“To The Gentile Believers”

Have you ever wondered why it’s OK for Gentile Christians to wear Hawaiian shirts and eat bacon cheeseburgers? In chapter 15 of the Book of Acts, a church council was held in Jerusalem. The Jewish Christians considered what it means for Gentiles to join the Christian community. They prayed about whether all the requirements that pertain to Jews in the Old Testament also apply to Gentiles who embrace the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. At the end of the council, the following letter was sent to the Gentile Christians in the First Century, and to us:
 
The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

Greetings.
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.  So, we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.  It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

So, the next time you decide to take off your hat in public, you can thank the Council of Jerusalem.

In Christ,

Pastor David