Having returned to the church in Antioch following a long and eventful ministerial journey, Paul and Barnabus have rehearsed everything God had done through them during their first ministry trip. For those attending the meeting, one thing stood out above all else: the conversion of Gentiles.

Verses one through six: This passage has been used by Satan for over 1700 years to convince earnest but misinformed God-seekers that “the Law was nailed to the cross.” And as is often the case, in this instance the Great Deceiver uses a small, seemingly innocuous word to accomplish his deadly work. Recall that in the Garden of Eden he used a three-letter word–“not”–to deceive Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit in order to bring sin into the world. God had told them that they would die if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan told them that they would “not” die for doing so. The rest is history. In the Book of Acts we find him using the word “and” to turn salvation seekers from God’s narrow path and onto his (Satan’s) broad path that has been trodden smooth over the centuries by the Institutional Church (Mat. 7:13,14). Let us see how the devil has used the word “and” to convince many generations of church people to rebel against the Lord. Serious Bible students know that Middle Eastern people routinely said and wrote the same thing twice in the same sentence, using different words and separating the statements by the word “and.” The Bible is rife with such examples. Acts 15:5 is one such example. But unlike other instances, this “and” has life and death implications as the honest reader will agree.

There were in Antiock Jews from Judea who contended that in order for Gentiles to be converted they had to be circumcised “AND” keep the law of Moses. As will be shown, the devil would use the word “and” very effectively in separating God seekers from the very God they seek. This combined with the belief that they are already saved and therefore have no need to “study to show thyself approved of God” (2 Tim. 2:15), nor to “prove all things” relative to spiritual Truth (1 Thes. 5:21) have given rise to much deadly error within Catholicism/Protestantism. Having been convinced by the Great Deceiver to rely on their leaders for truth and to reject anything not emanating from the pulpits of their particular sect, church people have been deceived into worshiping a false god (Tammuz) and believing in a false salvation based on heathen doctrines and customs. See the Introduction to this website. Realizing the importance of the circumcision question, the apostles and elders debated it at length.

Verses seven through twelve: First, Peter related how Gentiles had come to THE faith through his preaching of the gospel, noting that the Old Testament prophets had prophesied of their conversion. As is often the case in the Bible, the apostles and prophets were very adept at teaching several Truths at a time. A careful reading of Peter’s discourse (vs 9,11) reveals that he teaches Truth seekers two additional facts: 1) that the Word of God purifies those who embrace and believe it and, 2) that salvation will be awarded in the future, not in the present. The Word/purification connection is stated plainly in verse 9 and needs no further comment. Verse 11 reveals the truth about the timing of salvation by stating: “‘But WE (apostles and disciples) believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ WE SHALL BE (in the future) saved even as they (Gentiles).'” See Hope and Salvation to learn how vital these two Truths are to those who seek eternal life.

Following Peter’s discourse those in attendance grew silent and listened as Paul and Barnabus related how the Lord had moved among the Gentiles with signs, wonders and miracles. L.J.