Harmony in the Church

Introduction

Acts chapter 15 has been one of the most controversial passages in the book of Acts outside of Acts 2 for some time. Catholicism uses it to promote the authority of the One True Church while Baptists have tended to downplay its importance. Throughout history we have had several Church Councils that had an impact on what we believe today. One such council was the council of Ephesus which fought against Nestorianism. A man in the 400’s named Nestorius believed that Mary gave birth to a human child and the divine nature attached itself to Jesus after birth; so that he had to completely separate natures. Another man named Cyril of Alexandria fought for the traditional view that Jesus at conception had two natures infused into one identity. We call this the hypostatic union. The problem with Nestorius view is that it made Jesus into a human who just became God, but did not always exist as God.

This council was pretty heated much like the Jerusalem Council. Cyril played politics and while Nestorius advocates were gone had him declared a heretic. Then when they all arrived, they outnumbered Cyril and declared him a heretic and then the bishops of Rome came and declared Nestorius a heretic. Eventually, both were sent into exile, but Cyril’s position on the nature of Christ was adopted. I love this quote by Philip Schaff one of the most extensive historiographers of the early church wrote:

In him [Cyril] we have a striking proof that the value of a doctrine cannot always be judged by the personal worth of its representatives. God uses for his purposes all sorts of instruments good, bad, and indifferent.

When doctrinal disagreements and interpersonal fights enter into the Church, we can end up in chaos. What do we believe? Who is right? Pretty soon everyone is taking sides. Acts 15 gives us a model for how we should deal with issues like these within the church, but before we look at that model, let’s look at the details of the text.

The Debate vs 1-5

The first five verses show us two scenes: one in Antioch and one in Jerusalem, but both have the same problem.

vs 1 certain men come who are arguing that in order to be a Christian, you must be circumcised and keep the law. Who these men were we are not completely sure. Some believe they were delegates from James who went too far in what they said; others believe they were false brethren trying to cause problems. The arguments and issues became heated between the two groups. no small dissension and disputation. It was so bad that the church sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to ask about this question.

Vs 3 as they travel down to Jerusalem they share what God had done with the Gentiles to the churches. In a way lobbying support, because these Hellenistic Jewish churches and Samaritan churches would have understood.

Vs 4 In the beginning it seems like the church is overwhelmingly in support. Verse 4 says they received them.

Vs 5 is going to be key though. Whoever that first group of people were in Vs 1 doesn’t matter because verse 5 says that there were some Christians who were of the Pharisees making the same argument. These were believers, but notice even in the early church you began to have mini-splits in the Church. Luke calls them a sect. They were a splinter group, a cell, a click of people who believed the same thing. Most likely this group thought that in order to become a christian you needed to first become a Jewish proselyte. I am not convinced this second group was trying to add works to salvation, but merely stating that Christians need to become like the Jews. Two weeks ago, we looked at legalism and how it has two parts: trying to keep the law to be saved, and trying to keep the law to be holy. This issue arose because of both issues of legalism.

Often times when there is a split in the church, it happens this way.Someone who believes his own doctrine that is contrary to what is commonly held begins to lobby other people to listen to him or her and they form clicks within the church. This is not healthy for the church. The clicks merely create divisions within the church.

Because of the debate and the division, the Apostles and the elders (pastors) of the church call for a meeting.

The Discussion vs 6-18

The Pharisaical brethren are given there chance to speak, but eventually the leadership has to step in. We have three speeches given in the following verses that show 6 reasons why we should not make the Gentiles keep the law to be a Christian.

Proof 1: God had earlier revealed that the Gentiles were saved by faith alone through the story of Cornelius.

Vs 7 Peter recounts what God had done through his ministry with Cornelius. It wasn’t like gentiles getting saved was something new under the ministry of Paul. They had had some time to wrestle with these issues. Peter reminds them that God made the choice to save the Gentiles by faith alone already. The answer to their question was clear from the beginning that you do not need to keep the law to be saved.

By the preaching of Peter, the Gentiles heard the gospel and they believed. That was all there was too it.

Proof 2: The Gentiles had already received the Spirit.

Vs 8 this was further evidenced by the fact that God had given them the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:44-48 “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.”

Peter and the other Jews who were present at the salvation of Cornelius and his family were firmly convinced that they were saved because the Holy Spirit came upon them. This was shown by the fact that they spoke in tongues. Tongues served as a sign that accompanied the gospel to confirm the message as it went out to new peoples.

Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit lives inside of everyone who is saved. He does not come on us later when we get a second blessing. He is not absent until we need him and then he comes on us. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit.

Proof 3: God had already cleansed them by the blood of Christ so there was no need to further keep the law.

Vs 9 Peter declares that God has already cleansed them so there is no need for the law to cleanse them. I don’t need sacrifices and washings to make my sins go away once I am saved. Jesus has already paid for my sins. There are some people who believe that if you don’t confess your sins every time you commit them after becoming a Christian that you will lost your salvation, but I am already purified in the eyes of God. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Does that mean I don’t need to confess my sins? No, but confession is just about making my relationship with God right again. I do not add anything to my salvation and keeping a set of rules and tradition is not going to make me more holy.

Proof 4: The law cannot save.

Vs 10 Peter then challenges them and asks, “why are you testing God and putting a burden on the backs of the Gentiles that even you couldn’t bear?” The implication is that the law didn’t save them because it was too much for even them, so why are they trying to make the Gentiles keep the law to be saved. Ultimately the law cannot saved; that not its purpose.

Vs 11 Even the Jewish believers had not been saved by keeping the law. This verse is so important because there are some people who believe that Jews and Gentiles are saved differently, but notice the last three words even as they. Salvation for Jew and Gentile is and has always been by grace through faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah. Paul will later develop this truth in the book of Romans.

Proof 5: The salvation of the Gentiles was confirmed by miracles and signs.

Paul gets up to speak

Vs 12 Not only were the Gentiles filled with the Holy Ghost, but God confirmed their salvation and Paul’s ministry among the Gentiles by signs and miracles.

Proof 6: Prophecy had already included Gentiles in the plan of God as Gentiles.

Finally James the brother of Jesus, the head elder of the church in Jerusalem gets up to conclude and give their final decision. James references back to scripture which should be our authority in matters of faith and practice. We do not decide how we should live as Christians and what we believe based on our own opinions, experience or even logic. We go back to what God has said to determine what we believe and practice. In vs 15-18, James quotes from two different passages: Amos 9:11-12, and Isa 45:21 to show that God’s plan from the beginning has always been to include the Gentiles.

The prophecy given here speaks of the future kingdom which God has already started building through his people, but it includes the Gentiles on whom my name is called…Notice it does say they became Jews. There is still and ethnic distinction between Jew and Gentile in the Kingdom, but God’s plan even back in Amos already included the Gentiles.

The salvation of the Gentiles is God beginning to fulfill this promise as He builds His kingdom.

The Decision vs 19-29

In Vs 19, James gives his conclusion to the whole matter. We see the leadership of the church stepping in to help solve this issue and bring it to a harmonious solution. James says, my sentence, judgment on the matter is this:

We don’t lay any burden on the backs of the Gentiles. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone; we cannot compromise that truth.

Vs 20-21 Adds another layer to the decision. The Gentiles do not have to bear the burden of the law to be saved; however, for the sake of their Jewish brothers conscience we ask that they refrain from some things. These verses deal with fellowship. Acts 15:21 “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” James does not want the Gentile liberty to be a stumblingstone to the Jews.

contact with things offered to idols

contact with the sexual immorality idol worship- the word abstain mean not to make contact with. I don’t think James was telling them don’t commit fornication because that would have been obviously wrong.

meat not properly drained of blood- the life is in the blood.

James asks the Gentiles to avoid these things out of deference to their Jewish brethren which lesson we see preached by Paul in 1 Cor 8, 1 Cor 10 and Romans 14-15. These restrictions are not meant to be moral issues where I have sinned if I do them, but cross-cultural concerns for my brother that lead to harmony.

Conclusion

Acts 15:22 “Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:”

The Jerusalem council modeled for us how to handle disagreements in the Church. Disagreements will come and a lot of the time we get stuck fighting for our own cause because we can’t understand why the other person would think the way that they think. From our stand point we clearly understand why Paul would fight for liberty from the law for the Gentile believers, but maybe we don’t understand the other side very well. After all, Jesus was a Jewish Messiah, He was the fulfillment of Jewish Prophecies, and the Jews stood for biblical morality. The Pharisees rose out of a response to compromise in the Jewish nation and these Pharisaical Christians would have wanted to stand for Holiness.

From the Church council we see the following pattern for dealing with widespread disagreement within the church:

The meeting allowed both sides to speak vs7

They looked back at what God had done vs 8-9

They submitted themselves to scripture vs 16-18

They listened to the leadership of the church (Peter, Paul and Barnabas and James)

While they took a hardline on the doctrine that salvation is only by grace through faith without the law, they were willing to offer a solution to aid fellowship.

In the end, this solution satisfied the church. Were there problems later on? Yes, we see that James asks Paul to take a vow later on to appease the strong Jewish believers in the church and you know what, Paul did it.

As we approach our relationships with other believers in the church that we disagree with, we must keep in mind what Paul said in Romans 14:15-20 “But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.”