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The Big Change - Acts 15
The Big Change Acts 15
But some men 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 the apostles and the elders about this question.”. (Acts 15:1-2).
Even though Paul may be the most famous Pharisee to be converted, he was one of many such Jews that became believers in Jesus. The preaching demanded that people believe certain things that they had not believed before and a corresponding ‘turning of their lives’ (repentance). Conversion is about being renewed in the spirit of our minds (Eph. 4: 23). Such change involves the changing of our minds about ourselves. It is THIS change that makes conversion difficult.
People of the fist century faced many of the same problems we do today. Conversion is a big deal. It often means leaving ideas, customs, friends, and even family. The binding of certain aspects of the covenant that made them the people of God for over 1500 years was a constant problem. We see the difficulty this posed for many of the Jewish people by seeing brought up not only in the book of Acts, but also repeatedly in the letters.
The difficult part of such change is that these thoughts are ‘our thoughts’ that need to be changed. When Paul wrote: “examine yourselves, to see if you are of the faith”, he challenges us to have an honest debate within ourselves. Why do I believe this? Is my thinking process really logical and consistent? Have I made some wrong assumptions that are causing me to now draw wrong conclusions?
This problem has only been complicated by our pluralistic world. IF, as often affirmed today, what I currently believe is ‘the truth’ just because I believe it, then what need is there for such an examination of self? If such thinking is ‘true’ then there is little reason to think anymore. Many don’t.
The other extreme is to be so willing to change that we have no convictions. We are to prove what is right, and hold fast to that which is good. Sometimes we have to change. Sometimes we must not change. Let us pray that we have knowledge enough to know the difference and character enough to accept truth.
Acts 17:11 — 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.".
Hugh DeLong
