Biblical Solutions and a Testimony of Marvelous Grace! (Acts 15)

Scripture reading – Acts 15 

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* Please note that words and phrases in brackets are the author’s amplification.

I introduced you to James, the author of the Epistle of James, in a previous devotional. He is believed to be the half-brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19) and the head of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17). The same James appears in today’s Scripture as the senior pastor/elder of that congregation.

Acts 15

Acts 15 chronicles what might be described as the early church’s growing pains. The body of believers began with Jewish converts, but soon the growing number of Gentile converts posed a theological crisis. Because of historic prejudices between Jews and Gentiles, conflicts were inevitable in the Antioch congregation, which was composed of both Jews and Greeks.

The arrival of “men which came down from Judaea” (Acts 15:1) sparked a conflict that threatened not only the church’s unity but also the foundational doctrine of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). We read that the men of Judaea taught, “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1).

Paul and Barnabas confronted the contention raised by the men from Judaea. It was decided that they, along with other men, should “go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about [the] question” (Acts 15:2). The same debate soon erupted in Jerusalem, as believers “of the sect of the Pharisees” maintained that Gentile believers must not only be circumcised to be saved but also be required to “keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). 

The Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:6-21)

The apostles and elders gathered as representatives of the Jerusalem congregation and listened as the dispute over circumcision raged (Acts 15:6-7a). Peter finally arose and declared what the Jerusalem church had already accepted (Acts 15:7b), recounting how the Gospel came to the Gentiles (Acts 11:1-18). (Remember how Cornelius, a Roman centurion, heard the Gospel, believed, and received the indwelling of the Holy Ghost [Acts 10:44-48].)

Therefore, Peter observed that God had “put no difference” between those of Jewish and Gentile ancestry. All sinners come to salvation by faith (Acts 15:9). Peter declared that, whether Jew or Gentile, “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved” (Acts 15:11).

Then the people fell silent as Paul and Barnabas shared how the Lord validated their preaching and teaching through “miracles and wonders” that only He could produce (Acts 15:12). James, whom I believe was the senior pastor/elder of the Jerusalem congregation (Galatians 2:9), declared that he agreed with Peter (i.e., Simeon, Acts 15:14). He reminded the believers that the prophet Amos had foretold that Gentiles would be part of God’s kingdom (Acts 15:15-17; Amos 9:11-12). James then counseled the church to accept the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone and not to overburden Gentile believers with instructions not required for salvation (Acts 15:19-21).

They agreed to accept James’ summary and affirm the decision in writing. Furthermore, two men from the Jerusalem congregation, Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, were chosen to accompany the letter and to serve as representatives of the church to believers in Antioch (Acts 15:22, 27). Unlike Jewish believers, who were privileged to hear and read the law of Moses “in the synagogues every sabbath day” (Acts 15:21), Gentile believers needed instruction in elementary truths about the sanctified life. Therefore, James counseled, and the letter affirmed (Acts 15:29), that Gentile believers “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20). Indeed, these were Old Testament precepts that Gentile believers needed to know and practice, and the rest they would learn in due time.

The Effect of the Letter Addressed to Antioch Believers (Acts 15:31-35)

The letter affirming Gentile salvation by grace alone stirred rejoicing among believers in the Antioch church (Acts 15:31). Silas, one of the two men sent from the Jerusalem congregation, remained in Antioch and became Paul’s missionary companion (Acts 15:34, 40). Paul and Barnabas “continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also” laboring alongside them (Acts 15:35).

Closing thoughts (Acts 15:36-41)

The concluding verses of Acts 15 remind us that the best of men are men at best. With the debate over salvation by grace resolved, Paul announced his desire to travel and visit believers in the cities and towns where he and Barnabas had “preached the word of the Lord” (Acts 15:36). Yet Barnabas insisted on bringing John Mark (Acts 15:37), whom Paul opposed because John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia (Acts 15:38). The quarrel between the two men was so sharp that they parted ways, “and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus” (Acts 15:39).

There has long been a debate over who was right about John Mark—Barnabas or Paul. I could make several arguments on this point, but because Paul had been called by the Lord as the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13) and had become the leader of their missionary work (note the shift from “Barnabas and Saul” to “Paul and his company,” Acts 13:2, 13), I wonder whether Barnabas should have yielded to his leadership. Another point in Paul’s favor is that when he and Silas departed, they were “recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God” (Acts 15:40). The same affirmation was not made of Barnabas and John Mark.

Nevertheless, Paul wrote about John Mark near the end of his life and ministry: “Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11; see also Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24).

In God’s providence and sovereignty, John Mark was not only restored to usefulness in Paul’s ministry but also used by God to write the Gospel of Mark! What marvelous grace!

Study Questions:

1) Why was adding circumcision to faith such a threat to the Gospel? (Acts 15:1, 5-11; see Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9.)

2) The Jerusalem council asked Gentile believers to “abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:19-21, 28-29). Why would these instructions help Jewish and Gentile believers share fellowship in the same church? (See Romans 14:13-21 and 1 Corinthians 8:9-13.)

3) Paul and Barnabas disagreed so sharply over John Mark that they “departed asunder one from the other.” Years later, Paul wrote that Mark was “profitable to me for the ministry.” What hope does John Mark’s restoration give to someone who has failed in their service to the Lord?