"Found To Be Sinners" -2

However; as we are found to be living in sin, and it is the Holy Spirit that is the one the convicts us, it is then that we must take a stand for Jesus Christ. Peter was not convicted by the Spirit in the case which Paul called him on; as a matter of fact, it was just the opposite. Peter was convicted by the Law and the Jews that were approaching the gathering that he was partaking in, with his new Gentile brothers in Christ. We are not under the Law, which does not mean that we have license to sin; but it does mean that the Law is not what governs our life; it is Grace which is our guide in matters of living: Grace that is founded in Love! In the case of Peter's actions, prior to his fellow Jews showing up, Peter was loving on his new Gentile brothers, and was celebrating with them, not only the liberties that they had in Christ, but also his own. His actions to draw away from them as the Jews arrived, broke off that fellowship which he was sharing in, putting his new Gentile brothers in a position of feeling dirty, or unclean in the eyes of the Jewish standards. Not only did Peter draw away, but many other of the Jewish believers followed his cue; even Barnabas was influenced by Peter's actions, because of Peter's position in the church. I am fully convinced that we know when we are sinning, because the Holy Spirit keeps us in check on these matters; however, there are times when we might find that God's Word will be what corrects us in certain matters; which may, or may not be things that we have detected the Holy Spirit trying to guide us away from. It is in these times that we are found to be sinners; measured against the Word of God, we are pricked in the heart, that what we are doing in our life is wrong. Most of these cases are things which we are accustom to, or have been part of our lives, like living with someone to whom you are not married to; that is a real common one for many new believers. It was for me; about five months after I came to the Lord. Prior to that, my wife and I had made an agreement that we would not get married, because we felt the institution of marriage was so legalistic, and did not matter in our relationship together. But one day, as I was reading the Book of Ephesians, I was pricked in the heart that we needed to be married so that no one would have just cause against us. That is primarily the reason for the correction of God's Word to take place in our lives, so that no one will have just cause against us as a child of God. When there is just cause against us, we can stumble our younger brother and sisters, and we can be looked down upon by the others; or worst yet, we could cause unbelievers to shun away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ! However; in Peter's case, he was wrong, because what he did was to put the legalization of the Law upon the new Gentile believers; in essence, he was judging them by the Law, that he himself had been made free of; making them out to be something that they were not: sinners...