Full Standing in God s Family, by Grace November 23, 2014 Acts 15:1-33 Matt Rawlings

1 Full Standing in God s Family, by Grace November 23, 2014 Acts 15:1-33 Matt Rawlings Acts 15:1-33 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses." 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 16 "'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.' 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues." 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from 1

2 these, you will do well. Farewell." 30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. What would you do if the things you thought you knew about who you were changed? What would you do if it was suddenly revealed that you had family members that you didn t know about? What would you do if you found out that you all shared the same Father? What if your family customs were immediately changed as a result? The Jews were facing these very challenges. They were God s people indeed, but God s people now looked very different than what they had thought. They now had family members being welcomed in, who were previously outsiders, whom they were previously told not to associate with and now they were to embrace them. They had been taught in their family Abraham s family, to live and act in ways that were pleasing to God and now, these new family members were doing some of the very things that they were told not to before. The Gentiles were no longer a trickle, they were like a flood and most were being accepted into the covenant family and being baptized without even the mention of any of the family rituals that went hand in hand with their identity as God s people. Do you see the problem for the Jews? Well, it was into this mix that men from Judea went out, trying to instruct people about how they needed to live as part of God s people. They needed to be circumcised and they needed to keep the laws of God s people. These men were coming into the church and disrupting things they were troubling the people. They missed the main idea that I believe God would have us for us from this text today. Main Idea: By God s grace, we are free to come to Him and to live in His grace. Verse 1 tells us though, But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. " These Christian brothers were not evil. They were misguided. They probably thought that what they were doing was good and godly, to help keep these new converts from sinning and to be acceptable to God just like most legalists try to do today. The only problem is that it negates the grace of God. Legalism not only negates the grace of God, it divides people and it weighs them down. That is the first principles that we are going to look at in this passage. Legalism is the opposite of God s grace. 1. Legalism divides and weighs down In the 1700 and 1800 s in our country, there was a hideous and horrible practice of systematically dividing people based on external differences of ethnicity primarily by skin color. Divisions were made based on externals and then many of our forerunners weighed them down with burdens in slavery. The sad thing is that this was done even though we are all part of the same human race - Adam's race, made equally in God's image. In a similar way, legalism divides us based on external behaviors and weighs people down, burdening them in slavery to fulfill laws and rules to be acceptable. And these men who had 2

3 come into the church were dividing the church in Antioch. But it wasn t because they weren t well taught or had ineffective pastors. Barnabas was possibly the most encouraging and effective pastor in the early church. Paul was perhaps the most gifted teacher, preacher, theologian and author that the church has ever known. What he lacked in stature, he made up for in his intellect, insight, discernment, wisdom and capacity. Clearly, God was blessing the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. Yet, the church in Antioch was not immune to problems. The church in Antioch was not immune to people who came in and stirred up dissention. As well-taught as this church was, so many years after it had been founded and led by the best, they were still troubled by legalism and disagreement. The Judaizers were likely teaching that all of the customs of Moses must be followed, but circumcision became the key illustration of the sacrifices necessary to keep the customs and laws of Moses. People would have assumed that they were mature Christians and that they knew the truth. Some in Antioch probably assumed that the Judaizers rightly understood the teaching of the true apostles of Jesus Christ, since they were from their church The church in Antioch shouldn t have been swayed. They should have known better. The church in Antioch should have been able to trust Paul and Barnabas and say no-thank you to the teachers from Judea. But, maybe they misunderstood something. Maybe these men from Judea were right after all. Luke writes, that after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissention and debate with them. I like how Luke understates things. What he is saying is that they had huge dissention and debates with them! This was a huge matter of controversy and the church was troubled. The Greek word for dissention is generally used of insurrection or rebellion. They had great arguments and discord over this, and it probably bordered on a riot and rebellion. So, the church sends Paul and Barnabas, along with some others to Jerusalem. They were sent to Jerusalem, not just because the men who were teaching legalism had come from Judea but because if anyone could settle the dispute, it would be the apostles chosen by Jesus Christ, who had heard His teaching on earth and commissioned by Christ directly. Paul and Barnabas weren t going to Jerusalem because there was a church hierarchy or because there was any kind of formal governance or leadership structure that they were under. They went because this was the perhaps the most important theological issue for the early church and for Christianity in general. They went because the core message of the Gospel was at stake. They went because, Paul was likely concerned that all of his labors might have been in vain, if the Gospel required observing the laws of Moses. This could not have been a more important question, not only for the church to resolve but for Christianity to put to rest once and for all. If the Good News of Jesus Christ was that He came to free us from the law, only for us to go back and try to be acceptable to God by the law, then it would be a depressing message. It would mean that salvation was of Christ, but it is up to us to remain acceptable to God. It would mean that we still had to keep the law, which is something no one, except for Jesus, could ever do. In verse 4, Luke makes sure that he notes that they were well-received by the church and the apostles and elders. It was important for the reader of Acts to know that they were not outsiders. They were welcomed warmly as fellow brothers in Christ. And the church listened to them 3

4 declare all that God has done with them. However, Luke notes that there were some Christians who still belonged to the party of the Pharisees who were the primary ones to say that it was necessary not only for the Gentiles to repent and believe in Jesus Christ to be saved, that it was necessary for them to do something else to be a part of the church community. Lest we quickly condemn the Pharisees and imagine we would never do that we can do the same sort of thing when we place pressure on a person to conform to things other than Scripture. We can put pressure on people to conform to our own group norms to be accepted in the church and this is equally wrong. But before you get your hate on for these Pharisees, notice what Luke writes. These men in Jerusalem who belonged to the party of the Pharisees were now believers in Jesus Christ. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah and had come to redeem and deliver a people for God. They were fellow Christians but they were misguided. There were some believers, even in the early church, who were still ingrained and tempted to legalism. Maybe, even today, there could be some in the church who are tempted in this way, but who are still genuinely believers? Well, in any case, they said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses." They weren t just saying that it was a good thing to do, in light of their conversion. They weren t saying that being circumcised and keeping the laws of Moses was a good way to keep holy, or that the law was a good guideline to keep pure as a Christian they were saying it was necessary for conversion. Now, this isn t just a problem that the early church faced is it? This is a problem that we face today as well. Now, no one wants to be known as a Pharisee today do they? If someone called the average Christian a Pharisee, they would likely be offended. And no one here would think of themselves as a legalist or Pharisee. But just like it was something the early church was susceptible to, we are susceptible to being held captive by the notion that we need to keep certain laws or rules once we become a believer, in order to merit God s favor in some way. And this is a temptation for all of us in some form. Maybe some of us think that if someone is really a Christian, you will dress in a certain way, to show honor to God, as if honoring God is not a matter of the heart but of outward observances of dresses or ties or certain styles. Perhaps some find it necessary to follow check-lists of how to dress and so impose their own personal guidelines as a requirement. Now, the truth is, one can be legalistic about not being legalistic too. So that you almost have to dress counter-cultural to be a real Christian. But before you think this is an easy discussion and that you aren t legalistic or tempted in this way, let me ask you if you hold to any standards or traditions by which you measure anyone else? What if some Christians read things that you don t agree with? Do you still treat them with grace as fellow believers? What if some Christians do things differently than you? Perhaps either they are stricter in their parenting or more loose in their parenting? Maybe you have a conviction about whether your kids should date or not, or have a phone or not, or participate in sports or not, or be homeschooled, or classically educated or public schooled so that they can evangelize others? And you subtly look down on or think others are doing something wrong or sinning by not doing things your way. Maybe you believe that Christians should be stay at home moms, or working moms, or stay at home moms with at home businesses and you view your way of being a mom as superior to 4

5 others. What about your traditions of what you will or won t watch on TV or movies or listen to? What about your view that true, Christ-loving, God-fearing Christians should only have a certain size or type of house? As if one size house is more or less pleasing to God and it isn t about how you use your house or your heart attitude towards where you live. Maybe you believe that true Christians should only drive certain types of cars? Or maybe that true Christians will practice evangelism the way you believe that a believer should and if they don t then they aren t really accepted by God. We can even be a little legalist that has confidence in our own anti-legalistic stance. Which is really not confidence in Christ but confidence in ourselves and own ability to supposedly not be legalistic. We can all become proud and self-confident in our own ways of doing things and subtly begin to place our confidence in ourselves and our performance and not rely fully on the grace of God. We can all be like the Pharisees and require someone to conform to our traditions, at least in our hearts, even if we never speak it. And it can affect how we treat and interact with others and whether we will have fellowship with them. It is dangerous not only to our own walk with God but also to the unity of the body of Christ. So, you may be thinking, I get it, legalism is bad, but it really isn t that hard of a topic to deal with. And before you think this is a no-brainer discussion now, and wonder why this was such a big deal for the early church, I want us to consider - what about the call to be holy as God is holy? The answer to this issue wasn t immediately evident to these believers who were Pharisees and the men from Judea and even the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, I believe because they wanted to make sure they were also living lives that were holy and pleasing to God. Otherwise, they wouldn t have deliberated. They wouldn t have needed to gather to discuss this question if there wasn t some legitimate concern about obedience to God. After all, part of the great commission from Jesus was to teach them to obey all that I have commanded you. Jesus was definitely concerned with our obedience. Paul himself said in 1 Thessalonians 4:2, For this is the will of God, your sanctification. The matter wasn t necessarily straightforward. We are saved by grace but still called to holiness. So, the apostles and elders got together to consider the matter of whether it was necessary to keep the Law of Moses. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and after he spoke, everyone was silent. Why? Because he reminded them that what they thought wasn t as important or significant as what God thought. After all, he says, God made the choice for Peter to take the Gospel to the Gentiles and the implication is why would we dare go against God s choice? Then, Peter reminded them that God is the One who judges men by the heart and not by external actions. In verse 8, Luke records that Peter said, And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, Peter says that it is clear that God looked on the hearts of the Gentiles who turned to Him and gave witness to them, that their belief was acceptable by giving them the same Holy Spirit as He gave to the apostles and Jewish disciples. And he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 5

6 2. All believers are accepted by God's grace alone through faith alone. The CIA headquarters is a restricted space, where only those who have earned a Top Secret clearance may work. And the only way to get into the CIA's headquarters and into an office is with a proper pass and access has to be granted to go into a compartmented area. God's presence is a much more restricted space. You see, only those who are found right and completely holy before Him can enter in. And the only way to be accepted by God is to come to Him through faith in Christ alone to make you holy and give you His right to stand before God, whereby you receive access into His presence by His grace. The requirements are the same for Jew and Gentile alike. And we all come to God in the same way - by His grace alone, through faith alone. When Peter speaks, he emphasizes that their hearts were cleansed by faith. They weren t cleansed by outward observances. They weren t cleansed through religious duties. They weren t cleansed by conforming to the Law of Moses. They weren t cleansed by acting or dressing or speaking a certain way. God cleansed their hearts as they placed their faith in Him. But Peter didn t just say that God had looked on the Gentiles hearts and cleansed their hearts and given them the Holy Spirit based on their faith in God. He said that God did the same thing to us. God made no distinction between those who keep the law outwardly and those who don t. In both cases, the heart is made clean through faith. So, circumcision in the New Testament is a matter of the heart, not any kind of outward deed or action. So, Peter goes on to say that if God cleanses all of our hearts by faith and if the Gentiles are accepted equally with Jews and without any distinction by God, on the basis of faith, then, any imposition of laws is like a yoke being put around people s necks. Now, for those who didn t grow up around livestock or aren t familiar with ancient agricultural practices, he isn t talking about egg yolks. A yoke was a heavy, curved wooden harness of sorts that was typically laid on the necks of oxen or other beasts of burden to restrict their movement. And generally a plow was attached to the yoke that dug into the earth and dragged along, breaking up the ground with every step the oxen took. It wasn t easy. The oxen often strained against the yoke and it was hard, constrained and heavy work. And Peter is saying in verse 10, that adding requirements to be born again is like adding a yoke to the neck of the disciples. This is like testing God, so Peter basically says, do you really want to test God and require this? And he intends to strongly warn them to not test God s goodness, similar to how the Jews in Exodus were warned. Then, he expounds further and reminds them that neither they nor any of their forefathers could bear carrying the yoke of the law. No one was able to plow that field. Neither they nor their fathers were ever able to be accepted by God on the basis of their performance and good deeds. Instead though, Peter reminds them of something that all believers everywhere need to be reminded of. He says, But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." He was saying that no one is saved through works of any kind. There is no entrance into God s covenant family apart from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that is received through faith in His finished work. When he said this, Luke writes that all the assembly fell silent. And then Paul and Barnabas pipe up to give testimony to what Peter has just said by sharing the signs and wonders done through them among the Gentiles. 6

7 Then, Luke records that James, the brother of Jesus spoke up. So, Luke is showing that James did not believe or teach that Gentiles should keep the Law of Moses, despite the fact that the Judaizers probably said he did. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, In fact, James said that the words of the prophets all agree with what Simeon just said. Then, James, goes on in verse 16 through 18, to loosely quote one of them by referring to what the prophet Amos said in the Greek Old Testament. And in the context of the passage from Amos 9:12, it is clear that the dwelling of David and the ruins to be rebuilt primarily have to do with the restoration of God s people. God is talking about restoring His own people to spiritual wholeness. It is the ruins of a nation, a people who have been ruined by the effects of sin who will be rebuilt and restored by God into a new people, a new building, made up of both Jews and Gentiles that God has made in the church. And the purpose of this restoration of God s people is so that the remnant, the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, including all the Gentiles who are called by God s name. So, James is saying that it was always God s intention to bring the Gentiles to seek Him, because He has called them by His name. And James is saying that through Peter visiting the Gentiles at Cornelius house, God made it apparent that He planned to bring the Gentiles to Himself, through faith in Him. Peter gave his testimony based on God s actions and the gift of the Holy Spirit, now James backs him up with testimony from God s Word and applying the prophecies of old to what Peter said. So, then, James agrees with Peter and encourages the assembly not to trouble the Gentiles who turn to God with keeping the laws of Moses. But then interestingly enough, he encourages them to do a few things. Why is this? Is James now being legalistic? No, James is being wise. He is teaching them something. And it is the third principle we are going to look at today. 3. Because we've received God's grace, we are to extend God's grace. We are coming up on the Thanksgiving holiday this week. The reason I like this holiday is because it is a very Biblical idea to show gratitude and express thanks to God for His provision and undeserved grace. Yes, most of us eat too much but we'll save that for a different message. But the idea of feasting on goodness is a godly idea. We are meant to feast on God's good grace. We are meant to relish His grace and celebrate His grace and find joy and comfort in His grace and goodness to us in Christ. And one of the ways we express gratitude to God for His grace is by extending His grace to others. God's grace is what unites us. Thanksgiving is kind of a funny time, because we all are trying to recapture a sense of the wholeness of family that none of us really have. We have differences with our family. They might have habits or behaviors that we don't like. But, it is the goal for most to set those differences aside or ignore them as much as we can and come together in unity as family and friends. We might have to defer to a friend or relative on what kind of food to have or how to cook something. We may end up eating dried out turkey or trying some funky, new dish our crazy cousin brought. You may end up eating Jell-O with raw green and red peppers suspended in it like I have. But we do these things to try to love people. 7

8 And in a similar way to how many of us must set aside our differences and preferences and defer to each other to keep the peace in our earthly family at Thanksgiving, we must set aside our preferences and defer to each other in our church family. God has brought together a motley family of many different backgrounds and colors. But He has made all of us rebels and orphans His adopted children by His grace. And because none of us deserved His grace, that He has lavished on us in Christ, it is meant to change us to be a people who act like our new Father and give His grace to others. Some of the things that James encouraged the Gentiles to abstain from are like encouraging you to stay away from talking about politics or sports rivalries or pointing out how bad someone else's food is. They are bound to tempt people. But, because God has extended grace to us in our weakness, we are to give grace where others don't deserve it. So, the Gentiles were told not to do some things that would definitely tempt the Jews. Sexual immorality was something that the Gentiles would have been identified with in their past and been tempted to themselves. And it not only defiles oneself but it defiles your own body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And defiling your own body harms the body of Christ, of which you are a part. James mentions four things to abstain from. James says to abstain from these four things For or because, from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues." What he is saying is that from ancient generations, wherever there is a community with a synagogue around the world, everyone knows that these were distinctions of the Jews. The Jews didn t eat what was strangled, probably because they wouldn t have been properly drained of blood and they also didn t eat things in blood or contaminated with blood. The Gentiles who became Christians now knew that meat sacrificed to idols wasn t anything but it would have tempted their Jewish brothers. So he warns them to not have anything to do with things that are associated with idolatry. And Gentiles would have been very tempted towards sexual immorality, which was defiling. So, for the good of the church and for the sake of the unity of the church, they encouraged them to abstain from all these things. Not because they could earn God s favor or because it was necessary for salvation but in light of the fact that they were a part of a mixed people of both Jews and Gentiles, people from different backgrounds and cultures and they should defer to each other out of love. Because they were now one people both Jewish and Gentile, so very different, they were to abstain from the things that caused temptations to judgment and dis-fellowship. They were to live sensitive to the convictions of their Jewish brothers. Then, we see that the whole assembly agrees in the Spirit. And they send the delegation back along with two other witnesses from the church in Jerusalem, so that it could be established by the testimony of two impartial witnesses. Then, the apostles did something else, in addition to refuting the legalists. They commended the church to recognize their pastors Paul and Barnabas as beloved as men who have risked their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are endorsing Paul and Barnabas and saying that they are not self-seeking; they are doing what they do for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, they communicated what the apostles had decided and they shared it with the church. And verse 31 tells us the results. It says when they read the letter to the church at Antioch, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. They rejoiced! They were exceedingly glad because of 8

9 the freedom that they had in Christ. They were glad because they had received God s grace and they were encouraged by the grace of God being communicated to them through the apostles too. They were rejoicing because they were reassured that their confidence lies wholly in the grace of God in the person of Jesus Christ, that they received by faith. They were free. They didn t have to take on a heavy yoke of trying to be accepted by God by their efforts for God. The message was encouraging and comforting. The message of grace brought comfort and refreshment to them. Just like the message of the grace of God is meant to be a daily source of rejoicing and comfort and refreshment to us. All of us need God s grace. And all of us are called to extend God s grace to others as well. But at times, we can forget that the same grace that saved our brothers and sisters and that we are aware they don t deserve, is the same grace that has saved us and that we don t deserve either. It is easy to forget that we are all equally saved by God s grace - that the person you are judging or who has offended you, is saved by grace just like you. So, before you judge others, remember that you don t want to be judged by God on the basis of your merits or demerits either. We are all prone to think of ourselves as better than someone else. We are all prone to bitterness and resentment and unforgiveness. We are all prone to notice the specks in other people s eyes. Because we forget that we have big, heavy logs in our own eyes and we need the grace of God and the help of others to get the log dislodged from our eyes and carry it away. We all have to be careful that we treat each other with the same grace that we have received and not lay a yoke on each other s necks or cause dissent and division in the church by requiring someone to live up to our standards. We could never live up to God s standards. But Jesus, the Only Perfect, Righteous One - He did live up to all of God s standards perfectly. And He then subjected Himself to punishment and a cruel death, so that He could take our place and take all of our guilt and shame for not being good enough and He was accepted for us. Now, by God s grace, not because of anything we have ever done or could do, He has called us to Himself and saved us, so that He might rebuild and restore our ruined lives in Him. We were once in ruins but now, we ve received His grace freely. Now, let us extend that grace freely to others so that they might experience His joy as well. Amen. 2014 Redeeming Grace Church. This transcribed message has been lightly edited and formatted for the Website. No attempt has been made, however, to alter the basic extemporaneous delivery style, or to produce a grammatically accurate, publication-ready manuscript conforming to an established style template. 9