"And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
--- For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these ------necessary----- things;
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well.
Fare ye well." - Acts 15:23-29
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The Man with 2 Names - Dissension in the ranks (contd.)
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It is an amazing fact that the Bible today, is still as relevant today, as when the first book was written some 4500 years ago.
It has kept pace with Man's spiritual evolution - we see the Law in the Old Testament given to guide a nation to morality... and that Law is still valid as a signpost for Christians today to understand the heart of God.
The Law never disappears - last week we saw, that in the Law itself (Deutoronomy) , God had already embedded in there, the fact that His ultimate design is to write the Law in our Hearts - NOT GET RID OF IT ALTOGETHER!
"And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." - Deut 30:6
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
But --this-- shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, --I will put my law in their inward parts, and --write it in their hearts---; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." - Jer 31:34
When Christians say "We are no longer under the Law" - they need to be careful to understand EXACTLY what that means!
It means that we are free of the PENALTY of disobeying the Law, (Christ paid it once and for all) -- AND NOT -- the Law has no value or relevance to Christians any more!
IF the LORD's design was to completely nuke the Law, why would He promise to write it in OUR HEARTS? That IS His Word, you can be sure He is going to fulfill it! The thorny question is, which parts of the Law are we to keep/apply then?
Do we TRY... to keep all of it (knowing we can't? Even the apostles agreed that they couldn't... )
Do we throw it out altogether?
Do we cherry pick... revoke or repeal some observances... and keep some out of respect?
What about the stuff that came before the Law ... what is the spiritual guidance on that?
Well, we have a few pointers....
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A. Things to keep --- The Greatest Commandments
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If you want to summarize the Law, it is this - you shall love God, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself!
This is what the Hebrew people have have always understood the Law to be - this is confirmed by a Jewish lawyer in the NT , and by Christ Himself below...
"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 'Master, which is the great commandment in the law?'
Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.'
And the second is like unto it,' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang --all the law and the prophets.-- ' " - Matt 22:35-40
--Christ extends these two commandments to include not just the Law, but EVERY Word ever spoken by God through His prophets to Israel!!--
This Law can be hidden in our heart, and we can obey it in Spirit and Truth, which is what the design has been all along! If you walk in Love, as the Spirit of God fills you, you WILL be obeying/keeping the Law!
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B. Things to be discarded --- Signs and observances that are no longer relevant!
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Exhibhit A is the decree handed down by the Church elders and apostles at Jerusalem. This decree is noteworthy in 3 things it omits, and 3 things it cautions against :
3 NOTEWORTHY THINGS OMITTED...
a. Circumcision - which we discussed at length in last weeks post...
Circumcision in the Flesh has been replaced by a circumcision in the heart - the mark in our flesh is the obedience to God's commands that we display on a daily basis.
b. Tithing - something Abraham did to Melchizedek, and which was later the mechanism by which God ensured the livelihood of the tribe of Levi (who, by design, were NOT given a land inheritance in Israel) God Himself taking on (through the Nation) the task of paying for their service.
Tithing has been replaced by cheerful GIVING according to ABILITY. Giving a cup of cold water to the thirsty, visiting those in prison, and the sick - comforting the widow and the orphan with our substance, ministering to those within our reach with our time, toil, and treasure.
Christ commended the Pharisees for adhering to the letter of the law by tithing their herbs and veggies, but excoriated them for ignoring the greatest commandments!!
c. Sabbath observance - this dates from Genesis, before Man was created!
Sabbath observance is also an internal thing.
Here is true Sabbath observance as per the Lord, given to us in Isaiah.
"If thou turn away thy foot from{on} the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; -----and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: -----
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. {!} " - Isaiah 58:13,14
Hallow a day to take time with the LORD, to do HIS will on that day not yours.... that is true Sabbath observance, as Christ showed by Healing on the Sabbath!
Don't fight over 'a' day and try to make the whole world observe it.... --you-- observe the day that works for --you-- ... every 7 days.
The Sabbath was intended as REST, -FOR- MAN and BEAST -- not a day in which you do more work "for" God! God is honored when we REST in Him, and not try to do more in our own flesh!
NOTEWORTHY THINGS RETAINED....
a. Food offered to idols.
This was a commonsense prohibition. This food (depending on the idol being worshipped) could have other elements added to it ... body fluids and things even more gross --- the enemy delights in watching the children of God defile and degrade themselves.
The fact that this was not a legalistic commandment is highlighted by Paul, in a later letter to the Corinthian church....
"As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend." - 1 Co 8:4-8:13
Paul makes 3 simple points.
(i) - An idol has no power, there is just one True God.
(ii) - A powerless idol therefore, doesn't impact the food, neither does consuming or abstaining from this food anger or please God. (iii) The issue is the tender faith of a new believer - who might be offended by seeing a more mature believer consume.
LOVE for his brother is therefore what pushes Paul to say (and recommend) not eating this food... the original commandment!!!
b. Things strangled and blood.
Blood is a precious commodity. The blood of animals was offered (and ACCEPTED) to cover sin. The shed blood of Christ seals the New Covenant. Blood is HOLY to God, and as such, humans are prohibited from treating it as a common thing!
Blood would coagulate in the flesh of strangled animals, hence the prohibition there.
Do Christians need to keep kosher? We would say yes, if you can. You can get "kosher/halal" meat from your Jewish/Muslim grocery store - a great way to strike up a relationship!!!! ?
This meat is slaughtered more humanely, a painless nick in the jugular causes the animal to slowly slip into a coma and die. More humane than a bolt in the head or a severing of head from body.
Ultimately though, Man and animals were designed to be vegetarians originally (Man/animals ate animals only AFTER the flood... prior to that, plants are the only source of food)...
and in the millenium we are told the lion will eat grass like the ox ("And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." - Isaiah 11:7)
There is no prohibition on meat eating, but eating clean (Law prescribed, non-toxic) animals is healthy, and being vegetarian is healthier.
c. Fornication
Again, in our series on the Law, we have gone into detail how the institution of Marriage is a Sacrament, pointing us to the relationship God has with His people, and Christ has with His Bride. Adultery is a desecration of this sacrament and is forbidden in the Law, and hence it is no surprise that the Spirit confirms the sanctity of marriage.
This is a problem as old as Sodom and Gomorrah, and is Man's (and particularly men's) Achilles heel. Balaam of Moab, unable to curse the people of Israel, taught Balak to teach them to commit physical immorality - that would cause God Himself to curse them.
No, this Law has not, and will not be repealed as long as Man wears flesh. In the kingdom, we are not married anymore, but till that time - we are to be obedient to this commandment. Check out our series on Marriage for more -- it can be accessed from the Post pinned to the top of this Page.
There are no contradictions in the Bible, just our limited understanding when we approach this vast body of material.
For this simple, it is simple - Love God, Love your neighbor ... for those looking to dig deeper, there is depth beyond searching out!
All of this to say - you are FREE! Free from the penalty of sin, free to walk in love and light.
Free to walk with an enlightened understanding of what God considers important, how to please Him and in turn -- enjoy the blessings of His Favor, His Protection, His chastisement, and His providence that stretches our minds and spirits to grow them!
Hallelujah!!!!