Sermon Tone Analysis

Saved by the grace of Jesus

Saved by the grace of Jesus

, ” 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." 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.

3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

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." 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

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."

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.' 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 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.

21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."

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." 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.

3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

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." 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

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."

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.' 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 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.

21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."

Paul and Barnabas have just gone through a major test of their faith in the city of Lystra, Iconium, they had strengthen the souls of the disciples, and encouraged them, pleading with them to continue in the faith.

They had done all of this through many trials and tribulations so as to one day enter the kingdom of God.

They appointed elders for all the church and with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they all believed.

Then the return to Antioch, where now they encountered some disturbing teaching about the need for Gentiles to be circumcised if they are to be saved.

This all happens in Antioch and Paul and Barnabas must make their second journey to Jerusalem.

This journey is for the purpose of questioning the apostles and elders about this disturbing teaching that challenges the established freedom of Gentiles from the demands of the Mosaic Law.

They received a positive reception in Phoenicia, Samaria, and Jerusalem to news about the conversion of the Gentiles, which, highlights the seriousness of the challenge from certain ‘believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees’, and their extra-biblical demands.

We are taught in this passage that we all are saved by the grace of Jesus.

Saved by the grace of Jesus... having not done so according to the custom of Moses.

Saved by the grace of Jesus... having our hearts cleansed by faith.

Saved by the grace of Jesus... having turned to God.

Let us pray...

Saved by the grace of Jesus... having not done so according to the custom of Moses.

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.”

From its earliest days, the church at Antioch contained uncircumcised Gentiles as well as Jewish believers,

,“ 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.

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.”

The church in Jerusalem soon sent Barnabas to investigate developments at Antioch and to encourage the ministry there (11:22–24).

Prophets later came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, to contribute to the life of the church (11:27; 13:1).

One of them predicted a severe famine in Judea, provoking the Christians to send Paul and Barnabas with practical aid (11:28–30).

This was probably the visit to Jerusalem mentioned by Paul in , where he set before James, Peter, and John the gospel he preached among the Gentiles and they ‘added nothing’ to his message.

They acknowledged a common gospel and a God-given partnership in the work, with the Jerusalem leaders broadly accepting responsibility for ministry to Jews, and Paul and Barnabas ministry to Gentiles.

On this occasion, even Titus, who was with the team from Antioch, was not circumcised, though some ‘false believers’ who had infiltrated the situation applied pressure.

We cannot be certain when the next incident mentioned by Paul in took place, though it is most likely to have been before the resolutions of the Jerusalem Council brought public agreement between Peter, James, Paul, and Barnabas on such matters.

Paul accused Peter, Barnabas, and the other Jewish Christians of ‘not acting in line with the truth of the gospel’ Look at

, “ But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.

And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with hint, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

The setting of Paul’s confrontation with Peter was Antioch, Paul’s missionary base for a number of years.

Peter had been participating in meals where Jewish and Gentile Christians ate together, but then he drew back and separated himself, eating only with Jewish Christians.

Paul saw that Peter’s behavior threatened the gospel of justification by faith alone because it implied that all Christians had to “live like Jews” in order to be justified before God.

Eating with the Gentiles would mean not eating according to Jewish dietary restrictions.

The circumcision party advocated following the ceremonies of the Mosaic covenant law at least regarding circumcision, food, and special days.Not only was Peter guilty of hypocrisy; as an influential leader, he also led astray the rest of the Jewish Christians, even Barnabas.

When Paul says that this move would force the Gentiles to live like Jews, he was accusing Peter of hypocrisy because, though he had been happily living like a Gentile (i.e., not observing food laws), he was now requiring Gentile Christians to observe Jewish table regulations if they wanted to eat with him.

Such a requirement, however, would undermine the gospel itself by making justification depend on “works of the law” rather than “faith in Jesus Christ” So Paul confronted Peter before them all.

Because Peter’s sin was a public sin that was setting a bad example for the church, Paul confronted him publicly (compare the different procedure that Jesus commands regarding a private sin against an individual person, which hopefully can be corrected privately.

We have no way of knowing how satisfactorily that issue was resolved before the next serious challenge came from Jerusalem to Antioch through the visit of those mentioned by Luke.

Their message was: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved’.

Although it is embodied in the Mosaic Law, the command to circumcise ‘every male among you’ goes back to God’s covenant with Abraham ().

The implications of the demand in v. 1 are brought out in v. 5, where it is made clear that circumcision would be the beginning of a life devoted to keeping the law of Moses.

It was widely accepted that Gentiles could become proselytes of Judaism and so share in the blessings promised to Israel.

The biblical foundation for this can be seen in passages such as,

, “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.

12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.

Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised.

So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.14Any

uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.

Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised.

So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.14Any

uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant."

Male converts would be circumcised, and the whole family would undertake to live in obedience to the law.

But these Judaizers had failed to grasp the radical change in God’s dealings with the nations brought about by the coming of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit (cf.

vv.

8–11).

The idea that God had granted Gentiles ‘repentance that leads to life’, without becoming Jewish proselytes, seemed to have been settled by Peter’s reflection on the Cornelius incident (11:18).

But clearly some Jewish Christians were not persuaded and were insistent that circumcision and all that it entailed was necessary for eternal salvation.

‘The issue here in chapter 15 is not merely post-conversion behavior but what really constitutes true conversion in the first place.’

Paul soon wrote to the Christians in Galatia about the same problem, because the false teachers spread their influence through Syria and Cilicia into the towns where Paul and Barnabas had conducted their first missionary campaign.

, “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.

So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

When they can’t to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.”

The aggressive approach of the Judaizers brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them and it was ‘no small dissension.

As well as being concerned about the local situation, Paul and Barnabas presumably had an eye to the possible impact of the teaching on the churches they had founded elsewhere.

Although it is not clear from v. 2 who appointed them to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question, because v. 3 simply says that it was the church, and not simply its leaders, who sent them on their way.

Those who had united in commissioning Paul and Barnabas for their first missionary campaign, and had been privileged to hear the report of what God had done through them, were concerned about a right resolution of this gospel issue.

They were also presumably concerned about the deteriorating relationship between their church and the church in Jerusalem.

As Paul and Barnabas travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted ‘recounting the turning of the Gentiles from vain things to a living God’).

Here we find an anticipation of the argument in vv.

7–12.

Fundamentally, just recognizing that God had been saving Gentiles on the same basis as Jews, namely though faith in Jesus as the crucified and resurrected Messiah would solve the problem.

The Gentile mission is shown to have had wide support outside Judea (This news made all the believers very glad), and then Luke records that the church and the apostles and elders in Jerusalem welcomed them.

Only the apostles and elders are mentioned in v. 6, but the whole church participated in the final decision to send representatives with a letter to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia (v.

22).

This suggests that the council was ‘open to all disciples’, and that the church in Jerusalem was as much concerned to resolve the issue as the church in Antioch was.