Jew and Gentile
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The Gentile converts, however, were to give up the customs that
were inconsistent with the principles of Christianity. The apostles and
elders therefore agreed to instruct the Gentiles by letter to abstain from
meats offered to idols, from fornication, from things strangled, and
from blood. They were to be urged to keep the commandments and to
lead holy lives. They were also to be assured that the men who had
declared circumcision to be binding were not authorized to do so by
the apostles.
Paul and Barnabas were recommended to them as men who had
hazarded their lives for the Lord. Judas and Silas were sent with these
apostles to declare to the Gentiles by word of mouth the decision of
the council: “It seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon
you no greater burden than these necessary things; that ye abstain from
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meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and
from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well.”
The four servants of God were sent to Antioch with the epistle and
message that was to put an end to all controversy; for it was the voice
of the highest authority upon the earth.
The council which decided this case was composed of apostles
and teachers who had been prominent in raising up the Jewish and
Gentile Christian churches, with chosen delegates from various places.
Elders from Jerusalem and deputies from Antioch were present, and
the most influential churches were represented. The council moved in
accordance with the dictates of enlightened judgment, and with the
dignity of a church established by the divine will. As a result of their
deliberations they all saw that God Himself had answered the question
at issue by bestowing upon the Gentiles the Holy Ghost; and they
realized that it was their part to follow the guidance of the Spirit.
The entire body of Christians was not called to vote upon the
question. The “apostles and elders,” men of influence and judgment,
framed and issued the decree, which was thereupon generally accepted
by the Christian churches. Not all, however, were pleased with the
decision; there was a faction of ambitious and self-confident brethren
who disagreed with it. These men assumed to engage in the work
on their own responsibility. They indulged in much murmuring and
faultfinding, proposing new plans and seeking to pull down the work
of the men whom God had ordained to teach the gospel message. From
the first the church has had such obstacles to meet and ever will have
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