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Problems Have Always Been Complex
My biggest thought in reading today's passage is that problems are complex. The things that we have to navigate today - culture, language, political correctness, etc. - make sharing the Gospel and being a Christian a sometimes very complex task. How much can you say without being called a bigot? Is it okay if people think that about you? Where is the line where you should stand up to people vs. gently and quietly explaining? It's complex.
The problems in the earliest days of Christianity were just as complex. In today's passage, we see another affirmation of Paul's ministry by James, but at the same time there seems to be two standards: Jewish Christians should continue to follow the Law, Gentile Christians don't need to worry about it. As I said before, we'll see a MAJOR change from that in the book of Hebrews, but that is the case at this point. So - there is still in reality a HUGE divide between a lot of Christians, so James encourages Paul and his companions to act as Jewish-ly as possible over the next few days while they're in Jerusalem. Problem: the non-Christian Jews in the city have heard of that rascal Paul that's going around "telling people not to follow the law and bad-mouthing the temple". They even think he's done something to defile the temple! It gets everyone so upset that things come to fisticuffs, causing an uproarious brouhaha. Enter the Romans. They see something big going on, but (understandably) are pretty baffled about the problem, being unfamiliar with it, so they just take Paul away. Confusing times to navigate indeed.
I think that it's easy for us to make excuses for ourselves. We don't want to share our faith, so we convince ourselves that it was easier back then - everyone basically believed in God, right? Wrong. If anything, it was harder: the Romans believed in A LOT of Gods. They were very, very aware of and steeped in religion that was hostile to Christianity. Homosexuality and even pedophilia was open and acceptable in society. They lived in a society that was complex and hostile to them, just as we do. Let's realize that. Let's remember as we read about what Paul writes in his letters as week seek God's will. Things have always been hard and Christians (other than in the middle ages) have not been widely accepted by society. Count on that, then decide how you're going to live. It WILL cost you. You cannot serve two masters: you can't have one foot in the world (that hates you) and one in the kingdom of heaven. Stop trying.
Problems Have Always Been Complex
My biggest thought in reading today's passage is that problems are complex. The things that we have to navigate today - culture, language, political correctness, etc. - make sharing the Gospel and being a Christian a sometimes very complex task. How much can you say without being called a bigot? Is it okay if people think that about you? Where is the line where you should stand up to people vs. gently and quietly explaining? It's complex.
The problems in the earliest days of Christianity were just as complex. In today's passage, we see another affirmation of Paul's ministry by James, but at the same time there seems to be two standards: Jewish Christians should continue to follow the Law, Gentile Christians don't need to worry about it. As I said before, we'll see a MAJOR change from that in the book of Hebrews, but that is the case at this point. So - there is still in reality a HUGE divide between a lot of Christians, so James encourages Paul and his companions to act as Jewish-ly as possible over the next few days while they're in Jerusalem. Problem: the non-Christian Jews in the city have heard of that rascal Paul that's going around "telling people not to follow the law and bad-mouthing the temple". They even think he's done something to defile the temple! It gets everyone so upset that things come to fisticuffs, causing an uproarious brouhaha. Enter the Romans. They see something big going on, but (understandably) are pretty baffled about the problem, being unfamiliar with it, so they just take Paul away. Confusing times to navigate indeed.
I think that it's easy for us to make excuses for ourselves. We don't want to share our faith, so we convince ourselves that it was easier back then - everyone basically believed in God, right? Wrong. If anything, it was harder: the Romans believed in A LOT of Gods. They were very, very aware of and steeped in religion that was hostile to Christianity. Homosexuality and even pedophilia was open and acceptable in society. They lived in a society that was complex and hostile to them, just as we do. Let's realize that. Let's remember as we read about what Paul writes in his letters as week seek God's will. Things have always been hard and Christians (other than in the middle ages) have not been widely accepted by society. Count on that, then decide how you're going to live. It WILL cost you. You cannot serve two masters: you can't have one foot in the world (that hates you) and one in the kingdom of heaven. Stop trying.
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