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00:01 Now, when you think of it, 00:03 the apostle Paul was a very humble man. 00:06 He was flexible. 00:09 He says: “To the Jews I became as a Jew,” 00:12 and “to those under law I became as under law.” 00:17 But there were limits to Paul’s flexibility, 00:20 and we’re going to talk about that in just a few moments. 00:23 First of all, though, when Paul came down to Jerusalem, 00:27 the elders explained that thousands of Jews had become believers 00:32 and they were all zealous for the Law. 00:35 Now, they’d heard a rumor about Paul. 00:39 They’d heard the rumor that Paul was telling the Jews 00:42 not to circumcise their children, 00:45 and the elders were worried about it. 00:47 They had a plan. 00:49 We read about that plan in Acts chapter 21, 00:53 if you would like to turn there, 00:56 Acts 21:23, 24. 01:06 Here’s their plan: “So do what we tell you: 01:09 “We have four men who have put themselves under a vow. 01:15 “Take these men with you 01:17 “and cleanse yourself ceremonially together with them 01:21 “and take care of their expenses, 01:23 “so that they may have their heads shaved. 01:26 “Then everyone will know that there is nothing 01:29 “to the rumors they were told about you, 01:31 “but that you are walking orderly 01:35 and you are also keeping the Law.” 01:42 Now, it says they have heard a rumor about you, 01:46 that you were telling Jews not to circumcise their children. 01:48 Paul was probably not telling Jews 01:51 not to circumcise their children. 01:54 As has already been mentioned, 01:57 Paul took Timothy and circumcised him 02:00 so as not to stumble the Jews. 02:02 Paul realized that there was nothing wrong 02:06 with circumcision per se. 02:08 It was when people proclaimed that circumcision 02:11 was necessary in order to gain salvation that the problem arose. 02:15 So this was a rumor. 02:17 But some brothers and sisters were willing to believe a rumor 02:21 about a faithful brother rather than to trust Paul. 02:25 Just as today, some believe everything they read in the newspaper 02:29 and they don’t even ask any questions. 02:32 So now here’s the question: 02:35 What were they going to do about it? 02:37 The elders had a suggestion. 02:39 They said: “We have four men who have put themselves under a vow.” 02:44 And they wanted Paul to take these men to the temple 02:47 and pay their expenses. 02:49 Paul agreed. 02:51 Now, that took humility. 02:53 We all know how strongly Paul felt about keeping the Law, 02:58 and yet Paul was willing to see the bigger picture. 03:02 He had strong feelings, but at the same time, 03:05 these Jews were probably new in the truth, 03:08 and Paul wanted to go as far as he could go 03:11 so as not to stumble those new in the truth. 03:15 Now the vow. What was the vow? 03:18 Most scholars agree that the vow 03:21 was probably a Nazarite vow. 03:25 And if it was, that was going to be tricky for Paul. 03:28 Because, you see, Nazarites were required to offer a sin offering 03:33 when their vow came to a completion. 03:35 Now, Paul would never have agreed to that. 03:37 It would have showed— 03:38 It would have shown disrespect for the sacrifice of Christ. 03:42 So Paul and those four men were going to have to be very careful 03:45 about how far they would go in the completion of this vow. 03:50 And we can be sure that they would never do anything 03:52 that would go against their conscience. 03:55 Now, we can see that on this occasion 03:58 Paul went a long way 04:00 so as not to stumble the Jews. 04:03 But on another occasion, 04:05 he refused to cater to the Jews. 04:08 We read about that in Galatians chapter 2. 04:11 Let’s turn there. 04:15 Galatians chapter 2, 04:21 and we’ll read verses 11-14. 04:26 Galatians 2:11-14: 04:30 “However, when Cephas came to Antioch, 04:33 “I resisted him face-to-face, 04:35 “because he was clearly in the wrong. 04:38 “For before certain men from James arrived, 04:42 “he used to eat with people of the nations; 04:44 “but when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself, 04:48 “fearing those of the circumcised class. 04:51 “The rest of the Jews also joined him 04:54 “in putting on this pretense, 04:56 “so that even Barnabas was led along with them in their pretense. 05:00 “But when I saw that they were not walking in step 05:02 “with the truth of the good news, 05:04 “I said to Cephas before them all: 05:07 “‘If you, though you are a Jew, live as the nations do and not as Jews do, 05:11 how can you compel people of the nations to live according to Jewish practice?’” 05:16 So we see what was happening here. 05:19 Up till the time when men from James 05:23 came down to Antioch, 05:25 Peter and Barnabas and the other Jewish Christians 05:29 were happily eating with the Gentiles. 05:32 But now men from James came down, 05:34 and suddenly Peter 05:37 starts to separate himself from the Gentiles. 05:39 And, following his lead, 05:42 other Jewish Christians begin doing the same thing. 05:46 Now, who was probably new in the truth? 05:50 In this case, it was probably the Gentile Christians. 05:53 In Acts 21, it was probably the Jews who were newer in the truth 05:57 and Paul didn’t want to stumble the Jews. 05:59 But at this point, Paul could not be all things to all people. 06:03 He couldn’t please the Jews; 06:06 he couldn’t please the men from James and also please the Gentiles. 06:11 He was either going to have to stumble 06:13 —if you will— the men from James, 06:15 or he was going to have to stumble the Gentiles. 06:18 He had to make a choice. 06:20 And so Paul made his choice. 06:22 And what did he do about it? 06:24 He followed the advice 06:27 that he recorded in this same book of Galatians. 06:30 Can you think of what that was? 06:34 Galatians chapter 6 06:36 —what is it saying? 06:39 “If a man takes a false step before he is aware of it.” 06:43 What did Paul say about Peter? 06:45 He was not walking in step with the good news. 06:49 So Peter was taking a false step. 06:52 “You who have spiritual qualifications,” that would be Paul, 06:56 “try to readjust such a man in a spirit of mildness.” 07:01 And that’s what the apostle Paul did. 07:04 Now, we love to pick on Peter. 07:08 But let’s give the poor man a break. 07:10 Let’s give him credit for what he was doing right. 07:14 This was Antioch. 07:16 Now, what do we know about Antioch? 07:18 It was in Antioch when the whole matter 07:22 of keeping the Law blew up in the first place. 07:25 And who was it who were stirring things up in Antioch? 07:29 It was men from Jerusalem 07:31 —men from James. 07:34 Now, up until this point 07:36 —Peter and Barnabas and the others— they’re happily eating with the Gentiles 07:39 until men from Jerusalem come down 07:43 and start stirring up trouble. 07:46 You kind of think that if they’d stayed home once in a while 07:49 there would have been a lot less trouble in the Christian congregation. 07:52 So Peter was doing the right thing 07:56 up until the men from James came down. 08:00 Now, Peter knew how critical men from James could be 08:04 —or men from Jerusalem could be. 08:07 You might say, he’d seen that movie before 08:10 in 36 C.E., 08:12 just after the conversion of Cornelius. 08:15 Notice a detail at Acts 11:2, 3, 08:22 and this might help us to at least understand Peter’s concern, 08:26 and perhaps misguided effort, 08:29 not to stumble the men from James. 08:31 Acts 11:2, 3: 08:34 “So when Peter came up to Jerusalem,” 08:37 this is in 33 C.E., 08:40 “the supporters of circumcision began to criticize him, saying: 08:44 “‘You went into the house of men who were not circumcised 08:47 and ate with them.’” 08:52 Well, Peter knew how sensitive Jews were 08:55 about eating with the Gentiles, 08:57 but he was moved by the fear of man. 09:00 And the apostle Paul did right 09:03 to reprove him because, after all, 09:07 he was going to have to make a choice: 09:09 You stumble the Jews or you stumble the Gentiles. 09:13 The lesson to take away: 09:16 There are times when you can’t please everyone. 09:19 There are times when you cannot be all things to all people. 09:24 Our young people have to realize that. 09:27 You have to take a stand for what is right 09:29 and let the chips fall where they may. 09:32 Now, you have to appreciate the wisdom 09:35 that Jesus used in selecting Paul 09:37 as an apostle to the nations. 09:40 A note to the elders: 09:42 Paul was flexible. 09:44 He didn’t insist on his own ideas 09:47 even when he felt strongly about a matter, 09:49 and he didn’t create unnecessary issues. 09:53 Paul looked at the big picture. 09:56 What a marvelous example for us. 09:59 And we can say that humble Paul 10:01 was the right man for the job.
00:01 Now, when you think of it, 00:03 the apostle Paul was a very humble man. 00:06 He was flexible. 00:09 He says: “To the Jews I became as a Jew,” 00:12 and “to those under law I became as under law.” 00:17 But there were limits to Paul’s flexibility, 00:20 and we’re going to talk about that in just a few moments. 00:23 First of all, though, when Paul came down to Jerusalem, 00:27 the elders explained that thousands of Jews had become believers 00:32 and they were all zealous for the Law. 00:35 Now, they’d heard a rumor about Paul. 00:39 They’d heard the rumor that Paul was telling the Jews 00:42 not to circumcise their children, 00:45 and the elders were worried about it. 00:47 They had a plan. 00:49 We read about that plan in Acts chapter 21, 00:53 if you would like to turn there, 00:56 Acts 21:23, 24. 01:06 Here’s their plan: “So do what we tell you: 01:09 “We have four men who have put themselves under a vow. 01:15 “Take these men with you 01:17 “and cleanse yourself ceremonially together with them 01:21 “and take care of their expenses, 01:23 “so that they may have their heads shaved. 01:26 “Then everyone will know that there is nothing 01:29 “to the rumors they were told about you, 01:31 “but that you are walking orderly 01:35 and you are also keeping the Law.” 01:42 Now, it says they have heard a rumor about you, 01:46 that you were telling Jews not to circumcise their children. 01:48 Paul was probably not telling Jews 01:51 not to circumcise their children. 01:54 As has already been mentioned, 01:57 Paul took Timothy and circumcised him 02:00 so as not to stumble the Jews. 02:02 Paul realized that there was nothing wrong 02:06 with circumcision per se. 02:08 It was when people proclaimed that circumcision 02:11 was necessary in order to gain salvation that the problem arose. 02:15 So this was a rumor. 02:17 But some brothers and sisters were willing to believe a rumor 02:21 about a faithful brother rather than to trust Paul. 02:25 Just as today, some believe everything they read in the newspaper 02:29 and they don’t even ask any questions. 02:32 So now here’s the question: 02:35 What were they going to do about it? 02:37 The elders had a suggestion. 02:39 They said: “We have four men who have put themselves under a vow.” 02:44 And they wanted Paul to take these men to the temple 02:47 and pay their expenses. 02:49 Paul agreed. 02:51 Now, that took humility. 02:53 We all know how strongly Paul felt about keeping the Law, 02:58 and yet Paul was willing to see the bigger picture. 03:02 He had strong feelings, but at the same time, 03:05 these Jews were probably new in the truth, 03:08 and Paul wanted to go as far as he could go 03:11 so as not to stumble those new in the truth. 03:15 Now the vow. What was the vow? 03:18 Most scholars agree that the vow 03:21 was probably a Nazarite vow. 03:25 And if it was, that was going to be tricky for Paul. 03:28 Because, you see, Nazarites were required to offer a sin offering 03:33 when their vow came to a completion. 03:35 Now, Paul would never have agreed to that. 03:37 It would have showed— 03:38 It would have shown disrespect for the sacrifice of Christ. 03:42 So Paul and those four men were going to have to be very careful 03:45 about how far they would go in the completion of this vow. 03:50 And we can be sure that they would never do anything 03:52 that would go against their conscience. 03:55 Now, we can see that on this occasion 03:58 Paul went a long way 04:00 so as not to stumble the Jews. 04:03 But on another occasion, 04:05 he refused to cater to the Jews. 04:08 We read about that in Galatians chapter 2. 04:11 Let’s turn there. 04:15 Galatians chapter 2, 04:21 and we’ll read verses 11-14. 04:26 Galatians 2:11-14: 04:30 “However, when Cephas came to Antioch, 04:33 “I resisted him face-to-face, 04:35 “because he was clearly in the wrong. 04:38 “For before certain men from James arrived, 04:42 “he used to eat with people of the nations; 04:44 “but when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself, 04:48 “fearing those of the circumcised class. 04:51 “The rest of the Jews also joined him 04:54 “in putting on this pretense, 04:56 “so that even Barnabas was led along with them in their pretense. 05:00 “But when I saw that they were not walking in step 05:02 “with the truth of the good news, 05:04 “I said to Cephas before them all: 05:07 “‘If you, though you are a Jew, live as the nations do and not as Jews do, 05:11 how can you compel people of the nations to live according to Jewish practice?’” 05:16 So we see what was happening here. 05:19 Up till the time when men from James 05:23 came down to Antioch, 05:25 Peter and Barnabas and the other Jewish Christians 05:29 were happily eating with the Gentiles. 05:32 But now men from James came down, 05:34 and suddenly Peter 05:37 starts to separate himself from the Gentiles. 05:39 And, following his lead, 05:42 other Jewish Christians begin doing the same thing. 05:46 Now, who was probably new in the truth? 05:50 In this case, it was probably the Gentile Christians. 05:53 In Acts 21, it was probably the Jews who were newer in the truth 05:57 and Paul didn’t want to stumble the Jews. 05:59 But at this point, Paul could not be all things to all people. 06:03 He couldn’t please the Jews; 06:06 he couldn’t please the men from James and also please the Gentiles. 06:11 He was either going to have to stumble 06:13 —if you will— the men from James, 06:15 or he was going to have to stumble the Gentiles. 06:18 He had to make a choice. 06:20 And so Paul made his choice. 06:22 And what did he do about it? 06:24 He followed the advice 06:27 that he recorded in this same book of Galatians. 06:30 Can you think of what that was? 06:34 Galatians chapter 6 06:36 —what is it saying? 06:39 “If a man takes a false step before he is aware of it.” 06:43 What did Paul say about Peter? 06:45 He was not walking in step with the good news. 06:49 So Peter was taking a false step. 06:52 “You who have spiritual qualifications,” that would be Paul, 06:56 “try to readjust such a man in a spirit of mildness.” 07:01 And that’s what the apostle Paul did. 07:04 Now, we love to pick on Peter. 07:08 But let’s give the poor man a break. 07:10 Let’s give him credit for what he was doing right. 07:14 This was Antioch. 07:16 Now, what do we know about Antioch? 07:18 It was in Antioch when the whole matter 07:22 of keeping the Law blew up in the first place. 07:25 And who was it who were stirring things up in Antioch? 07:29 It was men from Jerusalem 07:31 —men from James. 07:34 Now, up until this point 07:36 —Peter and Barnabas and the others— they’re happily eating with the Gentiles 07:39 until men from Jerusalem come down 07:43 and start stirring up trouble. 07:46 You kind of think that if they’d stayed home once in a while 07:49 there would have been a lot less trouble in the Christian congregation. 07:52 So Peter was doing the right thing 07:56 up until the men from James came down. 08:00 Now, Peter knew how critical men from James could be 08:04 —or men from Jerusalem could be. 08:07 You might say, he’d seen that movie before 08:10 in 36 C.E., 08:12 just after the conversion of Cornelius. 08:15 Notice a detail at Acts 11:2, 3, 08:22 and this might help us to at least understand Peter’s concern, 08:26 and perhaps misguided effort, 08:29 not to stumble the men from James. 08:31 Acts 11:2, 3: 08:34 “So when Peter came up to Jerusalem,” 08:37 this is in 33 C.E., 08:40 “the supporters of circumcision began to criticize him, saying: 08:44 “‘You went into the house of men who were not circumcised 08:47 and ate with them.’” 08:52 Well, Peter knew how sensitive Jews were 08:55 about eating with the Gentiles, 08:57 but he was moved by the fear of man. 09:00 And the apostle Paul did right 09:03 to reprove him because, after all, 09:07 he was going to have to make a choice: 09:09 You stumble the Jews or you stumble the Gentiles. 09:13 The lesson to take away: 09:16 There are times when you can’t please everyone. 09:19 There are times when you cannot be all things to all people. 09:24 Our young people have to realize that. 09:27 You have to take a stand for what is right 09:29 and let the chips fall where they may. 09:32 Now, you have to appreciate the wisdom 09:35 that Jesus used in selecting Paul 09:37 as an apostle to the nations. 09:40 A note to the elders: 09:42 Paul was flexible. 09:44 He didn’t insist on his own ideas 09:47 even when he felt strongly about a matter, 09:49 and he didn’t create unnecessary issues. 09:53 Paul looked at the big picture. 09:56 What a marvelous example for us. 09:59 And we can say that humble Paul 10:01 was the right man for the job.
