the expert on the nuances of the new theology that the good news of Christ brings to Jewish theology. And yet… he forgets himself. He makes a huge mistake in front of Paul, leader of the Gentile Church, and its members, and he is publicly confronted.
Peter is no stranger to being called out. Jesus was addressing Peter when He said, “Get behind me, Satan.” Jesus had to heal the ear of the guard Peter instinctually lopped off. The leader whom Jesus chose to begin His Church, is practiced in making big mistakes. How comforting.
We don’t get to see Peter respond in this particular episode as it’s told from Paul’s perspective, but we can guess from the way Peter handled himself with Christ, that he accepts the rebuke and keeps on following the call of Christ. It didn’t make him question his mission, nor did he take it personally. He probably made a mental note and moved forward in humility, fully aware that he is flawed.
This is how I want to respond when I’m confronted. I want my reputation to be someone who responds to confrontation with humility and grace. Not defensiveness. Sometimes I think I do this well. And honestly, sometimes I think it depends on who is doing the confronting and how much I desire their approval. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and it’s been an ongoing prayer.
Lord, increase my humility by increasing my awareness of grace.
Here are some questions I’m asking myself and I invite you to ask along with me:
What do we do when we’re confronted for being in the wrong? Are we responsive to rebukes from others in the Church? When was the last time you were confronted? Do people even feel like they can confront us?
Galatians 2:11-21
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
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Hello again, Dive Collective! It has been so long since we’ve seen you, studied with you, sent you any news. So much has happened since we decided to take a break, and we will be telling you a lot about that in an upcoming podcast episode!