Theology for Everybody: Romansنموونە

Admittedly, all the talk about circumcision in the New Testament seems odd to us Gentile believers. Since many of the books in the New Testament written to churches talk about this procedure, it was apparently a big debate and point of division between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Having spent half of my life as a senior pastor, I can honestly say that I have seen lots of church fights over a lengthy list of issues but have yet to see this issue be the hot topic of conversation and conflict.

The issue under the issue is outward symbols of our faith versus the inward Spirit who gives us faith. We tend to think of physical things instead of spiritual things and visible things instead of invisible things. The Bible says, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). The fifth religious trap Paul addresses is outward, not inward. Ultimately, every generation has some false conceptions of junior varsity and varsity Christians: To be junior varsity, you believe in Jesus, but to be varsity, you do something in addition to believing in Jesus. This addition is the “outward”—circumcision, baptism, speaking in tongues, taking communion, carrying the “right” Bible translation, educating your kids the “right” way, going to the “right” church, and worshipping God at church in the “right” way (the “right” way being the way we do it, of course).

While outward things are not bad in and of themselves, the result of a religious environment is seeking the praise of others and not God. We want people to like us, be impressed by us, and speak well of us. In the end, Paul says we are really worshipping ourselves when we focus on the outward and ignore the inward.

Some years ago, I had the honor of meeting someone who is a bit of a hero in the faith to me. He is a well-known older pastor widely respected for being a great Bible teacher and having Spirit-filled character demonstrated by the fruit of the Spirit. He knew that over the years, I have been in relationships with some Christian groups who are not big on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. For years, he had tried to build relationships with some of those tribal leaders, but their response was mainly to criticize him publicly. Kindly, he basically asked why some Christians who say they believe the Bible are more religious than relational.

I’d never really thought in those terms, but it made sense. I told him that we can:

·believe in the Holy Spirit to convict, teach, lead, control, and change a person in relationship, or

·nominate ourselves to do the work of the Spirit with religious rules.

God cares about the outward as much as the inward. But He also knows that the inward parts of us need to change before there can be any real goodness in our outward lives. When Jesus said that a healthy tree bears good fruit (see Matthew 7:17), He said the same thing as Paul. The Holy Spirit does deep work in us at the level of the heart. A Christian is given a new heart, nature, desires, and power in the Spirit. These deep, inward changes cause outward changes, not vice versa.

Today’s Reflection

Do you tend to give more attention to the outward or inward of yourself and other people?