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Acts 15      English Standard Version (ESV)

The Jerusalem Council

¹ But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. ³ So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.¹⁴ Simeon has related how God first visited the gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

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¹⁹ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

REFLECTION:

• In this report of the critical Jerusalem council, the surface issue is whether one must first be a Jew in order to be Christian. The deeper issue is how Jewish and gentile believers can share fellowship. Jews maintained a strict lifestyle and were generally suspicious of gentiles, as gentiles were of the Jews.
• Therefore, the church gathered, representatives of different viewpoints spoken, and a decision was reached in which gentiles do not have to be circumcised, but they must avoid idolatry and unchastity and not eat strangled animals or those with blood. The gentiles must observe these two moral and two ritual rules that will make fellowship with Jews possible. Church unity is maintained across a great cultural divide in a wonderful example of compromise.
• In your church’s history, has there been any problem or conflict? How was it handled?
• Has there been a time recently when you were in conflict with someone? Tell God about it and let His peace and compassion wash over you as you face conflict in both the church and in your personal life.