“But some men came
down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved.’ And after Paul and Barnabas had no small
dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were
appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this
question…’Therefore my (James’s)
judgment is that we should not trouble
those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from
the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has
been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in
every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the
synagogues’.” –Acts
15: 1-2, 19-21 (ESV. Read Acts 15: 1-35).
Acts 15:1-35 gives a record of what has
been termed the “Great Jerusalem Council” to determine whether acceptance of
Gentile converts into the church fellowship also required that they be
circumcised, as was every good Jew. The
time of this Council was in 48 or 49 AD when the Way (church) movement was 15
or 16 years old. Some wise and able
leaders helped to handle the controversy.
The issue of “to circumcise or not” was raised by the Pharisaic element
that was still strong, especially in the Jerusalem church. Those who helped to examine the issue and
look at it from a biblical standpoint were Paul and Barnabas (and others not
named who went to represent the Antioch Church and the other Gentile
believers); Peter, who stood and preached in the assembly of the church at
Jerusalem; and James, (the brother of Jesus who is believed to be the major
leader of the Jerusalem church) who quoted scriptures from Amos, Jeremiah,
Isaiah and Daniel (see summary in Acts 15:16-17) and offered a key to the
resolution of the controversy. A circular letter was then proposed to Gentile
believers not only in Antioch but in other regions where churches had been
established. The advice was
practical—what every good Christian should be doing in living a life separated
from the world: (1) abstain from things polluted by idols; (2) abstain from sexual
immorality; (3) abstain from things
strangled and from blood. Read the
letter itself as recorded in Acts 15:23-29.
It first is an apology for those who went without being sent from the
Jerusalem Church and ‘unsettled your
minds’ (v. 27). Next came commendation of Paul and Barnabas who had worked
so hard among the Gentile believers.
Then an introduction of Judas
(called Barsabbas) and Silas who were sent by the Jerusalem Church as
ambassadors of good will to bear the letter.
The letter also made clear that the action of the Jerusalem Council was
Holy Spirit led (see v. 28). They did
not want to lay a great burden upon Gentile believers to go through the Jewish
rite of circumcision to be accepted into the fellowship of believers.
Oftentimes, churches have disagreements
that must come before the church conference.
The one faced by the early churches was serious, indeed. The agitation was by a group of strongly
pro-law proponents (called the Pharisaic sect), who, although now Christian,
still held on to the old ways. Often in
modern day church conferences we hear: “We’ve never done it this way
before!” This stance, when unresolved
peacefully, has led to church splits, hurt feelings, some dropping out and
refusing to participate any more in the work and ministry of the church, and,
at a place in rather close proximity to the “mother” church, another church
organized, sometimes a “monument to a quarrel.”
But God works to rectify the stubborn stances of His people and both new
and old congregations grow. We have come to define these situations as a way to
“divide and grow.” The peaceful
settlement of this issue in the first great Jerusalem Church Council did not
guarantee that there would be no future challenges. But at this point in time, the issues were
settled and the Antioch Church and others received the ruling and “rejoiced because of its encouragement” (v.
31). Thanks be to God!
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