“Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers.  ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.   “
Acts 15:1-2

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FEBRUARY 24, 2025

These men who came to Antioch from Judea brought with them teaching that raised the important question, “What does a person have to do to be saved?”

It may be unfair or inaccurate to label these men as deliberate false teachers even though their message was in error.  Later in this chapter of Acts, we learn that even in Jerusalem, in the presence of the apostles and elders of the church, there was a group of believers from the party of the Pharisees, Paul’s former conclave, that maintained the same position.  Complete dependence upon grace through faith for salvation without any contribution in the form of action or effort by an individual was and is a radical concept.  Obedience to the law had been so ingrained into the Jews that to declare it as totally ineffectual for salvation was not easy to accept.

Nevertheless, Paul and Barnabas immediately perceived the problem of inclusion of circumcision (an act of the flesh) as a means of salvation because it could lead to men taking credit themselves for achieving right standing with God.  The two men affirmed salvation as the gift of God based solely upon faith in Christ for the forgiveness of sin.  Paul reaffirmed this position later in his letter to the Ephesians.

“For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works so that no one can boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9

Rather than continuing to debate, the church at Antioch made the wise decision to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem and place the issue of the means of salvation before the apostles and elders of the church there.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Why is the admission of our helplessness to do anything to contribute to our salvation such a stumbling block for some people?
  • How could your story communicate this important truth?

 

Church Reading Plan: Exodus 7; Luke 10