In our previous message we examined the heretical rabbinic teaching embraced by the early church that Gentiles had no souls and were not worthy of salvation. In this message we are going to study the last shackle of Judaism.

The persecution of the church by the renegade Jewish leadership scattered most of the Christian Jews in Jerusalem and a large group settled in the Syrian city of Antioch. Barnabas was sent by the apostolic leadership to ensure the local leadership was being faithful to the teachings of Jesus.

Once he established that the church was fine, Barnabas ventured into Cilicia, seeking Saul of Tarsus, who had moved back to his home city after being threatened with death in Jerusalem. They connected and Barnabas brought him to Antioch where the duo became a great evangelistic team. Many Gentiles heard the Gospel and were added to the local church.

When the news reached Jerusalem that Gentiles had been saved in Antioch, Pharisees who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah got stirred up and sent a delegation north and a wild debate broke out when they insisted that Gentile males coming to Christ must be circumcised in order to be saved.

To settle this issue, Barnabas and Paul were sent to Jerusalem to hash it out with the apostolic leadership, leading to an even fiercer debate. Peter spoke about witnessing the Gentiles being saved without circumcision, and James, the half-brother of Jesus, chimed in with a proposed doctrine for the Christians who were not Jews. The apostles drafted a letter and a delegation, which included Paul and Barnabus, which was sent to Antioch with their council’s answer.

This event took place around AD 41, some eight years after the resurrection of Jesus when none of the Gospels had been written. All the apostles believed the second coming of Jesus was imminent and they were not planning for the future. Their goal was to evangelize, live for Jesus, and wait for the Son of God to return and set up the Kingdom of Israel.

None of the Jesus’ teachings were included in the doctrine of James. Aside from salvation, it was like the teachings of the God-man were not important. They focused solely on getting people saved and hanging on until Jesus returned. It was not until the four Gospels were penned that the early church began to seriously examine what Jesus wanted of His disciples.

Print out the sermon outline and let's examine the Scriptures together Sunday morning at 9:00 AM PST.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor John S. Torell