Acts 21:24-25 (KJV)
Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.
I believe I remember that Dr. John R. Rice taught Paul’s capture and imprisonment—leading eventually to his execution—was a judgment from God because he kept returning to witness to the Jews. God's call on Paul was to take the gospel to the Gentiles. I don’t see where the Bible confirms that as judgment. While I know Paul was a man subject to like passions as we are, I’m hesitant to say he was mistaken—either in his motivation or his actions. He made it clear that he was willing to be all things to all men, that he might by all means save some.
That said, there’s no doubt the uproar leading to his arrest began with the attempt to maintain a distinction between saved Jews and saved Gentiles. The church in Jerusalem was trying to preserve peace by observing the Jewish law while practicing their Christian faith. That kind of compromise has never worked.
It reminds me of John Bunyan and his court hearing. Judge Wingate reminds me a bit of James. Wingate was quite willing to release Bunyan—if only Bunyan would compromise. He politely refused.
I think of the centuries of Anabaptist persecution. In many cases, they would have had far less trouble with the Catholics—and later, the Protestants—if they had simply agreed to baptize their babies and attend the state-run worship services. They could have still held private meetings and baptized adult believers by immersion. But their convictions wouldn’t allow them to pretend allegiance.
Paul said in Ephesians that the reason he was in prison was his conviction that God was making of Jews and Gentiles one new man. He didn’t mean to bring a Gentile into the temple—he meant to bring saved Jews out of it.
The peace God offers is in the unity of the local church. We must endeavor to keep that peace.
#StandForTruth #NoCompromiseFaith #OneBodyInChrist #BiblicalConvictions #PeaceThroughTheChurch
The Truth That Got Paul Arrested: Bunyan, Anabaptists, and the High Cost of Standing for Truth
The world doesn’t need more silence. It needs more believers who stand. Will you be one of them?
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