The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’— things known from long ago.
It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

James was the leader of the Jerusalem church and he, along with Peter here, came to the defense of Paul and Barnabas and the Gentile disciples. Had James and Peter not done this, God would have found another way to graft the Gentiles in without making them be circumcised, but it would have likely taken longer and been more messy.

James does step up. He focuses on three major areas for unity of the church and in the purity of the hearts of the Gentile believers:1) Food sacrificed to idols created a problem for many believers in a few ways: a) Many times the rituals they may have attended (and the idol worship) involve sinful practices like sexual deviancy, oppression, demon possession, cutting, and maybe even human sacrifices in some cultures. b) if a Gentile believer wanted to fellowship with a Jew, they would be tempting the Jew to do something close to the worship of idols, which was forbidden. 2) Sexual immorality – this is a no brainer and a given, but there was so much sexual promiscuity going on back then, this sin was not always seen as sin by blinded people. 3) Meat from strangled animals and from blood. This meat is meat taken from a mean-spirited attack on an animal. It is animal torture. Knowing this was being done, it should be stood up to.

So, James orchestrates a compromise, so to speak, to bring unity back to the church among Jewish and Gentile brothers and sisters. And there is a call here to stop being “knit-picky” and love from the heart!

How can I orchestrate unity among my brothers and sisters?

Lord, use me and mold me to become an instrument of your peace. Teach me to help bring together the fractured parts of your church, where you call me to.