DAY SEVENTY-EIGHT: 

The Council at Jerusalem 

Acts 15:1-35 

Yesterday we looked at Paul's first missionary journey. The Gospel was already spreading to the Gentiles, and vibrant churches arose that were predominately Gentile, like Antioch. And with this first foray into the eastern Roman Empire still more Gentiles trusted in Christ. The original Jewish believers found themselves outnumbered and some found that uncomfortable. Some Jewish Christians came to Antioch and said that all these new Gentile believers must complete their salvation by fully converting to Judaism. They must be circumcised and must observe the dietary laws.  Paul and Barnabas argued with them, but neither side changed the others' minds. This was a critical question that needed a definitive answer. Both sides agreed to take their argument before the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

After the issues were laid out Peter rose to address the body. He told of his experience with Cornelius' household, how God told him not to consider unclean what He had cleansed. This cleansing took place through faith in Jesus Christ, and they received the Holy Spirit. Peter concluded, "Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." Paul and Barnabas followed Peter and gave a report on their recent missionary journey and on the progress of the church at Antioch. The Gentiles were eager to hear the Gospel and many were being saved.

After all this discussion and debate James tied it all up neatly. He saw the conversion of the Gentiles as a fulfillment of Amos 9:11-12, "After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old." The promises God made to Abraham and to David not just for the Jews but for all people. Recognizing this, James offered a solution: "Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues." The Gentiles should not have to submit to the Law of Moses, yet they must separate themselves from the pagan practices around them. This met with the body's approval and they drafted a letter to the Christians in Antioch and in the places where Paul and Barnabas founded churches:

"Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions... For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." Judas and Silas were appointed to carry the letter to Antioch, and they were received with great joy. Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch and the church there continued to grow.

Presbyterians refer to this council at Jerusalem as the first General Assembly. Of course, everyone else sees their own form of church government in this passage as well. But I think it does lend strong support to Presbyterian church government. It was the apostles and the elders who gathered to consider the matter. I believe that the office of apostle was a transitional step for the church and would pass away with the apostles themselves. Even before their deaths Peter (1 Peter 5:1-4) and John (2 John 1 and 3 John 1) referred to themselves as elders rather than apostles. The word elder (in Greek presbuteros) occurs 67 times in the New Testament. I could go on and on with this discussion of the biblical basis for Presbyterian governance, but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say that God's will is best discerned and tested within a group of gathered leaders. If you look at the history of heretical cults, they began with individuals who would not submit to the gathered church. Charles Taze Russell, the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, was once a Sunday School teacher in a Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. When the pastor and elders confronted him over some of his teachings he left in a huff and started his own church. He denied the Trinity, the divinity of Christ and a whole host of other central doctrines of the Christian faith. Even Paul at one point came before the apostles to make sure his teaching was correct (Galatians 2:1-2).

The Jerusalem Council's decision set the church on a new course. The Christian faith was not captive to its Jewish roots but was free to adapt. That's why there are over two billion people in virtually every nation on earth who call themselves Christians. A church in Africa or Asia looks and sounds very different from our church here in Sebring. But we share a common faith in our Lord Jesus Christ that transcends all those differences. God has fulfilled His promise to Abraham to make him a blessing to all nations!

Here's a song we learned in Sunday School. It just seems to fit. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wDUh3x0NhE