Gods Sabbath

P AULS ’ S M ISTAKE

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bound them. Had they made the correct choice, how different would have been the history of both the church and the world.

The other option But it is a sad fact of history that the church leaders decided to choose the wrong side of the issue. Their counsel given to Paul shows their stubborn disposition not to surrender. “But instead of uniting in an effort to do justice to the one who had been injured, they gave him counsel which showed that they still cherished a feeling that Paul should be held largely respon sible for the existing prejudice. They did not stand nobly in his defense, endeavoring to show the disaffected ones where they were wrong, but sought to effect a compromise by counseling him to pursue a course which in their opinion would remove all cause for misapprehension.” The Acts of the Apostles , 403.1. The counsel given by the church leaders was that Paul should show by his attitude to one of the ceremonial laws that he still upheld this law as binding on all believers. In response to his testimony, they said, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then every body will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile be lievers, we have written to them our decision that they should ab stain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” Acts 21:20–25. As their words reveal, they clung to their determination to bring Paul under their dominion when they said to him, “...do what we tell you”, instead of directing him to do whatever the Lord instructed him to do. Their statement was a direct demand that Paul accept them as his plan makers in God’s place. Therefore, even though they did not realize it and would be the last to admit it, they were