The Fourth Wall - Day 10

Acts 15-Jerusalem council

6 So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. 7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. 8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

The discussion seems long, and the author does not give us the finer points that were made. But what the author does share with us are Paul's words, which seem to bring some clarity to the conversation as it stands so far.

Paul wanted them to understand at least two things: 1) His calling to the Gentiles. And 2) His unwillingness to burden them with something that the Jews themselves were unable to accomplish.

We should not diminish the importance of these words. They have resonated down through the centuries, and we function today in the way that Paul would have us function, not in the way that those elders in Jerusalem would have had us function. In other words, we don’t have to circumcise our men when they come into the faith or when they are born. They do not need to carry that particular mark of fellowship that the Jews believed was imperative to show they were descendants of the covenant of Abraham.

Paul made this argument clearly and with power in no small part because he was a Pharisee in his former life and would have adhered to all of the requirements of the law of Moses at that time. I would argue that it is possible that he was still pretty involved in many of those laws, as they had become a part of his life. However, he was not interested in making others follow that same line of lifestyle identification. He knew the obstacle that would become, and he also knew that God was not interested in rituals but was interested in the whole hearts of those who came to accept the gospel in their lives.

1. What do you think about Paul’s statements versus the statements of the elders in Jerusalem? 
2. Would you have been willing to be circumcised when you were converted to Christianity? 
3. How do you think the church would have grown in the world if these requirements were left in place for the Gentiles?