1Then after a period of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. 2I went up by revelation, and I laid before them the Good News which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were respected, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. 3But not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage, 5to whom we gave no place in the way of subjection, not for an hour, that the truth of the Good News might continue with you. 6But from those who were reputed to be important—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man—they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me, 7but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the uncircumcised, even as Peter with the Good News for the circumcised— 8for he who worked through Peter in the apostleship with the circumcised also worked through me with the Gentiles— 9and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, those who were reputed to be pillars, gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision. 10They only asked us to remember the poor—which very thing I was also zealous to do.
11But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before some people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13And the rest of the Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they didn’t walk uprightly according to the truth of the Good News, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live as the Gentiles do, and not as the Jews do, why do you compel the Gentiles to live as the Jews do?
15“We, being Jews by nature and not Gentile sinners, 16yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because no flesh will be justified by the works of the law. 17But if while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove myself a law-breaker. 19For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. 21I don’t reject the grace of God. For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!”
A Pope in the Black Baptist Church
6 But from those who were reputed to be important—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man—they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me, 7 but to the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Good News for the uncircumcised, even as Peter with the Good News for the circumcised—
Paul is talking about the religious Jews who deemed themselves more important than others and who set themselves apart as special. He’s saying that God doesn’t respect some over others. Years ago, when God first called me to be a pastor, I struggled with the thought of being called a “pastor.” It was strange to me. When I would write an email to my congregation, I cringed at the end, signing it with “Pastor Faber.” I felt like a phony. I didn’t feel worthy. In time, I realized that it wasn’t about me feeling worthy. It was a calling from God that I needed to obey. Whenever someone calls me “reverend”, I gently correct them and say, “No, I’m just a pastor. There's nothing about me that needs to be revered.”
There is a pastor whom I enjoy listening to online. He is the pastor of a large, historic church in Houston with a predominantly black congregation. He says, “If you run up on somebody who calls themselves a prophet, run away. Because God has no more prophets. There are no more apostles. The last apostle was John, and he died on the Isle of Patmos.” He goes on to say, “I have a preacher who calls himself a cardinal. It won’t be long till we have a Pope in the black Baptist church because bishop is not good enough… What’s wrong with just being a pastor, or being a preacher?”1 He goes on to say that there is no esoteric knowledge being given today to anyone special. There is no special knowledge dispensed on some and not on others. Everything that you and I need to know is in the Bible, and it’s available to all of us. Yes, God calls some as pastors and teachers, but they are servant-leaders. They don’t deserve respect because of who they are, but rather because God calls them and they’ve answered the call. Pray for your pastor. Pray for your teachers. Affirm them. Treat them with respect and kindness. But be cautious of a pastor who becomes too self-absorbed.
1 Pastor Terry Anderson – Lilly Grove Baptist Church