When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers contended with him, saying,"You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." So Peter proceeded to explain to them...(see Acts 11:1-4)
Sometimes our obedience to God creates conflict not with unbelievers, but with "our own": those who are fellow servants of God, born again and filled with the Spirit, but who in some areas of life are still bound to tradition and culture.
The opposition to Peter's obedience was rooted in a cultural conflict: in the Jewish law it was not appropriate for a Jew to enter the house of a Gentile. Yet as Peter explained the work of God's Spirit in the house of Cornelius, his opposers came to an understanding that God had indeed granted salvation, and His Spirit, to the Gentile community.
So, when you are walking around in the city (where headquarters is housed) and people start intimating that you have violated policy, how do you respond?
Peter did not get self-defensive or self-protective. He simply shared exactly what had happened, from beginning to end. And that humble response made room for God to act as defender and verifier of the truth of Peter's witness.
Perhaps that's what we should do, too.
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