Peter in Satan's sieve learned that the flesh profits nothing. He had yet to know the profitlessness of law for blessing—powerful only to curse. The esteem of his brethren, the influence of numbers, the fear of men, the propagandist zeal of an accredited party, prestige of leadership, weight of authority, grandeur of systematized religion, and place covertly given to man in the flesh, all combined in the hand of Satan to induce a dissimulation by which even a Barnabas was carried away. Yet, beloved servant of the Lord! the voice of reproof reaches his obedient ear.
Grace learned through failure becomes an everlasting adornment, and the word that brought it to the soul is valued as a memento of love. Experimentally known, it is as apples of gold in pictures of silver. It is man's honor indeed not to fail, but in confession and restoration the glory is all God's own.