In the 1st century, physical circumcision was a huge issue for the fledgling New Testament (NT) church. At the Jerusalem council (approximately 50 AD), in Acts 15 it was deemed unnecessary for new believers to first become physically circumcised converts to Judaism.
When Bible students consider Acts 15, the first thing that comes to mind is the circumcision issue (Ac.15:1-2). But my topic here isn’t about circumcision. (the topics “Circumcision in the Bible” and “Apostle Paul (2)” discuss circumcision.) This is about four prohibitions also seen in Acts 15.
The decree decided upon by the Acts 15 council included four restrictions for Christians.
Ac.15:22-30 is the letter of decision from the council. v.28-29 “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
Those are four essential restrictions! They may bring to mind the traditional Seven Noahide Laws, so-called. Gentiles’ civil laws already prohibited murder, theft, etc. And Christian gentiles were already under God’s moral law to love their neighbor. The Acts 15 council didn’t address those laws.
“Things strangled”? That meant animals which had died of themselves or in a manner without being properly bled/slaughtered. The Greek term here for “sexual immorality” is pornéia (Strongs g4202). The inclusion of immorality/porneia indicates that all four are permanently prohibited. They stand together. Although the four prohibitions surely would enhance social fellowship between Jew & gentile believers, the moral intent goes beyond maintaining the unity of 1st century Christians.
From where did Paul & Barnábas (Ac.15:2), Peter (v.7), James (v.13) and the other leaders present get those four requirements (in the Holy Spirit)…which led to James’ judgment? James was the bishop of Jerusalem, the council site. v.19-20 “Therefore it is my judgment that we don’t trouble those who are turning to God from among the gentiles.” The council’s decision mostly affected Christian gentiles.
The four prohibitions came from the words the Holy Spirit (HS) had inspired in the Old Testament (OT)…for both Jew and gentile! James said in Ac.15:21, “Moses has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every sabbath”. In synagogues throughout the Roman Empire, Jews and God-fearing gentiles (listening on the periphery) would hear the Law (Moses) and the Prophets read year after year.
Why read God’s laws? Historically, God’s laws and justice are superior to the laws and justice systems of men. The rhetorical question of Moses in De.4:5-8, “As the Lord my God commanded…What nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law?” None anciently but Israel.
In Acts 13, Paul and his companions had journeyed to the Roman military colony of Pisídian Antioch in the Galatian province. Ac.13:14-16 “On the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue officials sent word to them.” Moses was read (cf. Ac.15:21). Then Paul stood up and spoke. The result….
Ac.13:43-44 “Many Jews and God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas. And the next sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of God.” At that synagogue in S. Galatia, no less! (Paul & Barnabas didn’t hold a Sunday or weekday meeting between sabbaths.) v.51 Paul’s party then went to a synagogue in Icónium, in S. Galatia (S. Turkey). Many Jews & gentiles would believe.
Ac.16:1 Timothy hailed from Lýstra, in Galatia. Later he became bishop of Ephesus. From childhood, Timothy had known the OT scriptures, “inspired by God” (2Ti.3:15-16). In 1Ti.4:13, Paul instructed Timothy to “Pay attention to the public reading of scripture”. The Law (Péntateuch) and the Prophets were read to the Ephesian church. Moses was read to the church (as well as in synagogues).
We see the four prohibitions of Ac.15:29 also in the Law of Moses! Of course the church leaders at the Jerusalem council would have known them, having heard them read many times over the years. And not only are the four present in the Pentateuch/Law…the four are listed in the exact same order in the Ac.15:29 letter as they appear in the Law! Yes, the four prohibitions of their letter “seemed good to the Holy Spirit”…since the HS had inspired them in the same order in the Law! Glory to God!
The four requirements also are repeated in Ac.21:25. “Gentiles who have believed should abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexuality immorality.” Notice that the order of the four is the same as in Ac.15:29 quoted above: #1 sacrifices to idols, #2 blood, #3 things strangled (not bled/slaughtered properly), #4 sexual immorality/porneia (g4202).
And that’s the exact order in which the four prohibitions appear in Leviticus 17–18! The two chapters of Le.17 & Le.18 are about the four prohibitions (in more detail).
Le.17:1 “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying….” This was God speaking to Moses, not just Moses’ own words. Le.17:6-9 “They shall no longer offer their sacrifices to idols, with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute….The man shall be cut off from his people.” JFB Commentary Le.17:9 “This was a form of idolatry practiced by the Egyptians.” Prohibition #1 God forbids sacrifices to idols. (also see “Sacrifices To Idols and Romans 14”.)
Le.17:10-12 “Any man from the house of Israel or aliens sojourning among them who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off. For the life [soul] of the flesh is in the blood.” Prohibition #2 God forbids the consumption of blood. The heathen thought that drinking another’s blood would gain them the life or power of that other person/animal.
Continuing in Le.17:13-16. “When any native Israelite or alien among you goes hunting and kills an animal or bird which may be eaten [NLT is approved for eating], he must drain its blood. When any person eats an animal which dies of natural causes or was torn by beasts, whether he is native or alien, he must wash his clothes and bathe, and remain unclean until evening. But if he doesn’t wash or bathe, he will bear his iniquity.” Prohibition #3 God forbids eating things strangled/unbled. No roadkill.
When an animal was snared or was suffocated/strangled and died of itself, its blood coagulated in the meat. It wasn’t properly bled. Life and disease are both in the blood. The slaughter procedure causes the effusion of blood. Remaining blood may be extracted by washing & salting the meat. The incidence of diseases from bacteria or parasites is thereby reduced. Of note, this prohibition applies to clean creatures “which may be eaten”. Many forbidden unclean creatures/scavengers naturally carry disease-causing micro-organisms and worms. (for more on this aspect, see “Unclean versus Clean Food”.)
Le.18 identifies sexual acts which are immorality/porneia. That’s Prohibition #4. In the Bible, porneia includes: incest (v.6-18); menstrual sex when blood is present, putting her at risk for vaginal infection & cervical cancer & tubal pregnancy (v.19); adultery (v.20); religious harlotry (v.21, ref Le.17:7, 20:5); homosexuality & lesbianism (Le.18:22, ref Ro.1:26); beastiality (Le.18:23).
All these are forms of illicit sex/porneia/‘fornication’, prohibited to both Jews and gentiles. Of note: Le.17:8, 10, 15, 18:26 say the four restrictions apply to both Israelites and aliens (“ger”) with them!
Getting sex any way you want it is prohibited by God in both Testaments. Jesus said porneia is even just cause for divorce! Mt.19:9 “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality [porneia g4202], and marries another wife commits adultery [g3429].”
Although extremely serious, adultery was only one form of sexual immorality. According to Jesus, all porneia is just cause for divorce. This includes beastiality, lesbianism, homosexuality, etc. Some translations render porneia or illicit sex as “fornication”. Over the centuries, our English term “fornication” has come to generally mean premarital or extramarital sex. But this more modern definition may confuse the issue. In ancient Israel, girls traditionally married in their early teens. After puberty, there wasn’t much of a window for sex before marriage. Back when the books of the Bible were written, porneia/sexual immorality or fornication meant much more than premarital sex! (see “Sexual Sins, Harlotry, Rape”.)
So the basis for the four prohibitions of Ac.15:29 & Ac 21:25, for Jews and gentiles in the church…is found in Leviticus 17–18, for both Israelites and aliens/ger (h1616) among them. And the four are listed in the exact same order as they were in Le.17–18. The probability of the order of the four components being exactly the same…idols, blood, things strangled, sexual immorality…is only 1 in 24. The possible combinations are 24 (4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24). In other words, in 23 out of 24 occurrences the order would differ, according to mathematical probability. But it was the HS who inspired both Le.17–18 and the leaders at the Jerusalem council in Acts 15. God was clear and the parallel is exact!
Then after Le.17–18, in Le.19 is the well-known verse we see quoted several times in the NT. Le.19:18 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I Am the Lord.” Yes, the HS, the Lord Jesus and the NT writers were well-aware of God’s commands in Le.17, 18, 19, 20, etc.
But even before God gave the four prohibitions to ancient Israel (and the church), we see glimpses of them in Genesis. That’s in regards to gentiles, before there was ever a nation of Israel or Mosaic Law!
We read of #1 idols in Ge.35:2. “Put away the foreign gods which are among you.” Also Ge.31:35 “Labán searched but did not find the household idols.” #2 blood was prohibited the gentile Noah in Ge.9:4. “You shall not eat flesh with its life, its blood.” Ge.9:3 “Every living, moving thing shall be food for you, as I gave the green plant.” No dead, nonmoving creatures for food. That’s prohibition #3, nothing strangled/dying of itself. (Of course some moving creatures are unclean, as some green plants are poisonous and inedible. Noah knew the difference between clean & unclean, Ge.7:2).
We read of #4 sexual immorality in: Ge.39:7-9 (adultery) “How could I do this great evil and sin against God?” Ge.35:22 (incest) “Reuben lay with Bilháh his father’s concubine.” (ref 1Co.5:1.) Also Ge.19:4-5-ff (sex with strange flesh of another kind as beastiality, or homosexuality) “Where are the men [angels] who came to you tonight? Bring them to us that we may have relations with them.”
So we see glimpses of all four restrictions in the book of Genesis, in regards to gentiles, prior to the nation of Israel. That’s further evidence that the purpose of the prohibitions is more than Jew-gentile unity! And two of the four are dietary laws/restrictions…applicable to gentiles in both Genesis and the NT church. As well as for gentile aliens who wanted to become part of OT Israel in the Land. In other words…these four prohibitions, given by the HS, apply to all peoples (in the church), regardless of their race or skin color! They relate to holiness, health and purity.
Finishing Le.18…v.24-25 “Don’t defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations that I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the Land has become defiled.” Moral offenses defiled the Land. v.26-30 “Lest the Land vomit you out.”
The vile prior occupants and the incoming Israelites were under these same moral laws…even unto eviction! Yes, porneia is cause for divorce (casting out), as the Lord Jesus later indicated.
These four prohibitions/laws applied to the Galatians too. After the Acts 15 Jerusalem council, in Ac.16:1-4 Paul and Silas journey to Derbé, Lystra and other cities in Galatia. v.4 “While they were passing through the cities, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for them to obey.” Ac.15:23-30 the letter of decision was to be obeyed in Antioch, Galatia, elsewhere.
The four prohibitions largely impacted gentiles and their old idolatrous rites & practices for pagan gods (Ac.14:11-13 Galatia). Some gentiles customarily worshiped idols by eating & drinking wine mingled with the blood of strangled/(improperly bled) animal sacrifices, while committing sexual immorality with heathen temple prostitutes. Done in violation of God’s morality. That’s the four prohibitions.
But some churches failed to obey the four prohibitions. Jesus took issue with the church at Pérgamum (W. Turkey) in Re.2:14. “I have a few things against you, because you have some who eat things sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality [porneúo].” Some people in the Pergamos church were violating two of the four prohibitions. Also Jesus confronted the church at nearby Thyátira in Re.2:18-20. “I know your works. They commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.” Those in Thyatira were disobeying the same two prohibitions as those in Pergamos. In no uncertain terms, Jesus brought to their attention their violations of the prohibitions!
The Decalogue or Ten Commandments deal with one or possibly two of these four prohibitions, given by the HS. Ex.20:14 & De.5:18 “You shall not commit adultery.” In those verses, the Hebrew and Greek LXX terms for “adultery” refer to only one form of sexual immorality. Again, there were other abominable (cf. Le.18:26-30) sexual practices also forbidden by God and punished. Seventh Day Adventists (SDA), for example, seem to ignore this important distinction.
{Note: Some have wrongly assumed I’m SDA. There are differences between SDAs, Messianic Jews, Seventh Day Baptists….although most observe the weekly sabbath. SDAs believe it’s necessary to keep the Ten Commandments (including the 7th day sabbath command). But SDAs say comparatively little about the Acts 15 (Le.17-18) commands in regards to the New Testament church.}
Again, in 1Ti.4:13 Paul instructed Timothy to attend to the public reading of the OT and teaching. Paul exhorted Timothy in v.12. “In speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, be an example to those who believe.” The four prohibitions also have to do with purity. Paul said that our physical bodies are the temple of the HS, 1Co.3:16-17. “If any man destroys the temple of God, him will God destroy.” A strong statement! We’re to keep our bodies (the mobile homes of the HS) pure…free from sexual sin, and from contamination by blood and parasitic & carcinogenic creatures/organisms.
To conclude…in 1Co.6:9-11 Paul lists a number of sins which would keep the sinner out of the Kingdom of God. “The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolators, nor adulterers, nor molesters, nor practicing homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor the intoxicated, nor slanderers, nor extortioners.” v.11 “Such were some of you…”
That was us too. Maybe we committed one or more of the sins Paul lists in this passage, and other sins. Maybe we’ve been impure, and violated some of the four prohibitions of Acts 15. (The four help teach us what sin is.) Paul continues in 1Co.6:11. “…But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.”
That sinful conduct should be relegated to our past. We are now figuratively washed by the blood of the Lamb, and clean in the eyes of God. And when we slip-up in the future, 1Jn.1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. We confess and repent…and once again stand forgiven and justified in His sight. God is so merciful!
Bible Topic Exposition 