Jumping Through Hoops
Opening Prayer
God, help me to walk in humility and to allow You to teach me to see things like You do.
Read Acts 21:17-26
[17] When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. [18] The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. [19] Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. [20] When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. [21] They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. [22] What shall 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 vow. [24] Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. [25] As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” [26] The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How can we be relevant while remaining faithful?Paul arrives in Jerusalem to hear that his words have been twisted by people who did not understand the weight and context of his teaching (21). While it’s true that Paul put less importance on circumcision (Rom. 2:25-29), he also promoted unity by not upsetting other Christians, or causing them to “stumble” (Rom. 14:13,14). To counteract the gossip, James encourages Paul to participate in a ritual cleansing with some other believers (24). There is a right way to show respect for others’ practices. As Paul went on to write in Romans 14, if your actions distress another believer then you should try your hardest not to offend. Imagine a meat eater has been invited to dinner by a vegetarian friend. It would be incredibly ungracious for the guest to take out a steak and slap it on the table! The grace of Christ gives us such freedom. We are no longer bound by a complicated law. But we must temper this freedom by asking ourselves if our behavior is advancing the Gospel and uniting the church.
Apply
Although we must not be ruled by culture, we still live within it. What does that mean for you in your context?
Closing prayer
Father, help me to be sensitive to those around me and create no stumbling block for the Gospel.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.