Sunday Morning Service

Acts 15:1-35 (Click title for audio access)

"The Jerusalem Council"  •  10.9.11  •  Sunday Morning Service, Calvary Christian Fellowship

Intro.

- God has opened the gates of salvation wide, spreading out the influence of His Kingdom from Jerusalem and the upper room, to Antioch in Syria and virtually every place in between!

- God's Spirit was genuinely moving as the name of Christ was being trusted. At the same time, whenever the authentic spreads, the counterfeit will spread also.

- That is what this chapter is all about. Can a person be saved by believing in Christ alone or must there be something additional to that? We'll break this section into three components.

I. Grace Assaulted  (1-5)

II. Grace Defended  (6-22)

III. Grace Extended  (23-34)

Text

I. Grace Assaulted  (1-5)

•  Acts 15:1  :  "And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.'"  : Paul and Barnabas have barely returned from their first missionary journey, when they are confronted by these "certain men" with an agenda counter to theirs.

- They were on a journey of their own, coming from Judea calling themselves teachers. Implicit in the text is that they were there, teaching authoritatively as if on behalf of the church in Jerusalem.

- They told these Christians, that unless they were circumcised, they could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas had said that if they believed in Christ, that they would be saved.

- Ultimately, they espoused the idea that these believers needed to become Jews in order to actuate their salvation, circumcision being the initiating act into full Judaism.

- Circumcision had been given to the Jews in Genesis 17. Abraham had been promised a son by God, but He was very old and Sarah was older and had been barren!

- While the couple had been in Egypt, they picked up a slave named Hagar, who Sarah offered could be a surrogate for them. What happens in Egypt never stays in Egypt!

- This was a socially accepted idea then and it did come from his wife, so Abraham went with it. Hagar conceived Ishmael and while there was rejoicing in the camp, there was silence in heaven.

- God did not recognize Ishmael as the fulfillment of His promise. He made the promise that Abraham's child would come from he and Sarah! Abraham had gone ahead in the power of his flesh.

- The next time God comes to Abraham in chapter 17, He institutes the cutting away of the foreskin, circumcision, as a sign that the people of God will no longer live in the power of their flesh!

- It was meant specifically for the Jewish people. Principally, we also must refuse to live in the power of our flesh, but Christians had never been told that the physical act was required for entry.

- This was a new argument that was posed to the new Christians at this time in the life of the church. Is it enough to trust fully in Christ for our salvation? Is salvation of grace or of work?

- The assertion from these men was that there was something that needed to be added. There salvation equation was belief in Jesus, plus circumcision.

- Today, we have seen similar equations: Belief, plus baptism. Belief, plus church membership. Each offered by men with Bibles in their hands, and each equally wrong.

•  Acts 15:2  :  "Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question."  : This is a nice way to say that they heatedly, passionately disagreed and argued together with these men from Judea!  The NLT translates this saying that they argued vehemently!

- Paul and Barnabas stood to defend the grace of God with regard to the nature of salvation.

- When the matter had been fully vented, it was determined that this group of people should go to Jerusalem about this very thing, likely because these men claimed that this was Jerusalem taught.

- When you read the book of James, one can understand how people could attack.

•  Acts 15:3-5 : "So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.'" : The trip to Jerusalem was a speaking tour. Phoenicia and Samaria had Christian congregations of their own.

- When Paul and Barnabas came through, they reported to them as they had to the church of Antioch regarding their recently completed journey. They rejoiced in those congregations at the news!

- Every Christian who hears about another who has confessed Christ, submitted to His Lordship, walked away from darkness and into the light, cannot help but celebrate!

- When Paul and Barnabas were received by the church of Jerusalem, the Apostles and the church elders, they again shared what God had done with them.

- They were first hand witnesses to the new churches that had begun in Galatia. They had been overseers in the church of Antioch. God was doing great things.

- But some of the sect of the Pharisees? What!? In Jerusalem, while we have been away elsewhere looking at the missionary journey, there has been a group of men who moved in.

- These may have been responsible for the seeds that were sprouting in Antioch.

- They are Pharisees who have believed in Christ and become part of the Jerusalem church, but held to circumcision and the law of Moses for salvation. These were in but not of the church!

- They had taken a position that was soon would prove difficult to defend.

II. Grace Defended  (6-22)

•  Acts 15:6-11  :  "Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: 'Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.'" : Peter stood to be the defense's first witness! You might synopsize his testimony with this heading: "Where is the Holy Spirit?"

- God had done a work among the Gentiles by Peter's mouth. God acknowledged them by giving them His Holy Spirit. He bore them witness. He revealed His pleasure to adopt them.

- The Gentiles, without circumcision, had been given God's Holy Spirit when they believed!

- When God gives a person His Holy Spirit, the Bible tells us that this is the downpayment, the safety deposit that insures that we will receive all that God has promised us!

- He did this to the house of Cornelius in the same way that He did this to the Apostles in the upper room on Pentecost! There was no one better. It was the same Holy Spirit!

- If these are the facts, Peter argues, why would you seek to put them under the law that even the Jews could not have followed!

- But here is the crux of the matter: The Apostles came to the belief that salvation came through the grace of the Lord Jesus to the Gentiles.

- That salvation was the one that the Jews needed to embrace, not the burdensome law that these legalists wanted to impose upon the members!

•  Acts 15:12  :  "Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles."  :  After Peter spoke the people held their peace. Then Barnabas and Paul testified to what God had done through them, speaking of God's miraculous power.

- You can put "Where are the miracles?" over this verse.

- In the same way that He delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, so also had He delivered the Gentiles with a mighty hand from the power of sin!

- God's miracles were given to authenticate the message that He approved of! Did the circumcision get any of that support?

•  Acts 15:13-17  :  "And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, 'Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 'After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.’" : The crowd became silent yet again. There was no way to dispute what was being offered.

- It is difficult to argue when there are cold hard facts involved. Finally, the Senior Pastor of Jerusalem Christian Fellowship stood up to vertify what He had learned.

- James, the half brother of Jesus had become the lead Pastor in the church of Jerusalem. Over these verses, you might write the heading, "Where are your scriptures?"

- James stands to offer scriptural precedent for the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Kingdom.

- What Peter did was participate with God in calling out a people for Himself. This was not Peter's idea, but it was predicted that it would happen in scripture.

- Amos 9 speaks specifically of the Millenial Kingdom. It is God who promises to make a people from all nations. God's intention has always been clear: The Gentiles were a part of His plan.

- Not Gentiles who have become Jews through circumcision and adherence to the law of Moses, but Gentiles who are just that, but are called by His name.

- They believed it for the millenial reign. What was so hard about believing it right then?

- What is important about this? The roots of Christianity are not just based in the experiences of the Jewish Apostles represented by Peter, or those of Paul and Barnabas.

- This was based in God's Word and the testimony of two or three witnesses is given to us by Luke to fully establish the matter.

- Your Christianity is rooted in more than a few ancient stories of people who were changed. God has always had you and I in His heart!

•  Acts 15:18-21  :  "Known to God from eternity are all His works. Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.'"  :  God has always known what He was going to do. Before time began, God knew what would take place from eternity past.

- Everything that He would do, every work that was His was in His mind. He knew that He would bring the Gentiles into relationship with Himself.

- James was making an official edict. Because of the Apostolic witnesses and the scripture, it was decided that there would be no need to trouble, literally, annoy the Gentiles.

- Don't trouble those who are turning to God. That is a great word for us. Trouble was imposed upon the Gentiles in the form of this question about circumcision and keeping the law of Moses.

- Trouble is finding any kind of legalistic trip to put on a person after they have surrendered to Christ! Let us never be ones to trouble those who are turning to God in faith!

- Let the Holy Spirit do His work of convicting. Let Him do the changing. He did it in you and He will do it in them as well. James made a great decision that should resonate with us as well.

- That being said, James recognizes something very important. The Gentiles didn't need the law for salvation, but they needed restraint for their Jewish counterparts.

- Gentiles received foods without thinking of their origin, had different sexual ethics and practices and ate things without sufficiently considering their preparation.

- All of these issues they thoughtlessly ignored were deeply ingrained prohibitions in the the law of Moses.

- The Gentiles would not be under the law with regard to their salvation, but they should be under the law of love for the sake of sensitivity toward theit brothers and sisters who were Jewish!

- Wherever Christianity would go, there would be a large Jewish contingent who would be loyal to the things presented in scripture.

- How could the new Gentiles have fellowship with the Jewish believers? James saw these statements, these prohibitions as a minimal compromise for fellowship.

III. Grace Extended  (23-34)

•  Acts 15:22  :  "Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren."  : The council had made their decision. This group who had brought the controversy was not easily dispatched, but they were silent for now.

- Paul and Barnabas would take this letter back to Antioch, but Jerusalem wanted to send Judas and Silas as well to corroborate the word, seeing that Paul and Barnabas were co-defendats.

- The group would send this letter by the hands of these trusted men. This decision would be delivered as an official edict from the church of Jerusalem. This was the letter.

•  Acts 15:23-29  :  "They wrote this, letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, 'You must be circumcised and keep the law'—to whom we gave no such commandment—it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." : It's a short letter, but it clears things up quickly. First, this is a note for the sake of unity.

- This was not a divided council. It was a united council in sending out this decree.

- Second, this is a note of clarity. The men that had come to them Judea had no authorization to speak for the Jerusalem church. The church disavowed anything these men had said.

- Third, this is a note of authority. The messengers were noted so that when the letter came, these messengers would be received.

- This was very important in that world, especially given what had just taken place. The men who had initially come had come with some claim to authority that they did not possess.

- JCF wanted to be sure that these men were received and that Antioch knew that this was legitimate. The letter finishes with necessity.

- Jerusalem wanted them to know that while they did not need to be circumcised, they did need to alter their practices for the sake of fellowship with Jewish believers.

•  Acts 15:30-35  :  "So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also."  : The church in Antioch rejoiced over it's encouragement. They had held their collective breathes and exhaled grace!

- Judas and Silas had come and spend many days exhorting and strengthening the brothers. They reinforced scripturally, the position that the council had determined.

- When Judas decided to head back, he was given greetings from the brothers. God had given this group, both in Antioch and in Jerusalem, a common victory.

- Silas decided to stay, which will turn out to be a life changing decision for him.

Conclusion

- On this day, you and I can rejoice with this group, that our salvation is complete because of Jesus. God's grace is sufficient! When it is attacked in our hearts, we must remember this chapter.

- We must remember that He gave us His Spirit, He worked the miracle of transforming our lives and He gave us scripture to fasten us to Him.

- I pray that we will be consistent in extending that grace to others, trusting what God will do through it.