God has really used Acts 15:19 this week to shake me up. I want to share it with you in several translations so you can fully see what Luke was trying to get across to his reader as he recorded a conversation regarding some religious disagreements.

ESV – “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,”

NIV – “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

God’s Word Translation – “So I’ve decided that we shouldn’t trouble non-Jewish people who are turning to God.”

In this passage, there were some Pharisees, who had become followers of Jesus, trying to make the Jewish Law of circumcision necessary for Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to come to Christ. They wanted to impose their traditional measure of spirituality on those who were coming to faith in Christ even though there was no spiritual value to the practice at all.  There is little doubt these Pharisees were doing so because that was the normal religious practice for them and they probably thought everyone should hold the same view on circumcision they did. They were convinced that it was a godly practice and must be right for everyone.

Peter stood up and made a presentation about why they needed to reconsider their logic. They were wanting to make an issue over something that could potentially create a boundary between the lost and Jesus. He reminded them of where they had been prior to following Christ. He then told them not to let their traditions and personal measure of spirituality hinder anyone from becoming a follower of Jesus. Eventually James stood up and proclaimed that they should be very careful about making it unnecessarily difficult for people to come to Christ. These men were making the case that there was no religious tradition more important than ensuring that the Gospel message was made available to everyone.

As I have meditated on this verse this week I have asked myself, “What have I done or what am I doing that is standing in the way of someone coming to Christ?” That question has caused me to examine almost every move I’ve made this week.

I’ve also asked myself whether or not our church has any religious roadblocks that make it more difficult for people to come to Christ.

God forbid that we would ever put any tradition or preference above the priority of the lost coming to know Christ. God forbid that we would ever be a church that is more concerned with a form of godliness than we are about reaching the godless. God has called us to be united in our goal of reaching the lost by any means possible. To do so, we must constantly examine our methodology and make sure we are not creating or even overlooking roadblocks that stand in the way of the lost coming to Christ.

See you Sunday!

Pastor Marty