Acts 15:1-11 CSB
Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved." [2] After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue. [3] When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters. [4] When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. [5] But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses." [6] The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter. [7] After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. [8] And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. [9] He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. [10] Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples' necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? [11] On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are."
John 17:20-21 CSB
"I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in me through their word. [21] May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me.
Controversy and Division
A person once wrote that a god is whatever we look to for all good and in which we take refuge in every time of need—whatever we trust with our whole heart. For a Christian, this is not a career, a spouse, or a childhood friend. It is our Heavenly Father. Yet our faith and trust in Him is often strained by controversies within the church itself. This is not new. Jesus himself prayed that we would be united in love—that we would be one as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one.
But we are imperfect people, formed in jars of earthly clay, bringing our own thoughts and will to the table. We think we are fighting for God. Often, we are fighting for ourselves.
The first missionary journey and the conversion of the Gentiles brought exactly this kind of controversy. How were these Gentiles to be welcomed into the church? Were they required to follow the laws of Moses and be circumcised? Did they first need to become Jews before receiving the grace of Jesus? The Jewish traditionalists were insistent: circumcision was essential to salvation. This teaching spread from Judea to Antioch, and Paul and Barnabas drew a line in the sand. They traveled to Jerusalem to settle the matter, seeking a shared understanding that could restore unity to the church.
Peter rose to speak at this first church council, which had convened to hear the matter brought by Paul and Barnabas. He called to mind the story of Cornelius—how an angel had appeared to the Roman centurion and directed him to send for Peter, and how God had prepared Peter himself with a vision: a great sheet descending three times from heaven, filled with animals the law of Moses had declared unclean, and a voice commanding him to eat. Led by the Holy Spirit to the household of Cornelius, Peter had witnessed something extraordinary—the Holy Spirit falling upon these Gentiles just as He had upon the earliest believers, and this before they had even been baptized.
These things occurred without Cornelius and his household being circumcised. God had already spoken on this matter. Peter brings his conclusion to an end: We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.
How do we handle division? The first beginning is to be humble enough to understand that we might be wrong. This opens up grace to listen, not only to others, but to the voice of God as His ways are made clear.
Reflection Questions
- The traditionalists in Acts 15 tried to add a human requirement (“Unless you are circumcised… you cannot be saved”) to the finished work of Christ. What modern religious traditions, cultural rules, or unspoken expectations do we sometimes try to add to the Gospel today?
- Jesus prayed intensely for our unity in John 17, yet the early church immediately faced fierce theological division. Why is true Christian unity so difficult to maintain, and what is the difference between true biblical unity and mere surface-level compromise?
- Handling division begins with the humility to realize that we might be wrong. Think of a current disagreement or point of tension in a church or community setting. What would it look like for those involved to approach that situation with the grace to listen rather than the demand to be right?
Prayer
Father,
We thank You for the profound truth that we are saved solely through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, with no human conditions or legalistic burdens added to Your gift. Forgive us for the times our pride causes division within Your body, and for when we mistake our own cultural preferences for Your divine truth. Give us the deep humility to recognize that our perspectives are limited and that we are but jars of clay. Help us to hear Your voice above our own opinions, and grant us a spirit of true, Christ-centered unity so that the world may believe You sent the Son. May we protect the purity of the Gospel while extending the same radical grace to others that You have so generously poured out on us. In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
