“Freed by Faith” – Acts 15:1-21

As we have seen repeatedly, the overarching theme of the book of Acts is that there is no second-class citizenship in the New Testament community. Samaritan believers, God-fearing believers such as Cornelius’s household, and Gentile believers such as the Ephesians, were all numbered among the people of God and had equal status in the New Testament church. There is no preference for the Jew or the Greek, the male or the female. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 229)

Paul teaches us in Galatians that Christ submitted to that law and became the curse for us, being cursed upon the tree. In bearing our sin, He bore the negative sanctions of the Old Testament law, which were symbolized in the rite of circumcision. The Pharisees and the Jews were just like people today who resist change. We want to do things the way we have always done them. We want to put new wine in old wineskins. That was not going to work, however, for the Pharisees. They did not understand the meaning of circumcision. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 231)

There is only one correct answer to the question, “If you were to die today, why should God let you into His heaven?” That only answer is this: “I have put my trust in Christ alone.” The Judaizers are alive and well today, and they are everywhere. People are still told that all they have to do to get into heaven is to live a good life. Well, that is true. If you live a good life, you don’t need Jesus or the gospel. The good news of the gospel is for people who don’t live a good life, and the Bible tells us that, apart from Jesus, no one lives a good life. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 232)

Acts 15 is roughly the midpoint of Luke’s account. It describes a major turning point for the early church. The church faced a conflict of large proportion. The resolution of this issue, like so many others in the book of Acts, significantly impacted the subsequent history of the church. What was the problem? Some Jewish believers from the Jerusalem church had taken it upon themselves to set straight the new Gentile Christians. Without any authorization from the church leaders, these Jewish believers traveled to Antioch in Syria (Antioch is the largest city in the province of Syria, north of Palestine), and likely Galatia. These men were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). Paul and Barnabas challenged this teaching. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3025)

Even under the old covenant, God’s people were saved not through keeping the Law, but through grace. They received God’s grace through faith, in a manner foundationally similar to salvation under the new covenant. Genesis 12:1-3 describes how God chose Abraham and his descendants. Centuries later, Paul pointed out how Abraham was saved by grace, through faith (see Galatians 3:6-8, 18; also Romans 4). It is significant that Paul most likely wrote his letter to the Galatians at the very time of the controversy Luke describes in Acts 15. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3025)

By the time God’s people entered the New Testament time period, the tradition of loyalty to the Law had [broadened]. For many leaders, faith had largely degenerated into legalism. Law had taken the place of God (see Matthew 23:2-25). For many in leadership, the Law became a weapon with which to beat people, to keep them in subjection, rather than a means by which they all served God together. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3064)

If we give the Jewish Christians the benefit of the doubt, they were concerned that if they became outnumbered, the church might lose its moral standard in a largely pagan context. But Paul saw that if people had to become Jews to become Christians, then Christianity would remain a Jewish sect. He saw Christianity as much more than that. Judaism was tied to a race, a national tradition; but Christianity transcended its Jewish origin. It was a universal faith. And, even more critically, if Christianity remained Jewish, then Christians would be tempted to depend on Lawkeeping rather than on grace (certainly a primary message in Paul’s letter to the Galatians). Paul emphatically stated that those who depend on the Law do not experience God’s justifying grace (see Galatians 3:10-11). (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3101)

When pagan worshipers offered animal sacrifices to their gods, their priests kept only a portion of the meat. The worshipers were free to eat or sell the rest. How should the Christians respond when offered this meat? By not buying or eating it, they could avoid any taint of idol worship. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3140)

The Gentile Christians were also to abstain from blood. Leviticus 17:10-11 shows the importance of blood within the Jewish culture. The only appropriate use of blood was for sacrifices to God. It was not to be eaten. This concern also explains the prohibition against meat of strangled animals. The carcass of an animal killed by strangling would retain its blood. Eating the meat from such a carcass would involve eating blood. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3140)

Christians of all times and places have seen the need for sexual purity. So why was it necessary to list this concern here? Possibly the Council saw the need to emphasize an appropriate sex life in the face of Gentile immorality, often a common part of pagan life, not to mention a frequent component of pagan worship. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition, Location 3140)

As many Gentile believers came into the church, legalistic Jews demanded that these new converts be circumcised. Fierce arguing about this issue resulted in the first church council. At Jerusalem, the apostles and elders convened to consider the relationship between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians, between Moses’ law and the gospel of grace. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 247)

Some of the early Christians believed that non-Jewish Christians needed to meet certain conditions before they could be worthy to accept Christ. The issue could have destroyed the church, so a conference was called in Jerusalem and the issue was formally settled there, although it continued to be a problem for many years following. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 251)

Despite the compelling experiences of Peter, Barnabas, and Paul, James turned to God’s Word as the ultimate test of truth (15:15-18). This should be the way we evaluate events. We all have beliefs (some of them fervent). We all have experiences. And the tendency is for us to want to measure others by our yardstick. It is common for believers to think that their experience, their conviction, is true and should be the norm. Different ideas are thought to be inferior or invalid. Ultimately, however, what matters is what God’s Word says. The more we know God’s Word, the more we read it and study it and memorize it and meditate on it, the better we will be able to discern what is right and best in times of controversy or doctrinal disagreement. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 259)

When believers of different races, ethnic backgrounds, and social strata come together in love and worship of the Savior, nothing gives greater glory to God or provides a more compelling witness. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 260)

James was not acting as a judge here, nor as a leading elder of the Church. In verse 28 we read, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us,” not, “to James and to us.” In this situation James was simply a Christian brother, a member of the Body, who gave a message of wisdom as the Spirit determined (see 1 Cor. 12: 8,11). (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location  6098)

The Gentile believers also had to be reminded of the high moral standards God requires. They came from a background where immorality was accepted, even encouraged, in the name of religion. It took considerable teaching to make them realize that the things everyone else was doing were wrong. In several of Paul’s epistles he had to deal very sternly with the problems of immorality. 22 (See Rom. 6: 12– 13,19– 23; 1 Cor. 5: 1,9– 12; 6: 13,15– 20; 10: 8; Gal. 5: 19– 21; Eph. 5: 3,5; Col. 3: 5– 6; 1 Tim. 1: 9– 10.) (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 6116)

There was precedent for these last two requests because long before Moses’ time, long before the Law was given, God told Noah not to eat blood because it represented a creature’s life (Gen. 9: 4). Therefore, as descendants of Noah, Gentiles could be asked to keep these strictures without bringing them under the law of Moses. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Location 6125)

The date of this council is generally taken to be A.D. 49. When Peter referred to God’s choice of Cornelius some time ago he was looking back about 10 years (Acts 10:1-11:18). The issue of whether to accept Gentiles was settled then and there. This was evidenced, Peter said, because God gave the Holy Spirit to them (10:44-46) just as He did to the Jews (2:4; 11:15). So God made no distinction between believing Jews and Gentiles. All are accepted by faith. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 393)

The immediate occasion for the Jerusalem Council was the visit to Syrian Antioch of some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem and their teaching that circumcision was essential to salvation. These became known as “Judaizers,” and their comrades were promoting similar teaching among Paul’s converts  in Galatia. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 442)

13 James, the Lord’s brother, presided at the Jerusalem council. Known as “James the Just” because of his piety, he was ascetic and scrupulous in keeping the law. The Judaizers within the church looked to him for support, knowing his legal qualifications as well as his personal qualities. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 446)

To sum up, we may say that two types of “necessary” questions were raised at the Jerusalem Council. The first had to do with the theological necessity of circumcision and the Jewish law for salvation, and that was rejected. The second had to do with the practical necessity of Gentile Christians abstaining from certain practices for the sake of Jewish-Gentile fellowship within the church and for the sake of the Jewish Christian mission throughout the Diaspora, and that was approved. The major work of the council had to do with the vindication of Gentile freedom, while a secondary matter was concerned with the expression of that freedom in regard to the scruples of others (cf. M. Luther, “On the Councils and the Churches,” Works of Martin Luther, 6 vols., tr. C.M. Jacobs [Philadelphia: Holman, 1915-32], esp. 5:150-54, 188, 193-95). (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 448)

In most cities Gentile believers had to live alongside Jewish believers, who had been brought up to observe the levitical food restrictions and to avoid contact with Gentiles as far as possible. If there was to be free association between these two groups, certain guidelines must be laid down, especially with regard to table fellowship. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 314)

The progress of the gospel has often been hindered by people with closed minds who stand in front of open doors and block the way for others. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 368)

Ever since the work of Christ on Calvary, God has made no difference between Jews and Gentiles as far as sin (Rom. 3:9, 22) or salvation (Rom. 10:9–13) are concerned. Sinners can have their hearts purified only by faith in Christ; salvation is not by keeping the law (Acts 15:9). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 369)

The law was given to the Jewish nation to protect them from the evils of the Gentile world and prepare them to bring the Messiah into the world (Gal. 4:1–7). The law cannot purify the sinner’s heart (Gal. 2:21), impart the gift of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 3:2), or give eternal life (Gal. 3:21). What the law could not do, God did through His own Son (Rom. 8:1–4). Those who have trusted Christ have the righteousness of God’s law in their hearts and, through the Spirit, obey His will. They are not motivated by fear, but by love, for “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:8–10). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 369)

James was a brother to Jesus (Matt. 13:55; Gal. 1:19) and the writer of the epistle of James. He and his brethren were not believers in Christ until after the resurrection (John 7:5; 1 Cor. 15:7; Acts 1:14). James had strong leanings toward the law (there are at least ten references to law in his epistle), so he was most acceptable to the legalistic party in the Jerusalem church. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 370)

It is difficult for us to be convinced that something more is not also necessary for our justification, and not only for our own but for others. Our temptation is to establish standards, practices, and regulations in addition to faith. Self-justification and judgmentalism result. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 226)

We have our standards and values which others must meet in order to be accepted. And most of those standards are excellent and probably are rooted in parental and cultural conditioning. But are they conditions to our acceptance of others; when people fail to keep our rules, it’s difficult for us to believe they also know our Christ! (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 230)

The Holy Spirit can use all present to communicate a better strategy than any one person can discover alone. Church government is not representative administration in the sense that officers are elected to represent the point of a faction or group within the church. They should be elected because they are the quality of people who will, with open minds, seek the mind of the Holy Spirit, and not the prescribed views of a segment of the church. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 233)

It is interesting to note that the reference to a “good while ago” (v. 7) in the dating of the event, in the Greek indicates a significant lapse of time, as in our idiom, “in the early days.” This implies a lapse of as much as ten years. The previous decision of the leaders of the church had a long time to simmer. Inside the protagonists it had come to a boiling point. This helps us to understand that legislation does not always mean implementation. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 233)

In answer to the stricter Jews Peter reminded them how he himself had been responsible for the reception of Cornelius into the Church ten years before this. The proof that he had acted rightly was that God had granted his Holy Spirit to these very Gentiles who had been received. As far as the Law’s claims went they might have been ceremonially unclean; but God had by his Spirit cleansed their hearts. The attempt to obey the Law’s multifarious commands and so to earn salvation was a losing battle which left every man in default. There was only one way— the acceptance of the free gift of the grace of God in an act of self-surrendering faith. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 114)

This teaching was a direct challenge to the gospel of grace that Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed, and it split the church at Antioch wide open. This has always been Satan’s strategy for destroying the church: Divide and conquer. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 196)

At the same time God gave the law, He gave the lamb. At the same time God gave Moses the law-giver, God also gave Aaron the priest to make atonement for the broken law. At the same time God said, “You shall not,” He said “I know you will, and here’s how to get out of the mess you make of things.” And when we understand that, we shall realize that the law was an instrument in the hands of God in order to condemn His people and to make them turn in bankruptcy to Him for His grace. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Acts, 133)

Christianity is not a game to be played by hard-and-fast rules. It is a life to be lived with biblical principles and guidelines to help us mature in Christ. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, Acts, 136)

The focal point of the debate before the Jerusalem council was circumcision. The rite signified incorporation into the covenant people of Israel and so the taking upon oneself the observance of the law. Every Jew understood the keeping of the law to be his divine responsibility. Peter refers to it as “a yoke” put upon one’s neck (v. 10). To argue that the Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved meant that they had to take on the burden of the law as the Jews understood it. They had to observe the Jewish feasts, dietary and other laws, and the pharisaic interpretation of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments). (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 261)