What's MOST important?

"Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers: 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.' And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders."

(Acts 15:1-2)

Many decision need to be made when you're starting up a new company, business, group, or endeavor. What will be most important? What core values will you insist on? How will you spend your time and energy?

The early Christian church struggled with questions like these. One of the most significant dealt with circumcision. The earliest Christians were all Jewish believers of Jesus. because of that, they'd all been circumcised as children, per the law of Moses. As the mission spread, non-Jews (Gentiles) came into the fold. Some (well-intentioned, I'm sure) folks felt very strongly that the new believers should have to go through many of the "formative practices" of Judaism (like the rest of them had to). Including circumcision. In fact, they insisted this was necessary for salvation. Wow.

Let's put aside, for the moment, what a hard sell i would be to convince an adult male convert to Christianity that "there's just one more little thing we have to do before you're officially one of us..." I love how Paul & Barnabas (both Jewish Christians) vehemently oppose this line of thinking. Luke (the author of Acts) tells us that they had 'no small dissension and debate' about it. They knew this would be one of those rules that kept people out, rather than welcomed people in (which is what Jesus was all about - inclusion!).

In the end, Peter also stood up for the Gentile believers. Why are you trying to hold the newbies up to standards that neither we nor our ancestors could bear (being faithful to ALL of the laws of Moses)?!? So they settled on just a few admonitions (surrounding eating & sexual purity). Salvation was through God's grace. Period. Not circumcision, or anything else... no matter how helpful/powerful/meaningful it has been to people of faith over the centuries.

To say that they new believers were relieved (especially the men) is an understatement. But it was a pivotal point in the life of the early church. Would Christianity find ways to keep others out (like a private club)... or would we open our doors wide for all to come in?

I dare say it's still an issue that the church wrestles with. Not concerning circumcision, of course. But in other areas: human sexuality, immigration/refugees, racial/ethnic inclusion, special needs individuals, those battling addiction/homelessness, etc. Are we putting barriers up that keep some people out of our churches? Or are we practicing the full inclusion of Jesus?

May we all be inspired by Peter, Paul, and Barnabas.