This last week, I was visiting a group of high school students in Castle Valley, Utah. My assignment was to get them ready for their upcoming concert tour, through rehearsals, private lessons, and spiritual talks in the evening. For me, I didn’t think twice about what I would teach when it came to voice. Though admittedly, I was on my knees daily when it came to knowing what to say to them regarding spiritual matters. I prayed for wisdom.
Why did I pray for wisdom? Because I realized that I could easily fall into the trap of talking to people using words and jargon that they might not be aware of. When meeting people who are new to the Torah, where do you start? So, Yah convinced me to let my interactions reveal His Son and to use talking points that would draw parents and children to Messiah. The topic(s) He gave me was about forgiveness and purpose within God’s Kingdom.
Of course, I could have spent time trying to convince people of circumcision, the correct ways to talk, what to see or not see, the evils of government, who is Israel and who is not, how to address the Torah, etc. But Yah’s Spirit spoke to me, letting me know that the heart of a person must be changed before anything else. He was clear with me—“use self-control and allow Yah to be right.”
King Solomon spoke these words: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9
Ok. What is being repeated here? I believe it can be the spirit of wanting to be right over all else. The early church had a problem in this area when facing newcomers into their midst. They immediately wanted conformity to the law, without understanding the heart first. This story can be found in Acts 15.
“Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved’”
Acts 15:1.
They were saying that circumcision was required for salvation. They probably thought the question was simple: we should obey YHVH and YHVH had commanded circumcision and if people want the blessings of Abraham, they should act like children of Abraham. This meant circumcision for Gentiles as well as for Jews (Genesis 17:12).
Paul and Barnabas had a different opinion:
“This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them” Acts 15:2a.
How was the argument to be resolved?
“Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.” Acts 15:2b
In this way, the church could have unity.
So: “the church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad” “When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them” Acts 15:3-4
Then they debated the question:
“Some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, `The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.’” Acts 15:5
We saw in verse 1 that they believed that circumcision was necessary for salvation. Here we see that they also believed the laws of Moses were required. Circumcision was the first step in the process—they believed that Christians or those who followed “The Way” must keep all the laws of Moses.
Just as circumcision was biblical, so also were the laws of Moses. The claim was that Gentile believers should be circumcised, and then, as part of the covenant people of God, they should obey the laws of the covenant. And, for the most part, they were right. But in being “right” they forgot to put the horse in front of the cart. They forgot the necessity of a heart change over the flesh change.
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Upon the death and resurrection of the Perfect Lamb—Yeshua the Messiah, membership in the “new covenant” is by faith, not by ancestry. But still today, what do many of us talk about? Who is a Jew and who is not, yet, in Titus 3:9 we read:
“avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are useless and worthless.”
So how did the debate resolve the issue of “being right according to the law?”
“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: `Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe’” Acts 15:7
Peter reminded the people that God had used him to preach the gospel to Cornelius and his family (Acts 10). As far as we know, Cornelius was not circumcised, but Peter did not use that precedent as proof. Rather, he focused on the theological foundations of how a person is saved —by believing.
“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith” Acts 15:8-9.
God gave the Holy Spirit to this uncircumcised family, purifying their hearts, pronouncing them holy, as acceptable to him, because of their faith.
Peter then began to scold the people who wanted the Gentiles to obey the laws of Moses:
“Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are” Acts 15:10-11.
After Barnabas and Paul told “about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles” (Acts 15:12), James spoke. As leader of the Jerusalem church, he had a lot of influence. Some of the Judaizers even claimed him as their authority (Gal. 2:12), but Luke tells us that James was in complete agreement with Peter and Paul.
“Listen to me. Simon [Peter] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles” (Acts 15:13-14).
James then quoted from Amos to show that Scripture agreed with what was happening (vs. 15-18). He could have used other Old Testament prophecies, too, about Gentiles being included among God’s people.
James then suggested four rules:
“Instead 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” Acts 15:20.
Instead of making things difficult for the Gentiles, these four rules would be enough.
Gentile believers should not lie, steal, and murder. They already knew that, so they did not need a special reminder about it.
Why, then, do these four rules? Some scholars say the Jews believed that these laws dated back to the time of Noah, and therefore applied to all nations. Others say that all four rules were associated with idolatry. Some say that these four rules were laws of Moses, and were given so Gentiles and Jews could eat together. Are these opinions all correct? Maybe. However, the decree makes it clear that Gentiles do not have to be circumcised. They are circumcised spiritually, not physically.
Moses is then preached, through the words of James. He insisted that The Way, should not make it difficult for the Gentiles. Instead, it will be enough to give them four rules, which they will find easy to comply with. Why give them these rules? Notice the reason that James gives:
“For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath” Acts 15:21.
This pleased the entire church, so they wrote it in a letter and sent it to Antioch, where they “were glad for its encouraging message” Acts 15:31.
Imagine for a moment how hard it is for new believers to hear and trust in the words of YHVH. Their lives have been possibly turned upside down due to abuse, hurt, and sin. They carry pain and want to be healed. They struggle with personal issues and are looking for a Messiah. They desire a heart change.
Brothers and sisters do not be driven by your flesh of wanting to be “right” over certain topics that are dear to you. Let YHVH be “right.” Let Him be the judge of all, because he created all. He sets up people. He sets up Kingdoms. And, while He does this great work, He gives us the commission to share the Messiah so that hearts can be changed. In doing so, I guarantee The Word will be opened.
May you be blessed this Sabbath,
Rollyn
