Well meaning but Irrelevant
The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ since I was nineteen. I’m now sixty-four. Over the years I’ve heard many well meaning believers say many things.
For instance when a person made a confession of faith. They were immediately told they were expected to do certain things. Things quiet often that mattered little to their salvation. The classic being men had to wear a suit to church. Women were expected to wear dresses or skirts to church. Pants were not considered acceptable for a woman to wear.
In some churches they had to follow a set of rituals. There were even written prayers they were expected to recite.
None of which made sense when it came to the individuals relationship with Jesus.
I’m fairly sure Jesus and the early church didn’t have a dress code for those who attended their meetings. I’m fairly sure they didn’t have much ritual to follow.
In fact there was a debate in the early church about whether or not gentiles (non-Jews) who came to know Christ should be circumcised or not. The book of acts records,
“The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:6-11.
While the church today does not, for the most part debate circumcision and other laws set out in the Old Testament. Laws that mean little to our salvation It still does debate other irrelevant things.
Peter pointed out,
“...We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:11
The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians said,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
When the debate ended the council of Jerusalem put few rules on how a believer in Christ should act. It sent a letter to the churches that said,
“The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
“Greetings.
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” Farewell. Acts 15:23b-29.
When it comes to a persons salvation no one can tell for certain if another person is truly saved. An individual’s salvation is between them and God.
What we as a body of believers can do however is provide a good and safe place for a believer in Christ to grow in.
Question: Does your church congregation provide a good place for a believer to grow in.
OR,
Does your congregation place on individuals a lot of well meaning but irrelevant rules on how believers are to act and even dress in church?
Please think about it.
The apostle Paul writes,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.
I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ since I was nineteen. I’m now sixty-four. Over the years I’ve heard many well meaning believers say many things.
For instance when a person made a confession of faith. They were immediately told they were expected to do certain things. Things quiet often that mattered little to their salvation. The classic being men had to wear a suit to church. Women were expected to wear dresses or skirts to church. Pants were not considered acceptable for a woman to wear.
In some churches they had to follow a set of rituals. There were even written prayers they were expected to recite.
None of which made sense when it came to the individuals relationship with Jesus.
I’m fairly sure Jesus and the early church didn’t have a dress code for those who attended their meetings. I’m fairly sure they didn’t have much ritual to follow.
In fact there was a debate in the early church about whether or not gentiles (non-Jews) who came to know Christ should be circumcised or not. The book of acts records,
“The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:6-11.
While the church today does not, for the most part debate circumcision and other laws set out in the Old Testament. Laws that mean little to our salvation It still does debate other irrelevant things.
Peter pointed out,
“...We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” Acts 15:11
The apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians said,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
When the debate ended the council of Jerusalem put few rules on how a believer in Christ should act. It sent a letter to the churches that said,
“The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
“Greetings.
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.” Farewell. Acts 15:23b-29.
When it comes to a persons salvation no one can tell for certain if another person is truly saved. An individual’s salvation is between them and God.
What we as a body of believers can do however is provide a good and safe place for a believer in Christ to grow in.
Question: Does your church congregation provide a good place for a believer to grow in.
OR,
Does your congregation place on individuals a lot of well meaning but irrelevant rules on how believers are to act and even dress in church?
Please think about it.
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