Day 251: Acts 15:22–35

It was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—to put no greater burden on you than these necessary things. . . . If you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well (vv. 28–29).

God can break any yoke, even those we don’t realize we’re wearing. Thank goodness, the message of freedom prevailed at the Jerusalem Council. Paul and Barnabas departed with a letter personalized for the Gentile believers in Antioch.

But at first glance the letter seems somewhat contradictory. Gentile believers didn’t have to be circumcised to be saved, but they were urged to abstain from several practices forbidden under Jewish law. So were they free from the law or not? Yes and no. They were free from the law of Moses but not free from the life-giving laws of God. The freedom God gives is to come out and be separate from the practices of the former worldly life. The letter to the believers in Antioch was a declaration of liberty. The four areas of abstinence would help them remain free.

Let’s pinpoint one of the four areas that offers an important learning opportunity for us: the believers in Antioch were told to abstain from food sacrificed to idols. Gentile believers might have reasoned that although they would not dream of sacrificing to idols anymore, what harm could be done by simply buying the leftover food at a good price after it was offered?

Satan sometimes tempts us the same way. We don’t desire to go back to our old lifestyles, but certain parts of it seem so harmless—some of the old friends, the old hangouts, and the old refreshments. But the elders wisely warned the early believers that nothing is harmless about the practices of the old life. Eating foods sacrificed to idols could weaken them to former practices or cause someone else to stumble.

The Gentile believers would not forfeit their gift of grace by eating foods sacrificed to idols, but they would risk their freedom and compromise their separateness. They were wise to avoid anything that would place them close enough to the vacuum to be sucked back in. Safety and freedom are found in staying so far away that you can’t even hear the vacuum cleaner running.

Paul and Barnabas were now back home. Back with their beloved flock. They returned to tell them they were free . . . and to show them how they could stay that way.