Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“Now, therefore, why do you tempt God, to put a yoke [the Law] on the neck of the [Gentiles] which our fathers were not even able to bear?”
Peter, in Acts 15:10
Many Jews who believed in Jesus also believed and taught that Gentile believers would not be saved from damnation in the end unless they not only believed in Jesus, but also became Jews. Paul opposed such a doctrine, but most of his converts were stolen from him by men who taught that believing Gentiles were spiritually incomplete without the ceremonies God gave Moses. In time, the ceremonies that Paul’s converts embraced as necessary were altered a bit to give them a less Jewish flavor, but the deadly effect was the same. Sadly, at the end, Paul lamented that all his converts in a huge portion of the area now known as Asia Minor had forsaken him for that “other gospel”.
The simple truth Paul was trying to show to everybody was this: The right way for Jewish believers to keep the Law was for them to keep it to themselves. The Law of Moses was never intended for Gentiles, and in Christ Jesus, Gentiles are as pure in God’s sight as Abraham or David ever were, or ever will be.