Christianity Plus

Acts 15:1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."

When it comes to your own personal sense of righteousness, what choices do you make?

This may sound absurd, given the generally wicked state of modern society, but everyone does have a personal sense of righteousness. Everyone.

I remember being surprised to learn - in my college criminology class - that even those in jail, condemned for their crimes, have a personal sense of righteousness. We learned, for example, that everyone in the state pen looks down on child-abusers. They are the worst of the prison society and the most likely to be killed or shunned by other inmates. Even the murderers consider them the lowest of the low. Thieves may look down on burglars. Burglars may look down on drug dealers. So on and so forth. There is a hierarchy of “goodness” within man that will not be crossed. You may be capable of theft, but NEVER dealing drugs.

It’s a very personal thing.

It’s no different within the confines of the “good” portion society. We all have lines we cross and will not cross. We have an internal law. The danger comes when we judge others according to our own personal lines.

This is exactly what the Judaizers were doing at the church at Antioch. Coming down from Jerusalem these Jewish Christians seemed to be coming with the authority of the elders and apostles. Their message was shocking to Paul and Barnabas: In order to be a Christian – you must first, (and foremost,) – become a Jew.

To this day we struggle with this sort of ‘Christianity plus’ attitude. If the Bible defines a standard of righteousness, we can be even more righteous by adding to it. When the Bible says you are righteous in God’s eyes by believing on Christ by faith, and receiving His grace, there is still a part in us that wants to be even more righteous than that. What can I add to grace to accomplish more than grace?

Well…how much time did you spend in prayer this morning? (Gotcha!)

- Pastor Bill