Does Salvation Come by Faith in Christ Plus Being Circumcised or by Faith Alone?

Acts 15:5 says: “But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” Since these ‘believers’ thought that salvation came by faith in Christ plus being circumcised and following the Law, were they really saved?

Excerpt From The Answer

“Acts 15:5 is telling. There’s a group from the sect of the Pharisees that holds the belief that Gentiles who believe in Christ must have some level, degree, amount of Jewish understanding before they believe in Christ. Specifically, circumcision. Or said another way, separated from their Gentile life by the ritual law that separated Abraham’s descendants from other populations. So how much Jewish law do you have to understand and keep before you can be a Christian? What is striking here is the concern for an outward ritual rather than an inward moral change. This points us back to the Ten Commandments. Jewish rituals were important and indeed instructive, but they did not change the sinner’s condition. All this underscores understanding the transitions occurring in Acts.”

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