Acts 15

Mark Dunagan
01/01/06 - Sunday Evening

Acts 15

For some years now Gentiles were becoming Christians, but what had started out as a trickle in Acts 10 and 11 is now becoming a torrent of conversions, especially following Paul’s first journey (14:27).  Yet some professed Christians of a Jewish background had a problem with Gentiles becoming Christians without first converting to Judaism (15:1ff).  In addition, we have false brethren (Galatians 2:4), from a Pharisee background who are trying to force Christians into believing that keeping the Law of Moses is essential for salvation (Acts 15:1).  15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren”:That is, they came down to Antioch and tried teaching the following among the Christians there.  Paul will later write that what such men were teaching was another gospel, a distortion of the true (Galatians 1:6-9), and were false brethren (2:4).  They also claimed to have been sent by the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15:24).  “Began”: The verb tense is imperfect, and suggests continual efforts to force their false doctrine on the brethren in Antioch.  “You cannot be saved”:  The conversion of Cornelius had taken place about 10 years prior, and still the apostles were basically battling the same issue.  It is clear from the above statement that such false brethren were teaching that Christians from any ethnic battleground had to keep the Law of Moses to be saved. Compare with Galatians 5:1-4.

15:2 “Had great dissension and debate with them”: Note that debating is not wrong, especially when truth is on the line (Jude 3; Philippians 1:17).  God expects us to stand up for the truth and oppose what is false (Ephesians 5:11).  Years ago David Edwin Harrell observed that denominations have a variety of distinguishable characteristics.  “That Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles”: Paul will later write that he went up to Jerusalem, not because he needed help with this question, but because God told him to go (Galatians 2:2).  We need to remember that Jerusalem is not a “mother church” that directs all the other congregations; rather they are going to Jerusalem because these false brethren had claimed that they were sent by the apostles and church in Jerusalem (15:24).  From this verse it appears that most of the apostles still resided in Jerusalem, for the time period is around 51 A.D.  “And elders”: The congregation in Jerusalem has its own elders and they are consulted because these false teachers went out from their congregation (15:24).

15:3 “Sent on their way by the church”: “The word sent could either indicate that they were provisioned for the journey (assisted in paying expenses, and encouraged by prayers for a safe journey) by the brethren at Antioch, or that some of the brethren actually accompanied them on the journey (Acts 21:5)” (Reese p. 530). “Such an act is a mark of love and respect, and shows that the sympathy of the church at Antioch was with the apostles, not the Judaizers” (Reese p. 530).  “Passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria”: In Acts 8:5 and 11:19 we read about the initial preaching in both these areas.  “They would have traveled along the coast as far south as Ptolemais, and then crossed the Plain of Esdraelon into Samaria” (Reese p. 531). The primary topic of conversation as Paul visited these congregations was the many Gentiles who had obeyed the gospel on his first journey.  As a result, there is great joy among the brethren at the news of the extensive spread of the gospel.  “Wherever they went, the account of the conversion of the Gentiles was received with a gladness which presented the strongest possible contrast to the bitterness of the Judaizers” (Reese p. 531). 

15:4 “Arrived in Jerusalem”: The journey from Antioch to Jerusalem was about 300 miles.  This was his third visit to Jerusalem since his conversion (Acts 9:26; 11:30).  “They were received by the church and the apostles and the elders”:That is, they were welcomed, acknowledged as faithful brethren and received in a hospitable manner.  Compare with Galatians 2:9.  “They reported all that God had done with them”: “If God was so working, then it must follow that God had accepted the Gentiles without circumcision; and the Jewish brethren ought to so accept them, too” (Reese p. 532). Notice the humility.  Paul and Barnabas were merely co-workers with God; the success in preaching was due to the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 3:6ff). 15:5 “But”: Not everyone is thrilled with such news.  While many Christians were rejoicing, some in Jerusalem were only filled with criticism.  “Some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed”: They had become Christians but it is clear that they had not abandoned all their old Jewish beliefs.  “They may believe Jesus is indeed the Messiah; but they picture Him as the Messiah only for a glorified Judaism from which Gentiles are to be excluded, unless they conform rigidly to the Law of Moses” (Reese p. 533).  McGarvey feels that “we ascertain that when they despaired of destroying the church by persecution from without, they deliberately confessed Christ and came into the church for the purpose of controlling it from within” (pp. 58-59).

15:6 “The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter”: Carefully note that this meeting is not concluded to figure out what they were going to believe, neither is the church voting on what to teach on a certain doctrine.  By contrast, Paul and Barnabas already know what is true (15:2; Galatians 1:12; 2:5), and so do the other apostles—as we will see in this chapter. In this chapter we see the apostles taking the lead in the discussion, attempting to show all the people exactly what the true answer to the issue was. Galatians 2:1-3 reveals that when Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem, they first met with the apostles privately, which is probably the same meeting as Acts 15:4, then Acts 15:6 refers to the public meeting that followed.15:7 “After there had been much debate”: Apparently the Judaizers are allowed to present their arguments, but the Holy Spirit records none of their arguments.  After they had run out of arguments, the apostles, one by one, rise and counter the claims of the false brethren.  “Men who are in error can never be convinced that they are wrong by denying them freedom of speech” (McGarvey p. 536). Yet, error needs to be countered and do so effectively (Titus 1:9-11). 

Peter

15:7 “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe”:  Peter had been specifically sent by God to the home of a Gentile (Acts 10) for the purpose of offering salvation (without circumcision or keeping the Law of Moses).  Peter calls Acts chapter 10, the “early days”, and the events in that chapter had taken place some ten years previously.  Remember also that some twenty years before Jesus had told Peter that he would be given the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19).  “Hear the word of the gospel and believe”: Salvation is based on hearing and obeying the gospel—not on being circumcised and obeying the Law of Moses. 15:8 “God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us”:Seeing that God knows the heart (Acts 1:24), God knew that Cornelius was a genuine believer, and He Himself gave His approval of what Peter was doing by sending the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and his household as He had sent the Holy Spirit upon the apostles in Acts chapter 2 (Acts 10:45-46; 11:17).   Remember, all of this had been done without teaching these Gentiles that they had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. 15:9 “and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith”: So there is only one plan of salvation for all men (Acts 4:12; Mark 16:16).  Though Gentiles had not been circumcised, God still accepted them when they believed and were baptized. Notice the word cleansingthat the Holy Spirit here selected through Peter. Peter’s choice of the word cleansing is because in the back of the dispute was the question of purity, which the Pharisees insisted, came through observance of the Law and circumcision.  The real uncleanness of the Gentiles was not in being uncircumcised but in being sinners. When it came to terms of forgiveness, faith and baptism (Acts 2:38) were the terms for both Jews and Gentiles and not circumcision and keeping the Law. Remember, Peter had already commanded Jews to be baptized for the remission of their sins; therefore the word faith in this passage inherently includes conditions such as repentance, confession and baptism.

15:10 “Why do you put God to the test”: That is, why are these Pharisees contradicting the clear will of God on the matter? Why are they acting like God made a mistake when he had Peter baptize uncircumcised Gentiles in Acts 10?  “By placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke”: Demanding that new believers be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses.  “Which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”:  The New Testament makes it clear that the Law of Moses was a good thing (Romans 7:12), and righteous men delighted in God’s Law (Psalm 1:1ff; 19:7ff).  Yet we are also told that without the sacrifice of Christ, the Law only ended up condemning those under it (Galatians 3:10-11).  Peter here appeals to the consciences of these Jews.  Their ancestors had not been able to keep the Law perfectly and neither had their own generation. The word bear is being used in the sense that no one had been able to keep the Law perfectly, thus resulting in their justification.  Paul will also call the Law a yoke of slavery in Galatians 5:1.

15:11 “We believe that we are saved”: That’s what the Law could never do—save you!  The expression we believe refers to the settled conviction of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem on this matter.  “Through the grace of the Lord Jesus”: Notice that one is not saved by faith only and neither is one saved by grace alone.  “In the same way”: The exact same plan of salvation applies to all men.  Jews cannot be saved by keeping the Law of Moses, but rather all men need to obey Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Hebrews 5:9).

Paul and Barnabas

15:12  “All the people kept silent”: “The whole assembly became silent after Peter’s speech.  The silence is testimony to the effect of Peter’s presentation.  He had presented such clear and forcible arguments that there was nothing that could be said against them” (Reese p. 539).  “Listening to Paul and Barnabas”: These two preachers recounted in vivid detail all the miracles worked on the first journey as they preached to Gentiles.  The point being made is that seeing that God was giving His obvious approval to their efforts it is clear that God was accepting Gentiles without being circumcised and observing the Law of Moses, seeing that Paul and Barnabas did not teach such things.

James

15:13 “James”: Most feel that this is James the Lord’s brother, who became a prominent voice in the early church (Galatians 1:19; Acts 21:18), and who wrote the book of James around 62 A.D.  15:14  He calls Peter by his Hebrew name Simon, and summarizes Peter’s sermon. “Taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name”: By using such words as a people, James is implying that the Gentile converts were no less the people of God than Israel used to be.  “For His name may mean that these people bear His name as a people of God, or it may mean that they are considered His special people” (Reese p. 541). 15:15  And the Old Testament prophets predicted such. James will quote from Amos but other prophets had also foretold the acceptance of the Gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 49:6; Micah 4:1-4).  A whole list of Old Testament prophecies about the Gentiles becoming God’s people is found in Romans 15:9-11.

15:19 “Therefore it is my judgment”: This is the only conclusion that James can reach from the facts presented.  Notice how the apostles have argued.  Both Peter and Paul had offered approved examples and necessary inferences and James has offered direct commands and then made the appropriate conclusion.  None of this was argued on the basis of feelings, the culture, or human opinion.

Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017

www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com