Acts 15:20, commentary and pictures

The decree was given at Jerusalem to settle whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the whole ceremonial law to be saved, and it decided they must not be troubled, burdened or tested on that point. Gentile believers were instead asked to live holy lives by keeping four necessary practical requirements, turning from food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, and from blood and meat of strangled animals. Avoiding idol offerings kept them from appearing to approve idol worship, abstaining from blood honored its sacred meaning as life and avoided offense to Jewish conscience, and rejecting fornication broke with accepted Gentile immorality that could not remain in the church. The counsel was framed by the apostles and elders under the Holy Spirit to remove barriers between Jewish and Gentile believers so they could eat together and remain of one heart and mind. Though some zealous for Jewish ceremonies resisted it and the same prejudice later troubled Galatia and drew even Peter to withdraw from Gentile fellowship, Paul held to the decision in his work among the Gentiles.

Setting and Four Requirements

The dispute belonged at Antioch in Syria, where Paul and Barnabas had returned from their mission and reported how God had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles to a large and growing missionary church made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Teachers from Judea insisted that Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, the entire ceremonial law, to be saved, and many Jewish believers in Antioch supported them while Paul and Barnabas opposed imposing that requirement. The Jerusalem apostles and elders met as counselors to settle the difficulty, leaving room for the Holy Spirit to guide the decision rather than relying on church authority alone.

Grace, wisdom and sound judgment were given to decide the question, which affected the prosperity and even the existence of the Christian church. The decree followed the Holy Spirit's work among the Gentiles and was issued by church leaders using enlightened judgment, not a claim of infallibility. The decision, voiced by James, was that the ceremonial law and especially circumcision were not to be imposed on Gentile converts, nor even recommended or made a test of conversion. Their turning from idolatry to God was already a great change, so they were not to be troubled, burdened or discouraged with perplexing and doubtful questions. Gentiles did not have to become Jews to receive church privileges, and while Mosaic ordinances could be observed by Jewish Christians who chose them, they were not obligatory for Gentile Christians.

Instead Gentile believers were given four practical, necessary requirements for holy living: to abstain from pollutions of idols or food offered to idols, from fornication or sexual immorality, and from blood and meat from strangled animals. They were to give up customs inconsistent with Christian principles, keep God's commandments and live holy lives. These directions were meant to guide Gentiles without needlessly burdening or discouraging them.

Avoiding food connected with idol worship, including buying such offerings, would keep Christians from appearing to support, approve or endorse idolatrous worship and customs. Abstaining from blood and meat from strangled animals respected Jewish conviction and practice that an animal must be killed so its blood flowed out and drained before eating. Blood was regarded as its life and as sinful to eat, and as a sacred emblem of the Son of God, while meat was regarded as unhealthy if the blood remained. Gentile customs included drinking sacrificial blood or using it in food, and observing the restriction avoided offending Jewish Christians and made it possible for Jews and Gentiles to share meals without difficulty.

The warning against fornication addressed continued sexual immorality that many Gentile converts retained from the surrounding culture, especially among the Greeks where it was accepted and not even regarded as criminal. Such conduct could not be tolerated in the Christian community, though it shocked Jewish Christians and threatened fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. Some Jewish Christians considered this immorality intolerable and thought circumcision and observance of the ceremonial law would prevent it.

Purpose, Unity, and Aftermath

The four requirements were given to answer the concerns of Jewish believers and to affirm harmony with the work among the Gentiles, while guiding Gentile converts without needlessly burdening, discouraging, or prejudicing them. They were necessary requirements for holy living, calling Gentiles turning from idolatry to keep God's commandments and live holy lives, without imposing circumcision or making the ceremonial law a test of conversion. They removed practices that made fellowship between Jewish and Gentile Christians difficult and that would conflict with Jewish views or create prejudice against Gentile believers. Avoiding food connected with idol worship, including buying such offerings, kept Christians from appearing to support, approve, or endorse idolatrous worship and customs. Abstaining from blood and meat from strangled animals respected Jewish conviction that an animal must be killed so its blood flowed out and drained before eating, because blood was regarded as life and as a sacred emblem of the Son of God and meat was regarded as unhealthy if blood remained, while Gentile custom included drinking sacrificial blood or using it in food; eating it would offend Jewish Christians and make shared meals difficult. The warning against fornication addressed sexual immorality that many Gentile converts retained and that among the Greeks was accepted and not even regarded as wrong or criminal, but which could not be tolerated in the Christian community.

The decree containing these requirements belongs to New Testament teaching on simple church organization and order ordained for the unity and perfection of the church, which provides order without granting officers authority to command the Lord's laborers. It was framed and issued by the apostles and elders to settle the dispute over what was required of Gentile Christians, using enlightened judgment under the Holy Spirit's guidance rather than a claim of infallibility, and it was generally accepted by the Christian churches. Its united decisions helped make the unity of believers possible. Apart from that one short difference over circumcision and whether uncircumcised Gentiles should be admitted to the church, union prevailed, and the matter was soon and quickly settled. Through divine illumination and sanctification by the Holy Spirit the believers were perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment, all of one heart and one mind, and that unity in understanding, judgment, and fellowship is always the fruit borne under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Some Jewish Christians resisted the decision because they remained zealous for the ceremonies and traditions of Judaism and valued them highly. They suspected Paul of disregarding the law and being too lax about its obligations. They were troubled that Christian faith was causing Jewish ceremonies and traditions to lose their special status as Christianity moved away from them.

The decision had to be defended again when the same prejudices returned after the council had set aside prejudice and agreed with Paul's report of God's work among the Gentiles. False teachers in Galatia ignored that decision and urged converts to observe the ceremonial law. Peter at first shared meals with Gentile converts under its guidance but later withdrew when Jewish Christians who strongly upheld the ceremonial law arrived, and his change of conduct contradicted the decision and risked dividing the church. Later advice to Paul to conform to Jewish ceremonial customs conflicted with the verse, arose from fear of persecution rather than from the Holy Spirit, and was inconsistent with what had been sanctioned by the Holy Spirit, which still stood and did not require Gentile converts to keep the ceremonial law. In his work among the Gentiles Paul complied with the council's decisions and defended Christianity at Jerusalem and at Antioch against the narrow restrictions of Judaism.