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by N/A | Category: Question And Answer | Feb 1985

Are the decrees given to Gentiles (Acts 15:20) applicable today?

The churches of God have consistently accepted these decrees as applicable to all believers from that day to this. The gathering of apostles and elders (v.6) was primarily concerned with the application of circumcision to Gentiles, and the contention by some unauthorized brethren who taught in the churches of God in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia (vv. 23,24) that it was essential for salvation. Paul and Barnabas, as men called to the work of the Lord (Acts 13:2), could not themselves resolve a matter which was to have worldwide implications. They were therefore appointed by the brethren with other elders to consult with the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem conference shows that full discussion by the elders concerned was essential to arrive at a unified judgment under the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit (15:28). The letter conveying the decision showed humility and was definitive. It confirmed what Scripture already taught, and embodied what the apostles would yet teach in churches of God as follows:

1.Eating things sacrificed to idols was equivalent to having communion with demons (1 Corinthians 10:20).

2.Abstaining from fornication was not only commanded in the law of Moses but went back to the law of marriage as given to Adam and Eve in Genesis (Mark 10:2.12).

3.The eating of strangled things means eating both flesh and blood since strangled animals and birds remain full of blood. As a fundamental principle in the will of God for men, blood should be neither drunk nor eaten by man (Genesis 9:4.6; Deut. 12:23.25).

The epistle was delivered to Antioch by "chief men among the brethren" (15:22) and read to a gathered multitude (15:30.31). The communication did not rest there but was given also to others. "As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, which had been ordained of the apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem" (16:4). 50 the decrees are

Part of the Faith (16:5).

N/A | Feb 1985
Question And Answer