Acts 15:1-2 KJV
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
I have been spending a lot of time lately on the subject of ethics in Christianity. This passage addresses some of the things I am considering. When this dissension arose, the decision was made from Antioch (an established church which had already sent out missionaries and accomplished much for the cause of Christ in their own right) to go to Jerusalem and meet with the apostles and elder there.
Right away a person could say that the reason Jerusalem still had any authority over issues relating to Antioch was because the apostles were there (at least some of them). But the apostles do not appear to be the ones in authority in the context. In fact, after the testimony of both Peter and Paul, whose testimonies appear to be on about the same level as the believing Pharisees of verse five, James, who was not an apostle is the one who makes the determination. There was more accountability between churches in the book of Acts than we Independent Baptists allow today. True, denominationalism has led to some serious problems; and the hierarchal systems which developed over the centuries in the Catholic and Protestant movements are an abomination which will be destroyed by the Lord as is described in Revelation. Still, it is a blind eye which does not see that the churches of the Bible were not merely independent, but that they
Esteemed each other highly and
Cooperated with each other and
Held each other accountable
Antioch never got too big to ask questions of Jerusalem. And remember, the church in Jerusalem had gone through some hard times and Antioch has already by Acts 15 sent relief to the saints there. Still, even though the Jewish issue derived from Jerusalem, the church in Antioch sought answers from those in Jerusalem and accepted the counsel that was issued from Jerusalem.
Would to God we saw such respect among churches today.
And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
I have been spending a lot of time lately on the subject of ethics in Christianity. This passage addresses some of the things I am considering. When this dissension arose, the decision was made from Antioch (an established church which had already sent out missionaries and accomplished much for the cause of Christ in their own right) to go to Jerusalem and meet with the apostles and elder there.
Right away a person could say that the reason Jerusalem still had any authority over issues relating to Antioch was because the apostles were there (at least some of them). But the apostles do not appear to be the ones in authority in the context. In fact, after the testimony of both Peter and Paul, whose testimonies appear to be on about the same level as the believing Pharisees of verse five, James, who was not an apostle is the one who makes the determination. There was more accountability between churches in the book of Acts than we Independent Baptists allow today. True, denominationalism has led to some serious problems; and the hierarchal systems which developed over the centuries in the Catholic and Protestant movements are an abomination which will be destroyed by the Lord as is described in Revelation. Still, it is a blind eye which does not see that the churches of the Bible were not merely independent, but that they
Esteemed each other highly and
Cooperated with each other and
Held each other accountable
Antioch never got too big to ask questions of Jerusalem. And remember, the church in Jerusalem had gone through some hard times and Antioch has already by Acts 15 sent relief to the saints there. Still, even though the Jewish issue derived from Jerusalem, the church in Antioch sought answers from those in Jerusalem and accepted the counsel that was issued from Jerusalem.
Would to God we saw such respect among churches today.
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