Here is a teaching on chapter 15 of the book of Acts. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please give us the knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives and to make an impact in other people's lives. Lord please open up our eyes to see the truth of your words, help us to know the truth, discern the truth, live by the truth and to portray the fruit of the spirit to others. Lord I can't thank you enough for every single thing that you've done. I love you with my whole heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Acts Chapter 15:
1 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." 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 brothers 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 obey the law of Moses."
So some men were telling the disciples that you can't be saved without being circumcised and then Paul and Barnabas had a debate with them and they were appointed to go to Jerusalem to see the apostles and the elders about this question. I just want to go into Genesis chapter 17 really quick because it goes over circumcision. In verses 10-14 of chapter 17 of Genesis. It says: "This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." So those are the verses about circumcision and this is what they're having a debate over (if people have to be circumcised in order to be saved) because some of these men said that they did and then Paul and Barnabas were debating about that. So they went to Jerusalem to speak to the apostles and elders about this question.
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
So we see that after much discussion Peter got up and said that it's by the grace of Lord Jesus that we're saved. God gave the Holy Spirit to these Gentiles and he purified their hearts by faith. Who are we to try and test God and to say that people have to be circumcised in order to be saved or that people can be saved any other way but through the grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only one that can save us and it's through faith in Jesus Christ and through his grace that saves us, nothing else. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins he made a new covenant with us and Jesus saves anyone who comes to him and believes in him. He doesn't discriminate and there are no rules and regulations to getting saved. God is loving, merciful, gracious, and he accepts everyone.
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16 " 'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things' 18 that have been known for ages.
19 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."
So in verse 12 we see that all of these people in the assembly became silent when they heard about the miraculous signs and wonders that God had done among the Gentiles through Paul and Barnabas. In verses 13-18 we see that James spoke up after Paul and Barnabas had finished talking, and the scripture that he quotes here is from Amos chapter 9 verses 11-12. In verses 19-21 James says that they shouldn't make it difficult for the Gentiles that are turning to God and that they should write a letter to them to tell them what to abstain from. We know from doing these Bible studies, and if you've ever read the book of Genesis or read about Moses and the laws of Moses then you know about a lot of the laws that these Jews had and they lived by, but the most important thing is not abiding by any laws but being saved by Jesus Christ and having a relationship with him. So they didn't want things to be difficult for the Gentiles that we're turning to God and being saved, so they decided to write this letter to them
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell.
30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
So we see here in these verses that Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas sent a letter to the Gentiles saying to abstain from these things and the men went to Antioch and delivered the letter. I just want to point out here that these things that were in the letter (the food sacrificed by idols, strangled animals, and blood), these things were not bound under the law of Moses but the law of love to not unnecessarily antagonize or to upset their Jewish neighbors. For sexual immorality we see about this in Leviticus chapter 18, about the marriage regulations. I'm not going to read these verses with you guys here because it's all of chapter 18 of Leviticus, but you can go and read that if you want. So in verse 31 we see that the people read this letter and they were glad for its encouraging message. Then in verses 32-35 Judas and Silas said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers and after they had spent some time in Antioch, then they were sent by the brothers to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch and they preached the word of the Lord along with others.
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Alright, so those are all the verses but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. We see in these verses that Barnabas wanted to take John, who's also called Mark, with them to go back and visit the brothers in all the towns. But Paul didn't think that it was a good idea to take him because he had left them in Pamphylia. So they disagreed and they parted ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, and Paul took Silas and he went through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches. As long as the gospel is being spread, it doesn't matter who you're with or where you go. The most important thing is spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, giving that encouraging message of Jesus to others, and letting them know about him, how amazing he is, and how he's changed your life in hopes that they may be saved and go to heaven also. If you have disagreements with other people or other Christians, sometimes you have to go your separate ways to be able to spread the gospel and to not let anything get in the way of the most important thing of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and letting other people know about him, and that's what they did here.
Acts Ch 15 Study Guide
Why do you think that some believers were saying that in order to be saved you have to be circumcised?
What is the only way that we can be saved?
What is the most important thing for us to do?
Why did the apostles and elders want these gentiles to abstain from the things they wrote in the letter? Were these things bound under a law?
What do you think you should do when you have a disagreement with another Christian?
When you are spreading the gospel, does it matter who is spreading it with you? Why?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible Study?
So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 15 of the book of Acts. Next week we're going to go into chapter 16, so make sure you stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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