The Council at Jerusalem
(Acts 15:1-35)

A big argument was shaking up the early church. Some men had come from Judea to the city of Antioch, where many new believers lived. These men were teaching something that caused great confusion. They said, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." This meant that to follow Jesus, you first had to become a Jew and follow all of Moses' laws. This was a huge problem. Paul and Barnabas, who had been telling everyone that salvation was a free gift through faith in Jesus, strongly disagreed. They argued with these men, but the disagreement was so serious that the church in Antioch decided to send Paul, Barnabas, and some other believers to Jerusalem. They would ask the apostles and elders there to settle the matter once and for all.

So Paul and Barnabas, and some other believers, traveled to Jerusalem. As they journeyed, they stopped in Phoenicia and Samaria, telling the believers there about the amazing things God had done among the non-Jewish people. This news made all the brothers and sisters very happy. When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, the church, the apostles, and the elders welcomed them warmly. Paul and Barnabas told them about all the miracles and wonders God had done through their ministry to the Gentiles. But then, some believers who were Pharisees stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to order them to keep the law of Moses."

This caused even more debate and discussion. The apostles and elders met together to carefully consider this question. After much back-and-forth, Peter stood up. He reminded everyone of what had happened years before. "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. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith." Peter argued that it was wrong to test God by putting a heavy yoke on the new believers that even the Jews themselves had never been able to bear. He declared, "We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." Everyone fell silent.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke again, telling the crowd about all the signs and wonders God had performed among the Gentiles through their ministry. When they finished, James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, stood up. He spoke with wisdom, connecting this very moment to the words of the Old Testament prophets. He reminded them that God had always planned to include the Gentiles in His family. James proposed a solution: instead of forcing the Gentiles to follow all of Moses' laws, they should write a letter telling them to abstain only from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from what has been strangled, and from blood. He said, "For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."

The whole assembly agreed with James. They decided to send a letter to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, along with two men from their group, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers. They wrote a letter saying, "It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well." The believers were overjoyed when they read this encouraging letter. Peace was restored to the church, and they continued to grow in their faith.