God Speaks
While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. 5 But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”
6 So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. 7 At 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. 8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
12 Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
13 When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And 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,
17 so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord,
including the Gentiles—
all those I have called to be mine.
The Lord has spoken—
18 he 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. 20 Instead, 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. 21 For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”
22 Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. 23 This is the letter they took with them:
“This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!
24 “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! 25 So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.
28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 The messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the believers and delivered the letter. 31 And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.
32 Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith. 33 They stayed for a while, and then the believers sent them back to the church in Jerusalem with a blessing of peace. 35 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch. They and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord there.
36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Acts 15 is a report of the discussion a council of the leadership of the Church in Jerusalem about 20 years after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The need for such a meeting was because the Holy Spirit was working among Gentiles to lead them to faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. Some influential believers of Jewish descent were insisting that these Gentiles had to become “good Jews” before they could be considered “real Christians.” Leaders in the “First Christian Missionary Church of Antioch, Syria” decided that Paul, Barnabas, and several others should go to Jerusalem to get a ruling from the apostles and elders there to settle the disagreement. They made several stops along the way. Both Jewish and Gentile believers responded with great joy when they heard that Gentiles were being saved. The same was true when they first arrived in Jerusalem. Soon, however, some believers who had been Pharisees insisted that new Gentile converts must be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses. After listening to the debate, Peter addressed the group saying in essence, “Since I was the first of ‘The Twelve’ to be used by God to preach the gospel to them and see Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit, I affirm that we all (Jews and Gentiles) are saved the same way, through the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” Next, Barnabas and Paul reported on the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles leading many to faith in Him. Then James, Jesus’s half-brother, spoke to the group, referring to the prediction of Gentiles hearing and believing through God’s restoration of His chosen people, the Jews (Amos 9:11-12 and Isaiah 45:21-22). So those at this meeting formulated a letter of instructions to be delivered to all the churches concerning what was required of Gentile believers in Christ. This letter is recorded in Acts 15:23-29. Then Barnabas, Paul, Judas, and Silas delivered this letter to the believers in Antioch of Syria, encouraging and strengthening their faith. After some time, Paul suggested to Barnabas that they revisit the churches they had previously established. Barnabas agreed and wanted to take John Mark. Paul, however, strongly disagreed. So, they separated with Barnabas taking John Mark and sailing for Cyprus; meanwhile, Paul chose Silas and traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening churches there.
Prayer: Dear God of Truth, help Your people, especially those in leadership positions, to recognize error and stand up for the truth. After there has been honest debate and examination of all of the facts but still no resolution, may we seek the wisdom of a higher authority (with You being the highest authority). May we take time to listen to each other quietly and respectfully, to Your Holy Spirit, and to Your word to create simple rules or principles that we can agree upon and apply going forward. May those in authority choose godly, upright leaders from among various people groups to deliver and explain these principles and encourage people to follow them. May some leaders remain with the various smaller groups to teach these laws and principles and to train future leaders. Whenever there is a disagreement, may it lead to an expansion of, rather than a detriment to, Your kingdom, LORD. For Your glory. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will pray for the leadership in each of the seven areas of influence (religion, business, government, media, education, families and sports, and entertainment and the arts) to lead according to God’s will and purposes whether they know Christ as their personal Savior and Lord or not.
- I will discuss with the LORD with which of the areas of influence He wants me to involve myself more actively with and how, then do it.
- I will work as God directs me to defend “both the truth of the gospel and the missionary outreach of the church.”*
- I will examine my own heart and actions to see where I might be “adding to the gospel and denying the finished work of Jesus Christ.” After all,”. . .salvation is wholly by God’s grace, through faith in Christ, plus nothing!“*
* The Wiersbe Bible Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe, p. 368-372
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.