Yes — the controversy was whether Gentile believers had to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved.
Jewish believers from Judea came down to Antioch and taught that unless the Gentile believers were circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). In Jerusalem, believing Pharisees insisted that it was necessary to circumcise them and command them to keep the law of Moses (Acts 15:5). Les Feldick explains that Paul firmly refused to make law-keeping part of his gospel, because the Gentile message was salvation by grace apart from Judaism.
Acts 15:1 — Records the original demand from Judea that Gentile believers be circumcised after the manner of Moses to be saved.
Acts 15:5 — Records the believing Pharisees' demand that Gentile believers be circumcised and commanded to keep the law of Moses.
In Acts 15:1, certain men came down from Judaea to Antioch and taught the brethren, saying, 'Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.' The controversy was so sharp that Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them (Acts 15:2). Then, at the Jerusalem gathering, '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' (Acts 15:5). Scripture records the debate as centered on whether salvation for Gentiles required entrance into Israel's law and circumcision.
Les Feldick sets Acts 15 in the context of Paul's ministry among the Gentiles at Antioch. When the Jerusalem believers heard that Gentiles were being brought into a relationship with their God apart from becoming proselytes of Judaism, they were 'all shook up' and sent men to check on the report. Those men taught that except the Gentile believers were circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Les emphasizes that the same event is what Paul describes in Galatians 2, when he went up to Jerusalem by revelation and communicated the gospel he preached among the Gentiles. The Jerusalem church was still based on law and circumcision, while the Gentile message was based on grace, so the two had to be reconciled.
According to Acts 15:1, certain men came down from Judea (Jerusalem) to Antioch and taught the believers there, saying, 'Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.' Les Feldick points out that this was the Jewish believers' way of telling the Gentile believers that they could not be saved without becoming proselytes of Judaism.
Les Feldick explains that these were not the self-righteous Pharisees we meet in the Gospels. They were Pharisees who had become believers that Jesus was the Christ, but they were still lawkeepers — still under that economy of law. They joined the argument by saying it was needful to circumcise the Gentile believers and command them to keep the law of Moses.
Les Feldick sees Acts 15 and Paul's visit in Galatians 2 as references to the same event. Paul writes that fourteen years after his conversion he went up to Jerusalem by revelation and communicated to the leaders there the gospel he preached among the Gentiles — a gospel advance that the Jerusalem believers did not previously know. He was brought before the Jerusalem church over the same controversy, facing the demand that the Gentile believers be put under the law.
Paul's Journey to Jerusalem by Revelation
Les shows that Paul's Galatians 2 account of going to Jerusalem by revelation is the background for the Acts 15 confrontation — he communicated to the Jerusalem leaders the gospel he preached among the Gentiles, a message they had not previously understood.
Jerusalem Sends Men to Check on Antioch
Les explains that the Jerusalem believers were shaken by reports of Gentiles being saved in Antioch, so they sent men up to investigate. Acts 15:1 records the demand that Gentiles be circumcised after the manner of Moses, and Acts 15:5 records the believing Pharisees' insistence on the law.
The Big Controversy Between Jerusalem and Paul
Les sets Acts 15 as the big controversy between Peter and the eleven at Jerusalem and Paul's dealing with Gentiles at Antioch, where Paul taught salvation apart from Judaism without circumcision or keeping the law.
Paul's 'No Way' and Peter's Support
Les says when the believing Pharisees demanded circumcision and the law, Paul replied 'No way,' and after a great confrontation Peter came to Paul's defense, remembering Cornelius and that God saves Gentiles apart from Judaism, without repentance and water baptism.
The Jerusalem Church's Law-Based Setting
Les emphasizes that the Jerusalem church at this time was still based on law and circumcision, while the Gentile message was based on grace; the two had to be reconciled at the Jerusalem gathering.
Antioch: First Called Christians
Les points out that when Jerusalem believers heard Gentiles at Antioch were being brought into relationship with God apart from proselyte conversion, they sent men who taught 'except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.'
The Demand Was a Command, Not a Suggestion
Les highlights the word 'command' in Acts 15:5 — the Jewish believers were adamant, not merely suggesting helpful law-keeping. Paul argued that Gentile believers could not be forced under the law; they were under grace.
Believing Pharisees Still Under the Law
Les explains that the men who raised the issue in Jerusalem were not the unrighteous Pharisees of the Gospels; they were believers that Jesus was the Christ but remained lawkeepers, and they insisted it was needful to circumcise the Gentile believers.
Acts 15:1: And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
This is the exact demand that sparked the Acts 15 controversy — Gentile believers were told circumcision was necessary for salvation.
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 shows the issue being pressed at the Jerusalem gathering by believing Pharisees who wanted the law imposed on Gentile believers.
They taught that except the Gentile believers were circumcised after the manner of Moses, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Les Feldick describes this as the Jerusalem believers telling Paul's Gentile converts that they could not be saved without becoming proselytes of Judaism.
They were Pharisees who had become believers that Jesus was the Christ, but they were still lawkeepers. They joined the controversy by saying it was needful to circumcise the Gentile believers and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
According to Les Feldick, Peter came to Paul's defense. He remembered that about fourteen years earlier he had gone to the house of Cornelius and witnessed that God saves Gentiles apart from Judaism, without repentance and water baptism.
Watch the Teaching: Not Under Law but Under Grace — What Romans 6:14 Really Means