Acts 15:22-29 (ESV)

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

This list of restrictions seems strange. Where’s, “Do not steal,” or, “Do not murder”?

Remember the context. Some believers claimed that converting to Judaism (including circumcision) should be required for converting to Christianity. The Jerusalem council met to decide whether this is true. It isn’t, but a one-word answer (“No”) just won’t do. Many Jews are sensitive about this.

So, the letter they’re sending out isn’t some kind of general “rules for clean living.” It gives a list of parts of Jewish law Christians should respect – things that would be particularly offensive to Jews. They don’t need to mention things like, “Do not steal,” and, “Do not murder” because they are general rules.

OK, but abstaining from sexual immorality is a general rule. Why is that included?

Because it wasn’t a general rule in the Greek culture of the new converts. Even though it sounds different from the other three restrictions to us, it’s like them in that it’s something the Jews cared about but the Greeks didn’t. To the Greeks, abstaining from sexual immorality was like keeping kosher – something you might do in an effort to avoid offending your Jewish friends, but not something important.

The Lord calls us to avoid offending others, even if we think their taking offense is silly.

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. – Romans 14:20-21

Ask the Lord to show you any ways that you might be making others stumble. Since this may be something you think is OK, ask Him to help you see their point of view. You’ll also need His help in stopping the behavior – especially if you resent having to stop.

The more it’s a sacrifice, the more it glorifies God.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies