I asked:
What about the Bet Dein (Jerusalem council) of Acts
15?
Jeff
Absolutely!
"Clergy" has become a word to describe a hierarchy that never was
intended and did not exist in the early church or in God's plan. A
living organism (Church) has become a giant organization , big
business.
Terry
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Excellent
question Jeff. You made me do some quick checking. I found
that there were seven councils in the history of the early church, the
first one being the most important, because the question "What must I do
to be saved" was answered. They seem to have acted in an advisory
capacity, not as a heirarchy, and they never ruled or advised that a
pastor was necessary for salvation, or baptism.
I am sorta surprised
that you mentioned this chapter, since it blows all kind of holes in the
keeping of Mosaic laws.
Blessings,
Terry
So now its time for a
lesson!(and more verbiage than ya'll will ever get out of me for quite some
time)
Beginning with the comments from The
Interpreters one-volume Commentary on the Bible, edited by
Charles M. Laymon, Abingdon Press, 1971,
ISBN: 0-687-19299-4.
"Acts
15:19-20. James judgement embodies the authoritative
conclusion of the church. That Jewish Christians should not
trouble the Gentile converts refers to the yoke (vs.10) and implies
that circumcision is not to be required. The requirements which are made
constitute the "apostolic decree." It presents two problems:...(the first problem is not an issue to this discussion
so I have skipped it) ...(b) What
is its meaning? If we accept the best text (including 4 prohibitions), the
meaning is cultic, ie. the decree contains ritual
requirements..."
The commentary continues
with:
15:21. "The fact that the law
(hebrew:Torah) is
read every sabbath through out the empire may be taken either to
support the Gentile mission (vss.16-18) or to confirm the decree. In any
case the result of the conference (in contrast to Gal. 2:6-10) is a
compromise: circumcision is not required for salvation, but
Jewish ritual requirements are essential to
fellowship."
In other words, Gentiles were
permitted to fellowship with the Jewish believers if they obeyed
TORAH! So the question arises, Are God's commands applicable to todays
church, or were they something only for Jews before Messiahs first
coming? If as is taught in many churches, Jews and Gentiles did not
worship together, then the OT is irrelevant to todays church. But, in
biblical times Jews and Gentiles DID worship together and God's commandments
do apply to all His people. Sadly, many today are taught that Jews and
Gentiles did and do not mix. How can that be? Jews and Gentiles all serve
the same God?
Paul addresses both Jews and
Gentiles in Acts 13:14-16. Moses addressed Jews and Gentiles in Exodus
12:19, 12:49, Leviticus 17:8-16, 22:18, Numbers 15:14-16 (thats a great one!
God speaks of his Torah and says that his law is an eternal law,
that it is the same for Jew and Gentile alike!), Deutoronomy
16:13-16, Nehemiah 10:1-27. There are too many examples to list them all.
How about Joshua 8:33, Gods definition of an
Israelite,"Then all the Israelites- foreigners and citizens
alike..." or an easier translation of the Hebrew
text,"Then all the Israelites, Gentiles and Hebrews
alike..." In Joshua 8:33-35 we learn that an
Israelite is not only a Jew by blood, but is anyone who loves and obeys God
and He expects ALL HIS ISRAELITES to worship as one!
Now considering that no amount of
linguistic juggling can change the meaning or context of Yeshua's words in
Matthew 5:17, the Torah has not been removed. What James is saying in Acts
15:21 is that just as it took the Hebrew people forty years of wandering to
absorb and understand and then begin the process of obedience, so
too, would Gentile converts learn the Torah over time and make the
appropriate changes in their spiritual life.
The NT is very
clear about Yeshua's walk on this earth, he obeyed all of the Torah,
observed all of God's appointed feasts, etc., so why does the Christian
Community reject the truth? The
lawlesness and disobedience taught in most churches today is not supported
by scripture. The doctrines taught today are empty feel good, warm and
fuzzy, doctrines that have no scriptural basis.
Sure, one can cut and paste select verses to achieve
the desired doctrine, but when these verses are restored to their proper
context, the doctrines of men crumble under the teaching of
scripture.
See
Terry, I think Acts 15 strongly supports Torah obedience.
Jeff
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