Acts 10 records Peter's vision from the Lord and Peter's visit to Cornelius, a Gentile. Peter then defends his actions against critical Jewish Christians and explains that the Holy Spirit has been given to the Gentiles. This is all particularly fascinating when you consider Galatians 2:11-21 where Paul calls Peter on the carpet for having no problem associating with Gentiles for a while, but then he ostracizes them when some Jewish friends of James show up. My question is, how do you know when it is appropriate to rebuke a Christian publicly for hypocrisy versus when you should encourage them privately? Unfortunately, this is not a hypothetical question; I have a Brother in Christ who has slipped back into alcoholism and a Sister in Christ who is struggling with sexual purity. How do I know how I am supposed to address each situation? I see three possible choices (ordered by increasing friction):
- pray
- pray and encourage
- pray and confront (rebuke)
First of all, I recognize that probably one of Paul's spiritual gifts is prophecy. Does that mean that only someone with the gift of prophecy should rebuke a hypocritical Christian? Is there any Scripture that states conclusively that I must confront the person since I am aware of the situation? Is there any Scripture that explains that under certain circumstances it is most appropriate for me to not confront the person and only pray for them? Secondly, Peter's actions were leading others into hypocrisy. So, was Paul's method of public rebuke with Peter associated with Peter's position of leadership in the church?
If God's Word says that He will answer any prayers that are offered in faith and in the Name of Christ, then why hasn't He given these two a wake-up call or a body-check yet? Surely at least a few of the many people who are praying for them really have faith (because I know we have the "... in Jesus' Name" part down). Does God answer prayers in proportion to the sum of the faith of all the praying believers, or does He answer prayers in proportion to the harmonic average (biased towards the smallest contributor)?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that teaches us how to live. Father, I pray for the two Believers that are distracted from holy living, and I pray that you will lead them to repentance and righteous behavior. Lord, I pray that you will answer our prayers for these two, and show me how I am supposed to respond or intervene. I pray this with faith and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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