ACTS: The Divine Power Unleashed The Sacrifice of Unity (Acts 15:1-16:5) July 13, 2014 Intro: Sadly, throughout Church history, and still very obviously today, unity has taken on the definition of worshiping God and working together in ministry with those who completely agree with me on just about everything. The unifying factor is NOT The Gospel and GOD s CAUSE in the GOSPEL the unifying factor is people and their wants unity is achieved around people instead of Jesus! When unity is achieved around Jesus our wants and desires take the back seat to His. They aren t kicked out the car they are just not what drives the car they are put in the back seat as things that have meaning to us, but non-the-less we refuse to allow them to be what drives the car we refuse to allow them to be what governs our ability to worship with others and lock arms to go change the world together. SO in the end unity among flawed human beings is ALWAYS a sacrifice.. In the faith, in marriage, in friendship whatever for us to live in unity with others it requires a sacrifice on our part. SO With that in mind let s walk through Acts 15 16:5 AND as we do this it would be another important place to remind everybody that ACTS is not a book of instructions its not a manual on church life it s a testimony of the Divine Power of God Unleashed!! it s the raw story of GOD and His Gospel moving in and out and of His people to the nations. SO!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO NOT MAKE THIS PRESCRIPTIVE!!!!!!!! BEYOND THE OBVIOUS PRINCIPLES AND CONFRONTATION OF OBVIOUS SIN THIS IS IN NO WAY A MANDATE ON SPEFICIS!!!!!! If you make this text prescriptive instead of descriptive you are asking the text to do something it in no way asks to do and you will create a big MESS in the process!!! OK so here we go ACTS 15:1 1 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 (Greek term here is harsh this was a serious hammering from Paul), Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. (so the church in Antioch saw authority/leadership in the church of Jerusalem the apostles as well as the local elders of that church were seen as their leaders as well and 1 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
they were willing to place themselves under that leadership. Remember Paul and Baranbas both have their official commission from the Church in Jerusalem as well. NOT trying to make a point here other than making sure you see what s taking place let s keep going ) 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. (Interestingly, on their way to Jerusalem to get the other apostles and local elders opinion on the matter, Paul and Barnabas are stopping in churches likely visited by those they confronted in Antioch and making sure they all know GENTILES are being legitimately saved a part from The Law! more on this in a second )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, (NOTE: These are crazy serious Jewish cultural defenders those who believe in Jesus is GOD but also still hold tightly to the all the Jewish laws and customs these guys are preaching this ) "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses." (They believe in order to be saved and properly a part of the fellowship of the believers males must be circumcised and all must obey The Law, including all its food ordinances, rituals, feasts, Sabbath laws and rituals, etc., etc. etc.) 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much debate, (this was being debated by the local elders and apostels we don t know who is on what side completely but we are about to hear from those who spoke against the teachings of the Christian Pharisees ) Peter stood up and said to them, (Peter will speak to this with first hand knowledge remember in Acts 10 where Peter is preaching to a Roman Centurion and all his family and friends and they all repent, believe and are filled with the Holy Spirit before Peter can even get to the end of his sermon! So with that experience Peter stands and says, ) "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." (Peter reminds them of their inability to uphold the law and yet they believe they will all be saved by the Grace of God!) 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul (Interestingly Paul and Barnabas are listed together in their presentation. More in that in a bit ) as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. (They to tell the same stories as Peter just in different places the story that the Gentiles are being saved by GRACE through FAITH a part from works of the law and its 2 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
being testified by the clear presences of the Holy Spirit in the Gentile believers!) 13 After they finished speaking, James (3 rd presentation recorded by Luke) 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.' (James goes a different route.. instead of pointing to the personal testimonies of the Gentiles coming to Christ, He instead goes to the Old Testament Scriptures and points out that God has said this would be the case all along therefore implying that God foretold of day when The Law would be fulfilled and something else would take its place that would now offer salvation to all whether they are Jewish or not and ultimately this was the point the Pharisees were ALL ABOUT DEFENDING BEING JEWISH!!!! Cultural religion they were cool with following Jesus BUT not a the price of not being JEWISH!!). 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." (Two concerns Gentiles should do things to try and not offend the LOST jewish bothers in the area and thus turn them away from the Gospel so at least don t eat meat sacrificed to idols, meet that wasn t kosher, etc. ALSO sexual immorality was prominent in Gentile cultures because to them there was no real immorality with sex. Sex was a human appetite and could be served as such it was totally amoral. In addition, sex was tool in some pagan worship rituals that were deeply rooted in Gentile culture. This had to be addressed BIG TIME not just from the offense to the lost Jews but as Paul later writes to the Corinthians the offense to themselves!...its a sin against yourself.) 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, (pointed out that these judaizers were not representatives of the Apostles or the Elders of Jerusalem.) 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 3 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements (so they acknowledge that these instructions are a burden!!!!...it is a sacrifice of their normal lifestyle practices and routines.as well as a change in the cultural morality they had been taught): 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 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. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement (again this is a harsh greek term hear...this was no mild debate...this was a seriously intense, emotionally charged disagreement where thye could find NO comprimise), so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Going to say more on this in minute as I take you through your notes, but for now just make a mental note here slap in the middle of pushing back the strife in Antioch and consequently throughout the entire movement being created by the Judahizers, Paul and Barnabas end up mad at each other and split their ministry themselves!...) ACTS 16 1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. (Paul just argued in Jerusalem that circumcision doesn t matter the counsel in Jerusalem determined NOT to make it a matter of importance or acceptance BUT YET Paul still make Timothy get circumcised so that the LOST Jews they were going to preach the Gospel to would stand a higher chance of listening than if they were hearing it from an uncircumcised Jew as well as those who were believers Timothy and his family were known of where they were going and because his Mother was Jewish they would expect Timothy to adhere to Jewish law and 4 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
traditions so without circumcision many of the Jews would likely consider Timothy an abomination and likely not even let Timothy enter the synagogue much less listen to the Gospel!!!) 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. Prop: There are 5 conclusions in Acts 15:1-16:5 that we can make about the sacrifice of unity. (1) The Leaders would not sacrifice the fundamentals of the Gospel for unity. NOTE: At no point did Peter, Paul, Barnabas or James ever hint that anything but the Grace of God saved us. It was made clear in their letter that they in NO way endorsed, sent out or had anything to do with those who were teaching such a thing. HOWEVER THIS LEADS US TO #2. (2) The Leaders were led of the Holy Spirit (not by laws or mandates) to ask believers to make specific relevant sacrifices to remove what they felt were obstacles to what is mandated by Jesus the Great Commission! Note: Even though they were biblically free to eat meat sacrificed to idols, eat meat from an animal that had been strangled to death instead of properly bleed to death in Jewish custom, and in general eat blood (i.e. rare meat with blood in it, etc.), even though these rituals and laws were now TOTALLY mute being the New Covenant had been clearly made even though they were FREE from these regulations, The Apostles and Elders in the church of Jerusalem asked the Gentiles to sacrifice and obey them.. This was HARD given it limited them to Jewish Kosher markets or to killing their own meat this limited their participation in local festivals, things they would do with friends at their homes, etc. etc. etc. It was truly a sacrifice be like me telling you in order to lead a large group of lost people around to Christ we all need to stop eating out or buy in pre-made food we have to make everything we eat from scratch and on our on. Now this might help some of you get out of debt HA!! but in the process it would be a major inconvenience to your day! If it weren t for fast food places, take out places, along with deli meats, chips, breads, cheese, peanut butter, jelly, pasta, and spaghetti sauce many of you wouldn t know what to eat!!! When you went to somebody house you would have to carry you own food all the time when you went to some social function you would have to show up with a lunch box! HA!!! but seriously it 5 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
would be a serious inconvenience and general absolute pain in the rear end that could make you feel and look silly in front of some of your friends thus I would never ask you to do such a stupid thing!!! but in this case it wasn t stupid it was a general real issue with Jews that lived all over the region and clearly messed all up by the things the Apostles and Elders asked them to stop doing. SO POINT is the leaders were not beyond asking believers to sacrifice wants and desires that were not at all wrong, so that they could appease the religiously lost Jews and hopefully get them to listen to the Gospel and grow in the faith in unity with other believers! The specifics are not a mandate for us to the Jew first then the Gentile has certainly been fulfilled anyway but rather the principle is that you and I need to be led of the spirit so that we may have to sacrifice things that are not wrong at all so that we can lead others to Christ and grow people up in the Faith still stands! its what it looks like when people are committed to Christ and His Cause! (3) The Leaders were willing to risk unity in lovingly confronting genuine sin. Note: Sexual Immorality was a foreign concept in many gentile communities. Sex was considered just another human appetite like hunger. Add to that, that it was also associated in some pagan religious rituals (AKA worship of the goddess Aphrodite). For Gentile believers to continue in sexual immorality was a massive abomination to the religious Jews BUT IT WAS ALSO CLEALRY SIN TO JESUS!!!! Jesus made no qualms about it even said if you lust after a woman you are committing adultery!!! So its clearly NOT of God! God made sex for the enjoyment of a husband and wife. Biblically its a integral part of the relationship of a husband and wife (more on this when we go through Corinthians). BUT POINT here TODAY is not to discuss morality but rather the willingness of brothers and sisters to call what is immoral, immoral and risk division over it the willingness to love each other enough to challenge each other to not sin against our own bodies and against each other the willingness to say I know you may hate me but I love you enough to call you out on this so that you might be freed from it! THEY ARE BY NO MEANS confronting the Gentiles with this in an ugly or judgmental fashion (in Corinthians Paul is going to get more aggressive but it obviously wasn t the first or even second time they had to be confronted at that point!) they aren t saying we are perfect and we expect you to be as well BUT they were saying, hey guys, this is serious and for you sake and the reputation of Jesus among the lost you need to take this serious as well! 6 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
(4) People were willing to submit to the decision of its leadership so that they could achieve unity. Note: Submission is a form of sacrifice because I willing to submit at least a certain part of my personal will and rights as an individual to somebody else. Unity is almost never achieved a part from leadership which means unity is almost NEVER achieved unless people are willing to at some level be led. that they allow leadership to say ok here s the deal then stop the fighting and run with it! (5) The sacrifices required to maintain unity are sometimes so difficult that even the most mature believers fall short (we all need God s Grace!). But, for those that love Jesus, when they fall short, they will eventually, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, sacrificially work towards restoration. Note: Paul and Barnabas split the two champions of the whole subject get in a fight about John Mark (who had previously abandoned them on a difficult missionary journey). In the end they part ways the dream team splits over whether to take John Mark and they couldn t find a compromise!!!!! NOW we are not told in Scripture if the outcome was a God thing or a sin thing, God s providence obviously weighed bigger on its outcome than their humanity so we are left with the obvious and that is that the sacrifices to maintain unity are much easier to preach than they are to practice!!! FYI we do know that these boys reconciled. Barnabas comes back to Jerusalem with Paul on his second visit. Likewise we see John Mark in some key partnerships with Paul later in the New Testament. So, with no attempt to sit here and say how this was used of God, not used of God, whatever the point it that it was clearly a reflection of the sin nature between the two of them BUT they clearly took the WORD seriously and eventually work things out and start laboring together in the ministry again! Challenge: What is that you are unwilling to sacrifice in order to live in unity with a local church, that is, to live as a committed part of a local body working together to grow in Christ and change the world? Is it: (1) Methods of ministry that you want? I continue to be AMAZED at the amount of churches who insists lost people like their methods!!!!!!! My gosh it doesn t make any sense. Church If we find out next week there is something that has nothing to 7 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
do with the Gospel that would better allow us to communicate the Gospel to those who don t know Christ then in that very second we need to change it!!!! Its not about what you and I like its about being allegiant to non other than Jesus and His Mission!!!!! (2) Your time? Many people would say they like everybody but they are not going to give their time to actually FUNCTIONALLY live in unity that is actually LIVE life with others. Unity is MORE than an attitude unity is the reality of people with the RIGHT attitude who sacrifice so that they can do life and ministry together! (3) Being the person in charge/being in a role that is seen and recognized as important? NOW I m opening up a HUGE can of worms on this that will be addressed big time in my next two series so here we go (4) Secondary/non-fundamental doctrines? Note: How sad that Bible believing Christians can t worship and work together in a local church because they feel they are so divinely right about everything that they are justified in making everything fundamental!!! The amount of people who can t worship and work in unity with others who they agree with on the fundamentals of the faith is mind numbing to me!!!! Some people that have left this fellowship, that I love deeply, have left, not because we disagree on the fundamentals, but because they continue to passionately insists on something else other Biblical Fundamentals to be so fundamental that they have lost respect for me and/or this church and can no longer worship here they insists that these secondary things are so important to God AND that they are so divinely right about them that they can t worship and do ministry with me or you because of it. I don t have time to go through this in detail so I just printed it in your notes let me QUICKLY review them The following is a summary of the non-negotiable Biblical doctrines at Venture: a. God has eternally existed as one being who is simultaneously three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). b. The Bible is God s Word. 8 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org
c. Salvation is by God s Grace alone! d. Spiritual growth occurs exclusively as a work of the Holy Spirit when a believer is submitted to the Lordship of Christ. It is witnessed by the love, joy, peace, long suffering, self control, etc. that naturally comes forth from their life. One s study of the Bible, prayer life, community with other believers, etc. are intended to help a person live in submission to Christ! e. The Church is not a community organization for Christians but rather a movement of Christ to change the world with the Gospel. (5) Living in submission to our flesh (AKA Sin)? Note: This is CLEARLY a secondary motive for not giving in to your flesh our ultimate reason to live moral lives is Christ s Love for us that has made us son s and daughter of the King!!!! but a Biblical secondary motive is also the glad and joyful fellowship we have when we dwell together in unity which we can t do real well if we keep having to confront you to stop destroying your life by abusing alcohol and/or drugs, if we keep having to confront you to stop living in sexual immorality, to stop lying to people, cheating people, etc. these are things that destroy you and jack up your relationship with others they cause a mess in local church and in you own heart!!! so are you willing to fight sin in your life so that you be a catalyst for unity and enjoy unity with you spouse??... in unity with your kids???? or would you rather continue in sin and foolishly create chaos with every relationship around you???? would you rather live in the selfishness of you own flesh instead of fighting it through the power of the Holy Spirit and reap the benefit of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that creates unity. 9 More study helps at www.daretoventure.org