Acts 15:1-18
The Jerusalem conference is an important moment in the life of the Church. It is a defining moment. Do people have to join the church through Judaism, or is there another way? Is salvation through the circumcision of Moses alone or is there another way?
Fundamentally, the church and its leaders have to make a decision here. Do they make everyone who will come after them come the way they came, or is something else possible? Does everyone need to obey the Jewish laws, or has Christ done something different?
Notice that there is dissension, and there is discussion. A decision has to be made. How is it made? How do we make similar decisions? The ultimate decider is having seen God at work in the Holy Spirit among those people. If God is going to do work there, why wouldn’t God’s people? And that changes it all…
