SCRIPTURE: Acts 15:22-35
OBSERVATION:
The official decision is made, the non-Jews will not be expected to keep the Law of Moses, with the exceptions noted – not as laws binding on all Christians but as helpful advise for believers at that time, under those circumstances.
Their decision is communicated as “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”, which suggests that somehow they sensed the Spirit’s confirmation of their decision. It was prayerfully made, through their collective dialogue,
The sensitivity and support of the Church Leaders as well as their decision made its recipients glad. These leaders are very concerned about the well-being of these new converts, not wanting to burden them.
Many people were involved in teaching and preaching the word (message) of the Lord, it was not limited to the “ordained”.
APPLICATION:
How do we make our decisions as a leadership team?
Could we say after our decisions, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”?
Are we motivated with a similar sensitivity and support for the weaker or younger believers in our community?
How is the “teaching” and “preaching” happening here? My sense is that people see this as my job, when in fact “many others” (15:35) could and should be involved.
We need to release believers to become teachers and preachers, this is not just the task of the ordained clergy. Basically everyone should be growing, and everyone should be able to communicate (teach or preach) what they are learning along the way.
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to train up believers to become teachers and preachers, that the spreading of Your message may be our top priority. And help us to be sensitive as a church, and as church leaders, to the weaker ones among us. Amen.