The apostles and elders have met at Jerusalem to discuss which requirements of Mosaic law, if any, the Gentile Christians should be compelled to follow. The Lord's brother James, a leader in the Jerusalem Christian church, concluded after hearing the debate that the only things the Gentiles should be asked to do is observe some of the Jewish dietary regulations and to avoid sexual immorality. The Gentiles, while they were still in idolatry, considered no food unclean and thought little of engaging in the rituals of fertility cults or of committing adultery or of leaving their wives for other women whenever it pleased them. These things belong now to their old way of life and must be left behind them. They will not be able to enjoy close fellowship with their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ if they continue to live by lax moral standards or if they continue to serve unclean foods at their tables. So now the council crafts a letter summing up their decision.
"Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers." (Acts 15:22) Here we find our first mention of Silas (sometimes called Silvanus), a man who will become a close friend of Paul and who will accompany him on missionary journeys. Barsabbas was previously mentioned in Acts 1 when he and Matthias were chosen as the two top contenders to take the place of Judas Iscariot. The lot fell to Matthias and he became one of the Twelve, but Barsabbas is obviously a very well-respected and godly man who can be trusted with important church business.
"With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings." (Acts 15:23) These men at Jerusalem are quick to assure the Gentile that they consider them family members, calling them "brothers". Whether Jew or Gentile, every believer in Christ has the same salvation. No one can boast about himself. No one can claim to be better than anyone else. Every single person on the face of the earth has sinned and every single person needs the Savior. I applaud the humility of the Jerusalem church for treating the Gentile believers as equals and for addressing them with such love and respect.
"We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said." (Acts 15:24) They say to the Gentiles, "We didn't authorize these men to come and tell you that your salvation isn't complete without circumcision and without observing the laws of Moses. We are sorry to hear they came there and caused trouble among you and made you doubt whether your salvation was secure." Is there any better feeling than having our minds set at ease? I've spent many a day with a troubled mind, haven't you? What a relief it is when we find out the thing we feared isn't true or isn't going to happen. The church at Jerusalem wants to set the minds of the believing Gentiles at ease.
"So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul---men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 15:25-26) The Gentiles need to be certain that what Paul and Barnabas are telling them is true, so to confirm the decision of the council the church sends two of its top men to testify to everything that was said in the meeting at Jerusalem. This way no one can ever claim that Paul and Barnabas lied to the Gentiles or told them something that was merely their own opinion.
"Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by mouth what we are writing." (Acts 15:27) This matter is so important that simply sending the letter won't do. Troublemakers might dare to claim that the letter is a forgery, something written up by Paul and Barnabas in order to maintain their positions of authority over the Gentile church.
The letter contains not the opinion of men but the opinion of God, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:" (Acts 15:28) The decision of the Jerusalem council was made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These men didn't just cast votes for what they thought was right; they prayerfully and humbly sought direction from the Lord.
"You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols," (Acts 15:29a) After an animal was sacrificed to an idol it could be eaten by the family who brought and it could be served to guests in their home. Or it could be taken and sold in the marketplace. A person living in Gentile territory could never be absolutely certain about the origin of the food made available to them, so the letter instructs the Gentile Christians not to knowingly partake of any meat that was previously sacrificed to a false god. The Apostle Paul discusses this matter in detail in 1 Corinthians 10:23-33. He points out that no meat is actually unclean because everything that God created is good, but he also points out that no one should offend his brother or sister in Christ by eating food in front of them that disturbs them. Because of the freedom he had in Christ, the Apostle Paul could have eaten anything sold in the marketplace with a clear conscience and he was able to eat whatever was placed before him in a Gentile home. But he says in his first letter to the Corinthians that, if anyone else at the table remarks that the food was previously sacrificed to an idol, he did not eat of it. This is not because he wasn't free in Christ to eat whatever he was served, but because it would offend the person who made the remark. If he offended that person it would hurt his Christian testimony to them and perhaps cause them to turn away from the church.
The letter advises the Gentiles to abstain, "from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality". (Acts 15:29b) The law said not to eat the blood because the blood was the life of the flesh. (Genesis 9:14, Deuteronomy 12:23, Leviticus 17:14) There are several very clear and practical reasons for this. First of all, raw meat has the potential to cause food poisoning. In our restaurants today there is usually a warning at the bottom of the menu saying something like, "Consumption of undercooked meats increases your risk of contracting salmonella or other foodborne illnesses". Another reason for abstaining from blood is that some of the pagan cults consumed it in their heathen rituals, and God's people were not to behave like the rest of the world. God's people have always been called to be set apart from the world, to be holy, and to live in a way that honors the Lord. The third and the most important reason for abstaining from blood is because it was to be considered sacred, not common enough for consumption. The blood of the sacrifice was accepted by God for the remission of sins. God always knew that His Son, the perfect and spotless Lamb, would shed His blood for the remission of sins, so when He gave the law regarding blood He did it so blood would remain sacred and holy and precious in the minds of His people.
The prohibition against eating a strangled animal is directly related to the prohibition against eating blood. An animal killed by strangling instead of by having its throat slit would still have the blood inside it.
The prohibition against sexual immorality is self-explanatory. No child of God should be guilty of this and, if a person finds himself or herself living in sexual immorality, that person should repent and be led by the Holy Spirit into a right way of living. I don't know that there's anything that will tear a church apart faster than finding out that the pastor has been having an affair. Such things should be unheard of in the church. Such things give unbelievers a reason to scoff at Christianity and to say, "They are no better than we are! In fact, some of them are far worse. What gives these Bible-thumpers the right to think they can tell us how to live when their own leaders are liars and cheaters and scoundrels? If this is what Christianity is, I don't need it."
No wonder the Jerusalem council ends their letter by saying, "You would do well to avoid these things. Farewell." (Acts 15:29c) We would all do well to avoid activities that make us look like the lost world instead of like the redeemed children of God.
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