What was Paul telling the Gentiles about how they were saved?
Paul told the Gentiles that salvation was apart from Judaism—without circumcision, without commanding them to keep the Law of Moses, and without ascribing to Judaism. God would save a Gentile without repentance and water baptism, even before Peter arrived, as the Jerusalem controversy confirms.
Les explains that Paul’s message to the Gentiles at Antioch was that they were having salvation apart from Judaism, without circumcision, and without being commanded to keep the Law. This created the big controversy between Peter and the eleven at Jerusalem and Paul and Barnabas, because some Pharisees who believed said Gentile believers had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. Paul refused to make that part of his message. Peter later defended Paul, recalling the house of Cornelius about fourteen years earlier, where God saved a Gentile without ascribing to Judaism, without repentance, and without water baptism—they were saved even before Peter got that far.