What was the point of the laws written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia?
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Let us try to see the whole passage in context. (All scripture quotation in NLT)
Acts 15: 20-21 - Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. 21 For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”
Verse 21 says the reason for the some of them/or all of the restrictions was
"laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations"
. Also from verse 7, we can see this happened after "At the meeting, after a long discussion", so it is clear that this was a topic of intense debate. Other biblical evidences point to that the leadership wanted a consensus which will respect those who seek more freedom (like Paul and even Peter at Jerusalem) and those who felt much more strongly about some of Jewish Traditions (James). So it is clear that last two was added considering there are large number of Jews and Jewish Christians around in those cities and church needed to be sensitive to their strong reservations.
There are more biblical evidences says to "abstain from eating food offered to idols and from sexual immorality". So Epistles and other part of new testament re-inforces them. But I believe the other two requirements to abstain "from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals" is applicable to the situation ONLY at the time of Acts 15, not binding now.
This line of argument can be illustrated further from Galatians.
Galatians 2:12 explains the struggle the church had in those days.
"When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision."
So correct interpretation of what laws applicable to us is given next to that.
Galatians 2:15-16
“You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”
Upvote:0
Only to complement the answer already accepts.
In Romans 14:14 says:
I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.In 1 Corinthians 10:25 .26
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.Jesus himself said in Matthew 15:11
not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.Following the text Matthew 15:17 -20
Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
I.e. There is no animal "impure", or there's nothing we do to food make you impure unless of course our own conscience.
If I offer you a food that you already know since childhood will surely accept it then give thanks and finally eating right?
Now if I tell him after you've eaten of conscience that he was offered the hell have you done any sin? Of course not, all that God has done on the face of the Earth is good is your eat, drink or do something make yourself before God and his conscience will tell you whether it's right or not.
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