Must believers be circumcised and are we required to keep the law of Moses?

The early church had a big dispute over this issue so much that Paul and Barnabas were called to have a meeting with the church elders in Jerusalem (Acts 15) because of the gospel of Grace that they preached. The gospel that they preached is recorded in Acts 13 where we find the only "word for word" sermon preached by Paul that is recorded in the bible. The sermon is a must-read for every believer and culminates thus:

38 "So let it be clearly known by you, brothers, that through Him forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you; 39 and through Him everyone who believes [who acknowledges Jesus as Lord and Savior and follows Him] is justified and declared free of guilt from all things, from which you could not be justified and freed of guilt through the Law of Moses. " Acts 13:38-39 (AMP)

See the NLT: 38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this Man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in Him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do."

This is grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour. The religious law-toting Jews heard it and it angered them and they slandered Paul. The believing Jews and the Gentiles heard it and look what happened:

42 "As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue that day, the people begged them to speak about these things again the next week. 43 Many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, and the two men urged them to continue to rely on the grace of God. 44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord."

People will swim oceans to hear the true gospel preached. You won't have to force the people to go to church!

See verse 45 "But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said."

This is what is still happening in many places of worship today where certain "men of God" aka false teachers who boast in their ability to obey the law and do things like pay tithe slander preachers of the gospel of Grace, even saying Grace is a license to sin! Believer, under grace, we GET TO live more, love more, do more, give beyond the lawful regulations of the tithe and live a life of moral excellence that exceeds that which the law demands, not by our own effort but because "No longer I that live but Christ lives in me."

Acts 15 opens with: "While Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch, some false teachers came from Judea to trouble the believers. They taught, “Unless you are circumcised, as the law of Moses requires, you cannot be saved.”2 This sparked a fierce argument between the false teachers and Paul and Barnabas. So the church appointed a delegation of believers, including Paul and Barnabas, to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders of the church and resolve this issue. 3 So the church sent them on their way...."

This is not just about circumcision as we'll see in the meeting proceedings. See what happened at the meeting, even after they reported everything that God had done through them to the church elders:

5 "But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”

See the MSG Version: "Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. “You have to circumcise the pagan converts,” they said. “You must make them keep the Law of Moses.”"

This is the same thing that is happening in the church today. People are trying to introduce the Law of Moses to the gospel which is Grace and ONLY Grace, and are calling this horrid mixture of Law and Grace "a balanced message." For some preachers, this idea has its root in the belief that God's work cannot succeed without our making it so by some forceful effort on our part, much like how "Uzza put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled." in 2 Samuel 6:6. Many others who preach this are plain ministers of Satan following the example of their master who deceived Adam and Eve into believing that they could attain godliness (be like God) by human effort at doing something.

Grace is a person and His name is Jesus Christ. He does not need anybody to "balance" Him. Believer, Believe Right. See Paul's typology of Sarah and Hagar as the two covenants of Law and Grace in Galatians 4. Sarah (Grace) did not need Hagar (Law) to raise Isaac (the church.) Grace is enough.

So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue: "Must Gentile converts be circumcised and are they required to keep the law of Moses?"

Peter addressed the church elders and the Pharisees who had wrong believing and were insisting on putting the Gentile converts under the Law of Moses thus -

7 "At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. 8 God knows people’s hearts, and He confirmed that He accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

Notice verse 10? See the TLB: 10 "And now are you going to correct God by burdening the Gentiles with a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear?"

Today, just like those Pharisees, many church leaders are CHALLENGING GOD (see verse 10), forcing the sheep to labour under the heavy burden of the law in order to be godly. Christ says in Matthew 23:

“4 They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men;...”

Many sheep are labouring to obey the law (sow seed, pay tithe, keep the Ten Commandments....or else God will punish/not bless you) and are heavy laden with the guilt from their inability to do so. This is not of Christ. Paul says to us in Philippians 3:2 (KJV) - “Beware of dogs, ...” Beware of those who preach reliance on the arm of flesh (human effort at obeying the law) for salvation.

These preachers of a distorted gospel that is not Grace tell you that you cannot enter into Salvation (Christ Himself) or be accepted by God unless you obey the law of Moses. But Romans 3 tells us differently:

“26...and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”

Beloved of God, Christ says to you: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He came to save you from your sins and to lift the burden of the law from off your shoulders. Let’s take our blessed brains to church. Matthew 1:21 says:

“And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Christ came to save us from our sins. How can our Saviour who came to save us from our sins use those very sins that He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us and even punish us with death for them? This is akin to an oncologist dad refusing to treat his own beloved child who has cancer and even punishing his child....because his child has cancer.

God disciplines His children but NEVER with any of the things that Christ died to save us from. His correction is that we might "live," "for our profit," that we might become "partakers of His holiness" (we have none of ours) and that we might "yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness." Hebrews 12.

God sent His own Son to save us from the cancer of sin and the death that it produces. Sickness, lack, depression and all earthly ills are "death begun." With God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ, no longer having the sinful nature inherited from Adam (Romans 5:19), we get to have life and life more abundant. In Christ, He fills us with His Spirit, the only "chemo" that can transform the sinner to right living. His eyes burn at sin but radiate perfect love for the sinner who believes, saving all who believe from sins and addictions. If we could stop sinning all by ourselves and do all that the law commands, Jesus would not have needed to come and save us.

The one who is trying to obey the law in order to get right with God has been cut off from Christ according to Galatians 5:4: “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.”

What’s more? Romans 6:14 says: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Sin has dominion over those who are trying to obey the law in order to get right with God. Sin has dominion over those who are trying to obey the law in order to be godly. The letter (law) kills. But somehow, many in the church have Romans 6:14 backwards and are still trying to get right with God and obtain His favour by trying to obey the law of Moses that kills. Believers, let’s not be found here. This broad road on which many in the church are on only leads to destruction: being cut off from Christ.

This is how we are made righteous and thus enjoy every single blessing in Christ: “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience, many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

We are made righteous not because we obeyed the law but through Christ’s obedience when we put our faith in Him. See Romans 3:

“26...and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”

This is grace. When we enter this rest that is Christ with all of our baggage of sins, guilt, sickness, depression, lack, stinginess, all of our shortcomings, we cannot but become righteous, just as Christ is. ONLY by the abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness do we reign over sin and every earthly ill. By grace, receive God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ (believe that you are righteous) by faith and forsake yours from works of the law and you will get to live right. See Romans 5:17-

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ.”

By God’s grace, watch what you are hearing in your local church. Is it righteousness by works or righteousness by faith? Once your foundation is righteousness by faith, Christ’s righteousness and not yours from obeying the law, “all these things shall be added unto you.”

Right believing always produces right living