You've read about some of the most popular controversial verses, and this article is a more detailed explanation of Peter's vision. But this article also deals with the Book of Acts, and the Jerusalem Council. Since Acts was written in the years 30 A.D. to 100 A.D., the views will show that none of Jesus's followers were teaching about eating "unclean meats". The website,(( thetruthunveiled..com ,)) is new to me, but as you read it, you'll see that it is all directly from the Bible, with many references included to other verses. Here you will read mostly about verse 15:
ACTS 15 EXPLAINED
Acts 15, especially verse 10, is one of the go-to chapters for people who argue that
the commandments of the Most High God that He commanded Moses to write down
are done away with. One of the difficulties I have had to face is pointing out to
Christians and Christian leaders that the laws of the Most High God written by Moses
are not done away with. Whenever a question that appears to suggest that the law
is not done away with is asked, it is often greeted with a frown and resistance. I had
faced severe backlash from leaders at local and regional levels for asking questions
that indirectly implied the writings of Moses are not done away. These leaders believe
in the tithing law, practice and defend it, but when it comes to the other laws they
are done away with—very ironic!
Further, recently, I mentioned to one of my leaders that eating unclean meats goes
against the commandments of God in Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14, Isaiah
66:17, Isaiah 65:4; anything that goes against the commandment of God is sin (1
John 3:4). This led to a heated discussion in which he was very angry with my
position. I supported my position with scriptures to illustrate that the dietary and
other laws are not done away with except the law of animal sacrifice and all
associated rituals. The pastor was very furious with me for mentioning that breaking
the dietary law is a sin; his position was, there is no abomination in the New
Testament. His stance was that the dietary law is not important and we should focus
only on the Gospel. To climax the discussion, he went to Acts 15 and selectively
picked some verses to support his claim that the laws are done away with focusing
especially on verse 10. THE WARNING WAS: DO NOT TROUBLE THE BRETHREN—
I should not, in any way, try to mention that again; I should desist from telling
people the laws (the dietary law) of the Most High God written by Moses are still
in place. I asked for a further discussion concerning this subject but I was angrily
denied.
Further, if the pastor had understood Acts 15, he would have discovered that Acts
15 strengthens the dietary law instead of canceling it. Anyone who is looking for a
cover to break the dietary laws would know that Acts 15 is not the place to go.
Millions of Christian use Acts 15 as a cover to justify not keeping the Most High God’s
commandments.
What is the truth concerning Acts 15? Did Acts 15 abolish the law? What is the
context of this chapter? Can we now go against the commandments of God in
Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14, Isaiah 66:17, Isaiah 65:4 because of Acts 15? The
writings of the apostles are perfect but people have massively misinterpreted the
writings of the apostles thinking that they spoke against the law. The writings of the
apostles are in harmony with the law; they used the law and the prophets as the
bedrock for their writings. Hear what Apostle Peter had to say concerning the writings
of Apostle Paul:
2 Peter 3:16
“15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved
brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16
As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some
things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable
wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
Apostle Peter acknowledges that some of the writings of Apostle Paul are hard to be
understood, and people who are unlearned and unstable in the Scriptures struggle
and misinterpret the Scriptures to their destruction. Do not allow anyone to trick
you into thinking that Acts 15 gives people the ground to break the commandments
of the Most High God. We will walk through the entire chapter and in the end, you
have a clear understanding of this chapter. Let us begin the study; let us understand
what the problem was in the first place; what led to the debate that necessitated Paul
and Barnabas to travel to Jerusalem to meet with other believers there.
THE PROBLEM
What was the problem that led to Apostle Paul and Barnabas traveling to Jerusalem
to meet other believers there to resolve? Before we can understand this chapter
correctly, we must establish what the problem was. Let us begin our walk through
this chapter.
Acts 15:1-5
1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and
said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with
them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should
go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. 3 And being
brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria,
declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the
brethren. 4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church,
and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with
them. 5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed,
saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep
the law of Moses. 6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this
matter.
From the above passage, we can what the problem was; there were two positions. Let
us look at these two positions.
POSITION ONE
Atcs 15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren,
and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be
saved.
This group of men was teaching that except people became circumcised after the
manner of Moses, people cannot be saved. This was a work-based salvation model.
Let us ask a question: in the timeline of things, where can we put this event? This
was after the death of Jesus Christ; the sacrificial law and associated rituals were
abolished at this time. The law declares/shows the sin(s)/guilt but it is the blood of
Jesus that justifies. Keeping the laws of Moses alone cannot justify anyone; however,
once justified, keeping the law and the prophets keep the justification. This group of
disciples was teaching things the other way round; they were using keeping the law
as the basis of justification—which was wrong. The blood of Jesus justifies one from
sin; however, obedience to the commandments keeps the justification. This group of
believers got it wrong—they were pedaling works as the basis of justification and
neglecting the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
POSITION TWO
Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed,
saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep
the law of Moses.
The second group of people was the Pharisees. Bear in mind that not all the Pharisees
were unrighteous—there were righteous Pharisees like Nicodemus. This group
simply pointed out that after the Gentiles have repented, it was needful for them to
be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. This group of righteous Pharisees agrees
that after repentance and justification through the blood of Jesus, it was needful for
the new believers (Gentiles) to be obedient to the commandments of the Most High
God written by Moses. These Pharisees approached things from an obedience point
of view. Let us compare the two positions (see Table 1).
Table 1: The two positions in the debate compared. These positions are found in Acts 15:1 (Position 1)
and Acts 15:5 (Position 2).
We can see that in both positions the matter (issue) was not about whether they
should obey the law or not obey the law, but rather it was about how the obedience
should be implemented. The debate, was not, in any way, a debate about whether
they should abolish the commandments of the Most High God given to the people
through His servant Moses. It would be biblically dishonest to inject this position
into this chapter. The question was not about whether they should abolish the laws
of Moses or not abolish it. The debate was rather about how obedience to the
commandments of the Most High God should be carried out/done, especially in the
lives of the new Gentile converts, who were not well versed in the matters of the law.
It will be biblical dishonesty of high order to inject a third argument point to think
that the disciples came together to debate on abolishing the laws of Moses...............................................
ACTS 15:19-30
19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. 22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 23 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. 24 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: 25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29 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. 30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
From the above passage, if we look at verse 19, it appears like it is suggesting that the Apostles were giving a charge to the new believers not to bother keeping the commandments, but is this the truth? Let us remind ourselves of what the whole argument was about; it was not about whether they keep it or not keep it; it was about the new Gentiles believers (these were people who were new in the faith and still learning the laws and commandments) and what was expected of them. A certain group of believers (Position one) were placing a huge burden on these new believers who knew next to nothing in the law; those new believers needed to grow and become mature in the knowledge of the word of the Most High God. When the apostle says: that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God, they are simply saying, these were new believers and do not trouble them by placing huge expectations on them; these new Gentile believers were still new and need to learn the word of God before applying it. Do not trouble them with unrealistic expectations at this stage; they are still new and growing and will become strong in their walk with the Most High God. How do we know this? Let us see verse 20:
ACTS 15:20 “But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.”
The above verse is what the apostles agreed that the young Gentile believers should start keeping. Let us break this verse into bullet points:
But that we write unto them, that they:
- abstain from pollutions of idols,
- and from fornication,
- and from things strangled,
- and from blood.
From the above, we can see that the apostles were not telling the young Gentile believers to stop keeping the laws of God written by Moses. All the above are from the writings of Moses. How can we prove this? To illustrate this, let us see where the four commandments come from:
- Abstain from pollutions of idols: (Exodus 20:3; Exodus 32:8; Deuteronomy 6:14; Deuteronomy 5:7; Leviticus 19:1-37)
- Abstain from fornication: (Leviticus 18:20; Deuteronomy 22:22)
- Abstain from things strangled: (Leviticus 17:14; Deuteronomy 14:21; Leviticus 17:10-14; Genesis 9:3-4)
- Abstain from blood: (Leviticus 19:26; Leviticus 17:12; Deuteronomy 12:23)
Let us see some of these verses:
DEUTERONOMY 12:23 “Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.”
LEVITICUS 19:26 “Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.”
GENESIS 9:4 “But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
LEVITICUS 17:10-11
“10 And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
LEVITICUS 17:12 “Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.”
DEUTERONOMY 6:14 “Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;”
So we can see that the apostles were quoting from the writings of Moses. The apostles were not telling these new young Gentile believers not to keep the laws—they were not! They simply reached an agreement, based on the above verse, that the new Gentile believers should start with these basic commandments. If the writings of Moses were done away with, they wouldn’t be quoting from the writings of Moses. If we look closely at the above four, two of the four commandments that the believers should start keeping relate to the dietary law—these commandments are part of the dietary law. So, we can see that the apostles were enforcing the dietary law—something that so many believers regard as not important.
In the heated discussion I had with my pastor regarding the dietary law, my pastor ran to Acts 15 to find a cover for not keeping the dietary law without realising that Acts 15 is enforcing the dietary law. The problem with many people is that they wait until they see something is stated in the New Testament before they keep it; this approach is wrong. Not all commandments stated in the Old Testament are mentioned in the New Testament. We need to prove all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21); we need to study like the Berean Christians (Acts 17:11); we need to test every spirit (1 John 4:1). Christian leaders must study the Bible extensively to be able to lead; the blind cannot lead the blind (Luke 6:39). We can not lead in the things of the Scriptures if our understanding of the Scriptures is severely diluted.
Further, for argument’s sake, even if we assume that the four commandments are the only rules we are required to keep, how many people have kept them perfectly?
- How many people are still doing things related to idols? Christmas, Easter, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Easter Sunrise services, Sunday worship?
- How are many people are still involved in fornication and adultery of all sorts?
- How many people are keeping the dietary law (including abstaining from blood and strangled meats)? People eat pork and sorts of unclean things (Isaiah 66:17).
As we have illustrated above, even the very basic four that were agreed the new believers should start with, not many people today are obeying them. If the dietary instruction is not important, why did the apostles include them in the four? Are we claiming we know better than the apostles? Are we more spiritual than the apostles?
Let us read further to understand how they resolved the problem:
Acts 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
The apostles said that already the writings of Moses were being read in the synagogues; through this, the new Gentile believers would have the opportunity to learn and grow in their walk with the Most High God.
So, how can we summarise the resolution? The apostles simply agreed that the new Gentile believers start keeping the four basic commandments and from there grow in their walk with God. These new young Gentile believers were still new and therefore do not compare them with people strong in the faith by placing a huge expectation on them; do not trouble them with huge expectations at this tender stage of their walk with God. They will grow and become strong in their walk with the Most High God; let them start with the four basics instructions that were of priority. In addition, already, the writings of Moses were being read in synagogues so these young believers had the opportunity to learn and grow, (verse 21).
This was after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; if the law of Moses is done away with, why was the law still being read in their synagogues? People have misinterpreted the writings of the prophets to think that the commandments of God that He instructed Moses to write them are done away with.
I, the writer of this article, did not know a lot of things when I started my walk with the Most High God; I didn’t know how to pray effectively; I didn’t know certain commandments; I didn’t know how to overcome temptations properly; I didn’t know so many things. It would have been crushing for me for any to expect angelic perfection from me at my tender stage. But today I have made significant progress in my walk with the Most High God. Similarly, the new young Gentile believers were no different.
ACTS 15: 24 “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:”
What were the apostles saying in verse 24? Were they saying that the young believers should not keep the commandments of God written by Moses? What is verse 24 saying? From all that we have discussed above, it was clear that the apostles were not teaching people to break God’s laws.
A certain group of believers was placing a huge burden on young Gentile believers by troubling them to be proficient in obeying the instructions of God given by Moses at the very tender stage of their walk with God. The apostles said, this group of believers (Position1, Acts 15:1), we did not instruct/command them to place such a huge burden on young believers.
ACTS 15:29 “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.” The apostles are simply saying, although these are not the only commandments, start with these priority commandments and from there you would grow and flourish in your walk with the Most High God.
Can we summarise the stages the young believers should follow? Absolutely:
