WHEN APOSTLES DISAGREE

Paul, an apostle confronted fellow apostle Peter in Galatia because his attitude and actions contradicted the Gospel of grace. It appears from this text that Peter, like many of us, wanted to be with those that he was confortable with, related to easily, and not revealing he was a Christian, even a leader of such and going back to old ways that are contrary to the gospel of Jesus. Paul confronted Peter in this way:

“But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. Until certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Paul ended his rebuke, “For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!”
(Book of Galatians 2:11-21)

This disagreement between apostles demonstrates to us as well that we cannot try to fulfill law to receive grace.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.” Jesus