Every time we turn on the news, there is conflict. Many times, people bicker over the silliest things. It is not that we don’t have legitimate differences, but we often let them become bigger than they should. If you are like me, the constant conflict is exhausting. You wish people would find a way to get along. While there are differences between people, where we should learn to compromise, on some things, we cannot compromise. We need to stand our ground. One conflict in which compromise was not possible occurred in Acts 15. Prior to that chapter, the good news of Jesus made great progress in the world. What is that good news? Jesus offers to forgive anyone of anything and to forgive them forever, simply by trusting in Jesus’ death on the cross because he died in their place. Gentiles, those who weren’t Jewish, heard this message and flooded into the church. This made some Jewish Christians nervous. They were outnumbered. To slow down the flood of Gentiles, they began teaching that to be saved by Jesus, you also needed to become a Jew like Jesus. Jesus was a Jew. You need to become a Jew. Their message was that Jesus PLUS Judaism saves you, not Jesus alone. This brought them into a head-to-head conflict with Paul, Barnabas, and other Christian leaders.
One way to think of it is to imagine if I flew to Italy to look at a painting of the Last Supper, a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci. After looking at the finished work, I decided I needed to improve it. I took out my box of crayons and made my additions. My crayons wouldn’t improve the masterpiece; they would only ruin it. The greatest masterpiece in the world is not a painting in a museum, but the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus paid for the sins of our past, present, and future when he died on the cross. All we need to do for complete forgiveness is trust in Jesus alone, and his finished work. Saying we need Jesus plus anything else to be right with God is like drawing with a box of crayons on the greatest masterpiece in the world. All we do is ruin it. Acts 15 is one time I am thankful that the people didn’t compromise in the face of conflict, but stood their ground to defend the truth. Today, no matter who you are, no matter what you have done, Jesus offers to forgive you of everything forever, not through anything you must do, but by simply fully trusting in what Jesus did for you by dying on the cross for your sins. On that good news, we cannot compromise. We will stand our ground. (Written for The Dickinson County News, February 20, 2026)
This led to a meeting of the apostles in Jerusalem to discuss the subject, known as the Jerusalem Council. The council boldly declared that we are saved by Jesus alone. Adding anything to repentance and simple faith in Jesus for salvation didn’t improve the gospel message. It ruined it. It put unnecessary barriers in the way of people being saved.
