Question 1

What problem started the meeting in Jerusalem in this passage?

Accepted Answer

The trouble began when some men from Judea came to the church in Antioch and taught that Gentile believers had to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses or they could not be saved. This teaching upset the believers and clashed with what Paul and Barnabas had preached about salvation by grace through faith. Because the disagreement was serious and touched the heart of the gospel, the church sent Paul, Barnabas, and others to Jerusalem so the apostles and elders could settle the matter together.

Question 2

What does it mean that God put no difference between Jews and Gentiles?

Accepted Answer

Peter explains that God gave the Holy Spirit to Gentile believers just as he did to Jewish believers. God “put no difference” between them, meaning he did not treat one group as higher or closer to salvation than the other. Both were accepted on the same ground: their hearts were purified by faith, not by keeping the law. This shows that in God’s sight, salvation does not rest on birth, customs, or religious rituals, but on trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Question 3

Why does Peter call the law a yoke that no one was able to bear?

Accepted Answer

Peter says that putting the law of Moses on Gentile believers would be like placing a heavy yoke on their necks, a burden that neither the ancestors nor the apostles themselves had been able to carry. He is not saying the law was evil, but that no one has ever kept it perfectly enough to be saved by it. If salvation depended on full obedience to the law, everyone would fail. That is why he insists that both Jews and Gentiles are saved only by the grace of the Lord Jesus.

Question 4

Why did the apostles ask Gentile believers to avoid idols, blood, and fornication?

Accepted Answer

The apostles and elders agreed not to load Gentile believers with the whole law of Moses, but they did ask them to avoid food linked with idol worship, meat with blood, things strangled, and sexual immorality. These things were especially offensive to Jewish believers and were closely tied to pagan worship. By avoiding them, Gentile Christians would show they had turned from idols and would help peace and fellowship with Jewish Christians. These were not extra ways to earn salvation, but wise guidelines for unity.

Question 5

What does the phrase “it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us” tell us?

Accepted Answer

When the leaders write, “it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us,” they are saying that their decision was not just a human compromise. They had listened to the accounts of God’s work, remembered earlier events, weighed the Scriptures, and sought God in honest discussion. In all this, they believed the Holy Spirit was guiding them. This shows that when the church gathers humbly around God’s word to settle hard questions, it should look for the Spirit’s leading, not just human opinion.

Question 6

Why did Paul and Barnabas separate over John Mark at the end of this passage?

Accepted Answer

Later in the passage, Paul suggests visiting the churches they had started. Barnabas wants to take John Mark, but Paul refuses because Mark had left them earlier and had not continued in the work. Their disagreement becomes so sharp that they part company: Barnabas takes Mark to Cyprus, and Paul chooses Silas and goes through Syria and Cilicia. This shows that even faithful servants can clash. Yet God still uses both teams to strengthen more churches, turning a sad split into wider gospel work.

Question 7

How does this passage show that salvation is by grace and not by the law?

Accepted Answer

The whole meeting in Jerusalem turns on this question. Some believers from the Pharisee group insisted that Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. Peter answers that God already gave the Spirit to uncircumcised Gentiles and purified their hearts by faith. He says they believe that “through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved.” The final letter lays no saving burden of the law on Gentiles, showing that salvation rests on grace through faith, not on law-keeping.

Question 8

Why were the churches glad when they read the letter from Jerusalem?

Accepted Answer

When the believers in Antioch gathered and heard the letter, they rejoiced. The message brought comfort because it cleared their troubled consciences. They learned that they did not have to be circumcised or keep the whole law of Moses to belong to God. At the same time, the letter gave simple, practical instructions so they could walk in love toward Jewish believers. This mix of clear teaching about grace and kind guidance for daily life brought peace and joy to a church shaken by confusion.

Acts 15:1

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

The Dispute over Circumcision

The Council at Jerusalem

The Letter to the Gentile Believers

The Believers at Antioch Rejoice

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Begins

The Dispute over Circumcision

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Acts 15:1

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

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The Dispute over Circumcision

The Council at Jerusalem

The Letter to the Gentile Believers

The Believers at Antioch Rejoice

Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Begins

The Dispute over Circumcision

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