Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

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March 19, 2010
    Greetings to you, dear people.
    It's another gorgeous day emerging here.  What will it bring?  I don't know exactly...but we're going to find out.  The adventure goes on.
    Here's a prayer to pray constantly...a fool-proof formula to prevent one from going very far off course as you move through your adventure: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."  You already know that's not original to me.  It's David's prayer in Psalm 19:14.
    Have a great day...even though our nation may be in a great mess.
        Love and prayers,
            Dad/Ray

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19 March 2010
Passage:  Acts 21:17-36
Focus:  “Bound with two chains.”  Acts 21:33

            I’m finding it difficult to identify anything very positive and devotional in this reading.  But, I am definitely seeing some important lessons—lessons that mainly are in the vein of how NOT to do life and faith.  So, in an indirect sort of way, it’s still edifying.
            One of the thoughts occurring to me is that the narrow-minded and religiously-bound elders and leaders of the church in Jerusalem virtually bound Paul with at least two chains before the Roman commander ever did when he rescued Paul from the riot at the temple.  The first chain they wanted to hang on Paul was COMPROMISE.  Here Paul has been preaching and teaching the New Testament Gospel all over the place, saying that in Christ “dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.  And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:9-11, KJV).  Now the elders would have him compromise that message just because the large crowd of religiously-bound Jewish Christians had heard that Paul was teaching “all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs” (v. 21).  They were engaged in manipulating both Paul and the people so that “everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law” (v.24).  Nonsense!  There WAS truth to this report.  It may have been twisted, but it needed clarification, not denial.  It seems to me that Paul has kind of compromised his message and is violating the very advice he gave to the Galatians (Read Gal. 5:1-6) by yielding to these leaders and not simply vacating Jerusalem.  (At this point, who needs Jerusalem anyway?!  Besides that, who needs a Christian faith that requires hauling around a big trailer over-loaded with cultural and religious baggage?!)
            The other chain that the Jerusalem leader seemed to be imposing on Paul was CONFORMITY.  They were so bent on sameness and harmony with the status quo of their exclusive flock at Jerusalem that they resorted to a form of deception so as to not make any waves.  They were suggesting a show of appeasement of popular opinion.  I think it was a basically wrong opinion.  By requiring circumcision and submission to all the laws and traditions of the old system, it was an opinion that was damaging to the effective faith of the Gospel of Christ.
            A question that comes to my mind is, “Where in the world was Peter in all of this?”  The Jerusalem believers were described as being “zealous for the law” (v. 20).  But why wasn’t Peter zealous to teach them the TRUTH that God so profoundly and miraculously had taught him? (Acts 10-11)
            I mentioned Galatians 5:1-6 above.  I think I will just stick it on here and use it as a conclusion.  Please receive it as good advice.
            “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Mark my words!  I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.  Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.  You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.  But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (NIV)