Acts 15:7-21

7At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe.

8God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.

9He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith.

10So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?

11We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

12Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

13When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me.

14Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself.

15And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:

16‘Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,

17so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles— all those I have called to be mine. The Lord has spoken—

18he who made these things known so long ago.’

19“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

20Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.

21For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”