Thursday 17 January, 2013
Acts 21: 17 – 26
17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters gave us a warm welcome. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James. All the elders were there. 19 Paul greeted them. Then he reported everything God had done among the non-Jews through his work. 20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they spoke to Paul. “Brother,” they said, “you see that thousands of Jews have become believers. All of them try very hard to obey the law. 21 They have been told that you teach all the Jews who live among the non-Jews to turn away from Moses. They think that you teach them not to circumcise their children. They think that you teach them to give up our Jewish ways. 22 “What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 So do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a promise to God. 24 Take them with you. Join them in the Jewish practice that makes people pure and clean. Pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know that these reports about you are not true in any way. They will know that you yourself obey the law. 25 “We have already given written directions to the believers who are not Jews. They must not eat food that has been offered to statues of gods. They must not drink blood. They must not eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And they must not commit sexual sins.” 26 The next day Paul took the men with him. They all made themselves pure and clean in the usual way. Then Paul went to the temple. There he reported the date when the days of cleansing would end. At that time the proper offering would be made for each of them.
Paul arrives in Jerusalem and is warmly greeted by James and the elders, and they rejoice together at what God has been doing amongst the Gentiles through him. There are also many Jewish believers,
which would have pleased Paul enormously, however, it seems that the Jewish believers were upset with him. Paul understands that the purification rites are no longer necessary because salvation is by grace, not works. But he follows his stated principle from Corinthians where he says “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law…… I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” 1 Cor 9: 20
In Romans
14:13 Paul says “Let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”
Paul is following both of these principles here. He is always trying to witness to people for their salvation, and he is trying to not offend other believers by his actions.
Lord, please help me to not be a stumbling block for anyone else’s faith, but to encourage others by my actions.
Written by Megan Cornell
It is interesting that the Jewish christians still believed that the law of moses was important as the teachings of Jesus. I wonder how much of my christian faith I have inherited and how much is based on the teachings of Jesus, mmmmm.
For a long time I understood the meaning of Grace to be the opposite of the meaning of legalism. However I eventually understood that Grace stands on its own. its meaning is not limited to one word and its application is even wider
God in His grace always meets us where we are at, whether at the point of salvation or other times. He does not expect us to change before He accepts us. He accepts us first through the blood of Jesus, then with the help of the Holy Spirit Helps us grow and change.
In this passage Grace means, going along with legalism. Paul met the people where they are at, and allowed what is not necessary to occur, to help them take a step closer to God.
Lord give me Your eyes to see where the people are at, give me Your heart to love them, and the Your grace to be able to do what is necessary for them walk closer to you.