Acts 21 - How Should We Use Our Christian Freedom?
20 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. - Acts 21:20-26
The elders were geniunely excited for the success Paul had on the missionary field in winning many Gentiles for Christ. While they were excited, they gave Paul the warning that many of the Jewish Christians were still very jealous for the Jewish Law of Moses. Many of these people began to think that Paul was deliberating teaching against the Law of Moses.
The Christian community of Jerusalem heard bad, false rumors about Paul. They heard that he had become essentially anti-Jewish, and told Jewish Christians that it was wrong for them to continue in Jewish laws and customs. - Guzik
So they recommended Paul join four men who had made a vow for purificiation, and shaved their heads as part of that vow. Many think this was similar to a Nazirite vow some Jewish men made to set themselves apart as holy to the Lord. Paul mentions he had taken this vow in Acts 18.
This was an interesting decision for Paul to make. If he said "yes", it might seem like he was capitulating and compromising the gospel. I.e. One needed to obey these rites to be clean, when the gospel says we are made clean through Christ alone. Critics of Paul say that he caved a little bit to this pressure from the Jewish elders in Jerusalem. In 1 Corinthians 9, writes about how a Christian should use their newfound freedom in Christ.
Paul’s Use of His Freedom
19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made 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), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having 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, that I may share in its blessings.
My assumption is that Paul would become all things to all people as long as it did not cause him to do something immoral, or contrary to the gospel of Christ. I.e. False teaching. There is also the saying, "You have to pick your battles!" Maybe Paul felt this wasn't the hill he was going to to die on.
I think one could make an argument that these purification rites were useless, since we are all impure and only Jesus can purify us. On another occasion Paul gets very angry at the Galatians who want to require the Gentile men who have been converted to be circumcised according to Jewish law. He says this,
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! - Galatians 5:7-12
But we also know that in Acts 16 Paul had Timothy circumcised for the purpose of their mission to the Jewish people. Timothy's mother was Jewish, and his father was Greek, so he hadn't been circumcised. Paul wanted to make sure Timothy would not be a stumbling block for the Jewish people when he went to preach in the synagogues on their mission trips.
"Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." - Acts 16:3
So I think you can see that though we are free in Christ and don't need to observe the rituals of the Law, there may be some instances where for the sake of mission we do something like Paul did. For instance if I were in a Catholic church and I was a visitor, and the rule was one needed to make confession to the priest before they received communion, I could do it.
Though I knew I didn't have to confess to the priest before I receive communion, I might CHOOSE to do it for the sake of mission. These are certainly not black and white issues. We need the Holy Spirit's wisdom and guidance for when we need to stand up for the gospel and not allow the law to rear its ugly head. It is very easy to step back into legalism. And if we give in to legalistic tendencies just to fit in, it could severely compromise the integrity of the gospel.
Jesus, give us Your wisdom and discernment, as we learn how to use the freedom you have given us. We know that we could never measure up to the righteous requirements of the Law and should never try. As Your Word says, "Our righteousness is like filthy rags!" Make us aware of when exercising our freedom would cause a weaker brother or sister to sin. In Your name, Amen.
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