Acts 15 - The Church's First Council Meeting
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15 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 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. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. 5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
As we have seen in the last several chapters the church is growing by leaps and bounds. And as any organization grows it needs to have more governance and structure. This chapter is titled, "The Council at Jerusalem". Jerusalem was the home base for the original disciples and the first Church. After Peter died, James became the leader of the Council. Jesus had given authority to the church to act on his behalf, especially in matters of faith, life, and doctrine. The church is called to watch its "life and doctrine closely".
At the heart of doctrine is our belief in Jesus as the only Son of God, fully human and fully God. Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day and ascended into heaven. We are saved by grace through faith based on what Jesus did for us. This is the gospel which must be preached in its purity and the sacraments administered rightly. This is what Luther said was the nature, purpose and what was necessary to be the Church on earth.
So why did the first Church Council have to convene? What doctrine was being challenged? The central doctrine of justification by faith alone by grace based on the Word alone. The Word being the gospel of Jesus. The Pharisees who had been converted came to Jerusalem and said the Gentiles who had become believers needed to be circumcised. So the church met, discussed, and came to the conclusion that to lay this burden on the newly converted Gentile men was not essential and in fact contrary to the gospel they had received. The only thing that mattered was faith in Jesus and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins.
This was a timely and important decision because to make the Gentiles become circumcised was a sign that they church was returning to the Law which could never save them. Origoinally, baptism was the sign in the Old Testament that God made with Abraham to set apart the Israelite men. Jesus fulfilled this covenant when he came to circumcise hearts so that all of us would believe in Him.
What might this mean for us today? The church is always in danger of taking the gospel and turning it back into a law. When coming to Christ is something we must do, or some ritual we must undergo, we have forfeited the gospel. When our salvation depends on our work it undermines what Jesus did on the cross. We also need to watch out for legalism of all types. God began a good work in us by grace and he will complete it by grace. Our life in Christ is not based on conforming to obligatory rules, but we serve and love our neighbor because our Lord served and loved us. Our works flow from faith and nothing else. Our good works are based on a sure and certain trust for what Jesus died for us!
As we have seen in the last several chapters the church is growing by leaps and bounds. And as any organization grows it needs to have more governance and structure. This chapter is titled, "The Council at Jerusalem". Jerusalem was the home base for the original disciples and the first Church. After Peter died, James became the leader of the Council. Jesus had given authority to the church to act on his behalf, especially in matters of faith, life, and doctrine. The church is called to watch its "life and doctrine closely".
At the heart of doctrine is our belief in Jesus as the only Son of God, fully human and fully God. Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected on the third day and ascended into heaven. We are saved by grace through faith based on what Jesus did for us. This is the gospel which must be preached in its purity and the sacraments administered rightly. This is what Luther said was the nature, purpose and what was necessary to be the Church on earth.
So why did the first Church Council have to convene? What doctrine was being challenged? The central doctrine of justification by faith alone by grace based on the Word alone. The Word being the gospel of Jesus. The Pharisees who had been converted came to Jerusalem and said the Gentiles who had become believers needed to be circumcised. So the church met, discussed, and came to the conclusion that to lay this burden on the newly converted Gentile men was not essential and in fact contrary to the gospel they had received. The only thing that mattered was faith in Jesus and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins.
This was a timely and important decision because to make the Gentiles become circumcised was a sign that they church was returning to the Law which could never save them. Origoinally, baptism was the sign in the Old Testament that God made with Abraham to set apart the Israelite men. Jesus fulfilled this covenant when he came to circumcise hearts so that all of us would believe in Him.
What might this mean for us today? The church is always in danger of taking the gospel and turning it back into a law. When coming to Christ is something we must do, or some ritual we must undergo, we have forfeited the gospel. When our salvation depends on our work it undermines what Jesus did on the cross. We also need to watch out for legalism of all types. God began a good work in us by grace and he will complete it by grace. Our life in Christ is not based on conforming to obligatory rules, but we serve and love our neighbor because our Lord served and loved us. Our works flow from faith and nothing else. Our good works are based on a sure and certain trust for what Jesus died for us!
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