Story:
problem: judiazers
1. Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according
to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
2. And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul
and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.
3. Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria,
describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.
circumsize for salvation?
conflict arose when some people from judea arrived in antioch and argued that circumcision was necessary.
paul and barnabus, both jews, argued against this view.
to settle the argument, paul and barnabus and some judiazers head to jerusalem to talk with the apostles and elders.
the problem stated (4,5), then peter's response (6-11), paul/barnabus' relating god's actions among the gentiles (v12),
then james' statement (13-21).
4. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and
they reported all that God had done with them.
5. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise
them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."
6. The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.
7. After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early
days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8. "And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;
9. and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
10. "Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither
our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
11. "But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."
12. All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and
wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
13. After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.
14. "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.
15. "With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
16. `AFTER THESE THINGS I will return,
AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN,
AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS,
AND I WILL RESTORE IT,
17. SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD,
AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,'
18. SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.
19. "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,
20. but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and
from what is strangled and from blood.
21. "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the
synagogues every Sabbath."
peter speaks:
you know how god choose me to speak to the gentiles originally...
i saw them baptized with the holy spirit (uncircumsized).
if god saw fit to include them then, why are we arguing about this now?
and further...none of us have been able to keep the law - we're all under grace.
why test god on this matter? we're all saved by his grace alone.
paul/barnabus relate:
they relate what signs/wonders/evidence of god's favor they saw in their missionary journey.
also sprach james:
james says that the prophets agree with peter's testimony (that the gentiles will be gods people too).
he then quotes amos 9:11,12
he adds an intro phrase of "after these things i will return", which is either stolen from jer 12:15
or is his riff on the idea in amos.
he also tacks on a phrase at the end, "who makes these things from long ago", which is from isa 45:21 -
again an addition he adds to make a point (consistent with the passage).
"if god is happy with the gentiles, why aren't we?"
god poured out his spirit on them without circumcision - why would we require it?
if they were circumcised they would basically have become jews.
but...let's encourage them to follow certain rules, since moses is read all over the place every weekend.
no idolatry, no fornication, nothing strangled, and no blood.
the solution: a sort of middle ground
the apostles/elders agree with james, and they write a letter which says:
circumcision is unnecessary; avoid idols, blood, things strangled, and fornication.
22. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them
to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren,
23. and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch
and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.
24. "Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words,
unsettling your souls,
25. it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26. men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27. "Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.
28. "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:
29. that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication;
if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."
30. So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together,
they delivered the letter.
31. When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
32. Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.
33. After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out.
34. [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]
35. But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.
the group agrees with james, and opts to write a letter stating their decision:
circumcision is unnecessary; avoid idols, blood, things strangled, and fornication.
the letter is sent via certified mail, and they read it to the congregation at antioch when the arrive.
crowd goes wild, judas and silas are introduced (evidentally they were the mail carriers). they both are prophets, and encourage
and strengthen the crowd.
v34 is missing in bunches of early manuscripts and was probably added because someone thought it would help chapter 16's
inclusion of silas...but then you have problems with v33.
Issues:
give and take: thoughts on the decision
the decision has some good news for both sides.
circumcision isn't necessary, as christ called them and the holy spirit sealed them while they were uncircumcised.
but they should abstain from things the jews would find abhorrant.
in the end, the decision shows a surprising amount of sensitivity to both parties.
result: the church defines a position as a group and the gentiles rejoice
this issue was a huge problem for the church...if you haven't read galations, go and read that book having read this chapter
and you'll get a feel for how charged this issue was.
when was this written in relation to galations?
one of the huge questions around this chapter and galations is which one came first?
personally (jeff agrees) that galations was probably written before the jerusalem council (acts 15); perhaps during the period
in 14:28 (and they spent a long time with the disciples).
there is a ton of argument about this. i'm not sure it's solvable, and i'm not sure it needs to be.
if you're curious check das internets.
all that said...
this decision is hugely defining for the church - the church will treat gentiles as full members in their non-jewish state.
the results:
- acceptance
- multiculturalism
- rejoicing (at antioch; quite probably dissent in jerusalem (and galatia))
how about us...should we avoid the things mentioned here?
well...here are some options:
yes, these are binding rules:
- there are apostles in the group that makes this decision.
- james calls them 'essential' (v28)
that means we should avoid idolatry (duh), fornication (duh), things strangled (???), and blood (english people are sad).
yes and no, some are cultural.
everyone agrees that we should avoid idolatry (duh), fornication (duh)...
but things strangled...that's new, right? this might be a subset of idolatry (gentiles strangled sacrifices sometimes).
and as for blood...
maybe tied to sacrifice again, as gentile priests sometimes tasted blood?
maybe part of kosher? maybe a jewish sensitivity thing?
i'm for the cultural argument, as paul explicitly states that meat sacrificed to idols is ok in 1 cor 8-10 (though
it's outlawed here in 15:29). kind of requires it.
i do think that the wording in v28 gives me pause however, since he says "it seemed good to the holy spirit and to us to
lay upon you no greater burden that these essentials". however, since 1 cor says what it does, this (to me) needs to be
interpreted in the light of the holy spirits desire for unity (between jews/gentiles).
Moral:
salvation: by grace alone
the grace of god is nicely emphasized in this passage...
v8 "and god, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, giving them the holy spirit, just as he also did to us.
(they are just as good as us)
v11 "we believe that we are saved through the grace of the lord jesus"
god has saved us because god is good and gracious.
1. do it nicely.
the fruit of the spirit nees to stick with us, even when we argue.
2. communicate directly and openly - engage in discussion.
acts 6, problems with widows. the church responds with prayer and discussion, followed by clear communication
acts 15, problems with foreskins. the church responds with prayer and discussion, followed by clear communication.
the same rule follows for us.
3. you and your preferences may be wrong.
- sometimes you'll be wrong about facts and data.
"that's the fourth time this month"
"no, it's only the third"
not to big a deal.
- sometimes you'll be wrong about a belief/church issue
*much* more devisive; people get really angry about these issues quickly.
worse, the anger seems justified as people think they're fighting god's battle.
note how the early church responds...they decide to talke
settle down. do it in love.
1 cor 13 says that love should guide all your actions, and that god isn't pleased
if you sell all your possessions and give the money away...without love.
definitely true of our conflicts here.
the church has to work through issues.
we will have conflicts - the church always has.
we will have to decide on things...that is a given.
- every couple argues, every family fights, every church splits.
expect us to have our conflicts and problems.
consensus. it's good.
we should still value consensus, discussion, and unity.
god may be telling us we are wrong through our brother/sister.