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Categories: ReasonTheology

Twisting His Word

An example of ‘twisting’ His Word:

Look at the picture and how it’s used to justify ‘law keeping’.
Is this so?

Well, they didn’t quote the rest of the chapter to understand what’s happening:

1) Firstly, the idea below came from “men” (Jewish believers to ‘please the Jews’):

Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.” (Acts 21:24)

2) Well, Paul did it to ‘please the Jews’ (since Paul mentioned elsewhere that ‘he became all things to all men to win some of them‘ in 1 Corinthians 9:22)

Also, that rites/ritual was only temporal (having an “end”) as the verse below declares (it in “no” way proves Paul was keeping the ritualistic-law all his life):

The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.” (Acts 21:26)

You cannot take a particular “temporal” ritual which Paul observed for the “sake of the Jews” (following “their advice” and “not” by his own will absolutely) to prove obedience to “all”-ritualistic Law (a flawed argument).

3) As for the “Gentile believers”, verse 25 below does “not” say that “they ought to do the same” but rather only need to observe the few ritualistic-parts-of-the-Law as written below (no adding/removing from His Holy Word):

As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 21:25)

Hence, as you may read, verse 25 above (for the Gentiles) was written in “comparison against” verse 24 (for those Jewish believers) which further proves that the “Gentiles” certainly do “not” even need to indulge in this “Jew-pleasing” exercise.

4) Here’s the ‘reason’ why Paul embarked to undertake this ‘temporal’ ritualistic act as persuaded by some Jewish believers:

They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come,” (Acts 21:21 – 22)

The ‘accusation’ above is true since elsewhere we find that Paul did teach (in truth) that the circumcision is “not” to be observed as the verse below implies this meaning:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6)

5) You see, I can’t quote the verses just by itself and claim that the Bible teaches that. For example, if I just quote the verse below by itself, it implies the meaning that “without circumcision one cannot be saved” (which even you know is ‘false’ when you read it together with other verses —> that’s how your fallacious argument sounds by just quoting Acts 21:24):

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.”.” (Acts 15:1)

6) Lastly, and another ‘yes’ to the Bible teaching that under the New Testament/Covenant , there is “no” keeping the ritualistic-“Law of Moses” (as implied by the verse below):

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”.” (Acts 15:5)

You sound like “those believing-Pharisees” who spoke the ‘false’ claim as recorded in Acts 15:5 above.

7) The Answer

Clue: This issue of which parts of the “Law of Moses” is to be ‘observed’ by the Gentiles following the confusion by statements in Acts 15:1 and Acts 15:5 has been “resolved” in Acts 15:22 – 29 with the following “conclusion only” (note that “no” Sabbaths, tithes, circumcision etc are to be observed in any way):

You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” (Acts 15:29)

This conclusion above has been ‘endorsed by the apostles & elders’:

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.” (Acts 15:22 – 23)

and ‘most’ importantly by “His Holy Spirit” (be careful if you teach ‘contrary’ to this by all those ‘twisting talks’ –> don’t re-open a ‘closed/resolved’ issue insulting Him):

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:” (Acts 15:28)

More than this, you might find yourself fighting against what the Holy Spirit of God has endorsed.

End.

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Anonymous Christian

Jonathan Ramachandran is founder at AnonymousChristian.org which serves as a Christian Blog discussing the Greater Hope of Biblical Christian in Christ Alone. He is also an IMO (International Math Coach) and a featuring Guitarist for many bands.

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