The fellowship and friendship between the apostles Peter and Paul are highlighted, challenging the common misconception of their antagonism. The sermon argues that James's epistle predates Paul's, and that both James and Peter were early Christian leaders who, despite their Jewish backgrounds, embraced the gospel's implications for Gentiles. Paul's first visit to Peter, lasting two weeks, is presented as a crucial bonding experience for a young, abandoned convert, demonstrating Peter's gracious hospitality. Later, Paul publicly rebuked Peter in Antioch for compromising the gospel by withdrawing from Gentile believers when certain individuals arrived from James, showcasing both men's integrity and the importance of upholding gospel truth.
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Let us open our New Testament at the first chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians. Now, just for the sake of new friends who have come in, in the mornings we have been looking at some of the friends of the Apostle Paul. We looked at a little sketch, biographical sketch of Barnabas and then of Silas. And then at John Mark and also at Timothy. Yesterday afternoon I was in a sort of a dilemma. Just how was I going to finish this little series of biographical studies?
I thought maybe it'd be nice to finish up with Dr. Luke. And then I thought, no. There is something, I believe, to be more important than that because of some very strange misunderstandings. I thought I'd like to take up Peter as a friend of Paul. The friendship and the fellowship that existed between Peter and Paul. When you say we never heard of that before, we never knew that they were very intimate friends. Well, they were. I believe that Peter contributed greatly to the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul, particularly in the early years.
We had some strange ideas. Where they came from, I wouldn't know. But I know they're quite prevalent among us. We all imagine that Paul and James certainly were antagonistic to one to the other. We have been told over and over again. that James wrote his epistle as a rebuttal to Paul's teaching of justification by faith. Well, you know that's just about the most illogical conclusion one could possibly entertain. The fact of the matter is that James wrote before Paul did. Within, I would say, ten years of Pentecost, The church had the epistle of James, and that's quite easily proven.
Read through James. You read in chapter two of a man coming into the assembly with a gold ring on his finger, and that's not the word church, and that's not the common ordinary word assembly. Would you believe it? It's the word synagogue. In those early, early days, the Christians still went to the synagogue. And they went so frequently to the synagogue, and they were so loyal to the synagogue that the pagans of those early years of church history believed that Christianity was a cult that had arisen within Judaism.
And then, eventually, in the days of Paul, the line of demarcation was drawn. And Paul turned his back upon Judaism. And of course he went forth and taught and preached Christianity and all its purity. There was no conflict between Paul and James, none whatever. And so there was really no conflict between Paul and Peter. Well, you say, didn't Paul rebuke Peter? I believe these two great men. We're at the noblest day in their history.
Here we have personality at its apex. Two friends, and the one without partiality toward his friend, because of the Word of God, he rebukes him. And the other, a towering personality. without rancor accepts the rebuke. I think Galatians chapter two presents these two great men at the very apex of all their Christian experience, and we see perfectly integrated personalities in both of these men.
Peter was a great leader. Of course, every time you read the list of the apostles in the four Gospels, Peter's name is mentioned first. And from that alone, we gather that he was the leader of the little group. Then you will remember he presided over the meeting that voted in favor of Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot. And of course, it's not hard to remember that he was the great spokesman of Pentecost. Dr. Luke has given us twelve chapters, the history of Peter.
The first twelve chapters of the Book of the Acts deals with the matter of Peter. You know, leadership among us is rather rare. I mean real, true spiritual, godly leadership. Men who are ready to lead the Word of God irrespective of their own opinions, just simply for God's glory. Leadership is a sort of a subtle combination of qualities. A leader must be a courageous man. He must be willing and ready to assume responsibility, to take Yes, shall I say it, to take the criticism of some as well as the commendation of others.
He must be a courageous man. He must be a man of knowledge. He must know wherein he is going to guide. If it's a subject, he must be very well acquainted with the subject before he can guide others. Or should it be a place he must know the map before he can guide. Courage and knowledge, may I say inward conviction? A man without conviction is like a ship without a rudder. It is the inward conviction that I have the will of God at heart and that I have the knowledge of the Lord and His word.
in mind. It is the inward conviction of these things that gives the necessary poise and leadership. I think among all these qualities a sympathetic understanding of those who are following is very necessary. I must take into consideration how fast they can walk, how quickly they can think, I must be understanding and sympathetic toward them all. And I think there is one thing, if we're going to assess personality, there is one thing that we must ever keep in mind.
I must realize that I am fallible. The man that never made a mistake never accomplished anything. I have heard man say very boastfully, I have never changed. When I held thirty years ago, I still hold. Too bad. Just too bad. I think we have to change. And I think the Lord would intend that we change because He teaches us line upon line, precept upon precept, here little and there little. I can tell you I've changed a lot during the last thirty years.
In fact, I've been changing all along the way, it seems to me. Sometimes in teaching the men's classes up in Ontario during the winter, I have to remind them that in my mind there is a difference between those things that I hold, shall I say traditionally, those things that I would and the other things that I hold by inward conviction. There is a difference. And so Peter had these qualities. There's no question about it. Peter was a dynamic leader. Well, wasn't Paul?
Yes, he was. There's no question about that. But, you know, between these two men, there was a wonderful, warm fellowship. They were not antagonistic the one to the other. The Spirit of God has left on a record four visits that these two brethren enjoy. I think some of them very, very interesting. Let us read about the first one, Galatians chapter one. He says in verse fourteen and profited in the Jewish religion above many my equals in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my father.
But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, to reveal his son in me. that i might preach him among the heathen immediately i conferred not with flesh and blood neither went i up to jerusalem to them which were apostles before me but i went into arabia and returned again unto damascus then here's the first visit then after three years i went up to jerusalem to see peter and abode with him two weeks, fifteen days.
Mr. Darby in translating this particular text, he makes it read this way, and I believe it to be quite accurate. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter. and abode with him in his home fifteen days. That must have been a very, very wonderful visit. Paul never forgot it. He's lifted on the page of inspiration. The two weeks that he spent with Peter, you will recall when we were looking at the biography of Barnabas, you will recall how Barnabas introduced the young convert to the brethren in Jerusalem and how he was accepted of the brethren into the church and Jerusalem.
But here there's an addition to that. He really went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and Peter responded so warmly that he took the young convert right into his home and kept him there for two weeks. Wonderful, wonderful two weeks. I think to really understand what this time meant to Paul, we have to get a little of the background. Now I know that the majority of you think that Paul was an old bachelor. I don't believe so.
I don't believe so. There are certain things in the Word of God that say, lead us in another direction in our thinking. In the twenty-sixth chapter of the book of Acts, Paul is speaking in defense of himself. He has been apprehended, and he is speaking in defense of himself. He tells those who were listening what he had been. He speaks of the light above the brightness of the sun. And then he speaks of the persecution he had stirred up against the early church.
And he says, When they were on trial, the Christians. I cast my voice, says the King James Version, but it's really vote. I cast my vote against him. Every time a Christian was brought on trial, there was one man in the Sanhedrin that voted against him. And I believe in all probability he was the man that really stimulated the early persecution against the church through the Jews. I cast my vote against them. That proves to us that the Apostle Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin, that is the Jewish parliament, the seventy men that directed the affairs of the nation.
And if you have read any of the history, the early histories of the Jews, The Sanhedrin came into existence in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, and every man that had a place in that Jewish parliament had to be a married man. That was a must. He had to be a married man. I think in First Corinthians chapter seven there's rather an interesting little remark there by the Apostle Paul. You needn't turn to it. I have it now right here at my fingertips.
He is speaking of the unequal marriage, the Christian marriage to the non-Christian. Now, I would assume from the several chapter of First Corinthians, that this was brought about by the preaching of the gospel. Paul went into Corinth, he preached Christ and him crucified. Many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were saved, and were baptized, and the church was formed. The outcome of that wonderful evangelical movement was that there were a lot of divided homes.
One partner received the gospel and was blessed by God. The other lived in paganism. And in the seventh chapter, Paul says now, if the unconverted partner will not remain within the marriage oak, that's all right. Let him go. Let him go. And then Paul says this, But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart, a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. He's not obliged to live with such irritation.
And then he goes on and he says, But God hath called, notice the pronoun. Again, make a mental underlining of that pronoun. We sometimes read it as it should be the third person plural. A brother or a sister is not under obligation in such cases because God hath called them to peace. But do you notice that he interjects himself here? Paul interjects himself among those who have lost their partners because of the gospel.
Paul never makes mention of his father or of his mother. Never makes mention of his wife. He was a very, very sociable individual, but as far as near relatives are concerned, the only time he makes mention of them is in the sixteenth chapter of Romans, and they are only his cousins at the nearest. They may not even have been cousins. I believe that Paul was a married man because of faith in Christ. He was disowned by his family. and his wife forsook him. He says, God has called you abandoned by your partner and me also abandoned by my partner.
He has called us unto peace. Well, you think of that for a moment or two and then go with Paul to Peter's home for two weeks. What those two weeks must have meant to Paul? I don't think we can appreciate. A young convert, only say three years, a young convert that has lost all the close relationships of life, a young convert that has been misunderstood by his relatives and practically abandoned by them. Then two weeks there is Peter and Peter's wife and maybe dear old grandma that the Lord raised up from the fever, maybe she too was there.
What that friendship and fellowship must have meant to the Apostle Paul, I don't think we can appreciate. But that was the first time they were together. Paul had heard about Peter, and so he goes on up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter, and I'm sure he did. And Peter, wholehearted Peter, a bit of an extrovert, he responded so graciously, magnanimously. And he took him right into his home, and there he was, for two weeks, the first time Paul and Peter were together.
Now let us look at verse one of chapter two. Then fourteen years after is now an experienced worker, shall we say, he's been saved for seventeen years. He's no longer a babe in Christ. Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem. with Barnabas and took Titus with me also. I went up by revelation and communicated unto them that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run in vain or had run in vain.
Let us drop our eye down to verse four, because verse three is really parenthetical. and it breaks in to the smooth reading of this incident. But privately to them, which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run in vain or had run in vain. And that, because of false brethren, I had to do it privately. I had to do it in camera. And that, because of false brethren, unaware is brought in who came in privately to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.
But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. I repeat, now an experienced worker has gone up from the province of Galatia, in all probability. He had been preaching Christ, and a church had been formed in Antioch of Persidia, just as there was the church in Antioch of Syria. And then there was a church up in Iconium and another in Lister, another in Derbys, the churches of the Galatians.
But you know, there were men who dogged Paul's footsteps wheresoever he went, and they all were sought to pervert the gospel that he preached. Paul preached justification by faith. Paul preached that the faith in Christ was sufficient. There were, in these Judaizing teachers, the very germs of Gnosticism. We all know what an agnostic is.
There are a lot of men who claim to be agnostic today. That means they are non-knowers. They don't know. Is there a heaven? We don't know. Is there a hell? We don't know. Is there a God? We don't know. Is there a Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? We don't know. Agnostics. And they tell us that they can't accept the evidences to prove the reality of these things. And it's not that they can't. It's simply that they won't. They just won't.
Well, the way, way back, just after apostolic days, a group of men seemed to get together, and they embraced the designation Gnostics. They claimed to know. In fact, they claimed to know everything. I rather appreciate Peter's epistles for one reason, and John's epistles for the same reason, although I think John is even stronger in his writings than Peter. These two writers add a little prefect to the verb to know.
And what is that little prefect? Full knowledge. John seems to say, oh, you fellows are always talking about what you know. But we Christians have full knowledge. We have full knowledge. Peter says, you know, they just harassed us. They bothered us. They did everything to hinder the work. And so we thought we would go up to Jerusalem and to talk it over with the brethren in Jerusalem. He thought we would go back to the mother church and see what their opinion was.
Well, there is just one little word here that proves what I have said is not correct. Look at verse two. Speaking of going up to Jerusalem, he said, I went up by revelation. Why, it's grand when you have such clear guidance in the pathway of the Lord. I went up by revelation. There came a moment when the Lord seemed to indicate to Paul now, you've just had enough of this. And there are men who are more experienced and these pervertors of the truth professed to come from Jerusalem, get up to Jerusalem and talk it over with the brethren in Jerusalem.
And so they go up. And what is the outcome of this private conference, this meeting in Canberra? What was the reason? Let us look at it, get the result. Or maybe before we do that, I should make some remarks about Titus. We did make these remarks earlier this week. The contrast between Paul's treatment of Timothy and Paul's treatment of Titus. Now he took Timothy and he circumcised, but he refused, or maybe I should say he would have refused or circumcised Titus.
Why? Is Paul changeable? Oh, no. No. You see, Timothy was partly Jewish. His mother was a Jew, but she believed. His father was a Greek, and obviously it is implied that he was not a believer. And in all probability, eventually, according to what we read in I Corinthians seven, withdrew from the home. And you only read then of Gramalos, Mother Eunice, and the son Timothy.
At any rate, God, by revelation, sent him up, and he took Titus. And Titus here is a test case. He is a test case. Are they going to force the Gentiles to be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses? No, they didn't. No, they didn't. We have a wonderful document in the Word of God in Acts fifteen. But before they had that wonderful document in their hands, before it was ever circulated among the churches, they had a man walking above. who was the living message of that document of Acts fifteen.
The Gentiles were not to be circumcised. They were not to be instructed to keep the law of Moses. These Judaizing teachers, maybe I should make this clear, they accommodated themselves to circumstances They were very quick and keen in adaptation. When they went among Gentile believers, their error was this, faith in Christ alone is insufficient. That is what they taught.
It's grand to believe in the Savior. But faith in Christ alone is insufficient for salvation. You must have faith in Christ, but then you add your own good works, your own keeping of the law. Faith in Christ is insufficient. And that is why Paul wrote this epistle to the Galatians. The epistle to the Galatians is a rebuttal to the erroneous teaching of these Judaizers. who sought to impress God's people and tell them that faith in Christ was insufficient.
Now, when they went among Jewish believers, they just adapted themselves. They changed their teaching a little bit. They said, well, it's grand to believe in the Lord Jesus, but you know his work was insufficient. The work of Christ alone cannot save. Faith in Christ alone cannot save you. You must add to this the keeping of the mortal law. The sacrifice of Christ is insufficient, so you must add to it the ceremonial law. This was their teaching among the Jews. And so, thank God, we have the epistles of the Hebrews.
And the great subject of Hebrews is, this man When he had made one sacrifice for sin, Saddha forever on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Those two epistles are tremendous, and I think that in our Bible studies, in the assemblies, they ought to be taught to our young people. I have felt for years that if we could only ground our young people in the teaching of Romans, Galatians and Hebrews, they would not fall into doctrinal error. But at any rate, let's look at the outcome of this visit, this conference in Camel.
Verse nine, And when James, Cephas or Peter, and when James, Sephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me. They gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should go unto the heathen and they unto the circumcision. Isn't that lovely? Here are two brethren harassed, disturbed. maybe a little bit confused. There has been so much opposition, and it all has pretended they come from Jerusalem.
So quietly, unobtrusively, they make their way to Jerusalem, and they sit down with the apostles and the elders, and they tell the apostles and the elders what these men are doing in perverting the teaching of the Word of God. And then the three apostles, they arise and they extend the right hand of fellowship to the Apostle Paul. I don't think we can really appreciate the situation. I think it's exceedingly wonderful that this young man, he had built churches in Cilicia, and he was to be a great blessing in Antioch and all over the then known world.
And what a thrill it must have been for him to grip the hand of Peter and to feel a strong grip of Peter's hand and the hand of John and the hand of James. A wonderful visit to Jerusalem. Let's read on in chapter two. We have been looking at the things that happened in Jerusalem. The things that happened in his very early days when he spent two weeks with Peter in his home. The things that happened when in private he talked over a problem with the elders, the more experienced men there.
These are scenes in Jerusalem. Now let us look at verse eleven. But when Peter was come from Jerusalem, yeah, from Jerusalem, to Antioch, I would stood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. and the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
But when I saw that they walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter, before them all, if thou be in the Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and Nahas do the Jews, Why compelest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? Oh, just arguing it out and he's saying, You're illogical, Peter. You're not thinking clearly enough on this subject. We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justifying.
I am sure, I'm very sure, that when Peter arrived in Antioch, there was one man there that made him very welcome, his old friend Paul. I don't think there was ever a man more welcome in Antioch than the Apostle Paul, or the Apostle Peter, rather. And I am sure Paul made certain that he was welcome. And he enjoyed himself. Maybe after the meetings, he would go for a little snack to some home, as we do here practically every night.
I'm sure they had a very, very delightful time. And Peter enjoyed eating with the new Gentile connoisseurs. You know, the Lord had prepared Peter for this very experience. On one occasion, she heard our blessed Lord say, Other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Them I must also bring that there might be one flock and one shepherd. Not one fold. I know, and that's what it says in the King James Version. Why, I don't know. It's the word flock.
The church is not a fold. The church is a flock. A fold has a lot of barriers around it, you know. Once you get in, you can't get out. It could never be said of the fold that they were allowed to roam uncared. No. But the church is a flock. It is not that we are hemmed in by walls. It is that we're held in by love, and there is quite a difference. Then, you know, the Lord had taught Peter something, and maybe at first he had this in mind.
Before the Lord sent him to Cornelius, a sheep came down from heaven, and it had in it all manner of wild beasts, rapacious brutes, And the voice from heaven said, Peter, rise, kill and eat. Oh, not so, Lord, not so, Lord. That which I have cleansed call not thou calm and unclean. God taught him. And so he was ready to go to the home of Cornelius. But he seems at this point to have forgotten all that. Oh, how the Spirit of God has to work with us and constantly remind us, activate our minds so that these things ever be fresh with us.
And so here they are together. And there's a man up in Jerusalem, his name is James. He never seems to have gotten beyond Judaism in some form or another. You just read through his epistle. Bear in mind what I said about that word, assembly. And you see, he's stinky in terms of a synagogue. The epistle of James is the earliest writing of the New Testament. And it was written, really, in such an early time. that the line of demarcation between Christianity and Judaism was not drawn.
So Peter forgot all that the Lord had taught him. And when someone or some person came down from James, that austere, legalistic man, Peter was afraid. And he withdrew his fellowship from Gentile believers. He really acted hypocritical. He knew better than do what he did. And so Paul rebuked his elder brother.
And I repeat what has already been said. Here we have personality at its very best. Here's a great personality making a mistake. You know, good man. Good men are, after all, only men at the best. And this great man is making a mistake. And God uses another servant of his, younger, less experienced. God uses him to rebuke Peter. And Paul speaks.
In fact, it's rather strong language that we have here. Paul says, I withstood him to the face before them all. I don't think this was before the whole church. I think this is probably before the men that had come down from Jerusalem from James. And here Peter, he rebukes the apostle. I see the time is really gone, but Let me just very, very quickly take you to Acts fifteen. I have never seen this, or I have never seen this letter printed, framed and hung in a building.
And yet this wonderful letter is the Magna Carta of Christian Liberty. We ought to rejoice before the Lord for what we have in Acts chapter fifteen. And I really feel that this visit, in order, chronological order, comes after that third visit that we have been looking at in Antioch. They're back in Jerusalem. That private visit that we were making mention of seemed to be insufficient. And so, once more, Paul and Barnabas, they go back up to Jerusalem, and they gather the elders together, and they give a missionary report.
It is what God did. with them. I think that is beautiful. It does not say that they gave a report of what they accomplished on the foreign field. It doesn't say that. It just simply says that they gave a report of what God did with them. They were merely the tools. They were just simply the instruments. And God used these tools and instruments to accomplish His own purpose. After Peter, after Paul rather, and Barnabas had given their report, look at verse seven.
And when there had been much disputing, they were surely orthodox. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago god made choice among us that the gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe and then he gives a very strong endorsement of the work of these two beloved brethren look at verse eleven but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they.
And what is Peter saying? Peter is saying, look, brethren, after all, what happened in the home of Cornelius as I was speaking is the method that God is using today to gather other people from among the nations. That's really what he is saying. Did you get the importance of verse eleven? But we Jews believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we Jews shall be saved even as those Gentiles were saved.
And I repeat, the conversion of Cornelius and his household becomes the pattern after which God gathers out a people to his name. And finally, these two beloved brethren in company with Matthias And with Silas, they return with this wonderful letter. You can read it yourself to the saints of God in Antioch. I believe, brethren, and have we looked at these three visits of these two men, or four visits really, I believe that Peter contributed a great deal to the life, the testimony, the ministry, of the Apostle Paul.
We cannot underestimate the value of friendship and fellowship. Shall we pray? Our Heavenly Father, once more we do thank thee for these examples. These heroes of the early church now has left them on the page of inspiration in order to guide us in our thinking so that we might emulate these men in their attitudes as well as in their services.
We thank thee for Peter. We thank thee for Paul. Help us to understand them better day by day. Help us to realize what they meant, the one to the other, in the purposes of God. And so once more we bless thy holy name for the privilege of being here together. Oh, we thank thee for an open Bible. There are many, many who would be willing to give all that's dear to them in life just to have the privilege That has been ours this morning.
We would pray for sons. And we would commend ourselves to be for this day, in that worthy and precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.