Matthew Henry Commentary Acts 15:7-21

"And when there had been much questioning, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us; and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they. And all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened unto Barnabas and Paul rehearsing what signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me: Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old. Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God; but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath." — Acts 15:7-21 (ASV)

We see from the words purifying their hearts by faith, and the address of Saint Peter, that justification by faith and sanctification by the Holy Spirit cannot be separated; and that both are the gift of God. We have great cause to bless God that we have heard the gospel. May we have that faith which the great Searcher of hearts approves and attests by the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Then our hearts and consciences will be purified from the guilt of sin, and we will be freed from the burdens some try to lay upon the disciples of Christ.

Paul and Barnabas showed by plain matters of fact that God confirmed the preaching of the pure gospel to the Gentiles without the law of Moses; therefore, to impose that law upon them was to undo what God had done. The opinion of James was that the Gentile converts ought not to be troubled about Jewish rites, but that they should abstain from food offered to idols, so that they might show their hatred of idolatry.

Also, they should be cautioned against fornication, which was not abhorred by the Gentiles as it should be, and even formed a part of some of their rites. They were counseled to abstain from things strangled, and from eating blood; this was forbidden by the law of Moses and also in this present directive, out of reverence for the blood of the sacrifices, which were then still being offered, as consuming these would have unnecessarily grieved the Jewish converts and further alienated the unconverted Jews. But since the reason for this has long ceased, we are left free in this, as in similar matters.

Let converts be warned to avoid all appearances of the evils which they formerly practiced, or are likely to be tempted to; and let them be cautioned to use Christian liberty with moderation and prudence.