Acts 15A Paul s first missinary jurney with Barnabas is almst cmplete Refer t the map f this initial jurney The jurney has lasted nearly 2 years as best we can tell After his first jurney Paul wrte his first epistle, Galatians, shrtly after attending the cuncil f Jerusalem Having just established a series f new Gentile churches, it makes sense that Paul wuld have been mved t write letters t these churches The letter t the Galatians is written t the churches f Galatia, which refers t the churches Paul established in this first jurney And as the trip nears its cnclusin, the apstles reach a few mre cities, largely withut ppsitin As we left last week, Paul had just recvered frm his stning And He leaves the next day n a trip t the next twn, Derbe Acts 14:19 But Jews came frm Antich and Icnium, and having wn ver the crwds, they stned Paul and dragged him ut f the city, suppsing him t be dead. Acts 14:20 But while the disciples std arund him, he gt up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas t Derbe. Acts 14:21 After they had preached the gspel t that city and had made many disciples, they returned t Lystra and t Icnium and t Antich, Acts 14:22 strengthening the suls f the disciples, encuraging them t cntinue in the faith, and saying, Thrugh many tribulatins we must enter the kingdm f Gd. Ini Derbe they make many cnverts and establish yet anther Gentile church Then they begin t retrace their steps back thrugh the varius churches in Asia Minr where they have established beachheads fr the gspel Frm Derbe they head back t Lystra, Icnium and Antich Antich here is nt the Antich where the first church was established 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 15A! 2 This is a different Antich in mdern-day Turkey (see map) As they revisit each church, Paul and Barnabas bring a message f cmfrt Luke sums the message in v.22 Many tribulatins will be the cmmn uniting experience f the faith We must imagine that after Paul and Barnabas left each church, the persecutin that fell upn the apstles transferred t the new believers Either frm Jews f Gentiles, the early believers were under attack And these new believers were prbably unprepared fr this type f religius persecutin Such persecutin was prbably rare and they may have misunderstd it s meaning Perhaps it meant that Gd was unhappy r that the faith was nt true? Paul explains that trials and tribulatins shuld be expected And n dubt Paul pinted t his wn experience as prf Acts 14:23 When they had appinted elders fr them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they cmmended them t the Lrd in whm they had believed. Acts 14:24 They passed thrugh Pisidia and came int Pamphylia. Acts 14:25 When they had spken the wrd in Perga, they went dwn t Attalia. Acts 14:26 Frm there they sailed t Antich, frm which they had been cmmended t the grace f Gd fr the wrk that they had accmplished. Acts 14:27 When they had arrived and gathered the church tgether, they began t reprt all things that Gd had dne with them and hw He had pened a dr f faith t the Gentiles. Acts 14:28 And they spent a lng time with the disciples. On the return trip, Paul leaves each church with leaders He appints elders And Paul appinted them, they were nt elected 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 15A! 3 We ll never see a cngregatin frm f church gvernment in Scripture The Biblical mdel is always a prcess f appintment by men wh received their leadership rles by similar appintment The church has always mved frward at the hands f men and wmen wh answer the Spirit s call and aninting Then are sent by elders t establish a new wrk Once the wrk takes hld, the leader establishes new leaders, and s n The Bible never supprts the view that there is a ppe r utmst church leader n earth But there is a chain f aninting and cmmissining expected We have fathers in the faith and church leaders wh have been established by the Spirit s aninting and cnfirmed by earlier leaders Secndly, the elders are plural in each church The cncept f a single pastr-led mdel is nt Biblical either While a new church may rely n a single leader fr a time, as the church in Ephesus did with Timthy r Titus But as the church grws, the expectatin becmes that the leader appint c-leaders Titus 1:5 Fr this reasn I left yu in Crete, that yu wuld set in rder what remains and appint elders in every city as I directed yu, Finally, Paul and Barnabas cmmend these new believers t the Lrd When we think abut hw hard it was t cmmunicate r travel ver lng distances And then cnsidered the threats and challenges these new churches must have faced as Gentiles in the early church N NT, n large library f Christian writing r culture 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 15A! 4 N supprt structure and histry in the faith We have t marvel that the church survived at all...until we remember that it exists and grws by the pwer f Gd And it was upn this truth that Paul rested as well He cmmends the church t the Lrd because he knws that the church is always in His hands And Paul and Barnabas will be a lng way away fr many years and must depend n the Lrd t take care f these believers Paul wraps up his victry lap in Perga and then heads ver t Attalia Finally, frm there he sails back t Antich f Syria where the first church is still present and grwing And they cmmend Paul and Barnabas n all they have accmplished and n the wrk f the Lrd in pening a dr fr Gentiles Nw we transitin int chapter 15 t learn f an early challenge t the rthdxy f the church Acts 15:1 Sme men came dwn frm Judea and began teaching the brethren, Unless yu are circumcised accrding t the custm f Mses, yu cannt be saved. Acts 15:2 And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissensin and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and sme thers f them shuld g up t Jerusalem t the apstles and elders cncerning this issue. Acts 15:3 Therefre, being sent n their way by the church, they were passing thrugh bth Phenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the cnversin f the Gentiles, and were bringing great jy t all the brethren. The scene begins in Antich f Syria where Paul and Barnabas are still ministering The men cam frm Judea and were f the circumcisin party These were the same men wh had challenged Peter fr being willing t enter the hme f a Gentile They cme t Antich f their wn initiative 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 15A! 5 The fact they decide t travel frm Judea all the way t Syria t cnfrnt Paul s grwing ministry t the Gentiles tells yu hw much this issue has becme THE issue fr them In my persnal experience, I run int this kind f bsessive single-mindedness within the church I meet and individual r small grup f peple wh define their Christian life and purpse by a single theme r idea Smetimes the theme is hyper natinal patritism Or Gentiles trying t mimic r adpt Jewish practices and lifestyle Or natural remedies and healthy eating Or whatever the fad f the week may be The prblem with this narrw fcus is the way it creates selective attentin When we adpt a thing we see everything thrugh the lens f that issue Alistair Begg tells a stry f an American pastr wh asked him what his thing was... And ur fcus leads t an unbalanced and uneven Christian maturing...r even a failure t mature Yu will nly attend t this tpic f interest and ignre ther imprtant areas f Christian grwth Mre trubling, this narrw fcus can lead in extreme cases t a warped thelgy and even a false gspel This has happened here The desire t cherish a lng-standing Jewish mandate leads t a expectatin that Gentiles adpt it as well And t frce this utcme, these men teach that Gd Himself has made it a requirement fr acceptance int the Christian faith In ther wrds, a wrk was required t be saved 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 15A! 6 This same prblem was als happening in ther Gentile churches While in Antich the prblem is circumcisin, in Galatia it was the Law as a whle Men were teaching that keeping the Law was required salvatin Which is why Paul wrte the letter f Galatians while in Antich Listen t Paul s pening wrds in that letter... Gal. 1:1 Paul, an apstle ( nt sent frm men nr thrugh the agency f man, but thrugh Jesus Christ and Gd the Father, wh raised Him frm the dead), Gal. 1:2 and all the brethren wh are with me, T the churches f Galatia: Gal. 1:3 Grace t yu and peace frm Gd ur Father and the Lrd Jesus Christ, Gal. 1:4 wh gave Himself fr ur sins s that He might rescue us frm this present evil age, accrding t the will f ur Gd and Father, Gal. 1:5 t whm be the glry frevermre. Amen. Gal. 1:6 I am amazed that yu are s quickly deserting Him wh called yu by the grace f Christ, fr a different gspel; Gal. 1:7 which is really nt anther; nly there are sme wh are disturbing yu and want t distrt the gspel f Christ. When these men reach Antich, Paul and Barnabas cnfrnt these men And they strngly resist this teaching And they debate these men at length The wrd fr dissensin means strife in Greek The unity f Antich that Luke described earlier is nw threatened by wrng teaching Knwing Paul s ability and track recrd in debating false teaching, it s surprising that the church didn t immediately accept Paul s pint f view But fr the benefit f the church as a whle, Gd causes the argument t simmer fr a while until the leaders in the church determine a curse f actin The church leaders decide that the issue shuld be reslved by a meeting in Jerusalem with the Apstles as a whle Remember, that Peter has the keys t the kingdm and he had the pwer t bind and lse n earth as 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 15A! 7 This refers t the pwer t permit r frbid certain practices r beliefs fr the purpse f setting church dctrine and practice The discussin must mve t Jerusalem fr the apstles can meet and include Peter fr the final decisin S they send Paul, Barnabas, and ther men We knw frm Galatians that Paul tk Titus And we can assume that sme representatives f the ther pint f view attend as well It s ntewrthy that the leaders in this church d nt include Paul and Barnabas at this pint They submit themselves t the authrity f the elders What a demnstratin f submissin t authrity Paul and Barnabas demnstrate here They are the funding members f the church and Apstles n less They might have demanded the elders kick ut the truble makers and simply accept the Apstles wrd as a final answer Instead, they fllw the instructins f the elders Since they have t take a lng jurney suth thrugh Phenicia, the Galilee and Samaria, the Apstles take the pprtunity t infrm the church f all that was happening amng the Gentiles The Phenician church were Gentiles while the Samaritan church was Samaritans Bth f these grups wuld have been greatly encuraged t hear f ther Gentiles jining the church But as they prgressed t Jerusalem, Paul wuld have encuntered mre and mre Jewish churched And they prbably reacted differently t the news And it must have cncerned and excited the yung Jewish church Thugh is was a sign f the pwer f the Gspel 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 15A! 8 And it brught the Jews cmfrt t knw that they were nt alng Instead, they were begin jined by the wrld f Gentiles int faith Yet it brught cncerns t What wuld happen t the Jewish culture within the early church? Wuld the Jewish church becme verwhelmed by Gentiles And wuld the Jewish traditins and custms be lst? This is likely at the cre f why the Party f the Circumcisin was trying t cnvert Gentiles t Judaism first And ut f fear, they were trying t stp the inevitable They were resisting Gd s desire t create a Gentile bride fr Christ We nw see that mtive in the first meeting f the Apstles in Jerusalem Acts 15:4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apstles and the elders, and they reprted all that Gd had dne with them. Acts 15:5 But sme f the sect f the Pharisees wh had believed std up, saying, It is necessary t circumcise them and t direct them t bserve the Law f Mses. After giving their initial reprt n the rapid grwth f the church amng Gentiles, certain men bjected A sect f the Pharisees, which refers t the Party f the Circumcisin frm Acts 11:2 They demand bth circumcisin and the fllwing f the Law It makes sense that Pharisees wuld expect submissin t the Law since they themselves defined themselves by their scrupulus adherence t the Law This is an example narrw fcus n a single theme f Christian living And in this case, the theme wasn t a Christian theme 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 15A! 9 It s an unchristian theme that distrts the Gspel In chapter 2 f his letter t Galatia, Paul describes hw this meeting began He arrived with Barnabas and Titus He immediately met with Peter, James and Jhn t see hw they felt abut the matter Paul says he submitted t them the stry f hw he preached the Gspel t the Gentiles When Paul says hw he means nt merely that the Gentiles were receiving the Gspel...that wasn t news t anyne Rather, he means f hw he preached faith withut wrks was the mean t salvatin Paul wanted t find ut if Peter and the rest f the Apstles were preaching the same Gspel Paul s private meeting results in the Apstles agreeing that this is the true Gspel and they plan in secret fr hw they will cnduct the public meeting with the Gentiles and thers When that meeting takes place, the Apstles are already f ne mind t reject the Pharisees call fr Gentiles t submit t circumcisin and fllwing the Law Acts 15:6 The apstles and the elders came tgether t lk int this matter. 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. 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 15A! 10 Luke says a meeting is held t cnsider the demands f the Pharisees Luke indicates in v.7 there was much debate, but the debate wasn t amng the Apstles It was amng the Gentiles and elders and Pharisees Accrding t Galatians 2, the Apstles have already met and agreed n a curse f actin The Apstles bserved and listened Finally, we finally see Peter end the debate and stand up and make his decisin knwn By allwing the rm t vice pinins first, the Apstles gain a useful advantage First, they learn wh amng the prminent men f the church understand the Gspel prperly and wh dn t Secndly, they give the bdy a chance t feel a part f the prcess and helps cement their acceptance f the Apstles decree Peter speaks fr the last time in the bk f Acts Peter begins by reminding the crwd that it was Gd Himself Wh made a chice ver 10 years earlier t include the Gentiles in the church The circumstances f Crnelius salvatin made clear t everyne that it was Gd Wh decided t make this happen And that chice was made clearest by the fact that Gd visibly gave Gentiles the same Spirit Here again we see the unique significance fr Gd making the arrival f the Hly Spirit visible at times during the early church It was a watershed mment when Gentiles believed, and Gd made sure everyne knew that the Spirit had arrived Peter ges n t pint ut that the arrival f the Spirit resulted in a cleansing that was universal and cmmn t bth Gentile and Jew 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 15A! 11 And then Peter makes his turn with ne f the mst pwerful statements against legalism in the Bible First, he says why d they test Gd? The wrd test here means that t dubt the Gentiles entrance int the church n the basis f faith alne wuld be t call int questin Gd s judgment in the matter Since Gd Himself has made clear His intent t include Gentiles n the same terms He included the Jews already When Pharisees asked Gentiles t d mre than Gd required, they are testing Gd Secndly, Peter cmpares the demands f the Pharisees as a yke n the neck f the disciples Ntice that Peter uses the wrd disciple t refer t the Gentiles, clearly indicating Peter s view that they are brthers in the faith And he sees the requirements levied by the Pharisees as a yke r burden And Peter adds that nt even the religiusly bservant Jew was capable f bearing this yke successfully, referring t keeping the law Peter s statement is revealing because it indicates that the Pharisees in the church still believed they were keeping the Law Peter crrectly states that n ne keeps the Law Nt the fathers and nt us S why think that the Gentiles culd d it either? Peter crrectly states that salvatin is by the grace f Gd alne Grace means that Gd desn t recgnize merit r achievement He grants a pardn fr His wn purpses When we ask smene t perfrm a wrk as part f their salvatin that we urselves are nt even able t perfrm adequately, we are hypcrites and we sin 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 15A! 12 And in this case, the sin is made wrse because the Pharisees insistence that this wrk is a requirement fr salvatin Imagine hw much damage wuld have been dne t the early church is the Pharisees view had prevailed? Hw many Gentiles wuld have fund the Gspel t be gd news if it included the requirement t be circumcised and perfrm the Law? Similarly, when ur presentatin f the Gspel includes any suggestin f legalism, we test Gd If we prpse new rules fr living, new standards f behavir, new cultural expectatins, we repeat the sin f the Pharisee We are adding wrks, whether intended r nt, and we are acting hypcritically, since we urselves invariably vilate any rule we ffer Legalism is pernicius and easily verlked in ur evangelistic patterns We shuld preach and teach salvatin by grace thrugh faith in Christ and nthing mre Any discussin f gdly living and standard f cnduct are premature fr anyne wh is cnsidering the truth f the Gspel And fr thse wh have believed, any discussin f behavir must be divrced frm a cnversatin f whether they are saved They are saved by grace alne thrugh faith alne Behavirs are simply nt a part f that cnversatin 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.