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The Amish Voice 4
When Lloyd C. Douglas, author of The Robe and other novels,
was a university student, he lived in a boarding house, says Max-
ie Dunnam in Jesus’ Claims—Our Promises. Downstairs on the
first floor was an elderly, retired music teacher, now infirm and
unable to leave the apartment.
Douglas said that every morning they had a ritual they would
go through together. He would come down the steps, open the old
man’s door, and ask, “Well, what’s the good news?”
The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of
his wheelchair, and say, “That’s Middle C! It was middle C yes-
terday; it will be middle C tomorrow; it will be middle C a thou-
sand years from now. The tenor upstairs sings flat, the piano
across the hall is out of tune, but my friend, that is middle C!
The old man had discovered one thing upon which he could
depend, one constant reality in his life, one “still point in a turn-
ing world”
(Craig B. Larson, editor.
Illustrations for Preaching
& Teaching
, p.27.)
We live in a world filled with a variety of noises. But, there is still
only one ‘middle C,’ only one gospel of Jesus Christ. Make certain that
your song is in tune with Him!
A CLOSER LOOK
(2:3-5)
Judaizers—Legalists
: these were Jews who professed Christ
but still hung on to their Judaistic religion, in particular to the rite of
circumcision and to the law of Moses (see Ac.5:1-35, esp. 1, 24-29).
They believed a man became a Christian...
by first becoming a Jew. The man was to embrace Judaism
with all its rituals and ceremonies, be circumcised, begin to
obey the laws of Moses, and…
then the man could accept Christ as his Savior.
In the mind of the circumcised, Christianity was a mixture of Juda-
ism and the teachings of Christ. The law was just as important as
Christ and Christ was no more important than the law. They failed to
grasp…
that Christ was the fulfillment of the law.
that Christ had kept the law perfectly, thereby becoming the
Ideal Man, the Perfect Pattern of what every man should be.
that Christ was not only the embodiment of the law, but so
much more—the very embodiment of God Himself, the Ideal
Man, the Perfect Pattern to whom
all men
were to look for
their salvation and standard.
that Christ, as the Son of God and as the Ideal Man and the
Perfect Pattern, was the One to whom
all men
were now to
look and obey.
Some Jews were impressed with Christ and professed Him, but
they were never able to understand or else were unwilling to accept
Christ as the fulfillment of the law and as the Savior of all men.
Therefore, they never turned to Christ alone, never broke away from...
their legalistic religion.
requiring men (Gentiles) to become Jews before they could
become Christians.
This was the great battle the church had to fight in its beginning. It
was the great problem that faced God: how to break the church away
from its Judaistic roots and away from excluding and shutting out the
other people of the world (Gentiles). This had always been the prob-
lem of the Jews—the problem of keeping the Gentiles away from God
and the glorious salvation He had planned for
all men
. Now, since
Christ had come, God had to lead the early church away from the
Judaistic approach, away from making a man become a Jew before he
could accept Christ. This just was not the will of God, for God had
sent Christ into the world to save
all men
, not just the Jews. The mes-
sage had to be carried to all. He had to break the early Jewish believ-
ers away from their legalism, away from their...
making distinctions between themselves and others
making others become religionists before accepting Christ
discriminating against others
building barriers and walls for others to cross (legalistic
rules)
being separatists and being divisive
being a people of prejudice and bigotry
However, note this: all through the history of the church, extend-
ing from the early church up to the present time, there have been
some who have refused to follow Christ
alone
. They have laid the
burden of the law and ritual and ceremony (legalism, becoming a reli-
gionist, a Jew) upon people. In the past such people were known as
the circumcision
or the Judaizers; in modern times they are known as
religionists or legalists .
“And certain men which came down from Judaea taught
the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised [undergo a
ritual] after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be
saved” (Ac.15:1).
4. HE DEFENDED THE GOSPEL BEFORE ANY AND ALL
PERSONS (v.6).
The false brothers were saying that Paul should not be followed, for
he was not a true minister. His call was not equal to the apostles of
Christ: he had never been an associate of Jesus Christ nor of the other
leaders of the church. How then could he be a true minister of God?
He did not have the right credentials or education, and he was not an
associate of the right leaders.
Bluntly, Paul declared the piercing truth:
God accepts no man’s person; God shows no partiality.
No man, not even a man of reputation, can add anything to
another man’s call or to the gospel. God is the creator of the
QUESTIONS:
1. If you saw a modern Judaizer walking down the road, what
would he or she look like?
2. What would have happened to the church if the doctrines of
the Judaizers had been adopted by Paul?
3. What would happen to your church if the doctrines of the
Judaizers were adopted?
QUESTIONS:
1. What kind of
baggage
(old habits, customs, traditions, etc)
do new believers bring into their new lives with Christ?
2. As you examine your life, do you need to check any of the
above baggage at the door? If so, what things have you
added to the gospel?
3. What is the end result of a gospel that is not founded upon
grace and faith?