Decisions made by a committee and a written letter to followers in Antioch; appears to definitely be a church organization in place by this time in history.
And within organizations, there are rules and when people do not follow the rules there are more rules to address the situation.
But with God, Jesus’ love and The Holy Spirit the questions and the answers come from within.
It seems circumcision is more of a health, than a religious decision today. Here circumcision becomes an issue in the early Church.
But some came down from Judea and began to teach the brethren, saying, “Unless you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
Some of the Pharisees sect, who had accepted the faith, got up and said, “They must be circumcised and also told to observe the Law of Moses.”
Peter: “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among us, that through my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Why then do you now try to test God by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke (the Law of Moses?) which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
James: “Brethren, listen to me. Simon has told how God first visited the Gentiles to take from among them a people to hear his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written, ‘After these things I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down, and the ruins thereof I will rebuild, and I will set it up; that the rest of mankind may seek after the Lord, who does these things.’ ‘To the Lord was his own work known from the beginning of the world.’ Therefore my judgment is not to disquiet those who from among the Gentiles are turning to the Lord; but to send them written instructions to abstain from anything that has been contaminated by idols and from immorality and from anything strangled and from blood.
Then the apostles and the Presbyterians… decided to select representatives (Judas, surnamed Barsabbas and Silas) to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas… They were bearers of the following letter:
…”For the Holy Spirit and we have decided to lay no further burden upon you but this indispensable one, that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangles and from immorality; keep yourselves from these things, and you will get on well. Farewell.”
‘God made choice among us’ meaning he choose one versus another to be a disciple or gave us free will? Probably too early in the Church to address free will although it was present from the moment Jesus selected Simon (Peter) and his brother Andrew as his first disciples.
The Acts of the Apostles Paul and Silas continues with the addition of Timothy…
And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, son of a believing Jewess, but of a Gentile father… This man Paul wished to go forth with him, and he took and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Gentile… So the churches grew stronger and stronger in the faith and increased in numbers daily.
They (Paul, Silas, and Timothy?) were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in the province of Asia… they tried to get into Bithynia, bit the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them… set out for Macedonia, being sure that God had called us to preach the gospel to them… and thence to Philippi, the principal (versus principle?) city of a part of Macedonia, a Roman colony.
Then there was an insistent woman and a girl that Paul saved from soothsaying prostitution which imprisons Paul and Silas.
And a certain woman named Lydia… who worshipped the Lord touched her heart to give heed to what was being said by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she appealed to us and said, “If you have judged me to be a believer in the Lord, come into my house and stay there.” And she insisted upon our coming.
…a girl met us who possessed a divining spirit and brought her masters much profit by soothsaying… she kept crying out, saying, “These men are servants of the most high God and they proclaim to you a way of salvation.”
Paul, being very much grieved, turned and said to the spirit, “I order thee in the name of Jesus Christ to go out of her.” And it went out that very moment.
Her masters seized Paul and Silas… bringing them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are making a great disturbance in our city; they are Jews, and are advocating practices which it is against the law for us to adopt or observe, since we are Romans.”
But even a time in prison was an opportunity to convert another to Christ:
…and after inflicting many lashes upon them they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely…But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying, singing the praises of God… and suddenly there was such a great earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And at once all the doors flew open, and everyone’s chains were unfastened. And the jailer, roused out of sleep and seeing that the doors of the prison were open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.”
The jailer… ran in, and trembling for fear fell down before Paul and Silas… he said, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy household.”
No acts, no ceremony, just belief in the Lord Jesus!
Magistrates: “let these men go.”
Jailer to Paul: “The magistrates have sent word that you are to be released; now therefore come forth and go in peace.”
Paul to the jailer: “They have beaten us publicly and without trial, although we are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now are they going to put us out secretly? By no means, but let them come themselves and take us out.”
The magistrates… came and appealed to them; and taking them out, besought them to leave the city… they departed.
In other words let all things done in darkness be brought to the light… silly questions of Christian Law, whether to circumcise or not are meaningless. Let The Holy Spirit give us the answer from the inside-out and set us free at the same time too!
Day 122: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; To Circumcise or Not? The Holy Spirit Gives Us the Answer & Frees too!
Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Acts of The Apostles Chapters 15-16.
Bible Notes:
Saint Luke, the author of the third Gospel, wrote also this history of the primitive Church. Opening with the story of the Ascension and Pentecost, this book records the important events of the early Church: the mass conversions after Pentecost; the persecution by Herod; the conversion of Saint Paul; his three missionary journeys; his arrest and final trip to Rome
Acts Chapter 15: Dissension at Antioch; journey to Jerusalem; Peter’s decision; Advice from James; Two representatives sent to Antioch; The letter containing the decision; Promulgation of the letter; Paul sets out on his second journey.
But some came down from Judea and began to teach the brethren, saying, “Unless you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
…relating the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great rejoicing among all the brethren.
But some of the Pharisees sect, who had accepted the faith, got up and said, “They must be circumcised and also told to observe the Law of Moses.”
Peter: “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among us, that through my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Why then do you now try to test God by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke (the Law of Moses?) which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
James: “Brethren, listen to me. Simon has told how God first visited the Gentiles to take from among them a people to hear his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written, ‘After these things I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen down, and the ruins thereof I will rebuild, and I will set it up; that the rest of mankind may seek after the Lord, who does these things.’ ‘To the Lord was his own work known from the beginning of the world.’ Therefore my judgment is not to disquiet those who from among the Gentiles are turning to the Lord; but to send them written instructions to abstain from anything that has been contaminated by idols and from immorality and from anything strangled and from blood.
Then the apostles and the Presbyterians… decided to select representatives (Judas, surnamed Barsabbas and Silas) to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas… They were bearers of the following letter:
…”For the Holy Spirit and we have decided to lay no further burden upon you but this indispensable one, that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangles and from immorality; keep yourselves from these things, and you will get on well. Farewell.”
Now some time after Paul said to Barnabas. “Let us return and visit the brethren in all the cities where we have preached the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
And a sharp contention sprang up so that they (Paul and Barnabas) separated from each other, and Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and set out, the brethren commending him to the grace of the Lord.
Acts Chapter 16: Timothy; Departure for Macedonia; Preaching at Philippi; A possessed girl is cured; Paul and Silas beaten and jailed; The jailer is converted; Freedom.
And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, son of a believing Jewess, but of a Gentile father… This man Paul wished to go forth with him, and he took and circumcised him on account of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Gentile… So the churches grew stronger and stronger in the faith and increased in numbers daily.
They (Paul, Silas, and Timothy?) were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in the province of Asia… they tried to get into Bithynia, bit the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them… set out for Macedonia, being sure that God had called us to preach the gospel to them… and thence to Philippi, the principal (versus principle?) city of a part of Macedonia, a Roman colony.
And a certain woman named Lydia… who worshipped the Lord touched her heart to give heed to what was being said by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she appealed to us and said, “If you have judged me to be a believer in the Lord, come into my house and stay there.” And she insisted upon out coming.
…a girl met us who possessed a divining spirit and brought her masters much profit by soothsaying… she kept crying out, saying, “These men are servants of the most high God and they proclaim to you a way of salvation.”
Paul, being very much grieved, turned and said to the spirit, “I order thee in the name of Jesus Christ to go out of her.” And it went out that very moment.
Her masters seized Paul and Silas… bringing them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are making a great disturbance in our city; they are Jews, and are advocating practices which it is against the law for us to adopt or observe, since we are Romans.”
…and after inflicting many lashes upon them they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely…But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying, singing the praises of God… and suddenly there was such a great earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And at once all the doors flew open, and everyone’s chains were unfastened. And the jailer, roused out of sleep and seeing that the doors of the prison were open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here.”
The jailer… ran in, and trembling for fear fell down before Paul and Silas… he said, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy household.”
Magistrates: “let these men go.”
Jailer to Paul: “The magistrates have sent word that you are to be released; now therefore come forth and go in peace.”
Paul to the jailer: “They have beaten us publicly and without trial, although we are Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now are they going to put us out secretly? By no means, but let them come themselves and take us out.”
The magistrates… came and appealed to them; and taking them out, besought them to leave the city… they departed.
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