Book of Common Prayer
Is circumcision necessary?
15 Some people came from Judaea to Antioch and, on arrival, began to teach the Christians that they could not be saved unless they were circumcised according to the custom of Moses. 2 This caused considerable uproar and dispute between them and Paul and Barnabas, and the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas, and some others from their fellowship, to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, to try to sort out the problem. 3 So they were sent off by the church. They traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling people as they went about the conversion of the Gentiles. They brought great joy to the Christian communities.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church, the apostles and the elders, and they told them all the things that God had done with them. 5 But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up.
“They must be circumcised,” they said, “and you must tell them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and elders gathered together to see what to do about this matter. 7 After considerable argument, Peter got up.
“My brothers,” he said, “you know that from our early days together God chose that it should be from my mouth that the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness, by giving them the holy spirit just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, but he purified their hearts through faith. 10 So now, why are you putting God to the test, by placing a yoke on the disciples’ neck which neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 Rather, we believe that it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we shall be saved, just like them.”
The judgment of James
12 The whole company was silent, and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders which God had done through them among the Gentiles.
Reading the signs of the times
49 “I came to throw fire upon the earth,” Jesus continued, “and I wish it were already alight! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and I am under huge pressure until it’s happened!
51 “Do you suppose I’ve come to give peace to the earth? No, let me tell you, but rather division. 52 From now on, you see, families will be split down the middle: three against two in a family of five, and two against three, 53 father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
54 “When you see a cloud rising in the west,” he said to the crowds, “you say at once, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and rain it does. 55 When you see the south wind getting up, you say, ‘It’s going to be very hot,’ and that’s what happens. 56 You impostors! You know how to work out what the earth and the sky are telling you; why can’t you work out what’s going on at this very moment?
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.