Relying On Our Own Strength

Relying On Our Own Strength

[Peter] began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

Galatians 2:12–13

Paul challenged Peter, not over a minor matter, but over the most important teaching of Christianity, which Peter practically ruined with his hypocrisy. Barnabas and the other Jewish Christians were acting like hypocrites. They all sinned, not out of ignorance or malice, but out of fear of the Jewish leaders. These leaders had blinded their hearts so much they didn’t even know they were sinning. It’s truly astonishing that great men, such as Peter, Barnabas, and others, were so easily tripped up. That’s why Staupitz warned that it is very dangerous to rely on our own strength—no matter how holy and educated we are or how well we have understood a truth. For even in matters that we know well, we can fall into error and end up harming ourselves as well as other people.

If God isn’t with us, we are nothing at all, no matter how great our gifts may be. If he removes his hand from us, our wisdom and our knowledge are nothing. If he doesn’t constantly uphold us, the greatest amount of knowledge will be useless, even if we are experts in theology. For in the hour of temptation, the devil can tear away all the comforting Bible verses from us and leave us with threatening ones that crush our spirits. So we should learn from this passage that we can easily fall if God were to withdraw his hand from us. Let’s not boast in our righteousness and in our gifts. But let’s humble ourselves and pray with the apostles, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5).