“Acts 15:22-35”

Friday, January 22, 2016

“Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas—Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, ‘The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.’ So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message. After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out. [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.”

---End of Scripture verses---

The leaders of the Jerusalem Conference decided to write a letter addressing the conclusions they arrived at from their meeting. They sent this letter by the hands of some chosen men to the Christians living in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. Aside from the obvious facts of its contents, there are some important biblical principles that we can learn from this important letter.

Acts 15:24 – “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls.” There is a very important biblical truth revealed in this short statement. We learn here that if “no instruction” has been given by God on an issue or a practice, then we have no right to do it. Some people were insisting that Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to be saved, but this command didn’t come from God or any of His authorized ambassadors (the Apostles). God has told us clearly through Holy Spirit inspiration what people need to do to be saved. To acquire salvation, people must hear the Gospel (Romans 10:14-17), believe in Jesus (John 3:16), confess that belief before others (Romans 10:9-10); repent of their sins (Acts 2:38), and be baptized in order to have those sins forgiven (Mark 16:16). No other instructions concerning the acquisition of salvation have been given. Since those steps have been specified through divine inspiration, no other step is required—Including circumcision.

This is an issue of authority—Of the importance of trying to determine what we are and are not authorized to do when it comes to matters of “religion”. When trying to determine what the Bible authorizes us to do as we worship and serve God in Christ’s church, we often refer to the concept as “the silence of the Scriptures”. Where nothing is “instructed” or written on a spiritual matter, nothing has been authorized by God. Respecting the silence of the Scriptures is a matter of taking our determination very seriously to respect and obey God and His absolute authority over our lives and in Christ’s church. We simply cannot add things to God’s perfect plan if we desire to please Him, even if we like them very much and they seem harmless on the surface (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18). If God hasn’t authorized a belief or a practice then we should want no part of it.

This is the exact reason why members of the church of Jesus Christ should not offer worship to God with manmade instruments of music. Worshiping God with manmade musical instruments is very much like circumcision. Both of these actions were authorized in the Old Testament as requirements for God’s people under that covenant to be saved and worship Him correctly. But, in the same way that circumcision is no longer sanctioned as a requirement for salvation, worshiping with mechanical instruments is no longer authorized as well. Look all the way through your New Testament, from cover to cover, and you will find “no instruction” given for Christians to worship God with manmade instruments in His church. You will also find no examples of this or inferences that can be drawn for their approval either. What you find very clearly and simply are “instructions” (commands) to sing (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). The “instruments” that we are authorized to use when we worship God are our lips (Hebrews 13:15), our voices and our hearts. Vocal music has been specified and no other instruction has been given. It is very clear from New Testament revelation that God commands us to sing and only sing when we worship Him.

I know this is a very unpopular biblical stance and that many do not agree with this conclusion. I respect everyone’s views and judgments on this and any other biblical issue. But I would urge all of us to make it our number one desire in life to do just what God wants us to do, and that requires a good appreciation for, and understanding of the subject of authority. 2 Corinthians 5:9 urges us to make it our main ambition in life to be pleasing to God. And please remember that just because it was a requirement to do something in the Old Testament, that doesn’t necessarily make it okay for us to do the same thing in Christ’s church today. Keep in mind that we do not offer animal sacrifices, burn incense, worship God in a tabernacle or temple, etc., even though God’s people did these things under a previous covenant. The Old Testament still serves a very important purpose for us today. It was written for our learning, instruction and encouragement (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6, 11), but we are not bound by its authority today for our religious practices.

One other thing about what is written in verses 28-29 before we close. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.” The letter that was written in Jerusalem said that these things were revealed by the Holy Spirit and that they were “essentials” (or “necessary” or “requirements” depending on the Bible version you are using). That’s why many people believe that it still is, and always will be, forbidden for Christians to eat food that has been offered to idols, and consume animal blood. I respect and understand this reasoning, and I honestly am not sure why anyone would want to do these things anyway. Where these issues can become more problematic is in cultures that differ from ours. No matter where we live or what the cultural norms are, however; pleasing God and staying pure in His sight is the most important thing we can do in our lives.

Please read Acts 15:36-41 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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