In Christ Alone

Introduction

Good morning church. As we move on this morning in our series on the acts of God, we come to a crucial point in the book of Acts: The Jerusalem Council. There have been seven official ecumenical councils that historians can point to, one of those being the Councils of Nicea.

Perhaps the most important, the most crucial council of them all was the Jerusalem Council. What we’re studying today helps establish an answer to a burning question: “What must a person do to be saved?”

We’ll be looking at the apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church, and the church as a whole, working through this idea. The passage of Scripture we’re in this morning will provide us the answer to this question.

Now, hopefully, most of us in the room know the answer. However, we’re a forgetful people and must be reminded constantly. There may also be some in the room that have never been given a definitive answer to this question, and by God’s grace you will get an answer.

That is why the title of my sermon this morning is “In Christ Alone”. This is the answer. One receives salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone! It is Christ and ONLY Christ that saves, who by His grace gifts us the faith to believe.

Therefore, my hope and prayer for this morning is that we will know and appreciate all the more the timeless truth that our salvation is in and by Christ alone.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 15:1-21. READ.

Body

15:1-2- Where we pick up this morning is at the completion of Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. They have arrived back at the church in Antioch and have been testifying to all that God has done with them, particularly amongst the Gentiles.

Acts 15 opens with Luke recording an instance where some men come from Judea (Judaizers, advocates of legalism) to Antioch teaching a salvation by works. They state that unless one is circumcised consistent with the law of Moses, they can not be saved.

Genesis 17:1-10 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.”

This was the old covenant that the Lord established with Abraham. Christ came to establish a new covenant with us, bringing forth a circumcision of our hearts through the Holy Spirit by faith, not by works.

Of course, Paul and Barnabas debate heavily with them. The essence of the matter at hand is so critically important, and the church at Antioch knew this. Therefore they send Paul and Barnabas and a few others to go to Jerusalem to bring this matter to the apostles and elders. This is not because of Paul and Barnabas’ failure to debate, but for clarity on such a critical issue.

A common question that could be raised in the western church may be “Why did they debate them so hard? Couldn’t they have just loved them well and accepted them for who they were? Debate is foolish and never gets anyone anywhere.” Perhaps there’s some truth to these questions, however, debate is never wasted when its over the essentials of the Gospel.

1 Peter 3: 13-16 “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

I’m not admonishing everyone to now go debate the walls down wherever you go, but there is a time to stand up and defend the faith, especially the essentials! And Peter tells us that we must ALWAYS be prepared. May we learn from Paul and Barnabas’ example here.

15:3-5- As they head to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas share with believers along the way how Gentiles have been converted and placed faith in Jesus Christ, which brought great joy to the brothers and sisters.

They are welcomed by the church and its officials upon their arrival and they proceed to proclaim all that God has done with them.

However, some believing Pharisees spoke up, arguing like the men from Judea to require the Gentiles to be circumcised and even for them to keep the law of Moses as a whole.

There are two things here that I want to highlight:

1) These believing Pharisees are clearly advocating for a salvation by works. Of course, we see this and should think “Are you crazy?! Sit down!” And we’d be right to think that. However, we must remember that these are Pharisees who pride themselves on keeping the law, they genuinely may not know any better.

That in no way excuses their proclamation here, as Peter will go on to state, Though it would do us well to at least try to understand their viewpoint here.

2) I must confess that I struggle a bit with verse 5. One of my immediate observations from this text was “How in the world could there be believing Pharisees? Especially with a suggestion like this!”

We don’t necessarily hear much about if they ended up repenting after this council met. Regardless though, there may be a lesson in here for myself and for you if you tend to think like me, that just because someones theology isn’t all the way there right away doesn’t mean they’re not saved. 1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Of course, the believing Pharisee’s theology here is all out of wack and needs correcting. But, perhaps we can learn here that it would do us well to spend more time lovingly discipling brothers and sisters young in the faith rather than casting harsh judgement right away.

So, again in the text we’re presented with the major issue and question at hand: what must a person do to be saved? Our answer is provided in the following verses.

15:6-7a- The apostles and elders, leaders of the Jerusalem church were gathered together over this matter. Luke makes the note that there was MUCH debate had. This likely wasn’t handled in a clean cut 15 minute meeting, but perhaps was long and a bit dragged out.

Before we dive into the answer for our question this morning, let us pause once more for just a minute. I’m sure the temptation is there for most of us to sharply rebuke the early church for even having such debate over what we perceive to something so cut and dry. Beloved, do we not do the same thing over more trivial matters?

Alcohol, tattoos, music, movies, food, clothes, time spent in your Bible, whens the last time you’ve cussed. Quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, we tend to take extremely rigid stances on things that we perceive Christians MUST adhere to in order to truly be believing Christians. When the Scriptures paint no such picture.

Perhaps the most glaring example of this, is our dedication to a political party. We make incredibly bold statements, attempting to shove Jesus into one party or another. When in reality He’s SO much greater, SO much bigger than our tiny political views.

Now, let me make myself clear. I am in no way shape or form attempting to paint Christianity as some free-for-all where we can just do whatever we want whenever we want however we want. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are not to get drunk, you should be incredibly mindful of the music and movies that you listen to and watch, you should strive for modesty at all cost in the face of a culture that begs you otherwise, we’re commanded in Scripture that there should be no obscene talk from our lips and to spend time with our Creator.

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” All that we do should be done with the mindset to lift high the Lord Jesus Christ. However, we must be extremely careful not to let our convictions become requirements that we place on others to judge if they’re truly saved or not. This is exactly what the believing Pharisees and others are doing here.

Romans 14 is such an awesome passage to go to on this topic. Please read it with me. Romans 14:1-23 “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.  Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

Live Oaks, may we never make non-essentials, essentials. Salvation is not Christ + something. It’s Christ = EVERYTHING! Christ alone saves, nothing or no one else. That’s the answer we receive this morning.

15:7b-11- After much debate takes place, the apostle Peter then stands us to address the council. He first reflects on how God moved in the early days of the church, specifically in his own life. He’s referring to the account recorded in Acts 10 where Peter receives a vision from the Lord Jesus Christ that reveals that he should no longer call any person common or unclean. The Lord then sends Cornelius to Peter to have him preach the Gospel to Cornelius. Acts 10:44-48 says “While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.”

To perhaps thwart any attempt by the Judaizers to question the genuineness of the Gentiles faith according to Peter, Peter reflects on how God poured out His Holy Spirit to fill the Gentile believers (just as He did with the Jewish believers), thus affirming their genuine faith in Christ.

Peter goes on to state how God made ZERO distinction between Jew and Gentile, for He cleansed their hearts by their faith in Him. What a powerful proclamation here, essentially tearing down the walls between Jew and Gentile that have been up for centuries! The apostle Paul will later expound upon this point in his letter to the church in Galatia where he states in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

This yet another example of God staying faithful to His covenant with Abram (later called Abraham) in Genesis 15:1-6 “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Just like Abram, Jews AND Gentiles in the days of the early church and beyond believed in the Lord, and He counted it to them as righteousness. They were justified by faith alone, WE are only justified by faith alone! The apostle Paul when referencing this account states in Romans 4:23-25 “But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

In Acts 15 verse 10, Peter then asks the advocates of circumcision and law adherence why they are testing God by placing a burden on the disciples that neither they nor their ancestors could carry. Again, this was the burden of the law.

Paul says in Galatians 3:23-26 “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.” The Greek word for guardian here is paidagogos which can also be translated “tutor”. This word denotes the idea of a slave caring for a child until adulthood. The law was meant to point us to Christ Himself!

The Judaizers deemed the yoke of the law was best for one to come into salvation, completely forgetting Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

Christ’s yoke is easy and His burden is light, not like the burden of the law, which exists to reveal the sinfulness of man. The law is way to heavy a yoke for anyone to carry, no one has ever done it EXCEPT for Jesus our Savior!

The crescendo of Peter’s address is verse 11: Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”” He answers our question here with this statement. What must a person do to be saved? Place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ ALONE (verse 9). And that faith is only given as a gift by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to believers for the glory of God. How is one saved? By placing faith in Christ alone!

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone!

When our daughter Shiloh was born, she was covered in a lot of “stuff”. All the parents in the room know what I’m talking about. It was super unpleasant, but it was also the most beautiful event that I’ve ever seen in my life. My wife and I didn’t look at her and say “ew, get all that gunk off and then we’ll hold her”. We didn’t look at her and say clean yourself up and them jump into our arms. No way! We stepped down to her, embraced her, and cleaned her off.

Christ alone is the Gospel, the good news of salvation. He died the death that we deserve, taking on the full wrath of God for your sins and for mine. He was buried and then raised from the grave on the third day in defeat of death, sin, hell, and the grave! If you never have, repent and believe in this Good News today! If you have, do it again!

If this is true (and it most certainly is) we therefore must come to the conclusion that we can not possibly even begin to clean ourselves up before coming to Christ, it is only by the grace of God that we come! This means now that we work and serve and act because of Christ, not to gain right standing with Him. We serve because we’re saved, we can’t serve to be saved.

If you want to be circumcised, go for it! Keep the law of Moses? Sure! Cut your hair? Awesome! Leave it long? Great! We must understand that we can do NOTHING to make ourselves saved, that is only Christ’s work.

Beloved, we must be careful, lest we fall into the trap of living in functional legalism. Constantly feeling as if we must earn God’s favor and salvation. It breaks my heart that I have a couple different people in my life that fall victim to this mentality.

One person that I know literally withholds themselves of communion every week within their church due to their guilt, shame, and misunderstanding of the Gospel. Another struggles to make their requests known to God, struggling with feelings of not being good enough or unworthiness.

Yes, you’re NOT good enough and NEVER will be. Yet, the Father still bids you to come and lay your burdens down. Come and see, come and know, repent and believe in the one who imputes His righteousness to you. Cleaning ourselves up before coming to the Lord is an impossible task and a demonic temptation.

15:12-17- Paul and Barnabas then address the council, continuing to testify to the mighty working of God amongst the Gentiles. Perhaps they reflected on what Paul preached at Antioch in Pisidia in Acts 13:36-39 “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

After their testimony, James the Just, the brother of Jesus and prominent leader within the Jerusalem church, replies to further affirm what Peter has already stated. He explains further how Peter (here called Simeon or Simon) explained God taking a people from the Gentiles for His name! The Lord didn’t take all the Gentiles, but those who believed, and it was for the exaltation of HIS name.

James also quotes from Amos 9, where it was prophesied that the Lord will rebuild the tent of David and restore it with the Messiah. It also states that the Gentiles called by the name of the Lord may seek the Lord.

This is crucial because notice the prophecy didn’t state “so that Gentiles may become Jews”. No, Gentiles are included in God’s plan of salvation, as they are, through His Son Jesus Christ! Not through adaptation to the Law, but by faith alone in Christ alone.

15:19-21- James continues on in verse 19 to further affirm whats been stated already, to not trouble the Gentiles who turn to God. He does however suggest that the church should write to believing Gentiles, encouraging them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things that have been strangled, and from blood.

Verse 21 clues us in to his rationale here, stating the frequent referencing to Moses in the synagogues. This makes clear James’ pastoral heart. While not wavering from the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, he does have in mind the possible offense this could cause the believing and non believing Jews and steers believing Gentiles away from such acts (which may of course been for their own good as well).

We should learn the lesson here that our Christian liberties come with responsibility. Romans 14:13-15 “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.”

Throughout this entire passage we should not be so impressed with how the apostles and elders worked this issue out, but with how the Holy Spirit worked in this matter. The Spirit of God maintained crucial unity within the church and preserved sound doctrine that points to Christ!

The point of this text is to point us to salvation being in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone. We do nothing to save ourselves, it’s only by the work of Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior, and Messiah that we’re saved.

In Christ alone who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe This gift of love and righteousness Scorned by the ones He came to save Till on that cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost its grip on me For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious blood of Christ

This of course is the essence of communion. This ordinance represents the precious body and blood of our Savior, crushed for our sins in order to save us. If you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today, unfortunately this is not for you to partake in. However, the invitation is always open for you to repent and trust in Christ alone for your salvation. Please take the time to ponder this wondrous mystery and feel free to find me after service and I would love to discuss it further with you.

If you are a believer, come when you’re ready, after you’ve taken the time to mediate on Christ and His finished work on the cross and have repented of your sins. And we will all partake together once everyone has recieved the elements.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 “ For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

PRAY