Putting what is most Important First

Acts 16: 1-5

Are you one who stands your ground no matter what, or are you the type who goes with the flow, your action resembles those you are with at that moment.  A word for that might be “Politician” and what do you think of such a person?  The word that comes to my mind is dishonest, a schemer, a person who is seeking personal power, and it matters not what political-party, and most are not to be trusted.  But what happens when it’s members of your family, church, or even a pastor, do you feel betrayed?  Many a person has read the account of young Timothy being circumcised by Paul, when he joined Paul and Silas in Derbe, and because his father was Greek and his mother was Jewish he had not followed the custom of circumcision.  Why did it happen?  We are told by doctor Luke that it was because the Jews in that area knew Timothy’s father was Greek.

This seems to fly in the face of what was reported in Acts chapter 15, when the apostles, the elders, and the church of Jerusalem wrote a letter telling the Gentile church they did not need to be circumcised for salvation, but it was by grace through faith in Christ, plus nothing.  So why did Paul put young Timothy through such a painful process? 

Often many Christians run to a commentary to see what a man has to say, but the best source is the Holy Spirit, He is our teacher, and He will guide us into all truth, and the Bible is the very best commentary on the Bible.  So needing an understanding beyond my small interpretation, the Lord showed me why in (1 Corinthians 9:19-23 ESV).

“For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

I always look for the application to my life; I am without a doubt very conservative in all aspects of life, and I need to put what is most important first, the souls of my neighbors, business associates, my family, and friends, before my views on a political stance.  That is what Paul is doing in this Scripture, he is not becoming like them, but he is identifying with where they are in order to share Christ.  My pastor, Ray Still, is such a man that to him your end result of choosing heaven or hell is what’s important.  As I said earlier, our goal is to become as Paul, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”  So Paul did not circumcise Timothy to make him more acceptable to God, but to the Jewish people, and the reason was to share with them the blessing of knowing Christ.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice