Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Leviticus 16-17
     New Testament Reading: Acts 15

Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.” After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue (Acts 15:1-2).

Things were going well at the church in Antioch. The church was continuing to grow, and Paul and Barnabas had returned from a successful missionary journey. But Christians need to be especially alert when things are going well. The devil doesn’t worry much about dying churches. It is the alive, active churches that are a threat to Satin’s kingdom.

Jesus spent a significant amount of time during His ministry condemning the Pharisees of their legalistic requirements and man-made rules. Now, over 20 years later, the church at Antioch faced the same issues. It all started when some legalistic Jewish teachers came to Antioch and taught that to be saved, the Gentiles had to obey the Laws of Moses and be circumcised. Identified with the Pharisees, these teachers were false brethren who wanted to rob both Jewish and Gentile believers of their liberty in Christ.

Before you condemn these teachers and Pharisees too much, think about what list of legalistic requirements we have today. If you don’t believe legalism exists in churches today, just try to sing hymns in a church that only sings praise choruses or a praise chorus in a church that only sings hymns. Or try changing the version of the Bible read in church, or change the time or order of the service. Try changing when and where coffee can be served (or if it can be served), or what is appropriate clothes to wear for worship or to teach. Or try changing what room in the church building we can hold worship services, or if the congregation can sit in chairs instead of pews. The list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

As Christians, we must constantly fight to keep legalism from gaining ground in our lives and our churches. We need to stop making and enforcing man-made lists of ‘Rules of Conduct for Christians’. Legalism is destructive as it denies the Grace of God. Pastor Warren Wiersbe said, “The progress of the Gospel has often been hindered by people with closed minds who stand in front of open doors and block the way for others.”

The apostle Paul said, If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations – “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” – according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion (Col. 2: 20-23a). We grow in our faith and walk closer with Christ by spending time with Him, not by working to follow a set of man-made rules.