“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”
Right, so I realize that the church was being newly formed and was still pretty well steeped in Jewish thinking at the time this was written. Paul, himself, argued against the “food offered to idols” thing. It seems the only one that we need to continue to follow is “to abstain from …sexual immorality.” Despite what may seem obvious, how can we discount the first three and hold to the last one? Or to put it another way, how would you give an answer to one who would use this passage to say that “since the first three are no longer valid, why should the fourth one still be followed?”
Thoughts from anyone, and specific invites to:
And thanks to all who can weigh in. Appreciate your comments! (If you haven’t checked out these sites, I recommend you do!)
Acts 15:28,29 Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
INSPIRATION with an ATTITUDE 