If we confront someone, we should have one goal in mind: restoration, not embarrassment. 

指正别人是要造就他，而不是要令他难堪。

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face. Galatians 2:11 

后来矶法到了安提阿，因他有可责之处，我就当面抵挡他。-加拉太书2章11节

At a roundtable discussion about reconciliation, one participant wisely said, “Don’t freeze people in time.” He observed how we tend to remember mistakes people make and never grant them the opportunity to change.

在讨论如何与人和好时，有人说了一句很有智慧的话﹕“不要认定一个人永不会改变。”他观察到我们常会只记得别人的过错，却不给他们改过的机会。

There are so many moments in Peter’s life when God could have “frozen” him in time. But He never did. Peter—the impulsive disciple—“corrected” Jesus, earning a sharp rebuke from the Lord (Matthew 16:21–23). He famously denied Christ (John 18:15–27), only to be restored later (21:15–19). And Paul writes in Galatians 2 about he once contributed to racial divisions within the church.

在门徒彼得的生命中，有很多次耶稣都能这样认定他，但耶稣从未如此。彼得曾冲动地要“纠正”耶稣，受到耶稣严厉地斥责（马太福音16章21-23节） ；众所皆知，彼得曾三次不认主（约翰福音18章15-27节） ，直到耶稣将他挽回（21章15-19节） 。保罗在加拉太书2章里写到，彼得还曾加深了教会内的种族隔阂。

The issue arose when Peter (also called Cephas) had separated himself from the Gentiles (Galatians 2:11–12). Only recently he had associated freely with them. But some Jews arrived who insisted that circumcision was required for believers in Christ, so Peter began avoiding the uncircumcised Gentiles. This marked a dangerous return to the law of Moses. Paul called Peter’s behavior “hypocrisy” (v. 13). Because of Paul’s bold confrontation, the issue was resolved. Peter went on to serve God in the beautiful spirit of unity He intends for us.

事情的发生是因为彼得（又名矶法）疏远外邦人，不与他们往来（加拉太书2章11-12节）。那时彼得刚开始与外邦的信徒一同吃饭往来，然而，当一些犹太人到达时，彼得就立即避开未受割礼的外邦人，因为那些犹太人坚持归信基督的人必须受割礼。这让当时的信徒陷入重回摩西律法的危机，保罗严厉指责彼得的虚伪行为（13节）。后来，因着保罗敢于直斥其非，问题得以解决，彼得也秉持上帝要使众人合一的态度，继续事奉上帝。

No one needs to remain frozen in their worst moments. In God’s grace we can embrace each other, learn from each other, confront each other when it’s necessary, and grow together in His love.

不要认定一个人永远都是那么糟糕。我们可以靠着上帝的恩典，互相接纳，彼此学习，在必要时互相指正提醒，并在祂的爱中一同成长。

Lord, draw us close to You today, so that we may also be closer to each other. Protect Your church’s unity. Give us understanding where there is distrust. Heal us where we are divided.

主啊，帮助我们亲近祢，好让我们与主内肢体更加亲近。求祢保守教会合一，除去祢儿女之间的分歧与不信任。

Galatians 2:11-16    NIV

2  When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

加拉太书 2:11-16

2  后来矶法到了安提阿，因他有可责之处，我就当面抵挡他。 12 从雅各那里来的人未到以先，他和外邦人一同吃饭，及至他们来到，他因怕奉割礼的人，就退去与外邦人隔开了。 13 其余的犹太人也都随着他装假，甚至连巴拿巴也随伙装假。 14 但我一看见他们行得不正，与福音的真理不合，就在众人面前对矶法说：“你既是犹太人，若随外邦人行事，不随犹太人行事，怎么还勉强外邦人随犹太人呢？” 15 我们这生来的犹太人，不是外邦的罪人， 16 既知道人称义不是因行律法，乃是因信耶稣基督，连我们也信了基督耶稣，使我们因信基督称义，不因行律法称义；因为凡有血气的，没有一人因行律法称义。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Galatians 2 offers a compelling example of necessary confrontation. First, Paul’s confrontation of Peter was rooted on the foundation of the truth of the gospel. Paul chose to confront not because of personal dislike but out of love for the gospel. Paul recognized that Peter’s behavior—refusing to fellowship with those who were not obeying Old Testament ceremonial law—denied the good news that Christ’s victory, not ceremonial law, is the foundation for the believer’s new life in the Spirit (v. 21). Peter’s behavior denied the good news that in Christ there is equality among all believers. So Paul confronted, not to shame Peter but to restore the integrity of the faith community. 

加拉太书第2章提到一个引人注目的例子，讲到必要的指责。首先，保罗乃基于福音真理而指责彼得。这不是因他个人厌恶彼得，而是出于他对福音的爱护。保罗认为，彼得拒绝与那些不守旧约律法的人同席，就是否认因信称义的福音真理。保罗要众人明白，信徒得着新生命是在于基督的得胜，而不是在于遵守旧约律法（21节）。彼得的行为，否认了所有信徒在基督里都是平等的好消息。所以保罗当面指责彼得，不是要羞辱彼得，而是要维持信徒团体的正直和合一。

When bad behavior threatens the integrity of the Christian community’s witness to the good news, we too must confront—but always with a spirit of love that hopes for full restoration of fellowship. 

当不良的行为威胁到基督徒群体的正直，使我们无法为福音作见证时，我们也必须要加以指责，但总要带着爱心，目的是盼望恢复美好的团契关系。

Is there someone you need to confront in the spirit of love?

是否有人正需要你带着爱心指责他们呢？

整理：于姊妹