And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, [and said], Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved (Acts 15:1, KJV).
Acts 15 begins by highlighting the events that resulted in what most historians refer to as the very first church council – The Jerusalem Council. Before the events of Acts 15 (scholars estimate between 1-4 years), Paul and Barnabas had concluded their difficult but successful first missionary journey.
They were enjoying a restful ministry at Antioch (Acts 14:28), but Satan, as he is never one to allow the church to advance without a fight, began to sow division by way of false teaching. Judaizers made their way to Antioch (Galatians 2:4), claiming to be there on behalf of James the apostle (Galatians 2:12), and began teaching the newly converted Gentiles that their salvation was incomplete.
They contended that to their faith, they must add the law of Moses, particularly circumcision. One can only imagine how devastating and heartbreaking this news would have been to the Gentile babes in Christ.
Men who appeared to be (though it would later be clarified not to be the case) representatives from the mother church at Jerusalem, which was still highly respected, told the Gentiles who had accepted Christ by faith that they were not really saved.
As John Phillips noted: “The bomb exploded. This was a direct attack upon the principle of salvation by faith and by faith alone and an attack upon the fellowship of saints and the oneness of the Body of Christ.
“We can imagine the shock wave this teaching sent through the Gentile segment of the church,” Phillps continued.
Effectively, what happened here was, as Oliver Greene pointed out, “The beginning of the battle between law and grace.”
Though some 2,000 years removed from the scene, that battle between law and grace still rages today. Paul and Barnabas became aware of what was being taught, and thus, they endeavored to set the record straight.
The matter before them was not one of secondary or tertiary importance. It was not a matter that faithful believers could agree to disagree on and still enjoy fellowship and unity. (Paul would later deal with such issues in places like Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 10.)
This matter had to be confronted and corrected. Thus, as Scripture mentions in Acts 15:2, “Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation” with the Judaizers.
Scripture doesn’t tell us what Paul said, but we do know from Luke’s description what Paul thought about these people causing division.
The Greek word for “dissension” is the same Greek word Luke used to describe Barabbas in Luke 23:19, where he described Barabbas as guilty of sedition or insurrection.
In other words, in Paul’s eyes, this false doctrine was sedition or high treason against God.
Not all issues are worth fighting over and are certainly not worth the division that may result, but this one was. This was a battle that had to be fought.
The unity of the church was on the line. If this wasn’t dealt with, there was a risk of a permanent division between Jewish and Gentile Christians. There was a risk of spreading the false teaching of faith plus works for salvation.
So Paul and Barnabas faced this battle head-on.
But there was a stalemate in the debate, and the issue wouldn’t be settled in Antioch. A decision was made to send Paul, Barnabas, and some other disciples to Jerusalem and present the case before the apostles and elders.
Neither Paul, Barnabas, nor the Gentile believers had any guarantee a decision would be made in their favor, and I suspect they had concerns it indeed would not.
The Jerusalem church was still predominantly Jewish.
Perhaps the Judaizers thought they would be the ones to receive a favorable decision, as the Jewish believers may have been inclined to desire to keep intact some of Judaism and add it to Christianity.
That’s certainly plausible, as only a brief study of early believing Jews reveals they were extremely ethnically prejudiced.
As but one example, the Lord had to do tremendous work in Peter’s life to soften him up to preaching to Gentiles and finally understand they were to be accepted into the Lord’s church.
Even after that work in Peter’s life, he still vacillated the issue, as Paul highlighted in Galatians 2.
As the group made the 300-mile trip from Antioch to Jerusalem, I can only imagine the question that loomed largely over their minds: “How will the Jewish apostles and elders respond to the matter at hand?”
A division had arisen, and an even larger division of profound and eternal significance was possible.
The result would all depend on who was in control of the council that was about to convene.
Would man have his way, or would God?
