I N D E X
The word foreigner, allogene, is a word derived from the same root that
gives us `alien' namely allos.  The veil of the Temple which was rent in twain
from top to bottom indicated that at the death of Christ the way into the
holiest of all was opened (Heb. 9:8; 10:20), and this removed
the barrier between the believer and the Lord.  Here in Ephesians, the barrier
not only kept the Gentile at a distance from the Lord, but it separated the
believing Jew from the believing Gentile.
During the period covered by the Acts of the Apostles this barrier stood,
and the problem to which the differences between Jew and Gentile gave rise,
caused the calling of the council at Jerusalem, as is recorded in Acts 15.
This chapter has not only suffered at the hand of those who deny the
inspiration of the Scriptures, but at the hands of those whose basis is the
integrity of Holy Scripture.  We will not advertise the publication from which
we shall quote, but the reader can be assured that these things have been said
by some who profess not only to believe the Word, but to abide by the principle
of `right division'.  Acts 15 deals with two related subjects (1) The imposition
of circumcision upon the believing Gentile and (2) the problem of the different
attitude of Jew and Gentile to such things as `things strangled' which is solved
for the time being by the decrees issued.  The seriousness of this point of view
will be evident to any who ponder the following `explanation' given on this
passage.  With reference to James -- who is described as the `fleshly James' --
it is stated that `when he makes his decision, saying, "Wherefore I decide", he
does not consult Peter or the rest of the apostles'.  The reader will probably
realize at once the inaccuracy of this view, for in Acts 15:22 we read: `It
pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of
their own company'.  If this so called interpretation were true, what could we
make of the express statement: `It seemed good to the Holy Ghost'?
Continuing our quotation from this questionable source, we read:
`It is to be noted that this epistle claims that this "burden" was placed
upon the nations because "it seems good to the Holy Ghost and to us".  It
would have been more honourable for this flesh-controlled council to
assume responsibility for their fleshly decision, instead of trying to
place the responsibility upon the Holy Spirit Whom they wholly ignored'.
How many other false views of the Acts have been linked up with so-called
`apostolic mistakes'!  Some, with wrong ideas as to the constitution of the
Church, teach that the apostles made a mistake in Acts 1:6.  Others find
apostolic mistakes in the appointment of Matthias, and other passages.  And
here, in Acts 15, not only are the apostles and elders found guilty, but
Barnabas and Paul, Silas and Judus, men who were `prophets' and had hazarded
their lives for the Lord, are all accused of moral cowardice and spiritual
dishonesty.  If these decrees were `fleshly' and not of God, how is it that we
read in Acts 16:5 `And so were the churches established in the faith, and
increased in number daily'?  Is this another `mistake'?
Upon examination we find that the passage falls into three pairs of
corresponding sections as follows:
Acts 15:1-35
A
15:1,2.
Antioch.
The question. Paul.
Barnabas.
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