Acts 16:1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father. 2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
4 As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
These five verses illustrate what some call a “Biblical contradiction.” In verse 4, Luke says Paul and his associates “delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.” This hearkens back to the official letter that came out of the first Jerusalem Church Council recorded in Acts 15. The letter listed only a few requirements for Gentile converts to Christianity, and male circumcision was not one of them. In fact, it seems that the larger dispute which necessitated the Council in the first place was over the sharp dispute about circumcision. So, in verse 4, Paul is essentially telling the new Gentile Christians that circumcision is absolutely NOT a requirement for their salvation.
However, there is something puzzling in the verse prior to that one. Verse 3 tells us that “Paul had Timothy circumcised because of the Jews.” At face value, this seems to be a bit of a contradiction, especially in light of additional information we find in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Paul indicates very emphatically that he refused to bow to the pressure of the “Judaizers” even for a moment. Listen to Paul’s passion about this subject:
Galatians 2:1 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
4 This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
Galatians 2:11 When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Galatians 3:2 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 5:2 Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
So what are we to make of this? I have heard many Bible teachers repeat the same mantra repeatedly. Hermeneutics 101 is “consider the context” and that “Scripture interprets Scripture.”
So, let’s take both of those suggestions to heart and see if we can shed more light on this passage. Paul says some other fascinating things to the Corinthian Church that relate to this subject in his first epistle to them:
1 Corinthians 9:19 Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. 21 To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
So, when we overlay these passages, some new concepts come into focus.
Missionary Motives matter
Paul’s motive for circumcising Timothy was so that he could become his full missionary associate and ministry partner. This would require Timothy to do the same things Paul did in his missionary work. Thus far in the book of Acts, we have clearly seen that Paul had a specific missionary strategy. First he went to the local synagogue and reasoned with the Jewish people from the Scriptures, and then he went to the Gentiles. Timothy would have been excluded from not only entrance into many synagogues, but he would be forbidden to partake in “table fellowship” as well. The mere fact that he did not possess the fleshly mark of Israel’s covenant with God would be a deal breaker. Paul and Timothy’s motivation was to become “all things to all men so that by all means they might save some.”
Settings and Situations matter
Here are some interesting contrasts in the Bible:
-When Ananias and Sapphira lied, they died.
-When Rahab lied, she was saved and commended.
-Jesus commanded us to make baptize new disciples
-Paul said in 1 Cor. 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
-Ephesians 2 says we are saved by grace through faith alone
James 2:24 As you can see, a man is justified by his works and NOT by faith alone.
These are not Bible contradictions. Rather, they are like different facets of the same diamond. The location of a diamond with respect to the sources of light shining on it will determine which facets are highlighted. And in the same way, the same truth applied in two different situations can look contradictory. But, as always, context is king.
The act of circumcision is not damning in and of itself, but Paul taught that when it, or any other “work”, is added to the Gospel of Grace as a requirement for Salvation, the Gospel is emptied of its saving power. But Timothy underwent the painful procedure not to gain or enhance his own salvation, but so that he might not be a future “stumbling block” to someone else’s salvation.
The Observer matters more than the Object
Romans 14 says: 13 Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 14 I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.
The “object” Paul was referring to in this passage was “meat sacrificed to idols.” The “observer”, whose potential scandalization trumps Paul’s “freedom in Christ” is any Christian brother or sister that cannot disassociate the meat from the idol. Therefore, the observer is more important than the object, and in the situation in Acts 16, Paul and Timothy must have felt that it was better to undergo the painful operation, rather than flaunt their freedom in Christ. Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father and his father must have opposed Timothy’s circumcision as an infant. So, for the sake of the potential Jewish converts to Christianity in their future, Timothy “took one for the team”, as they say.
So, I will state the obvious. God does not contradict himself. The Scriptures don’t contradict themselves. But as we read the Word of God, it’s important to be mindful of the beautiful shades and colors of revelation that can be seen when we look deeper into the text.
PRN: Unchanging God, please reveal Your Glory in greater and greater ways to us. We want to know You in the nuances and the subtleties. We desire to know You in the apparent contradictions and behold the beauty of Your joyful mysteries. Unfold Your goodness to us and overwhelm us with even more transcendent truths of who You are. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.
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