Christian Life and the Law with regard to Acts 15

[Seth]

Sheila :thumbsup:

I'm loving what you guys see in the shadow > realities.

Ronen, you kinda read my mind. I was just thinking about how intention is so important with regard to our walk in faith. I really agree with that.

[sheila]

in Acts 17 Paul spoke of 'in the past God overlooked such ignorance,but now He commands all people

  everywhere 'repent' In ch 18 Paul devoted himself exclusively to testifying to the jews that Jesus was

  the  Christ. But after they became abusive..he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them,'your blood

  be on your own heads. I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the gentiles. Then Paul

left the synagogue and went next door[which just happened to be gentiles who accepted and believed]

and remained there a year and a half,teaching them the word of God.


     

 

[gregoryfl]

Seth and Eaglesway gave me food for thought when they were discussing the fulfilled and destroyed meaning in Matthew's account. I just wrote a blog about my understanding of it, as a lover of His Torah...

http://ronsrestingplace.blogspot.com/2014/09/fulfilled-not-done-away-with.html

[gregoryfl]

Thanks Seth. And Sheila, you are one of the posters here that I really have to slow down and read, because of the richness of what you share.  :HeartThrob:

[sheila]

TY but surely it is due to the richness and bounty of His word/testimony in the scriptures. Isaaih 25;6

  on this mountain,the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich foodfor ALL people's,a banquet of agedwine

  the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain He will destroy the shroud that enfolds

  ALL people's,the sheet that covers ALL nations; He will swallow up death forever.

  The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from ALL faces; He will remove the disgrace of His people

  from ALL the earth.  THE LORD HAS SPOKEN..................

[Seth]

Ronen, I really enjoyed your blog post. I think Jesus took a similar tack in his example of a cup, being clean on the outside. If you have two cups, one dirty on the inside and one filled with water, you pour from the one cup to the other to wash the inside of the other cup. It's the water which does the cleansing, which fills.

It's interesting how Paul said that the Law should be used lawfully knowing that the Law is not for the righteous but the unrighteous. You can see him using that logic to masterful effect in Romans 2, where he exposes the Jews for adherence to physical circumcision but lacking love. The Law reveals sin as sin.

[Graph1159]

I had another thought today about Acts 15. If Acts 15 was intended to outline the moral rules for New Covenant believers, it is actually a rather permissive set of rules. There is no mention of murder, stealing, drunkenness, etc. We might say that Acts 15 deals with cultural/religious laws (such as food or circumcision) specific to Jews under the Old Covenant, so universal prohibitions (such as those against murder) are omitted.

But, if that is the case, why did Acts 15 include sexual immorality on the list of forbidden things for Gentiles? The sexual rules of the Old Covenant are reconfirmed in NT writings and thus were not restricted to Old Covenant Jews. So, why list sexual immorality but not stealing (which is also prohibited in both covenants)?

This leads me to wonder if all the prohibitions of Acts 15 are related to idolatry and were given to keep the Gentiles from slipping back into paganism. In this case, the abstinence from blood refers to pagan rituals that involved blood consumption, not merely eating some meat with a little blood left in it for non-pagan reasons.

Likewise, the prohibition of sexual immorality would not refer to all instances of adultery, prostitution, etc., but only those done as part of specific pagan lifestyles. Even though such sexual acts are always immoral (as shown elsewhere in the NT), that's not the point being made in Acts 15.

What do you think about this?
Samuel

[Seth]

I actually address that in the OP.

[eaglesway]

I dont think that Acts 15 was a "limit" of what was prohibited. It was a starting point in providing a corporate, or community environment where righteousness would grow through the grace of God by the influence of the Spirit and the growth of the word among the Gentiles coming into the eclesia.

"And great grace was upon them all....and the word of the Lord grew and multiplied.... and the Lord added daily those whop were appointed to salvation".

[sheila]

come across some interesting imformation in regard to eating things sacrificed to idols,sexual imorality and

   the teachings of the nicolaitians.   google search Doctrines of the Nicolaitans @Tripod.

   Graph you may particularly enjoy this.....omega77.tripod.com/Doctrine of the nicolaitins..it had to do with

  the sexual immorality/temple prostitutes/idol feasts in Pergamos.....trade guilds practiced such routinely...

   and evidently some abused Paul's statement that an idol is nothing..to the max....

 

[rosered]

come across some interesting imformation in regard to eating things sacrificed to idols,sexual imorality and

   the teachings of the nicolaitians.   google search Doctrines of the Nicolaitans @Tripod.

   Graph you may particularly enjoy this.....omega77.tripod.com/Doctrine of the nicolaitins..it had to do with

  the sexual immorality/temple prostitutes/idol feasts in Pergamos.....trade guilds practiced such routinely...

   and evidently some abused Paul's statement that an idol is nothing..to the max....

http://omega77.tripod.com/DoctrineoftheNicolaitans.htm

   HGi sis ,  found it and read some   

Find it hard to believe that its ok to wallow in sin and just say    we will repent  later on   
  Oh my  !!
This abuse of saving grace maybe ?     Hebrews 12

1Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,


2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.



  :eek:

[eaglesway]

Nico, means dominate....laitain from laity mean "people". I believe it was the doctrine of balaam who taught the children of Israel to commit fornication, and the doctrine of Jezebel as well.

I believe the doctrine of the Nico Latians was the clergy laity separation- abrogating the priesthood of every believer and making a class of priests to rule over the ecclesia.

[sheila]

EW that's what I always thought too....the 'so-called' Nicolaitians......another heresy..as well as the trinity

and office of pope/bishops etc..all in the article.

[rosered]

  Yes    exactly ,     :thumbsup:    power over the people , that article   was  about  religious  abuse ..

    the same warning of Paul Jesus hated   the  ways of the  Nicolations 

Gal  6   ...12Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

13For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.

14But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world 

glorifying  fleshy dead works
   without faith   pleasing God
   self serving leaders     

[eaglesway]

Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, [a]acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and [e]acceptable and perfect.

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Matt 10:42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.