Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1909-05-20
THE COUNCIL AT
JERUSALEM

Specially Arranged for This Paper

through the grace OF the Lord we shall
be saved, even as they."-Acts 1911:
TIME.-Ahout 50 A. D.. as is commonly
agreed. though various scholars place II
earlier.
PLACE.-An,ioch in Syria. and Jcrusa-
lem.
Suggestion and Practical Thought.
v. l.. Certain men," perhaps those
sent by James (Gal. Q: 12) came
down from Judea." The Bean text
says that these visitors were Phari.
sees. members OF the strictest sect Of
the Jews. Perhaps they came to in.
vestigate rumors Of iaxity In the
church; at any rate. they taught the
brethren" (the verb Is in the imper.
feet, implying continued action,-they
kept teaching). "and said, Except we
be circumcised ye cannot be
saved" "a very different doctrine
from st. Paul's' Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved
(Acts 16:3D."-Rackham.
The Importance of the Question
The Christian church, during its first
20 years, had spread over Palestine.
Phoenicia. Damascus, Antioch, Cyprus
and South Galatia in Asia Minor. 1t
was rapidly growing, especially among
the Gentiles. The difference that had
arisen set off against each other the
two great ccntcrs Of growth, Jcrusa.
I'm and Antioch. II threatened to di.
vide the Christian churches into two
contending and |irreconcilable fac.
tons. If that happened, It would
probably be the deathblow to the
young religion, the destruction of the
hopes Of the world through Christ.
Could any matter be more momen
tous?
V. 2. "They ("the brethren" v. ~
determined that Paul and Barnabas.
and certain other of them including
Titus, Gal. 9: |. afterward Paul's com
panion, a Greek, a man of much abil.
NY, who would serve as a specimen
of the Gentle %converts), should go up
to Jerusalem 600 miles away about
this question" Paul went "by revcla-
ton" (Gal. 2: p, which is entirely
consistent with the statement that the
church tent him.
After much debate, that everyone
might express his views. as is proper
in a democratic assembly such as all
Christian gatherings should be, Peter
spoke up. His nearncss to Christ and
his strong character combined to
make him a leader. Moreover, in this
case he had had personal experience
which placed him on Paul's side-the
divine revelation bidding him go to
the Gentle Cornelius, and the outpour.
ing Of the Spirit upon that convert
and his household. 1t was precisely
such witness to the right Of the Gen.
tiles to enter the church without cir.
cumcision as Paul himself described
from his missionary experience. Peter
insisted upon 1t with characteristic
vigor, closing with the pointed qucs,
ton, why rut a yoke upon
the neck Of the tGcntilc) disciples,
which neither our fathers nor we
were able to bear?'-thn yoke being
the minute oppressive rites of Juda.
ism, with the Pharisaic additions. i'm.
posed as a condition of salvation.
There Is only ono condition of saliva
ton. said Peter in conclusiOn,-"the
grace (the free gift, u%nbought by any
deed of ours) of the Lord Jesus
Christ" AS Peter sat down, Paul
must have clapped his hands!
The decision embodied In q Letter:
% To clarity and unity judgment in
the preparation of it; (2) to guard
against slips of memory on the part
of the ENJOYS; CD to prevent misun.
d~crstandings; C) to preserve for fu.
ture occasions the results of tho con.
ference. Capt. Cuttlc's advice. when
found, make a note on" applies to all
wcighty matters.
The reasons for the restrictions:
I. The "pollutions of idols" ". 20),
explained as meats offered to idols
". 29), came to be a sore trouble in
the church, and liberty to eat such
meat ttho meat commonly sold had
nearly all formed part Of sacriices)
was at a later time claimed for Chris.
ti!ans very ~strenuously by Paul. But
until the Gentle churches we're con
flrmcd in their new separation from
%idolatry, 1t vas wise to require them
to abstain from whatever might tempt
them with memories of the licentlous
revels which heathcnism celebrated
In The name OF religion.
2. Formulation however, was the
great sin Of ~id0latry, which "glorifed
sexual vice with the halo OF a sacred
sanction. "-Schaff. COnrtezans were
the priestesses of the temples of We.
nus, and crowds of abandoned women
gathered around most of these so
called holy shrines. To this day, sex.
ual immortality Is the terrible sin of
idOlatry, as the missionary annals of