Acts 15B This week, we ll rejin the Cuncil f Jerusalem The cuncil has been cnvened t address a central questin: what is the basis f salvatin? The Apstles are nt cnfused cncerning the truth f the Gspel They have been preaching it cnsistently and their letters reflect their understanding f the truth But men within the part f the Pharisees have distrted the Gspel adding wrks f the Law and f circumcisin as a requirement fr salvatin This teaching has stirred up the emerging Gentile church naturally And they requested the Apstles cnvene this cunsel t answer the questin authritatively Is it necessary t becme a Jew befre ne can becme a Christian Last week we read thrugh v.11 We will reread a few f thse verses this week t remember hw Peter respnded t the arguments he heard in that meeting Acts 15:7 After there had been much debate, Peter std up and said t them, Brethren, yu knw that in the early days Gd made a chice amng yu, that by my muth the Gentiles wuld hear the wrd f the gspel and believe. Acts 15:8 And Gd, wh knws the heart, testified t them giving them the Hly Spirit, just as He als did t us; Acts 15:9 and He made n distinctin between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Acts 15:10 Nw therefre why d yu put Gd t the test by placing upn the neck f the disciples a yke which neither ur fathers nr we have been able t bear? Acts 15:11 But we believe that we are saved thrugh the grace f the Lrd Jesus, in the same way as they als are. Peter had listened t the varius arguments, but he already knew hw he and the ther Apstles wuld decide the issue 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 2 They had met in secret prir t this meeting, accrding t Paul in Galatians chapter 2 In that meeting they had agreed that salvatin was by grace thrugh faith and nt by wrks - bth fr Jews and Gentiles S Peter highlights the errr in their thinking T simply review Peter s lgic, he says Gd made clear He was chsing t include Gentiles And Gd als made clear that they received the same Spirit as the Jewish believer, the clear sign f salvatin S if Gentiles were saved by faith alne and received the Spirit, then we knw they are nt required t becme Jew first Nw this week, we pick up by lking at the crwd s respnse Acts 15:12 All the peple kept silent, and they were listening t Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wnders Gd had dne thrugh them amng the Gentiles. The first thing we ntice is that Peter s wrds caused the rm t fall silent Bth sides refrained frm further argument r cmment It seems that Peter s statements have settled the issue This makes sense fr tw reasns First, Peter has the credibility f the chief Apstle and the ne wh Gd used t bring the Gspel t the Gentiles Wh can argue with a man like Peter? If yu feel his wrd isn t authritative, then why wuld yu even be a part f this mvement? Secndly, Peter has the pwer t bind and lse decisins cncerning the dctrine f the church Matt. 16:18 I als say t yu that yu are Peter, and upn this rck I will build My church; and the gates f Hades will nt verpwer it. Matt. 16:19 I will give yu the keys f the kingdm f heaven; and whatever yu bind n earth shall have been bund in heaven, and whatever yu lse n earth shall have been lsed in heaven. 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 3 When Peter spke in this mment, his authrity was supernaturally evident and the ther men in the rm came t recgnize him in this way S as Peter spke, the men fell int line behind him The secnd thing we ntice is that this silence gives pprtunity fr Paul and Barnabas t relate sme f their experiences in ministering t Gentiles We are left with the sense that Paul and Barnabas see the chance t fill the silence with stries that will reinfrce Peter s viewpint Peter says they are being saved in the Spirit just as Jews, and Peter and Barnabas have stries t tell that prve that pint S they share what they ve seen The lessns frm Paul and Barnabas is that withut Gd s direct apprval and invlvement, nne f their accmplishments wuld have been pssible Thus prving that Peter s statements are true Nw anther Apstle stands up and speaks Acts 15:13 After they had stpped speaking, James answered, saying, Brethren, listen t me. Acts 15:14 Simen has related hw Gd first cncerned Himself abut taking frm amng the Gentiles a peple fr His name. Acts 15:15 With this the wrds f the Prphets agree, just as it is written, Acts 15:16 AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, Acts 15:17 SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, Acts 15:18 SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO. Acts 15:19 Therefre it is my judgment that we d nt truble thse wh are turning t Gd frm amng the Gentiles, Acts 15:20 but that we write t them that they abstain frm things cntaminated by idls and frm frnicatin and frm what is strangled and frm bld. Acts 15:21 Fr Mses frm ancient generatins has in every city thse wh preach him, since he is read in the synaggues every Sabbath. Here we see James speaking 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 4 James is the brther f Jesus and the leader f the church in Jerusalem This wuld als have made him the senir leader at the cuncil Interesting that thugh Peter was the Apstle chsen t have the keys t the Kingdm and t have the pwer t bind and lse, nevertheless James was chief elder f the church This may have been because Peter was required t flee the city James calls fr the grup s attentin, and then says that Peter s wrds agree with Scripture Specifically, that Gd spke befrehand that He wuld select frm amng the Gentiles a peple fr Himself This is cmparable t the way Gd has reserved fr Himself a peple frm amng the Jews The remnant, in ther wrds S the Gentile natins will prduce a remnant f srts fr Gd The Church is mstly a Gentile rganism taken frm the wrld as a peple fr Gd James qutes frm Ams 9:11-12 Ams declares that Gd will return after the Tribulatin, the Lrd will return t rebuild the Temple And it will be beacn t all the natins s that cme t it seeking the Lrd Ams is describing the way the temple f Gd acts like a giant lighthuse in the days f the Kingdm calling all natins t wrship the Lrd James applicatin here is simply t prve that the OT scriptures have always lked frward t a day when the Gentiles wuld be included in Gd s plan James isn t saying that this passage in Ams is speaking f their time specifically He s simply saying that Gd s affinity fr Gentiles is evident in Scripture 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 5 Thus prving that Gd desn t intend t make everyne Jewish befre they can cme t Him S James likewise cncludes that the Apstles and ther leaders nt truble the Gentiles wh are cming t the Lrd The reference t trubling reflects the Pharisees insisting that the Gentiles be circumcised We can be sure this was a trubling requirement that many men wuld have resisted But James says this isn t a helpful r necessary requirement Therefre, dn t place the burden n the Gentiles But then James addresses the Pharisees demand that the Gentiles fllw the Law James ffers a cmprmise here, but ne designed t help the Gentiles integrate successfully int the new church with the Jewish brthers James says write a letter t Gentiles and tell them t abstain frm fur practices cmmn in Gentile sciety Three f the items deal with eating and ne deals with sexual behavir These areas f daily life were central t maintaining fellwship with Jews It wuld be difficult enugh fr Jews t accept the arrival f Gentiles within their cngregatins But if thse Gentiles cntinue engaging in practices that were abhrrent t Jews, it wuld make fellwship impssible It wuld threaten the successful integratin f the Gentiles int the bdy f Christ The eating restrictins were t nt eat meat sacrificed t idls, nt t eat meat that had been strangled and nt t eat bld All three f these things were prhibited under the Jewish law, yet believers (bth Jewish and Gentile) were 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 6 free under the liberty they gained in Christ t eat these things Still, James knew hw ffensive these items wuld be t Jewish believers If Gentiles were t cntinue in these practices, fellwship with Jews wuld be impssible Secndly, James says n t frnicatin, which refers t varius sexual practices cmmn t pagan wrship Because f their assciatin with sexual immrality, it wuld have been particularly distasteful t Jews We need t understand that James isn t prpsing that these rules are binding rules n Gentiles r suggest that the Law is still in effect fr Gentiles r Jewish believers If there was ever a mment in the histry f the church when the pprtunity existed t declare that the Law was still in effect fr the Gentile, this wuld have been the perfect mment Instead, James says dn t truble the Gentiles with things that the frefathers culdn t live up t either Clearly, James was nt interested in reinstitutin the Law fr believers But he did ask them t restrict their liberty in fur key areas fr the sake f the Jewish brethren This is a prime example f what Paul teaches when he tells us nt t allw ur liberty t becme a means fr stumbling ur brther It s als imprtant t nte that ur eldership may frm time t time make requests f the bdy t accept restrictins n liberty fr a greater gd The Bible teaches we are t respect the judgments f ur elders and receive their instructin with humility Smetimes their instructins may be wrng r unhelpful, but fr as lng as we cngregate under their leadership, we must respnd t their requests as bedience t the Lrd 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 7 If their instructins shuld cntradict Scripture, we reach ut t them ffering crrectin in the Biblically crrect manner given in Scripture Finally, in v.21 James gives his justificatin fr making these requests f the Gentile believers He says that in every city frm ancient generatins there are peple wh prclaim and read Mses Mses refers t the bks f Mses, the first five bks f the Bible Mre specifically, it refers t the Law fund within thse bks James is reminding the crwd that in every city where the Gspel is being preached, there are Jews hearing the preaching f the Law If the church was t cexist with Jews in these cities - and perhaps even win a few fr Christ - it must remain sensitive t the culture f that day And with Mses read and preached rutinely, the church must expect that bservant Jews will be fund living next t Gentile believers in every twn If these Gentiles cntinue in repulsive practices dne in the name f Christ, it will wrk against the purpses f the Gspel James smartly cncludes that it wuld be better t avid upsetting the Jews by remving these practices frm amng the Gentiles wh will be cngregating with Jews in the new church It will als ensure the harmny and unity f the new church And reduce the pssibility f persecutin by thse same Jews S fllwing James instructins, the plan is put int actin Acts 15:22 Then it seemed gd t the apstles and the elders, with the whle church, t chse men frm amng them t send t Antich with Paul and Barnabas Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men amng the brethren, Acts 15:23 and they sent this letter by them, The apstles and the brethren wh are elders, t the brethren in Antich and Syria and Cilicia wh are frm the Gentiles, greetings. 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 8 Acts 15:24 Since we have heard that sme f ur number t whm we gave n instructin have disturbed yu with their wrds, unsettling yur suls, Acts 15:25 it seemed gd t us, having becme f ne mind, t select men t send t yu with ur belved Barnabas and Paul, Acts 15:26 men wh have risked their lives fr the name f ur Lrd Jesus Christ. Acts 15:27 Therefre we have sent Judas and Silas, wh themselves will als reprt the same things by wrd f muth. Acts 15:28 Fr it seemed gd t the Hly Spirit and t us t lay upn yu n greater burden than these essentials: Acts 15:29 that yu abstain frm things sacrificed t idls and frm bld and frm things strangled and frm frnicatin; if yu keep yurselves free frm such things, yu will d well. Farewell. We remember that this cunsel tk place because the first and mst prminent Gentile church in Antich had requested the meeting The Gentiles in Antich wanted a final decisin frm the Apstles cncerning the truth f the teaching that they be circumcised and fllw the Law S James prnuncement must be delivered t the church in Antich And frm there it wuld be distributed t ther Gentile churches in the regin In this case, Paul and Barnabas were n ne side f the argument, and s the cunsel didn t want the church t dubt the truth f their reprt (since they had a cnflict f interest) S they select tw men, Judas and Silas, t accmpany Paul and Barnabas and testify t the truth f James and and cunsel s judgments We knw nthing mre abut Judas but Silas appears frequently in the bk He will accmpany Paul n his secnd missinary jurney He was gifted as a prphet and an elder in the Jerusalem church As recgnized leaders in the Jerusalem church, these men wuld be accepted as authrities and their wrd wuld be accepted withut challenge in Antich 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 9 Tgether they carry a letter explaining the decisin The first part f the letter renunces the actins and instructin f the men wh had visited the church earlier The Pharisees wh came preaching circumcisin were nt men sent with the authrity f the Apstles and the Scripture And therefre their teaching shuld be rejected In their place, the James repeats the instructins agreed upn in Jerusalem Ntice in v.28 James credits the Hly Spirit with being the One Wh delivered these instructins t the church leaders This is in keeping with Jesus prmise that the Hly Spirit wuld guide the church int all truth, accrding t Jhn 16:13 Finally, ntice the end f the letter James says that bserving these fur restrictins will result in the Gentile church ding well He didn t say it wuld result in righteusness r hliness Or even that it meant they wuld avid sin, since these restrictins are nt in all cases sin Rather, he says the church will d well, which means the church will prsper and remain united and strng It reflects the fact these instructins were given t unify the cdy, nt fr the purpse f ensuring persnal hliness r righteusness It falls t Paul and Barnabas t deliver the message in the letter t the cngregatin Acts 15:30 S when they were sent away, they went dwn t Antich; and having gathered the cngregatin tgether, they delivered the letter. Acts 15:31 When they had read it, they rejiced because f its encuragement. Acts 15:32 Judas and Silas, als being prphets themselves, encuraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message. Acts 15:33 After they had spent time there, they were sent away frm the brethren in peace t thse wh had sent them ut. Acts 15:34 [ But it seemed gd t Silas t remain there.] 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 10 Acts 15:35 But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antich, teaching and preaching with many thers als, the wrd f the Lrd. The ccasin fr delivering the decisin f the cunsel is a large cngregatinal meeting We can imagine the tensin and anticipatin in the rm, particularly amng the males Wuld Paul annunce that circumcisin was a requirement fr salvatin? Wuld the Gentiles be required t fllw the Law? And in the meantime, were they nt saved until these things tk place? What a terrible fear t carry, especially after having already trusted that they were saved by faith S Paul and Barnabas read the letter, and the crwd rejices That must have been an understatement Here was an edict f freedm delivered frm the head f the Jewish center f evangelism t the head f the Gentile center f evangelism The rm was encuraged, and it gave ccasin fr the tw visitrs frm Jerusalem t give the church a lng message Interesting that a lng message was an encuragement t the church Remember that the next time yur pastr runs lng n Sunday These men have the gift f prphecy, s their message prbably included bth teaching and reprts frm the church in Jerusalem Yu can prbably cmpare the experience t a visiting missinary speaking n Sunday After they spke, the tw men hung arund the church fr a time, and then the church sent them back t Jerusalem In v.34, yu may find a statement declaring that Silas remained 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 11 There is gd evidence t suggest this was nt in the riginal text written by Luke Instead, sme well-meaning scribe added it thinking it wuld clear up a cnfusin in Luke s text Ntice in v.40 Paul takes Silas frm Antich n his secnd missinary jurney The scribe assumed that Silas culdn t have returned t Jerusalem as described in v.33 since Paul takes Silas with him This additin was well-intentined but unnecessary It is reasnable that Silas wuld return t Jerusalem after this trip t reprt t the elders in Jerusalem But then later he returned t Antich befre Paul departed n his jurney The scribe made an additin that wasn t crrect r necessary Befre Paul leaves fr his secnd missinary jurney, the events f Galatians 2 ccurred in the city during this time Peter came up t Antich and while he was there, elders frm Jerusalem visited...perhaps Silas was amng them And at their arrival, Peter withdraws frm eating with Gentiles It was prbably the case that a factin in the Jewish church cntinued t press fr a separatin f Jew and Gentile Refusing t accept the decisin f the cunsel f Jerusalem And thugh Peter disagreed with them and knew that they were cntradicting the Gspel, still he sught their apprval at least at times S when these men arrived in Antich, Peter changed his attitude and stpped eating with the Gentile brthers S Paul says in Galatians 2 he cnfrnted Peter t his face ver the hypcrisy 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 12 Speaking f the missinary jurney... Acts 15:36 After sme days Paul said t Barnabas, Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we prclaimed the wrd f the Lrd, and see hw they are. Acts 15:37 Barnabas wanted t take Jhn, called Mark, alng with them als. Acts 15:38 But Paul kept insisting that they shuld nt take him alng wh had deserted them in Pamphylia and had nt gne with them t the wrk. Acts 15:39 And there ccurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated frm ne anther, and Barnabas tk Mark with him and sailed away t Cyprus. Acts 15:40 But Paul chse Silas and left, being cmmitted by the brethren t the grace f the Lrd. Acts 15:41 And he was traveling thrugh Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Paul gets the bug t mve ut again and see what has becme f the churches he planted He encurages Barnabas t accmpany him again Barnabas agrees but he makes a suggestin that upsets Paul Barnabas wants t take Jhn Mark with them Jhn Mark had abandned the first missinary jurney in Pamphylia, and Paul thught this was reasn enugh t prevent Jhn Mark frm jining the secnd jurney Barnabas stuck by his guns, and this led t a sharp disagreement and separatin The wrds fr separatin in Greek has a rt frm which we get the wrd schism There was a divide between these men ver this issue S Paul chses a new partner in Silas and Barnabas takes Jhn Mark We never hear abut Barnabas and Jhn Mark again in the bk f Acts They head t Barnabas hme twn in Cyprus Thugh Paul says in 1Cr that they recnciled t a degree and Clssians 4 says they maintained fellwship 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Acts 15B! 13 Paul als describes recnciliatin with Jhn Mark in 2Tim 4 and Phil 24 We can make several bservatins and cnclusins frm this scene First, thse n the frntlines f ministry need partners they can wrk with and trust We shuldn t wrk n ur wn Paul and Barnabas thught it s imprtant wh accmpanied them that it led t a permanent separatin Secndly, fellwship can still be maintained at a distance The fact that they separated didn t require hard feelings Third, the effect f this separatin appears t have been similar t the effect f persecutin in the church in Jerusalem It resulted in tw missinary teams ging ut instead f nly ne big ne In ministry, ur gal shuldn t be t grw but t replicate, and there is a difference Grwth by itself becmes just weight and baggage and stagnatin Replicatin prduces cpycats wh want t d the same thing And cpycats dn t like cmpetitin, s they mve t new places We want cpycats This separatin als gives pprtunity fr a new missinary, Silas He is similar t Paul in numerus ways A leader in the Jerusalem church and prphet like Paul He s als a Rman citizen And he is sent ur by the church in Antich with Paul 2011 Verse By Verse Ministry f San Antni (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.