June
2nd Acts
15 Judaism
1:
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. 2: When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension
and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas,
and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the
apostles and elders about this question. 3: And being brought on
their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria,
declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy
unto all the brethren. 4: And when they were come to Jerusalem, they
were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they
declared all things that God had done with them. 5: But there rose up
certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it
was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law
of Moses. 6: And the apostles and elders came together for to
consider of this matter. 7: And when there had been much disputing,
Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that
a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my
mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8: And God,
which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy
Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9: And put no difference between us
and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10: Now therefore why
tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which
neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11: But we believe that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as
they. 12: Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to
Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had
wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13: And after they had held their
peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14:
Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to
take out of them a people for his name. 15: And to this agree the
words of the prophets; as it is written, 16: After this I will
return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen
down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the
Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all
these things. 18: Known unto God are all his works from the beginning
of the world. 19: Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them,
which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20: But that we
write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from
fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21: For Moses
of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in
the synagogues every sabbath day.
The
letter is sent to the churches
22:
Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to
send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and
Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among
the brethren: 23: And they wrote letters by them after this manner;
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: 24:
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have
troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be
circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
25: It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send
chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26: Men that
have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27:
We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the
same things by mouth. 28: For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and
to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29: That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and
from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep
yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. 30: So when they were
dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the
multitude together, they delivered the epistle: 31: Which when they
had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. 32: And Judas and Silas,
being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many
words, and confirmed them. 33: And after they had tarried there a
space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.
34: Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. 35: Paul
also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the
word of the Lord, with many others also.
2.
(The Second Missionary Journey) Paul and Barnabas disagree
36:
And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and
visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of
the Lord, and see how they do. 37: And Barnabas determined to take
with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38: But Paul thought not good
to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and
went not with them to the work. 39: And the contention was so sharp
between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so
Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; 40: And Paul chose Silas,
and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of
God. 41: And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the
churches.
The
next crisis to hit the church could have split it into two. Luke says
that there were certain men (He doesn’t give their names) who came
from Judea to Antioch teaching that the Gentile believers needed to
convert to Judaism by being circumcised or they are not saved. Paul
and Barnabas had a great dissension and dispute with them. They
insisted that they should go to Jerusalem to settle this question.
These Jews believed that the Apostles in Jerusalem would agree with
them. When Paul and Barnabas arrived in Jerusalem they discovered
that it was Pharisees who were christians that were saying that
circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic law were essential for
gentile christians. The apostles and elders came together to discuss
this issue. The first to testify was Peter who said that the
believers in Jerusalem know that God converted Gentiles and put no
difference between Jews and Gentiles by forgiving the sins of both.
Then he said why would you tempt God by putting a yoke on the neck of
these Gentiles which you or your fathers were unable to bear? He said
that we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we
will be saved exactly the same as them. Salvation for all was by
faith. Then the assembly gave Paul and Barnabas an opportunity to
speak and they related the signs and wonders that God did among the
Gentiles. James addressed the assembly and summarised the situation.
He spoke of the Prophecy of Simeon who declared that God did visit
the Gentiles taking a people to his name.
And
this is in full agreement with scripture. Amos 9v11-12 James says,
my judgment is this that we do not trouble the Gentiles who are
christians but that we write to them telling them that they are to
abstain from idolatry, fornication, from meat in which the blood is
not drained and from drinking blood. The Apostles were saying that
while they are not obliged to keep the Mosaic covenant they are still
subject to Noahic covenant which forbad the eating of meat which
contained blood or drinking blood.
So
this letter was written up and a copy given to Paul and Barnabas,
Judas – Barsabas and Silas all of whom were chief men among the
brethren. They wrote a number of copies and gave them for
distribution. The letter read…
The
apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Because
as we have heard, that certain men who went out from us have troubled
you with their false teachings, they undermine your souls, saying,
that you must be circumcised, and keep the Mosaic law: We did not
give them permission to say these things: So it seemed good to us,
when we were gathered to discuss these things and we were all in
perfect harmony - to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas
and Paul - men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent to you Judas and Silas, who will also
tell you the same things by mouth. It seemed to be a good thing to
the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than a
few important things things - That ye abstain from meats offered to
idols, and from drinking or eating blood, and from meat that is not
killed by draining the blood, and from fornication: If you keep
yourselves from these things you will be doing well. Farewell.
They
described the work of these Pharisees as ‘subverting the souls’
(unsettling or undermining) by saying that they should be circumcised
and keep the Mosaic Law. After the assembly had broken up Paul and
Barnabas returned to Antioch and when they had gathered the whole
church together they read the letter. This caused great joy among the
Gentile believers. Judas and Silas being prophets also encouraged the
believers and established them in the faith. After a while some of
the brethren returned to Jerusalem but Silas remained. Later Paul
said to Barnabas Lets go again and visit the brethren in the cites in
which we have preached the word. However Barnabas was very insistent
in taking Mark with them, but Paul was equally adamant that Mark
should not come this time, because he deserted them in Pamphylia. The
disagreement was so sharp that Paul and Barnabas separated from each
other. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus and Paul took Silas
and departed having been recommended by the church at Antioch to the
Grace of God and they journeyed through Syria and Cilicia
establishing the churches.
- Why had this problem arisen?
- How did the Apostles deal with this issue?
- How does this issue affect you?
- Why did Paul and Barnabas fall out?
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