The Book of Acts ~ Study Forty-Nine

"Bound by Religion"

Acts 15:1-21 (NLT) While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted.
   When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”
   So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
   Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
   When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:
   ‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles—all those I have called to be mine.
   The Lord has spoken—he who made these things known so long ago.’ “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”

A meeting of the Church Council in Jerusalem was held because there was dispute over whether the gentiles who accepted Jesus as their Messiah, should be circumcised and follow the Law. Paul and Barnabas, who had been preaching to the gentiles, were called to Jerusalem to report on their ministry. Many of the Pharisees, who had become believers in Jesus as Messiah, thought that the Gentiles should follow the Law and the traditions that the Chosen had followed since Moses.

First, let's look at who these Pharisees were and why they believed so strongly in being circumcised. They were one of the three parties of Judaism ~ Pharisees, Saducees and Essenes. By far they were the most influential of the three. "Pharisee" means "separated ones." There were three main components to the Pharisaical lifestyle. 1.) Legalism 2.) Nationalism 3.) Religion. So we can see why they wanted those who came to Jesus should also adapt to their way of life.

Paul and Barnabas sharply disagreed. First Peter said the God had accepted the gentiles and had given them the Holy Spirit. He made no distinction between Jew and Gentile when they accept Jesus and were purified by faith in him. James agreed with Peter and spoke words that calmed the debate. He quoted the passage found in Amos 9:11-12 (NLT) “In that day I will restore the fallen house of David. I will repair its damaged walls. From the ruins I will rebuild it and restore its former glory. And Israel will possess what is left of Edom and all the nations I have called to be mine. The Lord has spoken, and he will do these things."

You see faith in Jesus is not about rules, regulations, separatism, politics, systems and laws. It is about loving Jesus and bowing down to Him as Lord. The Law was just  a means to bring people to a relationship with God. Though mankind couldn't have a personal relationship with God before the coming of the Messiah, it was the way, through sacrifices and ritualism, to keep the door open to the Creator until the Messiah could come and redeem all mankind. The Israelites were the Chosen Ones who the Messiah was to come from and that He did. Now because Jesus had made the perfect way for people to come to God and be in fellowship with Him, the Law and it's "do's" and "don't's" wasn't the means to God.

Today we look at the Law (Ten Commandments) as a guideline to behavior that pleases God. It does not, however, bring us into a saving relationship with Him. We know that the Law cannot save us because we will continue to mess up. It is only through Jesus and the mercy of God through Him that we have eternal life.

Do you think that "good works" and following the religious acts of your religion earns your salvation? What do you believe about the work that Christ did on the cross? Is it enough?

Matthew 5:16-18 (NLT) In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
   "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Good works please God and bring Him honor. However, they do not give us eternal life. Jesus told us that He came to fulfill the Law (Ten Commandments). He fulfilled them on the cross that day and glorified Himself and God when He rose again conquering death.

Galatians 3:23-29 (NLT) Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
   For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

The Law was the guardian of the Chosen until the Messiah came and took over. He made the way, the only way, to God. This way is by believing in Jesus as Messiah. It is by accepting His sacrifice as enough. The good things that we do and the religion we are bound by doesn't give us eternal life. Only belief and trust in Jesus does.

There has been so many hardships hung on us through religion. It grows so heavy at times that our relationship with Jesus is put way back on the shelf. Why not rake all the religious things off the shelf and bring our relationship with Christ forward? He's the One who makes us new. He's the One who causes us to want to do good things to bring glory to God. He's the One who has made the way level, though narrow, for us to have a relationship with God. He's the One who gives us eternal life.

Romans 3:23-28 (NLT) For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
   Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.

"Christ Jesus freed us..." What religious things are you bound to? What do you need to let go of? Faith in Jesus is simple. It's believing that what He did on the cross for us is enough. It's by loving Him that we want to love others as He loved us. There is no other way my friend. Take His hand and love Him. Serve Him because of this phenomenal love found in relationship with Him. Let go and let God.