Acts 15:22-35

    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, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter:

 

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

 

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

 

Greetings.

 

    We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 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. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

 

Farewell.

 

    The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

 

What an encouraging message! The Gentiles would not be asked to act like Jews in almost any areas at all. No radical custom change – from Gentile to Jew – was required to follow Jesus. Instead, Jews and Gentiles alike were called to conform to Jesus Himself.

 

Why? “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.” It is fairly easy to see where the apostles and elders get the “us” part of this statement. But what about the “Holy Spirit” part? How can they be so sure that the Holy Spirit is in agreement with their idea?

 

First, they had the Holy Spirit’s evidence that God was accepting people – Gentiles – without those Gentiles ever having become Jews (Acts 15:7-12). Second, they had the Holy Spirit’s words announcing to them that God was rebuilding David’s fallen tent and was including Gentiles – and they had seen God doing this without turning Gentiles into Jews (Acts 15:15-18). Because they had heard the Holy Spirit’s words and seen His activity among the Gentiles, they could authoritatively say that the Holy Spirit was calling Gentiles to God as Gentiles, not as Jews.

 

Father, thank You that we can always make our decisions with guidance from You. You have spoken, and we have Your words with us. Help us to listen to them. You have initiated and acted in our lives. Help us to open our eyes and follow Your guidance. Thank You that You showed Your Jewish people Your grace toward us Gentile people. Thank You that they saw, they listened, and they followed Your lead. Thank You, because now we Gentiles can follow Your lead, too. You are good!