Acts 15:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

NIV: He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

NASB: and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

CSB: He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

NLT: He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith.

KJV: And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

NKJV: and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Despite Jesus' frustrating encounters with the Pharisees during His ministry, they held many accurate beliefs and practices. The following are points on which other sects, such as the Sadducees, were in error. Pharisees emphasized holiness and righteousness (Matthew 5:20). They interacted with the public on an individual basis. They believed in the resurrection of the dead. And they taught the importance of right living before God.

The great divide between Pharisees and truth was loyalty to the oral, uninspired law, and an attempt to earn God's blessing through legalism and good behavior. The oral law added restrictions—a legalistic hedge—around the written Mosaic law (Mark 7:5–8). Jesus insisted that doing more than what God had commanded was too great a burden to carry. Not only were Pharisaic laws impossible to follow, neither did they bring the follower any closer to God (Matthew 23:1–4).

Despite some antagonistic encounters (Mark 2:15—3:6), not every Pharisee or religious leader was entirely opposed to Jesus' teaching (John 3:1; 7:50–52; 19:38). In fact, many Pharisees and traditional priests come to a saving relationship with Jesus after the ascension (Acts 1:6–11; 6:7). Unfortunately, they bring along their legalism. This leads them to insist Gentiles must be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law before they can be Christ-followers. Paul knows their motivation has nothing to do with salvation. God saves by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8–9). The Pharisees are more concerned about losing their favored place among the non-Christian Jews, especially their fellow Pharisees (Matthew 23:5–7; Galatians 6:12–13). To save the Gentile believers from legalistic nonsense, Paul and Barnabas have brought the issue before the church leadership in Jerusalem for a formal ruling (Acts 15:1–8).

Peter agrees with Paul and Barnabas and gives testimony that affirms their view. Years before, he had enjoyed the honor of watching the Holy Spirit fall on a group of Gentiles. Those people had known of the Jewish God but had not followed the Mosaic law, nor been circumcised. There was no distinction—they had the same experience as Peter and the original Jesus-followers on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4; 10:44–46). Jesus cleansed their hearts, forgiving their sins (Acts 10:43). Everyone who is saved—Jew or Gentile—is saved through grace (Acts 15:11).

Acts 15:6–11 is Peter's address to a council, gathered to determine if Gentile Jesus-followers must convert to Judaism. Jewish Jesus-followers who still identify as Pharisees claim Gentiles must be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law (Acts 15:5). Those who have evangelized Gentiles, like Paul and Barnabas, disagree (Acts 15:2). Now Peter, who was first to watch the Holy Spirit fall on un-baptized, un-circumcised Gentiles (Acts 10:44), says his piece: Gentiles and Jews are saved through grace, not works.

Paul and Barnabas are in Syrian Antioch, home from their first missionary journey. Legalistic Christians from Jerusalem arrive and insist Gentiles must convert to Judaism. When negotiations fail, a delegation travels to Jerusalem to request clarification from Jesus' closest students. The leadership in Jerusalem agree with Paul and Barnabas. They write a letter that Gentiles should only make concessions, mostly dietary, which will ensure unity with the Jews in their congregation. After delivering the letter to Antioch, Paul takes Silas and Barnabas takes John Mark to share the letter to other churches they have planted.

Acts chapter 15 resembles Acts 11:1–18, where Peter testified before the leadership of the church in Jerusalem. His subject was how the Holy Spirit had fallen on uncircumcised and unbaptized Gentiles. Here Paul and Barnabas also testify that Gentiles are coming to faith in Jesus without being circumcised. The issue the leadership must decide is the extent Gentiles must be responsible to follow the Mosaic law. Their decision is that the Law is in no way required to be saved, but Gentiles should graciously make concessions so their Jewish brothers and sisters feel free to live in community. This forms a partial background to the rest of Paul's missionary journeys as explained in Acts.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.