Let the Word of God speak on the matter. Read it. It's clear as day.
Acts 15 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
"Also Luke 2:21 clearly states that Jesus Himself was circumsized.
Why would God send an angelic messenger to tell Maria that she would have a child and His name would be Jesus, and then kind of forgot to tell her that He should NOT be circumsized? "
Jesus was sent to fulfill the Law. This was the old covenant law for the Jews therefore it had to be fulfilled. Simple as that.
I absolutly LOVE LOVE LOVE reading the Holy Scriptures...Lets keep Reading...
Acts 16
1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a [[[ Jewess, ]]] and believed; but his father was a [[[ Greek: ]]]
2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.
3 Him...[[[Timotheous]]]...would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and [[[ circumcised him ]]] because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.
*** Now thats quite interesting...:rolleyes:...So why did Paul have that done unto Timotheous...was Paul scared of the Jews or of what Peter said about being chosen by the LORD to go unto the Jews and Gentiles...:excited:
4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
*** Hummmm...."they delivered them the [[[ decrees ]]] for to [[[ keep, ]]] that were [[[ ordained ]]] of the [[[ apostles and elders ]]] which were at Jerusalem.
*** Guess that purty much answers my question...:glow:...xo
I really have no clue what points you are trying to make. However, to try and pit the writings/teachings of Paul against those of God Himself or the Torah is just flat ridiculous.
You either believe that the entire Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit or you don't. That would include Paul's doctrines.
As might be expected, routine infant circumcision is a contentious topic for Christian Dating For Free. Read Acts 15 and the Book of Galatians. A transformation of Physical Israel was predicted as prophecy in the Old Testament - II Kings 21: 13, Isaiah 29: 16 and Jeremiah 18: 1-6 - and the parable of the fig tree of Luke 13: 6-9 is about giving Israel a last chance by providing it new life. What exactly that new life in the transformation of Israel was to be unfolded in the life of Jesus Christ and in the work of the Apostles in the First Century.
"He taketh away the first, hat he may establish the second." Hebrews 10: 9
"For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect." Hebrews 10: 1
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days. Which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ." Colossians 2: 16-1
Read Galatians 3: 16-29 about a part of the revelation given to Paul regarding how physical descent from Abraham as changed in that transformation of physical Israel to a spiritual house (I Peter 2: 5-9) to being in Christ and therefore being Abraham's spiritual seed.
A part of the revelation given to Paul is shown in Acts 15: 1-5. The Pharisees who had joined he Jerusalem Christian group said that every Christian must be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas in verse 2 had "...no small dissension and disputation with them." Who are "them?" "Them" are the Pharisees who had joined the Christian Community at Jerusalem. They were promoting the leaven of the Pharisees.
Part of the bondage that Paul writes about in Galatians 4: 25 is the bondage to the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant.
"For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children."
And the moral law was to be written in the hearts of those born again (Hebrews 8: 10).
Circumcision under the Old Covenant was part of the ceremonial law, not part of the moral law, and arguing for it can bring back the spirit of the leaven of the Pharisees seen in Acts 15 and in Galatians (1: 6-9, 6: 12-16)
"But now, after ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" Galatians 4: 9
We are called to defend the Gospel once delivered to the saints, which includes Paul's revelations. Defending a part of the shadows of the ceremonial law, or earnestly contending for it, with zeal, is exactly the opposite of what the spirit of Jude 3 asks for. Such a zeal is suspicious if its main rationalization is hygiene. Has Christian Zionism made it easier for the leaven of the Pharisees to return? Or has it already returned in disguises?
