On Fri, 3 Nov 1995 YYYYYYYY wrote:
question:
In Acts 21:18-26 James and the Jews who believe both keep
the Law and make offerings for purification.
What value
is the Cross if the Law and offerings must continue?
I am personally convinced that the actions in Act 21 do NOT imply that
James & Co. believed that the Law 'had to be kept'...the context of the
passage was about 'keeping the peace' within Jerusalem...for Jewish
Christians to keep the Law (having learned that it was BOTH insufficient
for salvation--Galatians; AND that it was a wonderful memorial to the
Christ--Book of Hebrews) it would have been NOT a matter of 'earning
salvation apart from the Cross' but a way to celebrate the OT Messiah
(like we do in the Lord's supper) and a way to 'relate to' the
traditional Jews--like Paul's statement in I Cor 9:20--for evangelism
purposes.
So, I don't think it was seen as 'necessary' to be right with God--OR the
message to the Gentiles would HAVE HAD to HAVE BEEN different altogether!
Some
say for the Jews the Law must always be keep.
I don't agree with them whoever they are...Paul says in I Cor 9:20
sometimes he was 'under the Law', sometimes Not--depending on who he was
trying to reach...in NO cases did he believe justification came by the
Law (Galatians)...
Was James
wrong in keeping the Law?
probably not, for the peace-keeping and evangelism reasons above...
Many Jewish Christians today
still keep the Law; can you be a Christian and still
believe the Law is necessary?
Not necessary for salvation...maybe, necessary to your evangelistic
field...but NOT necessary for salvation..."By the works of the Law shall
no flesh be justified"...the issue is trust...what is being trusted as
the means to God--The Cross, or the CROSS plus Something! The Law (some
of the traditions at least--e.g. Passover celebration is beautiful picture
of Christ) can be very helpful to a believer...but if one is depending on
the Law (their obedience to it), they are 'cut off from grace' (Gal.)
[Also remember that the Law STILL has its function to show the world that we cannot achieve perfection AT ALL--I Timothy 1:8ff.] hope this helps...glenn