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Four Rules vs. 613
Wes Schaeffer
May 26, 2019
From today’s reading…
It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,…”
Orthodox Jews were not required to follow 10 commandments, but 613! (And you thought Mel Brooks bringing down 15 commandments in “History of the World” was a lot.)
Not the least of which was the first one for a newborn male, which was circumcision.
That requirement for new Gentile converts is what led to many heated conversations among the followers of The Way in the early days of the Church.
When the Holy Spirit was done guiding the early Church leaders, they narrowed down the “necessities” to be
…to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols,
from blood, from meats of strangled animals,
and from unlawful marriage.”
That’s not too burdensome or onerous. All organizations have rules such as dress codes, no drinking on the job, no smoking in the building, etc. so to have four rules to follow seems reasonable because they helped the early Gentile converts…
Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.