Acts 15
The issue here is whether or not a Gentile had to be circumcised (proselytize to the Jewish faith) in order to receive salvation (Acts 15:1).
The word Gentile in scripture often refers to someone outside of the Covenant, a pagan or heathen. As Gentiles were taught the message about Yeshua, they were beginning to believe in him. Did they need to convert to become Jewish in order to believe in the Messiah, and experience what he had accomplished? Some Jews said yes, and circumcision was their pathway for (male) conversion.
These Gentiles were turning to the Almighty, by placing faith in the One He had sent, and did not need to convert to become Jewish in order to receive the forgiveness of sin. This is akin to the story of father Abraham, who was counted righteous before Yahweh by faith, some 14 years before he was circumcised (Genesis 15:1-6).
The council did place four necessary laws upon the Gentiles from the start. If the law itself was a yoke of slavery, why place these four yokes upon these new converts?
It also needs to be said that there were many laws that fell up under these four. It wasn’t just “these four laws and that’s it.” These four contained within in them many other sub-laws.
Take for example the issue of sexual immorality or fornication. That’s not a word or phrase that deals with just a single sin. It covers all the laws in Leviticus 18 and many in Leviticus 20.
Then there’s the laws against eating blood or things that have been strangled. Many would call these “ceremonial laws,” yet they were placed on the Gentile converts right from the start.
These commands needed to be obeyed by the Gentiles. Turning to Yahweh in faith meant they needed to stop doing some things and start doing others. The laws agreed upon directly addressed areas of Gentile worship to other gods. They couldn’t serve Yahweh and continue to serve their previous mighty ones.
I believe the yoke mentioned in Acts 15:10 refers to placing the weight of a man’s sin upon his own self, because the opposite of the yoke is explained in Acts 15:11 as salvation by grace.
All have sinned, both Jew and Gentile, and to try to tell a man they have to obey the law in order to be forgiven is a yoke that neither the Jewish Apostles nor their ancestors were able to bear. The law itself contained a means of forgiveness in the sacrificial system. So even the law didn’t teach to be circumcised for forgiveness.
Scripture teaches that a person is saved by grace through faith (Genesis 6:8; 15:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). We should teach obedience to the law to others in this way: obedience is the fruit off of a good tree, a loving outworking towards the Almighty.
A verse that is often overlooked is Acts 15:21. Right after the four laws are settled upon, Elder James continues by saying, “For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”
What the council decided was that the Gentiles must immediately stop the practices they were most steeped in. In time, they would continue to hear (and advance in) the remainder of the Torah by attending synagogue service on Sabbath, and listening to Moses’ teachings (Acts 15:21).
It would be like a drug addict coming into a church and having a change of mind and heart. They hear the gospel, place faith in Yeshua, and are baptized into Messiah. You should not then tell such a person that they really don’t have forgiveness until they stop eating pork or begin wearing tassels. You share with them the gospel of grace, and then instruct them (and help them) to get clean and sober. As they continue to come to church, they will learn and grow at their own pace, and little by little become more obedient to the commandments.
The word Gentile in scripture often refers to someone outside of the Covenant, a pagan or heathen. As Gentiles were taught the message about Yeshua, they were beginning to believe in him. Did they need to convert to become Jewish in order to believe in the Messiah, and experience what he had accomplished? Some Jews said yes, and circumcision was their pathway for (male) conversion.
These Gentiles were turning to the Almighty, by placing faith in the One He had sent, and did not need to convert to become Jewish in order to receive the forgiveness of sin. This is akin to the story of father Abraham, who was counted righteous before Yahweh by faith, some 14 years before he was circumcised (Genesis 15:1-6).
The council did place four necessary laws upon the Gentiles from the start. If the law itself was a yoke of slavery, why place these four yokes upon these new converts?
It also needs to be said that there were many laws that fell up under these four. It wasn’t just “these four laws and that’s it.” These four contained within in them many other sub-laws.
Take for example the issue of sexual immorality or fornication. That’s not a word or phrase that deals with just a single sin. It covers all the laws in Leviticus 18 and many in Leviticus 20.
Then there’s the laws against eating blood or things that have been strangled. Many would call these “ceremonial laws,” yet they were placed on the Gentile converts right from the start.
These commands needed to be obeyed by the Gentiles. Turning to Yahweh in faith meant they needed to stop doing some things and start doing others. The laws agreed upon directly addressed areas of Gentile worship to other gods. They couldn’t serve Yahweh and continue to serve their previous mighty ones.
I believe the yoke mentioned in Acts 15:10 refers to placing the weight of a man’s sin upon his own self, because the opposite of the yoke is explained in Acts 15:11 as salvation by grace.
All have sinned, both Jew and Gentile, and to try to tell a man they have to obey the law in order to be forgiven is a yoke that neither the Jewish Apostles nor their ancestors were able to bear. The law itself contained a means of forgiveness in the sacrificial system. So even the law didn’t teach to be circumcised for forgiveness.
Scripture teaches that a person is saved by grace through faith (Genesis 6:8; 15:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). We should teach obedience to the law to others in this way: obedience is the fruit off of a good tree, a loving outworking towards the Almighty.
A verse that is often overlooked is Acts 15:21. Right after the four laws are settled upon, Elder James continues by saying, “For since ancient times, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, and he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”
What the council decided was that the Gentiles must immediately stop the practices they were most steeped in. In time, they would continue to hear (and advance in) the remainder of the Torah by attending synagogue service on Sabbath, and listening to Moses’ teachings (Acts 15:21).
It would be like a drug addict coming into a church and having a change of mind and heart. They hear the gospel, place faith in Yeshua, and are baptized into Messiah. You should not then tell such a person that they really don’t have forgiveness until they stop eating pork or begin wearing tassels. You share with them the gospel of grace, and then instruct them (and help them) to get clean and sober. As they continue to come to church, they will learn and grow at their own pace, and little by little become more obedient to the commandments.