ERGO: That is the first thing we have to observe and something that is often overlooked or not highlighted. What Peter was doing, in eating and fellowshipping with the Gentiles, was entirely the right thing to do and was in keeping with the gospel. That is a huge change.
The OT diet and cleanliness laws no longer applied to him or to the Gentiles. Jews separated from the Gentiles when they ate for three reasons, ONE, not to eat what the Gentiles eat; TWO, not to eat in the way it was prepared; and THREE, not to eat what was inevitably going to be unclean even if the food itself was permissible food. But that no longer applied. That is emphatically stated in Mark 7:18, 19, "Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)" Peter was told to kill and eat the unclean animals in the vision in Acts 10. Peter therefore in Caesarea and in Antioch did eat with the Gentiles with no scruples. THIS WAS GOOD and that was Peter's conviction and practice! John Stott rightly stated, "Peter no longer observed Jewish food regulations." At least until these men from Jerusalem came.
There is a second point to apply. Namely, as believers, we should all, irrespective of our race, social standing, background, etc. feel free to eat and fellowship together. If you are a believer, you should feel free to do that. That shouldn't be a problem! We are one in Christ and that must affect our relationships with one another.
I. What is Justification? II. Justification by works of the Law III. Justification through faith in Jesus Christ.
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Dr. Mark Herzer has been the pastor of Christ Covenant Presbyterian Church (P.C.A.) in Warminster, PA since 1997. Before this, he was ordained to labor as an Assistant Pastor of Korean United Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia (1992-1995). He received his M.A.R. and Ph. D....
