cetainly! the apostles are meeting together to decide what role the law of Moses should play in the gentile believer's life... not how a believer should live... believers are counseled other places to walk by the spirit...
now, I think what James counsels is a way of helping Jews and gentiles be together in the same church... at that time, the church had a lot of people in it who were raised Jewish... today, hardly any... I think Paul later says that eating food sacrificed to idols is no big deal, unless you think there's something behind the statue...
so, if the part in the law of Moses doesn't have to be followed by gentile believers, what about, say, murder?
a christian attempts to walk by the spirit... every thought and attitude can be evaluated, does it help grow the fruit of the spirit, or lead to the works of the flesh... so then, let us walk by the spirit.
now, I think what James counsels is a way of helping Jews and gentiles be together in the same church... at that time, the church had a lot of people in it who were raised Jewish... today, hardly any... I think Paul later says that eating food sacrificed to idols is no big deal, unless you think there's something behind the statue...
so, if the part in the law of Moses doesn't have to be followed by gentile believers, what about, say, murder?
a christian attempts to walk by the spirit... every thought and attitude can be evaluated, does it help grow the fruit of the spirit, or lead to the works of the flesh... so then, let us walk by the spirit.