council_or_creed
Council of Jerusalem
- Era
- 1st century
- Location
- Jerusalem
- Discovered
- c. AD 49
The apostles and elders meet to settle whether Gentile believers must keep the Mosaic law to be saved. Their answer, recorded in Acts 15, becomes the pattern for how the church resolves doctrinal disputes.
The find
Certain teachers had come down from Judea insisting that unless Gentile converts were circumcised "after the manner of Moses" they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Paul and Barnabas debated them and were sent up to Jerusalem. Peter recounted how God had already given the Spirit to Cornelius' household without the law (Acts 10, 15:7–11); James then quoted Amos 9:11–12 and framed the decision. The result, sent out as a letter to the churches, was clear: salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus (Acts 15:11), and Gentile believers are asked only to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality (Acts 15:28–29) — pastoral guardrails for shared table fellowship, not a new law of merit.
Why it matters
This is the New Testament's own model for handling doctrinal conflict: Scripture cited, apostolic witness weighed, the Spirit acknowledged, and a decision sent to the churches. Every later council rests on the precedent set here — and is measured against it (Acts 17:11; Gal 1:8–9).
Cross-linked Scripture
- Acts 15:1-29— The apostolic council
- Galatians 2:1-10— Paul's parallel account
Doctrine check
Sources