Part 6-Social Behavior that Preaches an Unorthodox Gospel
What Peter vs. Paul Teaches Us About the Public Rebuke of Christian Leaders
Earlier this week, I began a series examining the conflict between the apostles Peter and Paul about table fellowship with Gentiles and what it might teach us about the public rebuke of Christian leaders. Read the first installment of the series here and follow along from there.
Yesterday, we took a little segue into the questions, “But what about Matthew 18 Didn’t Jesus say to rebuke in private?” Today, I offer some final reflections on the series’ exploration of the Antioch conflict.
CONCLUSION
Paul’s rebuke of Peter was performed in front of the church and in his letter to the Galatians because Peter’s social behavior threatened to corrupt 1) the message of the gospel, which provided the basis of unity between Jews and Gentiles, and 2) the local multiethnic fellowship in Antioch. Paul was direct; he pulled no punches. He condemned, lectured, chastised Peter “to his face” and in front of everyone else because “life [in Christ] together requires accountability for the good of each and the good of all.” Indeed, togetherness would have been lost along with, perhaps, the faith of Gentile converts had Paul not delivered a public rebuke.
Two thousand years later, our speech in local and digital public spaces has the potential to be “heard” in front of everyone at any time. The age has been labeled one of outrage, filled with performances of outrage on social media platforms where cancel culture can decimate the possibility of second chances for those whose behavior fails, disappoints, or offends our sensibilities of right and wrong, justice and injustice. Given these trends, Christians must not be careless about their public critique or rebuke of leaders, digital or otherwise. The goal of our public critique ought to be the same as Paul’s: to protect the unity of the church, to protect the faith of the most vulnerable, and to curtail the impact of leaders’ social behavior that would corrupt or pervert the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Arguably, the most vulnerable people in our churches are new believers, children, ethnic minorities, and victims of sexual or other kinds of abuse at the hands of church leaders. When a leader’s social behavior jeopardizes the faith of the vulnerable (or their understanding/reception of the gospel), Paul’s public rebuke serves as a powerful model for correction and restoration of the church’s embodiment of the gospel message. While I, like many, strongly believe behaviors such as sexual and physical abuse are “forever” disqualifiers from church leadership, in the Paul vs. Peter conflict we see that public correction of a leader’s social behavior does not necessarily require their exclusion from the church community or demotion from church leadership, although it does require repentance.
In addition, it is not always possible or desirable to privatize the rebuke of a church leader’s social behavior so that it stays within the walls of one local community. Even Paul did not see it in the early church’s best interest to keep Peter’s sin and subsequent rebuke hidden. Rather, it needed to serve as a teaching point for another congregation where Jewish members caused Gentile believers to question their place in the family of God.
Today, because of internet technology, one Christian leader with global influence can cause immense harm to the church worldwide. Therefore, in our desire to be good stewards of the gospel message, which outranks any Christian leader’s office, Christians must be willing to discern when it is appropriate to publicly rebuke leaders whose social behavior is out of line with the truth of the gospel. We must also discern where and how. Whether we rebuke in a coffee shop, a church building, a denominational meeting, or on Facebook, this work of discernment is for the sake of God, his church, and the world.
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