And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (2) Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. …….(22) Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. (23) They wrote this letter by them: ‘The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. (24) Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” – to whom we gave no such commandment – (25) it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, (26)men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (27) We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. (28) For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; (29) that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

The Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke as a history of the early church. In our verses today we read of the first council of that church and the issue is the doctrine of salvation. (The same issue was addressed by the Catholic Church in the Council of Trent in the 16th century with a different outcome as doctrinal for Catholics.). The Jerusalem Council was held in the apostolic age and it is important to note that the eyewitnesses to the life and teaching of Christ Jesus were at that council, which was the first major defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The question considered was: is salvation by Jesus Christ and works and rituals – baptism, through the church or religious affiliation, through the sacraments – OR by the free and unmerited Grace frim God through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

False teachers had followed the apostle Paul to Antioch and were saying that unless Gentiles became Jews they cannot be saved. Paul preached that the believer in our Lord Jesus Christ lives in a sense of grace – justified through no merit on his/her part; justified on the grounds of the finished work of Christ, PLUS NOTHING ELSE. Legalistic minds thought it too good to be true that man can be saved by Grace alone and attempted to add something to the gospel. The question of salvation without the Law had been raised and now was to be considered and the Jerusalem Council ruled that Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel preached by Paul. There was no compromise on the doctrine of salvation.

The Catholic Church has not moved from statements made from the Council of Trent which condemned the doctrine of justification by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ Jesus alone. (This was their answer to Martin Luther.) Our verses today note that Paul and Barnabas didn’t answer the legalizers with ecumenical dialogue but with no small dissension and dispute as this was and is a question that undermines the gospel itself. The issue at Trent was still the doctrine of salvation by Gods grace alone – meaning undeserving favor; if we deserve it it’s not grace – not from any good works, personal merit, or religious activities on our part. We are all sinners and all need to be justified through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The Law was never meant to – nor was it able to – save sinners but to show their need for Gods grace. Faith in Christ Jesus is not the BEGINNING of the process; saving faith is the END of the process. Nothing needs to be added. Salvation is not Jesus AND.