Live it Straight

Galatians 2:11-14    
11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.   14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

Peter feared the judgment of others over the entire truth of the gospel, namely that it is to all peoples, tribes, nations, and tongues.  He would not break Jewish tradition and associate with non-Jews when around the other Jews, but would eat with the foreigners when those Jews left.  Paul addressed the hypocrisy because it even carried faithful Barnabas into that sinful behavior.  The truth of God’s gospel is toward all men, that is, those called from every nation, not just the one people through whom it came.  Paul then asked Peter how he could force others to live as a Jew when he lived as a non-Jew when not under the scrutiny of his people.  We are to live the gospel to all people, not only the ones we choose, and not stop when fellow believers judge for doing what is right.