Acts 15:1, Custom of Moses. This “custom of Moses” is based on Exodus 12:48, where the law required that all males to be circumcised before being allowed to partake of Passover. In other words, be part of Israel, one had to become circumcised and observe the Passover and all Israel was required to do so (Exod 12:47). Foreigners were forbidden from keeping the Passover (Exod 12:43) until they were circumcised. From this, the Pharisees of the first century got the idea that circumcision is a prerequisite for salvation. In opposition to this false concept, Paul points out in Romans chapter four that Abraham was justified by faith, not by the rite of circumcision. After all, Abraham come into a relationship with YHVH 24 years before being circumcised. Therefore, the custom of circumcision as a prerequisite for inclusion within the nation of Israel was merely a physical requirement to be part of a physical nation. It is, however, not a requirement to be part of the spiritual nation of redeemed Israel or, as Paul calls it, the Israel of God (or Elohim, Gal 6:16), of which the saints are a part. Circumcision wasn’t a requirement for Abraham to be saved, and it isn’t a requirement for us to be saved either, again, as Paul points out in Romans chapter four. The custom of Moses requiring Israelite men to be circumcised was necessary in order to protect the sanctity and integrity of the physical nation of Israel from foreign and pagan influences and was not prior to or subsequent to the physical nation of Israel intended to be a prerequisite for eternal salvation as Paul, again, makes clear in Romans chapter four.
Acts 15:10, Yoke on the neck. Many Christian commentators teach that Peter is making a reference to the Torah when he speaks of a yoke being put around the neck of the people of Israel meaning that Torah-observance was an impossibility. Yet, Moses told the Israelites that Torah-obedience wasn’t impossible (Deut 30:11–14), and that it would be a source of life to them (v. 19), and would be a source of wisdom and understanding for them, thus eliciting the curiosity of the surrounding nations (Deut 4:6–8). Were Moses and Peter at odds with each other thus violating the unity of Elohim’s Word (John 10:35)? Or was Peter referring to something else other than the Torah-law of Moses? At issue in the Acts 15 Jerusalem council was whether circumcision was a prerequisite for salvation (Acts 15:1). True, the Law of Moses required all male children to be circumcised on the eighth day (Lev 12:2–3), and all males to be circumcised in order for one to partake of Passover (Exod 12:43–49). This later requirement may be construed to mean that circumcision is a prerequisite for salvation, and evidently some of the Pharisees of that day held to this belief. However, in the Testimony of Yeshua, neither Yeshua nor the apostolic writers make salvation dependent on the rite of physical circumcision. This position is correct, since Abraham come into a spiritual relationship with YHVH some 24 years before he was circumcised, as Paul states in Romans chapter four. The emphasis in the Testimony of Yeshua, rather, is placed on circumcision of the heart, which is the higher spiritual principle—even as it was in Moses’ day (Deut 10:16; 30:6)—to which physical circumcision pointed.
When Peter speaks of a yoke that hindered the Gentiles from coming into the kingdom, to what is he referring? He is referring to the non-biblical concept circulating among some of the Jewish converts to Yeshua that circumcision was a prerequisite to justification leading to salvation, which is something it was never intended to be.
Many Christians today erroneously think that the yoke Peter was referring to was obedience to the basic requirements of the Torah. Rather, what he was referring to was the customs Moses established (which become known as the law of Moses), which exceed the basic requirements of the Torah. In this case, it was the custom the circumcision as a requirement for inclusion in the nation of Israel and is based on the Passover requirements found in Exod 12:43–49. Elsewhere, Paul makes no mention of the Gentiles needing to be circumcised to become part of Israel, but only a spiritual relationship with Yeshua is required (Eph 2:11–18).
The yoke that Peter is referring to, and as we’ve already noted, is the concept that a man can redeem himself from sin by his own good works including Torah-obedience. If this were true, then this would leave a sinner carrying the yoke of his own sin and the consequences of that sin, which is death—a yoke that no man can bear. For if we seek to be saved through works rather than through the faith in the Messiah, then his sacrifice to pay for our sins is of no benefit to us. This is the context of Peter’s statement in Acts 15:10, for in verse nine he mentions having one’s heart purified by faith (in Messiah’s death for our sins), and in verse 11 he talks about being saved “through the grace of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.” This is salvation by grace through faith in Yeshua, which is not based on works (of Torah-obedience). Paul refers to this same salvation “formula,” if you will, in Eph 2:8–9. Paul elsewhere reiterates Peter’s idea of a circumcision–works based formula for salvation being a yoke when in Gal 5:1–4 he refers to circumcision for salvation as “a yoke of bondage.”
Acts 15:20, We write to them. These were the four requirements that the apostles imposed on the new converts to Yeshua for coming into the congregation of the saints. This is how the process worked in that day: First the gospel was preached in the streets (outside the church). Second, the Gentiles accepted the gospel message, believed in Yeshua and were baptized. Third, they were invited into the fellowship of the believers. Fourth, they were discipled in the ways of biblical righteousness. As the saying goes, first you catch the fish, then you clean the fish. This process takes a while. That’s where verse 21 comes into play (see notes at v. 21).
This verse also lists the four requirements the apostles imposed on new converts before they could be admitted into the fellowship of believers. Some of these strictures were culturally specific to that era, such as not eating meat sacrificed to idols. The other three requirements are applicable today and are actually from the Torah-law of Moses. These are: abstaining from sexual immorality, and properly butchering meat, and not eating blood. These last two requirements were important elements of the biblical dietary laws as found in the Torah or law of Moses.
Curiously, and hypocritically, many in the mainstream church who use Acts 15 as “proof” that the Torah-law is no longer applicable to believers in Yeshua at the same time totally ignore the four requirements that the apostles imposed on the Gentiles in this verse. How many Christians actually follow the dietary requirements listed in this verse, which are from the Torah? How many sermons have you heard in the church about koshering your meat to get all the blood out of it before you eat it? So, if one believes that the apostles are freeing believers from the Torah, and all that Gentiles now have to do are these four requirements listed in this verse, then why aren’t Christians at least scrupulously obeying these minimal requirements?
Acts 15:21, Moses…synagogue…every Sabbath. Why did James make this statement? What is he really saying here? What is the relevance to the previous discussion of mentioning that Moses is preached in the synagogue every Sabbath? The inference is that the saints can learn all about the legal requirements of the Torah (the practical aspects of how to love Elohim and one’s neighbor [Mark 12:29–31; Rom 123:8–10], how to love Yeshua [John 14:15], how not to sin [1 John 3:4] and how to walk in righteousness [Ps 119:172], how to know Elohim [1 John 2:3–6]) by going to the synagogue each Sabbath. Why else mention this? If the law was done away with, then what is the relevance of this statement? There is none!
Acts 15:24, Keep the law. The issue here is not whether Torah-obedience is necessary for a redeemed believer, but rather whether circumcision and following the customs of Moses (as opposed to the eternal principles of the Torah) is a prerequisite for salvation.