It’s been said that there is more confusion about Acts 15 than almost any other chapter of the Bible. How are we to understand what was at issue? What was the actual decision reached, and how was it reached?
The important question for us is what are the implications for us as Christians in terms of obedience to God? In order to understand we must take a closer look at the historical and Scriptural background and at how the Church arrived at its decision.
Are Christians required to keep the Law of Moses? If someone were to ask you this question, how would you answer? If Christians are required to keep the Law of Moses, what does that mean? If they are not, what does that mean?
This very question was a thorny one for the early Church, and it led to considerable controversy. It has remained a key question among those calling themselves Christian ever since then.
Did the decision of the Church recounted in Acts 15 negate the requirement that Christians must obey God’s commandments? Are Christians free to sin with impunity, based on the results of this conference? And if not, what is the controversy about and what are the ramifications of the decision made?
Learn from the Bible the answers to these questions.
It’s commonly taught among professing Christian churches that some or all of the commandments of God, especially the ten commandments given from Mt. Sinai, are not applicable to Christians. Christ, we are told, has “replaced the law,” including the ten commandments, thus they are no longer obligatory for Christians.
An example of this general idea is found in how the Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary interprets the meaning of Colossians 2:14: “The law (including especially the moral law, wherein lay the chief difficulty in obeying) is abrogated to the believer….” “The ‘handwriting’ (alluding to the Decalogue [i.e., the ten commandments])….” “Not only was the law against us by its demands, but also an adversary to us by its accusations.” “In His person nailed to the cross, the law itself was nailed to it.” For an explanation of what Colossians 2 actually teaches see our article: “Were the Commandments ‘Nailed to the Cross’?”
It is easy to be deceived about what the Bible teaches, and in fact, most people, including most people who call themselves Christians, as well as Jewish people who claim to follow the teachings of the “Old Testament,” are deceived about much of what is taught in the Bible. It’s much more difficult to find and hold to the truth of what is taught in Scripture. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). The “god of this age [or world, KJV]” is Satan, and he “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
There are many Churches that claim to be Christian. The claim to be a Christian Church implies that its teachings are consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that Christ’s example is followed by the Church making the claim.
It ought to be obvious to anyone who seriously considers the matter that not all Churches that claim to be Christian really are following teachings consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ found in the Bible. Some have wondered, “How can I be a part of the true Church of God?” I want to answer that question in this article.
Most professing Christian Churches keep Sunday as their day of worship. Have you ever stopped to ask why? Where in the Bible is Sunday commanded to be kept as a weekly day of rest and worship?
If you keep the Sabbath on the day commanded by God for it to be kept, the seventh day of the week, according to the sacred calendar, the way God counts days as recorded in Scripture, has anyone ever asked you why you keep it as noted? Would you be able to give a clear explanation?
Why should Christians keep the Sabbath, the real Sabbath, the Biblical Sabbath? Indeed,the Sabbath was made at the time God refashioned the earth as a habitation for life, and made the first human beings, as recounted in the first two chapters of Genesis, and it was made not only for the Jews, none of whom existed at the time, but for man (mankind; Mark 2:27). So from that standpoint, everyone should be keeping it. Investigate with us what the Bible itself reveals about this question.