Council of Jerusalem

We are reading about the early church's struggle with what to do with Gentiles. The question, posed by Luke in his account, is whether Gentiles must be circumcised and take on the Jewish law in order to enter the church. It is a question answered and dealt with so long ago that it is difficult to interest contemporary Christians in the discussion. The reason why Acts 15 is important, is it reveals to us something of how God works. The first thing we note is that Jesus did not leave clear instructions to His disciples about this issue. In the debate, no one is quoting Jesus. Clearly, the three dozen verses are a very brief summary of a much longer, more complex event. Acts 15:7 "after much discussion" cannot convey all that took place to a non-participant.

"Some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up" and argued that Gentile converts should take up the Law of Moses. Conservative Christians, of whom I know many, rarely seem to  have much sympathy for this group. I do not know why. Certainly, this is a faithful and conservative group. Too often we write off Pharisees as 'bad guys' interested in self-justification and full of hypocricy. In reality, they were generally devout and faithful. These were the Jews most likely to be students of Scripture. They were also the ones most intent on living a life of authentic faith. Did they mess up and sin, well, yes, who hasn't (besides Jesus)? At any rate, this is a crisis. Can someone become part of the people of God without being a Jew first?

I am most struck by the realization of how God works. According to Acts, God does not give any prophetic word. No one has a revelation from on high. No theophany takes place where God Himself reveals the answer to the question. Instead, men reflect upon their experiences and discuss their thoughts. What role did Scripture play in this? There is a quote from Amos 9:11-12, but it follows the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) which is slightly different than the Masoretic Text (which is Hebrew). I do not want to get sidetracked, but we all know that translations do not always agree.

Did the Pharisee Christians not have Biblical passages as well. One assumes they quoted many. One can also assume that the other side had more than one verse of Scripture to refer to as well. In the end, the Bible was not enough to resolve the issue. Much is made of the works of God among the Gentiles. At last, Peter/Simon speaks. That is the turning point of the meeting.

God has used human beings and human argumentation to reveal His will. It is a messy way to do things. Couldn't God just tell us and be done with it? The final decision is made. "Let's not make things too hard for the Gentiles who are turning to God." There are still some expectations. No sexual immorality. No idolatry. No eating blood (Providentially, we studied this in Sunday School last week, in the Noah story in Genesis. God imposed that rule on all humans after the Flood. It is not Jewish Law, it is God's Law for all.) Saved by faith means behaviors follow. No escape from that.

So here is the foundation for the "catholic" understanding of authority in the church. Many times I hear people differentiate between "God's rule" and "Man's rule." Generally, it is in reference to some decision made by church leaders and usually the person disagrees with the decision. While it is too complex for me to deal with here, there is no doubt in my mind that the distinction between "God" and "Man" in these matters is not so easy to discern. God seems satisfied to used fallible people and fallible instituions to slowly shape the world in the form He desires. The apostles and elders declare that their decision "seems good to the Holy Spirit and to them." That has been the problem ever since. People claiming the Holy Spirit have taught all manner of things. There has been endless disagreement. Some Jews who believed in Jesus in the first century disengaged from the broader Gentile Church. For centuries they lived their faith in Jesus while maintaining the Old Testament commands from God. What will God do with such people, who sincerely think that they are the faithful ones?

Churches are a messy thing. They are messy because people are in them and people run them. They are messy because the stock answer, "Let God lead us" ignores one fundamental fact. God leads us in and through humans. There is no where to go, including the Bible, including Tradition, including prayer to get the final and definitive answer on everything. People argue and disagree because things are not always so clear. On the other hand, some people use that to claim that things which are clear are not. But until Jesus returns to establish HIS reign, you and I will hash it out in our various congregations and churches. And it will be messy. And God will work through it. And God WILL attain His goals.