Acts 15
Read: Acts 15
The Jerusalem council and the discussion that developed out of it is of great importance to the Christian faith. Paul and Barnabas were seeing Gentiles coming to faith and receiving the Holy Spirit just like the Jews did. However, many of the Jews made the argument that these Gentiles should still be circumcised and follow the law like they did. Peter addressed them and argued that the Gentiles had their hearts cleansed by faith in Jesus, and God had made no distinction between the Jews and Gentiles despite the fact that the Jews followed the law of circumcision. Peter then made the point that even the Jews could not keep the law, so why place that burden on the Gentiles too? God had provided another, better way through faith in Jesus.
Today, so many years later we still struggle with this. Maybe we don’t think it is circumcision that saves us, but we may think doing good, serving in church, or various other good deeds put us in better standing before God. We are always trying to find something else, something we can take credit for. We want to earn God’s grace, but God has given it freely. We want to work for it, when all we have to do is believe and receive the gift he has given to us.
Near the end of the passage, Barnabas and Paul have a disagreement. These two have been together almost every step of the journey since Paul became a Christian. Here Barnabas wants to bring John Mark on their next journey, but Paul does not want him to come because he had deserted them previously. A few years ago, I was let down greatly by a fellow believer. As a result, I did not trust them to lead in the ministry I was part of even though another leader saw great potential in this person. Today, that person has matured into a great leader and a close friend. I am thankful that even though I had nearly given up on them, God was at work and today I get the benefit of seeing how God has grown this person to where they are today. In all reality, it is okay to doubt in a person if they have a bad track record. However, we should pray for them and trust that God can work in their life, mature them, and eventually use them… maybe even for something far greater than we ever envisioned prior to their failure.
