Peter was the decisive supporting witness in the Jerusalem council debate, confirming that Gentile believers were saved by faith apart from the law.
When certain believing Pharisees insisted that Gentile converts be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, Paul faced a major confrontation. Peter remained silent through much of the dispute, then rose after much disputing and testified that God had chosen him to bring the gospel to Cornelius' household. Les teaches that this testimony defended Paul and, had Peter not come to his defense, Christianity would have been stopped in its tracks.
Acts 15:5 — Records the demand that Gentile believers be circumcised and commanded to keep the law of Moses, the issue at the heart of the debate.
Acts 15:7 — Contains Peter's speech reminding the council that God chose him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
Acts 15:10 — Peter describes the law as a yoke that neither Israel's fathers nor the people could bear.
Acts 15:5 records that certain believers from the sect of the Pharisees rose up, saying that it was needful to circumcise the Gentiles and to command them to keep the law of Moses. This created the controversy Paul faced at Jerusalem. According to Acts 15:7, after much disputing, Peter rose up and said, “Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.” He was referring back to his experience at the house of Cornelius. In Acts 15:10, Peter then asked, “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Thus Scripture shows Peter arguing that the law was a burden that should not be imposed on Gentile believers.
Les Feldick teaches that Peter played a decisive supporting role after Paul had been arguing against the demand that Gentile believers keep the law. The Jewish believers from Jerusalem were not making a mild suggestion; they issued a command that the Gentiles be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. Les pictures Peter as silent and seated apart during much of the controversy, in contrast to his earlier role as spokesman in Acts. After much disputing, Peter rose to Paul's defense. He recalled that God had sovereignly prepared him through his visit to the house of Cornelius about twelve years earlier, where he witnessed Gentiles saved by simply believing. Les stresses that Peter, a law-keeping Jew, did not want to go to Cornelius, but God forced it for this exact situation. Had Peter not had that eye-opening experience, he likely would not have come to Paul's defense, and Les says Christianity would have stopped in its tracks. Peter also described the law as a yoke, emphasizing that it was a burden no one could bear.
Les points out that Peter was silent during the first part of the controversy in Acts 15 until God sovereignly reminded him of what he had experienced about twelve years earlier at the house of Cornelius. He did not rise to speak until after much disputing had already taken place.
God prepared Peter by sending him to Cornelius' household. Peter, a law-keeping Jew, knew it was unlawful for him to associate with Gentiles and did not want to go, but God forced it. There he saw Gentiles saved by faith alone. This experience became the foundation for his testimony in Acts 15.
In Acts 15:10, Peter asked why they would tempt God by putting a yoke on the disciples' necks that neither their fathers nor they could bear. Les emphasizes that Peter, of all people, stressed that the law was a burden and a yoke that the nation of Israel itself had not been able to bear.
Les says Peter's testimony came to Paul's defense and spared Paul's ministry. He teaches that had Peter not come to Paul's defense, Christianity would have stopped in its tracks. God sovereignly ensured this did not happen by opening Peter's eyes to the fact that Gentiles are saved by simply believing.
The Demanding Jewish Believers
Les identifies the protesters as believing Pharisees who insisted, by command rather than suggestion, that Gentile believers be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.
Peter's Defense of Paul
Les explains that twelve years after Cornelius, Peter came to Paul's defense in Acts 15, sparing Paul's ministry by recalling that God took the Gospel to the Gentiles through Peter's mouth.
The Great Confrontation
Les recounts how the demand to keep the law of Moses produced a big argument, and Peter came to Paul's defense, remembering that God had saved Gentiles apart from Judaism.
Peter's Law-Keeping Reluctance
Les shows that Peter was a law-keeping Jew who knew it was unlawful to associate with Gentiles, making his later willingness to testify about Gentile salvation more remarkable.
God's Sovereign Preparation
Les says Peter was silent during the debate and was sovereignly reminded of his Cornelius experience; without that experience he would not have come to Paul's defense.
Peter's Speech and the Yoke
Les walks through Peter's words in Acts 15:7 and 15:10, noting that Peter called the law a yoke that neither Israel's fathers nor the people could bear.
Christianity Saved in the Balance
Les says that without Peter's eye-opening experience at Cornelius, Paul would not have gotten off the hook and Christianity would not have gotten off the ground.
The Circumcision Believers Contend
Les describes how believing Jews at Jerusalem argued with Peter after Cornelius, still insisting on law-keeping and kosher rules, which set the stage for the later Acts 15 conflict.
Acts 15:5: But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
This verse records the demand that sparked the debate about Gentile believers and the law.
Acts 15:7: And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
This verse shows Peter's key testimony that God chose him to take the gospel to the Gentiles.
Acts 15:10: Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Peter uses this question to argue that the law should not be imposed on Gentile believers.
Acts 10:28: And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company with an uncircumcised nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
This verse provides background to Peter's reluctance to go to Gentiles and how God corrected his understanding.
No. According to Les, Peter was silent during the first part of the controversy. Only after much disputing did he rise and speak in defense of Gentile believers, recalling his experience at Cornelius' house.
Les says Peter was sent to Cornelius for a specific purpose: to prepare him for the Acts 15 debate. This experience proved that God saves Gentiles by faith alone, and it gave Peter the evidence he needed to defend Paul.
Peter meant that the law was a burden that even Israel's fathers could not bear. He was asking why they would put that same burden on Gentile believers, who had been saved apart from the law.
According to Les, Peter's testimony came to Paul's defense and was decisive in sparing Paul's ministry. Les goes further and says if Peter had not defended Paul, Christianity would have been stopped in its tracks.
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