Acts 15 & The Jerusalem Council. What did they really decide on??
I would like to address the problem of Acts 15. Make sure all of your pre-conceived understandings of what I am about to say are set aside, and open your mind. Before one jumps forward to the conclusion of Acts 15, one must ask themselves,"Why did the Jerusalem council come together, and what was the problem?" The problem is laid out in Acts 15's premise, verses 1-2:
Acts 15:1-2,"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.
As we see here in Acts 15's premise, the reason why this council of Jerusalem came together, was because certain men were teaching that If you are not circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Paul and the Apostles came together to discuss this very matter., and its so much to the reasons they came together.
First off, we have to consider some key things before actually diving into Acts 15. Background information is critical here. Notice that these men, who were most likely Jews, was teaching that circumcision saves you, and that it is according to the custom of Moses. I have come to tell you that there is not one single verse in God's law that even hints that circumcision saves a person.
The bible does shows us that God commanded his people to be circumised, because it is the sign of the covenant He made with Abraham. The consequence of not being circumcised was being cut off from his people, and not be apart of Israel, and the covenant. The scripture states In Genesis 17:10-13,"And this is the covenant which you shall fully keep between Me and you, and between your descendants after you for their generations; every male of you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised by you, every male throughout your generations, and the servant born in the house and he that is bought with money, of every son of a stranger, who is not of your offspring. He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with money shall surely be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."
The scripture clealy shows us what circumcision really is according to the written law of Moses, and not from traditions. Get circumcised as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. Each person, including the Gentiles that went with Israel, had to undergo this commandment.
The bible shows us that Abraham was saved before circumcision was ever a law. Romans 4:3 states,"Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” You can attest to this fact. So, the premise of Act s 15 is really showing us that its not actually the written custom of Moses that tells us salvation comes through circumcision, rather, it is the written customs of man that teaches this.
Take note of Jesus' words in Mark 7:6-8: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
Notice the phrase where Jesus said that they leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. That's exactly what's happening here in Acts 15. It is the mere posing of man's traditions on the followers of Jesus and the Israelites. And so they are bringing these traditions into question at the council. These traditions are what ancient, and modern Rabbis refer to as "fences", which guard around the written law to conceal the truth of actual interpretation.
Another key thing to understand is that Jews back then, and even in this day and age, still hold the Oral law(Talmud) in higher esteem than the actual written law that is outlined in the 1st five books of the bible. In their world, and today's world, a Rabbi's word will take 1st place over,"This is what the LORD says, or it is written." This is the exact background of Acts 15.
So, now you understand that its not the custom of Moses that command circumcision for salvation, but its the custom of man that does, for Jesus said,"You leav e the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
Now, the Apostles are there confronting this very premise, and Peter made the truth of the Gospel very clear to them all. He stated this truth in Acts 15:11,"But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Do you see that? Peter refuted any salvation by the law, and made the Gospel statement, that we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, and that the Gentiles will be saved the same way. Paul attested to what Peter said concerning salvation in Christ when he said in Eph 2:8-9,"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." There is no separate law, or salvation for the Jew & Gentile. All are one in Christ, and all are saved by Christ, and not the law.
Lets get to the four laws that all the Apostles agreed upon to give the Gentile believers as the intial acceptance into the Messianic Jewish community. It is the common misunderstanding, and possible deception, to believe that these four laws that were given to the Gentiles are the only laws that they will ever have to follow in their walk with Jesus. But, is this actually true?
Let us take a closer look at these 4 laws:
abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols
From scripture, and historical background information, we know t hat things that have been sacrificed to idols are food. Even Jews are not to eat anything sacrificed to pagan gods. In the Greco-Roman world, this practice was carried out in the pagan temples, where they would have feasts, and eat meat that was given to idol gods for their own pleasures. This actually breaks the 1st commandment in Exodus 20:3,"You shall have no other gods beside Me".
from blood
Dealing with Blood, Lev 17:12,"Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No soul of you shall eat blood, and the stranger that abides among you shall not eat blood." Technically, the Apostles were agreeing that Gentiles follow Torah here. The word stranger here refers to Gentile peoples, for the record. If Gentiles are to live with, and be in covenant with Hebrews, then they are to adhere to their laws.
from what has been strangled
To get a clear understanding of what this actually means, one must look into the culture of the Greco-Roman people. It is shown that when these pagans do their sacrifices to eat them, they would strangle the animal, and technically, blood will be trapped in their flesh. The animal is not properly drained. Jews were commanded to stay away from this as well. Them eating strangled animals will violate the command to not eat blood. Thus, Gentiles were commanded to keep Torah here.
from sexual immorality
Lev 18 clearly gives us laws dealing with sex, and that Jews should stay away from any sexual conduct that violates Torah. Gentiles were to do the same thing, and hence, they are following Torah on here.
What am I showing? I am showing that Gentiles still obeyed Torah, and I am also showing you that these four laws were what the pagans actually did. In other words, they ate meat given to idols, things strangled, ate blood, and fornicated.
But why give them just these four laws to obey? The answer is interesting here.
Jews of that time were already offended that uncircumcised people(Gentiles) were going into the courts, and synagogues, learning their laws. They did not even want to be around Gentiles. In order to not offend the Jewish community, and, in other words, make them feel good, the Apostles wanted these Gentiles to keep these four basic laws that everyone agreed on to get them accepted into the community. By the Apostles agreeing to these four laws, they would be accepted by the Jews, and this would lead to the understanding of verse 21.
James also states a great statement that most Christians miss. He stated in acts 15:21,"For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
In other words, Every city has someone teaching God's laws every Sabbath, and eventually, the Gentile believer would learn of their new God, and his laws every sabbath. In fact, this is the only time they could hear the Old Testament---The Sabbath! By doing this, th ese new Gentile believers would also be learning about the Sabbath day and how to keep it. It would not make sense to cram every law of the Torah down their thrats right then and there, therefore, they would learn all the law every Sabbath. James gave those laws to get them accepted into the community, and to start them off with the law, which is the right thing to do with Gentiles who were not born into the Hebrew faith.
One may mention Acts 15:10 where it talks about putting yokes around the necks of the Apostles, and others that want to follow God. The yoke is not the law of God. The Law of God was never looked on as a yoke of burden. If that was true, then all the prophets would have been in trouble, and they would not have blessed God's law. Paul said in Romans 3:31,"Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law." Its no use to uphold a law that is burdensome, and cannot be kept. God's word declares that we can keep his law, and its not a burden. Duet 30:11,"For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off."
In fact, Paul stated in romans 7:12,"So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." No burden at all. 1 John 5:3 states that Gods commandments are NOT burdensome. So, the yoke he mentions is not referring to the Law itself, but of the TRADITIONS OF MAN, which these traditions forces the law to become a burden to men.
This is why they did not want to put everything on these new Gentile believers. They would eventually learn the Law every Sabbath(Acts 15:21), so that they will learn the TRUTH of the law so that it would not be a burden resulting from Men's traditions. I believe I have addressed this problem of Acts 15, and I hope your mind stays open to learning of the wonders of God's holy law and prophets, for it is the foundation for which all of God's word incepts(begins).
1 John 5:3,"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
Shalom
Acts 15:1-2,"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.
As we see here in Acts 15's premise, the reason why this council of Jerusalem came together, was because certain men were teaching that If you are not circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Paul and the Apostles came together to discuss this very matter., and its so much to the reasons they came together.
First off, we have to consider some key things before actually diving into Acts 15. Background information is critical here. Notice that these men, who were most likely Jews, was teaching that circumcision saves you, and that it is according to the custom of Moses. I have come to tell you that there is not one single verse in God's law that even hints that circumcision saves a person.
The bible does shows us that God commanded his people to be circumised, because it is the sign of the covenant He made with Abraham. The consequence of not being circumcised was being cut off from his people, and not be apart of Israel, and the covenant. The scripture states In Genesis 17:10-13,"And this is the covenant which you shall fully keep between Me and you, and between your descendants after you for their generations; every male of you shall be circumcised. And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised by you, every male throughout your generations, and the servant born in the house and he that is bought with money, of every son of a stranger, who is not of your offspring. He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with money shall surely be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant."
The scripture clealy shows us what circumcision really is according to the written law of Moses, and not from traditions. Get circumcised as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant. Each person, including the Gentiles that went with Israel, had to undergo this commandment.
The bible shows us that Abraham was saved before circumcision was ever a law. Romans 4:3 states,"Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” You can attest to this fact. So, the premise of Act s 15 is really showing us that its not actually the written custom of Moses that tells us salvation comes through circumcision, rather, it is the written customs of man that teaches this.
Take note of Jesus' words in Mark 7:6-8: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
Notice the phrase where Jesus said that they leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. That's exactly what's happening here in Acts 15. It is the mere posing of man's traditions on the followers of Jesus and the Israelites. And so they are bringing these traditions into question at the council. These traditions are what ancient, and modern Rabbis refer to as "fences", which guard around the written law to conceal the truth of actual interpretation.
Another key thing to understand is that Jews back then, and even in this day and age, still hold the Oral law(Talmud) in higher esteem than the actual written law that is outlined in the 1st five books of the bible. In their world, and today's world, a Rabbi's word will take 1st place over,"This is what the LORD says, or it is written." This is the exact background of Acts 15.
So, now you understand that its not the custom of Moses that command circumcision for salvation, but its the custom of man that does, for Jesus said,"You leav e the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.
Now, the Apostles are there confronting this very premise, and Peter made the truth of the Gospel very clear to them all. He stated this truth in Acts 15:11,"But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Do you see that? Peter refuted any salvation by the law, and made the Gospel statement, that we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, and that the Gentiles will be saved the same way. Paul attested to what Peter said concerning salvation in Christ when he said in Eph 2:8-9,"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." There is no separate law, or salvation for the Jew & Gentile. All are one in Christ, and all are saved by Christ, and not the law.
Lets get to the four laws that all the Apostles agreed upon to give the Gentile believers as the intial acceptance into the Messianic Jewish community. It is the common misunderstanding, and possible deception, to believe that these four laws that were given to the Gentiles are the only laws that they will ever have to follow in their walk with Jesus. But, is this actually true?
Let us take a closer look at these 4 laws:
abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols
From scripture, and historical background information, we know t hat things that have been sacrificed to idols are food. Even Jews are not to eat anything sacrificed to pagan gods. In the Greco-Roman world, this practice was carried out in the pagan temples, where they would have feasts, and eat meat that was given to idol gods for their own pleasures. This actually breaks the 1st commandment in Exodus 20:3,"You shall have no other gods beside Me".
from blood
Dealing with Blood, Lev 17:12,"Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No soul of you shall eat blood, and the stranger that abides among you shall not eat blood." Technically, the Apostles were agreeing that Gentiles follow Torah here. The word stranger here refers to Gentile peoples, for the record. If Gentiles are to live with, and be in covenant with Hebrews, then they are to adhere to their laws.
from what has been strangled
To get a clear understanding of what this actually means, one must look into the culture of the Greco-Roman people. It is shown that when these pagans do their sacrifices to eat them, they would strangle the animal, and technically, blood will be trapped in their flesh. The animal is not properly drained. Jews were commanded to stay away from this as well. Them eating strangled animals will violate the command to not eat blood. Thus, Gentiles were commanded to keep Torah here.
from sexual immorality
Lev 18 clearly gives us laws dealing with sex, and that Jews should stay away from any sexual conduct that violates Torah. Gentiles were to do the same thing, and hence, they are following Torah on here.
What am I showing? I am showing that Gentiles still obeyed Torah, and I am also showing you that these four laws were what the pagans actually did. In other words, they ate meat given to idols, things strangled, ate blood, and fornicated.
But why give them just these four laws to obey? The answer is interesting here.
Jews of that time were already offended that uncircumcised people(Gentiles) were going into the courts, and synagogues, learning their laws. They did not even want to be around Gentiles. In order to not offend the Jewish community, and, in other words, make them feel good, the Apostles wanted these Gentiles to keep these four basic laws that everyone agreed on to get them accepted into the community. By the Apostles agreeing to these four laws, they would be accepted by the Jews, and this would lead to the understanding of verse 21.
James also states a great statement that most Christians miss. He stated in acts 15:21,"For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
In other words, Every city has someone teaching God's laws every Sabbath, and eventually, the Gentile believer would learn of their new God, and his laws every sabbath. In fact, this is the only time they could hear the Old Testament---The Sabbath! By doing this, th ese new Gentile believers would also be learning about the Sabbath day and how to keep it. It would not make sense to cram every law of the Torah down their thrats right then and there, therefore, they would learn all the law every Sabbath. James gave those laws to get them accepted into the community, and to start them off with the law, which is the right thing to do with Gentiles who were not born into the Hebrew faith.
One may mention Acts 15:10 where it talks about putting yokes around the necks of the Apostles, and others that want to follow God. The yoke is not the law of God. The Law of God was never looked on as a yoke of burden. If that was true, then all the prophets would have been in trouble, and they would not have blessed God's law. Paul said in Romans 3:31,"Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law." Its no use to uphold a law that is burdensome, and cannot be kept. God's word declares that we can keep his law, and its not a burden. Duet 30:11,"For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off."
In fact, Paul stated in romans 7:12,"So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." No burden at all. 1 John 5:3 states that Gods commandments are NOT burdensome. So, the yoke he mentions is not referring to the Law itself, but of the TRADITIONS OF MAN, which these traditions forces the law to become a burden to men.
This is why they did not want to put everything on these new Gentile believers. They would eventually learn the Law every Sabbath(Acts 15:21), so that they will learn the TRUTH of the law so that it would not be a burden resulting from Men's traditions. I believe I have addressed this problem of Acts 15, and I hope your mind stays open to learning of the wonders of God's holy law and prophets, for it is the foundation for which all of God's word incepts(begins).
1 John 5:3,"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome."
Shalom
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Yuri Solomon on
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No, not trying to catch me in some sort of mix up.
Actually I think we have a general agreement here. You just have redefined "completely" to not mean "completely".
I do agree that a genuine desire to obey God will persist in the heart of every true believer. I agree that anyone who commits sin without conviction is exhibiting signs of unbelief (1 Jn 3:9.)
I disagree with your use of the term "complete obedience" because it is impossible for any of us to "completely obey" God. It cannot be about "complete obedience" because none of us can or will accomplish that, which you have clearly acknowledged already.
So it is about "FAITH", and "saving faith" seeks to "obey" by its very nature and can be extinguished. -
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Permalink Reply by James Pierce on
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Yuri,
I explained to you what I meant by "complete obedience". -
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Yes you did. And I have pointed out that your use of "complete" is not in keeping with any standard definition of the word, but apart from your semantics, I generally agree that a persistent desire to obey God regardless of coming short (incomplete) is a vital sign of biblical faith.
Do you have a problem with this? -
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Yuri,
I stand corrected if I didnt explain to you what I really meant when I said complete obedience. When I said complete, I mean that your whole is set to obeying. I had nothing on my mind about perfect obedience. But, I do apologize for giving you a misunderstanding. -
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So what would you say this means?
1Jn 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. -
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Yuri,
Great scripture. The KJV can be confusing here, because it gives off the sense that if one commits a single sin, then they are done with. Also, it says they "cannot sin". THAT really confuses the crowd, because people are actually walking around thinking that if they DO sin, then thats it for them, or God is not in them.
I like the NASB, and the ESV, which inserts the word "practice". This flows with the rest of scripture. All have sinned, and fall short. KJV translators should have added "practice", for those who practice breaking the law are truly not of God. -
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Permalink Reply by Anna on
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Bro Soloman:
Are you aware that the term in question here born (Strong's G1080) - gennaō, can mean BOTH born, and begotten?
We are not yet BORN again. We are now "begotten" by the Holy Spirit.
Our Spiritual Birth comes at the resurrection.
It is at that time when we are "born of YHWH that we do not sin.
Here is the Strong's entry for "gennao" (G1080)
1) of men who fathered children
a) to be born
b) to be begotten
1) of women giving birth to children
2) metaph.
a) to engender, cause to arise, excite
b) in a Jewish sense, of one who brings others over to his way of life, to convert someone
c) of God making Christ his son
d) of God making men his sons through faith in Christ's work
~~~~~~~~
We must be "born again" to enter the kingdom.
We are still praying for the KINGDOM to come, therefore it is yet future.
We are at present begotten by the spirit, just as begettal takes place when a sperm meets an egg, and the embryo matures until it is born.
We are begotten of the sprit now, (not born again now as some erroneously teach) growing in our Mother the Assembly were those in ministry feed us the word to be BORN again when our Messiah arrives, and we will be like Him for we will see Him as he is.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." I John 3:2.
1 Cor. 15:520 - 54
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory
We will be like the Messiah when we are "born again". He could walk through walls, appear and disappear, and levitate into the sky. He could come and go like the wind, with no one knowing from where He came or where He went. Can any one of you who say they are born again now, do those things? See first John 3:8.
Today, we all now simplly born of the flesh, but also begotten of the spirit, to be BORN AGAIN at the resurrection fo the dead if we overcome. -
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Anna,
Shalom Aleichem, good to see you in here. -
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You should have invited me earlier. I just stumbled acoss your blog today...
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Agreed... that to the untrained interpreter of scripture it can be confusing. Actually even the idea of "practicing sin" does not quite capture the meaning either. But I won't go into that right now.
I am more interest in what you think "his seed remaineth in him... because he is born of God." -
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Yuri,
As long as you remain in God, He remains in you, thus his seed. -
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Does that really work with the analogy of born/seed? Can one ever not be of the seed from which he was born?
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