What Did The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 Really Decide?

Did the early Church officially declare the laws of God unnecessary? Does that include the 10 commandments? What did the Jerusalem council of Acts 15 really decide?

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The Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 is very often presented as a turning point in church history in which supposedly a distinct break was made with the principles of teaching obedience to God's law. The Jerusalem Council argument is trotted out to justify abandoning the 7th day Sabbath, and the annual Sabbaths we call holy days.

Our purpose today is to demonstrate that the Council's discussion and decision was limited to defining the role of circumcision in God's formation of a special assembly of people which would be composed of both Jew and non-Jew [gentile]. It was not written to address the entirety of God’s commands, judgments and statutes.

Specifically it mentions 3 requirements for Gentiles from Leviticus:
1️⃣Leviticus 17:1-8 food polluted by idols
2️⃣Leviticus 17:10 Eating blood
3️⃣Leviticus 17:13 meat from strangled animals which still have their blood in them/wild game not drained of blood
4️⃣Leviticus 18:1-30 [esp. verse 26] sexual immorality

In addition to providing a summary of Acts 15 we will also look into the context and setting in the city of Antioch. The replacing of circumcision with baptism under the administration of the new covenant, meat offered to idols, and a discussion of God's true goal which is the circumcision of the heart.

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Read this message on our blog - https://ucgraleigh.blogspot.com/2020/04/what-did-jerusalem-council-of-acts-15.html