On Sunday I preach from Acts 15:1-35. One commentator calls this text the “watershed” passage for the entire book of Acts. The implications of the events and decisions in this text for the early church were absolutely massive. One of the critical questions asked in this text was whether Gentile Christians had to be circumcised like their Jewish peers. This is an archaic question to my ears, but for the early Jewish Christians it was a natural assumption that all Jesus-followers needed to be circumcised.
As I’ve studied this portion of Acts I’ve had a hard time answering this question: What are the present-day equivalents to circumcision? In other words, what are the culturally bound elements that we assume must be associated with acceptance of the Gospel? The apostle Paul has some very strong words about adding any requirements to the Gospel, but it seems a difficult task to critique our own cultural blind spots. My assumption however, is that we are no less susceptible to adding to the Gospel of grace than was the early church.
I’d be most grateful if you have any suggestions of ways we add expectations and requirements to the Gospel today.
On a related note: Our first Gospel and Culture Conference begins a week from today. You can find all of the information on the conference web page. Our speaker is Skye Jethani, whose book, The Divine Commodity, I reviewed earlier this year. I hope you can make it.
David W. Swanson 
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