Freedom from Expectations

November 5, 2023 Background Scripture: Acts 15:1 - 21 Lesson Passage: Acts 15:1 - 11 We tend to live our lives motivated by expectations. We either live up to or down to what is expected of us. We are conditioned this way early in life. We receive positive or negative feedback to influence our pattern of behavior. The type of feedback we receive either encourages us to continue a particular behavior or abandon it. As adults, we usually live according to how our behavior was conditioned as children and youth. Expectations bring out of individuals the expected norms of a group. The expected norms of a group become the group's culture. Having stated that, let's consider today's topic as it relates to the Background Scripture. Jewish people of the first century had a religion and culture that were one and the same. Their religion is known as Judaism. Judaism embodies a system of laws and rituals. Those laws govern their everyday behavior. The recognition and observance of their holy days were both religious and cultural. One of the prescribed rituals was the circumcision of male babies on the eighth day. This ritual was also prescribed for Gentiles who wished to practice Judaism. This ritual dated back to the days of Abraham who predated the Law of Moses by hundreds of years. During the time of Moses, circumcision was incorporated into the Law. Where was the demarcation point where religion ended and culture continued? Jews who became Christians didn't have to answer that. They just kept living as Jews. That's one of the reasons the first congregation of Christians, located in Jerusalem, continued to go to the Temple on the Sabbath. It was both religiously and culturally right for them. They always did that, and they always were going to do it. However, when Jewish Christians interacted with Gentile Christians, there was discomfort for the Jews when the Gentiles did not adhere to the Jewish cultural norms. After being confronted by some Jewish Christians concerning it, a Gentile congregation sought directions by sending a delegation to Jerusalem to get clarification on this issue from the Apostles, However, this was not a settled matter within the Jerusalem congregation. When Jews in the first century accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, it seemed to have created a rift in their culture. That became clear from the ensuing conversation around the mission of the delegation from the Gentile congregation. After comments from the Jerusalem congregation on both sides of the issue, Peter stood and addressed the group. God had demonstrated to Peter His acceptance of the Gentile believers in Cornelius' house based solely on their faith. Therefore, Peter concluded that the Jerusalem congregation, and leaders, should not impose expectations on the Gentile believers that God did not require of them. In other words, if a person is saved by God based solely on their faith in Jesus Christ, Jewish religious rituals would not make them more saved. Those rituals would only impose a yoke of bondage on them. Peter acknowledged that neither the Jews of old nor the ones at that time were able to bear that yoke. Peter's conclusion was that all people are saved by the grace of God through their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since expecting the Gentiles to carry the yoke of bondage provided no benefit to anyone, then removing that expectation of them brought immediate freedom. The Gentile Christians were still expected to be God-fearing moral people. However, they were not expected to follow religious rituals as a requirement of their salvation. Put another way, the Gentile Christians would still have expectations of them, but those expectations would not enslave them to the Law. Robert C Hudson October 27, 2023