318 of 365 - Fear of Man

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. Galatians 2:12
 
Peter – who first received the revelation from God that He showed no partiality between Gentiles and Jews (Acts 10)– is happily eating with the Gentiles in Antioch…UNTIL…some men from the Jewish elite come to town. He slowly draws back, separating himself from the Gentiles, hoping to not get noticed; hoping to not be seen with “those people.” Old habits die hard.

Peter knows full well that nothing in the Jewish law is required for salvation. He lives in the freedom of the work of Christ alone for Jews and Gentiles alike, yet he quickly reverts to old ways when these men come to town.

Why? FEAR. The crazy thing is that Peter is one of the most prominent Christian leaders at the time. And even he succumbs to fear. It is a doozy of an emotion that causes us to do all sorts of things we don’t want to do and know we shouldn’t do. Fears cripple us and lead us down ungodly paths…fear of what these people will think, fear of being talked about, fear of missing out, fear of compromising our prestigious position, fear of not fitting in, fear of failing... So, what do we do?
 
The opposite of fear isn’t bravery. It is faith. We have to be secure in our beliefs. We have to be assured of the truth. We have to have confidence that God has our back; He is for us. We have to trust that God works all things for good. We have to believe that it is better to please God than man…even ourselves.
 
Peter’s small act of slipping away caused other believers – loyal, faithful co-leader Barnabas, and then the rest of the Jewish Christians – to follow and do the same. I’m sure Paul was nervous confronting Peter, but he wasn’t afraid. He had faith. He knew truth was on his side. This was one of those big issues worth fighting for and calling out. In God’s eyes everyone is equally clean by the blood of Jesus. The Gospel is for everyone.
 
Question: How often does fear play a role in your disobedience?