Paul and Barnabas came back from their first missionary journey all "pumped up" about the amazing things God had done. They didn't dwell on the "persecution" along the way because it was insignificant compared to what God had done, especially among the Gentiles (14:27).
Not long after they returned a group of "Judaizers" came from Judea to straighten out the church at Antioch with a doctrine of faith + circumcision in order for the Gentiles to be saved. Paul and Barnabas were having no part of this heresy. They knew from experience that cultural traditions and the requirement of circumcision were only symbols and had no power to save. Jesus was the fulfillment of the law to perfection when he came as "messiah" not only to the Jews but to the whole world. The Jews had the privilege of God speaking to the world through them, but they had to be saved like everyone else, by grace through saving faith alone!
If we are honest with ourselves, we know there is not enough goodness in any of us to merit a clean slate before a holy God. But sometimes we trick ourselves into thinking we are not so bad, especially when we compare ourselves to those around us. The worst thing we could do is judge our merits by looking at each other. The result of that exercise is that we all "sink together" to the lowest common denominator of spirituality.
The only true measure of our spirituality is God's word as applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The Bible says we all come up short. So we are back to the fact that we are hopelessly lost without saving faith in Jesus Christ.
The Judaizers were still relying on faith + circumcision and I'm sure included in their theology of salvation were many other cultural traditions. Are you relying on Christian traditions for your sense of security in salvation? It is not enough to do Christian activities. One must have the power of the Holy Spirit actively convicting and convincing us that we are His children.
Acts 15:8 says, "God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them (Gentiles) by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us (Jews). He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith." God knows our hearts as well. Let's all search our hearts honestly before God today and renew our affirmation of saving faith in Christ alone for our salvation.
Tomorrow I would like to talk about the requirements for "fellowship." Have a great day!
Jim Mathias
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