Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders of the church there. Certain Jewish Christians had come from Jerusalem saying that the Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses (v.’s 1-5). As Jews they had been of the sect of the Pharisees but they did not correctly understand the gospel they had received and obeyed (Acts 2:37, 38, 41, 42).

They did not understand that Christ died for all mankind, and instituted a New Covenant that made the laws of the Old Covenant old or obsolete (Hebrews 7-10). Under the New Covenant all are saved alike, both Jew and Gentile and all alike are to live and worship under its law, the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2; John 12:48).

We have seen in previous lessons in this series that some Christians had lapsed back into the sin of greediness that had characterized their former lifestyle. In Acts 5, God struck a husband and wife dead for lying about their greedy act. In Acts 8, the apostle Peter rebuked a greedy Christian, telling him that he must repent and pray for forgiveness (vs. 22). These instances show that Christians can so sin as to be lost. The Jewish Christians of Acts 15 were trying to impose a law on the Gentiles that God had not made.

The sin of Acts 8 may have been committed because of a misunderstanding or because of being overcome by temptation. The sin of the Jewish Christians may have been due to a misunderstanding at this time, but later was seen as being otherwise. Multitudes of Christians of today have many misunderstanding about the gospel. That’s because we have a multitude of denominations and independent churches teaching and practicing so many different things than what is taught in the New Testament. Satan continues confusing the minds of many, in not only the vital teaching about salvation and the organization of the church as I wrote in the last lesson, but in many things.

An e-mail was received recently from a gentleman in Jasper County concerning the March-April issue of our mail out, the Alternative. In his views, what had been said concerning women and homosexuals in the denominational churches was “outright bigotry.” I replied asking him if he had read 1st Timothy 3 and Titus1 from which the remarks had been made. In closing, I asked if he would be willing to sit down with me with an open Bible and examine what it says. As of this writing, I have had no answer.

We would not have to journey to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles as Paul and Barnabas did. Paul through inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote what the Holy Spirit revealed concerning women in the church assuming authority over men and on homosexuality. We can read what he said, and believe or disbelieve it. God gives us that choice. But He also warns us of the consequences of failing to accept and follow His word.