We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
Summary: Paul was just as human as you or me. We all feel the pressure when others want us to conform. Like Paul, we all have to choose whether we stand on truth or bend to the will of the people around us.
Have you ever felt pressured by the group you were in? Of course, you have! Everyone has at some point. As I look back over the years of my life, it is hard to see a time when I didn’t struggle with peer pressure.
Paul is no different. Before he met Jesus, he was the one putting pressure on people to give up their belief in Jesus. After meeting our Lord, Paul changed. Instead of pressuring people to accept his ways, he offered people a gift. The gift is the promise of eternal life through faith in Jesus. No pressure. Just the offer of eternal life.
Of course, the people Paul used to be like still used peer pressure as a tool. They continued to pressure Paul to give up his belief in Jesus. Even some who claimed to believe in Jesus tried to pressure Paul to require circumcision.
But Paul refused.
He did not compromise.
Any deviation from complete reliance on Jesus Christ was unacceptable.
Imagine what would have happened if Paul had succumbed! Suppose he had felt intimidated by the other apostles? What if the demands of the crowd had scared Paul? What if he had decided to “go along to get along?”
I am reminded of Mordecai’s response to Esther when she hesitated to ask the king for help. He said, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
Paul wasn’t being stubborn for the sake of getting his way. Paul was stubborn for Jesus’ sake. He understood that when it comes to God’s Word, compromise is not an option.
Application: Don’t compromise God’s truth.
Food for Thought: How do we tell the difference between what is important to us and what is important to God?
The verse that comes to my mind when I think of your question is Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I think another way of saying that is “what we find important is what we will give our attention, time, and resources to.” If you spend time in the Bible it is not difficult to see what is important to God: redeeming mankind so that we can choose to spend eternity with Him in His Holiness, Righteousness, Love, and in His Glory. I think sometimes as believers we do unintentionally “put the cart before the horse” so, in all things, pray, read the Bible, and “do all things to His Glory” so that we can be sure that the true importance of what we are doing aligns with His Will.
Good thoughts CH.
The good news in regard to this question, is that God told us what is important to Him. What is important to Him is written down for us in His word. If we make those things our priority then we are aligning our will with His. Then what is important to Him will be important to us. Some examples: Matthew 22: 37 – 40; Acts1: 8; Matthew 28: 19 – 20; 2 Timothy 2: 2; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16 -18; Micah 6: 8; Matthew 5: 13 – 16; Ephesians 4:: 25 – 32; Ephesians 5: 15 – 15; Matthew 7: 24 – 27; Deuteronomy 6: 4 – 9; Ephesians 5: 25, etc. There are so many. And they are all written down.
Thank you, Rich!
I love the verses you shared so I included a link to all of them in your comment.
01-25-2024, How do we tell the difference between what is important to us and what is important to God?
After 33 years as a non-believer, my goal was to serve self, get all I could while I could, as I established a long list of the spiritual conditions offensive to God. My self-worth and pride of accomplishment came from the value of the possessions I had accumulated and the praises of other humans.
God changed all that as He very loudly exposed my life as offensive to Him, called on me to stop all I was doing and directed me into church. From there came Bible studies and separation from worldly influences. My life changed as God began opening my heart to His love and work for me. He gave me a taste of His love for me, His plans for me and I found these to be more desirable than what the world offered.
It is important to God that we submit to Him, become His servants, allowing Him to spread His message of Salvation through Jesus Christ to all those He will bring to us. We can only know what is important to God to the degree we spend time with Him in prayer, meditation, Bible studies and fellowship with other believers.
Amen! 🙂