The Great Divide
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Steak perfectly cooked but I put ketchup on it.
Our text today puts people in two camps or corners:
To be a Christian you have to become Jewish and obey the law. This is the belief of what we call the Believing Pharisees.
No! We’re saved by grace. This is the belief of Peter and Paul.
There is a great danger confronting the early church. It’s approximately AD 49, and at this point, there are few, if any written narratives, guidelines, manuals, certainly no New Testaments floating around, in which to guide this new church. They had the Old Testament, and they had the missionary journeys of Paul and his companions.
Now, I’ve got some maps to help us see the distance that these people traveled, and the maps will help us, especially in the early verses of the text.
This danger I just mentioned must be clearly defined, taught, and explained, and it must also be a challenge to each and every person in this church, and in the church universal.
On what theological basis was the church built and the basis of the salvation it proclaimed?
On what theological basis was the church built and the basis of the salvation it proclaimed?
Now, for those of you who like to read across your Bibles - meaning you see something happening in one book and then later on you read something strikingly similar in another book - today offers this. Biblical historians believe that Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians at the very time of the controversy we see in Acts 15. So, we are going to be crossing into Galatians with references today, and I would encourage you to take some time this week and really look at Galatians and you’ll see the rest of Acts 15 will have similar connections to Paul’s message to the church in Galatia.
On what theological basis was the church built and salvation proclaimed? The answer is grace.
So, we start in Acts 15:1 starts with metaphoric fireworks Acts 15:1
Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved!”
So, where is Judea and why?
Let’s go back to two important passages
Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Then Jesus continues and he connects His authority with what he intends for the people to do
in Matthew 28:19-20
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So there is Jesus’ rightful authority, and then in Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus clarifies the plan of the Great Commission and because Jesus is co-equal with the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit leads them in the same authority. And for us
We carry the message of the Gospel under Jesus’ authority, not our own.
We carry the message of the Gospel under Jesus’ authority, not our own.
When we carry the message, we carry the authority and integrity of the sender.
We are the representatives of the one who sent us.
The ‘some men’ are know as Judaizers, which is common in Galatians.
They’ve made their way from Judea, likely because they had heard of Peter’s visit to Cornelius in Acts 10, as well and Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. You will recall that the church growth we’ve seen so far is largely due to the persecution and opposition the church faced. The first missionary church, Antioch, becomes the center point for these men’s dispute.
The book of Galatians seems to indicate that these man may have actually come from Jerusalem, but without authorization. So who’s authority is it that these men are speaking with? Short answer - we don’t know and that is a significant contributor to the conflict in Acts 15.
Notice a contrast between the ‘some men’ and Paul, Barnabas, and their companions in Acts 15:3
When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, explaining in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they created great joy among all the brothers.
They are being sent by the church, under its authority, which means there is accountability and responsibility in delivering the message.
Verse 5 is strong.
But some of the believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses!”
All of the sudden, these Pharisees become the Gatekeepers of salvation. They’re saying that the gate to salvation is Jewish tradition Jewish cultural identity. Instead of opening wide the gate, they’ve closed it.
Their traditions became their foundation. Here, we see this demonstration of the Law becoming a weapon, to keep people in subjugation, rather than freedom.
Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Jesus’ authority opens doors to ministry and empowers people to share Kingdom Principles.
We have to be careful that we don’t do the very thing that the Judaizers did. We can’t be gatekeepers of salvation or God’s Kingdom who close doors. We must act under Jesus’ authority and not undermine the authority of the Gospel.
Grace + anything is a distortion of the Gospel, and endangers unity in the church.
Grace + anything is a distortion of the Gospel, and endangers unity in the church.
Now, in verse 5, the scene changed to Jerusalem and the message changes. Now there is the addition of “to command them to keep the law.”
Notice Peter’s words in verse 7 -
After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe.
Peter intentionally connects Himself to this community using family language. And, Peter is going to share the Cornelius story again, and this time as proof of God’s amazing grace. Grace that removed the distinction between Jew and Gentile and acceptance by faith. Peter is reiterating that
Even under the old covenant, God’s people were saved not through the Law, but by grace.
Paul writes about this in Galatians 3:6-8 and Romans 4 when he describes Abraham’s being saved. In Romans 4:9-11, Abraham’s circumcision comes after God’s unconditional promise to bless him and his descendents.
According to Galatians 2:11-14, Peter and Paul had a dispute about Peter’s willingness to interact with Gentile Christians. It was during this time that a “different gospel” was preached in the new churches. This ‘different gospel’ referred to in Galatians 1:6 is that of saved by grace and the law.
There is no supplement to God’s grace nor is there an alternative.
Peter charges in verses 8-9 that it was God, has always been God, and will always be God when it comes to salvation.
Acts 15:10
Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?
Peter’s patience seems to wear thin. He charges them with two things:
Testing God
The placement of an unbearable yoke
Testing God is condemned in Acts 5:9 when Peter confronts Saphira. Peter then accuses the Judaizers of making people do something no one in the Jewish nation had ever been able to do. This is a similar accusation made by Jesus in Matthew 23:4. This is also the last time Peter is referenced in Acts.
On the contrary, we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”
In some translations, the first word of verse 11 is No!
Peter’s words are amazing. Jews would say this statement in the opposite and in reverse order.
The Jews under the law would say “they are saved as we are.”
But here, as one who knew God’s grace, Peter would not say that.
But of course, Peter’s conclusion is not met with applause and radiant cheering. The opposite.
James stands to oppose Peter, but he does something very sly and very simple, but it yells about the response in his heart.
After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me!
Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for His name.
James uses Peter’s Jewish name, Simeon, once again showing the grace + mentality of the Jewish leaders.
These people need to become culturally Jewish to be saved. Neither do you need to become culturally Christian to be saved. Believing in Christian values won’t save you.
God doesn’t measure our good deeds vs. our bad deeds to see if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds, and then if they do you get into heaven. That’s not how it works. Why? Because Christ Jesus paid the penalty for our sin on the cross. He paid for it completely. He doesn’t need his blood plus your good deeds or your cultural identity to transform your life.
His blood opened wide the way of salvation. We are not saved by cultural identity or by works but by God’s grace. God’s grace will transform us.
Have we added any barriers or supplements to God’s grace?
