And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren and said, except ye be circumcised, ye cannot be saved. Acts 15:1
Most of the cults declare that they have an exclusive claim to God’s salvation. This is certainly true of the most blasphemous of them, the so-called Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons. If you don’t follow their teachings and perform their requirements, you are without hope, they say. Even the so-called mainline denominations are little better, ignoring the plain teaching of the Gospel in favour of good works and religious ordinances. Even some of the organizations that we think might have some understanding of the Gospel are teaching that faith in the work of Christ is not enough for salvation. To this they would add such requirements as baptism or, in their words, ‘receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues’. Without these, they say, you cannot be saved. How good to know that the Bible declares that salvation is by faith alone!
This doctrine from Judaea would have very upsetting to Paul and Barnabas. They had recently returned from a missionary journey during which they had seen dozens, if not hundreds, of Gentiles saved. Very few of those Gentiles would have been baptized. And yet, they had trusted Christ and rejoiced in the knowledge of sins forgiven and the assurance of everlasting life. To these missionaries, the doctrine of circumcision made absolutely no sense. They knew better. And, of course, they challenged the false teachers, as they should. Although most of the Assembly in Antioch were Jews, some Gentiles were probably present. Were they to be told that they needed more than salvation to be saved? Not on Paul’s watch! Or on that of Barnabas either, or of other of the godly men in that Assembly. They stood up for the truth, and error was rejected. Around us we see organizations where nobody stood up for the truth, and error entered. Let that never be said of our Assemblies.
This false doctrine was directly related to the preaching of the Gospel. This is one area that is most crucial to preserving the truth. If error is kept out of the Gospel message, the devil has a more difficult time with bringing error into other areas. After all, it is only through the preaching of the Gospel that people can be saved. If we add to the Gospel, we offer people something that cannot save. If we resort to methods that are not compatible with the Word of God, people will be entertained but not convicted.
Do we want to see souls saved and saints preserved? Then let us protect the simplicity and the purity of the Gospel message. -Jim MacIntosh