Acts 15: 1-35

(Acts 15: 1-35)

And certain men which came down from Judæa taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.  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.  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.  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.  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.  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.  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.  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.  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?  But we believe that through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

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.  And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.  And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,  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:
 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.  Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.  Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:  But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.  For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:  Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.  And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.  Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.  Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

After the first outreach, Paul and Barnabas returned to the church in Antioch in Syria and shared about God's opening the door of faith to the Gentiles as well. At this time, some people came from Judea to the church in Antioch and argued that the Gentiles could not be saved unless they were circumcised according to the Mosaic Law. The claims of these Jewish circumcised believers were bound to conflict with the teachings of Paul and Barnabas.

If the Gentiles could not be saved because they were not circumcised, it would be meaningless for Paul and Barnabas to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. For this reason, the Bible records that there were not a few disputes and arguments in the Antioch Church over this issue. The quarrels and arguments intensified very badly.

The claim of the Jewish circumcised believers that the Gentiles must also be circumcised in order to be saved was a ridiculous claim that could not be accepted by Paul and Barnabas, which shakes the identity of the Gentile Church, which had just begun, and led to a return to Judaism. It was a dangerous claim.

When these quarrels and arguments did not resolve the issue of Gentile circumcision on their own, the Antioch Church decided to send Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to the church in Jerusalem to end the matter. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Paul and his companions share with the apostles and church leaders how God saved the Gentiles, and reveal why they visited the Jerusalem church. However, there were also Jewish believers in the church in Jerusalem who claimed circumcision as a condition of salvation. It was to show an example that the early church, with the vast majority of Jews among Christians at the time, could not completely overcome the Jewish remnants.

Because the Jerusalem Church could also be in trouble due to the circumcision problem, the leaders of the Jerusalem church, led by the apostles, convened a meeting to draw an official conclusion of the church. Thus, the first Christian religious conference in history was held, which is the first Jerusalem Council in the text.

The theme of the Council of Jerusalem was whether or not circumcision of Gentile Christians, that is, whether circumcision is an absolute condition for salvation. At that meeting, the apostle Peter opposed the circumcision of the Gentiles, strongly insisting that salvation is obtained only by the grace of God, without any merits or righteousness of man, but of Jews or Gentiles. Peter's support was because he visited Cornelius, a Gentile centurion of Caesarea under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and was a witness who experienced how God saved Cornelius.

Circumcision is a prerequisite for salvation, in fact, it is the same words that human behavior according to the law is a condition for salvation, and because it was a Jewish idea that was completely different from the Gospel of salvation only through the merit of the cross, Peter understood the essence of the gospel. They scolded fiercely for distorting.

The fact that there were many arguments in the Jerusalem Council means that there were many opponents. Nevertheless, when James' declaration is made, they break their arguments. Judas and Silas, who are called Bassaba, were the most trusted in the church in Jerusalem at that time. However, those who led others had to follow Paul and Barnabas from now on. Barnabas and Paul had to go where they wanted, and to be the guarantor of the letter signed by Peter and James. Knowing that this could have been a one-way trip that would never return to Jerusalem again, they obeyed silently. Furthermore, Silas sets off on a new journey towards the rugged mountain range where John Mark was afraid to go.