2022_03_14 Insight Post- Kim Feld

This week’s reading takes us back to the book of Acts. In our reading of Galatians, we saw Paul making a solid case against circumcision for Gentile believers to be considered Christian. He urged them to resist adding this requirement to salvation through Jesus Christ. The first part of Acts 15 tells of the meeting between Paul, Barnabas, the apostles, and elders in Jerusalem to settle the matter. Agreement was reached, and a letter was written to be shared with the new believers. However, fast forward to chapter 16, and we meet Timothy, the son of a Jewish mother and Greek father. Paul wants to take Timothy with him on a missionary journey, but before he does, he circumcises him. What?! Why in the world would Paul circumcise Timothy when he felt so strongly that circumcision should not be a requirement?

 ^“Paul wanted to take him (Timothy) along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” (Acts 16:3 NIV)

This may seem like doublespeak from Paul, but it actually represents a valuable principle in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul fully believed that Jesus’ gift of salvation was available to all – Jew, Gentile, men, women, enslaved, free – and that the gift did not come with the additional burden of following all the Jewish laws and traditions. But he also wanted to eliminate as many hindrances as possible for people to hear the transforming message of Jesus Christ. Paul’s custom was first to visit the synagogue and speak with the Jews when he entered a new area. Because Timothy’s mother was Jewish, Timothy was considered a Jew. In choosing Timothy as a companion in this mission, he needed to move among the Jewish people as easily as Paul could. Lack of circumcision in this instance would have hindered the spreading of the gospel. It is important to note that Timothy was already a believer. Circumcision was not necessary for his salvation, but it did remove a barrier to evangelism.

This is such a vital lesson in evangelism. We are never called to dilute the message of Jesus to make it more comfortable or easy to hear. Jesus wants us entirely, not just in part. But we also need to be aware of any hindrances we might put in place for people exploring a relationship with Jesus. That’s why at New Hope, we put the passages of scripture that we use in the notes on the screen instead of asking everyone to turn to it in their Bibles. Is it because we don’t love and respect the Bible and want people to read it? No! It’s because we hope that people who don’t have a relationship with Jesus are present in our services. They may not have a Bible of their own or, if they do, may not know where to find the passage. It is a potential hindrance that we can easily eliminate. A particular “dress code” is another. How likely are you to show up at a place where everyone is wearing a suit and tie when you don’t own one? Do we dress casually because we don’t believe God deserves our very best? Not at all. We believe outward appearance can be a barrier that we can easily remove.

Paul summed up this principle in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV):

¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach