![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Acts_of_the_Apostles_Chapter_16-1_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x220.jpg\")
Acts of the Apostles Chapter 16:1 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media)<\/p><\/div>\n
Paul didn\u2019t circumcise Timothy because of God\u2019s law. He didn\u2019t circumcise Timothy to qualify for the gospel. He circumcised Timothy because of the Jews in the\u00a0areas they would be preaching. He circumcised Timothy because they would know that Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. He circumcised Timothy because it was enough of a negative in the mind of the Jews that a Jewess would marry a Gentile, but then for her son to be raised as a Greek instead of a Jew would be an almost insurmountable barrier to the Jews. Why would they listen to a man who had been unfaithful to what should have been his upbringing and religion? <\/p>\n
Timothy wasn\u2019t circumcised out of obligation to God or as part of the gospel. Rather, he was circumcised so he wouldn\u2019t hinder others from listening to the gospel. Sure, his circumcision shouldn\u2019t matter to those folks. It was really none of their business. He had every right to remain uncircumcised. Many of them likely wouldn\u2019t even know or find out about Timothy\u2019s parentage or uncircumcision. However, Paul and Timothy weren\u2019t going to take the chance. They would remove the obstacle so it wouldn\u2019t be a problem no matter what. <\/p>\n
Paul and Timothy were most concerned about souls. May we all be so concerned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Edwin Crozier Didn\u2019t we just have a whole debate in Jerusalem that discovered Christians didn\u2019t have to be circumcised? In fact, in Paul\u2019s letter to the Galatians, he will brag that no one made Titus get circumcised during that meeting (Galatians 2:1-3). Yet, Paul circumcised Timothy. What\u2019s up with that? Paul didn\u2019t circumcise Timothy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[480,451,331],"class_list":["post-23081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-circumcision","tag-teaching","tag-timothy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46842,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-would-anyone-know-if-timothy-was-circumcised-or-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":23081,"position":0},"title":"How would anyone know if Timothy was circumcised or not?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I saw the recent reader's question - \"Why did Paul have Timothy circumcised after the council at Jerusalem?\" And your answer \"In regards to why Timothy was circumcised after the Jerusalem council, it is simply because Paul met Timothy after that council. Timothy wanted to join Paul, but because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22974,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-paul-have-timothy-circumcised-after-the-council-in-jerusalem\/","url_meta":{"origin":23081,"position":1},"title":"Why did Paul have Timothy circumcised after the council in Jerusalem?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was scanning the questions and found\u00a0the Jewish lineage one. Timothy was counted as Jewish because of his mother. Paul circumcised him and we know that Timothy's father was a Gentile while his mother and grandmother were Jewish. Why did Paul have Timothy circumcised after the council at Jerusalem?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1803,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-apostle-paul-keep-the-laws-found-in-the-torah\/","url_meta":{"origin":23081,"position":2},"title":"Did the apostle Paul keep the laws found in the Torah?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 20, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did the apostle Paul keep the laws found in the Torah? If so, why do people reject them today? Answer: \"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22139,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-timothys-father-a-non-believer\/","url_meta":{"origin":23081,"position":3},"title":"Was Timothy’s father a non-believer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: One passage I'm having a problem with is\u00a0Acts 16:1. In time past I have\u00a0heard a couple of different preachers on different occasions\u00a0say some that Timothy's father was a \"non-believer\". I am not confident in teaching\u00a0that Timothy's\u00a0father was\/was not a believer.\u00a0 While it is true the text does not say\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50145,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-circumcision-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":23081,"position":4},"title":"Is circumcision necessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you consider male circumcision a necessary intervention in life - young or old? I only ask because some Christian denominations believe so. I was circumcised as an adult. I only ask for your guidance. I accept that Jesus was circumcised. It was my Sunday School teacher who broached\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9356,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-the-vow-paul-took-at-cenchrea\/","url_meta":{"origin":23081,"position":5},"title":"Could you explain the vow Paul took at Cenchrea?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can you please explain the vow Paul took at Cenchrea that made him cut off his hair recorded in Acts 18:18? Answer: Paul stated once, \"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23081\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}