Christianoi

Meditations for Ragamuffins

November 1, 2023

Christianoi 

This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

 Galatians 2:4-5

We live in a hyphenated culture. Seldom is someone referred to by just one defining characteristic. People are referred to as African-Americans, or Asian-Americans, or Italian-Americans. We also divide ourselves into sub-groups based on schools and universities, states, and regions. As seriously as some people take these divisions, they pale in comparison to how the Jews in the first century marked their identity as God’s people through male circumcision. This national, religious, and cultural identity ran so deep that even the Jews who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah expected all the male followers of Jesus to be circumcised. This was a huge point of contention between the Apostle Paul and those leaders in the Christian movement who tried to require Gentile believers to comply with male circumcision and the Law of Moses. (These leaders were known as Judaizers.)

At one time, the followers of Jesus were known as Christianoi, People of Christ. Over the centuries, we have become Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Anglicans etc. Why all the denominations and non-denominations and differing local churches?

It’s all about control. With churches, it is a way of trying to hold on to our past, and at the same time step into God’s Kingdom. This puts us in a dilemma. On the one hand, the way churches are organized creates a temptation to think we are right and others, not in our church, are wrong. This creates disunity in the Body of Christ. On the other hand, our churches in their present form are all we have. This reality creates a huge temptation for us to think we can just bring our Christian faith alongside of our cultural beliefs and try to blend them together.

How can we respond to this dilemma? Our denominational and church doctrine and structure are important and helpful in our life in Christ, but the most important thing is to keep our eyes on Jesus. Paul told the Corinthians “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17). He was more emphatic in what he told the Galatians. Not only is our old life gone, but our old identity is also dead. We have a new identity as the People of Christ. (Galatians 2:20)

My Takeaway: The Jews set themselves apart from others through their mono-theistic faith in the Creator God, their male circumcision, and their dietary laws. Today, the People of Christ are set apart by their belief in justification by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. Any other form of identification for the followers of Christ is not of God.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.