Circumcised Believers and External Threats in Acts
The early Christian church faced significant external threats and internal controversies, particularly regarding the relationship between circumcision and faith. The issue came to a head in Acts 15, where the apostles and elders gathered to address the question of whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised to be considered full members of the Christian community [1].
The controversy was fueled by "some who went out from us" — likely Jewish Christians — who were teaching that Gentile believers "must be circumcised and keep the law" (Acts 15:24) [1]. This teaching was not authorized by the apostles, and it caused significant unrest among the Gentile churches.
The apostle Paul addressed this issue in his letter to the Galatians, where he argued that circumcision was not necessary for salvation. He noted that those who were advocating for circumcision were doing so to "avoid persecution for the cross of Christ" (Galatians 6:12) [2]. In other words, they were trying to avoid the persecution that came with preaching the gospel by making Gentile converts undergo a Jewish rite that was seen as a way to "Judaize" Christianity.
The early church fathers understood the significance of circumcision in the context of Jewish-Christian relations. According to John Calvin, circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham, and it was a symbol of the spiritual circumcision that was to come through faith in Christ [6]. Charles Hodge argued that the New Testament teaches that circumcision is not necessary for salvation, and that it is not a means of justification before God [4].
The issue of circumcision was also tied to the broader question of the relationship between the law and the gospel. The apostle Paul taught that believers are not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14). Calvin noted that the law serves to reveal God's righteousness and to convict people of their sin, but it does not provide the power to obey God's commands [8].
The fear of persecution and external threats was a significant factor in the early Christian church. The apostles and elders recognized that the church was under attack from both within and without, and they took steps to address these threats. According to Adam Clarke, the early church was threatened by the Jewish authorities, who were seeking to suppress the spread of Christianity [3].
In the face of these external threats, the early church emphasized the importance of faith and the security that comes through faith in Christ. Calvin noted that believers are not immune to fear and trembling, but that their fear is different from that of unbelievers. Believers fear offending God, while unbelievers fear punishment [5].
The early church fathers also recognized that the church would face ongoing persecution and challenges. Tertullian noted that the church's secure existence would come to an end, and that believers would again face persecution [7].
Sources
- Acts “Because we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law,’ to whom we gave no commandment; -- Acts 15:24”
- Galatians “Galatians 6:12 (BSB) — Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.”
- Acts (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Acts 4:17: But that it spread no farther - Not the news of the miraculous healing of the lame man, but the doctrine and influence which these men preach and exert. More than a thousand people had already professed faith in Christ in consequence of this miracle, (see Act 4:4), and if this teaching should be permitted to go on, probably accompanied with similar miracles, they had reason to believe that all Jerusalem (themselves excepted, who had steeled their hearts against all good) should be converted to the religion of him whom they had lately crucified. Let us straitly threate”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 58: to be baptized, as we are commanded to confess Christ before men or to love the brethren. But these are duties to which faith secures obedience; they are not the means of salvation. 2. This ritual system is utterly inconsistent with the whole genius of Christianity. God is a Spirit, and He requires those who worship Him, to worship Him in spirit and in truth. External rites are declared to be nothing. Circumcision is nothing. and uncircumcision is nothing. “He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is ou”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 57: and the fear of believers there is a wide difference. The wicked do not fear God from any unwillingness to offend him, provided they could do so with impunity; but knowing that he is armed with power for vengeance, they tremble in dismay on hearing of his anger. And they thus dread his anger, because they think it is impending over them, and they every moment expect it to fall upon their heads. But believers, as has been said, dread the offense even more than the punishment. They are not alarmed 493 by the fear of punishment, as if”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 98: stolid arrogance of those men who, as with inflated cheeks, affirm or deny whatever suits them. 20. In order to gain a stronger footing here, they add, that baptism is a sacrament of penitence and faith, and as neither of these is applicable to tender infancy, we must beware of rendering its meaning empty and vain, by admitting infants to the communion of baptism. But these darts are directed more against God then against us; since the fact that circumcision was a sign of repentance is completely established by many passages of Scr”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. XV.: But again, that it is not the fear of external enemies which strengthens our union, is plain from the fact that this cause, by God's will, has already, for a considerable time, ceased to exist. And it is probable that the secure existence, so far as regards the world, enjoyed by believers at present, will come to an end, since those who calumniate Christianity in every way are again attributing the present frequency of rebellion to the multitude of believers, and to their not being persecuted by the authorities as in old ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 43: he might distinctly and clearly explain its proper meaning. But even in the reprobate themselves, this first office of the law is not altogether wanting. They do not, indeed, proceed so far with the children of God as, after the flesh is cast down, to be renewed in the inner man, and revive again, but stunned by the first terror, give way to despair. Still it tends to manifest the equity of the Divine judgment, when their consciences are thus heaved upon the waves. They would always willingly carp at the judgment of God; but now, t”