Title: Truth and Vessel / Acts 15:22-29
contents and bowl
Acts 15:22-29
In the days of the first church, the Antioch church was a great church. The church was planted by unnamed members, and the name 'Christian' was born there for the first time. And it was the first church to send missionaries to a foreign country. A very beautiful name is 'Antioch Church'.
However, in today's text, the Antioch Church is once again the starting point of a great work. It was a question of whether or not people who became Christians from Gentiles should keep the traditions of Judaism. The Antioch Church was the first church to be established in the Gentiles, and some people from Judea came here to raise the question of the law. Any Gentile could become a Christian, but the Gentile who became a Christian had to be circumcised according to Jewish tradition. And he insisted on keeping the rules of the law on what to eat and what is forbidden. Regarding this, the Antioch church fell into great confusion and opinions were divided. When Gentiles become Christians, should they follow Jewish customs? Does being a Christian mean being a Jew? Does being a Christian mean accepting Jewish customs and traditions as well?
The Antioch Church decided to send people to Jerusalem to solve this problem. So Barnabas and Paul went to Jerusalem to discuss the matter. This issue was not just about circumcision or food. This issue was a very important issue of distinguishing the core of the gospel from the culture.
Even the church in Jerusalem did not take this matter lightly. There were some very conservative people who believed that anyone who believed in Jesus should have the same behavior, food, clothing, and lifestyle as a Jew. There was an opinion that it does not follow the lifestyle and lifestyle.
If you look closely at the text, you will realize that the true God has worked wonderfully. The Holy Spirit answered the questions of the Antioch Church through Peter and James (Acts 15:28). The bottom line is to forbid the four and let everything else be free according to their customs and customs.
② Fornication: At that time, it was forbidden because promiscuous fornication was being practiced as a festival of worshiping idols in a foreign country.
③ Hanging death: This is blood-related and it is forbidden to eat meat with blood.
④ Blood: The Gentiles often drank blood during their festivals, so it was forbidden. Especially for the Jews, blood symbolizes life and is forbidden by the law (Leviticus 3:17, 17:10-14, Deuteronomy 12:16, 23).
More important than this decision itself was that it distinguished the gospel core and culture. It is a distinction between a core confession of faith and a way of living.
This decision of the Jerusalem Council had two consequences.
First, the door of missions to the Gentiles was opened wide. The core of the gospel that anyone can be saved by believing that Jesus Christ is the Savior became clear. There is no need to be bound by the Jewish or legal things. Therefore, the foundation has been laid for the gospel to be preached to the world beyond the differences in appearances, ethnic customs, and social customs.
Second, there was a clear break with Judaism, which intensified persecution. Even at that time, many Jews who were not legalistically bound to participate in the gospel, this decision resulted in the permanent hostility of many legalistic Jews. The church was viewed as a gathering that violated the law by a large number of Jews who had national prejudice. Here, more persecution was met.
Today, we too must inherit the spirit of the early church. It is a good thing for believers to lead their own religious lives with strict rules. However, you should not force your own rules to apply to others. A person who is strict with himself and tolerant of others is an evangelical person. In addition, in the essence of the truth, one must have a firm faith and belief that cannot make any concessions, but always following the path of peace and the path of autonomy is the evangelical method when it comes to that method or the things around it. Confession is conservative, but action is progressive.
Where do our beliefs belong? Faith belongs to the invisible part, the realm of life. Sometimes the Word seems contradictory because we try to apply our faith to the visible realm of our life, and sometimes the Word does not apply well. The realm of life is always changing, just as the visible things change. If you apply faith to this changing area of your life, your faith itself will change, and contradictions will arise. Therefore, we must always go with the unseen but unchanging realm of faith. There is faith in the realm of life.
The Jews confuse this life with the realm of life, forcing their lives into the lives of the Gentiles. Faith is a life of glorifying God, worshiping God, praising God, and doing God's will. It has nothing to do with what you eat, what kind of clothes you wear, or what kind of hair you have. Because faith is a matter of the heart, a matter of the soul, not a matter of outward appearance. When the heart and soul are erratic and only seemingly plausible, or when the form is well-formed but the life toward God is not perfect, the Lord rebukes him harshly. He said that it was a whitewashed tomb, and that only the outer appearance was a lush tree.
In today's text, the first church members were also seriously concerned about this problem. But the Holy Spirit led me right. Make the truth clear, but the container that contains the truth may be different. Confession is definitely a word that tells us to achieve tolerance and harmony in our lives. With this spirit, I bless you to become saints who realize a life of right faith and life today.
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