Compromise Without Compromising

Early on, after Jesus's death, there became a dilemma: the Jewish Christians had rigid ideas on righteousness. God had established the Abrahamic Covenant with the Jews, and the liberty which Christ brought freed mankind from having by their own efforts to "work" for salvation. Until that time, it seemed that Abraham's works was what made him righteous - with his "sacrifice" of his only son on the mountain, but it was his righteousness that made him willing to do that! Of course, God knew his faith and  provided the sacrifice instead of Abraham. Thus, Abraham wasn't righteous because of works, but did works because he was righteous. This idea is crucial in salvation. It disputes any notion that mankind could ever do anything to be "good" enough for God.

Thereafter Moses wrote down the Law. The Law of God is in the first five books of the Old Testament, Jews call it the Torah and Mosaic Law is written there. They are the commands, entreaties, and regulations God gave for righteousness. The Supreme Law of God are the Ten Commandments. They are the Laws which were written on stone for perpetuity. The remainder were written on destructible "paper". Circumcision of the males were the seal of agreement that the Jews would abide by God's Laws. After fornicating with every God imaginable for years, the Hebrew nation and religion nearly died out.  Solomon's Temple was destroyed, and God had no earthly place to abide. It seemed that God was dead - at least to the world!

Seventy years afterwards, God was "resurrected" in the lives of a few Jews in captivity. Ironically in seventy years after the mercy of God, the temple was rebuilt, just as after the grace of Jesus death, Herod's Temple was destroyed. With Jesus no temple was of further need because Christians are his temple!

The wicked Babylonian King had held the Jews in captivity, and removed some to Babylon and most were dispersed - the Diaspora. Eventually King Cyrus defeated the Babylonians, and God put it on his heart to be merciful to the Jews. He allowed them to return to their homeland. Darius, a successor to Cyrus, assisted them in restoring the temple.

What does this have to do with the council of Jerusalem? The Jews had often "fornicated" with other gods; not quite abandoning God but having other gods besides and before Him. The fornication against Divinity is called syncretism. It is the attempted amalgamation of different religions. The best example of this in modern times is Unitarian-Universalism. They have amalgamated all religions into one. even though they seemingly have retained Jesus, they have other gods "in his face" - the actual translation of God's command.

The Jews learned their lesson. They became strict in their worship of the One True God - JHVH. Thereafter, they had fidelity in their marriage to JHVH. Even with difficulty, only a few Jews accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah, even though Jesus Is God! Ironically they had learned their lesson so well after being destroyed, that they were and still are apprehensive to Jesus.

After Jesus ascended, many Jews believed because of his miracles and signs. The Holy Ghost came on the Jews at Pentecost as with fire and speaking in "tongues" - another unrecognized language. Because the Jews were so faithful in their adherence to One God, they were convinced by the miracle of tongues and the appearance of the Ghost of Jesus. Those that were there became Christians, now referred to as Messianic Jews.

However, the majority of the Jewish community rejected Christ, and still do. Then, God revealed his mystery to Paul: that salvation was always by grace, always by the blood of Christ, and always for everyone - the "whosoever" in John 3:16. Paul turned to the Gentiles who had never fornicated against God, who had never been circumcised and bound to the Law, and never practiced the Law. They had not the same experiences as the Jews.

The Messianic Jews believed that because they were circumcised, and thus bound by the Law, that the Gentiles must be as well. This issue was taken to the council at Jerusalem, moderated by Jesus's brother James. Here is the ruling of the Council of Jerusalem:

Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;  29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. 30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: 31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

The council, although by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, recognizing the works as "a burden" allowed some of the Law to remain in force:

1.  Abstain from meats offered to idols.
2. Abstain from blood.
3. Abstain from things strangled.
4. Abstain from fornication.

Circumcision, the object of the council, was not commanded. Gentiles and Jews were to have circumcised hearts, not of the actual flesh:

Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Thus Gentiles became "Jews" because they too were circumcised but not in the "letter" of the Law. This idea seemed to satisfy the Jews because they accepted the Jerusalem compromise. Was circumcision ever really required? No! It was always "circumcision of the heart done in the spirit of God". Thus, circumcision of the foreskin was the symbolic circumcision of the heart. Somehow the Jews at Jerusalem was made to understand that!

As circumcision was the seal of sincerity and a commitment to God, Christian baptism is a seal of sincerity of the heart. The new birth is when the circumcision occurs, and baptism is a testimony of that.

Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Note that because circumcision was done at eight days old, that does not imply that baptism is as well. Paedobaptism - the baptism of infants, is erroneously applied due to this passage. However, I do admire the idea of baptizing born-again Christian "babes" within eight days to "seal the deal" of adoption by God.

The council did not forbid circumcision as an act. The Jews were still free to do so. However, the council did say it was "good", even for the Gentiles to do those other four things.

In the days of Antiochus Epiphanes - a brutal Hellenistic Greek king of the Seleucid Empire (175 BC -164 BC), the Jews were commanded by him to eat swine which was forbidden by the Law. The old priest Eleazer was brought to the king, and in spite of numerous tortures including the wheel, dislocation of the joints, knouting, ripping off of the skin, he remained firm in not eating unclean meats, and those offered as sacrifices. Others of the Jewish faith followed his example. Eleazer and many other Jews endured extreme agony and death because of their devotion to Jehovah (4 Macabbees). 

They reasoned that if they broke this one law, it was as if they broke them all! I turns out that this is the case! By obeying the laws of man above the Laws of God, the Jewish people would be fornicating against God. Human sexual intercourse is a type of fornication against God because he detests it. Therefore, perhaps the importance of the four "burdens" from the council of Jerusalem is understandable. It was to show respect for JHVH and His Law, and to not trivialize those Jews who had the faith of Abraham even unto death.

By allowing the eating of unclean animals - those sacrificed to idols, or their blood, and the disrespect of strangling God's offerings, the faith of the Jews would be trivialized. To the Jews, those acts would be fornication against God!

Note that the council didn't issue these as "requirements" to be "Christians". They were "good" things. In that manner, the Jews could still hold onto their principles yet practice Christianity. On the other hand, the Gentiles were not required to do so, but it was "good" if they did. With this recommendation "they rejoiced for the consolation". This was a compromise and it satisfied both the Jews and Gentiles, and brought unity in the Church.

Paul recognized the perseverance of the Jews in his preaching. Because of their faith of Abraham - the faith in One True God, they had been persecuted unto death. Guess, what? Paul taught the same principle to Christians:

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

Christians are called to use the example set by Eleazer and the Jews back in the time of Antiochus. Paul himself suffered as Eleazer suffered, only by different hands. The council of Jerusalem thus favored the demonstration of faithfulness to God, whether it be to pre-incarnate Jesus or to God in the flesh.

The effectual recommendation of the council of Jerusalem is one: remain faithful to God whoever you may be!