Chapter 15 is the record of the first Church Council. All of the major church gatherings and regular synod meetings look to this chapter to see how the Apostles handled tough questions. This record is of value for what they decided as well as the way they came to the decision. We learn lots about how we are to be the church of Jesus from this chapter.

The question for the Council was this: Do Gentiles need to become Jewish in order to follow Jesus? More specifically, "Do Gentile Christians need to be circumcised?" We find this an odd question today because many Jewish people would think that they would have to give up their Jewishness in order to be a Christian. This is unfortunate because all of the early Christians were very Jewish. There are several groups today, like the Messianic Jews, who embrace their Jewish heritage as well as Yeshua (Jesus) their Messiah. All Christians should look with thankfulness on the Jewish people through whom came the Scriptures and the Savior. All bigotry is out of place in the heart of a Christian, but anti-Semitism is especially wrong.

Men from Judea (the Church’s origin) came to Antioch preaching that believers had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Paul and Barnabas vigorously disputed with these men because they were greatly concerned that the gospel itself would be lost if people thought that they are saved by trusting in Jesus and being circumcised, or trusting in Jesus and something else they had to perform. The power of the gospel is not that we have a Savior who is useful in helping us to be saved, or useful in helping us do what we need to do to save ourselves. Jesus actually saves us. Thus we call him the Savior.

The congregation sent a delegation including Paul and Barnabas to the Mother Church to see what they had to say. The Church gathered in Jerusalem, joined by believers from all over. The Spirit of Christ was in all Christians to direct them both to get the right answer and how to get it. They gathered to hear Him.

In Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas told of the great works that God had done through them among the gentiles. The Pharisees heard the report but insisted that the converts needed to be circumcised and follow the Mosaic tradition. Much discussion ensued until Peter rose to remind the Church how the Holy Spirit came on the Gentiles of Cornelius’s house. He said, "God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith (v8)." Peter reminded all that there can be no "us and them" in the Church. God accepted the Gentiles just as he accepted the Jews.

Peter then emphasized the gospel. Why put the burden of keeping the Law on these gentile Christians when we Jewish believers could not keep the law ourselves? We are not saved by keeping the Law but because of faith in Christ. We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are (v 11).

At Peter’s words, the group became quiet. As often happens when the Holy Spirit moves on a gathering, the group itself seemed ready to hear what God was doing and how they could respond to it. They had already heard what God did through Paul, but now they were ready to listen and to agree.

James summarized the decision made, but it is the Apostles, elders and the whole Church (v 22) that sends the message—the decision was not the mandate of a "pope" but of the Spirit confirmed in the hearts of all. The principle of the decision is the law of love. Gentiles are not to be over burdened, and Jewish believers are not to be harshly offended. Believers did not have to be circumcised, but it would be good to observe some dietary restrictions that would likely cause others to stumble. And since sexual fornication was rampant in the culture (as it is in ours) they added the directive against it. These directives were not exhaustive of what the Christian life would look like, but they did describe how the believers should live. Underlying the decision was that salvation was through faith in the Savior alone.

Isn’t it wonderful that the Holy Spirit led the Church not to be harsh, confusing or over restrictive? Isn’t it good that God leads us in paths of righteousness, not in long lists of dos and don’ts? The Holy Spirit leads us and inspires us to go further and to lay down our rights, our comfort, and even our lives for others because of the love of Jesus in our hearts.

We are not saved by following these four directives any more than the Jews were saved by keeping the Law of Moses. We are sinners saved by the grace of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved to a life that is holy. The holiness that God develops in us is not so we can merely keep a list of rules, but to live righteously as we get more and more in tune with the Holy Spirit.