*Acts 15:1-21
A disagreement erupts in the early church about whether Gentile converts need to follow Jewish laws, leading to a council in Jerusalem.
- Controversy Over Gentile Circumcision:
- Certain individuals from Judea come to Antioch and teach the believers that unless they are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, they cannot be saved.
- This teaching causes great dispute and debate among the believers. Paul and Barnabas have a significant argument with them.
- Decision to Consult Jerusalem Church:
- The church in Antioch decides to send Paul and Barnabas, along with a few others, to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and elders.
- On their way to Jerusalem, they pass through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters.
- Jerusalem Council Convenes:
- Upon arrival in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas are welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders. They report everything God has done through them.
- But some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees argue that the Gentile believers must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.
- Peter’s Speech:
- Peter addresses the assembly, reminding them of the early days when God chose him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, who heard the message and received the Holy Spirit just as the Jewish believers did.
- He emphasizes that God made no distinction between them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
- Peter argues that putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples (referring to the law of Moses), which neither the ancestors nor the believers have been able to bear, is unnecessary, as everyone is saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.
- Barnabas and Paul’s Testimonies:
- After Peter speaks, Paul and Barnabas share details of the signs and wonders God has performed among the Gentiles through them.
- James’s Proposal:
- James speaks next, noting how Peter’s experiences align with the prophets’ words, that the Gentiles would seek the Lord.
- He quotes from the prophets, supporting the inclusion of Gentiles without the need for circumcision.
- James proposes not to trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God but to write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
- Conclusion of the Discussion:
- The council agrees with James’s proposal, deciding to send chosen men from among them along with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch with a letter conveying this decision.
15:1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
15:3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
15:4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15:15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.