Truths Worth Fighting For

“Some men 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 the apostles and the elders about this question.” [1]

Modern translations of the Word of God, or at least our reading of the events that are described, sometimes mask the intensity of what was originally intended when the events were recorded. An example of such inadvertent masking occurs when rendering this event into modern English in the translation I prefer. The translation is technically correct; it simply lacks the intensity of what Doctor Luke originally wrote. In the text, I read that Paul and Barnabas “had no small dissension and debate.” Struggling to capture the force of what took place, one current translation speaks of “a major argument,” [2] another translation speaks of “serious argument and debate,” [3] and yet another translation says they had “quite a dispute and argument.” [4]

Reading what Doctor Luke wrote in that original manuscript leads one to realise that this was an intense and visceral response to error. The passions of Paul and Barnabas were stirred to the depths of their hearts, driving them to respond vigorously, viscerally. This was not a time for a gentle, sweet-natured discussion of some minor theological point; this was a time to raise one’s voice, to speak forcefully and pointedly so that no one would mistake the serious nature of what was taking place.

Some truths demand passion as we vigorously defend them; some truths are worth fighting for. It is commonly observed that these truths demanding our passion are matters that have an impact on defining us as belonging to Christ. And because the fight is over truths that define us as His followers, it is necessary that we win the fight, not just for our sake, but for the sake of those who will follow us in the future. Whether we win or whether we lose, the future of the movement we represent is at stake. That knowledge makes it essential that we be ferocious in defending these truths.

I would not want anyone to imagine that I am advocating physical violence just to win your point. We are to be prepared to stand firm in the Faith, but without being combative. We must never allow ourselves to think that we can strike out with fists or open palms to smack down those who disagree with us. We realise the importance of Paul’s statement to the Christians in Corinth, “Though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ” [2 CORINTHIANS 10:3-5]. Some truths are worth fighting for!

Not every hill is worth dying on, but some hills do demand that we fight. These high grounds overlook all movement that must pass by them. If we fail to occupy these hills, we surrender the future of the Faith. We must know the truths that are essential and devote ourselves to standing for those truths. We must allow the Spirit of God to instruct us so that we recognise those truths that are less important. Then, we must heed the words penned by Jude, the brother of our Lord, “to continue [our] vigorous defense of the Faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all” [JUDE 3 ISV].

THE ZEAL OF THE JUDAIZERS — “Some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” [ACTS 15:1]. No one can doubt the zeal of these Jewish followers of Christ. Though they confessed with their mouths the necessity of salvation, and even confessed that such salvation was found only in Jesus the Messiah, they could not let go of the customs with which they had grown up. They had obviously confused grace with the efforts they demanded from any who would follow Jesus. Consequently, they appear to have been convinced that the rites and rituals that they had known since childhood and with which they were comfortable were necessary if one was to know the mercy of God. In this, they were much like too many professed Christians to this day.

We know of communions that insist that one must be baptised in order to be saved. Others demand that the baptism must use a particular formula during the baptism if the one being baptised will be saved. Oneness Pentecostals are one such group that is guilty of making this absurd demand. On one occasion, a pastor of a nearby Oneness Pentecostal group encouraged me to come speak to his people. He insisted that the people would love to hear me and that I would be a real encouragement to them.