“Necessary Inference Pt. 2”

Wednesday, March 04, 2020

[This question is in response to “Necessary Inference”]

Your recent discussion on necessary inference talked about Acts 15.  Did these apostles convene to figure out the answer, or were they inspired and knew the answer?  Many have used this example to approve of conventions to reach conclusions.  The argument against has been that the answer in Acts 15 was from God, not men, and thus, this type of meeting wouldn't be approved today.  Please explain.

Sincerely,
Bored Of Meetings

Dear Bored Of Meetings,

The Bible tells us that the meeting in Acts 15 was a discussion, not a supernatural revelation from the Holy Spirit.  Acts 15:6 says that the apostles and the elders of the church in Jerusalem were gathered together to “consider” this matter.  People asked questions (Acts 15:7) and gave testimony (Acts 15:12).  The final judgment wasn’t even made by an apostle; it was made by James, one of the elders (Acts 15:13).  This James wasn’t an apostle because the apostle James had died in Acts 12:2.

Overall, what we see described in Acts 15 is a normal circumstance where faithful people considered the situation and the Scriptures, so they could make a faithful decision.

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