Acts 15
15
1 And certain ones, descending from Judea, were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
2 Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas made no small uprising against them, they decided that Paul and Barnabas, and some from the opposing side, should go up to the Apostles and priests in Jerusalem concerning this question.
3 Therefore, being led by the church, they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles. And they caused great joy among all the brothers.
4 And when they had arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the Apostles and the elders, reporting what great things God had done with them.
5 But some from the sect of the Pharisees, those who were believers, rose up saying, "It is necessary for them to be circumcised and to be instructed to keep the Law of Moses."
6 And the Apostles and elders came together to take care of this matter.
7 And after a great contention had taken place, Peter rose up and said to them: "Noble brothers, you know that, in recent days, God has chosen from among us, by my mouth, Gentiles to hear the word of the Gospel and to believe.
8 And God, who knows hearts, offered testimony, by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as to us.
9 And he distinguished nothing between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Now therefore, why do you tempt God to impose a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
11 But by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we believe in order to be saved, in the same manner also as them."
12 Then the entire multitude was silent. And they were listening to Barnabas and Paul, describing what great signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through them.
13 And after they had been silent, James responded by saying: "Noble brothers, listen to me.
14 Simon has explained in what manner God first visited, so as to take from the Gentiles a people to his name.
15 And the words of the Prophets are in agreement with this, just as it was written:
16 'After these things, I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. And I will rebuild its ruins, and I will raise it up,
17 so that the rest of men may seek the Lord, along with all the nations over whom my name has been invoked, says the Lord, who does these things.'
18 To the Lord, his own work has been known from eternity.
19 Because of this, I judge that those who were converted to God from among the Gentiles are not to be disturbed,
20 but instead that we write to them, that they should keep themselves from the defilement of idols, and from fornication, and from whatever has been suffocated, and from blood.
21 For Moses, from ancient times, has had in each city those who preach him in the synagogues, where he is read on every Sabbath."
22 Then it pleased the Apostles and elders, with the whole Church, to choose men from among them, and to send to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas, and Judas, who was surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, preeminent men among the brothers,
23 what was written by their own hands: "The Apostles and elders, brothers, to those who are at Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, brothers from the Gentiles, greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some, going out from among us, have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, to whom we gave no commandment,
25 it pleased us, being assembled as one, to choose men and to send them to you, with our most beloved Barnabas and Paul:
26 men who have handed over their lives on behalf of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves also will, with the spoken word, reaffirm to you the same things.
28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose no further burden upon you, other than these necessary things:
29 that you abstain from things immolated to idols, and from blood, and from what has been suffocated, and from fornication. You will do well to keep yourselves from these things. Farewell."
30 And so, having been dismissed, they went down to Antioch. And gathering the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.
31 And when they had read it, they were gladdened by this consolation.
32 But Judas and Silas, being also prophets themselves, consoled the brothers with many words, and they were strengthened.
33 Then, after spending some more time there, they were dismissed with peace, by the brothers, to those who had sent them.
34 But it seemed good to Silas to remain there. So Judas alone departed to Jerusalem.
35 And Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, with many others, teaching and evangelizing the Word of the Lord.
36 Then, after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return to visit the brothers throughout all the cities in which we have preached the Word of the Lord, to see how they are."
37 And Barnabas wanted to take John, who was surnamed Mark, with them also.
38 But Paul was saying that he ought not to be received, since he withdrew from them at Pamphylia, and he had not gone with them in the work.
39 And there occurred a dissension, to such an extent that they departed from one another. And Barnabas, indeed taking Mark, sailed to Cyprus.
40 Yet truly, Paul, choosing Silas, set out, being delivered by the brothers to the grace of God.
41 And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches, instructing them to keep the precepts of the Apostles and the elders.
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Acts 15
15
To Let Outsiders Inside
1-2It wasn’t long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: “If you’re not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can’t be saved.” Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem.
3After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the non-Jewish outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered—it was terrific news!
4-5When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. “You have to circumcise the pagan converts,” they said. “You must make them keep the Law of Moses.”
6-9The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.
10-11“So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?”
12-13a There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.
13b-18 James broke the silence. “Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets:
After this, I’m coming back;
I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house;
I’ll put all the pieces together again;
I’ll make it look like new
So outsiders who seek will find,
so they’ll have a place to come to,
All the pagan peoples
included in what I’m doing.
“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.
19-21“So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We’ll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.’ This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath.”
22-23Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with this letter:
From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Hello!
24-27We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn’t send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they’ve looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We’ve sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we’ve written.
28-29It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage.
These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!
Barnabas and Paul Go Their Separate Ways
30-33And so off they went to Antioch. On arrival, they gathered the church and read the letter. The people were greatly relieved and pleased. Judas and Silas, good preachers both of them, strengthened their new friends with many words of courage and hope. Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them.
35Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren’t alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.
36After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let’s see how they’re doing.”
37-41Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn’t have him; he wasn’t about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to put grit in those congregations.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.