The Bible Course Muestra

Controversy, the Council, and the Conclusion – simply grace  

Reflect 

In the world of sport, ‘transfers’ happen all the time. In the Premier League, when a transfer completes a player’s allegiance changes. He has a new training ground, new kit colors, a new team culture to buy into and for foreign players, perhaps a new language to learn.  

Change can be disorientating and difficult. And it can be slower than we like. The gospel brings about a new normal – it’s our own transfer! We have a new team, a new purpose, and a new way to live – but let’s not downplay that sometimes gospel change can be harder and slower than we’d like.   

What was the issue facing the Church and why was it crucial for the Church to address it?  

Let’s not underestimate how big a change the gospel brought in the days of Acts.  

In the Old Testament, God commanded Israel to separate herself from the Gentiles, and circumcision was his way of doing that. In light of Jesus’ resurrection, Gentiles could now be considered members of the covenant people of God without keeping Jewish ritual laws. Some Jewish Christians were left struggling with this new normal – they were finding the transfer difficult! They could not get their heads around salvation by grace through faith. 

For them, the equation was Jesus + Jewish laws (especially circumcision) = salvation. 

But Paul was adamant that the equation was Jesus + anything = nothing. 

Instead, the equation was radically simple: Jesus = salvation 

Faith in Jesus is the single requirement. As Paul would later say to a prison jailer in Greece, ‘believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved’. This truth remains powerful today – to be saved does not require Jesus PLUS being born in a Christian country or giving to charity. It’s simply Jesus. 

So this is why a crisis meeting took place in Jerusalem. The council of Jerusalem wasn’t a debate on the fine print of the gospel. No – the entire essence of the gospel was at stake here!  

What implications are there from the council for our lives today?  

Peter joined Paul and Barnabas in showing how the story of the Old Testament was consistent with the ‘new normal’ of the gospel. God never intended for the Gentile believers to remain on the outside. He promised a tent so large it would reach all ends of the earth. God always intended good news to be for the nations.  

The council concluded it would not be right not to make it difficult or burden the believers unnecessarily (verse 28). Jesus is all that matters.  

Respond 

Consider: do we make things difficult for others to believe the good news today?