Salvation by Grace Alone — Acts 15:1-11 Daily Word

Some men came to Syrian Antioch from Judea.

Here, “Judea” refers to the Jerusalem church. These men were making a claim regarding the salvation of Gentiles — namely, that circumcision was required. However, this claim was not something the Jerusalem church had officially raised as an issue at that time. This is confirmed later in (15:24), where the apostle James of the Jerusalem church makes it clear: [24] Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, (Acts 15:24, ESV)

Circumcision had been the traditional rite of becoming a member of God’s covenant people since the time of Abraham. In this regard, Luke records that both John the Baptist and Jesus were circumcised.(Luke 2:21) 21 [21] And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21, ESV) However, the book of Acts — which centers on the mission to the Gentiles — operates on the premise that salvation is received through faith. ¹Acts 14:8, 22-23, 27 Because Acts does not present circumcision as a requirement for salvation, it stands in direct conflict with the Jewish Christians’ insistence on linking circumcision to the salvation of Gentiles.

Ultimately, however, this issue also threatened to cause a division between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians, making it both a serious and vitally important matter. For this reason, the church at Antioch appointed Paul and Barnabas, along with a few others — who were most likely accompanying them as witnesses to testify that God had made people His own through faith apart from circumcision — to go up to the Jerusalem church regarding this dispute. (2)

Paul and his companions, having been sent off, pass through Phoenicia and Samaria on their way to Jerusalem, visiting the churches there and sharing the news of the Gentiles’ conversion. Phoenicia was one of the regions where believers had been scattered following the persecution that began with the martyrdom of Stephen. Caesarea, Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa all fall within this region of Phoenicia. Since churches had already been established in Samaria as well, the story of the Gentiles’ conversion brought great joy to them too. (3)

Upon their arrival, Paul and his companions are welcomed by the Jerusalem church and its leaders. Paul and Barnabas, having completed their first missionary journey, had already returned to Antioch and reported everything God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (14:27) ²27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. — and now, once again before the Jerusalem church, they reported [4] When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. (Acts 15:4b, ESV). (4b)

Upon hearing this report, some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up (v. 5) and once again insisted: [5] But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:5, ESV). The question of whether Gentiles should also be required to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses was therefore brought before a gathering of the apostles and elders for deliberation.

Peter is the first to speak up.

Although Peter was a leader of the Jerusalem church, he had recently been at the center of the conversion of Gentiles — namely, the conversion of Cornelius and his household. And so in verses 7–8 he says: [7] And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. [8] And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, (Acts 15:7-8, ESV)

At first, Peter had discriminated between Gentiles and Jews, but he came to realize that God shows no partiality — whether Jew or Gentile. Therefore, requiring Gentiles to observe circumcision and the Law is equivalent to “putting God to the test” (10). Just as Ananias and Sapphira tested the Spirit of the Lord, this amounts to testing God. For the Jews themselves have never been able to keep the Law perfectly, and above all, the reason Jews are saved is the same reason Gentiles are saved — by the grace of the Lord Jesus. (11)

Salvation is received only through the grace of God found in Jesus Christ.

God has placed the treasure of His grace in the vessel of Jesus, and He pours it out freely — without any price — upon all who reach out with the hand of faith, granting them salvation. Let us remember that we are Gentiles who have been saved solely by the grace of God, and may we all live with grateful hearts for the Lord’s grace and go forth sharing the gospel — this is our prayer in the name of the Lord.