August 16, 2026 – Controversy, Part 3— Acts #52
Acts. 15:1-21
For the past two weeks, we have been discussing the controversy in Acts 15 that arose a mere 12-15 years after Jesus ascended to heaven. Suddenly they had a new problem.
When Jesus came, some of the Jewish people recognized him as the Messiah their ancestors had prayed for over a thousand years. For them, following Jesus meant two major changes in the way they practiced their religion.
First, because Jesus’ sacrifice covered all sin for all time, there was no further need for temple sacrifices for those who accepted Jesus as their sacrifice. Barnabas tells us in Hebrews:
Hebrews 7:27 Jesus has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
So they no longer need to offer sin sacrifices on the Temple altar. Not only was Jesus’ sacrifice good once for all time, but it also covered sins that Temple sacrifices could never atone for. Temple culture revolved around these sacrifices. This is a huge change.
The second change concerned ritual purity. Because of ritual purity laws, there were times when you could not enter God’s presence. Ritual impurity, caused by childbirth or by coming into contact with leprosy, bodily discharges, or a dead body, would render people unfit to enter the Temple. For most young women, over 1/3 of the days of their life they were ineligible to be in God’s presence in the Temple due to ritual impurity.
But Jesus overcame this. Jesus touched the leper; he touched the dead body of Jairus’ daughter. And he did not become ritually unclean. Instead of the impurity contaminating Jesus, holiness went out from Him and cleansed the impurity before Him. The leper is healed, the dead are raised. Jesus said this:
Mark 7:14-15 “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
So these Jews who decided to follow Jesus had these two changes in their religious practice. The death and resurrection of Jesus overcame all moral uncleanness, and the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in the world overcame all ritual uncleanness. Other than these two changes, Paul, the disciples, and the other Jewish followers of Jesus continued in the practices of their Jewish faith as before. They had not formed a new religion, but were still practicing Jews who found their Messiah.
But in Acts 15, we have a new problem. What about these Gentiles that want to follow Jesus? Did they need to become Jewish to follow Jesus? So the laws of sacrifices for sin and for ritual impurity are over, but what about all the others? Did they need to be circumcized and follow all of the other Jewish laws? That is the reason for this meeting of the leaders of the Jesus followers in Jerusalem in the mid-40s AD. And we are spending a lot of time on this part of the book of Acts because it is not just important for these Gentiles but this chapter answers the two important questions for us.
1. What is required for salvation?
2. What is required after salvation?
And let’s deal with the first question first, because it’s one we absolutely must not get wrong. What is required for salvation? The question is not: What must I do to be saved? For we discussed how Jesus answered that question. Twice, first the expert in the law and then the rich ruler asked Jesus this question. And this is how the conversation went both times:
Rich Ruler and the Lawyer: “What must I do to be saved?”
Jesus: “Let’s talk about the commandments.”
Jesus brings up the commandments not to promote a works-based righteousness, but to show them how futile that is. He forces them to admit that they have not kept the commandments (the rich ruler by failing to share his wealth with the poor, and the lawyer by not treating his neighbor (including his enemy) as himself). Jesus shows them that salvation is not obtained by anything we do. It is all the work of God through the grace of God.
Paul explains this concept to the followers of Jesus in Ephesus. We read in Ephesians 2:8-10
Ephesians 2:8-10 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 …
I left out verse 10 here, but we will come back to that.
We accept God’s gift of salvation by accepting Jesus. We accept Jesus’ sacrifice for the atonement of our sins; we accept the gift of Jesus’ righteousness; and we accept Jesus as Lord. But some gifts come with a responsibility. If someone gifts you with a free puppy and you choose to accept it, then you accept the responsibility of caring for that puppy. And as my dad was recently reminded, the responsibility of caring for a puppy is hard work. If you choose to accept God’s gift of salvation, then you have the responsibility that goes with that gift. That is why Paul tells the people in Philippi this:
Philippians 2:12-13 …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Don’t misunderstand Paul. He says ‘work out’ your salvation, not ‘work for’ your salvation. We don’t work to earn it; we work because we have received it. Paul is saying we weren’t just saved from something; we were saved for something:
And it is God, through His Holy Spirit, working in us. Because when you choose to accept Jesus, He only comes one way. He comes as Lord and King or not at all. He doesn’t come to be your genie in a bottle that you can pray for 3 wishes whenever you need to. He comes as your King, and you agree to be his loyal, obedient servant. You choose to follow Jesus; you don’t choose for Him to follow you. So you go where Jesus goes.
I know this sounds simple, but many miss this theological point. And we can’t afford to let anyone misunderstand this. There are many people whose names are on church rolls who may believe that they are saved, but are going to be very surprised one day to find out they never were. I have seen estimates from well-known preachers and theologians that anywhere from 1/3 to 3/4 of people who believe they are saved have never really made the decision they needed to make. I don’t know the exact percentage, but I am very sure it is not a small number. Why? Because Jesus said so.
Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
On that day, ‘many will say’. Many. Jesus will send many away. This may be one of the saddest passages in the Bible. People who thought they had been saved, but never really had a relationship with Jesus, are cast away from God’s presence. We should pay attention, because this is a heaven or hell difference.
The heaven-or-hell difference is not saying “Lord, Lord”. Just saying it is not enough. Walking down an aisle is not enough. Confirmation classes, baptism, or joining a church are not enough either. But what is enough? Whom does Jesus say will get in?
“The one who does the will of my Father.” Notice, it is not just doing good things. Look, there are preachers, exorcists, and miracle workers in the group who are cast out. Doing good things will get you nowhere, but doing the will of the Father is what is required.
Imagine I am eating lunch with someone and I mention that I need to cut my grass, but my lawnmower is in the shop. So my friend says, “Hey, just bring your truck to my house, and you can pick up my mower to cut your grass.” I say, “Thanks, I really appreciate your kind offer, but I don’t know where you live.” “No problem,” he says. “Just follow me when we leave here.” So we finish lunch, both get in our trucks, exit the parking lot, and he turns right, headed to his house. But I look over and see a Dairy Queen on the left, so I turn the other way to get ice cream.
My friend is gifting me the use of his lawnmower. I agreed to accept the gift and follow him. But instead, I decide not to follow him and instead go to the Dairy Queen. As a result, I don’t get the gift. It sounds silly, but listen: this is how many people are when they decide to follow Jesus. They want the gift. They tell Jesus they will accept the gift. But they never follow Jesus. Jesus goes one way, and they go another way of their own choosing.
Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.”
Twenty times in the gospels, Jesus asks someone to follow him. That is what Jesus asked of his first disciples, and that is what he asks of us today. But following Jesus is not just an intellectual agreement. It is a commitment to go where Jesus goes.
These people that Jesus says are cast out did good things, but they did not do what God wanted them to do. When you choose to follow Jesus, you don’t just commit to do good things; you follow Jesus where he leads. You don’t just decide on your own what good things you want to do, stop following Jesus on His path, and make your own. If you are following Jesus, you aren’t just making it up as you go; you are taking only the steps He tells you to take.
Paul understood this so well. If you read about Paul’s missionary journeys, you see there were some things Paul wanted to do, some places he wanted to share the gospel, and they were all good things, but he didn’t go there or do that because that was not where the Holy Spirit led. And Paul wanted to follow. So now let’s go back to Ephesians 2 and let me show you the verse I left out.
Ephesians 2:8-10 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
In this passage, Paul summarizes the council’s decision in Acts 15 that we have been discussing. We are saved by grace, not by works (not by circumcision, not by baptism)… so that we can do the good works which God has created us to do. Verse 10 tells us that we were all individually created to do specific things. God planned it all out ahead of time. He gave us just the talent, knowledge, and ability to fit certain tasks. Why would we ever say, “Well, God, I know you have this particular assignment for me, and I know you designed me and put me in just the right place at the right time to do this task, but I think I would rather do something else.
But that is exactly what the preachers, exorcists, and miracle workers said back in Matthew 7, before Jesus refused them entry to the kingdom. And that is exactly what we are saying when we walk through life, making our own decisions as if we think we know best what our path should be, rather than following Jesus.
You can do good things, but God didn’t save us just to do good things. Look, God can do all the good things without you. He didn’t need me to buy lunch for that guy he led me to this week. God could have rained down fried chicken from heaven. He didn’t need me, but he wanted to partner with me. The work isn’t the goal. For God wants the relationship with us that comes from working together. Again, that is the whole story of the Bible: God pursuing a relationship with us. It is when we join God in a work that our relationship grows.
It is like one of you asking a 6-year-old grandchild to help you make cookies. Look, you can make the cookies yourself. You don’t really need their help. In fact, it will probably take longer and make a bigger mess if they help you. But you don’t really want the help; you want the relationship that grows from sharing the experience.
But say your grandchild says, “No thanks, but I will sweep the porch while you make the cookies.” Sweeping the porch is a good thing. But there is no working together, no growth in the relationship. What God wants is the relationship. That is why just doing any good thing doesn’t count.
So the council in Jerusalem concludes that these Gentiles do not have to be circumcised or become religious Jews to follow Jesus. But they did have requirements that we looked at last week. James says this:
Acts 15:19-21 “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
As we discussed last week, James lists four things that were all part of the festivities and rituals at the local pagan temples. These Gentiles, as part of their culture, regularly went to the festivals at the local pagan temples. So the council says, you can’t go there anymore. If you have decided to follow Jesus, guess where you will never end up? Jesus will never lead you to partake in idol worship or festivities. That won’t happen if you are following Jesus. So the council answers both questions: “What is required for salvation? Not circumcision. You do not have to become Jewish to follow Jesus.” And “what is required after salvation? First follow Jesus and then….”
James continues…
Acts 15:19-21 “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.
So stop participating in pagan temple activities. And then…read the scripture. Jesus’ followers are required to pay attention to scripture. The Bible tells us how to live. It gives us real-life stories about how to live in tune with God. How to repent when you fail. There are examples of what to do (like what Jesus does) and what not to do (Samson, for example). So read the book. This is what Paul tells Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:15-17 …from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Old Testament Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Of course, when Paul says “Holy Scriptures,” he is referring to what we call the Old Testament, for the New Testament doesn’t exist yet. So let me make this translation more like Timothy would have read it…
2 Timothy 3:15-17 …from infancy you have known the Old Testament Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Old Testament Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Notice that Paul says this Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. So you want to know how to walk in God’s path? Paul says to study the Word, and it will equip you for all those good works God has designed you to do. But wouldn’t it just have been easier if the council in Acts 15 had given these Gentiles a list of do’s and don’ts? Studying all those scrolls seems like a less efficient way to learn how to act and what to do. Wouldn’t it have been better if God just gave us a list? Why didn’t God just do it that way?
There are several reasons that we have just discussed. First of all, God desires a personal relationship with us. He wants to communicate with us constantly and consistently. He wants a relationship like that of a Father to a child, not like that of an employee reading an HR manual. Also, a checklist would not capture the part of the task that God considers most important: the motive for doing it. A checklist can be cold and distant. The whole story of the Bible is God seeking relationship with us. That is why he placed His Holy Spirit within us.
God gave us the Scriptures so we can check what we think we are hearing from Him against His character and the way He works. A check and balance.
Secondly, God doesn’t tell everyone the same thing. God knows all of us and deals with all of us individually. Remember that He created us all specifically to do certain good works that He has prepared for us in advance. Look at the gospels. Jesus often gave highly individualized instructions to specific people. Jesus only told one person to sell all he had and give it to the poor. He had many followers, but he only asked a few to give up their jobs and be full-time disciples. He didn’t tell everyone to go fishing and find money in a fish’s mouth. He has as many different tasks as there are different followers.
We all come to God the same way, as sinners who decide to follow Jesus. But Jesus leads us all to do different tasks. And since we are all individually following Jesus in different directions every day, there are bound to be disagreements among followers or groups of followers about how we follow. For example, God put a concern for the homeless on my heart and on Shirley’s heart. We have poured a lot of time into developing a ministry and gathering support for that ministry.
But not everyone we talk to decides to support that ministry. Some churches don’t want to be involved and some individuals who have the means don’t want to financially support it. And we had to understand that just because it is our passion, it is not everyone’s. There are so many good things God is leading people to do in our world. If everyone poured into our homeless ministry, then so many other things would be left undone. We are all called to serve in different areas.
And we all may worship God differently. There are many styles of worship and we need to understand that God leads people in different ways. And there may be differences in how we interpret certain scriptures. Paul and Barnabas had differences of opinion, so they went separate ways, but they both served the same God.
For example, there are some congregations following Jesus today that believe they still need to follow all of the Levitical laws and some that insist on circumcision for Jesus followers. Now, that is not the way I understand the Scriptures. But it is not my job to judge them. I think whenever we see people who are honestly trying to follow Jesus but doing things very differently than us, our first reaction to them should be one of grace. Different doesn’t necessarily mean evil. But it is evil for us to judge and condemn.
Even when people choose things I see as contrary to Scripture, I still think our proper response is grace. After all, how did God respond to me in my sin? God came to me with grace upon grace. Why can’t we respond to each other with that same grace? The early church leaders had the same problem: people thinking they had the right to judge, so you see these verses:
James 4:12 “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Romans 14:10 “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
The Bible is clear that it is not our responsibility to judge. This is a lesson our world desperately needs to learn. This is a lesson our organized churches desperately need to learn today. We need to put all of our energy into making sure we are following Jesus on our right path and let Him deal with others. This is our final lesson from Acts 15. There was disagreement about what God required, but it was a healthy disagreement. One group did not demonize the other group. There were so many ways that these new Gentile followers were behaving that the Jewish Jesus followers saw as against Scripture. They could have generated a very long list. But they did not attack them with what they considered the truth. They gave them grace. They gave them a starting point and then trusted God to lead them on the right path.
So let’s answer the Acts 15 council questions as they apply to us: “1. What is required for salvation? Accept the free gift of forgiveness as you accept Jesus as your lord and king.” “2. What is required after salvation? Stay away from idolatry (follow Jesus) and study the Scriptures.”
We must each develop our relationship with God and our ability to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit so that we can better follow Jesus step by step along the path he leads us. Each morning we should wake up and say. “Good morning, Jesus. Where are we going, and what are we going to do today?” This is how you follow Jesus. May we all follow well.
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