Do As I Say...

Today's Reading Acts 16:1-5 - A short one!

Text:

1He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

The fact that Timothy had not been circumcised tells us a lot about how he grew up. His father was obviously the head of the household and ruled in matters of key religious rituals or his mother would have insisted that he be circumcised on the eighth day as required by her faith. She may have continued to follow the laws of Moses as best as she could, and may have passed on her faith to her children when possible, but it can be presumed that Timothy was also well versed in whatever religion his father professed. The text doesn't tell us that his father was a believer in Christ, so it is logical to presume that he wasn't.

We have just read about a major meeting of the elders and apostles where they determined that circumcision was not necessary for Gentile believers. Why would Paul, who was the primary speaker against circumcision, require that Timothy undergo this painful ritual? Wouldn't it have been a good example to show that it wasn't necessary since the purpose of their trips at this point was still to deliver the decisions of the council in Jerusalem? Besides, how would they know?

It is encouraging to see that the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew daily in numbers. Do you believe the church is still doing that?

First Letter of the New Testament

Today's Reading Acts 15:22-41

Text: Acts 15:22-23

22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

This is the first evidence of a letter sent from any of the apostles or church elders to a group of believers in the early church. It is interesting that they sent both a written letter and two men to confirm what was written about the issue of what was to be required of Gentile believers. No mention was made of circumcision, the key issue that caused the uproar in the first place.

It says the people were glad for its encouraging message. I'm sure they were encouraged that there were very few rules to follow in the message, but if you look at the message itself, it doesn't give very much information about how to live as a Christian -- not nearly as much as we have today from all the later letters of Paul. Here's the text of the letter:

24We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

I think I'd be asking for more...so what do we need to do to be closer to Christ, to be more like him? How do we get closer to God? How do we go deeper in our faith? Could it be that those weren't the most important things to discuss?

How Come He Doesn't Have To Follow The Rules?

Today's Reading Acts 15:1-21

Context:
In Antioch some men were teaching that people could not be saved if they were not circumcised and were not following the laws of Moses. Paul and Barnabas began a sharp debate with them, causing several people to go up to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders about the issue. After much discussion, Peter got up and talked about how God had given the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles and had purified them by their faith alone, not by having them follow the law.

Today's Text Acts 15:12-21

12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14Simon[a] has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16" 'After this I will return
and rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things'[b]
18that have been known for ages.[c]

19"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath." (NIV)
Footnotes:

1. Acts 15:14 Greek Simeon, a variant of Simon; that is, Peter
2. Acts 15:17 Amos 9:11,12
3. Acts 15:18 Some manuscripts things'— / 18 known to the Lord for ages is his work

taken from www.biblegateway.com

It is interesting to see how the early church leaders decided what should and what should not be a 'rule' in the church. Since they only had the Old Testament law, which was now superseded by the sacrifice of Jesus, it was hard to know for sure what must be followed and what was covered by grace. Jesus himself said that the law was important, yet God had given the gift of the Spirit to those who where totally ignorant of the law. So what did that mean?

The elders looked first at what actions God had taken, then they verified them with scripture to be sure they were consistent with God's character. Then they chose to ensure that they weren't applying anything additional to the new Gentile Christians that God wasn't requiring. It is interesting to see the things that they thought were still important for the Gentiles to remember -- food polluted by idols, sexual immorality, strangled animals, and blood.

Why would they choose these things and not the myriad of other things that were listed in Leviticus? Later Paul himself would say that eating food dedicated to idols was ok if you believed God said it was ok for you. Other times they would say to remember the widows and the poor.

What would we say were the most important things for new Christians to remember today? Do we make it too hard for them to become believers?