Acts: A 14-Day Devotional For MenSample

Truth and Love
Acts 15:1–35

The inclusion of believing Gentiles as full members of God’s people was one of the most challenging theological and practical issues confronting the early church. Acts does not gloss over such difficulties but regularly highlights how believers worked through problems, resulting in the strengthening of the church and the continued spread of God’s Word. 

Acts 15:1–35 unfolds in four main sections. First, Jewish Christians *disagree* over whether Gentile believers must keep the law and undergo circumcision to be saved (vv. 1–5). Second, church leaders gather in Jerusalem to *debate* the issue and hear testimony from Peter, Barnabas, Paul, and James (vv. 7–18) concerning God’s saving work among the Gentiles that accords with Old Testament prophecy. Third, the apostles and elders *decide* not to trouble Gentile believers but to write a letter to them with four requirements (vv. 19–29). Fourth, they send Paul and others to *deliver* this letter to Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia (vv. 30–35). 

The church’s crucial decision at the Jerusalem council reflects an unflinching concern for both truth and love. The apostles and elders stress the *truth* that God saves Gentile believers in Jesus Christ and gives his Holy Spirit to them apart from works of the Jewish law, such as circumcision and food regulations. The four requirements that Gentiles “abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood” (v. 20) likely stress that these new believers must turn from their former practices of idolatry and immorality to serve the one true God (see 1 Thess. 1:9; 4:3–5). These stipulations may also recall the Old Testament regulations for resident aliens living in the midst of Israel (Lev. 17:7, 12, 15; 18:20). At the same time, these requirements on Gentile converts demonstrate *love* and sensitivity toward conscientious Jewish believers, preserving the unity of the body of Christ. 

Conflict is inescapable in relationships among families, neighbors, coworkers, and churches. When we disagree over theological or practical matters with fellow believers, some of us tend to fight for what we perceive to be the truth, while others prefer to avoid conflict and quickly pursue harmony and love. The Jerusalem council illustrates that we must hold truth and love together when working through conflicts for the sake of greater unity in Christ and greater effectiveness in mission.—Brian J. Tabb