Commitments of a Unified Church
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
One of the most impressive winning streaks in high school football history,
belongs to De La Salle High School in California.
From 1992—2004, they won 151 straight games !
That’s 12 years without losing a single game!
This all happened under the leadership of head coach Bob Ladouceur,
It’s been turned into a movie called—
“When the Game Stands Tall”
I was reading an article on forbes.com about this true story this week…
What’s interesting is that Coach Bob never actually talked about winning…
What made Bob so successful with his teams was that he cared about his players,
and wanted to help them learn skills that would help them become successful in life.
He emphasized
commitment to one another as a team,
accountability, and
pushing the limits of human achievement.
One of the ways he helped his players push past their limits and excel as a team
was what he called “Commitment cards”.
Each week Coach Lad gave every player a white index card to write down
a practice goal,
a game goal, and
a conditioning goal.
The players would stand up at the weekly meeting,
announce the goal and, most important,
to whom they were pledging their commitment.
It was the other player’s job to stand up the next week and
tell the team if the player had accomplished his goals.
A former player, Cam Colvin, talked about how powerful commitment cards were:
"It was an amazing bonding opportunity.
For example,
I'd commit to you that I would catch 100 balls after practice,
5 game-day catches,
2 touchdowns,
and no missed blocks.
It was our way of setting goals for the week and to getting them done.
It made us closer.
We policed ourselves."
Another former player, Scott Hugo, said…
“The team always comes first, and part of being a Spartan is proving to your teammates and your coaches that you can be depended on. That's why we fight so hard for one another, why we commit everything we have to our preparation, so we can be counted on.”
SUMMARY
What made the team so successful for so many years—
was coach Lad’s ability to get every player on the team to make the commitment to:
PUT THE TEAM FIRST!
This was the commitment that unified them as a team.
Main Point of Sermon
Main Point of Sermon
In order for us to be unified and effective as a church—
we will need certain commitments as well.
This morning we are going to learn about some…
Commitments of a Unified Church
Commitments of a Unified Church
We’ve been going through the book of Acts,
and we’ve seen their commitment to being faithful to spread the message of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit has strengthened and unified them
through their desire to be faithful witnesses of Jesus.
And they have continued to grow and be faithful through:
persecution and attacks from the religious leaders,
who even killed and imprisoned some of them.
BILLBOARD
This morning we’re going to see yet another attack on the church—
A threat comes against the church,
but they are able to withstand through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are going to see that…
The church stands strong through their:
Commitment to Conflict
Commitment to Resolution
Commitment to Correction
Prayer for Illumination
Prayer for Illumination
Lord…
Transition
The first thing we see in our passage this morning is that:
A church that is committed to unity—
is a church that will have a…
1. Commitment to Conflict
1. Commitment to Conflict
Now that really sounds like a contradiction doesn’t it?
But as we’re going to see—
there are times that the best way to protect the unity of the church—
is to engage in conflict.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
Paul & Barnabas had returned to their home church in Antioch—
and were enjoying some time of refreshing encouragement, until…
1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
The message of the gospel is at stake—
How is a person saved?
By putting their faith in Jesus?
OR
By putting their faith in Jesus PLUS being circumcised and obeying the law of Moses?
This is a monumental moment in the life of the early church—
this is going to lead to conflict that either—
divides the church—
or unifies the church.
Some believe that these are false teachers misleading the church—
Others believe these are Jewish Christians connected to the Pharisees—
I tend to think they were believers connected with the Pharisees in v. 5
5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”
These were Jews who believed in Jesus—
but believed that Gentiles still needed to be converted to Judaism.
This was understandably hard for them to wrap their minds around—
Before Christ came, Gentiles could become God’s people—
but only through converting to Judaism—
being circumcised and obeying the law of Moses.
But this is not the case anymore—
The mosaic law was given to Israel to make them distinct from other nations—
But now the distinguishing characteristic of believers is that they are born again by the Holy Spirit.
Scott Kellum in his commentary on this passage says…
“The Christian proclamation was not about God's reformation of Judaism. Rather, through the actions of God in Christ, Gentiles were coming as Gentiles into the kingdom of God.
Still, some professing Jewish Christians stubbornly held to old traditions. They insisted that a Gentile had to take on the whole of the old covenant (including circumcision) before they could be saved.”
We see Paul and Barnabas’s response in verse 2…
2 Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them
Things got heated!
The NIV says they had a — sharp dispute
The CSB says they had a — serious argument
The NLT says they — argued vehemently
This was not a small issue—
This was some very serious debate!
Paul and Barnabas were committed to conflict—
when it meant defending the message of the gospel!
They had just returned from spreading the good news of Jesus to many Gentile cities—
Many miracles were performed by God through them—
Many people had come to faith in Jesus, received the Holy Spirit and were baptized—
Many churches were planted with elders leading and guiding them—
and as far as we know—
NONE OF THEM WERE REQUIRED TO BE CIRCUMCISED OR FOLLOW THE MOSAIC LAW!
A person did not need to become a Jew in order to be made right with God—
The Good News of the Gospel is that you are made right with God through faith in Jesus!
SUMMARY
This is the message of the gospel that Paul and Barnabas are willing to defend!
They are “Committed to Conflict”—
in order to preserve the message of salvation through Christ alone!
APPLY
APPLY
This is the message of the gospel that we need to preserve!
A person isn’t made right with God because they are baptized—
A person isn’t made right with God when they know enough—
A person isn’t made right with God because
they follow the right rules— or
dress a certain way— or
attend a certain church—
A person is made right with God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
By grace alone—
It is a gift of grace—you don’t deserve it!
What you deserve is God’s judgement because of your sin—
but God offers grace—unmerited favour—
HOW?
Through faith alone—
You are not made right with God through works or obedience—
You are made right with God through faith!
Salvation isn’t something you earn—payment for good behaviour—
It’s something God offers through faith—
Faith in what?
In Christ alone—
Jesus fulfilled the works of the Law perfectly—
therefore, through faith in Jesus you have perfect righteousness!
Jesus died as the final sacrifice for sin—
therefore, through faith in Jesus all your sins have been forgiven!
Jesus was buried, but rose from the dead on the third day—
therefore, through faith in Jesus you will be raised from the dead!
Jesus ascended back to the Father, and is coming back one day—
to bring those who have put their faith in Him alone into the Father’s presence for all eternity!
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This is the message of the gospel that we need to defend!
It’s not Jesus + anything …
It’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!
SUMMARY
The church needs to be unified in this truth!
It is so essential, that you must be committed to conflict—
in order to defend it!
When it comes to conflict in defending the truth of the gospel it may lead to division—
but not division within the true church of Christ—
rather, division between believers and non-believers.
True followers of Jesus will be united in the message of the gospel—
and will be committed to conflict that defends the truth of the gospel!
Transition
Paul, Barnabas, and the church in Antioch are committed to conflict
to protect the message of the gospel—
But not simply for the sake of conflict—
The goal in their conflict is to come to some resolution.
Which is the next commitment a unified church has—
2. Commitment to Resolution
2. Commitment to Resolution
A church will be committed to conflict when necessary—
but the goal of that conflict is not just to argue and debate—
but rather to come to a resolution.
That’s exactly the example we see with the church in Antioch.
2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.
They were not able to come to a resolution in Antioch—
so they take the matter to the church in Jerusalem.
which is where the gospel originated through the apostles.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
As we look at how they handled this conflict—
we’re going to see the necessary motivations to achieve resolution—
Their first motivation for resolution is to—
a. Honour God
a. Honour God
As the apostles/elders/and the whole church is gathered together—
their desire is to honour God and come alongside His plan.
7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,
9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?
11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”
Peter is referring back to how God used him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
You remember the story of Cornelius—
How God showed Peter that he shouldn’t see Gentiles as unclean—
and after preaching the good news of Jesus to them—
God poured out His Spirit on them—
cleansing their hearts — BY FAITH!
Peter is saying—
If God
gave the Gentiles His Spirit;
cleansed their hearts;
and saved them—
even though they were Gentiles—
are you going to test God?!?!
are you going to go against HIS WILL?!?!
12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.
14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.
15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
16 “ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things
18 known from of old.’
This James is not the apostle James—he was executed back in chapter 12—
this is James the brother of Jesus—who wrote the book of James.
It seems he has become the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
James reminds the people that the Gentiles being welcomed in as God’s people —
was part of God’s plan that He prophesied would come long ago!
This wasn’t a new development—
an unforeseen circumstance that God hadn’t calculated for.
This was the perfect plan and will of God—
that Gentiles would seek the Lord—
and be called by His name—
They too would be His people!
SUMMARY
As the disciples seek to resolve their conflict—
their motivation is to Honour God—
by obeying His Word and coming alongside His plan!
Transition
But they had another motivation in seeking resolution—
b. Honour One Another
b. Honour One Another
James is going to give his judgement as the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
His judgement is faithful to honour God—
as well as ALL brothers and sisters in Christ—
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,
James’s judgement is that—
“We should not force them to be circumcised”
“God has already cleansed and saved them by giving them His Spirit—
let’s not test God and be found troubling HIS people.”
Then James says—
20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
At first glance—this sounds a bit contradictory.
“We’re not going to force you to get circumcised, buuutttt—
you do have to obey all these other rules!”
I admit—I really wrestled with this section this week—
I didn’t get it! It didn’t make sense to me!
It’s okay to say…
“God—this doesn’t make sense to me at all!”
But the more I read it, studied it, read commentaries on it—
it began to make sense to me what is going on here.
James wants to tell the Gentiles—
“You don’t need to be circumcised to be saved—
but you should abstain from:
“things polluted by idols”
“from sexual immorality”
“what has been strangled”
“from blood”
“Sexual immorality”
this is common sense—all believers are called to flee sexual immorality.
It may have been that this needed to be emphasized with Gentiles—
because they had been so corrupted by their culture.
But the other suggestions from James—
“things polluted by idols”
“what has been strangled”
“blood”
referred to prohibitions from the OT.
These were no longer binding on NT believers.
So why does James want to ask them to follow them?
21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”
Because their are Jewish believers around you who DO follow those laws!
Instead of offending the Jewish Christians around you leading to division in the church—
Honour them by living in such a way that you can have fellowship with them, leading to unity in the church!
SUMMARY
The early church was willing to engage in conflict—
but with the end goal of resolution.
The way they resolved their conflict was through a desire to:
Honour God— and
Honour One Another—
and it brought unity!
APPLY
APPLY
If we as a church want to be unified—
we need to have a commitment to conflict—
a willingness to stand up for God’s truth and defend it.
But the goal of this conflict is not simply to argue and debate—
but to seek resolution!
When we engage in conflict,
our hearts need to be aligned in our desire to resolve the conflict,
so that we are unified and strengthened!
How do we do that?
First and foremost—
with a desire to honour God!
Our only basis of authority as believers—
is the Word of God!
Christians oftentimes argue about things—
and oftentimes they wouldn’t know how to make their case using Scripture.
They make their beliefs about what they think they know about the Bible.
The truth is that we all do this to some extent—
and can all act like the Pharisees at time—
rejecting the Word of God and abiding by our own beliefs/traditions!
You need to understand that when you say what the Bible says—
YOU ARE SPEAKING FOR GOD!
You are telling someone—
“This is what God would say to you…”
That should humble you—
and cause you to fear!
You do not want to be found misrepresenting God!
You should seek to Honour God—
by being faithful with His Word!
And you should also seek to Honour One Another!
First of all, you need to understand—
there are areas of Christian freedom—
areas where God hasn’t spoken explicitly.
There are things that some Christians think are sinful—
that other Christians don’t have an issue with.
Paul wrote about this to the Romans—
ILLUSTRATE — Paul on Christian Freedom (Romans 14)
ILLUSTRATE — Paul on Christian Freedom (Romans 14)
In Romans 14, Paul talks about Christian freedom.
One of those areas is food—
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
There are areas of Christian freedom, like food,
where we are not to judge one another.
We are each accountable to God.
Paul says something very similar about holy days—
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
On certain areas of Christian freedom, two different Christians,
can come to two different conclusions about the same thing.
But then Paul gives a certain caveat to Christian freedom—
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
SUMMARY
Having our Christian freedom is not the greatest expression of our Christian faith—
The greatest expression of our Christian faith is surrendering our Christian freedom out of love for another believer!
APPLY CONT.
APPLY CONT.
Brothers and sisters—
we are not going to agree on everything.
And there are times that will lead to healthy conflict—
and we should be able to have healthy conversations about that—
but not simply for the sake of quarrelling…
Our desire should be for resolution!
Our desire should be for unity!
Our desire should be to strengthen one another/the church!
The way to accomplish this is by having a motive/desire to:
Honour God & One Another!
Transition
But there are also times when you’re just going to be flat out wrong—
For this reason…
A church that is committed to unity—
is a church that will have a…
3. Commitment to Correction
3. Commitment to Correction
I know it’s not fun to be wrong—
but sooooommmmmmeeeeettttiiiiimmmmeeesssss…
You are!
And in order for a church to be healthy and unified—
you need to be willing to stand corrected!
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
And that's exactly what happens in this passage—
Those who opposed Paul and Barnabas at the beginning of the chapter—
Realize they are wrong and agree with the rest of the church.
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
After all the discussion and debate—
everyone in the church agrees with James’s recommendation—
EVEN THE BELIEVERS WHO WERE TEACHING CIRCUMCISION!
After hearing all the evidence of God’s Work and His Word—
They were willing to be corrected
and admit they were wrong!
So…
22 They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,
23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.
This is a beautiful picture of unity—
This letter is
from: “The brothers”
to: “the brothers”
What could have divided the church has brought greater unity!
24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,
25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:
29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Notice that the unity of the church is because of the work of the Holy Spirit—
“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…”
The ability of the church to come to agreement on this issue,
was a result of the working and leading of the Holy Spirit.
It’s interesting that they give the Holy Spirit credit for the decision—
When the church comes together—
with a heart to seek God’s will—
the Holy Spirit leads them!
Well… what happened when they received the letter???
30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.
32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words.
33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.
35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
The church rejoices—
because the church is unified!
SUMMARY
The church could have been devastated by a theological divide—
but instead, because of their commitment to:
Conflict—with a heart toward—
Resolution—and a willingness to be—
Corrected—
The church is stronger than ever!
APPLY
APPLY
This is one of the reasons churches have statements of faith.
If we are going to be committed to one another as a body of believers,
we need to make sure that we are aligned in the most basic beliefs.
Our statement of faith is the Baptist Faith & Message—
which is used by tens of thousands of baptist churches around the world.
This gives us a beautiful picture of unity and partnership with other churches.
You can find our statement of faith on our website if you’re interested in reading it.
But a statement of faith doesn’t cover every area of Christian belief—
only the essentials.
We would say we must agree on the essentials in order to have fellowship together—
but there are areas where we can disagree and still have close fellowship.
But that’s only if you’re willing to have a humble heart/attitude.
If you have to be right all the time—
it will only need to needless arguments and division.
That should not be the heart of any follower of Christ—
The heart of a believer should always be to strive for unity in the church—
seeking to build up and strengthen others—
not tear them down with your arguments.
This takes a great deal of humility—
and a willingness even to be corrected—
to be willing to admit when your wrong.
I’m not asking you to not have convictions—
I’m asking to have them with humility and grace.
And when you’re wrong—
just admit it!
SUMMARY
The church isn’t unified through arrogant jerks who think they know everything—
The church is unified through humble servants seeking to serve and strengthen the body—
and who are willing to be corrected,
for the sake of the greater good of the body.
Closing
Closing
Of all the threats that came on the early church—
this may have been the most threatening—
division from within.
If Satan can pervert the message of the gospel—
he can keep people from trusting in Christ and being saved.
But God, through the power of the Holy Spirit in His people,
unified them to preserve the message of the gospel!
People are not forgiven and saved because of good works:
circumcision—
baptism—
wearing the right clothes—
going to church on Sunday—
OR EVEN reading your Bible!
People are forgiven and saved:
by grace alone
through faith alone
in Christ alone!
This is exactly what Jesus said throughout His entire ministry…
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
Jesus Himself taught that the only way to have the assurance of eternal life,
was through faith in Him.
And His plan was not for the Jews only—
but for ALL PEOPLE!
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Jesus’ plan was include ALL PEOPLE in His flock.
And He would accomplish this through laying down His life…
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
The Gospel
The Gospel
If you are here this morning—
and you have never put your faith in Jesus—
I want you to answer this question in your heart…
WHY NOT?
As we’ve seen this morning—
all that He requires from you is your faith!
Stop trying to be good enough!
Do you think you’re going to stand before the almighty, holy God—
and boast in your “good works”?
God doesn’t want your “good works”…
He wants your heart!
He wants to give you peace and joy you’ve never experienced before!
He wants to give you the abiding presence of His Holy Spirit—
who will change your heart and give you a desire to live for Jesus!
Surrender your life to Him today!
Land the Plane (Last call to action)
Land the Plane (Last call to action)
Brothers and sisters—
this is the truth of the gospel that we must be unified in!
We must be committed to
guarding and defending the truth of the gospel
that Jesus was willing to die for!
And may God unify our hearts through His Spirit—
so that we can be His faithful witnesses of this gospel wherever He places us.
Let’s pray…
