Unity and Truth
Opening Prayer
Loving Father God, how marvelous are Your wondrous ways, how kind is Your forgiving grace. I praise You.
Read ACTS 15:13–21
13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16 “‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’—
18 things known from long ago.
19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“The Holy Spirit had won the struggle for faith as the only basis for salvation. The impact of this for our lives is undeniable. Our righteousness with God is through our faith and not the compulsive fulfillment of our own idea of what he requires” (Lloyd John Ogilvie). Thank God for his amazing grace!
James was given the final word in the debate, and he sought to link experience and Scripture. Although what they were seeing was new, it had been anticipated generations before by the prophets. Amos is cited as evidence of that. When people have their eyes opened, the Old Testament from Genesis onwards portrays not a tribal deity but a God with a worldwide vision and heart. While God worked through Israel, their mission was always intended to go beyond national boundaries. This had been confirmed in the experience of Peter and now of Paul and Barnabas.
In affirming the truth of the Gospel, James was concerned not to divide the people of God unnecessarily. He valued truth and unity and would not play them off against each other. Error and division are both wrong. However, people take time to adjust. The saying “culture eats strategy for breakfast” reminds us how deep-rooted instinctive beliefs can be and how time is needed for a readjustment.
James therefore reinforced the principle that no extra demands should be added to the Gentiles. However, he put in place some transitional arrangements which respected the sensitivities of those struggling to get their heads around the new order. In particular, he wanted the Gentiles to be aware of how hard this decision would be for some of their Jewish brothers and sisters. Four requirements were stipulated, covering idolatry, immorality and diet. Strangely, in the human psyche we can be put off just as much by cultural matters at the table as we can by religious or moral misbehavior. The council proved a victory for truth in affirming the Gospel of grace and a victory for love in preserving the fellowship by sensitive concessions to Jewish scruples.
Apply
If you have a different viewpoint from someone else, take time to try and understand their perspective. Then see if there is anything you can do to bridge the gap.
Closing prayer
Thank You, Lord, that You came down to my level to reach out to me. Help me to find ways of reaching out to others, whatever the cost.
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