“False friends” is a term used in linguistics for pairs of words in two languages that look and/or sound the same, but have different meanings. Being embarrassed in English means something rather different than to be embarazada (pregnant) in Spanish.
We live in an age when many mistakenly think that the essence of Christianity is inclusiveness or “unconditional love.”
Read More covenant, inclusiveness, circumcision, blamelessRead Reflect As Luke continues to describe the emergence of the Church in the world, he brings us to one of the most critical turning points in the whole Story of God’s plan to save the world. Up to this point, Luke has been telling us about how the Holy Spirit was winning people to […]
Read More grace, law, circumcision, requirements for salvationThe church in Rome had Christians who were Jews and Christians who were Gentiles. Naturally there would have been friction between them. The relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians was a major issue in the New Testament church. (See Acts 15 for an account of how the issue was resolved.)
Read More law, Gentile, circumcision, Jew, baptismThe Jews traced their ancestry back to Abraham, a man who first came to Israel from Ur of the Chaldees (in present day Iraq) to settle in the Promised Land. They put a lot of stock in the fact that they were God’s chosen people, They were circumcised as a mark of this. When the Christian gospel came to people outside the Jewish faith, this raised a burning issue for the Jews.
Read More acceptance with God, faith, Jews, gentiles, circumcision