Bridges and Roads

Introduction

“I love Jesus but not the church”

“We live in an increasingly secular American culture. In this new age, religion is in retreat from the public square, and traditional institutions like the church are no longer functioning with the cultural authority they once held in generations past. Today, nearly half of America is unchurched. But even though more and more Americans are abandoning the institutional church and its defined boundary markers of religious identity, many still believe in God and practice faith outside its walls.”

— Barna Study (https://www.barna.com/research/meet-love-jesus-not-church/)

The gospel builds bridges in the church and roads leading from the church.

Bridges in the Church (11:1-18)

Acts 11 (ESV)

1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

Circumcision party - to words that should never go together.

— Jews that believed that any convert should follow all the Jewish religious laws

Isn’t it interesting that the issue was not whether or not the Gentiles had received the gospel, but rather that Peter had eaten with the Gentiles.

Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (22)

Separate thyself from the nations,

And eat not with them:

And do not according to their works,

And become not their associate;

For their works are unclean,

And all their ways are a pollution and an abomination and uncleanness.

17 They offer their sacrifices to the dead

And they worship evil spirits,

And they eat over the graves,

And all their works are vanity and nothingness.

They were more concerned about keeping the church “clean” then they were about the fate of the unclean.

Jesus took on our mess and made us clean that we might enter others’ mess to show them Jesus.

I fear many churches only offer comfortable religious opportunities instead of calling members to costly gospel experiences.

— welcoming people to a Sunday service instead of calling them to a life of service

— Sending their money to missionaries instead of sending them as missionaries

— Asking people to invite others to church instead of equipping them to BE the church

The reality is . . . the gospel IS costly

And walking with others with the gospel is also costly and messy.

4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. . . . 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

The gospel unifies the church.

Peter focuses on how the gospel brings them together rather than on what divides them.

Peter points to the fact that they share in the same gift of the Holy Spirit.

Christian’s are unified. To be divided over anything but gospel issues is not Christian. Why do you think Satan wants nothing more than to cause division in the church -usually through very petty means.

The Gentiles are different and it could divide, but Peter reminds them of God’s work in Jesus’ church that unites them.

The Jerusalem church hears this and rejoices.

Roads from the Church (11:19-30)

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

The “road” from the church in Jerusalem leads to Antioch

Antioch:

— in northern Syria (Modern-day Turkey) along the Orontes River

— Was the third largest city in the Roman empire with only Alexandria and Rome being larger.

— Had anywhere from 300,000 to half million people living there

— Mostly Gentiles but did have a sizable Jewish population of anywhere from 22,000 to 65,000

— was a pagan city that was also religious in its worship of the Greek goddess Artemis and Greek god, Apollo.

— will become a very important city in the NT especially for Paul as he launches missionary journeys from there.

Interestingly, this city takes on a central role in some very important ministry but not because of plan or preference.

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution

Tertullian writes, ‘The Christian’s blood is the seed out of which Christians grow.’

You may not be where you wanted to go but you are right where God can use you.

ILLUST - were you ever forced to take a detour and discover a place you never knew existed?

Had the persecution of Stephen never happened, would Antioch have been a major center of Christianity and missions?

Had the “scattered” been more focused on how to get back to Jerusalem, they would have missed their purpose in Antioch.

It was not by plan or by preference, and it was not without purpose.

Where do you find yourself

20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

You need not be well-known to make Christ known

Corollary is that it is more important that the people around you know Christ than that they know you.

ILLUST - rest stop in PA that has photos and videos of how the PA turnpike was built. I don’t know who the workers are in the photos, but the road they laid allows me to get home.

You may well be the “ordinary Christian” who lays the road for someone to make it to their heavenly home.

Christ gets us home, but you may lay the road!

22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.

And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Prior to this, those who follow Jesus are called “disciples,” “saints,” “bothers,” and “followers of the Way.”

The Gentiles must have heard the believers speak so often of Christ that they supplied a suffix to the word “Christ”—thus, “Christians” (meaning “the Christ people”). The Jews would not have given them this name, since “Christ” is the Greek word for the title “Messiah,” and the Jews did not accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Fernando, Ajith. 1998. Acts. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Christians are known for following Christ.

If this is not a true statement, it should be.

**What does the term “Christian” mean today?

**What name would our neighbors give us?

**What name would the people around you give you?

27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Kingdom-minded churches are filled with Kingdom-minded Christians

This is contrasted with empire-minded churches filled with preference-minded Christians.

The richer church is not the superior church

— Would you rather have a church funded by money or fueled by prayer? Honestly???

The minute we think our church exists for itself is the moment our church exists for itself - God help us!

— America has no lack of churches existing for themselves.

— Bylaws governing the bodies to feed the budgets!

The way to move past this is

to give of ourselves not just to ourselves.

29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability,

Many churches operate on a “if you build it, they will come” mentality. What would happen if we had a “if you give it they will go” mentality?

to look past preferences and see people

to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

Bridges were built, roads were laid. The gospel was spread, and God was glorified.

Does this describe our church?

Does this describe you?