Acts 15:20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
Sometimes we make membership so difficult. We live in gated communities with access codes and electronic entry keys. We have applications for organizations that would rival the FBI’s job application. We have an internal list of identifiers that help us know who is like us and who isn’t. Why do we do this?
The first Christians were mostly Jewish followers of Jesus. They adhered to the Law of Moses. They kept the rituals that helped distinguish between Jews and non-Jews during the formative years following the Exodus from Egypt. These laws helped them learn what holy, set apart people would look like. They served their purpose.
But now they had a problem. Non-Jews were becoming Christians. The Holy Spirit was working in them apart from the Law. God was teaching them what holy living looked like without having to use the Law as a tutor.
And this created a problem. The Jewish followers still had in their mind the role the Law played in their lives and they wanted the non-Jewish followers of Jesus to follow the Law as well. It was what they knew, and what they understood as central to the life of faith.
So in our text, we have the summary of their meeting to decide what they should advise the non-Jewish followers to follow. And as you can see, it is a very simplified list. From 613 laws down to four. Now that is a much simpler list, isn’t it!
Three of these rules have to do with food. Food was a connecting activity for both Jewish and non-Jewish cultures. We still gather over food as a way to connect.
The non-Jewish culture often connected idol worship with their preparation of meat and other foods. This was a very outward sign of submission and belief in the idol to whom the sacrifice was made. This outward sign had a very strong association attached to it, and it would be hard to see the sign and not make the association.
Let’s look at a couple contemporary signs of association. Take a MAGA red hat. Strong feelings get connected with those hats and those that wear them. How about the rainbow flag! Or the NRA symbol. There are so many bumper stickers that carry a meaning that can be supported or rejected.
So it was with food offered to idols. These had symbolic meaning that made it difficult for Jewish believers in Jesus to accept those who partook in those practices. So this was creating an unnecessary barrier for the unity of the Church, both Jews and Gentiles worshiping together.
Sexual immorality also was a mark of idol worship. It also was part of the Roman culture. So being faithful to your spouse was a strange practice. It set the Jews apart from those in the surrounding culture.
So these four rules that were decided on helped to remove the most obvious barriers between believing Jews and non-Jews. So if non-Jewish believers kept these simple rules, the Jews’ sensibilities would not be offended and the Church would continue growing in unity. This makes sense.
Today we don’t have this sharp a line between Christians and non-Christians. In fact, too often, Christians engage in things that even non-Christians say Christians shouldn’t do. Even they know some things are just wrong.
So maybe we need to update this list for today’s culture. Keep it simple and refine it so that if focuses on the essential behaviors that are supposed to mark followers of Jesus. The food restrictions don’t really mark non-Christian culture today. But sexual practices still do.
So I suggest that we clean up our sexual practices and make them align with Scripture as a starting point. What other thing would you add to the short list?
The Arnold Journey 