PAUL THE APOSTLE ( Part 16) | THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL ( AD 50 )
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3115
PAUL THE APOSTLE ( Part 16)
THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL ( AD 50 )
The formal public meeting between Paul and Barnabus and the leaders of the Jerusalem church started off on a cordial note.
Barnabus spoke first about the success of the First Missionary Journey in converting many Gentiles into God's kingdom.
The Judaizers aired their views next insisting that Gentile believers become Jews first before becoming Christians. They must as such undergo circumcision.
The council leaders then adjourned to discuss their final decision amidst more heated debates.
But Peter boldly took the stand and spoke up about his experience with Cornelius - how God accepted a Gentile Roman Centurion and blessed him with the same Holy Spirit as He did the Jewish believers on the day of Pentecost. Why then did they burden the Gentiles with the need to fulfill the Mosiac Law - something that even their ancestors failed to do?
This was the turning point. Barnabus and Paul added that God blessed the Gentiles with miraculous signs and wonders to show that God had opened the doors of His kingdom freely and without conditions.
James summed up by saying that the phenomena of the gospel of salvation extending to the Gentiles was prophesied by the prophet Amos long ago ( Amos 9:11-12 ).
He wisely proposed to send out the council's decision in a circular letter that Gentile believers need not conform to Jewish law but only observe four requirements in respect of Jewish sensibilities:
1. To abstain from eating food offered to idols.
2. To abstain from drinking blood.
3. To abstain from eating the meat of strangled animals. (Apparently, there was a superstitious pagan belief that the blood of strangled animals retained supernatural powers ).
4. To abstain from sexual immorality.
ABBA FATHER, the Holy Spirit prevailed over the council and guided them to arrive at their momentous decision in the bond of unity and peace. Indeed a watershed has been reached in the history of the church with far-reaching implications that are felt until now.