Acts 15

Our text on Sunday night was Acts 15. It's a bit of an odd text that doesn't get much teaching in church, but it's a hugely pivotal part of the development of the church as recorded in the book of Acts. The snippet (but I recommend reading the real deal instead of the Trevor paraphrase) is that there are Jews who have become followers of Jesus. There are now also Gentiles (non-Jews) who have become followers of Jesus. Some Jews thought that the Gentiles should have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian. The Apostle Paul says, "nope." Pharisees who are Christians say, "yep." Thus the controversy. Enter the church council in Jerusalem. They put their heads together. They come up with a compromise that entails a few requirements but forgoes the circumcision issue.

All of this was really an attempt at church unity so that the family of God could be expanded. It also made it possible for people of differing cultures to gather at the same table without too much controversy or argument. Here are the jumping off points of our discussion from Sunday:

Here is great good news for us: this is a gospel that recognizes diversity yet enables harmonious living based on a higher unity, our identity in Christ.

What “do’s and don’ts” do we unjustly enforce on others for entrance to the kingdom of God?

James's proposal teaches us three things about life together in a culturally diverse church: 1) We must say no to any form of cultural imperialism that demands others' conformity to our cultural standards before we will accept them and their spiritual experience; 2) We must say yes to mutual respect for our differences; and 3) We must live out that respect by using our freedom to forgo what is permissible for us in light of the needs or struggles of others.

So that's where we started our conversation. Please share some thoughts with us...