Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles
a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We
believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just
as they are."
(Acts 15.10-11)
------------------------------------------------------------
In what was probably one of the most crucial moments in church history, Paul stood up and confronted the other disciples, saying essentially: “Stop with the yokes.”
Which is nice. But what is this about?
By confronting the legalism of Jewish Christians who wanted Gentiles to become Jewish, Paul says something important to us about the legalisms of our own day.
In essence: “Make nothing essential for membership in God’s family that you cannot backup with a careful reading of Scripture.”
Unsustainable legalisms are like heavy yokes tying us to dead religion while keeping us from remembering that it is by grace we have been saved.
I’m thinking about what this may mean for us today.
What legalisms are you tempted to cling to, even when they have no basis in the Scriptures?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment