Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,466
The Situation
When Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, to deliver us out of our slavery to sin, so that we can now serve God in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, he made Jew and Gentile into one people, one nation by faith in Jesus Christ, which had been prophesied in the Old Testament. All the Jews who refused to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah (the Christ) were cut out of Israel. And all the Gentiles who believed in Jesus Christ were grafted into Israel. Thus, biblical Israel is comprised of Jew and Gentile who believe in Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives.
[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]
But there were people who were called Judaizers who were trying to convince the Gentile Christians that they had to be more like Jews, and that they had to obey some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, dietary, and circumcision laws, which they did not have to obey under the New Covenant. These Judaizers who professed faith in Jesus, who Paul regarded as “false brethren,” were trying to convince the Christians, in particular, that they had to be circumcised as part of their faith in the Lord Jesus. So the book of Galatians corrects the wrongness of the Judaizers’ teachings.
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatians 2:11-14 NASB’95)
So, what wrong did Cephas (Peter) do? He compromised his faith and convictions in order to be approved by other humans. And he rejected, at least in part, the Gentile believers in Christ in order to be approved by the party of the circumcision. He was more concerned about what these Judaizers would think of him than he cared about the truth of the gospel and the Gentile believers in Christ to whom he was called to minister and with whom he had been in fellowship and would eat with them. So, he was being unloving towards the Gentiles and hypocritical by trying to avoid rejection.
People who live like this, in practice, are called “chameleons,” for they have a strong tendency to adapt their behaviors, beliefs, and personalities to fit in with different groups of people or social situations so that they blend in with their environment, and in order to gain approval and acceptance of others, and/or to not be rejected by them. So, if they are with you alone, they may support you and share in your beliefs, but when around certain other people they may go against you, and not support you, and leave you hanging, for they are more concerned with being liked than with doing what is right.
And that is basically what Peter did, only not as a matter of practice, but out of fear of how he might be treated by “the party of the circumcision.” People who live like this, in practice, who are chameleons all the time, are not consistent in character or in behavior or in beliefs, but they will “change on a dime,” i.e. they will suddenly change into who they think others will accept, and will not be who they were in a different environment. And when Paul saw the hypocrisy of Peter in this situation, and how he was influencing others, he had to correct him, for Peter was doing great harm to others.
Don’t do what Peter did. Don’t be like “chameleons” who believe and practice and speak differently depending on who they are with, and who will slight and reject and not support you, like maybe they did before, if they are around people of a different belief and opinion, and so they want their approval. They will mistreat those they consider of lesser value to them if it means getting the approval of others whose opinions matter to them. Some of these “chameleons,” thus, become abusers who may be nice to you one minute but turn against you “on a dime” to meet the approval of others.
I think the case with Peter was a one-time incident that, after Paul corrected him, did not happen again. I believe Peter learned his lesson and he did not continue on that course. But there are people today professing faith in Jesus Christ who live like this all the time, as a matter of practice, to where they will slight someone to whom they were showing support in order to get the approval of others who they value more. And so they cannot be trusted to maintain a steady character or belief system or treatment of certain people. Don’t be like them! Be who you are all the time, no matter what!
[Matthew 6:1-6,16-18; Matthew 7:1-5; Matthew 15:1-9; Matthew 22:15-22; Matthew 23:1-39; Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:54-56; Luke 13:10-16]
Lead Me Gently Home, Father
By Will L. Thompson, 1879
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
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Don’t Be a Hypocrite
An Original Work / April 7, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
When Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, to deliver us out of our slavery to sin, so that we can now serve God in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, he made Jew and Gentile into one people, one nation by faith in Jesus Christ, which had been prophesied in the Old Testament. All the Jews who refused to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah (the Christ) were cut out of Israel. And all the Gentiles who believed in Jesus Christ were grafted into Israel. Thus, biblical Israel is comprised of Jew and Gentile who believe in Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives.
[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]
But there were people who were called Judaizers who were trying to convince the Gentile Christians that they had to be more like Jews, and that they had to obey some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, dietary, and circumcision laws, which they did not have to obey under the New Covenant. These Judaizers who professed faith in Jesus, who Paul regarded as “false brethren,” were trying to convince the Christians, in particular, that they had to be circumcised as part of their faith in the Lord Jesus. So the book of Galatians corrects the wrongness of the Judaizers’ teachings.
“But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?” (Galatians 2:11-14 NASB’95)
So, what wrong did Cephas (Peter) do? He compromised his faith and convictions in order to be approved by other humans. And he rejected, at least in part, the Gentile believers in Christ in order to be approved by the party of the circumcision. He was more concerned about what these Judaizers would think of him than he cared about the truth of the gospel and the Gentile believers in Christ to whom he was called to minister and with whom he had been in fellowship and would eat with them. So, he was being unloving towards the Gentiles and hypocritical by trying to avoid rejection.
People who live like this, in practice, are called “chameleons,” for they have a strong tendency to adapt their behaviors, beliefs, and personalities to fit in with different groups of people or social situations so that they blend in with their environment, and in order to gain approval and acceptance of others, and/or to not be rejected by them. So, if they are with you alone, they may support you and share in your beliefs, but when around certain other people they may go against you, and not support you, and leave you hanging, for they are more concerned with being liked than with doing what is right.
And that is basically what Peter did, only not as a matter of practice, but out of fear of how he might be treated by “the party of the circumcision.” People who live like this, in practice, who are chameleons all the time, are not consistent in character or in behavior or in beliefs, but they will “change on a dime,” i.e. they will suddenly change into who they think others will accept, and will not be who they were in a different environment. And when Paul saw the hypocrisy of Peter in this situation, and how he was influencing others, he had to correct him, for Peter was doing great harm to others.
Don’t do what Peter did. Don’t be like “chameleons” who believe and practice and speak differently depending on who they are with, and who will slight and reject and not support you, like maybe they did before, if they are around people of a different belief and opinion, and so they want their approval. They will mistreat those they consider of lesser value to them if it means getting the approval of others whose opinions matter to them. Some of these “chameleons,” thus, become abusers who may be nice to you one minute but turn against you “on a dime” to meet the approval of others.
I think the case with Peter was a one-time incident that, after Paul corrected him, did not happen again. I believe Peter learned his lesson and he did not continue on that course. But there are people today professing faith in Jesus Christ who live like this all the time, as a matter of practice, to where they will slight someone to whom they were showing support in order to get the approval of others who they value more. And so they cannot be trusted to maintain a steady character or belief system or treatment of certain people. Don’t be like them! Be who you are all the time, no matter what!
[Matthew 6:1-6,16-18; Matthew 7:1-5; Matthew 15:1-9; Matthew 22:15-22; Matthew 23:1-39; Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:54-56; Luke 13:10-16]
Lead Me Gently Home, Father
By Will L. Thompson, 1879
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
When life’s toils are ended,
And parting days have come,
Sin no more shall tempt me,
Ne’er from Thee I’ll roam,
If Thou’ll only lead me, Father,
Lead me gently home.
Lead me gently home, Father,
Lead me gently home;
In life’s darkest hours, Father,
When life’s troubles come,
Keep my feet from wand’ring,
Lest from Thee I roam,
Lest I fall upon the wayside,
Lead me gently home.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Don’t Be a Hypocrite
An Original Work / April 7, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
