My Way or God's Way

Acts 15:1-21

Introduction:

This morning we are going to take a look at Acts 15:1-21 to see how the apostles handled the question of doctrine in the church and how it affected church people (the Jews) and new converts (Gentile believers). I believe we will learn not only how to properly handle issues in the church, but also how to be an effective Christian witness to others.

Events take place some time after Paul’s first missionary journey In Antioch of Syria.

A disagreement takes place in the church regarding Gentile believers and whether they are to be circumcised (become Jewish) first in order to become Christians.

This is the first challenge to the orthodoxy of the church. There was a question about salvation and what must one do to be saved.

The first missionary trip of Paul

Body:

I. The issue (verses 1-3)

Acts 15:1–3 CSB

1 Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 After Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue. 3 When they had been sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters.

A. Some men came to the church and was preaching that Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to become Christians. They believed in following the Mosaic Law in a strict sense no matter what. We don’t know for certain why they were teaching this. But, part of the reason could have been to make the Gentiles become Jewish before they can be Christian and therefore preserving their tradition of observing the Law and feasts, etc. They wanted to make sure their Jewish heritage wasn’t going to be lost when the Gentile believers came into the church.

This was happening in other Gentile churches as well (while in Antioch the problem was circumcision; in the Galatia it was the Law as a whole

We can tend to do this as well in church today. We can get so focused on something that may be important to us personally that we make it a mandate for everyone else to follow as a prerequisite for salvation. (Dress a certain way, talk a certain way, look a certain way, etc. because that is what we knew all our life.)

B. There was a serious debate between Paul and Barnabas and these men. (V2)

1. The original language here suggest that Paul and Barnabas not only disagreed but it also denotes intense and emotional expressions of different opinions. In other words, things got really heated.

2. The church leaders decided to send Paul, Barnabas and the men to Jerusalem to get the heated disagreement resolved by the apostles.

i. We know from Galatians that Paul took Titus with him as well.

II. We also know Paul and Barnabas were not leaders in this church and they submitted to the authority of the elders and leadership even though they knew they were right.

3. Another great example of what being a leader in the church looks like. Paul was an apostle and easily could have superseded the authority of the leadership of the church because of who he was and what he had done and that he was right. But he chose to submit and allow the process to run its course.

Transition: On their way to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas told the believers in Phoenicia (Gentiles) and Samaria (Samaritans) about the Gentile believers which brought joy to them. The original language here means Paul and Barnabas went into full detail about what was being preached, what the Gentiles did and the signs and wonders that followed. In other words, it wasn’t the reader’s digest version. Because the churches were Gentile and Samaritan in nature, they were excited about hearing other non-Jews getting saved.

When Paul’s letters were written

II. The meeting at Jerusalem (verses 4-6)

Acts 15:4–6 CSB

4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter.

A. They were welcomed by the church, the apostles and the elders and they told them what God had been doing in the Gentiles. (V4)

B. They weren’t welcomed by the people who were from the party of the Pharisees called the Party of the Circumcision (Acts 11:2). These were Jews who were Pharisees and had become followers of Christ but took their position as a Pharisee as priority first. “I am a Christian but I am first and foremost a Pharisee.” (V5)

1. Paul was a Pharisee as well and recognized that it was all rubbish compared to Christ and he left it behind (Philippians 3:5-7)

2. These people held onto their Pharisaical status tightly and expected others to follow the Law first as they did before coming to Christ and be circumcised.

3. This was a requirement out of compulsion as a matter of either: duty (personal) or by law, custom and circumstances (outward); either way it was not a Gospel-focused theme.

4. Paul tells us how this meeting begins in Galatians 2 (you can look more into this during your personal Bible study)

C. The apostles and elders considered the matter and called the special meeting to take notice of the matter and pay special attention to it. (V6)

A. The difference between the heated debate in verse 2 and the heated debate in verse 5 is that the language used in verse 2 denotes a heated disagreement or different opinions that was looking for a resolution/conclusion.

1. The debate in verse 5 denotes a heated disagreement whose goal was not seeking a solution but just for everyone to voice their forceful opinions, options and disagreements while not listening to others. This is what leads Peter to do what he does in verse 7.

Transition: Shortly after this meeting in Jerusalem, Paul writes to the church of Galatia where the men seemed to have come from and wanted to address the false teachings they were hearing that contradicted the Gospel. This is known to us as the Book of Galatians.

III. Peter’s response (verses 7-12)

Acts 15:7–12 CSB

7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.” 12 The whole assembly became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describe all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

A. Peter reminds the people of the early days when God put a call on his life to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles and as a result they would believe (Cornelius and his house were saved and not by what Peter did bit because of God giving them the Spirit as a sign in Acts 10). (V7)

1. They all recognized God had called Peter to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles so who better to listen to than Peter. This is why the crowd was silent.

B. God also gave the Gentiles the Holy Spirit just as He did with the Jewish believers (v.8)

1. God knows the hearts and thoughts of everyone. We don’t!

C. God makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile (v9)

1. He cleansed their heart by the washing of their faith in Christ and also refers to forgiveness of sins and future obedience in the faith.

2. It also denotes the meaning to cleanse from ritual contamination or impurity and to purify through ritual cleansing. They didn’t need to follow the rituals of the Jews anymore as the men of the Pharisaical party was trying to have them do.

D. Peter tells them they are testing God (v10)

1. Why are you making Him angry? Why are you testing His patience? Why are you attempting to cause someone to sin?

2. “Yoke around neck” refers to causing difficulty to someone by requiring conformity to rules and regulations.

3. “to bear” refers to anything burdensome such as legal requirements stated in this passage

E. Peter defines again what salvation is (v11) which is salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the apostles agreed on this as we see in all their personal letters as well. Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. Not following the Law or adding extra works! There is no room for legalism in the Body of Christ and Kingdom of God!

F. Signs and wonders was the litmus test of the true conversion of the Gentiles (v12)

Behaviors was not the prerequisite for salvation but grace and faith alone. By adding behaviors and works, you are saying that man can earn his own salvation which isn’t true.

Transition: So, now let’s see how James handles the situation and comes to a solution.

IV. James’ response (verses 13-21)

Acts 15:13–21 CSB

13 After they stopped speaking, James responded, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name. 15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: 16 After these things I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again, 17 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord— even all the Gentiles who are called by my name— declares the Lord who makes these things 18 known from long ago. 19 Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.”

A. James is the brother of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem. This would have made him the senior leader at the council. James confirms Peter’s call from God and goes back to scripture (Amos 9:11-12) to make sure their decision would line up with the prophets (verses 13-18). By quoting the prophets, James proves the scriptures have always looked forward to a day when the Gentiles would be included in God’s plan.

B. James makes decision (verses 19-20)

1. Not to add more requirements to the Gentile believers such as circumcision

2. To only require the Gentile believers to abstain:

a. From things polluted by idols (that is, anything/food that has been offered to idols)

b. From sexual immorality (of any kind)

c. From eating anything that has been strangled and from blood (refers to animals that had been slaughters in a manner that left blood in it; blood was sacred to the Jews and all meat was to be drained of blood before consuming it)

3. Reason: they were the requirements read in the synagogues every Sabbath and had been around for many generations; a very long time; it was to be done and observed for the Jews as they respect and observe those scruples. (Scruples are defined by Webster as: a sense of right and wrong that keeps a person from doing something bad. 2 : a feeling of guilt from doing something bad)

In other words, James was saying “In order to not offend the Jews who have been brought up a certain way all their life as far as not being able to eat certain things, let’s not do it as well in order to not offend them and to be able to have fellowship with them. It is not that it was against the Gentiles believers’ faith, but it was about putting others first and being able to fellowship with Christian Jews and be an effective witness to non-Christian Jews.

We do the same thing today. There are some churches that choose not to do certain things in order to prevent other believers from being offended. And there are believers that choose not to do certain things in order to be an effective witness and not to cause confusion or offense.

Conclusion:

This is a great example of how to deal with issues in the church and how to live in a way to effectively witness to others.

Are we going to do things our way and expect others to follow suit?

Or are we going to do things God’s way even when we don’t understand or feel uncomfortable?

Do we believe God treats everyone the same and can make Himself known to anyone?

Are we going to base our decisions and actions on Scripture or on personal preference?

How are we as a individuals and a church body treating non-believers? Are we expecting them to jump through some hoops whether it be to dress a certain way or talk a certain way? Maybe even read only one translation of the Bible in order to be truly saved?

Those are works/behavior and who are we to dictate anything except salvation by grace alone and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ! The behaviors come later as the Holy Spirit works in the person life. We don’t know people’s hearts; only God does!