Acts 16:3

"Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those parts: for they all knew that his father was. Greek"Him would Paul have to go forth with him" "He (Paul) was always well aware of the necessity of training. new generation for the work and for the days that lay ahead" (Barclay p. 129) (2 Timothy 2:2). Stott notes, "His Jewish-Greek parentage would give him an entree into both communities" (p. 254). "Circumcised him" Some have charged Paul with inconsistency at this point, because it has not been that long since Paul refused to circumcise Titus (Galatians 2:1); and he opposed those who insisted that Gentiles must be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:1 ff). Yet most readers will note that the circumstances are very different. First, Paul refused to circumcise anyone when people were making it. matter of salvation (Galatians 5:1; Acts 15:5), but the case of Timothy was different. Luke realizes that Timothy is saved without being circumcised (Acts 16:1 "certain disciple"). Hence this circumcision has nothing to do with salvation or binding the O.T. upon Christians. The text actually gives us the reason, "because of the Jews who were in those parts". Paul knew that Timothy would be preaching to Jews, and his uncircumcised status could unnecessarily hinder his effectiveness, and being of Jewish ancestry, he had the national right to be circumcised. Nobody would get the idea that Paul thought circumcision was necessary for salvation in circumcising someone of the Jewish race, thus we see the principle applied that Paul defined in 1 Corinthians 9:19. Paul would always seek to respect the morally neutral customs in any society, so he could be more effective in teaching others. Thus we find that circumcision is. morally neutral custom for Christians (1 Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 5:6). McGarvey notes, "The Jews who were in those parts, like all other Jews, could not look favorably on. man of Jewish blood who was uncircumcised. He appeared to be repudiating his nationality" (pp. 79-80). Sometimes we forget that the first step in the door when it came to preaching to Jewish people was establishing the common ground that the OT was the Word of God and that in Jesus and the New Covenant the prophetic messages of the OT had found their fulfillment (Acts 17:2), yet an uncircumcised Jew would have no credibility, for it looked like he rejected the OT