Getting Clipped for the Cause of Christ

Suggested Reading: Acts 15:40-16:5

One of the things the apostle Paul was known for was fighting against those Jews who tried to insist that Gentile believers must be circumcised in order to really be saved. Throughout the entirety of the New Testament, Paul argued that God's grace, through a person's faith, is what saves a person.  In Galatians 6:15, Paul writes, "For both circumcision and uncircumcision mean nothing; what matters is a new creation" (HCSB). In Galatians 3:28, Paul again wrote, "There is no Jew or Geek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (HCSB).  Very consistently, Paul argued that there is no need for Gentile believers to be circumcised in order to be saved, in some places going so far as to say that if a person got circumcised then grace became useless because the person was trying to earn salvation.  So, Acts 16:3 might get a little confusing because we discover that Paul "wanted Timothy to go with him, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek" (HCSB).

Why would Paul, a man who argued so passionately and so consistently against the need for Gentile believers to be circumcised take a young Gentile believer and have him circumcised? Isn't that hypocritical? Doesn't Paul betray everything that he has been fighting for?

No.

You see, Paul argued against having to be circumcised in order to be saved, but Paul didn't circumcise Timothy so that Timothy could be saved. Paul circumcised Timothy so that other people could be saved. Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him in his missionary work because Timothy was a great asset to Paul. But if you are familiar with Paul's ministry, then you know that Paul's first stop in any new city was the Jewish synagogue where he would share the good news that the long awaited Messiah had finally arrived in the person of Jesus. For Timothy to minister effectively, Timothy had to be circumcised so that Timothy's uncircumcised condition would not be a hindrance to the initial Gospel message to Jewish audiences. If Paul were to bring an uncircumcised man into the synagogue and then allow him to speak to law-abiding Jews, those Jews would immediately stop listening to Paul's message because of the lack of respect Paul and Timothy were showing for Jewish tradition and law.  So, to cut off any problems before they arose, Paul had Timothy circumcised. Paul and Timothy, together, were living out Paul's missionary motto:

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. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  (1 Corinthians 9:20-22, NIV).

What about us? Sometimes, we avoid witnessing to people because the effort will require too much time. Paul regularly changed his entire way of living in to more effectively communicate the message of the Gospel. Timothy, apparently, did so as well. Meanwhile, we keep our mouths closed because the thought of sharing the Gospel makes us uncomfortable. The efforts we do make are often hampered because we don't want to take the time to translate the Gospel into an understandable format for those who have never heard.

We cannot all become heroic, world-traveling missionaries, but we can make sure that our lives do not hinder the message of the Gospel for those who are watching us. We can make sure that, when we share the Gospel, people don't immediately disqualify the message because of our own lifestyles. We can live in such a way that our lives make the Gospel message attractive rather than remove any motivation to listen.

When people look at your life, does it make the message of the Gospel more attractive, or does it reinforce the idea that the Bible is just a bunch of stories? Does your behavior and attitude give people a reason to want what you have, or do they convince people that Jesus was just some good teacher whose teachings have no real power in the lives of his followers?

Paul and Timothy were willing to do whatever it took so that their lives reinforced the Gospel message rather than distracted from it. Are we willing to do the same?

The Dumbest Arguments

Suggested Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-14

When my kids were young, they argued about the dumbest things. They argued about whether bacon is meat or a pig. They argued about whether enchiladas are Mexican food or normal food. They argued about whether or not a jacket qualifies as a coat. Inevitably, one of them would get convinced of a particular position and the other would be convinced of the opposing opinion and they would argue back and forth until the argument escalated into a fight where they both ended up getting their feelings hurt. Most of these arguments sound stupid on their surface and probably amounted to nothing more than semantics. But, at times, it seemed like they just couldn't help themselves.

Unfortunately, as Christians, we often get into arguments with each other that are essentially the same. We argue about whether God knew we were going to sin or whether we sinned on our own. We argue about whether Christ's death on the cross was substitutionary or conciliatory. We argue about whether this sin is tolerable or whether that behavior is acceptable. We argue about whether the Creation account was literal or whether the author intended us to read it figuratively. We argue and we argue and we argue about things that, many times, don't amount to much more than semantics. We stake our salvation on insignificant things that have nothing to do with God's offer of forgiveness through Christ. We argue over stupid things until we rightfully look like fools to a watching world. So often I want to tell arguing Christians the same thing I tell my kids, "It's ok if he calls a jacket a coat! It's ok if you call enchiladas normal food! You're not responsible for what the other person thinks! You are responsible for behaving and for getting along with each other!"

Paul knew the danger that flows from arguing about every little thing. In 2 Timothy 2:14, Paul warned Timothy, "Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them." (NLT). Some things in Christian theology are worth fighting for. But many of the arguments we get into with other Christians simply are not worth the time and the energy that we put into them. Worse, they do much more harm than good. These silly fights alienate brothers and sisters from each other and drive wedges between us and our partners for the cause of the Gospel; they distract us from the primary goal of reaching a lost and dying world with the love of Christ and cause us to spend all of our energy on a war of words that will ultimately mean very little, if anything.

Hopefully, as my kids grow older, they will learn to pick their battles a little more wisely and argue only about those things that really matter. Hopefully, they will learn to have even those disagreements in a manner that demonstrates they still love each other. But what about the arguments we have with our Christian brothers and sisters? When we get into arguments do we evaluate the significance of the disagreement or do we jump on in regardless of the consequences or the resources we will expend? When we pick an argument, do we carry it out in a spirit of love for each other or are we more concerned with proving that we are "right" and eliminating the other person's "false" perspective?

What have you argued about recently? Have you picked your battles wisely? Or are you wasting precious time and resources on things that don't really matter?

Public Shootings, Gun Control Debates and Salvation Sources

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:8-20

One of the things I hate about moving is having to learn where everything belongs all over again. For weeks, sometimes for months, finding what we need will take two to three times as long as normal. Where do the measuring cups go? Where did we store the bandaids? What did we do with the tub of craft supplies? Why can't I find my winter coat? For quite a while after a move we are looking in the wrong places for the things we need. We think we know where to find things but quite often have no clue.

I have found the same thing to be true in other areas of life. Responses to public shootings are one example of this. I have heard people cry out for the government to take away people's guns to prevent criminals from getting their hands on them. I have heard other people cry out for the need for more guns in public places to discourage criminals from attempting anything. But it seems to me that both solutions are only attempting to deal with symptoms rather than the solution. Why? We're looking in the wrong place for salvation. We argue over whether we should have less guns or more guns as if those are the only two options available to us and forget about the much more powerful solution waiting for us on our knees.

When Jesus took on flesh and was born into the world as our savior, God announced the news to a group of shepherds through angels. They were told, "The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign:You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:11-12, NLT). Why did God chose to send his son to be born into apparent poverty and need a feeding trough for a bed? In part, to remind us that salvation doesn't come through worldly power. Without the angels' directions, the obvious place for the Messiah, the Son of David, to be born would have been the palace. But God wants us to look to the places where we are weak, where we must depend entirely upon God for our salvation.

When we look to places of earthly power to save us, whether it is to the government, to the barrel of a gun, or to wealth, we have looked in the wrong place for salvation. Salvation comes from admitting our weakness and depending on God, whether it is personally or nationally. As a nation, we must stop pretending that we can pass laws or gather enough ammunition to bring peace. Peace comes when people encounter the Prince of Peace. So we must strive to draw people into his presence, through both word and deed. We must look in the right place for our salvation.