Face to Face

Galatians 2:11
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.

Paul was facing a difficult situation in his ministry. He was up against the wall about something and he didn't even put himself there. Another brother in the ministry placed him there. Paul was preaching the grace of Jesus and how all are the same in the eyes of God. But Peter was doing something wrong. He was showing a difference between Gentile and Jew.

Imagine Paul and his dilemma. He was a newly saved Christian that was commissioned by Christ to preach the Gospel. Peter was a long follower of Jesus and an eyewitness to many miracles by the very hands of Christ. He was the one who had the keys to the message of Jesus and was in the wrong about something. First of all we should understand that no one is perfect. No one gets everything right all the time. We all are guilty at times of allowing the flesh to corrupt our walk or even our decisions.

Let's take note of how Paul went about this. Paul was now faced with trying to right the wrong of Peter. When Peter came to Antioch, Paul meet him face to face. Too often we want others to do these things. People so easily find fault with the walk of others but are not willing to meet them face to face about their walk. Paul didn't meet him with pride, because he would have also fallen into the same thing. Paul knew that he wasn't perfect either in saying "not as though I have attained..." Paul was also guilty of letting his flesh get in the way of a few desicions he made in life.

When helping a brother or sister in their walk, please make sure your walk is right. When helping them to come to the understanding of their faults, always remember our faults. When righting the wrong of another, make sure you're right and most of all humble. Last of all, do it face to face and not through another brother or sister.