The Jerusalem Council: Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

1 Samuel 28:3-20; Acts 15:1-11; Mark 5:1-20

The first dispute in the early church was over the distribution of food. The Greek-speaking Jews complained that their widows were being left out of the daily distribution. This matter was settled with the appointment of the seven deacons. But as the church continued to grow and reach well beyond Jerusalem, not only to Jews but, even moreso, to Gentiles, a more complicated dispute was bound to emerge. Such was the case when, after Paul and Barnabas had brought many Gentiles to the faith with their message of salvation by grace, a group from Judea came down and began proclaiming a different message; a "gospel" with a distinctly Jewish flavor which required Gentile converts to be "circumcised according to the custom of Moses" in order to be "saved."

Paul and Barnabas wanted nothing to do with this legalistic aberration. They "had no small dissension and debate with" these Judaizers. To settle the matter, a delegation including Paul and Barnabas was sent to Jerusalem. For the first time, there would be a church council involving the apostles and elders. On the matter of whether or not the Gentiles should be required to observe the Jewish law, there were strong opinions on both sides. Paul and Barnabas, no doubt, argued strongly for salvation by grace through faith. But there were also some "who belonged to the party of the Pharisees" who "rose up and said, 'It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.'"

However, it was Peter, the senior apostle himself, who made the argument that carried the day. Requiring the Gentiles to submit to the law would not only be superfluous, but blasphemous, Peter said. "Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test," he asked, "by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?"

God had opened a new door to allow a new people to be brought in. Jew and Gentile alike would be saved in the same way. Peter stated it succinctly, "But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as they will."