The Direction of God

Acts 15: 1-5

“1 Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. 3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.[a] 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”

There were people in the early Church who thought that salvation was not through faith in Christ alone, but through the Jewish religion first, then through faith. They thought that salvation was reserved for the chosen people, the Jews.  They could not accept the fact that God was offering salvation to all of humanity and this was His intention from the beginning. 

Paul and Barnabas argued against these “Judaizers” based on what they had experienced and seen on their missionary journey.  They had witnessed, first hand, Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit in response to the gospel.  God was truly moving among the Gentiles in the same way that he was moving among the Jews.

It is easy to think we have God figured out.  Many people say, “The Church has always done it this way.  If it was good enough for my ancestors it is good enough for me.”  By taking this position, we are taking the position of the Judaizers in the early church, and we may actually walk in a different direction than God is leading.

As we read Acts, we find that Paul, in his travels and ministry, always listened to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit guided him to the places that he went, in the actions he took, and in the words that he spoke.  

Because of this,  Paul was always walking in the direction of God, doing what God wanted him to do.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)