In Acts 15, the question arose do Gentiles need to be circumcised in order to be a Christian? The council decided that the OT Scripture says no, but that it is through faith in Jesus. The Gentiles were asked to abstain from things contaminated by idols, from sexual impurity, from eating animals that were strangled with the blood still in them, and from blood. The letter that was sent from the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to the believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia said, "If they keep themselves from these things, they will do well. Farewell" (15:29b). The church rejoiced. Time passed and Paul and Barnabas considered going back to the churches from their first trip to see how they were doing. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark but Paul refused. This split up the team and Barnabas and John Mark went to the Island of Cyprus, and Paul took Silas to the mainland of Syria and Cilicia. The plus about this conflict is that it brought about two missionary groups instead of just one. Later on, Paul discovered that John Mark became vital to the ministry of the Lord (2 Timothy 4:11b).
