Acts 21:17-22:21 | Staying True to Christಮಾದರಿ

Anchored in Truth

You can’t help but see the irony.

When Paul comes into Jerusalem, he goes to see James. This is Jesus’s half-brother, and he’s become a foundational leader in the Jerusalem church. Paul no sooner tells him about all the amazing things God had done among the Gentiles than James pleads with him to go to the Temple to play out a purification rite tied to the Numbers 6 Mosaic Nazirite vow. It doesn’t matter that they praise God for Gentiles coming into the Kingdom. It doesn’t matter that in Acts 15, James and these Jerusalem church leaders say the Gentiles don’t need to be burdened by conforming to the requirements of the Mosaic law. James is afraid. He sees the writing on the wall. Jerusalem is a hotbed of Mosaic zeal. From Jews and Jewish Christians alike.

You can almost hear Paul: “This, this, is what we’re going to focus on? People are being saved by the 1000s, and we’re talking about keeping people appeased?” Of course, there’s 1000s of believers in Jerusalem too, and James is looking out for them.

And the word is out on Paul. Though not an accurate word. Paul himself entered into this vow willingly in Acts 18. He has Timothy circumcised in chapter 16. He advocates the Torah throughout his ministry. But rumors are swirling that this Paul, who was once one of us, is now telling Gentiles to turn away from Moses. It’s not true. But since when has that mattered in the court of public opinion? And there’s nothing worse than a traitor.

So Paul defers to James. Paul is, after all, a Jew. So he’ll live like a Jew to win the Jews, and probably to take the heat off Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem. NT Wright comments how you can almost hear Paul repeating his own words to himself under his breath, “Become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22, NIV). Some might call that compromise. And it is. But not a compromise of his loyalty to Jesus.

Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32, CSB).

Staying true to Christ requires knowing his word. You just can’t get around it. If you want to know how to stay true to Christ, you have to know what he says. But it’s not just knowledge—it’s nourishment. His word will feed you and strengthen you when you wonder how to stay true to him. It’s inevitable in life that you’ll be faced with questions and choices where you wonder how to stay true to Christ. When is compromise God-pleasing? When is it not? When does God want you to do what you can to please people? And when does he require hard choices in faithfulness to him? In a world of competing voices and shifting values, God’s word keeps you grounded and free from deception and confusion.

Questions

What voices compete with God’s truth in your life? How do you balance compromise against faithfulness? When does compromise honor Christ, and when does it not?