Continuing in our series about the controversies in the early years of the church regarding salvation for Gentiles and whether Jewish religious law should apply to them, we compare what James said in Acts 15 to some things Paul said about the question of eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. In the effort to alleviate confusion about whether Gentiles should follow the law of Moses, the declaration given in writing ended up eventually causing more confusion among non-Jewish believers in Christ. It was a significant disruption in their everyday lives.
There is quite a contrast with what Paul would say to Gentile converts in comparison to the original letter that was sent from James and the church council a few years earlier. But considering the cultural clash about some issues in that day between Jews and Gentiles, his bottom-line exhortation would be ... in spite of them being free from law and that all things were lawful ... to filter everything through love while considering those who may be weaker in faith and are more susceptible to a guilty conscience.
The scene takes place about a decade or so after it came to light that Gentiles could be saved. In Acts 15, a contentious debate occurred between apostles and other Jewish elders and leaders in the early church at Jerusalem. Should non-Jewish believers in Christ be forced to abide by the Mosaic law ... as these believing Jews thought they were still supposed to follow? Gentiles never had the law. James provided a compromise of sorts. He sided with the team of Peter and Paul - that Gentiles should not be burdened with the law in the same way as Jews - but it often gets skipped over that he made exceptions to the "rule." James listed four things from the law that he felt Gentiles should do going forward.
We'll begin to take a look at these lawful line items, and what it would mean for the Gentiles of that time within their culture as they would be trying to live in harmony with nearby Jewish believers who still embraced Moses. These four things were not merely 4 commandments out of 613 from the law, but were more like categories which would involve much more than what it initially looked like on paper, and would unnecessarily result in a much bigger burden than what would have been initially understood.
After Peter's revelation of Gentiles coming to faith - which coincided with Paul arriving on the scene - non-Jewish people were beginning to believe in Jesus and to receive the Spirit resulting in eternal life. The wildfire began to spread throughout certain regions. But it collided head-on with Jewish believers in positions of high authority who jumped to the wrong conclusion that these believing Gentiles needed to adhere to circumcision and other aspects of the law of Moses in order to be truly saved.
It resulted in "no small dissention" and "much debate," and it was suggested that the Gentile converters gather for a meeting at the church headquarters in Jerusalem, where Paul and Peter (among others) would meet with the apostles, the council and elders to determine if Gentiles who never had the Mosaic law should be required to follow it as those Jewish believers in Jerusalem assumed they were still required to do.
Following up on last week’s look at Acts Chapter 15, there was great debate among Jewish believers as to whether non-Jewish people (Gentiles) should be required to follow the law of Moses as they were coming to belief in Christ and getting saved. After all, Gentiles had no relationship with that law and now it was presenting a dissension among those who felt the law was still a necessary component with Jesus added to it. James appears to reach a compromise which was accepted between both parties … or was it? We’ll discover the possibility this controversy would continue and the debate between law and grace was just beginning as we look at various passages in the weeks ahead.
This week’s program dives into Acts chapter 15 where Peter, Paul and others met with the Jerusalem church council which included James and former Pharisees. The apostles were making the case during a heated debate that God was saving the Gentiles and receiving the Spirit freely. The council had accepted that Gentiles could be saved, but believed they needed to be “brought into the fold” by including and applying the law of Moses with the newfound life given by God’s Spirit.
The debate was about choosing whether salvation is by grace through faith alone … or whether works of the law needed to be included. In the end, James spoke on behalf of the church board with a surprising change of opinion—or judgment—by saying the Gentiles should not be troubled with keeping the Mosaic law. Although not everyone agreed, the revelation being brought forth was that Gentiles would not be brought into the old way of law, but that Jews were also freed from it. It couldn’t be a grace/law mixture for one group (Jews) and not the other (Gentiles).
