4. READ: ACTS 15:1-6 AND ACTS 15:22-23
[Acts 15:1] "Some men came down from Judea to Antioch
and were teaching the brothers: 'Unless you are circumcised,
according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be
saved.' [2] This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute
and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along
with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the
apostles and elders about this question. [3] The church sent them
on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria,
they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all
the brothers very glad. [4] When they came to Jerusalem, they were
welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they
reported everything God had done through them.
[5] "Then some of the believers who belonged to the
party of the Pharisees stood up and said, 'The Gentiles must
be circumcised and required to obey the law of
Moses.'
[6] "The apostles and elders met to consider this
question."
[Acts 15:22] "Then the apostles and elders, with the
whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them
to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called
Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.
[23] With them they sent the following letter:
"The apostles and elders, your brothers,
"To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and
Cilicia:
"Greetings."
