Exploring the Book of Acts: Missional CommunitySýnishorn

Seeking Discernment

In the years following the Gentile Pentecost (Acts 10), the church spread far beyond the confines of Jerusalem and Judea. Eventually, a strong multi-ethnic church was established at Antioch in Syria, which became the sending base for Paul and Barnabas in their missionary activities to the west. However, the joy of their successful evangelism and church planting was soon dampened by a faction of Jewish believers who travelled to Antioch to insist that the Gentile believers were not saved because they had not been circumcised. This controversy required careful discernment by the apostles and elders.

Read Acts 15:1-31 and then consider:

1. Why did some of the Jewish Christians insist that the Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses? What did their opinion reveal about their understanding of God’s mission? What did it reveal about their understanding of Jesus?
2. What was at stake in this debate? How might the growth and spread of the church in the following centuries have been different if this issue was not addressed well?
3. Peter clearly states that God makes no distinction between people (Acts 15:9). Anyone may have their heart cleansed by faith, be saved, and receive the Holy Spirit through the grace of the Lord Jesus. In your context, what traditions or perspectives add additional ‘requirements’ to salvation? How can you uphold the truth of the gospel?
4. Outline the process of corporate spiritual discernment by which the disagreement was solved. What role did insight from the Scriptures play? What role did the Holy Spirit play?
5. At the Jerusalem Council, the church’s leadership sought to understand God’s will and to maintain unity as the church grew beyond its Jewish roots. How did their discernment process reinforce their dual commitment to mission and community?