Certain _false brethren_[903] (Gal. ii. 12) went down from Judæa to Antioch (Acts xv. 1), and _creeping in unawares_[904], began to observe with no favourable eye the extent to which the Jewish Law was relaxed in favour of the Gentile Christians, and their liberty in Christ Jesus vindicated (Gal. ii. 4). Before long they began to insinuate, not that the observance of certain ceremonies in themselves indifferent was advisable for the sake of expediency, but that the rite of circumcision was essential for salvation; _Except ye be circumcised_, said they to the Gentile Christians, _ye cannot be saved_ (Acts xv. 1). To such a doctrine no one was more opposed than the Apostle Paul. To the subjection which these teachers required, he would not advise his Gentile converts to yield, _no, not for an hour_ (Gal. ii. 5). The consequence was, that no small dissension and disputation arose between himself and Barnabas on the one hand, and the false teachers on the other, and no slight anxiety and perplexity harassed the minds of the disciples. At length it was resolved that he and Barnabas with certain others should go up to Jerusalem, and seek an interview with the Apostles and Elders, with the object of settling the dispute[905]. Any hesitation the Apostle might have felt about the expediency of the course proposed was removed by a special _revelation_[906] (Gal. ii. 2) which conspired with the declared view of the church at Antioch, and intimated to him that the journey found favour with God, and that an authoritative settlement of the question was necessary to the well-being of the Christian churches[907]. Accordingly he himself, accompanied by Barnabas, a Jew and a Levite by birth, and therefore a fair representative of the circumcision, Titus, a living example of the power of God among the heathen[908], and some of the Christian brethren of the towns through which they passed, set out on their memorable journey. CHAPTER III. _THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM._ A.D. 50. FOLLOWING the coast-line of Phœnicia[909], and then traversing the midland districts of Samaria and Judæa, the deputation from the church at Antioch proclaimed in every town they entered the conversion of the Gentiles, and caused _great joy among all the brethren_ (Acts xv. 3). On their arrival at Jerusalem they were welcomed by the Apostles present, as also by the elders, and recounted to them all that God had done by their instrumentality amongst the Gentiles. Very soon, however, the Pharisaic section in the Church which the emissaries at Antioch represented, put forward their objections. They rose up and insisted that the Gentile converts should be circumcised and instructed to conform to the Mosaic Law (Acts xv. 5). Their sentiments, put forward with such determination, revealed the importance of the crisis, and it was resolved that a formal assembly of the church should be convened.