Expert: George A. Card,sfo, M.I - 5/17/2004

Question
My explanation is long, but my questions are simple. Thanks for the help!

We have friends who are Messianic Jews; they are Christians who follow the Judaic law. They believe that gentiles are not held to the Mosaic law, but those of Jewish ancestry are called to live out the Torah and the New Testament together (in a nutshell.) Among other things, they follow a kosher diet. I beleive "It is not what enters one's mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one." (Mt 15:11) However, "I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; still, it is unclean for someone who thinks it unclean." (Rom 14:14) So, by their belief that it is unclean, it is therefore a sin for them to eat non-kosher foods. In the spirit of 1 Cor 8, we make sure to prepare kosher foods with kosher utensils when they are with us, not wanting to lead them to sin. We understand that "whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while whoever abstains, abstains for the Lord and gives thanks to God." (Romans 14:6) Many people have a problem with my "relativistic" view of sin, however I have been secure in this understanding long before these particular friends entered my life. Today's reading of Acts 15 left me wondering a little, though. It still seems to have this relativistic view of dietery law, but does impose a few restrictions on the gentile community. "'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'" (Acts 15:28-29). They seperate the eating of sacrificed meats from the eating of other non-kosher meats, and place both as a restriction on the gentile community. I found that the dietery decree and the "Jerusalem Council" that is purported to have issued it are likely to be two seperate incidences put together in scripture. In Galations 2, the church elders nor Paul seem to have any restrictions placed on the faith of gentiles (even though they are discussing it in what is most likely the coucil refered to) while Paul defends Titus' not being circumsised, and Acts 21:25 seems to be the first time Paul hears about this dietery decree. Nonetheless, even after the church elders, led by the Holy Spirit, proclaim these few restrictions, Paul stands by his belief that gentiles are not held to any aspect of the Mosaic law, and in Acts 22:21-22 Paul's suggestion that his prophetic mission to the Gentiles did not involve his imposing the law on them creates outrage from the Jewish Christians who were gathered there. Overall, it is clear that the early church struggled with the idea of incorporating gentiles into the faith, and there were many answers on how to deal with this problem. My question is this: where in scripture, after all this back and forth hem-hawing on what to do, can I find a definitive answer on the dietery customs or other adherences to the Mosaic law by gentiles? Is the council's decree of Acts 15 not the definitive answer it claims to be? (As there was still a question about it with Paul in Acts 22.) If it is the definitive answer, why do we not "abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals"? And lastly, could my friends have scriptural proof in all this that Jewish Christians are still held to the Mosaic law? Galatians 2 seems to me to be saying Jews are no longer held, but later in Acts 21:21, it all seems to say that Jews are held to the Mosaic law, and gentiles are held to the dietery restrictions afterall. Could you shed some light on this for me please?



'It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"


Answer
                    Shalom

Dear Christina
  The basic question that should be answered first is:
 art the dietry laws and other Mosiac Laws doctrinal or displinary. I would say displinary because I dont any Messianic Jews that believe the should stone any one that caught in adultry. Also most of them you need an Aaronic Priest to fullfil them.
 The question you ask I can answer but I might be kinda wordy which i dont like to be so I suggest you see if the following site can be of some help. It has help me to less wordy on other questions.

http://www.hebrewcatholic.com/index.html

the one of the founders wrote an excellent book called:

the Second Exodus
 which explains how Christ and the Church are the fullfillment of the Old Testment.

                      your servant but His first
                               george