In the second  chapter of Galatians  Paul tells the amazing story:

“When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face … For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray” (Galatians 2:11-13).

Paul’s stand against Peter’s hypocrisy must have been a legendary event in the early Church. Paul certainly did not skirt the issue:

“When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?” (Galatians 2:14).

Fortunately, Peter had the humility to accept Paul’s reprimand (something worth thinking about in itself) and changed his behavior – fellowshipping again with the Gentile believers.  Clearly, he learned a valuable lesson, one which lies behind the words written in one of his own epistles years later: “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers…” (1 Peter 2:17).

But this story is given in the Bible for our admonition, not Peter’s.  Do we avoid certain people in the faith for any reason? Do we not fully accept other believers because of some difference in doctrine or belief?  The apostle Peter made this mistake – are we above it? 

We know that we are to “keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching …” (2 Thessalonians 3:6), but that does not apply to believers who are sincerely trying to do God’s will.  The writings of Paul as well as Luke in the book of Acts make it abundantly clear that Gentile believers were to be fully accepted as brothers and sisters in the faith – even though they may not have had complete doctrinal understanding (Acts 15:28).  

​This principle also applies directly to us, of course, in dealing with fellow believers of other doctrinal persuasions.  We may not agree with each other on things that we consider to be important, but that does not preclude our fellowship and helping one another in the faith.  Even though we may understand that principle intellectually, we must all ask ourselves whether there is some reason we are not showing up for dinner.

* Extracted from our e-book Lessons in Christian Living from the Early Church –  Download a free copy from our sister site, here. 

​“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ:  that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.”  Philippians 1:27.

In July of 1932, 20,000 World War I veterans gathered in Washington DC to demand the immediate payment of delayed bonuses from their service during the Great War.  These veterans set up a community of tents and huts in two locations in our nation’s capital, the first in a location on Pennsylvania Avenue to the east of the Capitol, and the second in an open space on the southeast side of the river at a place called Anacostia Flats.

On July 28th, 1932, General Douglas MacArthur accompanied by Major Dwight D. Eisenhower and Major George C. Patton assembled military forces to move against these veterans who were not much different than themselves in order to remove them from our nation’s capital.  They did so with great violence and strife.  Soldiers on horseback and armed with sabers stabbed those in their way.  Infantry forces armed with tear gas and torches dispersed the crowd and burned their lodgings to the ground.  Tanks rolled against these unarmed veterans, crushing their remaining huts and shacks.  It was a military rout, with current military members dismantling and destroying those heroes who had fought so valiantly only a generation before.  It was a dark day for America when there were plenty of real enemies that should have been the focus of our forces.

Far too often, Christians move against other Christians who aren’t much different than themselves, sometimes with great violence and strife.  We metaphorically stab those in our way.  We disperse the crowds and burn their lodgings to the ground.  Our tanks roll against our unarmed veterans, crushing them.  Each time this happens, it is a dark day for the cause of Christ when there are plenty of real enemies that should be the focus of our forces.

PLEASE PRAY FOR UNITY AMONG BIBLE-BELIEVING CHRISTIANS IN AMERICA IN ORDER TO PROPERLY OPPOSE OUR REAL ADVERSARY.  We must strive together for the faith of the gospel!
​

*Republished, with the author’s permission, from the PLUS website.

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul uses a double analogy that is worth meditating upon.  First, the apostle reminds us that by the means of the one Spirit that is given to us, we are made part of the one body of Jesus Christ (vs. 13a). 
 
But Paul then extends the analogy of being baptized in the Spirit just as we are baptized in water to say that we are “all given the one Spirit to drink” (vs. 13b),  just as we drink water.   Paul frequently talks about baptism in his letters and uses other analogies such as that of the Israelites being completely baptized in the Red Sea by means of the water around them and the cloud (water vapor) above them (1 Corinthians 10:2).   In 1 Corinthians 12, however, Paul extends the analogy in a unique manner by saying that after baptism, we are all given the Spirit to “drink.” 

Paul’s words here are reminiscent of those of Jesus, of course, when he said “…Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (John 7:37).  Notice also Paul’s statement earlier in 1 Corinthians regarding the Israelites in the wilderness, that they “… drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).

So the overall analogy that Paul makes is that we are first baptized in the Spirit and then we drink the Spirit.  To be baptized means that we enter into the water, and to drink means that we let the water enter us.   We are surrounded by water on the outside in baptism, then filled on the inside as we “drink” the Spirit.

In saying this, Paul first stresses that we must never be content to stay at the point where we were baptized and received the initial deposit of the Spirit of God –  we are then called to drink more and more of that Spirit till we are filled with it (Ephesians 5:18).

We drink the Spirit in a number of ways.  Jesus said:  “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63), and we drink as we study those words and make them part of us. We drink as we pray for the Spirit: “… If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13).  We drink to the degree that we set our minds on the things of God as opposed to the things of this world:  “Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5).

But there is a final aspect to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 that we should not overlook – it is what Paul says regarding the one body and many.  Paul makes it clear that if we repent and are baptized, we receive a portion or deposit of the Spirit of God and in so doing we become part of the one body of Christ (vs. 13a) – we are the same as all other believers in this.  But he then stresses that although we are all given the one Spirit to drink, “Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many” (vs. 14).    We are one with and like all other believers in baptism, but to the different degrees we drink the Spirit, we are separate and unique. 

Paul’s message is a powerful one – through baptism we receive the Spirit and are granted inclusion in the one body of Christ. Our identity is lost in his.  But it is to the degree that we then continue to seek and drink the Spirit that we become different – different parts within the same body, with different gifts and responsibilities.  Paul’s simple analogy teaches us that while we can rejoice in becoming part of the one body through baptism, we must never rest there.  We must then continue to drink the Spirit.  To the degree we do, we are a unique part of the body, having in that sense a unique relationship with God – and God may uniquely use us.

But whatever the origins of the practice, shaking hands has been used as a way of greeting people, confirming agreements, sealing contracts and for many other things.  In all these situations, however, handshaking is based on making a connection with another person.  The simple act helps us relate to people and establish a rapport with them whether we are meeting them for the first time or we are greeting old friends.

Today, those who are particularly health conscious sometimes claim that shaking hands and other hand greetings such as “high fiving” tend to spread illnesses through the transfer of bacteria.  Some of these people urge simple “fist bumping” as a “healthier alternative” greeting, and while this may help curb the spread of disease between sick people and healthcare workers, most of us continue to shake hands as people have done for centuries.

Other forms of greeting are used in various areas around the world, of course, and some were clearly in existence in biblical times.  Paul advised the Christians in several congregations to “Greet one another with a holy kiss” (Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20), and Peter likewise encouraged his readers to “Greet one another with the kiss of love” (1 Peter 5:14).

The point that we should take from this is that however we greet people – with handshakes, fist bumps, or “holy kisses,” we should focus on the act of connecting with others.  Peter and Paul were not advocating some religious ritual; they were simply stressing that we should greet others with Christian sincerity and love.  So often our greeting of others can be a formality that is hardly noticed – like asking someone “How are you?” when we see them, and perhaps not even expecting or waiting for an answer to the question.

The principle of greeting one another with the kiss of love suggests that every Christian should put more into a handshake than simply clasping hands.  Do our eyes meet with those we greet and do our eyes show our sincere interest in them?   It may be a small thing, but research has shown that when we greet people for the first time, they form most of their impression of us in the first five seconds of meeting us.   If we are truly desirous to let our light shine, we should remember this.  But it is not a matter of just making an impression of interest and concern – a  handshake may be the first and best opportunity we have to begin to show the Christian love we have for others.