What Changed at the
Cross & What Happened to the
Lord’s Day?
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The First
Church Council
The thorny question
that forced the elders and apostles
to meet in A.D. 49 was, “What
should we do with Gentile
converts.” Should Gentiles males
undergo circumcision and should the
law of Moses be obeyed? Many
well-educated Pharisees who had
converted to Christianity pressed
this conflict hard! “Then
some of the believers who belonged to
the party of the Pharisees stood up
and said, ‘The Gentiles must be
circumcised and required to obey the
law of Moses.’ The apostles and
elders met to consider this
question.” (Acts 15: 5,6,
emphasis mine) It is interesting to
note that it took approximately
twenty years after Jesus ascended
before the church answered these
questions. Do not forget, the
apostles and elders were Jewish
converts themselves and now
Paul’s success among the
Gentiles forced them into deciding,
once and for all, whether male
Gentiles would have to be circumcised
and if the laws of Moses should be
obeyed.
The apostles and
elders thoughtfully and prayerfully
agreed that circumcision was not
necessary – not on the basis of
a majority vote, but rather on the
basis of God’s actions. In other
words, the apostles and elders did
not construct a new church doctrine
by their own “authority.”
Rather, they listened to the
revelations given to Peter (Acts 10)
and Paul (Galatians 1: 12; 2
Corinthians 12), and after
considering the details and miracles
that confirmed these revelations
(Acts 14:30, the council concluded
that the ‘everlasting covenant
of circumcision” given to
Abraham (Genesis 17) had been
terminated.
They reached this
conclusion on the grounds that (a)
the biological offspring of Abraham
had clearly rejected Messiah (John
1:11; Acts 3), and (b) they had
broken the covenant which God had
made with them. (Exodus 19: 5,6;
Leviticus 26; Matthew 23: 37, 38)
Therefore, since circumcision was a
sign of the old covenant,
circumcision could not be required
under the new covenant! (Luke 22:20;
Hosea 8:1; Hebrews 8:8; 1 Corinthians
11:25) When you consider the Jewish
origin of the elders and apostles,
this was a huge decision.
Christianity was based on a new
covenant (Hebrews 9:15), and because
God had declared that Jewish and
Gentile believers in Christ are heirs
together in the promises He gave to
Abraham (Ephesians 2: 11-20;
Galatians 3: 28, 29), the elders
concluded that as far as God was
concerned, circumcision of the heart
was all that mattered. (Romans 2: 28,
29) They concluded that God redefined
Israel when He established the new
covenant and James acknowledged this
transition at the beginning of his
epistle. He addressed Jewish and
Gentile believers in Christ calling
them “the twelve tribes.”
(James 1: 1; 2:1) For these and other
reasons, the elders and apostles
concluded that God no longer required
circumcision of the flesh.
The council also
discussed certain life-style issues
as they pertained to exalting the
name of Jesus. They decided that
certain behaviors were important for
Christian conduct and important for
Christian living. Therefore, in an
effort to keep peace between Jewish
and Gentile converts, the councils
agreed that incoming Gentile must
adhere to four rules if they wanted
to become members of the church.
These four rules are recorded in Acts
15:19 and they are:
1.
Abstain from food polluted by idols
2.
Abstain from sexual immorality
3.
Abstain from the meat of strangled
animals
4.
Abstain from drinking animal blood
When you review this
list, consider the nature and
seriousness of these four rules. They
reflect four serious problems that
faced the early church. Other than
sexual immorality, Christians today
are not widely troubled with the
other three problems mentioned in
this list. Why is this an important
point? Many Christians read the New
Testament without any knowledge of
these problems that have just been
considered, so when they read Romans
14, it becomes easy to lift
Paul’s words out of the specific
controversies occurring within the
early church and place them within
current issues today! The result is
that the intent of Paul’s words
is grossly distorted. Paul ends up
“saying things” that he
never intended to say!
Two more points need
to be highlighted before we continue.
First, these four rules did not
represent the totality of Christian
doctrine nor did the elders attempt
at this council to define the
totality of Christian beliefs.
Revelations were still coming from
Jesus (for example, the book of
Revelation and the gospel of John had
not been written yet), so this short
list was a beginning place for order
within the church. The apostles and
elders said nothing in Acts 15 about
obvious issues such as believing in
Jesus, using God’s name in vain,
loving their neighbors, murder,
dishonoring parents, clean and
unclean food, stealing or lying! This
short list of four rules simply
represented a threshold on disputable
matters.
New believers were
required to meet these obligations to
become part of the church. The bottom
line was blunt and simple: Christians
could not live like pagans or
barbarians and remain members of the
church. (See 1 Corinthians 6;
Revelation 2: 12-16.) There was no
room in the church for superstition,
defiling conduct or sexual
immorality. Second, it is important
to understand that the elders did not
impose these four rules on the
Gentiles for the purpose of
granting salvation to the Gentiles. Rather,
these four rules were stated for the
purpose of fostering spiritual and
physical health, peace and social
harmony within a growing, but diverse
church. The apostles and elders
understood that no one but God has
the authority to set the terms and
conditions for salvation. They also
knew that no one but Jesus can save a
sinner.
The Church at Corinth
The council meeting in
A.D. 49 was pivotal. For the first
time, Christians had taken a
corporate position that circumcision
was unnecessary. This was truly a
landmark decision when you consider
the biological heritage of the
leaders of the church. Second, the
council ruled that the laws of Moses
were no longer obligatory. This was
another landmark decision. However,
at the grass roots level, these
decisions did not go over very well
in various churches (Ephesus,
Galatia, Colossus, Corinth, Rome,
etc.). Controversy sprang up because
many Jewish converts were not sure
the elders and apostles had made good
decisions.
After the council,
Paul traveled throughout Asia Minor
defending the decisions of the
council and this conflict made him a
target for hostility. Paul found
himself constantly dealing with
Pharisees in every church. Many
devout Pharisees had joined the
Christian church because there was
advancing truth and there were
miracles. The miracles were
compelling evidence that “the
way of Christ” was the work of
God. However, the Pharisees brought
into the church a host of theological
problems that Paul was constantly
opposing. Paul had established a
church at Corinth and two books of
the New Testament are directed to
this church because of certain
controversies that simmered between
Jews (the Pharisees) and Gentiles in
Corinth. Here are two passages that
need our attention [insertions mine]:
“[As believers in
Christ] Be careful, however, that
the exercise of your freedom [from
the law of Moses] does not become
a stumbling block to the weak [new
converts to Christ]. For if anyone
with a weak conscience [for
example, a recent convert who
formally worshiped idols] sees you
[doing the very things that he
once did] who have the knowledge [of
freedom in Christ that] eating in
an idol’s temple [is
nothing], won’t he be
emboldened to eat what has been
sacrificed to idols [all over
again]? So this weak brother, for
whom Christ died, [will possibly
return to his old superstitions and
pagan ways because he will lose his
faith in Christ. See how he] is
destroyed by your [freedom and] knowledge.
When you sin against your brothers in
this way and wound their weak
conscience, you sin against Christ.
Therefore, if what
I eat causes my [weaker] brother
to fall into [the] sin [of
worshiping idols], I will never
eat meat again, so that I will not
cause him to fall. Am I not free [from
slavery and don’t I have the
rights and privileges of a Roman
Citizen]? Am I not an apostle [appointed
by the Lord Himself]? Have I not
seen Jesus our Lord [in person]?
Are you not the result of my work in
the Lord? …. Though I am [truly
blessed and fully] free and belong
to no man, I make myself a slave to
everyone, to win as many as possible [to
Christ]. To the Jews I became like
a Jew, to win the Jews. To
those under the law [of Moses] I
became like one under the law [of
Moses] (though I myself am not
under the law [of Moses]), so
as to win those [who
unfortunately continue to live] under
the law. To those not having
the law [of Moses] I became
like one not having the law (though I
am not free from God’s [Ten
Commandments, His moral] law but
am under Christ’s law [that
we love one another as He loved us]),
so as to win those not having
[any knowledge of] the law [of
Moses].” (1 Corinthians 8: 9; 1:
19-21)
After making it clear
to the church in Corinth that no one
should use their freedom from the law
of Moses in an offensive way [that
is, Jews who knew that idols were
nothing, should not torment new
Gentile converts who were turning
away from past superstitions and idol
worship; and conversely, Gentiles
should not torment Jewish converts
who were concerned about eating
something unclean], Paul went to the
core of the food problem:
“You cannot [come
to church and] drink the [communion]
cup of the Lord [then go to
various temples and drink] the [communion]
cup of demons too; you cannot have
a part in both the Lord’s table [in
church] and [also drink from] the
table of demons [at their
temples]. Are we trying to arouse
the Lord’s jealousy [by
serving other gods]? Are we
stronger than he? [Because we are
now free from the obligations stated
in the law of Moses] ‘Everything
[that God has declared moral] is
permissible’-but not everything
is beneficial. “Everything [that
God has declared moral] is
permissible’-but not everything
is constructive [to the mission
and goals of the church]. Nobody
should seek his own good, but the
good of others. [When you get
together for lunch] Eat anything
sold in the meat market without
raising questions of conscience [that
is, don’t ask if the meat was
offered to idols], for, ‘The
earth is the Lord’s, and
everything in it. [We know that
an idol is nothing and an idol owns
nothing. We have this superior
knowledge through Christ our Lord,
but new believers do not understand
these things.]’ If some
unbeliever invites you to a meal and
you want to go, eat whatever is put
before you without raising questions
of conscience. But if anyone says to
you, ‘This has been offered in
sacrifice [to the gods],’
then do not eat it, both for the sake
of the man who told you and for
conscience sake – the other
man’s conscience, I mean, not
yours.
[Consider this
conflict from a practical point of
view] For why should my freedom be
judged [be condemned] by
another’s conscience? If I take
part in a meal [without asking
where the meat came from, but I
receive it] with thankfulness, why
am I denounced because of something I
thank God for [since I know that
an idol is nothing. Why should I be
concerned about eating food that is
permissible unless it causes my
weaker brother to stumble]? So
whether you eat or drink or whatever
you do, do it all for the glory of
God. Do not cause anyone to stumble,
whether Jews, Greeks or [within] the
church of God.” 91
Corinthians 10: 21-32)
Sixty-five years after
Jesus returned to Heaven, the church
was still struggling with the problem
of food offered to idols. Today, this
ancient controversy is not
significant in the United States
because the controversy does not
exist. However, it was a significant
problem in the early church and you
have to understand the seriousness of
this problem to properly understand
the writings of Paul. If Paul’s
words are lifted out of their
context, Paul’s counsel becomes
distorted.
To some extent,
Paul’s efforts to correct the
ways of the early church went
unheeded. The issue of food offered
to idols was not completely
terminated until Jesus spoke to the
seven churches of Asia Minor through
the apostle John in A.D. 95. Jesus
told the church at Pergamum: “Nevertheless,
I have a few things against you: You
have people there who hold to the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak
to entice the Israelites to sin by
eating food sacrificed to idols and
by committing sexual
immorality.” (Revelation
2:14) When the message to Pergamum
was published among the churches, the
controversy finally died. Jesus
Himself had spoken. I hope you
understand by now that this topic
created a lot of friction in the
early church. The antagonism between
Gentiles and Jews made the early
churches contentious. Paul appealed
to both sides that they love one
another as brothers and sisters in
Christ. Paul knew that if the members
of the church would just be patient
with each other, the church would
eventually overcome these conflicts
because they were disputable
matters that the Holy Spirit would
resolve.
When in Jerusalem, Do as the
Jews Do
Paul’s efforts to
steer the Christian movement away
from Jewish traditions eventually
created a backlash among the brothers
in Jerusalem. From Paul’s point
of view, it began to look ass though
a Christian version of Judaism was
developing, and of course, Paul, a
former Pharisee himself, was strongly
opposed to that. (Galatians 2)
Eventually, Paul returned to
Jerusalem. He wanted to meet with the
elders, encourage them with his
reports on church growth and explain
some of the controversies in which he
was embroiled. Paul realized the
church at Jerusalem was not moving
forward with Christian doctrine, as
it should because there were too many
Jewish paradigms controlling
“the headquarters of
Christianity.” Therefore, he
went to Jerusalem to “help the
brethren” align their gospel
with revelations that had been given
him, and during his visit, the four
rules imposed on the Gentiles in A.D.
49 were reviewed. (See Acts 21.)
Because Paul was a
controversial figure at the
headquarters church (Jerusalem), the
elders encouraged Paul to show some
Jewish solidarity. They wanted Paul
to participate with some Jewish
believers in “an old
fashioned” Jewish cleansing
ritual which required going into the
temple of the Jews. The elders
thought this act would assure the
church leaders in Jerusalem that Paul
had not abandoned Jewish customs
altogether. Although Paul knew this
ritual could not purify the soul or
the flesh, he had no problem going
through this ritual to demonstrate
one of his most controversial
doctrines: “As far as possible,
in matters of conscience toward God,
when in Rome, do as the Romans, and
when in Jerusalem, do as the
Jews.”
One day, while Paul
was in the temple participating in
the ritual with Jewish believers,
some Jews who were also worshiping
there recognized him. They shouted, “Men
of Isreal, help us [catch this
man]! This is the man who teaches
all men everywhere against our people
and our law and this place. And
besides, he has brought [uncircumcised]
Greeks into the temple area and
defiled this holy place.” (Acts
21: 28, insertions mine) Paul was
immediately arrested by temple guards
and later, handed over to secular
authorities because he was a Roman
citizen. Eventually, he ended up in
Rome because he had the right, as a
Roman citizen, to have Caesar review
the details of his arrest.
Paul’s appeal to Caesar was his
best hope for freedom. He had been
arrested on religious charges trumped
up by religious zealots, but he had
done nothing against the laws of
Rome. Instead of being set free, Paul
was beheaded. Legend says that Nero,
an avowed enemy of Christians and
Jews alike, beheaded him because in
order to appeal to Caesar, one had to
first confess that Caesar was God.
The apostle Paul left
behind an incredible legacy for
Christians. He wrote fourteen of the
twenty-seven books in the New
Testament. He did not teach that
“unclean” meat (as defined
in Leviticus 11) became
“clean” meat after the
cross. Paul does say that idols are
nothing, and clean meat offered to
idols is not contaminated. (1
Corinthians 8:4-8) However, if those
who eat clean meat offered to idols
offend immature believers in the
local church, then stop eating meat
for their sake! If Paul, “a
Pharisee of the Pharisees,” had
known that foods such as pork and
shrimp became permissible after the
death of Jesus, he would have plainly
said so – just as he clearly
said that circumcision became
unnecessary after the cross.
(Galatians 5: 2-6)
Paul never condoned
lawless behavior, but his writings
are often used to defend lawlessness.
Many Christians think that the Ten
Commandments and the laws of Moses
were nailed to the cross because Paul
says so. This is not true. Some
Christians distort Paul’s
writing with purpose. They want to
eliminate the “Jewish
Sabbath” and the only way to do
this is through the elimination of
the other nine! Often, when
Christians say the Ten Commandments
were nailed to the cross, they turn
around and assert that nine of the
commandments should be obeyed. Paul
knew the laws of Moses had been
nailed to the cross and he plainly
said so in Colossians 2:14 and
Ephesians 2:15. Paul also knew
the Ten Commandments had not been
nailed to the cross and he said so. “Let
no doubt remain outstanding, except
the continuing debt to love one
another, for he who loves his
fellowman has fulfilled the law. The
commandments [which God Himself
spoke], ‘Do not commit
adultery,’ ‘Do not
murder,’ ‘Do not
steal,’ ‘Do not
covet,’ and whatever other
commandment there may be, are summed
up in this one rule: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’ Love does
no harm to its neighbor. Therefore
love is the fulfillment of the
law.” (Romans 13: 8-10,
insertion mine)
Paul had been a devout
legalist. As such, he earnestly
sought salvation through perfect
obedience. After he became a
Christian, Paul did not abandon the
necessity of obeying the Ten
Commandments. Rather, Paul, put
obeying God’s commandments into
proper perspective. Paul found that
salvation comes through faith in
Christ and love for God and man.
Faith and love do not eliminate
God’s law. No, the law remains
and love fulfills the intent of the
law.
Extracting
Christianity from Judaism was a
complicated process, but God raised
up a brilliant man to explain the
process. For this reason, surface
readers of the Bible find Paul to be
confusing and conflicted. However, in
his defense, you would have had to
live at that time to appreciate the
obstacles he faced. I will close this
segment with Paul’s counsel to
the Romans (which is consistent with
everything he said to the troubled
believers in Corinth, Galatia,
Ephesus and Colossae):
“Accept him [new
converts] whose faith is weak,
without passing judgment on
disputable matters [such as food
offered to idols or the observance of
feast days]. One man’s faith
allows him to eat everything [that
is clean], but another man, whose
faith is weak, [avoids meant that
may have been offered to idols and] eats
only vegetables. The man who [knows
that idols are nothing and] eats
everything [that God allows] must
not look down on him who does not,
and the man who does not eat
everything [that God allows] must
not condemn the man who does, for God
has accepted him. Who are you to
judge [condemn] someone
else’s servant?
To his own master
he [the servant] stands [justified
by his actions] or falls [condemned
by his actions]. And he [the
sincere servant] will stand [justified],
for the Lord is able to make him
stand [justified]. One man [for
example, a Jewish believer] considers
one day [like Nissan 15, the date
for Passover] more sacred than
another [day]; another man [for
example, a Gentile has no regard for
Passover. He] considers every day
alike. Each should be fully convinced
in his own mind. He who regards one
day as special, does so to the Lord.
He who eats [clean] meats,
eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks
to God; and he who abstains [from
clean meant because it may have been
polluted by idols], does so to the
Lord and gives thanks to God.” (Romans
14: 1-6)
“Let us
therefore make every effort to do
what leads to peace and to mutual
edification. Do not destroy the work
of God [the establishment of the
church] for the sake of food. All
food [which God allows] is
clean, but it is wrong for a man to
eat anything that causes someone else
to stumble. It is better not to eat
[any] meat or drink wine or do
anything else that will cause your
brother to fall.” (Romans
14: 19-21)
“For
everything God created [to be
eaten] is good, and nothing is to
be rejected [even if offered to
idols] if it is received with
thanksgiving because it is
consecrated by the Word of God and
prayer.” (1 Timothy 4:4,5)
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