Meditations

Question from moody radio listener on Chris Fabry Live on February 17, 2017

I am currently teaching the book of Acts in our home bible study. And we just did the Jerusalem Council in Acts Chapter 15 and when we did that, we went through the Chalcedon Creed, the Nicene Creed and I taught the next week on Acts chapter 16 and I don’t understand why Paul chose to circumcise Timothy when the Jerusalem Creed was so clear in its teaching that circumcision was not being the issue.

Answer from Dr Michael Rydelnik:

That’s very good reading and a very good question. The circumcision of Timothy showed that the decision by the Jerusalem Council was limited to Gentiles not being circumcised, not Jews. Timothy’s mother was Jewish and so Timothy should have be circumcised as an outward sign of the Abrahamic covenant, which continues by the way, requiring Timothy to submit to circumcision. Paul avoided offending Jewish people for the purpose of ministry and recognized the continuation of the Abrahamic covenant for Jewish believer. In Acts 15, the limitation there is Gentiles don’t need to be circumcised or convert to Judaism before they can become follower of Jesus.