Pastoral Heartbeats May 2026 牧者心声

Acts Chapter15 is theologically, a very significant chapter in the New Testament.

There are several lessons one can learn from Chapter 15. This is particularly

relevant for us to be reminded of what the Gospel of Grace stands for in this

atmosphere of hatred and violence in so many parts of the world.

Firstly, the Core Doctrine is Salvation by Grace through faith in Jesus alone. We are

reminded not to add requirements to Grace. The conflict started when some men

form Judea taught that “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of

Moses, you cannot be saved.” (15:1) This is a direct challenge to the Gospel of

Grace. It is a warning against legalism or the tendency to add human works or rituals

as prerequisites for God’s acceptance. True salvation is by Grace through faith in

Christ alone, not faith PLUS something else.

Secondly, the importance of Godly process in Dispute Resolution. When a sharp

disagreement arose (15: 2 and 39) the church did not sweep it under the carpet,

instead they followed a wise process:

i) Open Debate (15:4-12)

ii) Appeal to Scripture (15:15-18)

iii) Authoritative decision making by leaders (15:19-21)

iv) Clear communication to avoid gossip and or confusion (15:22-29)

Thirdly, preserving church unity (Jews and Gentiles together) without forcing the

Gentiles to become identical to Jewish believers. They did ask Gentile to abstain

from a few specific things (food offered to idols, sexual immorality, strangled meat

and blood) to avoid offending the sensitivities of the Jews. This is a Grace motivated

willingness to limit one’s freedom for the sake of love and unity of the church.

Fourthly, Peter in 15:8 argued powerfully that God gave the Holy Spirit to the

Gentiles just as He did to us. The Council did not dismiss this but accepts that this is

a divine testimony that God accepting the Gentiles as much as He accepts the Jews.

Fifthly, in Acts 15: 36-41, we can see that good and godly people can disagree

strongly. There was a sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over John

Mark. It was a personal disagreement, but this did not deter them from continuing

with gospel ministry. Very often we have our disagreement, but this should not deter

us from the overarching gospel ministry. Unity does not mean uniformity of opinion

all the time.

As we study this chapter, it is timeless reminder that salvation is by grace alone and

through faith alone. Through Grace, a community is created where we accommodate

one another for the sake of gospel unity and His Mission. It is a timely and powerful

reminder to us not to add things to the Gospel and neither should we misuse God’s

name in vain. This is so important in this atmosphere of hatred and violence in so

many hot spots in the world. The Lord Reigns.

A/P Lee Fook Choon

2026年5月 牧者心声

使徒行传第15章在神学上是《新约》中非常重要的一章。 从第15章中可以学到几个教

训。 这对我们来说特别重要，提醒我们，在世界许多地方的仇恨和暴力气氛中，恩典

的福音代表着什么。

首先，核心教义是只通过对耶稣的信仰，通过恩典得救。 我们被提醒不要对恩典添加

要求。 冲突始于一些犹太人教导说：“除非你按照摩西的习俗接受割礼，否則你无法

得救。” （15:1）这是对福音恩典的直接挑战。 这是对律法主义或将人类工作或仪式

作为接受上帝的先决条件的倾向的警告。 真正的救赎是通过恩典，只通过对基督的信

仰，而不是信仰加上其他东西。

其次，虔诚的过程在争端解决中的重要性。 当出现尖锐的分歧时（15：2和39），教

会没有把它扫到地毯下，而是遵循了一个明智的过程： I) 公开辩论（15:4-12） Ii）呼

吁圣经（15:15-18） Iii）领导人的权威决策（15:19-21） Iv）清晰的沟通，以避免流

言蜚语或混淆（15:22-29）

第三，保持教会的团结（犹太人和外邦人一起），而不强迫外邦人与犹太信徒完全相

同。 他们确实要求外邦人避免一些具体的事情（提供给偶像的食物、性不道德、勒死

的肉和血），以避免冒犯犹太人的敏感性。 这是恩典的动机，为了教会的爱和团结而

制定的规则。

第四，彼得在15:8中有力地宣称，上帝把圣灵赐给外邦人，就像他赐给我们一样。 初

期教会没有驳回这一点，而是接受这是一个神圣的见证，即上帝接受外邦人就像他接

受犹太人一样。

第五，在使徒行传15：36-41中，我们可以看到善良和虔诚的人也会有不同的意见。

保罗和巴拿巴在约翰·马克问题上存在尖锐的分歧。 这是个人的意见，但这并没有阻

止他们继续福音事工。 我们经常有分歧，但这不应该阻止我们进行总体的福音事工。

团结并不意味着意见始终一致。

当我们研究这一章时，它永恒地提醒我们，救赎仅靠恩典，仅靠信仰。 通过恩典，为

了福音的团结和他的使命，我们彼此迁就成就了一个社区。 这是一个及时而有力的提

醒，我们不要在福音中添加东西，也不应该徒劳地滥用上帝的名。 激发世界上许多地

区仇恨和暴力的气氛中，这一点非常重要。 主掌权！

李福泉牧师