Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,
Leadership makes decisions, even in hard and difficult times. The setting of Acts 15 is a divisive chapter in Acts and the story of the church. After Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey, they returned to the the first established church, in Jerusalem. They reported back to the brothers what took place on the first journey and everyone seemed to rejoice and praise God for the results (Acts 14:24-28). However, according to Acts 15:1, there was a group of Jewish believers who still held to the thought that to be saved it was belief in Jesus Christ PLUS following the Law (with the manifestation fo that following being to agree to be circumcised). Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were asked to make a defense for their “grace alone” teaching. They made that argument to these brothers of the church who were teaching grace PLUS Law. This was a moment in the church that would not end here, but lines would be drawn in the proverbial sand. Although Peter, Paul, Barnabas and, as we see above, James, made the call for “grace alone,” this argument between grace alone and grace plus Law would go on for decades, if not forever (see Galatians 3:1 and the stories of the Reformation). The above verse, however, gives us some insight into the decision making process of the early church. Even though Peter was the first preacher of the Christian movement (see Acts 2), he is not, apparently, the leader of the Jerusalem church. After Peter, Paul, and Barnabas make their case James not only adds his confirmation to their reporting (showing everyone how the argument of those three fit the pattern of Scripture ... see Acts 15:13-18), but he also makes the above decree. He states, “Therefore ‘my’ judgement is ...!” James is making the final decision for the Jerusalem church and for the emerging churches. He is not an authoritarian, as he gathers a consensus of thought based upon the Old Testament Scriptures. But, even in the act of consensus work, he is the one who finally makes the decision. He uses collaboration to reach the decision. But make no mistake, it is James that makes the authoritative decision. Even in the midst of tough work, someone has to be the one who makes the decision. Collaboration and consensus are necessary tools, but decisiveness is essential. Someone has to make the decision and the early church was not an exception to that principle of leadership.
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