A Disagreement Over Doctrine does Not Necessarily Lead to Heresy—Acts 15

Doctrinal disputes, even over such heavy subjects as our relationship to the Law of Moses, can be settled peacefully within the Church, as shown by the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15.

A disagreement over doctrine is not necessarily a heresy. Acts 15 presents a good example of this. There was a great dispute, accompanied by much debate, over the question to what degree Gentile believers should be required to adhere to the rituals and commandments of the Old Testament law.^1,2 However, the mere fact of disagreement was not a heresy. The question was submitted to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, who determined that Gentile believers should not be required to be circumcised or obey the laws given to the Jews, but should be required only to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, the meat of strangled animals, from eating blood and from fornication³. For those who accepted the apostles’ judgment, this settled the matter. The dispute itself did not become a heresy because it was settled in an orderly fashion. It only led to heresy among those Jewish believers who did not accept the apostles’ judgment, but instead separated themselves from their Gentile brothers, forming a separate “party” in the Church.⁴ It was this formation of a division, a separate “party,” which constituted heresy.

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