Acts 15: what is necessary to be saved?

After many gentiles have believed in Jesus, Christian-Jews were saying that they should be circumcised in order to be saved. If I were living at that moment, I think that  would want to be circumcised due to the way I treat my health. When I don´t know exactly what to do in order to get something, I am careful -  so in order to have more assurance, I would agree on being circumcised. But, according to Paul, it would be an error. This kind of thought shows lack of trust that the blood of Christ is enough for me to be ok with the Lord.
However, I suppose that things are quite more complex.
James, the brother of Jesus, said:

19-21 “So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We’ll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.’ This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath.”

A Christian is one who belongs to Christ, who loves the Lord and loves other human beings. In doing so, his own body belongs to the Lord and he is to be in harmony with others. James was looking to how the Lord made a covenant with all the humanity and set it to all non Jews.

Acts 14: Lystra

In the first mission trip, Paul and Barnabas went to Lystra. They healed a cripled man from birth. The crowd was amazed and saw Paul and Barnabas as gods (Hermes/Paul and Zeus/Barnabas) due to the legend of Philemon and Baucis. In this legend, the two gods (Hermes,Zeus) came tot earth disguised as mortal men to test human hospitality. An elderly couple (Philemon and Baucis) welcomed them, so they were rewarded with a gold temple while the wicked city was destroyed by a flood. When the city saw the healed men, they associated Paul and Barnabas with these two gods and they were about to worship them but Paul and Barnabas forbade them to do so. They gave them this message:

15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 In past generations He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; 17 yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 And even by saying these things, only with difficulty did they restrain the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

These "useless things" (ματαίων) refers to Hermes and Zeus. Thus, this message was somehow offensive too. They correctly refused to be praised and they also showed that their believes were wrong. Besides, the influence of their opponents made the crowd stone Paul.
It is very likely that Timothy from Lystra saw this, but not only that. After some time, Paul and Barnabas came back (return from the 1st mission trip) to organize the believers in a stronger community. 

Acts 13: the first mission trip

The church in Antioch was gathering different kinds of people: Barnabas - a levite Jews, Simon from Africa and Manaen who was raised together (syntrophos) with Herod Antipas (he should be rich). For outsiders, they were the Cristianos - people of Christ. They were strangely together because of Christ, that's why they called some attention from outsiders. The Holy Spirit spoke to send Saul and Barnabas to a mission. 
In Paphos they were requested by the proconsul Sergius Paulus because he wanted to analyze the gospel. Why? Perhaps, due to some disagreements when Saul and Barnabas preached there. The proconsul was assisted by a magician called Bar Jesus  who was against the gospel and was disturbing when Barnabas and Saul was preaching to the proconsul. Saul said:

9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not stop making crooked the straight ways of the Lord? 11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. 

This event led the proconsul to believe in the gospel. Perhaps, Saul (Jewish name) began to use the name Paul (Roman name) as a way to be associated to Sergius Paulus .

The family of Sergius Paulus  was very influential in Pisidian Antioch. They went there (perhaps to a recommendation from the proconsul). There, Paul preaches:

MSG: 36-39 “David, of course, having completed the work God set out for him, has been in the grave, dust and ashes, a long time now. But the One God raised up—no dust and ashes for him! I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.

Paul says in the synagogue that Jesus is the One to make us whole before God, and this can't be accomplished by the Mosaic Law. Thus, imagine the reaction of this message among the Jews!

Acts 12: the Lord is sovereign

In Acts 12, James (John's brother and very close to Jesus) was killed by Herod. As he was praised by the Jewish leaders for this, he went to kill Peter; however, Peter was miraculously set free from the jail. Therefore, the Lord can save whoever He wants. The Lord let Herod live and kill James, but the Lord made Herod die when he was boasting about being like a god.

Atcs 11: μετάνοιαν (metanoian)

Peter is questioned by other Jews how has he stayed with uncircumcised gentiles. He explains how the Lord conduct him to the gentiles. There, Peter saw the Holy Spirit moving in the gentiles.


In Acts 11:18 we read:

18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

Repentance is the translation from μετάνοιαν which means "change of mind" or in Christian terms, "conversion".
So the gentiles received from the Lord, the "change of mind" that leads to ζωὴν (zōēn)/life implying that they were dead.

Acts 10: Peter announces the kerygma to a gentile

 Acts 10: Peter announces the kerygma to a gentile

The Kerygma is what is announced, the good news. The Lord commands Peter to announce the Kerygma to a gentile that knew the Old Testament. He said:

37-38 “You know the story of what happened in Judea. It began in Galilee after John preached a total life-change. Then Jesus arrived from Nazareth, anointed by God with the Holy Spirit, ready for action. He went through the country helping people and healing everyone who was beaten down by the Devil. He was able to do all this because God was with him.

39-43 “And we saw it, saw it all, everything he did in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem where they killed him, hung him from a cross. But in three days God had him up, alive, and out where he could be seen. Not everyone saw him—he wasn’t put on public display. Witnesses had been carefully handpicked by God beforehand—us! We were the ones, there to eat and drink with him after he came back from the dead. He commissioned us to announce this in public, to bear solemn witness that he is in fact the One whom God destined as Judge of the living and dead. But we’re not alone in this. Our witness that he is the means to forgiveness of sins is backed up by the witness of all the prophets.”

The Kerygma contains:
. the promises of the Old Testament are being fulfilled in Jesus.
. Jesus was anointed by water and by the Holy Spirit; He showed the power of the Kingdom of God through signs.
. Jesus was crucified.
. Jesus was resurrected by the Lord.
. Jesus is destined as Judge of the living and dead.
. Jesus commissioned the gospel to his disciples.
. Jesus is the means to forgiveness of sins.

Acts 9: Saul is chosen by the Lord

Saul was persecuting the Church. He was going to Damascus,

4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

He became blind until he met Ananias who was called by Jesus to help Saul:

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he/Saul is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.”


Jesus said that Saul is a σκευος εκλογης (skeuos eklogēs) ; a chosen vessel (instrument). Indeed, Saul did not attend any altar call to become a Christian and we don´t know of any baptism by the Spirit that made Saul talk in languages, however it is very clear that Saul was a persecutor of Jesus and became persecuted for Jesus.