PETER

Brought Back From Fear Again

When Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I [Paul] opposed him to his face, because he stood
condemned. 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. And
the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led
astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of
the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not
like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? Galatians 2:1114

We dont have any record of the confrontation between Peter and Paul other than this
passage. Its not recorded in Acts, nor does Peter mention it in his letters. But at some point
after the Council of Jerusalem (which is described in Acts 15 and Galatians 1), Peter came
from the church in Jerusalem (Peters home-base) to visit the thriving church in Antioch
(Paul and Barnabas home-base). A visit from this prominent leader who had walked with
Jesus would have been a big deal for the younger, newer church.
But Peters exciting visit soon spiraled into a crisis. Understanding what might have
happened requires some historical background. You see, the Jewish people were on the
verge of declaring war against their Roman overlords (Galatians was written in about 55
A.D. and the first Jewish Revolt was in 63 A.D.). The Jews hated the Romans, and the
Romans disdained the Jews.
Years earlier, at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), the early church leaders (spearheaded by
Peter) had established that the Gentiles (including Romans) would be fully included in the
church. While this sounds nice to our modern ears, the Jewish culture of that time would
have been appalled. Encouraging Jews to mingle with Gentiles (especially the oppressive
Roman dogs!) would have seen by the broader Jewish culture such as both sinful and
traitorous. This context presented huge challenges for the church in terms of how these
people groups would get along in church.
In the midst of all this pressure, Peter caved into fear. What was the threat? We dont know.
But where Peter had previously been bold in breaking down the walls of fear and hostility
between these people by enjoying meals together with them, something changed. Peter lost
his nerve and stopped eating with the Gentiles believers.
He probably didnt mean to insult them, but they couldnt help but notice. He didnt come
over to their homes anymore. Now he only ate with the Jewish believers.
How did Peter rationalize his behavior? Again, we dont know. But somehow he convinced
himself that it really was OK for him to disassociate from the Gentile believers.
Maybe it was with false humility, Oh, they dont really need me.
Fear can manifest in many ways. But it always forces us to accept living in something less
than the total fulfillment of Gods promises. When God makes a promise, He will always
fulfill it. But if fulfillment were the only point, He wouldnt make promises; He would just do
miracles. The point of a promise is that its an invitation into a lifestyle of faith and hope. But

Todd Millikan
May 9, 2015

The Coastlands
www.coastlands.org

fear gets us to buy in by offering us a million more reasonable alternatives to the promise
God has made.
So the question today is, What am I accepting as an alternative to the total fulfillment of
Gods promises to me?

I. Fear is Based in Natural Thinking

A. Fear only sees the impossible-seeming circumstances and discounts Gods
miraculous intervention (Matthew 8:26).
B. Combatting fear involves persevering in prayer, on our own and together with
others (Romans 12:12, Acts 1:14). Though prayer we reject the anxieties of
our natural thinking and receive confidence and peace from the Holy Spirit (1
Peter 5:7, Galatians 5:22).
II. Fear Puts a Heavy Burden on Us
A. Fear makes us come up with the solution to the crisis were facing. But fearinspired solutions arent freeing and joy-filled like Spirit-led ones are. Fear
forces us to rationalize, compromise, and ultimately put the burden on
ourselves and others.
B. Combatting fear involves entrusting our burdens to God and simply enjoying
rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28, Psalm 23:5, Isaiah 30:15). Although it might
feel irresponsible, choosing to rest in the middle of a crisis, when our flesh
would naturally panic, is a form of worship (2 Chronicles 20).
III. Previous Victory Doesnt Guarantee Future Results
A. We tend to think victories produce security. But if this were true, the Bible
wouldnt emphasize our need for humility and endurance (Psalm 37:7,
Lamentations 3:26, Habakuk 2:3, Matthew 24:13, Luke 21:19, Romans 2:7,
Galatians 6:9, Hebrews 10:36, Revelation 14:12). It turns out that difficulty
(not victories) produces endurance in our character (James 1:2-4).
B. If weve been serving God victoriously and then begin struggling God never
thinks, You should have known better. Jesus understands our weakness and
is faithful to rescue us every time we turn to Him (Hebrews 4:15-16).
IV. The Gospel Heals Our Fears
A. Fear has to do with a threat of punishment (1 John 4:18).
B. Fear comes when were looking to our own rightness, rather than resting in
Gods love. We overthink and overwork ourselves because we have no
confidence. And we have no confidence because we are not resting in Gods
perfect love. Gods perfect love is found in the message of the gospel.
C. The gospel tells us that were far worse than we would ever imagine, but that
were far more loved than we could ever fathom. This is the ultimate weapon
against fear.

Todd Millikan
May 9, 2015

The Coastlands
www.coastlands.org