But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood up and declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and be required to follow the law of Moses. (Acts 15:5)

Read: 2 Kings 4:18 – 5:27, Acts 15:1-35, Psalm 141:1-10, Proverbs 17:23

Relate: Pop quiz: What products are these the ingredients for?

1) carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, concentrated orange juice, natural flavors, sodium benzoate, caffeine, sodium citrate, erythorbic acid, gum arabic, calcium disodium EDTA, brominated vegetable oil, yellow 5

2) beef, water, high fructose corn syrup, salt, potassium lactate, sodium phosphate, artificial flavoring, sodium diacetate, ascorbic acid, sodium nitrate, paprika extract

3) Enriched flour, water, vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, dextrose, leavening, modified corn starch, salt, dried blueberries, apple fiber, natural and artificial flavors, maltodextrin, cellulose gum, citric acid, whey, soy lecithin, blue 2 lake, red 40 lake

4) Sugar, unbleached enriched flour, high oleic canola and/or palm oil, cocoa, high fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, leavening, salt, soy lecithin, vanillin, chocolate

5) Soybean oil, pickle relish, distilled vinegar, water, egg yolks, high fructose corn syrup, onion powder, mustard seed, salt, spices, propylene glycol alginate, sodium benzoate, mustard bran, sugar, garlic powder, vegetable protein, caramel color, extractives of paprika, soy lecithin, turmeric, calcium disodium EDTA

6) Crust: Whole grain oats, enriched flour, whole wheat flour, high fructose corn syrup, soybean oil, soluble corn fiber, sugar, calcium carbonate, whey, wheat bran, salt, cellulose, potassium bicarbonate, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, wheat gluten, niacinamide, vitamin A palmitate, carrageenan, zinc oxide, reduced iron, guar gum, vitamin B6, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, folic acid. Filling: High fructose corn syrup, glycerin, fructose, modified corn starch, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil, nonfat yogurt powder, cellulose, strawberry puree concentrate, modified tapioca starch, sugar, malic acid, natural and artificial flavor, salt, color added, datem, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, caramel color, red 40

7) Corn, canola oil, salt

8) cream, skim milk, sugar, egg yolks, natural vanilla.

9) Maple Syrup

10) Honey

My guess is that the top six will be a bit more difficult for people to guess than the bottom four. Although you might not be able to guess the specific brand for seven and eight, you will surely know the item. The last two… well, duh.

A recent trend in food nutrition is to say that the fewer ingredients a processed or packaged food has, the healthier it is for you. Well that isn’t always the case, it is a good benchmark rule to follow. Obviously there are a few things you really want to avoid like sodium benzoate (in #1 and 5) and high fructose corn syrup (1,2,4,5,6) even if it is one of a few ingredients, but in general the more complicated an ingredient list is, the less healthy that thing will be for you.

React: Human tendency is to complicate things. The longer an idea has been around, the more rules, regulations, or addendum are added to it. One senator wants to pass a law that will be really good and beneficial but by the time everyone has added their piece of pork to it that it might get passed, we are all praying for a veto.

We do the same thing with our religion. Christianity, at the very beginning looked very Jewish. There was nothing wrong with that, almost exclusively those who were coming to Christ were Jewish and so they were expressing their love for Christ within the context they knew. Then suddenly there was a big influx of gentiles becoming Christians. This is great except, gasp, they don’t look very Jewish. They are expressing their faith within a gentile context and that just cannot be tolerated.

I remember visiting one church a good while back where I was sitting about halfway up, wearing my hat. One gentleman in the front row, once he caught my eye, motioned for me to take off my hat. I just shook my head no. He looked surprised, confused, then made a more obvious suggestion. I touched my hat and shook my head no again. The rest of the service, he would periodically look back at me giving me the evil eye. I was a guest. A stranger. He didn’t know me from Adam. But he sure did his level best to make me feel very unwelcome and never want to come back… kind of like those guys in Acts 15:5. Even as we say things like “sola fide, sola gratia” (only faith, only grace) we still pile on our ingredients to “what makes a good Christian”. Perhaps its time once again to cut back on our ingredients.

Respond: Hillary McBride – Nothing Else Matters

God, if I have added a pile of unnecessary things to my faith, or what I demand from others of the faith, please forgive me. If I have judged or looked down on another because their genuine expression of worship to You looks different than what I am comfortable with or used to, forgive me. If there are ingredients to my faith that are getting in the way of the real thing, a passionate unrelenting pursuit of You, expose them and cut them away. It is Your grace that saves me. It is Your grace that keeps me. It is Your grace that will bring me home. Everything else is peripheral. 

[Ed’s addition: people are starting to wake up and read/like/comment here but so far I haven’t received a single guess as to what products I’ve listed the ingredients of. So for all of you who have already liked or commented here… you failed the pop quiz. For the rest of you, guess away.]