Note 1 at Ac 11:22: What was causing concern in Jerusalem was these reports that Gentiles were being saved without becoming proselytes to Judaism. This question could have been settled through the miraculous events that brought the Gospel to Cornelius and his household, but many Jewish Christians were still zealous in the Old Testament Law and believed that people had to be circumcised to be saved.

Eventually a council of all the church leadership had to consider this matter (Ac 15), and it was concluded that Gentiles could be Christians without becoming Jews. However, the same spirit or attitude still existed among many of the believing Jews who believed faith in Christ was not enough for true salvation. Paul had to deal with this kind of wrong thinking many times. The epistles of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews were written for the express purpose of establishing faith in Jesus as the only requirement for salvation.