A Seismic Shift for the Church

Introduction

I was recently reading the U.S. Geological Survey’s website about the various ways that the eruption of Mt. St. Helens changed the world. It was fascinating to consider how much impact this event on May 18, 1980 would have throughout our world. I was particularly struck by the fact that before the eruption, many people were interested in what might happen, but not convinced that it would be as dangerous or destructive as it actually was. Additionally, how much it changed the Toutle, Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers then, and continues to have an effect on the river systems today, some forty-five years later!

Additionally, the thought for many scientist before the eruption was that it would take several generations for plants, insects, and animals to repopulate the landscape, but in fact, the diversity of life today far exceeds the pre-eruption landscape. In fact, our friends next door at the Creation Center use that fact, among others, to help prove the intelligent design concept of Creation (i.e. that there is a Creator and that change within an eco-system doesn’t necessarily take millions or billions of years).

And even scientifically, new technologies have been developed since May 18, 1980 to provide early warnings, to monitor magma movement, ground deformation, volcanic gas composition, to name just a few.

Truly, it was one of the most awesome displays of a seismic shift within science and within our area that the country has seen.

This morning we are continuing to look at an even more significant seismic shift, that started with the Apostle Peter being called by God to bring the Gospel to a Gentile. That action and the results of Peter’s ministry would begin a seismic shift within the followers of Jesus that continues to impact us today.

But, like with all seismic shifts within organizations or movements, not everyone is as excited about what’s going on. So, this morning we are going to see what happened when the Jerusalem church learns of Peter’s ministry to the Gentiles and consider the non-negotiable truth that is just as true today as it was then, and two warnings for us as well.

Body: Acts 11:1-18

Verses 1-3

The Gentiles receiving the word of God is the most important news for the church since the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

It was a seismic shift for the Christian faith because, if this was truly of God, it would mean that God’s people were now more than just the Jews alone. That, in fact, God’s people would be both Jews and Gentiles, anyone who was a genuine follower of Christ Jesus.

Upon returning to Jerusalem, Peter is greeted not with a celebration of this amazing news, but with criticism.

The group in question is called “the circumcision party.”

The circumcision party would have been a group of Jewish Christians who insisted that there still must be no association between the circumcised and uncircumcised.

In fact, it’s possible that some from this group or a group like it eventually became a group called the Judaizers, who Paul would battle against on a number of occasions.

The Judaizers believed that to become a true Christian, one must first become a Jew, which meant following Jewish food laws, observing Jewish holy days, ritual purity, and being circumcised.

But notice something: the criticism isn’t about anything theological. It isn’t about him preaching Christ to the Gentiles; the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit; or the Gentiles being baptized. Theology isn’t their concern.

Their concern is a tradition; namely the tradition that Jews were not to eat with Gentiles or to even go into their homes!

Remember, these were Jewish men, and in their minds, their viewpoint was the theologically correct viewpoint:

The Gentiles didn’t follow Jewish dietary laws and they didn’t do the ceremonial washings. Thus, they were unclean and being around them would make a Jewish man unclean as well.

Peter’s response to their criticism will be to relate, in detail his experience.

This is going to sound familiar, because it’s almost a word-for-word account of what we saw last week. I’ll tell you why that is in a moment.

Verses 4-14

Peter defends his actions to the church by telling them his story.

Luke doesn’t just say, “Then Peter told them everything he saw and did.” Instead, he repeats the high points of the story he just related.

He does this because he feels that this story is just that important. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, this moment is as important to the church as Pentecost was and is the transitional point entering into the third part of Acts, the witness to the ends of the earth.

The Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit just as the Jews had will lead to worldwide evangelism and God revealing a far greater plan than the Jerusalem church could have imagined.

Then Peter’s story culminates in the punchline of verses 15-17:

Verses 15-17

Peter makes a point of saying that the Gentiles received the HS the same as they had.

Remember, Luke didn’t set this up as normative, but the HS came the same way here as with the Jewish Pentecost, to prove to the Jews that God does not show biases between people who trust Him.

There was only one condition: belief in the Lord Jesus Christ!

i.e. If Cornelius’ household (uncircumcised Gentiles) have received the gift of the HS without being circumcised, then Gentiles too must be acceptable to God on the same condition; faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The culmination of this is verse 17: Therefore, if God is at work, can prejudices or preferences stand in the way?

Verse 18

The leaders of the Jerusalem church responded in a couple of ways:

First, they were made silent.

Often the best response to God teaching us is silent reservation to truth.

We never have the last word with God!

These people were now faced with their own limitations and were probably convicted about their own prejudices.

Second, they praised God.

Once we see that God’s way is better, it should lead to praise to Him.

They recognized that even though they had been limited in their view of God’s grace, He is not.

The “Ah ha!” moment for the leaders of the Jerusalem church is that God granted the Gentiles repentance.

Repentance of sins is the first step to really following God.

We recognize that we are sinful and we need to be saved from that sin.

Today, too often people skip repentance and jump right to forgiveness. But that’s a mistake.

That repentance leads to life.

True, biblical repentance is a sorrow for sin that requires a change of heart and a turning from sin to God. That’s why repentance leads to life.

So, this is the “happily ever after” moment, right? Unfortunately, this newfound openness, soon leads to a showdown.

Apparently, some were not as open as they first indicated. But chapter 15 we will see that some wanted these new converts to be circumcised.

We even see Peter struggling in this area in chapter 15. It’s very likely that happened because of peer pressure and his strong Jewish background lead to this.

I’ll have much more to say about this when we get there…

So What?

A non-negotiable for the church and two important warnings:

Non-Negotiable: The message of the church then is still the message of the church today: forgiveness and salvation is available to all who repent and believe in Jesus.

I purposely used the phrase seismic shift earlier because if any group of people understand a seismic shift people in the PNW, in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens knows a thing or two about seismic shifts!

For the first century church, from this moment forward, much changed. But not everything changed.

The message was still the same: Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him. That repentance and forgiveness of sins is available in no other name than Jesus, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved!”

But now, the message wasn’t just for one ethnic group, but for all people who would believe!

That was, is and will always be the one, central message the church is charged with bringing to the world.

In fact, many churches and denominations are dying today for a multitude of reasons, but at the heart of each one is that the Gospel message is no longer the one, central message.

I’ve often said that the most tragic verse in all of Scripture is this:

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Why? Because this is the picture it paints: Jesus, standing outside the church, where He is supposed to be central, knocking, trying to be let in, but contextually being ignored.

When the Gospel message is no longer our one, central message, then Jesus is standing outside the church, knocking but not being allowed in.

Thus, the Gospel will always be the non-negotiable of the church!

Warning #1: We need to guard against factions developing in our church.

Factions have been one of the banes of the church from the earliest days. In this passage we see the existence of a faction that would cause much pain in the early church, particularly for the Apostles Peter and Paul.

But here’s something to not lose sight of: the circumcision party were absolutely convinced that they were right. And, when they talked with one another, they were likely even more convinced that they were right.

And, they weren’t based on a complete falsehood. In reality, there were and always will be expectations of those who follow Jesus. Jesus death didn’t forgive everyone on earth and all would be saved because of what He accomplished. That’s universalism and nothing in Scripture points to that at all. In fact, it’s exactly opposite of that.

But, that’s often true about factions within the church. They start with well-meaning people who are concerned about something that is at least somewhat valid.

The issue is, more often than not, how we approach our concerns, not that the concerns exist.

So, how do we guard against factions developing in the church?

A quick test:

Have you talked to that person? (If no, say nothing to anyone else.)

Have you come to an understanding with that person? (If no, say nothing to anyone else.)

Is the issue something to die for, divide for, debate for, or decide for?

How can we find common ground? (We should never compromise truth, but always show grace to our brothers and sisters in Christ…especially those whose faith is weak.)

Warning #2: We need to guard against our prejudices and/or preferences getting in the way of the Gospel message of the church.

Here’s the reality: most of us could care less about dietary laws or ceremonial washings.

But many still worry about ‘sinners’ bringing their sinfulness into the church. Many of us worry about our preferences when it comes to the church, because “I like it this way!” Many of us don’t like to put our wants or desires aside long enough to ask the far more important questions: What is God doing? And, how can I meet Him where He’s at work?

Let’s address both briefly:

Our Prejudices:

When I talk of prejudices, I’m not talking about racial prejudices. Honestly, if you have racial prejudices, or are genuinely racist against a racial group, I don’t have much to say to you. I grew up in a racial diverse environment and came to understand that people are simply people, regardless of their race or ethnic background.

I know this, beyond a shadow of a doubt: in Heaven there will be a beautiful tapestry of people from every race and nation, worshiping the God who created every single one of us for His glory. So, to me, racism is a ridiculous result of sinfulness, not something that brings glory to God.

In fact, when I talk about prejudices in the church, I’m talking about our prejudices against people who don’t believe what we believe.

Today, our society is divided, particularly along political lines. In many cases today, people on the right and people on the left don’t feel like we can even interact with one another in any meaningful way. It’s tragic.

As the church, we need to understand something important: We shouldn’t be surprised when unbelievers act like unbelievers.

We should never say it’s okay or back away from calling sin sin. But we should also not expect them to act like believers.

We also shouldn’t be surprised that it takes time for new believers to change their lives.

We can help…as long as we do it in love.

I find it helpful to think about where I used to be, and where I am now…

Our Preferences:

How many of us have preferences when it comes to church? All of us do!

And, there is nothing wrong, per se, with preferring one thing over another.

The issue comes when my preference becomes the only correct preference.

The defense against this is to determine what is a clear, biblical command and what is simply my preference or the traditions that I am familiar with.

Then to ask the question: What might God be doing right now?

For the Jerusalem Jewish Christians, they risked resisting one of the most important changes in the church of their lifetimes.

Don’t ever allow your preference to do that to you!