11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
The tragedy with such a declension as Peter's is that it endangers not only one's own life, but also those around us. Others may be carried away by our dissimulation. Let us see the principle involved in this. The challenge of the cross is radical. It cuts across so many things, so many natural affections. It costs to remain true to it. It is not difficult, for heart's ease, to slip away from its total demand, and desire a compromise arrangement, and convince ourselves it will do - but the bloom of our spiritual life fades, and the edge goes off our witness to say nothing of the chilling effect on the lives of others. This is a word to search us all. Have we compromised our position? Is there a level of living where we once were glad to be, costly as it was, and now we are no longer there? Why? What compromise did we make? Ah, however painful and embarrassing it may be, we should be thankful to God for a faithful Christian brother who is prepared to risk losing our friendship to rebuke us rather than see us living on a level less than the highest we know. In this sense the old word is particularly true, 'Faithful are the wounds of a friend'.