Acts 15:22-35. Having discussed the circumcision question and come to agreeement, the apostles and elders send Paul, Barnabas, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas back to Antioch with a letter to the Gentile brethren. The letter acknowledges that some, without instruction from the apostles and elders, have troubled the Gentiles with words, unsettling their minds, and so the apostles and elders have sent these men to them with a message: "[I]t has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from unchastity. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." When the letter is read, there is rejoicing. Judas and Silas exhort the people further and then go off in peace, while Paul and Barnabas remain in Antioch teaching and preaching.

This letter is an example of good communication and conflict resolution. The apostles and elders first acknowledge the issue - some have been preaching things (i.e., that the Gentiles must be circumcised) without instruction to do so and it has caused trouble and unsettled thoughts. Thus, the Gentiles know that their confusion and concern has been understood and taken seriously.

Next, the letter introduces the letter bearers, pointing out that Paul and Barnabas, who have spent much time in Antioch, have risked their lives for the Gospel; and Judas and Silas, who have been with the apostles and elders, will reinforce what Paul and Barnabas have to say. The Gentiles in Antioch know Paul and Barnabas very well - these are the men who first preached the Gospel to them! But if they have any doubt that what Paul and Barnabas say is not backed by the apostles and elders, Judas and Silas are there to attest to it.

Having established both that they understand and take seriously the Gentiles' concern, and the authority of those bearing the letter, the apostles and elders are ready to move on to tell the Gentiles what they have decided with reagrd to applicable Mosaic law. However, they rightly indicate that this was not solely their decision, but was made in consultation with and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is the final and ultimate authority, and this makes it clear that what comes next is God's will.

Then the prohibitions are laid out - the Gentiles shall refrain from unchastity, from eating meat sacrifice to idols, from eating strangled meat, and from blood. That is it - these simple rules are all that is required of the Gentiles coming into the Church. They do not need to know and follow every one of the hundreds of Jewish laws, they just need these basic and essential ones for now and they will do well. There is rejoicing when the letter is read because the apostles and the Holy Spirit have handled the situation so well!

You can tell that God is behind something when people exercise authority charitably, while establishing order and peace out of difficult or confusing situations. This letter, the men who wrote it, and the men who delivered it, give a true indication that the apostles and elders are acting under God's guidance and authority to establish Jesus' universal, charitable, and properly structured new Church, and they are consulting the Holy Spirit every step of the way!!