First Baptist Church of Jerusalem

When you are watching the basketball, you don’t see what else is going on. Who misses a moon walking bear? We did because we were looking for the wrong things.

Ever had an experience where someone was just looking for nothing but fault in you? You could do it 99% perfect… they wouldn’t see that at all. They would see and pick out the one mistake, the one flaw. Looking for mistakes so hard that’s all they could see.

Anyone ever been that person?

I bring that attitude into movies sometimes.

We watched Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The story of two students who travel through time in a phone booth gathering

If you’re looking for faults there… you’re going to find them. Every time.

But you would miss all the fun. All the joy, all the laughs with the kids, all the good stuff.

The Salvation of the Gentiles

We have been in Acts 10, and this is such a pivotal time in the life of the church. God has revealed to Peter through this dream with the sheet and the animals that he is to call no man “unclean” or “common”. That is, that the gospel of Jesus is for everyone, for Jew and Gentile, for Roman soldiers and their families. That there is, in fact, no category you could imagine that would or should disqualify someone from hearing the gospel, believing and receiving the HOly Spirit. And to prove it, this AWESOME guy, Cornelius… a devout man but a man in need of forgiveness and salvation nonetheless, Cornelius… and every relative and friend he could get to come over that day… all of them believe and are saved and receive visible manifestations of the Holy Spirit to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Wow.

What do you get out of that story? Glory? Praise God! Thankfulness, as a Gentile, that salvation is for all the world.

And just for Cornelius and his family. What joy! What celebration. It’s their Kingdom Victory Day.

What would you say to Peter as he returns back to the church in Jerusalem? Well done, good and faithful servant. Tell us the story again. So good!

But keep in mind. This is a huge change. And change is hard.

We get a sneak preview of what this is going to look like to the “church” in the eyes of the believers with Peter. We have seen this transformation in Peter with a direct word, a vision from God, and the voice of the Holy Spirit to him. Nobody else gets that direct, they have to take Peter’s word for that.

These six men experience the conversion themselves, and their brain explodes.

Acts 10:45 ESV

And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

Amazed. Astounded. Out of one’s senses. Their brains exploded, their minds were blown.

Acts 11:1 ESV

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

What did their hear? That the Gentiles received the logos of God. The gospel. The word was with God and the word was God and the Gentiles heard it. The received it.

What is the appropriate response? Glory! Salvation. Praise and wonder. Dancing in the streets!

Acts 11:2–3 ESV

So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

What did they hear? What did they see?

Criticism. Cynicism. They saw what Peter did wrong. That was their first reaction!

Their first reaction to hearing that Gentiles received the gospel was to criticize the process. Was to reprimand Peter for eating with them.

Oh, Peter, you did it wrong.

And I imagine they felt completely justified. All the weight of Jewish tradition behind them, everything they’ve been taught about the right ways to behave. According to their rules and traditions Peter just stepped out of line, he done messed up.

And, here’s just my thought, the text doesn’t say this, but we will dig into it in a minute. I think they saw Peter’s fault because that’s what they were looking for.

They were looking at Peter the man and looking for fault. And they found it.

Because if you’re looking at a man for fault you will find it. Every time.

Where am I finding that idea or hint in the text? Because Luke calls these guys out, and not as “the people who criticized Peter that one time.”

What does he call them?

The Circumcision Party

They weren’t called that then. There was no circumcision party then. No one was arguing about circumcision yet… that is coming in Acts 15 and later.

This group of Jews say “yes!” Another group of Jews, Paul included, say “no”. And the Gentiles say “Please, please, please, noooooo!”

But Luke is looking backwards at what these folks are going to continue to see and continue to believe and continue to argue and criticize. He sees the seeds of what became a whole division within the church, he recognizes that that division started all the way back in that moment and when on from there.

This is a heart issue for these men and women. There is a pattern started here and continuing on. There is legalism in there, there is a lack of understanding about grace… but I think it starts here.

There is a judgmental spirit. They looking for fault, and they are always going to find it.

Peter’s Response

Peter just points to what God is doing. Not defending his actions, really. Just telling the story of what God did.

Acts 4:4 ESV

But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

And Luke takes the time to retell the whole story here in Peter’s words, which reminds just how incredibly important this section of Scripture is.

Acts 11:4–15 ESV

But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “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. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.

Now Peter basically cheats. Oh, remember what Jesus said?

Acts 11:16 ESV

And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Acts 11:17 ESV

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?”

And then a miracle.

Acts 11:18 ESV

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.”

They fell silent.

That should have been their first reaction! Silence before the majesty of God, silence before what God was doing and saying. Silence before the Word of God, and hearing that Gentiles were receiving the Word.

And then glory.

Praise God.

Sitting in the Seat of Scoffers

Do you ever find yourself sitting in the seat of scoffers? Or mockers? The Bible, especially Psalms and Proverbs have a lot to say on this judgmental critical kind of spirit that is just looking for fault.

If our eyes are on Christians looking for fault, we will find it. Every time.

If our eyes are on God and what He is doing, we will find awe and glory. Every time.

Does this mean there isn’t a place for constructive criticism, or even for admonishment… or occasionally prophetic judgment. We are about to see all of those come up in the life of the church. Apostles admonishing one another, or prophetically rebuking the church.

That is not men pointing to other men to point out their faults.

That is men seeing God at work within one another and spurring each other on. Women from God and speaking with His voice.

I had a brother do this so beautifully and full of grace this week: to call me out and challenge me to chase after what God is doing.

There is a place for constructive criticism.

There is no place for scoffing. For sniping. For mocking. There is a world of difference between spurring one another on towards righteousness… and picking at each other for faults.

“The church is the only army that shoots its wounded.”

There is an easy measure. Godly criticism and encouragement points to and leads to God’s glory. Human harsh criticism misses what God is doing and leads to division and discord.

The Scoffed

Sometimes we are the scoffer. Sometimes we are the scoffed.

Sometimes we are the circumcision party. Sometimes, hopefully, if we are being used by God, we are Peter. Unfairly criticized by people who are ultimately just afraid of change.

If we are following God’s will, we are going to be criticized. By non-Christians and Christians. It will happen.

If God is going to use us to push forward the boundaries of the Kingdom… that doesn’t come without change, without offense, even. It absolutely will push against people’s ideas of what is “proper” or what is right or, in Peter’s case here, what fellow Christians believe God is saying is right and wrong.

Peter is amazing here. Hot-tempered, hard-headed Peter… he doesn’t get defensive. He doesn’t say “do you know who I am? I am the Rock! Shut your face!”

He points to what God is doing. And then says such a powerful question: “who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

And it ACTUALLY gets through. They are struck dumb and then they praise God. Wow! Will that always work? No. It won’t even always work with those particular people. It won’t always work for Peter.

But this is a powerful model for how we should respond to misguided rebuke and criticism. Tell the story, point to God.

Change is Hard, Change is Coming

Why is this so important?

Next Step won’t be the same in ten years. It won’t be the same in five years. It can’t be.

I can’t tell you all the changes that are coming. I’m chasing God’s vision, working with leaders, we will draw up our five years plans. But above those plans, I trust that God is working in us in ways we won’t anticipate.

What was Peter’s five year plan three days ago? God just blew it out of the water. Change is coming if Next Step Christian Church is going to take anything like a Next Step forward. If we are going to be serving our community, change is coming. If we are going to be effective witnesses to Christ in our neighborhoods, change is coming.

And it is hard. and it is scary. And I expect, I think it is inevitable, it is the most human thing in the world for us to walk in looking for all the ways that what we are doing now is broken and gross and wrong… and all the ways what we might try to do next is broken and gross and wrong.

If we are looking at men and looking for fault, we are going to find it. Every time.

How tragic, how heart-breaking if we, if I, might miss what God is doing next. If our eyes are on God and what He is doing, we will find awe and glory. Every time.

It is easy to miss what we’re not looking for. Let’s look for what God is doing among us. Let’s be struck dumb by what He is doing already and what He is going to do next. And let’s glorify God, saying, “Then to Gentiles also… then to Next Step Church also… then to my neighbors in Thornton, in Northglenn, in Westminster also… God has granted repentance that leads to life.”