“What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you…” (Acts 21:22-23NIV)
Who said those words? The Christian elders in Jerusalem? To whom did they say them? It was to Paul that they said them. But why would they tell him to do whatever they told him? It was because they wanted to protect him from his Jewish enemies.
As the account goes, because of the things Paul had been preaching everywhere he went about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for man’s salvation and the abolishing of the Law of Moses by Him, many of the Jews saw him as an enemy of the state. In fact, even many who had become Christians among them were unsure of what to do with him. That was because most of them were still zealous for the Law of Moses and the customs of the Jews. And hearing that Paul had been teaching the Jews abroad to abandon this law and their customs did not make them happy with him at all.
If all these people, then, should see him in Jerusalem, they would most likely not treat him kindly. In fact, the elders of the church were certain that if the religious leaders of the Jews should find out that he was in town, they would stop at nothing to destroy him. And remember that Jesus did not teach the people to abandon the Law of Moses during His earthly ministry. Yet they killed him. How, then, would they treat a man like Paul, who was teaching their people to turn away from the Law of Moses and their customs? They would give him a worse treatment than they gave Jesus.
It was against this backdrop, then, that the church elders in Jerusalem at the time, including James the brother of our Lord Jesus, told Paul to listen to their counsel and act accordingly. And what was their counsel? It was that he would join certain men that had some rituals to make in the temple in performing those rituals. That way, those who saw him in town would be given the impression that he was still obedient to the Law of Moses and that everything that had been said against him was just a rumor. (Cf. Acts 21:17-25)
But was that the truth about the matter? No! Was Paul really living according to the Law of Moses at the time? No! Why, then, did the leadership of the church want him to give a false impression of himself to the people? As I said before, it was because they felt that was the only way to protect him from their attack, an attack that could result in the loss of his life.
Did Paul, then, listen to them or not? He did. Why? First, it was because he knew that what they were asking him to do was really nothing. That means it was not something that was capable of hurting his inner and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. Rather, it was something to be done to promote peace in his life and for the people around him.
Now, of course, the sacrifice this apostle was being asked to offer was totally unnecessary for salvation or righteousness, for Jesus has already taken care of these things for all humanity through His redemptive sacrifice. So, offering it would actually be a compromise of faith on Paul’s part. However, offering it would not make him sin against God, since it was God Himself that had commanded it in the first place. Therefore, his compromise to offer it was a worthy compromise.
The second reason Paul listened to those elders of the church must have been that he knew that what they wanted him to do would not accomplish the results they were hoping it would accomplish. As we see in the account of his ministry and journey, the Spirit of God had warned him severally that prison and hardships were facing him wherever he went. In addition to that, another man of God, Agabus, had prophesied to him that he would be bound in Jerusalem and handed over to the gentiles, if he should go there. (Cf. Acts 20:22-23 & 21:10-11)
Therefore, no amount of pretence could keep him from being persecuted, arrested and imprisoned by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. And that was eventually what happened. He was arrested and handed over to the gentile lords to be dealt with.
But then, if he had argued that out with the church elders, simply because he had revelations of what would become of him, he would just have been seen by them as an arrogant person. That, of course, would have ruined whatever beautiful fellowship he might have hoped to have with them. So, instead of arguing with these highly respected leaders of the church, Paul decided to listen to them and compromise. But again, it was a worthy compromise, a compromise that did not alter the will of God for his life and that also made it possible for him to continue to have the respect of those church elders.
What, now, is the wisdom in all this for us? It is simply that it is not every compromise that is sinful. There are worthy compromises, even of faith. And our ability to know when to employ them will be a true manifestation of the wisdom of God in us. As we see in Paul’s case, any compromise that will make peace reign where we are is a worthy compromise and should be employed by us, as long as it will not make us sin against God.
Also, any compromise that will not prevent things from happening the way we expect them to happen but save us from appearing arrogant is a worthy one and should be employed by us when necessary. And my prayer is that the Spirit of God will daily fill you with sufficient wisdom to recognize those worthy compromises you need to employ in order to not to ruin the beautiful relationships in your life, while you are seeking to maintain your faith and integrity before God and man. Amen.
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