Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Acts 15:1-21:

1. In this chapter, the issue of circumcision is raised as a potential requirement for Gentiles to be considered part of the Christian community. How does Peter's testimony, emphasizing that Gentiles received the Holy Spirit through faith and not through circumcision, reshape the understanding of salvation within the early Christian community? How does this teaching continue to impact Christian beliefs about salvation today?

2. James, the brother of Jesus, appeals to the Scriptures to affirm that God's plan always included the inclusion of Gentiles in the faith. How can this reliance on Scripture as the foundation for decision-making serve as a model for believers today? What practical steps can individuals and communities take to prioritize scriptural guidance in navigating complex theological and ethical issues?

3. James proposes specific guidelines for Gentile believers, emphasizing abstaining from practices associated with pagan worship. How does this guidance reflect a balance between cultural sensitivity and maintaining distinctiveness in the Christian walk? How can modern believers apply similar principles when engaging with diverse cultural contexts while upholding core Christian values?

Transcript:

 As we come to chapter 15, we're seeing this transition we've been seeing in the book of Acts come to a head. We have seen that there's been some resistance to the idea of Gentiles coming to faith, but now we're getting down to it that something is going to have to be done.  And so, we see here as chapter 15 starts out that some people came down and they were saying what their beef was with Gentiles coming to faith.

They weren't circumcised. They were saying, Unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you, you can't be saved. You need to have this physical act of circumcision done to you. Well, Paul and Barnabas are not happy. Now, you can understand why this is. First off, it undermines the theological basis for this idea that you're saved by grace through faith.

How are you saved by grace through faith if you have to have a physical act done to you? Not only that, but it creates some issues. Imagine going to Gentile believers and telling them that this has to be done.  You want to do what now? Right. This is an extreme obstacle and if we are saved by grace through faith, it is not necessary.

And so, a council is called in Jerusalem and Peter is the first one to speak and we remember back to Peter he was the one who had the vision about the Gentiles and had Cornelius come and he proclaimed the gospel of them And they believed and so we see here in verse 8 That Peter believes that this was genuine.

He says in God who knows the heart bore witness to them. He gave him the Holy Spirit. There was no distinction between Jew and Gentile their hearts were cleansed by faith And now here's the interesting line here verse 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 in other words Why would you add this to the Gentile converts?

You know, all these rules, all these laws, circumcision throughout the year, this was not something that we were ever able to do to help us to keep the law perfectly. The law was pointing to Christ. It was not the end all be all. It was not. It was not the end destination. Christ was the end destination, and now faith in him is what matters.

This yoke was around the neck of all the believers before, and the Old Testament believers, and they, it didn't make them any more holy. They needed the work of God. They needed Jesus.  No one has been able to bear this. Why would you put it on the Gentiles too? And notice this line in verse 11. But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.

It won't matter whether or not you've been circumcised or not. What matters is that you have been given the gift of faith by the Holy Spirit and you have faith and trust in Christ alone for salvation. That is what matters. Well then, James, James the brother of John, has been martyred. Remember, this is James the brother of Jesus.

He makes a case here. Now, we have to see what he does. Verse 15, he says, And with this the words of the prophets agree. Just as it is written. Where does James go to make his case? He doesn't go to say, you know Be a lot easier if we didn't have to tell them that they didn't have to do this It'd be a lot easier to make converse.

That's not what he says. This isn't a pragmatic response James respond James's response is scriptural. He says we see here in verse 17, And all the Gentiles who are called by my name. This is from the Old Testament. The idea from the Old Testament is that people, all people, all flesh, people of all ethnicities, would one day come to faith in God.

That they would have their sins forgiven. And that is what we see in the church. That it doesn't matter what ethnicity you are, or whether or not you're circumcised, or whether you keep some different ritual law that makes you a Christian. It is the fact that you've been saved by grace through faith.

That is what matters. And James doesn't, again, go to some pragmatic answer. He goes to scripture. And so, what does he want them to do? He says in verse 20, But we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from the ancient generations, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he has read every Sabbath in the synagogues.

Now, what is he saying here? Basically, stay away from pagan stuff. All these things, sexual morality was a part of pagan worship. Things, um, the things polluted by idols, all of these things that have been strangled, these were pagan things. So, they're to stay away from those things. And then we see another part of what James is saying here.

That there's been synagogues in these areas for, for generations. And people have heard the truth of what Moses had to say, what the Old Testament had to say. And people have come and heard it and they have believed. And so now, now this has been expanded. This has always been going out. Gentiles have always heard and believed.

But now it's being expanded. It's about faith in Christ. And so that is to be the focus. And so for us, I think one application that we can pull away from this today It's this idea of what James has to say, just as it is written.  What is going to be our defense for how we do our life in this world, and the things that we believe?

Is it going to be pragmatic? Is it going to be things that we like? Or are we going to go back to scripture and say, just as it is written?  So may we be a people who study God's word diligently. May we know what is said in God's word that we might be able to live our lives in light of what it has to say, not our opinions, not what works best, but what the word have of God has been revealed.

And may that word of God be our light. May it be our beacon. May it be our hope.