Problem Resolved!

We all have a day when something is going great…you started the day with energy, had a great breakfast, started to dig into your work…making great progress, looking forward to finishing one project and moving on to something else...

Then *IT* happens, maybe a phone call that changes the course of the day, something breaks, someone or something interrupts your workflow…and the day just comes apart at the seams

That’s about what happened at Antioch…

Believers had founded the church, a great work had begun, Barnabas and Saul had become involved, building up a great body of believers and had sent Barnabas and Saul out to minister; they had returned and given their report, work was continuing and then…this dispute of circumcision and the law had seemingly stopped the progress

We can envision the work at Antioch, if not grinding to a halt, certainly to a slow-down, until this matter was fixed—momentum was lost until the dispute was settled

That’s why they had wisely send the delegation to Jerusalem…to resolve the issue at hand so that the work could continue

That cautious compromise presented by James would be sent, received and acted upon

This morning we’ll look at the resolution recieved, the response to the resolution and the restart of the work

Resolution

At least one scholar suggests that a vote was taken and the Judaizers didn’t vote…so the church appears to have been fully on-board with the proposal

The other argument would be that they agreed to go along with it

It is quite plausible to think it was after this the Judaizers started the trouble in Galatia, prompting Paul’s letter, the timing of all that is uncertain

This letter has been called “a masterpiece of tact and delicacy”

Since the Jerusalem Church still had apostolic presence, the letter has the ring of authority to it, yet is clear in its statement of both unity and brotherhood

We can learn from the methodology used

They addressed the letter from brother to brother, no hierarchy…one group of believers weighing in on a problem another group of believers were having

They didn’t just send a return letter

They didn’t just send the message by way of Paul and Barnabas and the delegation that had come to Jerusalem to have the problem addressed, making it somewhat suspect (see, we told you so....”

They did send members of Jerusalem Church—Silas (AKA Silvanus (Latin) we see him again in v. 40 and in 1st Thess, 2nd Cor, and 1st Peter) and Judas Barsabbas—carrying the letter which also introduced them and validated Barnabas and Paul--”our beloved…”

Interesting note: Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Chapter 15): One of the men who was sent to Antioch was named Barsabas, which means literally “son of the Sabbath.” I like that! Son of the Sabbath was sent to tell the Gentile believers they were free to rest in the finished work of Christ.

The comment about men having risked their lives referenced Paul and Barnabas, who were also mentioned with terms of great endearment

They explained the problem--”…some persons...” had come from among the church at Jerusalem and “troubled them;” though without the authority of the local church

There is clear distancing between the leaders of the church and the Judaizers who had troubled them

The word underlying trouble carries the thought of agitating or shaking

If we put ourselves in the moment, as new believers suddenly hearing that this salvation they’ve recieved is going to put a package of rules on them....we’d be troubled also

This was truly a “different Gospel” which had the result of “unsettling” their minds—might be better translated souls

…souls would give it more of an eternal perspective

The determination by the council was a work of the Holy Spirit

This is a critical point—the process was guided by the spirit, not just the expressed will of the loudest and most outspoken voices

After the statement about abstaining from the specific things, the letter added “If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well”

…these should be simple concessions to make for the sake of a unified church; Jews and Gentiles could fellowship…share meals without a sense of violation or restriction

The letter was delivered to the assembled body at Antioch

From the text, it would seem that it would be read and then validated by Silas and Judas Barsabbas, no doubt the entire process of the resolution would have been explained in the conversation (s)

Response

Acts 15:31 ESV

And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

This was more than just a sigh of relief…an expression of joy and thanksgiving! Not a sense of restriction

The Gentile believers were willing to concede some cultural issues and abide by the one solid and undeniable Biblical mandate, for the sake of moving foreward as a church

Note that in the letter, the order is changed, with the immorality standing more to itself

Restart

Sounds like that had a preaching conference; after all, they had Judas and Silas there, visiting preachers…let them preach

Note: they were prophets, not foretelling but forth-telling

When they left, Paul and Barnabas resumed their preaching/teaching roles, along with others

Though there’d been something of a hiccup in the workings of the church, it had now resumed it momentum

You can get a sense of renewed joy and hope

A Textual Note: v. 34, about Silas remaining, is missing in most modern translations, generally included in a footnote; it appears to be a later addition to the text to explain Silas still being in Antioch to join Paul—next week’s lesson, appearing only in later texts, which came to light long after the translation of the KJV and previous versions

WITFM?

The Lessons from the Letter

How churches conduct their communication is important

When issues of church unity are at stake, accuracy is critical

In this case, a letter was necessary as it provided an accurate record of the instructions; nothing lost in delivery

The personal touch, having Silas and Judas deliver and read the letter to the assembled group, with inflection and animation accented its message

We have developed far too many ways to muddy up communication; add the emojis you want to a text and you still cannot be sure the other person gets the message

Communication—ACCURATE communication among God’s people is essential

When you communicate, be sure the other party truly gets the message; think: sender, receiver and feedback

As a matter of courtesy, be timely in your communications as well

A question deserves a response as rapidly as possible; we don’t know how long this process took, but it appears to have been done with a great degree of haste—because it was important

Celebrate Good News

We can sense the excitement on the part of the believers in Antioch; they’d had an issue dealt with in a timely and effective manner; it was time to move on

Don’t Get Bogged Down by Conflict

Churches all too often lose momentum and lose heart when something interrupts the work

Antioch did NOT do that

The identified the issue, sought a solution, enacted the remedy

It’s easy to let an organization die because it’s too difficult to deal with the gorilla in the room

That’s a major lesson in this

The cause of Jesus Christ, the Gospel of salvation is too important to let conflict over unnecessary things divide us

However, it requires accurate reading and understanding of Scripture

A Quick Lesson in Exegesis

As opposed to eisegesis …or Amere-gesis, or narce-gesis…or any other inaccurate way of interpreting Scripture (ref. Sean’s message)

We interpret based upon authorial intent in the message to the original audience; only then do we pull the principles and apply them to our current situation

We make sure we get the context right: within the passage, within the book, within similar genres of writing, making note of whether it’s pre or post-Christ...

A classic example of misuse of this passage is a eisegesis of this passage to say—as scholars/leaders in one major denomination did in the 1970s—that since the decision handed down by the council represented a change in paradigm, then we can change the paradigm to fit our current culture—in this case the matter related to the acceptance of homosexuality in the church

They failed to note that what left behind was related to the finished work of Christ on the cross—His completion of the Law

They failed to note that Paul addressed similar cultural issues when they came up

They failed to note that the council included sexual immorality in the list—that was not cultural (though it was a major issue in the Roman/Greek world)

We might make the case that by including that one item, it would be a reminder to keep the entirety of the moral code

They likely could have written that it was appropriate to adhere to the ceremonial law when it was necessary to maintain unity and fellowship with all believers

Some helpful verses

Hebrews 4:12 ESV

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Accurate use of Scripture gets into the very heart of the problems

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

By looking into Scripture accurately, we can apply it to our current situations and deal with the gorilla in the room, be it in our churches, our homes our workplaces…or in our personal lives

Remembering in all that the center-point of the entire Bible is Jesus Christ