Why You Don't Always Have to Be Right! Acts 21

Acts 21:20-26 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses,telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 22 What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” 26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

Paul became the apostle to the Gentiles, yet he never forgot his Jewish roots.  When he came back to Jerusalem likely meeting his imprisonment, the Jewish leaders of the church were excited that so many Gentiles had come to faith.  But they were worried that the Jewish believers were getting the wrong impression of Paul.  A rumor started circulating that Paul taught against the customs of Moses.  It wasn't that Paul taught against the customs Moses, he wanted to make it clear one can't be saved by obeying the Law of Moses.  As he said many times, "If becoming right with God could be achieved through obeying the rules, then Jesus died for nothing." Galatians 2:21

So the Jewish leaders tried to persuade Paul that if he would take part in a Jewish rite of purification that four of the men had done, it would go over well with the new Jewish believers. This vow was similar to a Nazirite vow John the Baptist made.  So, Paul had a decision to make.  He could listen to the elders and agree to do this. Or, he could refuse on the basis that it would water down the gospel.  Paul decides to go along with the men and purify himself with them.  So why did he do this?

1. As a missionary Paul's main goal was for all people to come to Christ.  He said in his letter to the Corinthians, "I will become all things to all people so I can win some."  I love this as it correlates to the word "winsome".  Paul was "winsome" to "win-some".  Also in this same verse he say, "To the Jews I became like a Jew."  This is the passage he might have been referring to when he taught the Corinthians.  

2. Second, nothing the men were doing was undermining the gospel.  They weren't saying they were doing this to be saved.  Therefore, though Paul might not have thought what they were doing was necessary, he gained influence among his Jewish brothers by agreeing to do this with them and pay for it as well.  

In the end for Paul the gospel was more important than being right.  Sometimes Christians are so interested in being right, they miss out on the people in front of them.  It takes humility to not insist on being right, even if you might be right.  This is not dumbing down the truth, but it realizing some people may not have realized some of the things that you have.  Paul meets them where they are at, and we should do the same.  

A good question you might ask yourself is, "Is it more important for me to be right now or build a bridge in a relationship that might lead someone to Christ."  As I look out on our world right now, I think there is a lot of room for us to grown in this area.