The Birth of the Christian ChurchSample

Several years have passed since Peter visited with Cornelius, the centurion in Caesarea. Cornelius was the first Gentile to receive the Holy Spirit. The apostles’ ministry, especially that of Barnabas and Paul, had led to the salvation of many Gentiles and their inclusion in the local congregations.

Cornelius had been Jewish before becoming a Christian. Most of the later Gentile believers in Paul’s ministry came from pagan beliefs or no belief. As a result, they were uncircumcised believers. To those who came from a Jewish faith, that meant they had not chosen to be “set apart” as believers in God alone. They saw lack of circumcision as a lack of commitment. The new Gentile believers did not believe they needed to commit to the Jewish Law concerning circumcision. Acts 15 records one of the most significant moments in the early church as leaders in the faith met together to find a unified answer to a problem splitting the congregations and ruining the fellowship they had shared.

Through insolence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel. (Proverbs 13:10)