Peter: What Can We Learn From Peter's Life?ნიმუში

“The Jerusalem Council”

This is the last time we will see specific mention of Peter in the book of Acts. The apostle Paul was now on the scene, helping to carry the Good News of Jesus further afield in the known world. The Gospel was being preached to both Jews and Gentiles and the church was full of both. However, there was often tension between the two races.

There were Jewish Christians who felt that if the Gentiles wanted to be saved, they needed to be circumcised - to become Jewish. In their minds, to be a Christian was also to be Jewish. The debate was so intense that Paul and Barnabas were sent to the church leadership in Jerusalem to get an answer to the question. It was Peter who stood up and reminded those gathered of what had occurred at Cornelius’s home. God had clearly given His approval to Gentile believers by pouring out the Holy Spirit on them. The grace of the Lord Jesus brought salvation, not the Law of Moses. Barnabas, Paul, and James added their voices to the discussion, and the church leaders ruled that circumcision was not required for Gentile believers.

Peter was not a perfect leader. Paul related, in his letter to the Galatians, that Peter acted hypocritically during a visit to the Antioch church (Galatians 2). Peter happily ate with Gentiles until delegates came from the Jerusalem church who could have reported his actions to “the circumcision party.” This led to the rest of the Jewish believers shying away from eating with Gentiles as well. Some believe that this was part of the events described in Acts 15 that led to Barnabas and Paul travelling to Jerusalem. If that is the case, we see Peter have a dramatic and public change of heart at the so-called Jerusalem Council. All along, he had known what God’s heart was for the Gentiles because he had been present at Cornelius’s home. However, he was not immune to peer pressure and temptation and in Antioch he gave in. This was surely not his only failure as an apostle, but by God’s grace he continued on in ministry and the Holy Spirit worked through him right up until his death.

Reflection:

Do you believe that the grace of the Lord Jesus is sufficient for salvation? Does your life reflect this?