On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. Acts 21:18-21
Last time we pointed out that the accusation against Paul’s teachings about Jewish traditions was based on hearsay. Hearsay is not sufficient to make a judgment. We must give the person in question the benefit of the doubt and seek clarification.
Beyond that most important technicality, what about the Jewish/Gentile question? And what about whether Christians (whether Jewish or Gentile) should, or even may, observe them?
Cultural customs that do not violate scripture are essentially harmless. As one married into a Mexican family, the food, the music, and piñatas at birthday parties (for example) are great! Being a Christian does not disallow people to celebrate their cultural customs.
The same is true for many Jewish customs. Where it gets sticky is when the customs are somehow (whether formally or informally) associated with being a Christian. Points of Jewish law (or custom) that are religious in nature may be wrong. For instance, it is not only wrong but blasphemous to offer sacrifices. Why? Because they are spiritual in nature and since Jesus offered the last sacrifice for sin, to offer other sacrifices is to question the sufficiency of Christ.
So while some Jewish law and traditions may be strictly cultural and therefore benign, others should not be practiced by Christians, because they oppose Christ and the gospel.
There is a third category. What about cultural traditions that could be fine, but may also be dangerous? Next time…