Acts 21:17-25

 Peter called the Jewish converts to Christianity to adhere to stricter rules than the Gentile converts.Continuing Catholics have stricter regulations today than Protestants.

Biblical? Where does that place those of us who were born and raised Catholic but later convert to Protestant? I am sure that it raises many questions in our Christian walk. 

Jesus was born into the world to fulfill Gods’ rule of a blood sacrifice for sin…who are we to take so lightly our place in His Body? Rules were instituted by God? Should we not accept His gift in fear and trembling?

Acts 21:17-25

17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.”

James was the brother of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem. 

Some Jewish people in Jerusalem believed incorrectly that Paul was discouraging Jews from keeping the law. This was not true, since Paul himself continued to observe Jewish customs. 

A Nazirite vow was connected with becoming pure or holy before Yahweh for a set period of time. James may be suggesting that Paul join in the Nazirite vow himself—which he may have already voluntarily done at one point or that Paul undergo a different kind of purification rite. By doing this, Paul will show that he is still sensitive to Jewish culture, which James believes will overturn their fellow Jews’ concerns about Paul. This action demonstrates that Paul is not encouraging Jews to abandon their traditions, cultural identity, or religious identity. 

James affirms the decision of the Jerusalem Council. Faithlife Bible

James and the elders were the leaders of house churches meeting in Jerusalem. It is interesting that none of the apostles are mentioned here. Seven years had passed since the Jerusalem council meeting. At that time, the apostles and the leaders of the church had gathered to settle the question of whether Gentiles had to become Jews before becoming Christians. That question was settled in the negative; the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit both taught that the gospel was for all people. Apparently the apostles left Jerusalem after that conference to carry out Jesus’ commission to be witnesses to the “end of the earth”.

The evidence of how God changed the lives of Gentiles was presented to the Christians in Jerusalem. The strongest evidence was the Gentile believers themselves who had accompanied Paul to Jerusalem. At this time, Paul may have also given the money he had been collecting from the Gentile Christians. The love the Gentiles expressed to their suffering Jewish brethren was a mark of their genuine conversion.

Reports were circulating that Paul had been urging Jews to abandon Mosaic traditions. However, Paul never derided his Jewish heritage nor demanded that Jewish Christians renounce the Law of Moses. He only made it clear to everyone that the law could not function as a means of salvation. There is evidence that Paul was continuing to keep the Law when he stood before Felix. The fact that he was coming to Jerusalem to worship was evidence of this. What Paul did resist was any attempt to force Gentiles to become Jews. Salvation was through faith alone. Relying on adherence to the Jewish law was repudiation of the gospel message that salvation proceeds from faith in Christ and that alone.

Paul paid the expenses of the four men who had taken a vow, because the men were impoverished by the famine in Judea and did not have enough money to complete their vow by offering a sacrifice in the temple. But there might have been another reason as well. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that when Herod Agrippa I began his reign over Judea in a.d. 41, he paid for a considerable number of Nazirite vows to show his respect for the Mosaic Law. For the sake of showing his Jewish brethren that he had not forsaken the laws of Moses, Paul did what they asked. Reputation was an issue for the apostle, as it is for all believers. 

The Christian leaders were not asking Gentiles to live like Jews; neither did they want to compel Jews to live like Gentiles. The spiritual unity of the body of believers is realized in its diversity, not in its conformity. From our diverse backgrounds and cultures we honor the same Lord. NKJ Bible

Acts 15:4 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them.