Perhaps We Are Too Hard on the Judaisers – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 23

September 7, 2021 By admin

WEBCAST –

Dear RCF Sisters and Brothers,

Do you know that both Jews and Muslims practice circumcision as a sign of their being in a covenant relationship with God? That’s right…even the Muslims who are now controlling Afghanistan. Both groups look back in history to their common ancestor, Father Abraham, and hold firmly to God’s covenant with him in Genesis 17:9-14. This covenant states that Abraham’s descendants must practice circumcision as an outward sign of being his children.

“Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.

For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner — those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Genesis 17:9-14

Both the Jews and Muslims believe that their ongoing, generational existence is dependent upon the practice of circumcision as the first and foremost act of obedience to God. Therefore, if you are a modern Muslim or were a devout Jew in the mid-first century AD you would take circumcision as a life and death issue. Following circumcision, a person must also scrupulously follow all of God’s laws to remain in His favor. No wonder many devout Jews who came to Christ in the first eighteen years after His resurrection believed that even Gentiles who believed in Jesus also must undergo circumcision and keep the Mosaic Law.

It is easy for us to criticize the Judaisers who argued that Gentiles who came to Christ must be circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law, but they were only holding fast and faithfully to what they had been taught and what the Scriptures declared. It is very possible that you or I would have promoted that position if we lived in Judea in 48 AD.

Join us this Sunday morning as we continue in the theme To The Remotest Part of the Earth, and our Discussion Bible Study in the History of the Early Church. Please prepare by reading the entirety of Acts 15. This week we will examine and discuss it with the title A Church “Council” Answers “The Gentile Question”.

Attached is an outline (in two sizes) of the text we will be focusing upon this Sunday morning. Please print it ahead of time, as it will help you take part in the discussion. We will also have copies when we gather on Sunday morning.

Here is the Table Discussion Question for Sunday:

What arguments might the Judaisers put forth to support their position that Gentiles who trust in Jesus also have to follow the Old Testament Law to be saved?

In this series we have already discussed the following texts and topics:

The New Era Begins: Acts 1:12-2:21
Who is to Blame for Good Friday?: Acts 2:22-23
The New Community Begins: Acts 2:24-47
The First Official Pushback Is Pushed Back: Acts 3
The First Official Pushback Is Pushed Back – Part 2: Acts 4
God Elevates His Purity and His Principals: Acts 5:1-11
God Elevates His Purity and His Principals – Part 2: Acts 5:12 – 6:7
The Spark That Ignited The Flames of Persecution – Part 1: Acts 6:8 – 7:43
The Spark That Ignited The Flames of Persecution – Part 2: Acts 7:44 – 8:3
The New Community’s Pearl Harbor: Acts 8:1-25
Going Global: Taking The New Community International: Acts 8:26-40
Going Global: Taking The New Community International: Acts 9:1-25
Not “E Pluribus Unum”, But “Nos, Et Nos Nos”: Acts 9:26-31
The Border Crisis: God’s Path For Foreigners To Become Citizens: Acts 9:32-10:33
The Border Crisis: God’s Path For Foreigners To Become Citizens – Part 2: Acts 10:34-11:30
Uncivil Rest – Part 1: Acts 12:1-17
Uncivil Rest – Part 2: Acts 12:18-25
How The West Was Won…To Christ: Acts 13
How The West Was Won…To Christ – Part 2: Acts 13
How The Gospel Was Almost Lost…From Grace – Part 1: Galatians
How The Gospel Was Almost Lost…From Grace – Part 2: Galatians
The Gentile Question” Must Be Answered: Acts 15 & Galatians

We hope that you will join us in person or online this Sunday morning at Bay Lodge at 9:00 am!

We love you all!
Jim and Jenny

The Acts of the Apostles, Part 23 – Outline (PDF)

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Faith Without Works Is… – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 34

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Calling All Women! – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 27

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Everyday People – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 24

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Perhaps We Are Too Hard on the Judaisers – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 23

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Are We Children of God, or Servants? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 22

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Solving the Second Major Issue – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 21

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The First Internal Controversy – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 20

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According To His Will – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 18

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Small Decisions Change the World – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 17

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How the West Was Won – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 16

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Uncivil Rest -Acts of the Apostles Pt. 15

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Tear Down That Wall! – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 13

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Not “E Pluribus Unum” – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 12

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Saul Sees the Light – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 11

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Going Global – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 10

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You Meant It for Evil – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 9

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They All Lived Happily Ever After? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 8

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It Only Takes a Spark… – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 7

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A Lot On Their Shoulders – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 6

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What Could Possibly Go Worng? – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 5

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Defending Their Turf – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 4

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The First Pushback is Pushed Back – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 3

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The New Community Begins – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 2

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A New Era Begins – Acts of the Apostles Pt. 1

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“He Descended Into Hell” Conclusion – March 14, 2021

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“He Descended Into Hell” Part 4 – March 7, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters, My Dad had a saying about a person who explained things in far too much detail. He described such a person this way – “If you ask him what time it is he’d tell you how to build a watch.” I’m afraid that I might be guilty of that in seeking to understand […]

“He Descended into Hell” Part 3 – February 28, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters, When I was in my mid-20’s I was taught to study and interpret the Bible by Tom Brown. He would admonish his students NOT to use Bible commentaries or other books, but rather to use the Bible itself as THE main resource to interpret and understand itself. He told us that if we went to […]

“He Descended into Hell” Part 2 – February, 21, 2021

Dear RCF brothers and sisters, We are continuing with our discussion Bible Study tomorrow morning, February 21st, about the mystery of what Jesus did between His death and resurrection. The Apostles’ Creed states that “He descended into hell”, but did He? If so, why? If not, then what did He do during those hours? Last week we looked at the key words used in the Scriptures […]

“He Descended into Hell” Part 1 – February 14, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, A number of weeks ago the question was asked in our discussion Bible study about where Jesus went after His death on the cross and before His resurrection. Specifically, did He “descend into hell” like the Apostles’ Creed states? We will be addressing and answering that question this Sunday, February 14th, and likely for the […]

The End of the Beginning – February 7, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, In this final section of The Harmony of the Gospels Jesus gives His disciples their final instructions for a worldwide ministry before He returns to heaven. This was not merely a matter of information, but revelation. Whatever type of spiritual veil they had over their minds which prevented them from understanding His mission […]

You Say You Want a Revolution? – January 31, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Jesus’ transformation of humanity was never intended to end at the completion of His thirty-three year life. The plan which was conceived in eternity prior to the creation of the universe was always that Jesus would come to earth and provide the complete means of mankind’s redemption. He did that first by […]

You Could Cut Their Fear With a Knife – January 24, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, After Jesus was crucified and buried, it was reasonable for Jesus’ closest male disciples to fear that the Jewish leaders might arrest and prosecute them. If that happened they could be crucified as well. The Sabbath which began at the time of Jesus’ burial gave them 24 hours of potential relief […]

Fearful and Flummoxed – January 17, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, When Jesus was crucified and died, the hopes of the multitudes who thought that He was going to redeem Israel from Roman rule were dashed. Thursday evening’s Passover was celebrated with expectancy as many Jews believed that Jesus was about to set them free, just as Moses did for their ancestors […]

“Perhaps We Were Wrong About Jesus the Nazarene?” – January 10, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Compared to Jesus’ public ministry the past three years, His arrest and trials were witnessed by comparatively few people. Many of those who observed what was happening to Jesus during and after His arrest, such as the Roman officials and soldiers, had only modest personal interest in the proceedings. The huge […]

He is Brought Before Pilate – January 3, 2021

Dear Sisters and Brothers, This coming Sunday, January 3, 2021, we will begin the new year by focussing on Our Lord’s final trial, condemnation, suffering, and death in our discussion Bible study. We will end our time together by reflecting upon these events in the manner He instructed His disciples to, by having “The Lord’s Table”. Therefore, please […]

The Battle Ahead – December 20, 2020

Dear Friends, Two Sundays ago we saw how people, without even knowing it, can try to derail God’s plans. Since before the world was created God had planned that His Son would die as the Passover Lamb Who would rescue people from their bondage to sin and its penalty. God’s timeline was in jeopardy until […]

Final Instructions – December 6, 2020

Dear Friends, If you knew that you only had only hours to live, it is likely that you would want to tell the most important people in your life the most important information they needed to know. That is true regarding Jesus’ final evening with His chosen apostles. During that final Passover evening Jesus communicated […]

The Die Is Cast – November 29, 2020

Dear Friends, Sometimes you just have to just move on. Differences and tensions that you have experienced with others for a long time have not improved despite your best efforts to explain your perspective and position. In fact, despite your best efforts and explanations over time the more entrenched others have become and the die is […]

There is No Convincing Some People! – November 22, 2020

Dear Friends, The current political division in the United States demonstrates that it is nearly impossible to convince people that their views may be wrong. Because their minds are so entrenched that they are right they could never even consider that they might be wrong. That was certainly the case with the religious leaders of […]

The Breach Becomes a Breaking Point – November 8, 2020

Dear Friends, In our discussion Bible study last Sunday we saw Jesus send three more “miracle-bombs” into Jerusalem just prior to His final entry into Jerusalem to get those in the capitol city to believe in Him as their long-promised Messiah. “Miracle-bombs” are notable public miracles which Jesus did outside of Jerusalem which had an enormous impact within the city of […]

The Lord’s Supper and “Harmony” – November 1, 2020

Dear Friends, There are three important happenings at RCF which you need to know about for this Sunday, November 1st. 1. Daylight Savings Time – Remember to move your clocks back. If you don’t stay up later than normal on Saturday you get an extra hour sleep! 2. The Lord’s Supper – We will be beginning our time together commemorating Our Lord’s sacrifice […]

Dropping “Miracle Bombs” in Jerusalem – October 25, 2020

Dear Friends, If you wanted to change a major policy in our nation today, there are two ways you could go about it. One way would be to travel widely and speak throughout the fifty states to get a majority of people to agree with your ideas. A second way would be to travel only […]

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Every Sunday