Tag Archives: circumcision

A Hopeless Situation

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A HOPELESS SITUATION

“What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?

Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.”

But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what more shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing His wrath on us? (I am using a human argument). Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?” Romans 3:1-6.

Lest his readers thought that being a Jew was of no value at all, Paul quickly showed them that the problem lay, not with the law or with the righteousness of God but with the unfaithfulness of the people who received God’s word. The Jews were highly favoured and privileged to have God’s word. They had the advantage of being in covenant with God and they had the sign of the covenant to prove it.

The problem lay, not with God but with the people. As he has already made clear, having God’s word and being in covenant with Him was of no benefit to them if they did not show it in their daily lives. After all, was it not God’s purpose that, by living out His instructions to His people, they were to show their Gentile neighbours what He is really like?

But then Paul responded to another hypothetical question. Is God not being unjust by judging people who break His law, when their very sinfulness shows up His righteousness?

What kind of logic is that? Do people really think like this? It would be the same as arguing that criminals should not be punished because what they did shows us just how right the government is to make laws that judge wrongdoers!

“Some might argue, ‘If my falsehood enhances His truthfulness and so increases His glory, hy am I still condemned as a sinner?’ Why not say – as some slanderously claim that we say – ‘Let us do evil that good may result.’? Their condemnation is just.” Romans 3:7, 8.

God’s glory is not revealed so much in contrast to human wickedness as in the justice of His judgment. As Paul rightly argues, how can God judge sin if we sin in order to show up His righteousness? This is a very twisted argument, to say the least. Since much of God’s judgment comes to us through the consequences of our wrongdoing, He does not deliberately create bad consequences because He takes delight in punishing us. Consequences are the natural result of overstepping His boundaries.

No parent would tell his small child, “Don’t play in the street. You will be run over by a car,” because he arranged for a car to hit him. He warns his son because of the real danger of it happening. Similarly, God gives us boundaries within which He knows we are safe, and outside of which there is danger because of the very laws which hold the universe together.

The greatest tragedy of all is that people who rebel against God’s laws do not realise that they are not hurting God. They are hurting themselves and wasting their lives when God has so much for them if they would only heed what He says and live within the safety zone.

So, whether a person is a Gentile who has no knowledge of God’s word but has a conscience which he ignores, or a Jew who has God’s covenant and God’s word but does not obey it, the outcome is the same.

“What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.” Romans 3:9.

Acknowledgement

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What’s In A Name?

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WHAT’S IN A NAME?

“When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived.

“Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took Him up to Jerusalem to offer Him to God as commanded in God’s Law: “Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God,” and also to sacrifice the “pair of doves or two young pigeons” prescribed in God’s Law.” Luke 2:21-24 (The Message).

What’s in a name?

In western culture we pay little attention to the meaning of the names we give our children. We like the sound of them; they have some family significance; or we name our children after some person who has meaning for us. Some people even invent names just to be different. In some cultures children are often named after the circumstances of their birth.

Both the parents of John the Baptist and of Jesus were careful to name their babies according to God’s instruction via the angel Gabriel.

In Hebrew thought, a name was a prophetic utterance of character. In the case of John and Jesus, their earthly mission was prophesied in their names. “John” – the anglicised form of the Hebrew, “Yochanan”,  means “Jehovah is gracious”. It was John’s task to be the forerunner of the one who would bring “grace and truth” (John 1:17) from the Father. Jesus (Yeshua) was to be the Saviour of the world.

Perhaps one’s mind immediately strays to a significant personality in the Old Testament – Jacob, Isaacs’ son. He was the second of twin sons. He was born clutching the heel of his brother and was given the name Jacob, meaning “one who follows”. His character, however, followed another meaning, “supplanter” or “cheat”, and he lived up to his name until his encounter with the angel of the Lord at Peniel when his name was changed to “Israel” meaning “prince with God”.

When Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory (Exodus 33:18), God responded by saying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.” (Exodus 33:19 – NIV). What a moment for Moses! He was to be given a private and intimate revelation of the deepest depths of the heart of God.

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” (Exodus 34:6 -NIV).

The angel Gabriel announced to the shepherds that a Saviour had been born in Bethlehem; “He is Christ the Lord.” If we recognise that it was to the second person of the Trinity that God the Father assigned the earth, then it was the pre-incarnate Jesus who revealed Himself to Moses. To Him was given the name above every name – Jesus – to whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:11- NIV).

Enshrined in that name was everything that He was, everything He came to do and everything He was to be on the earth and in the lives of people who believe in Him. When we address Him as the Lord Jesus Christ, we attribute to Him and affirm all the offices He fulfils — absolute Sovereign, Saviour and Anointed One.

Jesus is the name in which we find salvation (Acts 4:12); shelter (Proverbs 18:10); forgiveness (Psalm 25:11); provision (Genesis 22:14); healing (Exodus 15:26); peace (Ephesians 2:14); righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21); and the comfort and nearness of God’s presence (Matthew 1:23).

The Church On A Knife Edge

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THE CHURCH ON A KNIFE EDGE

“As they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met about the breakthrough to the Gentile outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered — it was terrific news!

“When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. ‘You have to circumcise the pagan converts,’ they said, ‘You must make them keep the Law of Moses.'” Acts 15:3-5 (The Message).

This Jew/Gentile thing was a really sensitive issue in the early church. It was the subject of the first general church council recorded in Acts15. The leaders of the infant church had to deal with issues as they arose, some of which were relatively simple matters of administration, for example, the neglect of the Greek widows in Acts 6, and some with far more significant matters of understanding regarding the work of Jesus.

Jesus had chosen twelve men to be with Him so that they could learn His yoke. It would be their responsibility to interpret and apply His yoke when He was no longer there, and that was what they were doing now. The Pharisees in the church in Jerusalem were speaking out of turn because they were not part of the original group of men trained by Jesus. They had not lived with Him intimately and understood His heart and the heart of the Father.

God’s intention, from the beginning, was to work through one nation whom He called into fellowship with Himself in a marriage covenant, to reveal Him to the whole world. He had taught them His Word, a way of life that would reflect His nature and requirements for people who belonged to Him.

However, the Jews misinterpreted God’s intention, believing themselves to be superior to the Gentiles, despising them and isolating themselves from them. The Pharisees in particular, hated Jesus because He showed them that God loved and accepted all people. They were so stuck on the letter of the Law of Moses, regardless of the fact that they didn’t obey it themselves, that they could not embrace the real meaning of God’s plan. He dealt with sin through Jesus’ sacrifice, once for all, so that all people, Jews and Gentiles, could come to the Father without having to do anything but believe.

It was important for the apostles to decide what the yoke of Jesus was in this situation — His interpretation of the heart and disposition of the Father which He both taught and practised. It was not a matter of thumb sucking, but of examining the evidence and reaching a conclusion based on what they saw and heard from Jesus as well as what was happening in their current situation.

There would be another important spin-off from the outcome of this meeting. It was imperative that the church remain united. It would be a serious matter if some were teaching one thing and others another. In the early days of the church they had worked hard to keep the unity in their relationships with one another. Now a far more serious and sinister issue had arisen — which had the potential to splinter the church around doctrines that hit at the very heart of their faith.

How relevant this is for the church today! Over the centuries the church has become fragmented over this very issue — what is the yoke of Jesus? Had church leaders only stuck to the criteria of Jesus Himself, His words and His ways, and a passion to keep the unity of the Spirit instead of allowing reason and opinions to dominate them, perhaps the prayer of Jesus, “that they may be one”, would be much nearer to being answered than it appears now.

Stick With Jesus

Christian Life, , ,

STICK WITH JESUS

“It wasn’t long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised.’If you’re not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can’t be saved.’ Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul and Barnabas, and a few others, to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem.” Acts 15:1-2 (The Message).

Why the fuss? Such an insignificant matter! Who cares whether men are circumcised or not? What difference does a small surgical procedure make to their salvation?

A small matter but a very a big issue! It was big enough for Paul to write a letter to the Galatian believers to deliver a heated protest against a teaching which would undermine the very foundation of their salvation. It was serious enough for the church leaders to take action immediately, to nip in the bud a practice that would undo the finished work of Jesus for those who submitted to circumcision, and take them back into self-effort, slavery and failure.

A whole world of meaning was packed into Jesus’ final words on the cross: ‘It is finished.’ His death and resurrection put an end to all the demands of the Law as a way of being acceptable to God. Even if we obeyed God perfectly in every detail of what He expects of us from now on, (which is impossible anyway), we still have the problem of our past and the guilt we have incurred by disobeying God.

Jesus offered Himself up to God as an atoning sacrifice and His offering was accepted as the morally perfect Lamb who took our place because He had no sin of His own to die for. What He did was enough and complete, and we cannot and must not try to improve on it by adding anything to what He has done.

These Jews, who were insisting that Gentiles adopt the old covenant given to His people at Mount Sinai by being circumcised, were saying, in effect, that the sacrifice of Jesus was insufficient to satisfy God’s justice. To make His work effective, we have to add to what Jesus did by trying to keep the Law.

Whatever we add to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross nullifies His work and puts us back under obligation to fulfil all the requirements of the old covenant. We cannot pick and choose what we will do and what we won’t do. The agreement God entered into with His people at Mount Sinai was a package deal and demands perfect obedience to every detail.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who has let himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.” Galatians 5:1-3 (NIV).

What is your “circumcision” that you have added to Jesus’ complete work on the cross, to make His salvation effective for you? Do you have to carry out rituals, obey dietary laws, observe special days or seasons, “work for Jesus”, or do anything to get God’s attention or to win His approval instead of just being His son or daughter?

If you do, you are outside the reach of God’s grace. “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” Galatians 5:4 (NIV).

What is the real issue here? It’s the attitude of our hearts. Are we slaves or sons? Slaves have to work hard to please their master. Sons are free just to be sons. “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’. So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:6-7 (NIV).