Inner vs Outer (Acts 15)
12:30 PM
The
world looks for proof that we are a Christian. Perhaps we ourselves get caught
up in feeling that we should prove we are a Christian as well. Sadly, many
churches today put way too much emphasis on ceremonies and outward signs or
religious mandates which have their congregations putting check marks next to
“things” that outwardly show just how Christian or spiritual they are. In Acts
15, this very thing was happening. “Certain people came down from
Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised,
according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”” (v1)
Why
would they do this? Well, perhaps their intentions were not to give false
information. You have to remember that circumcision was a very important part
of the Jewish belief system and was commanded by God as a sign of the covenant
he made with Abraham. (Genesis 17:10-11). It was also made part of the law of
Moses. (Leviticus 12:3) But, good intentions or not, this concerned Paul and
Barnabus very much because they saw the potential harm of such requirements
being put on the newly converted Gentile nation. What was the harm? That
performance and outer signs would become a focus and not the saving blood of
Jesus Christ.
Paul
still had great respect for God’s Law but Paul had a new understanding of
circumcision and the requirements of the Law. He knew that Jesus had
fulfilled the Law. Circumcision done outwardly was just that, an outward sign.
God was more interested in a circumcision of the heart. In fact, a circumcision
of the heart was mentioned in the OT:
“Moreover,
the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants,
to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order
that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:6
The
circumcision of the flesh was an operation performed by a Jewish “mohel”.
Circumcision of the heart was an operation also but a spiritual one
performed by the Holy Spirit through Christ.
Paul wrote about this to the
church of Colossians:
“For
in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you
have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human
hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised
by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also
raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from
the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your
flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having
canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and
condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:9-15)
God
doesn’t care about how Christian we look, or outwardly give show of. He doesn’t
care about our ceremonies and rituals. He doesn’t care how many times we attend
Sunday School or church or how much money we put in the offering plate. None of
that matters to Him if it comes from obligation or to prove to others we are a
good Christian. What God cares about is that we have submitted to His will and
allowed Him to circumcise our heart. From the change within our heart will come
the fruit of true spiritual investment into the lives of others. That personal
relationship with Christ may result in our regular worship and time in His
Word, or in giving of our resources to others but it will be for the right
reasons. If you are going to “check off” something, let it be the
motives of your heart. What we do should not be for the approval of others but
for the approval of God.
Paul also wrote about this in Romans:
“A
person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely
outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written
code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.” (Romans 2:28-29)
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