What you have to do in order to be saved is the issue that had to be resolved following Paul's first missionary journey during which countless Gentiles came to faith in Christ. Along came some Jews who had professed to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but they said that you needed to be circumcised (convert to Judaism) and keep the law of Moses if you were to become a Christian.
When that bomb was dropped in the church in Antioch amidst the rejoicing over the Gentiles who had become Christians, it was referred immediately to Jerusalem.
Is salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, or is there something that must be added? Let's see what unfolded at this crucial meeting.
There were two versions of the problematic teaching. The ones who initially stirred up trouble in the places where Paul and Barnabas had been, and who came to Antioch, were saying that you had to become a Jew in order to become a Christian. That extreme position was that Jesus belonged to the Jews, so if you want any of what He offers, you must first become a Jew.
The milder version is attributed to some from among the Pharisees who had believed. The text doesn't say that they taught you had to go all that way to becoming a Jew before you could be saved, but they said that once you believed in Christ, you needed to also receive circumcision and keep the Jewish laws. That was less extreme, but it was still a corruption of the gospel.
1 - The Group Debates The Matter (6-7a) 2 - Peter Declares The Background (7b-11) 3 - Paul and Barnabas Detail Conversions (12) 4 - James Delivers The Sermon (13-21)
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Pastor, Heritage Bible Church in Boise, Idaho. Author, The Antioch Initiative training program for Russian Pastors through Slavic Gospel Association. Bible teacher on Heritage Bible Radio. Served as a pastor in California and Idaho since 1971. Taught Bible and Theology at The...
