Culture drives everything we do in life. How we were raised impacts every decision and reaction, even the unconscious ones. But God’s Word supersedes culture, and we need to put God’s standards first.

Last week episode 19 of the God’s Word, Today’s World podcast, we spent time in Acts looking at the faith of a Roman centurion, Cornelius. What was so incredible about his faith was just how straight forward he was with it. He didn’t try to argue his way out of things, he took God at His Word, and immediately did what God commanded of him.

I challenged us to do the same when we sit down to read God’s word. I challenged us to read with humility and a willingness to learn, with the desire to change our lives to suit God’s word, instead of trying to change God’s Word to suit our lives.

This week we’re continuing the idea of not changing God’s word by looking at an event where some of the early believers let their culture change the gospel. They tried to add to salvation something that Jesus never taught. Our passage today is Acts 11:1-18 (WEB):

1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 When Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision contended with him, 3 saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

4 But Peter began, and explained to them in order, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me. 6 When I had looked intently at it, I considered, and saw the four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, creeping things, and birds of the sky. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter, kill and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.’ 9 But a voice answered me the second time out of heaven, ‘What God has cleansed, don’t you call unclean.’ 10 This was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11 Behold, immediately three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent from Caesarea to me. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without discriminating. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying to him, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, who is called Peter, 14 who will speak to you words by which you will be saved, you and all your house.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning. 16 I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John indeed baptised in water, but you will be baptised in the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave to them the same gift as us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?”

18 When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life!”

So in chapter 10, we have the amazing event of God telling Peter that no one is unclean whom He has made clean, and He has declared the gentiles clean. Not only can Jews be saved, but also Gentiles.

But now Peter returns to Jerusalem.

He’s barely set foot in the city when a group of Christians found him and began to criticise him for spending time in the house of uncircumcised men and eating with them.

See, this group, while Christians, were trying to add to the gospel. They were bringing an aspect of Judaism—circumcision of males—and saying that to be a Christian, you not only had to accept Jesus Christ as Lord, you also had to be circumcised if you were a male.

Nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus ever say that circumcision is a requirement for salvation.

And this is why we do need to carefully view the Old Testament through the lens of the New Testament,