PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Acts 15:22-29
What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?
“You will do well to avoid these things.” (Acts 15:29)
These church leaders are not releasing disciples from God’s moral law.
Killing, adultery, lying, stealing, cheating, raping, etc., these were still wrong.
But the more specific regulations of Moses’s law no longer applied.
Circumcision, tithing, sacrifices, clean and unclean laws, these no longer applied.
Four exceptions are recommended to the disciples:
Abstain from food sacrificed to idols and from blood.
Abstain from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.
All of these were related to idol worship, which was common in their day.
The disciples were tempted daily to indulge in these ‘normal’ practices.
The church leaders were equipping disciples for living in that world, at that time.
What cultural practices in our day would we do well to avoid?
As Jesus warns us, “cut off” those things that can ruin us (Matthew 5:30).
Recreational drugs? drinking parties? R-rated movies? ‘don’t pay now’ spending?
What are the things you deal with that weaken your relationship with Jesus?
PRAYER
Lord, help me to pay attention to the cultural practices that undermine my walk with you. Help us as a church to encourage and support one another in guarding against these temptations.
What contaminates my mind and keeps it from having a focus on What would Jesus do – that’s what I need to avoid. Idolatry, immorality, contaminated food etc. were key in the time of the apostles – they all speak of how one can be diverted from wholehearted devotion to following Jesus. Pornography, excessive eating, many excesses, lust, materialism – even sport – should be added today! I need not wait for an elder of the church to tell me – rather by means of people and the scriptures the HS guides me and pricks me. A loving brother or sister may be used to remind me when I stray. I need to avoid time wasters as well – so I can spend more time on things that matter for the kingdom!