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.” [acts 15:1]
imagine thousands of years of tradition, thousands of years of a certain way of living, thousands of years of a certain way of thinking, suddenly changed. a whole nation with their minds now blown as the true purpose of the law is slowly unfolded, they begin to realize it has been fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of nazareth. the promised Messiah has come, and a brand new covenant begins through his blood.
in this verse, these men are not identified as true believers, but as we read on in chapter 15, we will see that this belief in the necessity of circumcision and continuing to follow the laws of moses was a common misconception even among true believers.
i can identify with this pull to hold tradition on the same level as gospel truth. born and raised in very liturgical and rhythmic church tradition, i can easily look at these things as the means to identify a true believer. i can be easily tempted to add them to the blood of Christ as necessary for salvation.
obviously there is nothing wrong with liturgy. there is so much beauty in many church traditions that link us to the saints of the past. good works are good! many of them are even important in reminding us of what Christ has done. but that’s exactly what they are, shadows of the beauty of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. and for these early believers, that is the purpose the law of moses now served, a shadow of what Jesus Christ had fulfilled. he did not abolish the law, it had been fulfilled in him! external circumcision was only trying to continue fulfilling what Jesus had fulfilled!
so as believers today, we must ask ourselves the same question. are we trying to do the work that Christ has already done? are we trying to bridge the chasm between Holy God and sinful self with traditions, good works, or mere discipline? this striving is futile. only resting in the cross of Christ will bring peace between man and his Maker. Jesus invites those who are stuck in this futile striving to come and rest in him.
come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and i will give you rest. take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for i am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [matthew 11:28-30]
Jesus’ yoke is easy and his burden is light because he has already done all the work for salvation. all of it. we can now rest in his work and stop striving to earn our place in God’s eyes. we can add nothing to his work. not circumcision, not tradition, not looking a certain way spiritually.
the writer of hebrews tells us that striving to earn our salvation is actually what keeps us from salvation. here is how he puts it…
so then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. [hebrews 4:9-11]
again, only resting in the cross of Christ will bring peace between man and his Maker. and only resting in the cross of Christ will bring about true obedience. do we strive to obey? yes. does this obedience save us? no. Jesus saves us. come to him and find rest.
~arwen eastman