Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Comment: Here flows the ink from the pens of very famous leaders in the early church. It is precise, clear, and easily understandable. The real issue is this or is it not the unalterable word from God applicable until the end of time. The authors referral to the Holy Spirit (God Himself) being involved in the authorship makes it a very key document to my understanding of the relationship between Law (works) and Grace (faith). Of necessity the words mean what they did to the authors not as possibly altered by ‘so called’ modern knowledge.
Prayer: Help me to live lined up and in tune with Your ways, O Lord.
As I read it! 