Galatians 2:11-14

                                             peer pressure

It seems that peer pressure has been around a pretty long time, and it is often the agent of change which draws people away from that which is good, right, and true.  Have you ever been in a situation where the pure, simple gospel is “socially unacceptable”?  How about any of these scenarios:  in the midst of gossiping friends; in the company of “cool” people; in a group of “intellectuals”; with very conservative or very liberal Christians. Though pressure is high in these settings (among many others as well), if we want to be faithful and true to God, we should ask ourselves whether we are preaching “Culture” or Christ.

Peter knew and preached the simple gospel of Christ Jesus.  He lived it, yet here he acts against his past tradition in Antioch, against the clear revelation  he had received (Acts 10), and against gospel truth.  We could make guesses as to his reasons, but the bottom line from Paul’s perspective is the impact Peter’s action had on the faith and understanding of other believers.  The choice to separate out with the Jewish Christians gave a loud non-verbal message:  “Gentile believers are not quite as pure as Jewish believers”.  Peter’s public actions were affirming this falsehood and misleading others.  Paul loved Peter, the other believers, and the gospel so much that he put his own ‘good standing’ at risk, for the sake of Truth.

This is not about exposing Peter’s weaknesses, but it is about risking all for the uncompromised gospel of grace.  It is not about sparing or destroying reputations of people, it is about restoring the integrity of Christian living.  There are at least two different angles which cause us to cave in to this pressure:

1.      We think we are being kind and loving by not opposing a believer whose actions are contrary to the gospel è our “kindness confirms a falsehood and defies truth è  hypocrisy

2.      We don’t want to risk rejection and ridicule by being gracious and loving to those who does not meet a current group’s “criteria”. è what we are saying about gracious love is contrary to what we do about it è hypocrisy

We may be fooled—by peer pressure—into thinking our reputation is on the line.  But it isn’t about that.  It isn’t about us and our reputation.  It is about learning to live the real integrity of the Gospel.  Will we risk it?

Read and Pray:  Proverbs 11:3, 2 Corinthians 4:8, Psalm 26