June 2010 Newsletter
What can Moses’ law on animal blood teach us today?
The early church’s handling of the Old Testament prohibition against eating blood provides today’s church with a wonderful example of Christ-like compromise, Spiritual maturity, and Christian liberty. In Acts 15, the leaders prayerfully—and successfully(!)—handled a hot issue that had the potential to split the church.
It is beautiful to see that this letter expressed the loving unity of people who had once been debating with each other and defending opposing views. The legalistic Jews willingly gave up insisting that the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved, and the Gentiles willingly accepted a change in their eating habits. It was a loving compromise that did not in any way affect the truth of the Gospel. As every married person and parent knows, there are times in a home when compromise is wrong, but there are also times when compromise is right.
What did this decision accomplish in a practical way?
1. First, it strengthened the unity of the church and kept it from splitting into two extreme “Law” and “grace” groups. President Eisenhower called the right kind of compromise “all of the usable surface...”
2. Second, this decision made it possible for the church to present a united witness to the lost Jews (Acts 15:21). For the most part, the church was still identified with the Jewish synagogue; and it is likely that in some cities, entire synagogue congregations believed in Jesus—Jews, Gentile proselytes, and Gentile “God-fearers” together. If the Gentile believers used their freedom in Christ to eat meat containing blood, this would offend both the saved Jews and their unsaved friends whom they were trying to win to Christ. It was simply a matter of not being a stumbling block to the weak or to the lost (Rom. 14:13–21).
We today can learn a great deal from this difficult experience of the early church. To begin with, problems and differences are opportunities for growth just as much as temptations for dissension and division. Churches need to work together and take time to listen, love, and learn. How many hurtful fights and splits could have been avoided if only some of God’s people had given the Spirit time to speak and to work?
Christians need to learn the art of loving compromise. They need to have their priorities in order so they know when to fight for what is really important in the church. What a wonderful opportunity to exercise our freedom in Christ and demonstrate our Christian maturity!
As we deal with our differences, we must ask, “How will our decisions affect the united witness of the church to the lost?” Jesus prayed that His people might be united so that the world would believe in Him (John 17:20–21). Unity is not uniformity, for unity is based on love and not law. There is a great need in the church for diversity in unity (Eph. 4:1–17); that is the only way the body can mature and do its work in the world.
For the Kingdom,
-bill
Note: Portions of this are adapted from W. Wiersbe’s commentary works.
