November 18 - Acts 14-15: Untangling the Confusion

I've been thinking about the gospel a lot lately, for a couple of reasons. One, I've been doing an in-depth Bible study on the book of Revelation (all I can say is, wow!), and two, our church is relentlessly gospel-centered; they talk about it all the time. A pastor recently explained the reasoning behind that focus. (my paraphrase)

He said that initially in a church, the gospel is accepted. After awhile, it's assumed that everyone knows what the gospel is, so it's not discussed directly. Soon, the gospel is confused because we mistake the implications of the gospel for the gospel itself. (e.g., the good works we do out of gratitude for Jesus rescuing us from the power of sin and death vs. the Good News that Jesus has washed away the sins of everyone who will ever put their faith in Him) And then, eventually, the gospel is lost.

I find it fascinating that even in the early church, we have record of people who wanted to confuse the gospel and add more requirements for salvation:

It wasn't long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: "If you're not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can't be saved." (15:1) 

[These Pharisees] had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. "You have to circumcise the pagan converts," they said. "You must make them keep the Law of Moses." (15:5)

This confusion happened during a time when the gospel was spreading like wildfire and many people were coming to faith in Christ. It just shows how much the enemy is at work, then and now, in trying to water down the Good News and to burden people in ways that God never intended.

This particular crisis required a special meeting of the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem to sort out the confusion:

"[W]hy are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation?" (15:10-11) 

"It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible  only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage." (15:28)

"The early church untangled the confusion by calling a church council to debate the issue.  The decision can be seen not as the pure Word of God but as the untangling of that Word. Paul's basic conviction was preserved: that the new life is by faith in Christ alone (verses 9-11). But the traditions of the Jews were also respected: New Christians were to accept as binding certain aspects of the wisdom of the past (verse 20)." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 1711

It makes me wonder how I may be confusing the gospel and how I may be subtly (or not so subtly) demanding that people live according to my rules. Conversely, are there certain aspects of the wisdom of the past that I haven't been respecting, or have overlooked?

I don't have the answers to these questions right now, but it's certainly gotten me thinking and examining my thoughts, actions, and motives.