So, apparently, some men were teaching that believers had to be circumcised in order to be saved, which upset Paul and Barnabas. After a heated debate about the issue, it was decided that a few of the believers, including Paul and Barnabas, should go to Jerusalem to discuss the matter with the apostles and elders there. Then it sounds like, as they were describing everything God had done through them among the Gentiles, some Pharisees also brought up the issue of circumcision and the law of Moses. Again, they began debating. Then Peter stood up and reminded everyone that when God had sent him to share the gospel with the Gentiles, He gave them the Holy Spirit too, making no distinction between the Jews and Gentiles. I like verses 10 and 11 of his argument: "Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." Exactly! Why were they pushing the law onto the new Gentile believers when they themselves could not keep the law nor be saved by it?
After Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles, James spoke up. His verdict was that they shouldn't trouble the Gentile believers with circumcision, but should write and remind them to keep these four laws: to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. So they sent Judas (Barsabbas) and Silas with Paul and Barnabas to deliver a letter with that information. And the people received the letter with rejoicing because of its encouragement.
My thoughts/questions on this chapter: first, why did they decide that these four laws were the only ones the Gentiles needed to keep? Why were they considered more important than the myriad other Old Testament laws? It seems like maybe they realized that circumcision was more cultural than critical to the Christian faith, since God had given the Holy Spirit to the uncircumcised Gentiles as well. But how did they choose which other laws could be dismissed for the Gentiles? And similarly, how do WE discern which Old Testament laws are still relevant and critical for us today (a question I've often pondered and have also blogged about in the past)? And finally, this all just makes me think about how much of the practice of our faith is cultural rather than Biblical. Yet I'm pretty sure that missionaries have often imposed their own cultural Christian practices upon their converts. Just a good reminder that when we go and share the gospel in other countries and among other peoples, we'd better be careful not to push our culture on them in the process of helping them live out their new faith.
After Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles, James spoke up. His verdict was that they shouldn't trouble the Gentile believers with circumcision, but should write and remind them to keep these four laws: to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. So they sent Judas (Barsabbas) and Silas with Paul and Barnabas to deliver a letter with that information. And the people received the letter with rejoicing because of its encouragement.
My thoughts/questions on this chapter: first, why did they decide that these four laws were the only ones the Gentiles needed to keep? Why were they considered more important than the myriad other Old Testament laws? It seems like maybe they realized that circumcision was more cultural than critical to the Christian faith, since God had given the Holy Spirit to the uncircumcised Gentiles as well. But how did they choose which other laws could be dismissed for the Gentiles? And similarly, how do WE discern which Old Testament laws are still relevant and critical for us today (a question I've often pondered and have also blogged about in the past)? And finally, this all just makes me think about how much of the practice of our faith is cultural rather than Biblical. Yet I'm pretty sure that missionaries have often imposed their own cultural Christian practices upon their converts. Just a good reminder that when we go and share the gospel in other countries and among other peoples, we'd better be careful not to push our culture on them in the process of helping them live out their new faith.
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