And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law. Acts 21:20
In the 1800s, many missionaries went to China with the Gospel. Although they were marginally successful, they seldom saw much accomplished. Then a man named Hudson Taylor arrived in China with a different approach. Until Taylor arrived, very few missionaries adopted the type of clothing or the hair styles of the Chinese. Not so Taylor. He felt that people would identify with him much better if he were to dress like them, and make every effort to fit in with their lifestyles. As a result, the Chinese welcomed him, and his missionary labours were hugely successful. In fact, Hudson Taylor’s labours laid a foundation that remains at the base of a huge underground Christian movement throughout China today. All because he was willing to accommodate himself to the local people. That is what Paul was being asked to do in today’s text.
The Christians in Jerusalem were different from those in the Gentile mission fields where Paul had been labouring. Unlike the Gentile believers, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem felt it was important to maintain the ordinances of the law into which they had been born and raised. They were steeped in a culture that meant nothing to the faraway Gentiles, and in fact, meant nothing to God. But it was important to them. Now that Paul has arrived in Jerusalem, the elders there realize that Paul will be rejected by the people if he does not fit in with their customs and ideas. Paul agrees to their request for him to perform certain rites in the temple, although the outcome was much more dramatic than they could realize. Although Paul was soon imprisoned, the purposes of God were carried out because he was willing to go along with local needs. Today, we also need to be aware of local needs when it comes to Gospel work and the customs of the local Christians.
It is not easy to fit in locally at times, because the outside world does not understand why we do some of the things that we do. For example, as men in the Assembly we prefer to wear a suit or a sportscoat and tie as respectful attire when coming into the presence of our Lord during our meetings. For us, this is appropriate, and a sharp contrast to the casual and disrespectful attitude of those among the denominations. But the outside world considers such formal attire stuffy, and accuse us of having a ‘dress code’ for our meetings. Great wisdom is required in knowing how to dress for Gospel meetings, especially those outside our own Halls. There is a fine line between showing proper respect and not turning people away.
The world does not understand many of the things that are important to us as Christians. We should be careful that these things do not interfere with our ability to bring sinners under the sound of the Gospel. We should also be careful that we do not abandon truth to accommodate anyone. -Jim MacIntosh