Acts 15–16

Church Leaders Meet in Jerusalem

15Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch. Here is what they were teaching the believers. “Moses commanded you to be circumcised,” they said. “If you aren’t, you can’t be saved.” ²But Paul and Barnabas didn’t agree with this. They argued strongly with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go up to Jerusalem. Some other believers were chosen to go with them. They were supposed to see the apostles and elders about this question.

³The church sent them on their way. As they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how those who weren’t Jews had turned to God. This news made all the believers very glad.

⁴When they arrived in Jerusalem, the church welcomed them. The apostles and elders welcomed them too. Then Paul and Barnabas reported everything God had done through them.

⁵Some of the believers were Pharisees. They stood up and said, “Those who aren’t Jews must be circumcised. They must obey the law of Moses.”

⁶The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷After they had talked it over, Peter got up and spoke to them.

“Brothers,” he said, “you know that some time ago God chose me to take the good news to those who aren’t Jews. He wanted them to hear the good news and believe. ⁸God knows the human heart. By giving the Holy Spirit to non-Jews, he showed that he accepted them. He did the same for them as he had done for us. ⁹He showed that there is no difference between us and them. He made their hearts pure because of their faith.

¹⁰“Now then, why are you trying to test God? You test him when you put a heavy load on the believers’ shoulders. Our people of long ago couldn’t carry that load. We can’t either. ¹¹No! We believe we are saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus. Those who aren’t Jews are saved in the same way.”

¹²Everyone became quiet as they listened to Barnabas and Paul. They were telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among non-Jews.

¹³When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴Simon Peter has explained to us how God first showed his concern for those who aren’t Jews. He chose some of them to be his very own people.

¹⁵The prophets’ words agree with that. They say,

¹⁶“ ‘After this I will return

and rebuild David’s fallen tent.

I will rebuild what was destroyed.

I will make it what it used to be.

¹⁷Then the rest of the people can look to the Lord.

This means all the non-Jews who belong to me.

The Lord says this. He is the one who does these things.’

¹⁸The Lord does things that have been known for a long time.

¹⁹“Now here is my opinion. We should not make it hard for the non-Jews who are turning to God. ²⁰Here is what we should write to them. They must not eat food polluted by being offered to statues of gods. They must not commit sexual sins. They must not eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And they must not drink blood. ²¹These laws of Moses have been preached in every city from the earliest times. They are read out loud in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”

A Letter Is Written to Non-Jewish Believers

²²Then the apostles, the elders and the whole church decided what to do. They would choose some of their own men. They would send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. So they chose two leaders among the believers. Their names were Judas Barsabbas and Silas. ²³Here is the letter they sent with them.

The apostles and elders, your brothers, are writing this letter.

We are sending it to the non-Jewish believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.

Greetings.

²⁴We have heard that some of our people came to you and caused trouble. You were upset by what they said. But we had given them no authority to go. ²⁵So we all agreed to send our dear friends Barnabas and Paul to you. We chose some others to go with them. ²⁶Barnabas and Paul have put their lives in danger for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷So we are sending Judas and Silas with them. What they say will agree with this letter.

²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to give you a load that is too heavy. So here are a few basic rules. ²⁹Don’t eat food that has been offered to statues of gods. Don’t drink blood. Don’t eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And don’t commit sexual sins. You will do well to keep away from these things.

Farewell.

³⁰The men were sent down to Antioch. There they gathered the church together. They gave the letter to them. ³¹The people read it. They were glad for its message of hope. ³²Judas and Silas were prophets. They said many things to give strength and hope to the believers. ^33/34Judas and Silas stayed there for some time. Then the believers sent them away with the blessing of peace. They sent them back to those who had sent them out.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch. There they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Do Not Agree

³⁶Some time later Paul spoke to Barnabas. “Let’s go back to all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord,” he said. “Let’s visit the believers and see how they are doing.” ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them. ³⁸But Paul didn’t think it was wise to take him. Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. He hadn’t continued with them in their work. ³⁹Barnabas and Paul strongly disagreed with each other. So they went their separate ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus. ⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas. The believers asked the Lord to give his grace to Paul and Silas as they went. ⁴¹Paul traveled through Syria and Cilicia. He gave strength to the churches there.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16Paul came to Derbe. Then he went on to Lystra. A believer named Timothy lived there. His mother was Jewish and a believer. His father was a Greek. ²The believers at Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy. ³Paul wanted to take him along on the journey. So he circumcised Timothy because of the Jews who lived in that area. They all knew that Timothy’s father was a Greek. ⁴Paul and his companions traveled from town to town. They reported what the apostles and elders in Jerusalem had decided. The people were supposed to obey what was in the report. ⁵So the churches were made strong in the faith. The number of believers grew every day.

Paul’s Vision of the Man From Macedonia

⁶Paul and his companions traveled all through the area of Phrygia and Galatia. The Holy Spirit had kept them from preaching the word in Asia Minor. ⁷They came to the border of Mysia. From there they tried to enter Bithynia. But the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. ⁸So they passed by Mysia. Then they went down to Troas.

⁹During the night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia standing and begging him. “Come over to Macedonia!” the man said. “Help us!” ¹⁰After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia. We decided that God had called us to preach the good news there.

Lydia Becomes a Believer

¹¹At Troas we got into a boat. We sailed straight for Samothrace. The next day we went on to Neapolis. ¹²From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony. It is an important city in that part of Macedonia. We stayed there several days.

¹³On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate. We walked down to the river. There we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered together. ¹⁴One of those listening was a woman named Lydia. She was from the city of Thyatira. Her business was selling purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to accept Paul’s message. ¹⁵She and her family were baptized. Then she invited us to her home. “Do you consider me a believer in the Lord?” she asked. “If you do, come and stay at my house.” She succeeded in getting us to go home with her.

Paul and Silas Are Thrown Into Prison

¹⁶One day we were going to the place of prayer. On the way we were met by a female slave. She had a spirit that helped her to tell ahead of time what was going to happen. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. ¹⁷The woman followed Paul and the rest of us around. She shouted, “These men serve the Most High God. They are telling you how to be saved.” ¹⁸She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became upset. Turning around, he spoke to the spirit. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” he said, “I command you to come out of her!” At that very moment the spirit left her.

¹⁹The female slave’s owners realized that their hope of making money was gone. So they grabbed Paul and Silas. They dragged them into the market place to face the authorities. ²⁰They brought them to the judges. “These men are Jews,” her owners said. “They are making trouble in our city. ²¹They are suggesting practices that are against Roman law. These are practices we can’t accept or take part in.”

²²The crowd joined the attack against Paul and Silas. The judges ordered that Paul and Silas be stripped and beaten. ²³They were whipped without mercy. Then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. ²⁴When he received his orders, he put Paul and Silas deep inside the prison. He fastened their feet so they couldn’t get away.

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying. They were also singing hymns to God. The other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was a powerful earthquake. It shook the prison from top to bottom. All at once the prison doors flew open. Everybody’s chains came loose.

²⁷The jailer woke up. He saw that the prison doors were open. He pulled out his sword and was going to kill himself. He thought the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸“Don’t harm yourself!” Paul shouted. “We are all here!”

²⁹The jailer called out for some lights. He rushed in, shaking with fear. He fell down in front of Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out. He asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus. Then you and your family will be saved.” ³²They spoke the word of the…