I am suffering from a bout of techo idocy. I started typing a comment, and when nearly finished with it, I hit the wrong key and sent my comments incomplete. Id like to try to finish them if I can.

Ive mentioned before that I became a Christian in an old fashioned Penticostal church. This church believed that anything that might have been remotely associated with”the world” was sin. In fact, I can remember being a young teacher in an adult sunday school class. One day I made a comment while teaching about having “fun” at church. The pastors wife, who always stationed herself on the front pew, I sometimes think for intimidation interupted my teaching to say,” Brother Miles, church is NOT fun”! I almost quit. I think legalism inappropriately legistated holiness. I think however now in the church legalism has been replaced by an equally dangerous version of hedonism ( and Im not talking about John Pipers version ). In an effort to not be so anti culture, we have completely forgotten the idea of holiness.

God is still calling us to be Holy. And granted Peter’s struggle with predjudice was something we cant be too critical of, it was right for Paul to consider him hypocrical. He didnt condem him to Hell (will I be sensored?), but he understood that sin should not be tolerated. Its true that maybe the problem of predjudice cannot really be labeled a sin, it can however lead to actions that are clearly sinful.

As believers trying to survive in a post modern world, we should be very careful of our actions. Is drinking sin? No, clearly the Bible doesnt tell us not to drink. The Bible does however say that it can lead to drunkeness- which is sin. I think like the Apostle Paul, we should take the attitude that all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient, and we should not be brought under control of any of them. I will never tell my classes not to listen to secular music, but if you struggle with sexual sin, you may want to be careful when in the company of someone of the opposite sex, not to listen to the croonings of some love songs that MAY place you in a place of “unholiness”. We need to be sensitive to the inner voice of the Holy Spirt to give us the wisdom we need to be salt and light, in a world that is darkened by the stain of sin.
Wow, I think this comment was much better than the original. Thanks again for enduring my rants.

Miles

As well, it seems from his confrontation with Paul that Peter continued to have problems with this even after the direct command from God.

I guess what I am asking in Peter’s case is can it actually be classified as a blind spot considering it was so clearly revealed that this type of prejudice is wrong. If this is the case that it cannot be called a blind spot, this really contributes to the question “How sinful can a Christian be?”

But how willfully disobedient can someone be and still be Christian? I don’t know