No Other God

Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
Acts 16:3

What? Paul circumcised Timothy!! What an unexpected verse after the debate in the previous chapter over whether or not you had to be circumcised to be saved. The decision of the Jerusalem council was a definitive, “No!” They clearly established that salvation was by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. Just a few weeks back we quoted Gal 5:1-2 where Paul warned the Galatians, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.” With such a strong warning to the Galatians AGAINST circumcision, why in the world would Paul take Timothy and circumcise him?

The answer is simple and set forth in our text today–“because of the Jews…for they all knew that his father was Greek.” Paul realized that Timothy’s ministry would be hindered as he declared the gospel to the Jews in that region since they knew he had a Jewish mother but a Greek father. If they found out he was uncircumcised, they would not have heard a word Timothy said! They would have viewed him as identifying himself with the heathen nations rather than with Israel. Of course, they would have been wrong to treat Timothy that way, but the issue in Paul’s mind was not whether or not their assessment of Timothy was unfair. Paul’s one concern was that these Jews were unsaved and needed the Lord!

The best explanation of why Timothy was circumcised is found in 1Co 9:19-22 as Paul writes: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” As Paul makes clear in his statement “not being without law”, he didn’t live lawlessly in his pursuit to win sinners, but within the confines of his liberty in Christ, he did all he could to make sure he caused no unnecessary offense in sharing the word of God with others. Brethren, our pattern should be the same! May our love for souls prompt us to lay aside our lives, no matter the inconvenience, that others may know our Savior. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (Joh 15:13)

Jamie

Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another…
Acts 15:37-39

Who would have ever seen this coming?!! Paul and Barnabas were such a faithful missionary team, diligent in their dedication to the Lord and their care for the souls of men. Barnabas had been instrumental in the church receiving Paul back in Act 9:26-27 when no one trusted this Saul of Tarsus who had once hated and persecuted Christians. Later in 11:22-26, Barnabas, “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith,” specifically sought out Paul and brought him back to Antioch to aid him in ministering to the young believers there. The two had been through many trials together and had been used mightily of the Lord to deliver souls from the bondage of sin. In fact, they were the loudest voices at the beginning of Act 15 standing for the truth and resisting those who taught the new Gentile believers they needed to be circumcised to be saved. These two brothers in the Lord were unparalleled in their missionary effort, and yet, at the end of Act 15, these who were always so united in spirit disagreed so strongly about Barnabas’ nephew John Mark going with them on the next journey that the two parted ways!

There is a strong warning in this unexpected event, namely we as believers must NEVER let down our guard. Paul and Barnabas had just experienced a great victory in Act 15 as the church was delivered from the bondage of salvation by works. The contention that began in Act 15 had ended in a united church and a decision in which the brethren “rejoiced over its encouragement.” (Act 15:31) Perhaps it was the intensity of the previous situation and the relief that it was over which led one or both of these men to spiritually relax and allow this disagreement to reach the level that it did. Sin had been permitted to creep in and destroy the blessed experience described in Psa 133:1: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” We are instructed in 1Pe 5:8 to be “sober” and “vigilant”. Both words are also translated “watchful” in other passages. The first word literally means “to abstain from wine” and thus encourages us to not give ourselves to anything that might impair our judgment and weaken our awareness of danger. The next word means “to keep awake” and is the word translated “watch” which our Lord used in speaking to his sleeping disciples in Mar 14:38: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Why is this constant state of watchfulness necessary? Because, as 1Pe 5:8 continues, “your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

The devil is restlessly looking for opportunity, EVER seeking a way to destroy the unity we enjoy in Christ. Gideon’s 300 are a great example of how we should be on guard at all times. The characteristic that differentiated these warriors from the 10,000 that were sent home was that the 300 did not get down on their knees to drink water. (Jdg 7:5-7) The idea is that these men remained standing and were ready for battle at all times, probably drinking with one hand while the other hand rested on their sword on their hip. Rather than kneeling and focusing on the water, their eyes scanned the horizon, watching for a sneak attack by the enemy. The 300 didn’t let down their guard! They knew the enemy could advance at any moment from any direction, so they watched. Christian, so ought we! The devil wants to destroy our oneness in the Lord. Don’t let him! “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (Jas 4:7) Every member of the body of Christ bears the responsibility of guarding against the enemy. May we be diligent in our watchfulness, “looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…” (Heb 12:15)

Jamie

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:4-7

We read a quote in our study guide last week from R. C. H. Lenski who said, “To add anything to Christ as being necessary for salvation, say circumcision or any human work of any kind, is to deny that Christ is the complete Savior, is to put something human on a par with him. That is fatal. A bridge to heaven that is built of 99/100 of Christ and even only 1/100 of anything human breaks down at the joint and ceases to be a bridge.” I’m not familiar with Mr. Lenski, but I like that statement! It is affirmed by our text today, especially v. 5: “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…” I don’t know that there is a verse which makes it any clearly concerning our salvation. Salvation is solely based on Christ’s work and not my own. He alone did that which was fully pleasing to God, not failing in even one point, and so all who trust in Him may be justified forever before God because His payment for sin, his sinless sacrifice, was acceptable to the Father.

We have been studying Act 15 for the last several weeks as the apostles and elders deliberated over the question of what things were necessary for salvation. The particular “thing” that had been asserted by some of the Jews at that time was that, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Act 15:1) It is the last part of that statement that should be emphasized in our minds. They were trying to add to the requirement for salvation, but as Peter noted in v. 7, the Gentiles only had to do one thing before God acknowledged their salvation by giving them the Holy Ghost. Peter said he was chosen by God first to preach to the Gentiles so that they “should hear the word of the gospel and believe“. Belief was the one issue, i.e. faith in Christ. Period!  This fact agrees exactly with Paul’s response in the next chapter to the Philippian jailer when he asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul’s response was simple and required nothing more than, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Act 16:30-31) That’s the simplicity of the gospel in a nutshell, church! The requirement is low enough that any may enter. If we add even good things to it–for example baptism–some men are shut out. The thief on the cross is without hope! But if all he needed to do was believe, he was indeed with Jesus later that very day in paradise!

Some may argue that to present such a simple salvation to souls is to encourage sin. “If they only have to believe, then they can believe in Jesus and do whatever they want!” To think such a thing is to misunderstand true belief. True faith in Christ will always produce good works! In fact, I purposely stopped short of the next verse in our main text today so we could read it now. After having made sure we clearly understood that salvation was based solely upon the work of Christ and not our own “works of righteousness”, Paul wrote to Titus, “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.” (Tit 3:8) True belief always yields good works! As James wrote, “faith without works is dead”. (Jam 2:17-26) The issue with works is making sure they are in the right order. Works do not precede salvation, but they will without a doubt follow. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10)

Jamie

(1) Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. (2) For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. (3) Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. (4) Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. (5) One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
Romans 14:1-5

We have a lengthier text today which really speaks for itself, so I’ll refrain from much comment.  We are all unique in the kingdom of God and at different places in our spiritual walk.  May we never let lesser things divide us as brothers and sisters!  One may see something as sinful while another has liberty in that area.  I’m not talking about things obviously sinful like the works of the flesh listed in Gal 5:19-21, but I’m referring to customs and traditions wherein we may differ.  As our text says, one may have liberty to eat or drink something while another does not.  One may observe a particular day while another overlooks it.  The encouragement to each of us is to “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” (v. 5) Remember, we must all individually stand before God to give an account of our actions (v. 12), so let’s be sure to judge ourselves most critically.  We ought to examine our motives behind what we allow or abstain from.  Is Christ at the center of those things?  We must be sure that these things can truly be done without injuring our conscience or working against faith in Christ, which is exactly the point the apostle makes at the end of this chapter: “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Rom 14:22-23)

Jamie

Now concerning things offered to idols: we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
1 Corinthians 8:1-3

Before we dive into our passage today, it’s important to understand the context in which it was originally written. The apostle Paul is instructing the believers in Corinth on how to deal with weaker, less mature Christians. The particular topic at hand is the eating of meat offered to idols. Many in the Corinthian church could buy this discounted meat and enjoy it with thanksgiving to God, having no consciousness of the idol unto which it was offered; others in the church, however, saw such an act as sin because when they saw the meat, they saw idolatry. To buy the meat for them would be to support idolatry. If they ate it, they equated that with bowing down to the idol. Paul makes it clear that the more mature brother should refrain from eating this meat before these weaker brethren lest he wound their conscience and encourage them to participate in things they viewed as sinful. This refraining from meat for their sake was not a legalistic act but rather an act of love.

With that context in mind, Paul deals with the topic of knowledge. Knowledge can be a wonderful thing, but by itself, it can have a detrimental effect on the one who possesses it. If a man has knowledge only, the result will always be pride, the first of the seven sins that Pro 6:17 tells us the Lord hates. Knowledge puffs up! You say, “What kind of knowledge?” All kinds, including knowledge of the word of God! Just because we know the truth doesn’t mean we know how to use it. Paul makes a statement in our text that ought to hit home: “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” (1Co 8:2) Remembering this fact will help to keep us humble. Only the Lord has full understanding in all things. At best, we see but a portion of the fullness of the truth revealed in the word of God.

As 2Pe 3:18 teaches us, knowledge must always be tempered by grace: “…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” The gracious person knows Who deserves the glory, as the end of the verse says. We ought never learn the word of God to impress men; the goal, as in all things, should be to glorify God! The one who grows in knowledge only will be filled with pride, but the man who, as he increases in knowledge, also grows in his awareness of God’s grace toward him will in turn be gracious as he dispenses his knowledge. The know-it-all “Christian” is harsh and unloving, looking down on those with lesser understanding. He’ll eat that meat offered to idols every time and give the weaker brother a good tongue-lashing for not doing the same! But the brother who is mature in knowledge AND in grace uses his tongue wisely, following the instruction of Col 4:6: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” The love and compassion of Christ will be evident in such an individual, and he’ll know, as that verse concludes, HOW to answer everyone.

In Isa 47:10, we find a people of whom it is said, “Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; and you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’ ” Do you see the self-centeredness of having knowledge ONLY? That person acts with a view only to himself! But what does our text today contrast against such behavior? Though knowledge alone puffs up, “love edifies”! We ought always test our words and actions before expressing them with this simple rule. We should ask ourselves, “Am I about to say and do that which will build individuals up in the Lord?” It doesn’t mean we have to have sugar pouring off of every syllable. A true friend will speak a wounding rebuke when it is best for an individual’s soul! (Pro 27:6) But, the bottom line is we act out of love which is never prideful. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up…” (1Co 13:4) So, yes, we should study the word of God diligently, but we ought to do so on our knees, asking God to help us grow in both knowledge and grace. Then we will dispense that knowledge in love, to the eternal benefit of those who hear.

Jamie