21st Century Judaizers: Making it difficult for people to turn to God

There was a tendency in early Christendom to retreat back under the Mosaic legislation, which was a very long list of do’s and don’ts. Put differently, Christianity became a legalistic driven religion rather than grace driven; some priests were telling men they would have to be circumcised before becoming a Christian. These Christians were called the Judaizers.

There are 21^st century legalists or Judaizers that make it “difficult for Gentiles to turn to God” Oftentimes, we try to impose morality on a people as a means of grace; Biblical morality is a result of grace, not a condition for grace. There will always be a mysterious tension between grace and truth.

Watching mainstream media is one of many indications that Christianity is a sub-culture. This is why many people get burned by churches who force religious morality without creating a biblical community. To turn Christianity into a sub-culture is to create God in your own image; this is idolatry. Christianity is applicable to all cultures; leveraging culture to share the gospel is called contextualization. Paul's missionary journeys in Acts is a great explanation of contextualizing the gospel.


Jesus never asked people to subscribe to a list of prerequisites before following him.  In fact, the people that turned to him in the gospel accounts met none of the religious pre-requisites of the day.

If we are going to take grace seriously…

If we are going to take the great commission seriously…

 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

Acts 15:19