Ep 420 – Acts 15:1-11

Internal conflict. It can happen in a marriage, a business, a home, or even in a church. And it seemed to be a regular presence in the growing body of Christ during the first century. As if all the external opposition wasn't enough, the new church found itself dealing with an intense and potentially divisive debate over the heart and soul of the apostles' ministry given to them by Jesus: The gospel. As the news regarding Jesus' offer of salvation began to spread outside the borders of Judea and Judaism, it raised some critical concerns among those who had been the first to accept the gospel message: The Jews. If you recall, the 120 individuals who had been in the upper room on the day of Pentecost had all been Jews. They had also been believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus had restricted His ministry to the land of the Jews. He never ventured outside of Judea. And, for the most part, his audiences were made up primarily of Jews. He did have interactions with non-Jews such as the Samaritan woman, but they were rare. But with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the message of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone had begun to spread, with the result being the conversion of more and more Gentiles. And this is where the conflict arose. Some of the more hard-core Jewish Christians were of the strong opinion that the conversions of the Gentiles were incomplete or invalid unless they converted to Judaism first. But Paul would have nothing to do with it and he would do everything in his power to stand against it.