Acts 15 is the beginning of the church's degradation, when for the sake of numbers forsook the seal of God's everlasting covenant with Abraham. The church elders adopted a new tradition nullifying instead of upholding God's command. From that point on, the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit gradually diminished as we see compromise after compromise crept in.

In Acts 16:1-3, the apostle Paul having the letter from Acts 15 in his hand circumcised Timothy because of the Jews there. The same hypocrisy he accused his fellow apostle Peter in Gal. 2:11-14 . Then we read in Acts 21:4-14 how Paul on his journey back to Jerusalem thrice disobeyed the Holy Spirit.