Tag: Acts 15

Unity in Fellowship

On By BrianIn Book of Acts, Church Life

In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council requested the Gentile believers to avoid food offered to idols, food that had been strangled, and food with blood still in it.  Why focus on food issues?  Because eating together was and still is an important part of fellowship, and these three things would offend the Jewish believers.  If Jewish and Gentile believers are going to have fellowship together, eat together, and find unity together, then the Gentiles need to strive to avoid offending their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ.

We too must strive not to offend each other.  We all have different personal convictions regarding behavior based on our age, how we were raised, where we have lived, and more.  We ought to strive not to offend each other in what we do.  We may need to agree on some things we will all avoid so as not to offend each other.

We have all seen one child figure out that something bugs another child, and so this first child goes out of their way to do that something just to irritate the second child.  Scripture teaches us to do the opposite.  If we know something offends someone, we should graciously strive not to do it.  Pursue unity in fellowship.

But notice also that the Gentiles were only given three things to avoid so as not to offend their Jewish brothers.  But the Jewish believers held many more personal convictions from the Mosaic Law, and the Gentiles were not expected to keep the Law to please them.  There was still a lot of room for Gentiles to do things that the Jews would find offensive, but the Jewish believers had to avoid being offended.

We too must graciously strive not to be offended.  We can’t expect others to follow our personal behavior convictions, or judge them when they don’t.  We must avoid being offended by what our brothers and sisters in Christ do.

If you go out in the rain in a t-shirt, you will soon be soaked.  You need a rain slicker, so the rain “slicks” off of you.  When you go to church, don’t wear a “t-shirt” in which every offense soaks in until you are drenched with anger.  Wear a “rain slicker”, so the offenses just slick off of you.

In sum, we all need to focus on ourselves.  Graciously strive not to offend.  Graciously strive not to be offended.  Pursue unity in fellowship.

Clarity in Salvation

On By BrianIn Book of Acts

In Acts 15, some people were saying that circumcision was necessary for salvation. So Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to pursue clarity on this matter. The apostles and elders met to consider the matter. From the evidence of Scripture and the Holy Spirit’s working, they came to the conclusion that salvation was by grace alone through faith alone.

While we may not think circumcision is necessary for salvation today, we must continue to pursue clarity in salvation. Salvation remains by grace alone through faith alone. We must be crystal clear on this. We are not saved by good works or living a good life. We are not saved by going to church or praying or giving money. We are saved by grace through faith. Confusion on this matter can be eternally fatal. So we must come back again and again to this central truth: Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.