Acts 15:13-29

Chapter 50

Prayer

Almighty God, we thank thee that thou hast called us to stand still awhile and talk with thee. This is thy day oh that it might have no night! We would make it a day of elevation of soul, enlargement of faith, and drawing out of our best affections. This is no common time. In the morning of this day we see the Resurrection and the Life. We come to a grave, and find it emptied of the dead. The angels meet us, kind Heaven bows down its arch of light, and, behold,. the earth is touched with the subtle glory of the skies. This is the Lord's day thou didst make it; upon it are the marks of thy fingers; this is the day of the opening of the gates of righteousness, and of high fellowship, of liberty, and of hope. To-day we begin the year of Sabbaths; may all the year be one long summer day. Give us the Morning Star. Shine upon us from between the Cherubim. Let the light of the sun be a dim splendour compared with the infinite glory that shall shine upon our inmost life. If thou dost inspire great prayers, it is because thou hast prepared great replies. Our prayer can never be equal to thine answer; where our prayer abounds, thy response doth much more abound so that we forget our little words in the infiniteness of thy benefactions. But have we not all things in Christ? Have we not in him unsearchable riches of wisdom, truth, grace, consolation, and hope? The Sun of Righteousness never sets; there is no night in his love, there is no slumber-time in all his watchfulness. The God of Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth; and as for Christ, he ever liveth to make intercession for us. We are rich, and yet know it not. We have all things, and yet is there a tone of reproach and discontent in our voices. Lord, increase our faith. Carry it onward to assurance, and from assurance to triumph yea, to victory upon victory, until we know not which is earth and which is heaven, because of the gracious transport which excites and thrills the soul. Grant us seasons of singular joy yea, of great uplifting and broadening of life so that we shall look down from high and sacred heights upon the day's duties and the day's mean trials and burdens. To every work may we go up by revelation, and it shall be done ere we touch it; to every suffering may we advance in the spirit of the Cross; then shall we glory in tribulation also. The Lord's great comfort fill our hearts as the summer light fills the whole sky; may there be in us no darkness at all; may our hope be bright as the morning, and our gladness high as the noontide. We would forget the past except as an inspiration; we would not lay again foundations, but arise and build; we would be better men. We would have deeper holiness, tenderer sympathy, wiser realization of truth and doctrine. Thou knowest our frame, thou rememberest that we are dust, and thou art always fashioning us out of the dust that we may become men in Christ Jesus. He is the Son of man; he is the Saviour of man; he shed his blood for man; may we live through him, in him, and for him, and then, death's cold shadow past, we shall live with him. Grant to all the old men here a renewal of youth; may they forget their three-score years and more in the warmth of a New Year's Sabbath morning. Take up all the little children that are here, and kiss them into beauty. Speak to all the men of business who are here, and show them that the bread unleavened with dishonesty makes the best sustenance. Comfort the weak; speak a word to him that is ill at ease; be the counsel of those who are entering upon new schemes, undertaking strange adventures, or entering into unfamiliar enterprises. Go with our loved ones on long journeys by land and sea; keep them, give them gladness of heart by the way, and a safe return to the love that awaits them. Succor those who are so sick that we cannot help them. Come thyself Maker, Healer, Redeemer of Life and let thy blessing make up the lack of our ability. Amen.

Act 15:13-29

13. And after they had held their peace [G. became silent] James answered [Acts 12:17 , James, the brother of the Lord not the son of Alpheus answers the messengers of Antioch as the president of the meeting. Note how fatally conclusive this whole narrative is against the primacy of Peter], saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:

14. Symeon [ Luk 24:34 Hebrew form of Simon] hath rehearsed how first God did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

15. And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written:

16. After these things I will return, and I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; and I will build again the ruins thereof.

17. and I will set it up: that the residue of men [Luke translates freely from the lxx. The Hebrew text has "residue of Edom," i.e., those whom Amaziah ( 2Ki 14:7 ) had left unsubdued. But the idea on which James's argument rests is supplied by the next clause] may seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord,

18. who maketh these things known from the beginning of the world ["saith the Lord who doeth," i.e., accomplishes "these things," is the Hebrew close of Amos 9:11 , Amos 9:12 . Either the Hebrew text James quoted from memory, or the lxx. text Luke translated from may have had the addition " things known from the beginning of the world." Or, this may be a remark of James or Luke. The idea is, that God is doing nothing new or strange to him when he thus brings in the Gentiles].

19. Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble [G. "burden"] not them which from among the Gentiles turn to God;

20. but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols [ Exo 34:15 ], and from fornication [ so common among Gentile idolaters, that the abstaining therefrom would appear rather a ritual than an ethical change], and from what is strangled, and from blood [( Gen 9:6 ). These regulations were not equivalent to the "seven precepts of Noah," observed by "devout" Gentiles, but simply avoidances of heathen ritual rendered necessary by the heathen of that time].

21. For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath [and so the Jews and devout persons attending these synagogues would be scandalized if these four points were not strictly observed].

22. Then it seemed good to [ Act 15:25 and Acts 15:28 . This commonest of Greek phrases has been made into an ecclesiastical formula by the hierarchists] the apostles and the elders [G. has no comma], with the whole church, to choose men [ Act 15:25 ] out of their company [out of the church meeting], and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: namely, Judas called Barsabbas [mentioned only in this passage], and Silas [Silvanus, 1Pe 5:12 ], chief men [Luke 22:26 ; lit.: leaders] among the brethren:

23. and they [those who chose, i.e., the meeting] wrote thus by them [G. "by their hand," i.e., sent this letter with and by means of them]. The apostles and the elder [hierarchist copiers have omitted the following words "and the" in many MSS. Sahidic 34 omits also "brethren"; Tischendorf retains "and the brethren"; but our Revisers have followed the hierarchists. Were this unprecedented Greek phrase possible at all, the adjective would be very emphatic. "The Elder brethren." Or, as the Americans suggest, it may be imagined to mean, "the Elders: brethren," i.e., the Apostles and the Elders in their capacity of brethren (church members) greet the Gentile brethren (the churches at Antioch, etc.). The meaning given by the Revisers' reading (comp. Act 15:24 ) is that the "subverters" having falsely alleged the authority of the Apostles and the Elder brethren, the Antiochian Church sent the deputation to sift this allegation, and now the Jerusalem Church sends back two of its own members, sending with and by them a letter, in which the Apostles and the Elder brethren explicitly deny the "subverters'" report concerning themselves. Tischendorf is, however, right. Read harmoniously with Acts 15:22 , "the Apostles and the Elders and the brethren," i.e., the church] unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting [G. "Rejoice!"].

24. Forasmuch as we have heard that certain which went out from us [Galatians 2:4 , Paul styles them "false brethren." Incontestably they were not either apostles or elders, as the hierarchical gloss of the Revisers implies, but Jerusalem Church members, "From us" is equivalent to "their company" of Act 15:22 ] have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment;

25. it seemed good unto us [the event of Act 15:22 is being related here] having come to one accord [Acts 15:7 , Act 15:12 ], to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

26. men that hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27. We [ Act 15:22 ] have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth.

28. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost [G. no comma], and to us [note how similarly Paul, being sent on this errand by the Antiochian Church, says he "went up by revelation." For the question who were the "us," see also Acts 15:20 , "that we write," etc., and the "brethren" of Act 15:13 ], to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary [ i.e., of present necessity; things rendered indispensable by the circumstances of the heathen cities] things;

29. that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols ["concerning" which see 1 Corinthians 8:0 , and, for the general principle of these four temperance pledges, the last verse], and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication [put here separately last, with sense of the graver ethical point involved]; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well,

The Decision of the Council

WE now come to the conclusion of the whole matter. Some decision must be pronounced upon the vexed question which we have been considering, and that decision cannot but be of vital historical importance. This was a crisis in the history of the Church. The very greatest disasters might have befallen the Christian cause at this critical time. The man who, humanly speaking, saved the Church was Paul. From a human standpoint I have no doubt whatever that the Christian cause would have been lost in that furious debate but for this chosen vessel of the Lord. There was in him a fine spirit of conciliation as to manners and methods and usages; but when it came to the liberty of Christ, and the independence of the Church, he stiffened into inflexibility, and he "gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour." He was no circumcisionist, no baptist, no ritualist; he would let nothing stand between the soul and Christ, or between Christ and the soul; and the soul having begun in the faith, was not allowed to conclude in the letter having begun in the Spirit, it must not conclude in the flesh. The maxim of Paul was Upward, higher still from one attainment to another, without coming back to do anything that could minister to the desire of the flesh or the vanity of the eye.

The little picture that is before us enables us to look a little into the detail of early Church life. We have seen how high the controversy ran; there was no small dissension and disputing; every man thought he saw the truth and knew it, and sometimes the dust was so vast and" thick that we could scarcely tell how the fight was going. In the fact that there was full discussion of the question, let us recognize the place of human thought and human independence in the consideration of Christian problems. We may all speak; no man is to be put down who speaks upon a question sincerely: every man who is not speaking intelligently or sincerely will put himself down. I know of nothing in the record which would justify us in supposing that men were hooted down on whatever side they were speaking. In modern Christian controversy we have all seen lamentable spectacles in relation to this very matter of putting men down. I have never been ashamed of the Christian cause more deeply and insufferably than when I have heard an orthodox man employ a heterdox tone for the purpose of putting down an opponent. I have listened to the opponent and disagreed with nearly every sentence he uttered, and if the man who interrupted him had spoken, I might probably have agreed with every proposition he was seeking to establish; but, in my soul, having heard the tone of the one man and the tone of the other, I have said the heretic may have the heterodox doctrine, but he has the orthodox soul, and this man has called "time" in a tone which proves him to be a heretic in his heart. Take care how you maintain a good cause. I have seen an infidel display a nobler spirit than has been shown by his nominally Christian antagonist. We stand not in the word only, but in the spirit: the Gospel must be preached in its own key. We may spoil the music of heaven by the harshness of a poor and selfish tone. So far as I can gather from the narrative, then, the discussion was full, impartial, and thorough. In the midst of all this due deference was paid to the apostles and elders, and the decision was pronounced by the President or Bishop. All things were done decently and in order. Decency and order are not accidents in chronology they belong to the fixed calendar of progress, and are always in date, and when they are wanting the sanctuary is turned into a common place of assembly. Throughout all this intellectual and spiritual tumult there was a line of order, a spirit of decency; every man was heard, and when every man had expressed himself, the proceedings were summed up, and sentence was delivered not in the terms of the Bishop's own choosing, but in words which seemed to gather up into themselves the common sentiment of the excited and earnest assembly. That is our notion of the Christian Church.

This little picture marks the beginning of Christian liberty. A wrong step here, and Christian liberty would have been lost. Paul was raised up at the very moment of time. He who made havoc of the Church kept it together; it was an arm terrific, whether to strike or to build its energy was superhuman. Paul enlightened the whole Church even James himself became almost a poet under the inspiration of this new voice. James quoted prophecies with a new tone and emphasis; under the teaching and illumination of Paul's ministry the horizon of James widened, until he dwelt no longer in the ecclesiastical cage, but ranged the whole liberty of God's boundless firmament! Sometimes the Church needs inspiration more than information. When the grate is full of fuel, what is wanting is not more fuel, but a light. James began to see that Christian liberty was founded on prophecy, "and to this," said he, "agree the words of the prophets." How did James become so great a man all of a sudden? Because he had touched the Pauline spirit. Great men make great men. He who walketh with the wise becomes wise. No man could become less who held fellowship with Paul. The Apostle always saw some higher height, and always urged the soul on to some nobler liberty. Whilst many wanted to remain behind, cutting themselves with circumcision, washing and plunging and sprinkling themselves in baptism, he seemed to take hold of them, and say, "Halt!" "Why, yes," said he, parenthetically, "there were one, or two, or three whom I baptized, but the circumstance was so transient that I paid no attention to it, for I have been sent to preach the Gospel." When our leading men become entangled in alphabets, conjugations, tenses, and declinings; when they begin to betake themselves to "standing orders" and "by-laws," I know not in what terms to describe the disaster. Christian liberty was also attested by facts, as well as founded on prophecy. There was no novelty in it; what we think is novelty has been in the Bible all the time. As we have often said, we do not need a new Bible; we need new readers. Inspired books prove their inspiration by always revealing some new aspect of truth, some new phase of beauty. It was actually found that in the Old Testament this very question had been settled. In every synagogue Moses was read, and nobody understood him. Paul did not add one single line to the revelation; he only said, "Brethren read it so." And after he read it, the Bishop of Jerusalem said, "Why, the question has been settled from immemorial time I see it now." This man has caused the Bishop of the letter to burn with the fire and presence of the spirit. There are no new liberties. Even your Acts of Parliament, in so far as they are good, are only transcripts of the Bible. We may have references in the readings, and marginal notes, but here in God's Volume is the great stream of thought, doctrine, liberty, out of which all that is good in collateral directions flows.

This little picture not only shows us early Church life, and not only shows us the beginning of Christian liberty, it also shows us the right way of treating new converts. Here we do need instruction. The Apostles taught new converts the doctrine of abstention; according to the teaching of the Apostles, new converts were to begin by not doing things. The trouble with our new converts in some instances is, that they are converted on Monday, and that on Tuesday they are promoted to eminences compared with which the elevation of Paul was a very small advancement. The Apostle said, "Brethren Gentiles, you will do well to begin by not doing certain things." For example, in every Gentile's house, other things being equal, there were figures of idols, figures of gods, castings of deities. When the Gentile entered into his house, and passed in, he uncovered his head, or he made obeisance in some way he acknowledged the stone god that was in his house; he may have held his food before the god prior to eating it himself. The apostles and elders, and the whole Church at Jerusalem, said to the Gentiles, "We do not want you to grind your stone idols to powder, but we want you to abstain from paying any religious attention to them. Regard them as works of art; but let there be no religious distance between them and you except the distance that ought to intervene between an immortal man and a stony figure." The Gentiles were accustomed to have many wives; the Apostles laid their interdict upon polygamy. The Gentiles were accustomed to follow certain savage rites and customs; the Apostles desired that these arrangements might be abandoned. Therefore, I say, they began with the new converts by imposing a discipline of abstention. That is where we ought to begin. I do not say to a young heart, "Are you perfect?" I should thereby discourage the modest, self-distrustful soul. Rather would I say, "Do you want to be better?" And if the answer is a healthy "Yes; please God, I should like to be better," that will do to begin with. Let no man vex you with words, seeking to subvert your souls by making metaphysical problems of the redeeming blood of Christ and love of God. The Apostles were content if men began by doing that which is well; that is all they said in their letter, which concludes with these words: "from which if ye keep yourselves ye shall do well." We might have lived in the apostolic days, say some of us; we would have felt warmer in soul if we had lived under apostolic rays than under modern criticism. The Apostles would have said to some of us, "You shall abstain from strong drink"; to others of us, "You shall keep away from exciting we will not say demoralizing amusements." The Apostles would have said to others of us, "You shall go regularly to church." If this were called legalism, the Apostles were accustomed to be stoned, and they thought nothing of it. If this were called morality, legality, the doctrine of merits, and of self-righteousness, the Apostles would not have been afraid to go to their duty, even though they had to go to it through the dangers of a hail-storm. The men who were accustomed to walk out under tempests of thunderbolts made but small account of hailstones of unintelligent and narrow criticism.

Thus would I speak this New Year Sabbath morning, to some who feel as if they needed a word of encouragement, because they could not go to the inner places of the sanctuary. Will you make me your teacher and drill-master in the sanctuary for one little day? Then I accept the appointment, and I begin in your case by telling you what you are not to do. Come now; I am not a hard task-master, am I? You said you wanted to be better; you supplied the initial ground. I only stand upon it, and instead of burdening you with great weights, and chafing you with unfamiliar yokes, and perplexing you by high intellectual exercises, I begin by saying to you, "Thou shalt not." Come to me at the end of a month, and tell me that you have kept the law, and I shall say, "You have done well." Next month I may appoint you something to do. We must grow; we cannot shoot up into men in one short Sabbath day. Some of us must be fed with milk as babes, because we are children and not men. Do not expect too much of newborn souls. I would rather suspect the newborn souls that are precocious especially if they turn their precocity into the criticism of their seniors. Men who are newly born into Christ's kingdom must be treated as little children are; and the first lesson to the child is "Thou shalt not."

This little picture shows some of the happier aspects of controversy. But for this controversy, who knows when Paul and James might have been brought together? And after the controversy was over, the Bishop writes these words: "Our beloved Barnabas and Paul." That was a happy ending of controversy. James wrote more than that. James looked at the question partly from the characters of the men who had sustained one side of it, and he called them "men that have hazarded their lives for our Lord Jesus Christ." So judge in every controversy. I have never known an infidel who was worthy to be spoken of in the same moment with the Apostle Paul. Against him were men sincere but uninformed, and also false brethren who crept in privily unawares. From them he separates himself by the infinite diameter of self-sacrifice and a heroic devotion to a cause so much greater than himself.

In all such cases ask who the men are? What have they done? What have they suffered? On the other side you will find "men who have hazarded their lives." This proof of devotion must go for something in the exciting controversy. It is not enough to be clever; we must be true. It is not sufficient to imagine speculative difficulties; we must live a life of unselfish devotion. The man who does most to enlighten human darkness, mitigate human distress, and comfort human hearts, is more likely to be true and sound in spiritual philosophy and doctrine than the man who is only critical and not self-sacrificing. The Bible heroes of this kind claim the confidence beyond all other men that have lived their doctrine, their testimony, brought them martyrdom; they shrank not from the fire which sealed their sincerity and proved their conscientiousness. What have we done for the Lord Jesus? Come now, we will put it down on paper and look at it. I will be scribe, you dictate. I am waiting what, not one line? Have we not begrudged every penny we ever gave him? Have we not begun our economies by pinching the bread of Christ? Have we not kept Him waiting at the door past midnight when the dews were falling thickly upon him? Have we not neglected his house on the smallest pretexts? We who have stood for hours in the rain to see a man perform a trick and deliver the poetry of another man have we not neglected Christ's house because of the weather? We in whose cellars are dozens of choice wine have we not neglected Christ's poor? Could we choose an epitaph, what would be so sublime as this: "A man who hazarded his life for the Lord Jesus"? Heaven might be condemned as too short of beauty and light for such a tenant. Methinks God's omnipotence would be moved to make some nobler heaven for heroism so sublime!