Judaizers (again)

When Jesus ascended to Heaven and very shortly thereafter the Holy Spirit descended onto the members of the early Church at Pentecost, the battle really heated up.  And, truly, Satan's opposition to the Church, with its gospel message of "salvation by grace through faith" has never abated.

The best information we have in the New Testament about the Judaizers comes from the book of Galatians, where the battle for the soul of the Church ran especially hot.  Note that Judaizers were also soundly renounced by early Church leaders in Acts 15 at the Council of Jerusalem, in the church of Colosse (Colossians 2:16-17), in the very carnal Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 7) and in the church at Rome (Romans 14:5).

The Galatians were a Gentile people who loved Jesus Christ and wanted to walk in obedience to Him. They had, however, been deceived by Judaizers who, I do honestly believe, were sincere (although sincerely wrong).  Look at what Paul says (5:2-3) about the Galatians trusting in circumcision to make themselves right with God (that is, work to earn their own salvation).

2-3 I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ’s hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law.

Galatians 5:2-3 The Message version

Yesterday, a customer called the pie shop and RAVED about our apple pie, declaring it to be the best double-crust pie he had ever tasted.  He exclaimed that there was "no going back" for him.

What the Galatians were doing was submitting to, allowing themselves to be enslaved by, an old covenant.  They had chosen to remove themselves from the path of grace through Christ and to pursue achieving their own holiness through enslaving themselves again to the Law (5:4).

Jesus Christ established a new covenant through His blood.  He IS God's new covenant with His people!  How do I know this?  Where is the "proof"?  Let's examine the Scriptures.  You are expecting a NT reference, aren't you?  No, we must go all the way back to Jeremiah 31:31-34 (ESV).

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

I can hear some of you now - - "This was meant just for the Jews, the chosen people, and will be fulfilled in the last days."  Yes, while God WILL restore the Jews to Himself in the last days Jesus Christ made it clear that HE is the fulfillment of this scripture passage, and He did it at the last meal He shared with His disciples.  Luke 22:20 (ESV) - - -

17And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Jesus Christ's blood, poured out for us, established and sealed God's new covenant relationship with people, those people willing to enter into covenant relationship with Him, the Father God, through the Son, Jesus Christ.  This offer is for ALL people who are willing - - Jew or Gentile.  If the Luke passage is not clear enough for you, consider Hebrews 9:15 (ESV), which is quite emphatic.

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Does this mean that circumcising our male children is wrong?  Or, that observing Jewish feast days and customs is wrong?  Only if you are depending on them to achieve your own righteousness with God.  NO.GOING.BACK.

I have Christian friends and loved ones with Jewish heritage as well as those without it.  Regardless of bloodline, they choose to honor Jesus Christ by observing the Jewish feast days, because they see Him so beautifully represented in Old Testament practices.  But, they do NOT depend on their observances for their salvation.  They submit to various parts of Jewish law out of love for their Savior, while serving God from a circumcised HEART: a heart which covenants with God through faith in Jesus Christ, a faith is expressed in love (Galatians 5:6, Romans 2:29).

So, that is what Paul had battled in Galatia.  We are currently studying the book of Titus, where Paul had become aware of Judaizers similar to those in Galatia. Today's text is 1:10-16 - -

10For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.16They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

Titus 1:10-16 (NASB)

Again, Judaizers were often referred to as "those of the circumcision" because they held circumcision as the centerpiece of their religious practice/proselytizing.
Judaizers professed to understand the heart of God revealed through the Old Testament, but in practice were entangled with all sorts of non-Mosaic "add-ons" - - Jewish traditions that had been tacked on through the centuries since salvation "by faith" was established with Abraham and from which they were seemingly unable to (or unwilling to) escape from.  (You may recall Jesus debunked several of these during his earthly ministry; we find such in the gospel accounts.)

In summary, let's remind ourselves of this over-arching truth from Romans 7:

But now we have been exempted from The Written Law, and we are dead to that which had controlled us, so that we shall serve from now on in the newness of The Spirit and not in the Old Order Scriptures.

Romans 7:6 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

Gettin' Hitched...or Not?

Good morning,

Did you wake up this morning, just grateful for another beautiful day?  I think that the older we saints become, the more likely we are to develop gratitude for the blessing of another day in which to love and serve King Jesus.  Don't get me wrong - - there are plenty of times that gratitude leaves my building.  But, the morning is my favorite time of day, when the day is new and full of possibilities.

A new marriage is like that, full of possibilities.  Last night, I sat down and watched the one-hour Duck Dynasty special about Korie and Willie's son, John-Luke, getting married.  He and his new bride were 19 at the time, as I recall.  It was precious to hear the various Robertson couples reminisce on their own marriages and what they found precious about their years together.

Well, today's passage is 1 Corinthians 7.  Apparently, the Corinthians had sent a letter to Paul and it was this that, in part, prompted him to write 1 Corinthians.  The congregation must have posed several questions. First of all, they were uncertain what to do about the various problems resulting from pagans becoming Christians and the effect such a cataclysmic change was having on family structure.  I invite you to go read chapter 7 in its entirety, because I'm not going to reprint it in full here.

There are a couple of factors in play in chapter 7, as Paul begins to deal with the Corinthians' questions, the first being about marriage.  The first to keep in mind is this:  Paul is answering their specific questions about marriage.  He is not laying out a complete treatise on marriage.  When considering a topic such as this, it is important to determine what the rest of scripture says on the subject, particularly the New Testament and the words of Jesus on the matter.  The second is this: Paul's advice was, by his own admission, tempered by the Corinthians' circumstances, namely that they were perhaps living in the "last days", with Jesus' return being imminent.  This was a prevalent belief in those days, and rightly so. We all ought to live our lives as if Jesus was going to return tomorrow.  The Corinthians were also living in an environment/culture very hostile to their faith.  It was a precarious time for a young family.

So, in looking more closely about what Paul actually said, he was speaking to three separate groups of people:  the Christians married to Christians, the Christians married to non-Christians and the unmarried Christians.  Let's take these one by one.

1.  The Single Christian and Celibacy (vs. 9, 25-40)
     A.  Paul had the gift of celibacy.  However, while he believed that he could do more for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and the spreading of the gospel by remaining celibate, he did not exalt celibacy over marriage.  In fact, he said that it is better to marry than to claim celibacy and be eaten up with lust for a spouse.  He cautioned the unmarried folk, though, to count the cost of marriage, and he is not talking about merely the financial.  Marriage isn't easy, under ideal circumstances (what are those, anyway?!)  People should consider whether it is better to dwell in singleness and draw near to God in the loneliness that sometimes accompanies that state; or, to marry and face the possibility of a lifetime of misery, drawing near to God under those circumstances.
      B.  Fathers and Virgin (Unmarried) Daughters (vs. 36-38)
In those days, in that culture, the families, usually the Daddy, arranged his daughter's marriage. Fathers were wondering whether they should "marry off" their daughters.  Paul gave fathers the freedom to use their good judgment in such matters.  Neither decision was right for every one of these circumstances.
      C.  Widows and Widowers (vs. 39-40)
If a person's spouse died, could they remarry?  Paul's answer was "yes", but that they should marry only another Christian, not an unbeliever.  And, it would be best, in his opinion, if they remained a singleton.

2.  Christian married to Christian (vs. 10-11)
Stay married.  Don't divorce under some pretense that celibacy is better or more holy.  It's not.  If you feel that you absolutely must separate for a time, or divorce, don't marry someone else.  Either live singly or be reconciled to your spouse.

3.  Christian married to non-Christian (vs. 12-16)
This situation would come about when one partner converted to Christianity, but the other did not. Paul's instructions were to stay married.  By the life testimony of the Christian, the non-Christian could be won to Christ and their children could come to know Christ as well.  This is not a guarantee, of course, but a strong possibility.  Paul did say that if the marriage became intolerable, the unbelieving spouse could be released.  The implicit message there is that the Christian spouse would remain single.

Overall, Paul makes two overarching points:
1.  He asks each Christian to consider his or her calling.
Some are called by God to ministries that do not lend themselves well to marriage.  Warren Wiersbe points out the fact of history that perhaps John Wesley and George Whitefield, both prominent theologians of the 18th century, would have been better suited to a life of singleness/celibacy. Wesley's wife left him, and Whitefield traveled so much that his wife was left alone for long periods of time.1
2.  He recommends that, wherever possible, married couples remain intact.

How does 1 Corinthians 7 "jive" with the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 19:1-12?2
1.  The first point Jesus makes unequivocally is to echo Genesis 2:24 - - emphasizing that marriage is to be between one man and one woman.  (When I was young, I could not understand why it was necessary to emphasize this, as it seemed like a foregone conclusion.  Now, in this present day of illicit sex and rampant sexual immorality, it truly resonates.)
2.  Second, Jesus emphasizes that God does not like divorce, but He permits it in the case of sexual immorality (ongoing, unrepentant adultery) on the part of one of the spouses.  God's desire, however, is that there be one marriage and that it last for life.
3.  Jesus then says that if a person has been released from marriage because of his or her adultery, no one is to enter into a second marriage with that adulterous person.  Those are to remain single.  He also, like Paul, emphasizes that there are some who are called to a life of singleness.
4.  When Jesus was teaching on this, many in his audience might have been getting puffed up with a sense of pride.  Then, Jesus drives the dagger home.  He states that "heart adultery" is just as bad as committing the physical act.  He points out that adultery begins in the heart, in the emotions, and very often through the eyes.  That is why this is often called "lust of the eyes".  We see another person, and in our hearts, we desire them for our own purposes.  This is why pornography is so destructive.  It is adultery, and it tears relationships apart.

As I blog about this, I am overwhelmed with sadness, reflecting on how far our modern, American society has deviated from God's standard.  There are so many, many destructive phenomena at work --- things the devil has used to destroy this once-great country.  One of them is the abortion holocaust. If sex was only exercised within the boundaries of Christian marriages, over 55 million murders would not have been committed.  The "breakdown of the American family" has been absolutely devastating.

Oh Believers!  We do not help our fellowmen/women by failing to speak the truth in love on matters of the God-ordained family and God's purposes for sexual unions.  It is not kind or loving to sanction unions that God forbids.  We are not called to be mean or hurtful.  But, we are called to sometimes exercise "tough love", to put our arms around our fellow man and say, "Beloved, this behavior is hurting you.  Leave it behind, and turn to God."

Father, like me, many Christians have been impacted to varying degrees by the destructive misuse of sex in their relationships.  This precious gift and the institution of marriage have been so perverted by Satan, in his efforts to destroy the Church.  Oh Father, please help us!  Guard our marriages and deliver us from the evil that so pervades our society today.  Help our children to choose their forever mates wisely.  Please give them an extra helping of Your wisdom.  Please raise up more and more godly families who are on fire to serve You, to be Your light, shining resplendently in this very dark world.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:
1  Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. 472-474. Print.
2  http://blogs.christianpost.com/better-than-i-deserve/what-did-jesus-teach-about-marriage-22144/