The Council of Jerusalem

God's truth is sometimes denied even in God's church. We need to know how to handle such matters. The church in Antioch did not try to resolve the dispute on their own. They took it to the leaders of the worldwide church, especially the apostles of Christ. We have available the wisdom of other Christians in our creeds and confessions - but all must be subject to the writings of the prophets and apostles. The Council resolved the dispute by considering God's works (never to be our sole guide) interpreted by God's Word. On that basis they encouraged believers to stand fast in the grace of God given through Christ, and not add anything to that for salvation. The purpose of rituals is to point to a spiritual reality. they are time-limited (e.g. circumcision and baptism) but the moral principles of the Law stand forever.