November 23

Acts 15-16 (biblegateway.com)

Guarding the Gospel and Advancing the Mission

While scattered believers received practical instruction for living out genuine faith, the early church also faced a major doctrinal question about salvation and life in Christ, leading to a crucial gathering in Jerusalem and the continuation of missionary work for the sake of the gospel.

Acts 15–16 mark an important moment in the early church as leaders clarify the message of salvation and continue spreading the gospel into new regions. In Acts 15, a dispute arises when some from Judea insist that Gentile believers must follow the law of Moses and be circumcised to be saved. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas begin a new missionary journey. Paul chooses Timothy to join them, and the Spirit directs their steps, even closing certain doors while opening others.

Acts 15 — The Gospel Preserved and the Church Led by the Spirit

After completing their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch and reported how God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. The church rejoices, but rapid growth brings new challenges. Jewish and Gentile believers now worship side by side, yet centuries of tradition and cultural identity make this transition difficult. Many Jewish Christians still attend synagogue, observe the festivals, and honor the law, not to earn salvation, but because it shapes their history and way of life. Gentile believers, however, bring none of these customs with them. The question looming over the early church now comes to the forefront: Must Gentiles adopt the law of Moses to be fully included among God’s people? How the church answers will determine its future direction and whether it preserves or distorts the gospel.

Certain men from Judea come to Antioch, teaching that Gentiles must be circumcised to be saved (v. 1). Their teaching reflects a long-standing Jewish assumption: that entering the covenant people requires entering the covenant law. But their message contradicts the gospel Paul preached, and Paul and Barnabas oppose them sharply (v. 2). The church sends them to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and elders. The unity of the church depends on clarity, and the Lord has entrusted guidance to these recognized leaders.

Traveling through Phoenicia and Samaria, Paul and Barnabas report the conversion of the Gentiles, bringing great joy to believers there (v. 3). When they reach Jerusalem, the church, apostles, and elders welcome them warmly, and they recount all that God has done (v. 4). Yet some believers from the Pharisee party stand and insist that Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to keep the law (v. 5). Their concern is rooted in deeply ingrained identity markers, such as circumcision, dietary laws, and purity regulations, that shaped Jewish life under Roman rule. But imposing these requirements on Gentiles threatens the gospel’s foundation.

The apostles and elders gather to consider the matter (v. 6). After debate, Peter stands and reminds them that God chose him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and that God bore witness to their faith by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as to Jewish believers (v. 7–8). God made no distinction between them, cleansing their hearts by faith (v. 9). Peter asks why they would place a yoke on Gentile believers that neither their ancestors nor they were able to bear (v. 10). His conclusion is clear: Jew and Gentile alike are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus (v. 11). Salvation is not rooted in covenant law but in Christ’s finished work.

The assembly fell silent as they listened to Paul and Barnabas recount the signs and wonders God performed among the Gentiles (v. 12). God’s work confirms His acceptance of them apart from the law. James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, speaks next (v. 13). He affirms Peter’s testimony and grounds it in the prophets. Quoting Amos 9:11–12, he shows that God promised to restore David’s fallen tent so that the rest of mankind, including the Gentiles, would seek the Lord (v. 14–18). The prophets foresaw a future in which the nations would come to God through the Messiah, not through the Mosaic covenant.

James concludes that the Gentiles who are turning to God should not be burdened with the law (v. 19). Yet because Jewish and Gentile believers now share life together, he recommends that Gentiles abstain from practices deeply intertwined with idolatry and pagan worship, including food offered to idols, sexual immorality, meat from strangled animals, and blood (v. 20). These practices were common in Greco-Roman religious life. Avoiding them would preserve fellowship with Jewish believers whose consciences were shaped by Scripture and tradition (v. 21). The gospel frees believers from the law, but love calls them to lay down freedoms for the sake of unity.

The apostles, elders, and the whole church agree with this judgment (v. 22). They send Judas Barsabbas and Silas back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, along with a letter explaining their decision. The letter clarifies that those who troubled the Antioch believers were not sent by the apostles (v. 23–24). It affirms that the Holy Spirit and the leaders resolved not to impose the law on Gentile believers, but only to encourage practices necessary for fellowship (v. 25–29). The church safeguards the gospel and strengthens unity. When the delegation arrives in Antioch and reads the letter, the believers rejoice (v. 30–31). Judas and Silas strengthen the church further before returning to Jerusalem, while Paul and Barnabas remain in Antioch teaching and preaching the Word (v. 32–35). The gospel is preserved, and the church is united.

Later, Paul suggests revisiting the churches they had planted (v. 36). Barnabas wants to take John Mark, but Paul refuses because Mark had earlier withdrawn from the work (v. 37–38). The disagreement becomes sharp, and they part company. Barnabas takes Mark to Cyprus; Paul chooses Silas and departs, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord (v. 39–40). He travels through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (v. 41). Even in disagreement, the mission multiplies, showing that God advances His work through many servants.

Acts 15 marks a decisive moment in the life of the early church. The gospel is safeguarded against legalism, the unity of Jewish and Gentile believers is preserved, and the church learns to walk in grace while exercising wisdom in matters of fellowship. The chapter stands as a reminder that salvation rests on Christ alone, that the Spirit guides the church into truth, and that love willingly yields for the good of others.

Acts 16 — The Gospel Crosses to Europe, Hearts Are Opened, and Joy Springs from Suffering

After the Jerusalem Council clarifies that Gentiles are saved by grace through faith apart from the law, Paul begins his second missionary journey. He returns to the churches planted during the first journey to strengthen them and to pass along the decisions made in Jerusalem. The early church is spreading across regions influenced by Roman power and Greek culture, where Jewish and Gentile believers are learning to live together as one people in Christ. In this setting, Acts 16 shows how God directs His servants, opens hearts, and builds His church in new territory.

Paul comes to Derbe and Lystra and meets Timothy, a young disciple whose mother is a Jewish believer and whose father is Greek (v. 1). Timothy is well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, and Paul wants him to join the work (v. 2–3). Because Timothy is known to be the son of a Gentile father and will minister among Jews, Paul has him circumcised, not as a condition of salvation, but to remove unnecessary barriers to the gospel. The decisions of Acts 15 stand; this is an example of Christian freedom used in the service of mission. As they travel, they deliver the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, and the churches are strengthened in the faith and increase in number daily (v. 4–5).

Paul and his companions then move through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit prevents them from speaking the word in Asia (v. 6). When they try to enter Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus does not allow them (v. 7). The mission is not driven by human planning alone; the Lord Himself directs where and when the gospel is to be preached. Passing by Mysia, they come down to Troas (v. 8). There Paul has a vision in the night: a man of Macedonia stands and urges him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (v. 9). Luke notes that they conclude God has called them to preach the gospel there, and they immediately seek to go (v. 10). God leads His servants by closing some doors and opening others, guiding them into the places He has prepared.

Sailing from Troas, they reach Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia and a Roman colony (v. 11–12). Philippi reflects Roman civic life and loyalty to the empire. On the Sabbath, they go outside the city gate to a place of prayer, where women have gathered (v. 13). One of them is Lydia, a seller of purple goods from Thyatira, who worships God (v. 13). As she listens, the Lord opens her heart to pay attention to what Paul says (v. 14). Her response reflects the pattern of grace at work: God illumines the heart, and she responds in faith. She and her household are baptized, and she urges Paul and his companions to stay in her home (v. 15). Her hospitality becomes the first base of the church in Philippi.

As they continue going to the place of prayer, a slave girl with a spirit of divination meets them and follows them, crying that they are servants of the Most High God, proclaiming the way of salvation (v. 16–17). Though her words are true, the source is unclean, and her cries threaten to distort the witness of the gospel. After many days, Paul, greatly troubled, commands the spirit in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her, and it leaves her (v. 18). Her owners, seeing that their hope of profit is gone, seize Paul and Silas and drag them into the marketplace before the authorities (v. 19). They accuse them of disturbing the city and advocating customs unlawful for Romans to accept or practice (v. 20–21). The crowd joins in the attack, the magistrates have their garments torn off, and Paul and Silas are beaten with rods and thrown into prison, with their feet fastened in stocks in the inner cell (v. 22–24). Faithful obedience leads not to ease but to suffering, yet God’s purpose has not failed.

Around midnight, Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners are listening (v. 25). Their worship in the darkness becomes a testimony. Suddenly a great earthquake shakes the prison, the doors open, and everyone’s bonds are unfastened (v. 26). The jailer wakes, sees the doors open, and prepares to kill himself, assuming the prisoners have escaped (v. 27). Paul calls out, telling him not to harm himself, for all are still there (v. 28). Trembling, the jailer falls before Paul and Silas and brings them out, asking, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 29–30). They answer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (v. 31). They then speak the word of the Lord to him and to all who are in his house (v. 32). He washes their wounds, and he and his household are baptized at once; he brings them into his house, sets food before them, and rejoices that he has believed in God with his whole household (v. 33–34). The Lord uses both the suffering and the deliverance of His servants as instruments to bring salvation.

When day comes, the magistrates send officers with orders to release Paul and Silas (v. 35). Paul refuses to slip away quietly. He insists that the magistrates themselves come, because they have beaten and imprisoned Roman citizens without a trial (v. 36–37). His insistence is not personal revenge but a wise protection for the young church, establishing that believers are not lawless troublemakers but entitled to lawful treatment. When the magistrates hear that Paul and Silas are Roman citizens, they are afraid. They come and apologize, bring them out, and ask them to leave the city (v. 38–39). Paul and Silas go to Lydia’s house, see the brothers, and encourage them before departing (v. 40). A church now stands in Philippi, formed through God’s guidance, hospitality, deliverance, and perseverance under pressure.

Acts 16 shows the gospel moving into new territory under the Lord's clear direction. God guides His servants, prepares hearts like Lydia’s and the jailer’s, and uses both opposition and deliverance to build His church. The chapter underscores that Christian mission is Spirit-led, that faithfulness may involve suffering, and that God’s grace reaches all kinds of people, from a businesswoman to a slave girl to a Roman jailer, forming them into one body in Christ.

Conclusion

Acts 15–16 highlight both the protection and the advancement of the gospel. The Jerusalem Council confirms that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, not by human effort or law-keeping. This truth guards the heart of the gospel for every generation. As Paul, Silas, and Timothy continue the mission, we see God guiding their steps, opening hearts, overcoming opposition, and transforming lives through His power.

For believers today, these chapters remind us to stand firm on the truth of the gospel, stay sensitive to the Spirit’s leading, and remain faithful even in trials. God is still calling His people to share Christ with others, and He works through ordinary obedience, prayer, and perseverance. The same grace that saved the early believers empowers us to live and proclaim the gospel with boldness, clarity, and joy.