Acts 15

October 5, 2022

Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.

Reading along with us in Acts? Here’s today’s reading:

Acts 15 (NIV)

The Council at Jerusalem
1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad...........Continue Reading

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This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. The question raised here is a question you still hear disputed today. Are Christians made right with God by faith alone, or by a combination of faith and obedience of the Law of Moses? Peter’s response in verses 10 & 11…
    10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
    Of course that grace should bring about a repentant heart and a desire to serve God and be obedient but we can never pay the debt Christ did on the cross for our salvation.

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  4. Acts 15. I fell behind again but I am caught back up! I appreciate this chapter especially in light of the recent studies we have been doing with the “new believers” Bible study on Sundays. The question of faith vs. works was a big one for me as a new believer. I had experienced many other denominations that had more emphasis on works. I am finding this is a big question for many who are just starting to get to know Jesus, so this chapter helps to bring some clarity!

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  5. How legalists can put a damper on a situation. After all the wonderful things that happened on Paul and Barnabas’s first missionary journey, and all the excitement that must have been present in Antioch to hear the reports of Jews and Gentiles coming to Jesus and eternal life, to have these Pharisaical people come around and add something to pure grace based in pure faith in Jesus, is a real downer. Paul and Barnabas are right to dispute this false doctrine of needing to be circumcised to be saved, and the church is right to resolve the conflict in the way that they do and thereby provide a good pattern to follow. First both parties are allowed to state their case. It is interesting that Peter is chosen to speak for the faith and grace only crowd. He would have a better reputation in Jerusalem compared to Paul. And then a person in authority, James (the brother of Jesus btw, not the apostle James), gives their opinion based on Scripture. And yet James also “caters” to the Jews by encouraging abstaining from food sacrificed to idols and eating the meat of strangled animals and blood. It is interesting that these issues would be most important in the fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. The other good thing that is done is a letter is written to inform people of the decision and people are sent to affirm and explain what was written and answer questions. And then they delivered the letter.

    It is unfortunate, though, that we move from this great example of conflict resolution to a poor one. Paul and Barnabas come into sharp dispute about bringing John Mark with them on a second missionary journey. Naturally both are right. There is a point to be made of fulfilling expectations and persevering in things, especially to type A, driven Paul. There is also a point to be made to give people a second chance, to help them learn from there mistakes and come alongside people in failure and help them make it right, especially to the encourager Barnabas. Unfortunately they were not able to come to a middle ground (always the goal in relationships) and remain united. How important it is to resolve conflict Biblically and express all the aspects of relationships that Jesus makes possible: forgiveness, love, understanding, truth, honesty, selflessness, and yes even vulnerability!

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  6. The biggest enemy in the church is legalism. It’s a terrible thing to be considered a Christian and live under guilt and shame. Recently talking to a close friend who is completely heart broken. She lost her nephew. And she has been told by a priest. He is in purgatory being purified. Nothing gets my blood pressure higher. It’s finished!!!!

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  9. I’m so glad that the apostles “got it” and set the record straight with regard to circumcision and works in general. It sets the understanding, which Paul explains more clearly and vehemently in his letters, that we are saved by grace through faith alone.

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  10. Its not surprising that some leaders of the Pharisees wanted the Gentiles to practice the law of circumcision. I like how Peter answered back. Not only did he say the Gentiles did not need to engage in this meaningless practice but he reinforced the message of how they are saved…”it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” I am grateful that God worked through Peter to advocate for the Gentiles even though he was Jewish. I praise God for this verse in Acts 15:8-9 “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.”

    My thought on the disagreement with Paul and Barnabas is that although they both did great work together establishing the churches, perhaps God thought it best to separate them. People tend to get too comfortable working with the same people for a long length of time, and it helps to change things up a bit (work with a different person) to get a different perspective and learn new ways of doing things.

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