Acts 15:1-9 ▼

1 Then some men came down from Judea and started to teach the brothers, |Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you can't be saved.|

2 Paul and Barnabas had quite a dispute and argument with them. So Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.

3 They were sent on their way by the church, and as they were going through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers.

4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything that God had done through them.

5 But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, |The gentiles must be circumcised and ordered to keep the Law of Moses.|

6 So the apostles and the elders met to look into this claim.

7 After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and told them, |Brothers, you know that in the early days, God chose me to be the one among you through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe.

8 God, who knows everyone's heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.

9 He made no distinction between them and us, because of their faith-cleansed hearts.