August 11, 2023

Today's Reading: Acts 21:15-36

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 8:1-22, Acts 21:15-36

Acts 21:24: “take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.”

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Paul seems to go back and forth on little details, but makes a huge deal of them.  In some places he urges circumcision. In others he forbids it.  Sometimes he speaks about eating food offered to idols as no big deal, and today he shaves his head to show he’s not down with that tomfoolery.  

It’s almost easier to blame it on the hypocrisy of Christians.  Today we don’t talk about food sacrificed to idols, and circumcision isn’t a trending topic, but can you shop at Target?  It really seems like everyone is making up their own answers, justifying them from Scripture, and condemning others even if they end up changing their minds and justifying their new answers from the same Scriptures.  

There is a way to see through the haze.  First, right and wrong are defined by the 10 commandments.  Those don’t change.  If the commandments are silent, for example, on food that was sacrificed to Ba’al or  Ta’arget, we ask a simple question.  What does this confess? Not just what do you intend, but what do other people see? You can fly a rainbow flag as a remembrance of God’s promise to Noah, but the world will see something different.  What does this confess? That’s why Paul’s answer changes.  To those who would make a weapon out of the Law and use it against others, he preaches Christian freedom.  To those who would be harmed spiritually by being subject to the trends of the day, he preaches a clear distinction between faith and unfaithfulness.  

When you go out into the world, can you be made unclean by anything in your Baptism? No! Jesus died for you. Daily you are washed.  Your salvation cannot be robbed by the dollar spot.  Might there come a time for some people in some places that they cannot be associated with unbelief to the point where they’ll have to look elsewhere? Sure.  But in each case, the question is what does this confess? We confess Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins and the free salvation given to sinners by His promises.  Let that be our identity.  That saves more than public declarations of boycotts. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

All who confess Christ’s holy name, Give God the praise and glory. Let all who know His pow’r proclaim Aloud the wondrous story. Cast ev’ry idol from its throne, For God is God, and He alone: To God all praise and glory! (Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good, 819:5)

-Pastor Harrison Goodman is Content Executive for Higher Things.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.