"He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith." Acts 15:9
Purity begins with dedicated hearts, hearts that maintain a humble commitment to honor God at all times. It compels believers to make the heavenly Father’s standard the only standard that is satisfactory. It drives us to abstain from the corruption that disobedience ushers in. It invites us to hold fast to our Maker and exhibit an untainted, spotless spirit. It acknowledges God’s holy virtues and accepts His ways as right and good.
When I was a freshman in college, I was hired into a part-time job working for the United States (U.S.) Customs Aviation Center in Oklahoma City. I started this vocation excited at the prospect of earning a paycheck, as well as contributing something meaningful to a profession as diverse and interesting as drug trafficking prevention. But unfortunately that aspiration was never fully realized for my position was administratively-focused. My daily responsibilities typically consisted of making photocopies of files, binding notebooks, and watching training videos. For security and safety reasons, I was not allowed to be exposed to critical information related to ongoing crime interdiction cases.
Although the workload I had was not what most would consider enviable, there was one function that continually fascinated me: taking the U.S. Customs undercover vehicles to be cleaned at an automotive detail shop. It was remarkable to see how filthy the cars were as a result of deployments in the field. Massive chunks of dirt were often lodged under the wheel wells and splattered across the door panels. A barrage of grime blanketed the automobiles and tarnished the paint color. It seemed as though no amount of rinsing or buffing would ever be able to remove the soot that enveloped the vehicles. But incredibly, the cars went into the automative detail shop grimy and came out glowing. The transformation was incredible. Somehow after a sanitizing application the automobiles possessed a showroom glimmer.
In a way, the aforementioned external purification bears a striking resemblance to the internal cleansing humanity enjoys through Christ’s redemptive work at Calvary. We gaze upon the Savior’s cross with filthy hearts, hearts stained by wickedness and the ugliness it exposes. Defiance and rebellion immerse us in a profound sense of shame and leave us spiritually unclean. But when we receive the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the penalty of even the darkest transgression is purged. We enter the Savior’s presence defiled, but exit purified. The disgrace associated with our transgressions is gone. All that remains is the holy glow of God’s light. Such is the mysteriously wonderful power of God’s purifying grace.
Purity has many positive attributes. It breaks down the barrier that sin erects, thereby granting mankind the opportunity to establish a life-altering relationship with God and walk in fellowship with Him. It offers us continual conviction to uphold God’s high moral standards. It yields encouragement and the impetus to exercise godly disciplines. It gives us the means to approach each day in humility and gratitude, understanding that God’s compassion is the sole reason we can encounter reformation, as well as an everlasting residency in heaven. Although purity is the aim at both the personal and corporate level so often we miss God’s mark. Churches are no exception. As great as the first century Christian assembly was, it was not above controversy. It was not above men attempting to mislead impressionable minds. Humanity has always had a lust for power and will find avenues to grasp it. And thus Acts 15 opens with a dispute that arose in Antioch, an incident that sent shockwaves throughout the Christian community.
Some men from Judea traveled to Antioch and began teaching the male Gentile disciples that unless they were circumcised they would not be saved. At first glance, it might appear that the Judean men were unbelievers plotting to undermine the Christian movement, but the apostles and elders in Jerusalem later wrote to the Antioch believers that the Judean teachers were from among them (Acts 15:24). But the apostles and elders went on to proclaim that the instruction regarding redemption’s dependence upon circumcision was not introduced with their sanction, direction, or blessing. Perhaps the Judean men were recent, overzealous converts who had not spiritually matured in their faith and therefore spoke about issues they had not adequately studied or prayed about. Or maybe they purposefully sought to persuade Gentile believers to adopt the practice of Jewish ceremonial laws out of vanity or pride, hoping that the observance would be distributed throughout churches with extensively Gentile memberships. Regardless, what the Judean men indoctrinated generated debate, which drew Paul and Barnabas into the fray. The two apostles strongly contested the merit of the claim that circumcision was a requirement for salvation.
What the Judean men professed held significant ramifications. The singular message that acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice is the only way to receive eternal forgiveness of iniquity was being distorted by the stipulation of circumcision. Paul and Barnabas argued that Jesus did not come to augment the ceremonial law; He came to be the all-encompassing, sanctifying fulfillment of ceremonial law. Furthermore, Christ told the apostles in Matthew 28:19-20 to make disciples of nations, baptize them in His name, and train followers to obey everything He had commanded them. When Jesus said to follow His precepts, He validated His life offering preempted the redemptive requirements outlined in the Old Testament.
Because this matter caused so much confusion and commotion in the Antioch fellowship, the believers there appointed Paul and Barnabas, along with other disciples, to seek the wisdom of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. This action signaled the church body in Jerusalem remained influential even as Christianity expanded. When the group from Antioch reached the city of David, the apostles, elders, and disciples in Jerusalem greeted them warmly. Paul and Barnabas reported everything that God had done in their Gentile ministry. It would seem that the Judean men that initiated the circumcision firestorm were converted from the Pharisee sect because when Paul and Barnabas reviewed the specifics of the contention, some Pharisee-oriented Christians echoed the sentiment that circumcision is mandated by Mosaic law for adoption into a covenantal relationship with God. The tendency of the Pharisees to fiercely protect the traditions and rituals of the Old Testament was a mentality Paul was well-acquainted with for he once proudly aligned himself with the Pharisee order prior to his salvation experience (Acts 23:6).Rather than render an immediate opinion on the topic, the apostles and elders met to consider it further, which speaks well of their patient posture. During the course of the gathering, there was ample discussion. Apparently, the church leadership encouraged the freedom to voice dissenting perspectives. Eventually, Peter stood up and addressed the audience. His insight was critical. Not long before this event he answered God’s call to evangelize to Gentiles (Acts 10). Peter witnessed the Holy Spirit’s inhabitance of many Gentiles in Cornelius the centurion’s home. This holy indwelling transpired without the condition or prerequisite of circumcision, signifying that circumcision was not a discriminating factor in mankind’s worthiness to attain salvation.
Peter underscored the pivotal component to achieving eternal deliverance is purification through faith. Therefore, the appropriate circumcision in light of Calvary is a spiritual circumcision, as opposed to a physical circumcision. In other words, redemption is a matter of the heart, not the flesh. The Gentile believers’ contrite confessions were just as acceptable to God as those of the Jewish believers. Clearly, the path to restoration is not something that can be gained from ethnic heritage or denominational party; it can only be achieved through a personal surrendering to Jesus.
After Peter concluded his testimony, Paul and Barnabas told the church council about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles. The entire assembly became quiet as the two recounted their exploits, suggesting that sidebar conversations and murmurings had occurred up until this point. Everyone took notice of Paul and Barnabas’s report. As the truth began to crystallize, James, the half-brother of Jesus, a senior authority of the council, shared his thoughts. Although he did not have the missionary experience of Peter, Paul, or Barnabas, in that he was not directly involved in the redemptive work of Gentiles, James did have knowledge of Scripture, which is always a valuable and useful resource. James quoted from Amos 9, which predicted that people from all nations would someday bear God’s name (Amos 9:12). The Bible foretold Gentiles would become children of God and enter into communion with Him. Based on the evidence, James believed that day had come. It was time to accept it and embrace it.
James recommended the council syndicate a letter to Gentile believers throughout Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. This letter would contain several admonitions, none of which included circumcision. Instead, the admonitions dealt with the avoidance of food used in idolatrous worship, sexual immorality, the purchase of provisions produced by strangled animals, and the consumption of meat with its lifeblood still in it. The council obviously felt these areas of focus were stumbling blocks for the pagan-influenced Gentile believers and needed to be circumvented for the betterment of the church and the church’s witness. James suggested messengers go out with the dispatch, which served to reinforce the solemn guidance, as well as solidify an ongoing correspondence between the various churches. Paul and Barnabas were chosen to go to Antioch with a copy of the note, along with Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas.
When the Jewish council-endorsed letter was read to the Gentile believers in Antioch, they rejoiced because the extraneous, unnecessary circumcision imperative had been removed. With the quarrel put to rest, the Jerusalem messengers ministered to the people. Acts 15:32 states Judas and Silas were gifted prophets who said much to encourage and strengthen the Gentile believers. Thereafter, the couriers went back to Jerusalem while Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch (although some biblical manuscripts express Silas stayed behind too). Some time later, Paul desired to go back to all the churches he and Barnabas had planted. Their returning to the various congregations would ensure the young church fellowships had steadfastly clung to the tenets of the gospel and not succumbed to the pressures of the world or incorporated false teachings.
Barnabas was favorable to Paul’s proposal and asked that his relative, John Mark, go with them. In Acts 13:13, John Mark left Paul and Barnabas in Pamphylia, a move which Paul designated a desertion. Therefore, Paul did not think it was prudent to bring John Mark along lest he abandon them again. A disagreement ensued. It became so heated that Paul and Barnabas parted company. Barnabas took John Mark and journeyed to Cyprus, Barnabas’s homeland. Paul took Silas (adding weight to the theory that Silas probably never left Antioch) and went to Cilicia (by way of Syria), Paul’s homeland. Before Paul and Silas set out for Asia Minor, the church blessed and commended them. We do not read that Barnabas and John Mark were given the same salutation prior to departing Antioch. Sadly, this is the last reference in Acts of Barnabas. Paul’s second missionary expedition apparently began with a sorrowful step because his emissary partnership with Barnabas, a man who had supported and championed Paul on many occasions, swiftly tore apart.
It is important to mention that Paul would come to recognize John Mark’s value in missionary service for he later entreated one of his disciples, Timothy, to bring John Mark to him, touting John Mark would be of great assistance (2 Timothy 4:11). So too Peter conferred a great honor upon John Mark when he likened him to a spiritual son (1 Peter 4:13). The second gospel, Mark, was penned by John Mark, who probably received the inspiration and insight into Christ’s ministry from his mentor and spiritual father: Peter.
Revisiting Peter’s statement to the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, we learn purity is made possible only through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing more should be levied upon salvation. Not performance of ancient customs. Not anything we can do in our flesh. Purity is not confined or defined by outward conformance; it is an internal conformance which derives from the ambition to subject our hearts to the humbling truth that Jesus surrendered His life so that we can abide with Him forevermore.
This is significant for three reasons. One, purity removes the eternal consequences of sin. Peter said in Acts 15:8 that God had accepted the repentance of Gentile believers and proved it by sending the Holy Spirit to them. The Holy Spirit’s infusion into the Gentile believers demonstrated a barrier had been lifted. All converts, whether Jewish or Gentile can partake of the gift of forgiveness, free from remorse and forever pardoned. Peter conveyed to the church council in Jerusalem that penitent hearts, believing minds, and confessional lips allow mankind to experience liberation from the ultimate conclusion of a sinful life: banishment from God. The key discriminator of redemption therefore is not external conformance, but internal contrition.
Two, purity restores us to God. Restoration beckons humanity to realize our original purpose: to know God. Because of the purifying work of redemption, we are no longer considered enemies of God, but friends. Believers need not be downcast or dejected for we are dignified and delivered through Christ’s atonement. Although we were once excluded from a seat at heaven’s splendid banquet, we now enjoy the reassuring knowledge that a permanent place will be prepared for us. In Christ, God’s favor is made readily accessible to mankind.
There will be moments in which some will seek to impose false teachings on how to secure salvation, as the Judean men did in Antioch. But Scripture validates salvation is an inner work, not an outer one. It is not obtained through good deeds or good works. It is not acquired through religious adherence or civility. Essentially, salvation is a recognition and reaction to Jesus’ substitutionary death at the cross. Therefore, no action on our part, including circumcision, unwavering charity, or devoted church attendance, could ever sufficiently take away the lasting stain of depravity, except embracing and acknowledging the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Three, purity renews the soul. Redemption offers humanity the opportunity to experience soul-renewing purity, thereby removing the humiliating stigma of wickedness. When the mistakes of the past and present can be unloaded on the shores of grace, it cannot help but produce a renewed soul. Whatever immoral exploits we performed before salvation, and even those we will commit after we have received salvation, will not prevent us from admittance into heaven because of the evil-purging power of Jesus’ blood. Although we will be judged by God for our earthly lifestyle, the eternal punishment of an existence in hell will not encumber hearts purified by faith in Christ.
Purified souls are motivated souls, motivated to catalyze legacies that honor God. When the regenerating nature of salvation has taken hold of us it provides a contentedness that prevails in all circumstances. In Christ, we are remade into a new creation, spiritually clean and eternally blessed. Pure and at peace. Praise be to the Lord Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)
Does your life exemplify a heart that has been purified by faith?
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