Acts 15:22-35 The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers

The Church will always be under attack by false teachings and it is the responsibility of the church to fend off such attacks by confronting those teachings head on and seeking clarification in the Scriptures with the body. When false teachings are left unchecked, people are troubled, and unsettled in their minds. Once clarification is reached, people are encouraged and able to rejoice once again in the joy of the Lord. As pointed out before, the Church sought to Reason their Experience in the light of Scripture guided by the Holy Spirit and came to a conclusion that seemed right to the Spirit as well as to the leaders.


After much debate and discussion, the Jerusalem Church came to a conclusion: Gentile believers should not be burdened with more requirements than these: "that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality." From Paul's discussion in 1Cor. 8, we know that eating food sacrificed to idols is not a sin. Paul refers to the mere act of eating, not to the participation in the ritual which is wrong. The prohibition has the purpose to avoid offending Jews who have a problem with it due to the dietetic restrictions of the Law that they have observed for most of their lives. It is not a sin, but if you eat and offend a brother you have sinned against him. So abstain! I believe alcohol today falls under this category. Is it sin? No! Can it harm someone else? Yes! So abstain before you offend.

The second item on the list is to abstain from blood. The prohibition of blood is not a result of the Law. It has been prohibited since God gave the animals for food (Genesis 9). The reasoning behind the prohibition is that it represents life and we are to respect life. Blood was to be drained out of the animal before consumption. Blood has never been a food group in the Scriptures and therefore cannot be counted among foods at all. We cannot include blood in the foods that were pronounced clean in the vision given to Peter (Acts 10) because blood has never been a food! Moreover, we preach that the blood of Jesus Christ is the one that cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It is for this reason that God wanted to instill in us a respect for blood. We are redeemed by the blood of Christ and it behooves us to respect blood. It is my conviction that this prohibition is not a mere dietetic law that we can dismiss casually, but a principle of respect for life that still stands today.

The third prohibition has to do with strangled animals and I would include it in the discussion of blood as well because it is referring to food that has been cooked with blood in it. We know that food comes in and goes out of the body and it does not pollute us. What comes out of the heart is what pollutes us. But remember that the prohibition of blood is out of respect for life and we should not consume it. I would not become legalistic about it, but I would not be careless about it either.

The final prohibition is from sexual immorality. Those who argue that the Jerusalem Council was all about food miss the fact that sexual immorality is also prohibited. It is for this reason that we can't dismiss this Council so readily, and we should not dismiss the prohibition of blood either. You can't sweep it all under the category of "old dietetic restrictions." The Scripture is clear about sexual immorality. We are to flee from it! In a society that is constantly flaunting its sexuality, it is a message that is hard to hear. It is the truth nonetheless. Pornography, prostitution, Gentlemen's clubs, etc. are all proliferating day by day, but we are called to abstain. How can we answer such a call? By the power of the Holy Spirit we can live lives of purity before our God.

There are a few practical things we can do to beat sexual immorality. First, we need to cut off all access we have to pornography. If we feed the mind with it, we can't expect to have power to say no to sexual immorality. Second, we need to be accountable to someone for it. If we know we struggle with it, we have to have someone in our face asking the hard questions as often as possible. Also, I recommend the use of software that monitors our use of the internet. The major proliferation of pornography has been online. People may fear to enter a gentlemen's club, but may feel very comfortable hitting a key on their computer to gain access to it.

Father, help me to be mindful of my brothers and sisters and their weaknesses. May I not become a stumbling block to them. Give me insight and conviction concerning the issue of blood. Fill me with the power of your Spirit to fight against sexual immorality. Amen.

Acts 15:12-21 The Jerusalem Council - Part II

After Peter's testimony on how the Holy Spirit guided him to minister to the Gentiles and how the Holy Spirit came upon them just like for the Jews, Paul and Barnabas take the stand and testify on all the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. Both Peter and Paul had experienced the presence of the Spirit guiding them to minister to the Gentiles and the power of the Spirit upon them in conversion and baptism accompanied by signs and wonders just like among the Jews. There is no partiality in God and there should be none in the Church which means there should be none in me.

Now James, the Apostle, more likely the lead elder of the Jerusalem church, offers scriptural backing for what Peter, Saul, and Barnabas have experienced and are trying to explain. He cites Amos 9:11-12 that refers to the restoration of Israel in the end times to include all the nations of the world. It is interesting to note that the apostles are reasoning together to find a solution to the Gentile issue. They bring experience, but they also bring the Scriptures to bear upon it. There was no angel with a message, there was no vision (they had a few already on the issue), and they were not prophet speaking a word. Yet, the presence of the Spirit in their decision-making cannot be questioned. Experience, Scripture, and Reason are working together for the glory of God and the advancement of his kingdom.

James, based on the evidence before them, proposed a solution to the issue of asking Gentile believers to circumcise and keep the Law. He proposed that no undue burden be placed upon them, but "to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood." And the reason he gives for the Gentiles to abstain from these things is that the Law is proclaimed in the synagogues everywhere. In other words, to ensure that the Gospel would have no stumbling blocks among the Jews and to ensure the fellowship between Gentiles and Jews, there had to be some standard of conduct.

Am I willing to do whatever it takes to avoid being a stumbling block for the Gospel where I live? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to ensure fellowship with my brothers and sisters who are different from me in my local church? I think I am too prompt to sound the cultural trumpet to excuse myself from things that could offend others. Whether that be language, food, greeting, etc. I must be willing to give up my culture for the sake of the kingdom of God so that people don't have objections to the Gospel and my brothers and sisters can feel comfortable around me. Ultimately, my citizenship is from heaven and not from earth. And heavenly citizens are willing to give up their earthly customs to promote evangelism and fellowship.

Father, thank you for my heavenly citizenship. Help me understand that my culture may stand in the way of reaching others for the kingdom and it may stand in the way of bonding with my brothers and sisters in the kingdom. Grant me discernment to learn what I must give up to avoid being a stumbling block for the Gospel. Amen.

Matthew 19:1-12 Teaching About Divorce

The Pharisees approach Jesus to test him one more time. On this occasion, they ask about divorce - is it lawful? Jesus' answers quoting from the Creation account (Gen.2:24) that a man and a woman become one flesh when they marry and since the union is performed by God, no man has the right to separate them.

The Pharisees appeal to Moses and state that he commanded divorce. They appeal to the authority of Moses as a reliable source to give them certainty that divorce is permissible. During those days, a man could divorce his wife for any reason. If she didn't please him with her cooking or her care of the home, the man could dismiss her by giving her a certificate of divorce. Certificates of divorce could be given for any reason at all. They used Moses' permission as a command for their own selfish purposes.

Jesus' explanation for Moses granting (giving permission, not commanding) divorce certificates cuts to the core of the issue. It was due to their hardness of heart. But it was not the original design and intent for marriage. It is wrong to enter marriage with the notion that if it doesn't work, I can call it quits. It is wrong to enter marriage with the thought that if I find someone better, I can end it here. Marriage was designed for life. Its original intent is to unite two people for as long as they shall live until death do us part. 

My hardness of heart stands in the way of God's design and purpose in marriage. If my marriage is going to last the test of time, I must submit my heart in the hands of the Lord so he can soften it. My commitment to the covenant of marriage grows out of a heart that is sensitive to God and his commands. I must be committed to my God wholeheartedly so that I can be committed to my wife for the rest of my life. When my heart is filled with selfishness and pride, I cannot love my wife. But when my heart is filled with the love of God, I find it easier to love my wife today and commit to love her unconditionally tomorrow. The only acceptable reason for a divorce, according to Jesus, is sexual immorality. But even sexual immorality could be forgiven and does not have to lead to divorce.

Lord, help my marriage to be built upon the Rock. May your Holy Spirit soften my heart to accept your design and purpose in marriage. May I be faithful to my wife until the end of our days. May we remain one flesh until death or your return. Amen.