Acts 15-16

In the introduction to this study, there was a chart that showed a big tree. At the top of the trunk there were a few small branches that began to grow, but then they all merged together in a giant clot. In this section we examine the clot. A great controversy broke out in the city of Antioch. The Jewish Christians were having a very difficult time accepting the fact that uncircumcised Gentiles were being welcomed into the family of God with no regard for the Law of Moses. These “concerned citizens” took matters into their own hands and began teaching the Antiochians that they must be circumcised in order to be “truly saved.” This controversy forced the convening of the first church council. The council was the clot. The decision of this council allowed absolute freedom for the church to spread open its branches for the whole world to see.

In the wake of this liberation, Paul sets out on his second missionary journey and discovers that God invites him into adventures that were not at all part of Paul’s original agenda. Being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, Paul ventures north and crosses over into Alexander the Great’s old romping ground: Macedonia.

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