 |  |
Acts 15: 1-35.
A | 1, 2. Antioch. The Question. Paul. Barnabas. Men of Judæa.
B | 3-5. Phenice, Samaria, Jerusalem. The Pharisees' demand.
C | 6-12. Apostles and Elders. Peter. Why put a yoke?
C | 13-21. Men and Brethren. James. Trouble not the Gentiles.
B | 22-29. Antioch, Syria, Cilicia. No such commandment.
A | 30-35. Antioch. The Answer. Paul. Barnabas. Judas and Silas.
The complete analysis of this passage would occupy considerably more than a full
page of this magazine, and we shall therefore only give the above skeleton outline, and
then fill in each section as it comes before us. Those who are keen students of the Word
will be more than compensated for their pains, if they will take the trouble to reproduce
the structure as a whole after the details have been set out.
The first member of the structure, in this epoch-making fight of faith, is comprised in
the first two verses:
"And certain men which came down from Judæa taught the brethren, and said, Except
ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul
and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that
Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles
and elders about this question" (Acts 15: 1, 2).
A | 1, 2.
Antioch. The Question. Paul, Barnabas, and the men of Judæa.
a |
Certain men come down from Jerusalem.
b
| Their teaching.
b
| The dissension.
a |
Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem.
The glorious doctrine of justification by faith apart from legal works of any kind, had
been the central feature of Paul's gospel on this wonderful journey through the cities of
Galatia.
"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that believe are JUSTIFIED from all
things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13: 38, 39).
After such a gospel had been preached it was obviously nothing less than diametric
opposition for anyone to say: "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye
cannot be saved." On such an issue compromise was utterly impossible, for essentials
were at stake. When it was a matter of conscience with regard to the keeping of certain
days, or of eating certain meats, Paul was most willing to meet the troubled believer more
than half-way, but to suggest that the glorious doctrine of justification by faith should be
dethroned from its place, and replaced by a legal ceremonial, was a call to arms that no
follower of the Lord could fail to answer without shame.
"Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them."--Apart
from the Acts, stasis, "dissension" occurs only in the Gospels and in the Epistle to the