LIVING IN THE PAST

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.

So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 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.

Then 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.”

The apostles and elders met to consider this question.

Acts 15:1-6

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The past can be hard to move on from.

It’s a truth that has proved itself generation after generation after generation.

This is particularly evident when we have to deal with change and one thing is for sure, things change, all the time.

Need an example?

The United States is just now emerging from the throes of a major pandemic, one that crippled our nation in very fundamental ways.

We were restricted in what we could do, especially when we were out. Activities we used to be able to do on a whim now were restricted if not eliminated altogether. Limited numbers of people were allowed into stores and once inside, six feet apart became the rule of social distancing, a rule that we had never had to observe before. Even churches stopped being able to meet in person and virtual, streaming services became the norm for awhile.

That’s a lot of change and I haven’t even mentioned wearing a mask everywhere. And as you would expect, there was no shortage of angst and uproar over the restrictions that were being imposed. A division quickly developed between those who thought the pandemic and its associated restrictions were a folly and those who were following the science and strictly adhering to whatever guidelines were imposed. And although toned down, this presence of opposing views has not gone away.

As I mentioned, we are emerging from this long crisis but things aren’t the same. They aren’t ever going to be. We are living in a new normal now and in a lot of ways, I think it’s better than where we were before if we just take the time to stop living in the past. We need to embrace the future and do so by focusing on the Lord who holds the future in His hands.

This is what Paul and Barnabas were trying to do as they carried out the call of Jesus to make disciples of all nations. The old covenant between God and His people was replaced with a new one, one centered on the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus who willingly surrendered His life to pay the sin penalty for all people, Jew or Gentile. All a person needed to do to gain salvation was believe in Jesus, the Savior of all, the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. This was the message the apostles were sharing but they met a lot of resistance and persecution from the Jewish religious establishment.

Why?

Because the Jewish religious establishment was still living in the past and refused to embrace change, even change initiated by the very God they swore allegiance to.

We see this evident in our scripture as some Jews descended on Antioch from Judea and started teaching Christians that they couldn’t be saved unless they were circumcised “according to the custom taught by Moses” which was one in the same as saying the Law. Of course, this wasn’t what Jesus said was needed to gain salvation and so Paul and Barnabas entered into a debate with the Jews over the false teaching. The scriptures tell us that this opposition from the apostles earned them an audience in Jerusalem where they were to see the “”apostles and elders” to discuss the matter of how salvation could be gained by a believer.

And so Paul and Barnabas were sent off by the church and departed Antioch, traveling through “Phoenicia and Samaria”. During their journey, they continued to minister and testify to others, sharing how the “Gentiles had been converted”, a report that “made all the believers very glad”.

When the apostles arrived in Jerusalem, they were “welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders” and proceeded to tell them “everything God had done through them”. The news wasn’t welcomed by everyone for we read where “some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up” and proclaimed, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” These words again showed that there were still believers who were living in the past and not willing to embrace the new covenant that Paul and Barnabas preached.

Well, an obvious schism had reared its ugly head.

Which side was right, Paul and Barnabas touting Jesus’ new covenant or the Pharisee believers still proposing the old covenant was in force?

The scriptures tell us that the apostles and elders in Jerusalem “met to consider this question”. Over the next several devotions, we’re going to see the outcome as we continue our study of Acts 15.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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