It Could Not Have Been Easy for any Jew to ignore the things which he had been taught from childhood, especially fundamental things like cir cumcision, the observance of special feasts and the offering of sacrifices. Only the spiritually minded, who had been taught by the Law of their own sinfulness and had come to understand their need for a redeemer, would have been ready to make the transition to Christianity.
Those who had kept the Law as a duty of conscience would have seen change as a betrayal of all their principles. Also, they would have seen it as forsaking all the privileges of their race. They would have assumed that the good things promised were theirs by keeping the rituals and they would have vigorously opposed any individual or sect which threatened their inheritance. It is not surprising therefore that the Jews posed a very real threat to the early ecclesias.
Development of the Judaisers
There was a class of Jew, however, who wanted a foot in both camps. He wanted the benefits of Christianity but wanted to avoid the wrath of the ritualistic Jewish elders. These Jews taught that Christianity was of the Jews and therefore it was necessary for its adherents to observe the Law and to be circumcised.
Indeed there was a decided reluctance in the early church to preach to the Gentiles at all. Although Jesus had told his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, it still required a special vision to Peter and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to certain Gentiles before they were accepted as candidates for baptism. Even then, after a special council held at Jerusalem, it was recommended that certain aspects of the Law should be observed by the Gentiles, for they said, “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogue every Sabbath day”
Of course these stipulations were only a temporary measure. The limitations were given for peace in the early church and not as an essential for salvation. It should be noted that the counsel given did not include circumcision (Acts 15:14,29).
Thus a group of Jews known as Judaisers arose. From the biblical records, it would appear that wherever Paul established an ecclesia, they would follow and would teach the necessity for circumcision. They are mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and in most of the epistles of Paul but in none so prominently as in his letter to the Galatians. It was in Galatia they seemed to have had most success; so much so that Paul was discredited and the gospel seriously threatened. Paul feared for the ecclesias and was roused to set the record straight. Accordingly, his attack upon Judaism was dauntless and devastating.
Although the threat of Judaism ceased around AD 70 when the Temple was destroyed and the Jews dispersed, a consideration of the Judaisers and Paul’s method of handling the problem are not without profit. Let us review some of the relevant verses.
Acts 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment.
This verse teaches much about the Judaisers and their methods:
- They were of the main body of believers but acted independently.
- They were energetic and active but restricted their activities to the ecclesias already formed by others.
- They caused trouble; they were divisive.
- They subverted the souls of the Galatians; that is, they destroyed their faith.
- They taught as fundamentals things not held by the main body and without their authority.
Their tactics were disconcerting and caused confusion amongst the ecclesias. How could the new ecclesias refuse to accept a call back to fundamentals which purported to have come from the church in Jerusalem? The message was subtle in that it did not set out to deny Christianity but rather to add to its essentials. So far as the Judaisers were concerned, it was much easier for them to make converts from Christians than to make converts from pagans.
The greatest dangers always come from within the ecclesia and where the agitators claim for themselves a return to basics with the backing of ‘head office.’ The subtlety of their message is not easily discerned but the effects are always divisive and destructive. With the spiritual insight of Paul, we are able to see through their claims, but before doing so let us pick out further information about them.
Galatians 1:6.7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
From this verse, it is noted that the teaching, supposedly of the same gospel, was in fact a different one. It was a “perversion” of the gospel and those who accepted it were “removed” from the grace of Christ. The teaching was calamitous to the ecclesia – it shifted the emphasis from grace to works thus destroying the very basis of their salvation. We must always beware of additions to the list of fundamentals and ask the question — “Do they detract from the real purpose of the gospel?” “Do they destroy the power of the gospel of Christ?”
Galatians 4:17 They zealously affect you, but not well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
They were zealous in their teaching and would infuse the same zeal into their converts. Yet the result of such teaching, whilst boosting the ego of the teachers, was divisive; it segregated the converts from the main body of Christians. Zeal is a good thing, continued Paul, but it must be for the right things! It has always been possible for members to be influenced by the zeal and energy of others, but if the result is division from the community, that zeal is not of Christ. Of such teachers Paul writes — “Let them be accursed.”
Galatians 5:14,15 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
Such movements are self destructive! Division separates the branches from the true vine and, being void of sustenance, they wither and die. Love is of God and they that love are born of Him and His love will be seen in their behaviour because it is a ‘fruit of the Spirit.’
Galatians 5:16-18 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Paul makes clear the real issue – it is not about circumcision but about the battle between the flesh and the Spirit. So often arguments which arise are not important in themselves but detract from the real issue. Salvation is of the Spirit by grace, and anything which detracts from this must be resisted.
Galatians 6:12.13 As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
Their motives for preaching were not what they appeared to be; they were not concerned with the salvation of those to whom they preached but with the personal glory of the preacher. They desired to make a fair show in the flesh, and to avoid the persecution which they might have had to endure of the Jews had they not taught obedience to the Law.
Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
As already noted, the doctrine upon which they placed so much importance was quite irrelevant to salvation. Whether they had been circumcised or not was of no consequence; what really mattered was that they had become “new creatures.” By baptism into Christ, they were freed from the “bondage of the Law,” from the “elements of the world,” from nationality, and it didn’t even matter whether they happened to be a man or a woman – they were now part of the body of Christ, new creatures!
Keeping centred on grace
Paul’s answer to the threat of Judaism was to keep one’s eyes firmly fixed upon “the cross of Christ.” (Even this expression, which is a scriptural one, has been made a point of contention by many who feel that the Roman church’s abuse of the symbol means that it should not be used. What is essential is that we see how it is used in the scriptures and do the same. It is an expression which draws full attention to the sacrifice of Jesus, which to Paul was his source of glory; just as “the altar” drew attention to the sacrifice which was placed upon it.)
Salvation has been achieved by Jesus and is available to us by grace, through faith. It is related to the promises made to Abraham and is available to us, “if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
A biblical theme
Warning against the subtle intrusion of those who are divisive and who overturn our foundations is a constant theme of Scripture. In the days from Moses to Nehemiah, it was the ‘mixed multitude’ (see Exo. 12:38; Lev. 24:10,11; Num. 11:4; Neh. 13:33), the result of the intermarriage of the Israelites with the Egyptians, which started the murmuring and complaining and which had serious consequences to the children of Israel.
Paul feared that after his departure grievous wolves would enter amongst the flock and that men would arise from their own ranks who would preach perverse things whilst Jude speaks out against this subtle intrusion of foundation-breakers more directly:
For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ… Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities… These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage… These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
We must heed Paul’s warnings and be ready for the intrusion of the modem counterparts of the Judaisers, remembering that such will be subtle, that the issues raised will not always be the real issues. We must not be carried away by their zeal and seeming sincerity. Instead we must remember that zeal is only commendable when it is born of a good thing and that actions which are divisive are to be condemned. Our attention must be riveted upon “the cross of Christ,” the symbol of God’s love and of Jesus’ sacrifice which make our salvation possible.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One