Verses 1-2
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Paul knew the gospel he received from Jesus was the truth, but not everyone else in Jerusalem knew this, not even some of the leaders. So, after fourteen years, Paul went again to Jerusalem and shared his understanding of the gospel with the leaders privately, so that they could come into agreement with him privately (Acts 15:1-4). He wanted to be sure they would speak the same thing.
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The leaders could have been embarrassed, and Paul's reputation ruined (making him “run in vain”), if his message had publicly denounced the Jerusalem leaders.
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Make sure that you are in agreement with other believers on important points of doctrine before you try to work together with them to spread the gospel or make disciples. And come into agreement, through discussion, in a private setting (Acts 15:1-6).
Verses 3-5
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Verses 3-5. As described in Acts 15:1,5, there were some Jews, even Pharisees, in the church in Judea that were false believers—pretenders who came in to spoil the church and compel believers to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas quickly confronted them.
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After the doctrine of grace was settled (establishing that believers did not have to keep the law of Moses or be circumcised), they immediately removed these false believers from the church.
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1. When believers don't know the truth, false believers are allowed to stay; and they bring harm to the faith of the true believers.
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2. When false believers, who spread false doctrine, are identified, they must be immediately removed. This allows the true gospel to continue, and believers to grow, without hindrance.
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Remove pretenders from the church swiftly. Be careful! Don't let people be received as part of the church if you don't know them well enough. They could be pretenders, and they will ruin the faith of others.
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Verses 6-9
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Paul's gospel was so complete that the leaders of Judea and Jerusalem had nothing to add to his message. In fact, all the leaders, even the “famous” Peter, James, and John—the closet disciples to Jesus Himself—approved of Paul's message and recognized that he and Barnabas had been appointed by God to preach to the Gentiles; so they trusted him.
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If these men trusted Paul, having hardly interacted with him (since Paul came to Jerusalem to them only twice), we can trust Paul's writings also!
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Don't let anyone cause you to doubt the teachings of Paul. The twelve apostles themselves trusted Paul. We should too, as his message surely came from Christ.
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Verses 11-14
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Verses 11-13. Peter, as Jew, wanted to live like a Gentile (free from the law of Moses), but when Jews showed up who didn't agree, he changed his conduct and tried to pretend that he still wanted to live under the law and was teaching others to do the same! This was all because he feared criticism from Jews.
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Since we are saved and forgiven by our faith in Jesus, we need to live like we believe this, no matter who we're around.
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Don't pretend to be legalistic around legalistic people, and don't pretend to condone sin around immoral people.
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Live as the Bible says to live, and speak what the Bible says speak, no matter who you're interacting with.
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Verse 6,11,14. Even though Paul was not one of the original twelve disciples, he knew his message and authority came from Christ, and so he was not intimidated by Peter, James, and John (verse 6). He knew God did not favor them more, or approve of their message more. Again, they added nothing to Paul's gospel. Their gospels were the same, and came from the same Christ, but in different ways.
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Therefore, when Peter sinned through hypocrisy, Paul was bold to rebuke Peter in front of everyone, as leaders are to be rebuked (1 Timothy 5:20).
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Peter, because of his influence as a leader, was leading many Jews into this form of hypocrisy. And because Paul lived for the truth of gospel, he acted boldly.
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Don't be intimidated by anyone, and correct where you must. If you feel convicted or responsible to correct someone in leadership, be bold. Remember that their influence causes many others to sin.
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Verses 15-20
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Verses 15-16. We are saved by our faith in Christ, not by works of self-righteousness. Does this mean we can keep sinning and don't have to do any works? No!
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Verses 17-18. After being saved, yes, we still make mistakes, but Christ does not make us sin. He is not a cause of sin. He calls us to repent from sin! If we sin, we choose to on our own.
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Don't build a life of sin again, after becoming a believer, and don't build again a life where you trust in your works to save you!
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Our faith is meant to free us from sin and free us from the need to work for our own salvation! How so?
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Verse 19. The law caused us to stay stuck in sin (Romans 7:5,7-8) and demanded that we die and go to hell as punishment for our sin (Ezekiel 18:20). Jesus died for us, so that we are now free from that punishment and forgiven (Romans 7:4, Colossians 2:13-14). There is no other work we can do to make amends for our sin, because Jesus did it all for us (Hebrews 10:12-18). Jesus death also means death to the life lived in sin (Romans 6:1-2).
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This is how we have “died to the law” with Christ when He died.
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Verse 20. When Jesus died, we died with Him, as in the old life of sin and self-righteousness died. You have a new life now. You cannot make yourself righteous through good works, nor are you a slave to sin anymore (Romans 6:18).
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Now, focus on your faith in Christ! It is only by focusing on Jesus that you can live right.
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He lives in you and He can live through you, empowering you to walk as even as He walked (1 John 2:6)! His life gives power to your body, so you can live obediently (Romans 8:11).
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Verse 21
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Jesus died for nothing if a person can do enough good works to save themselves.
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So, do not forget or downplay the grace of God! We would not be saved without God's grace!
*In all this, Paul was teaching Peter and the rest that they could not be believers in Jesus while also trying to live like they were justified by the works of law—trying still to live “in the manner of Jews”. They could live the new life in Christ while rebuilding the old life.
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If you are going to be a follower of Jesus, live like it! Live turning away from sin, and live turning away from legalism!