Monday, October 26, 2015



Acts 15:1-5

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers:  “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.  The news made all the brothers very glad.  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”


Reflection

Jesus brought salvation to all people.  At this point the church needed to decide whether the message of Jesus was truly for all nations or were they Jews who simply tacked on Jesus to their faith.  Had God created something completely new or was Jesus just good news for those who were willing to become Jews?

The church was at a turning point.  They had to define who they were going to be.  The church had to decide what was most important:  faith in Jesus or the form and tradition of religion.  Every generation of Christians has to make that choice as well.  Are we going to cling to the forms and traditions of religion or are we going to follow the risen Lord into something new.  The church in every generation needs to be renewed and made over in order to continue to focus on what is important, that being the message of Jesus’ love and grace.

How have you seen the form and tradition of the church change so that the church can continue to reach new generations?