ReDiscover Church (5)

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

1 Corinthians 15:3–5 (HCSB)

For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins

according to the Scriptures,

that He was buried,

that He was raised on the third day

according to the Scriptures,

and that He appeared to Cephas,

then to the Twelve.

The gospel: so simple that as a 6 or 7 yr old child I could grasp my need of a Savior.

The gospel: so deep that theologians spend their entire career trying to understand the power and reach of the Good News of God.

The gospel: so simple, so deep, and unfortunately at times divisive.

According to The Pew Research Center, there are at least 15 different Evangelical Protestant groups in the United States:

Baptists (8 different types of Baptists); Nondenominational (6 types); Methodist 3 types); Pentecostal (4 types); Lutheran (3 types); Presbyterian (3 groups); Restorationist (Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ..and others); Episcopalian/Anglican [Church of England] (3 different types); Holiness (Church of the Nazarene, Free Methodist, others…); Congregationalist (United Church of Christ, others…); Adventist; Anabaptist; Reformed; Pietist [ Mennonite Brethren Church, the Baptist General Conference, International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (such as the Evangelical Covenant Church and the Evangelical Free Church)…); and Friends (i.e. Quakers) as well as Others - Non Specific.

Wow!

And this doesn’t include Roman Catholics; Greek Orthodox; and other older groups of believers.

All claim the same gospel, all adhere to similar understandings of Scripture, and all look forward to the visible, audible, and bodily return of the resurrected Jesus Christ.

No wonder many of those around us who are not believers wonder about our sanity!

Can’t we all just get along?

This is not a new challenge. Let’s go back to Antioch just a few years after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Read Acts 14:26-28

After a remarkable trip Barnabas and Paul (note: name change in Acts 13:9) return to Antioch.

As they reported to their church family they were able to share how God had worked through them to bring numbers of believers into the kingdom. They were able to share news of new groups of believers, new leaders in those communities, and new opportunities for the spread of the gospel.

Acts 15:1 HCSB

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!”

After some time of rest and recuperation, men from Judea - very likely from Jerusalem - and began to teach the believers in Antioch a slightly different gospel.

Their message was that circumcision and obedience to Moses’ law were necessary in order to be saved.

Peter had already been confronted by this group after his experience with Cornelius, a Roman Centurion recorded in Acts 10. When news of this Roman soldier coming to experience salvation reached Jerusalem, those of the ‘circumcision party’ (Acts 11:2) challenged Peter.

In both cases the issue can be summarized like this: In order to experience genuine conversion, Gentiles (males), on behalf of themselves and their families, should be required to be circumcised and take an oath to obey the law of Moses as part of their experience in coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

In other words, in order to fully experience what the Bible describes as salvation one would need to become a Jewish convert as well.

It was common for Gentiles to ‘convert’ to Judaism. Gentile males would be circumcised, and they would state their commitment to lead their family to observe all the law of Moses, as recorded in the books of the Law (Genesis - Deuteronomy).

Yet when Peter went to the home of Cornelius, as Paul and Barnabas traveled in a primarily Gentile area, they watched as God poured out His Holy Spirit on all who confessed Jesus with their mouth and believed that God raised Him from the dead - WITHOUT BEING CIRCUMCISED!

For many Jews, the mark of circumcision was absolutely necessary. This sign of God’s covenant, passed down from Abraham set God’s people apart, identifying them as a unique people, set apart by God for His purposes.

Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and all of Jesus’ original twelve were Jews - having been circumcised on the 8th day after their birth, and being raised by their families in observance of the Jewish law given through Moses.

Yet, Peter, Paul, Barnabas (and Philip in Acts 8) all had experienced how God’s good news came into the lives of ‘uncircumcised’ men and women who had no prior connection with Jewish law.

There could be no compromise. After days, perhaps even a few weeks, believers in Antioch commissioned Paul and Barnabas to go to Jerusalem and sort out the issue.

On their way south, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria (area’[s of non-Jewish and half- breed Jews). As they shared their report of all God had done, believers rejoiced!

Arriving in Jerusalem, the conflict reignited:

Acts 15:4–5 HCSB

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. But some of the believers from 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!”

You can read how the matter was resolved later in the rest of Acts 15.

For the rest of our time together this morning I’d like to share with you some reasons doctrine is important, and to identify some reasons why we can’t all just get along!

Jesus’ Desire for Unity

John 17:20–23 (HCSB)

I pray not only for these,

but also for those who believe in Me

through their message.

May they all be one,

as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us,

so the world may believe You sent Me.

I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one,

so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Shortly prior to Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension He prayed with and for His disciples. In this prayer, Jesus expressed a desire, a hunger, a powerful passion that all who believe in Him should present a united front to the world, and to the adversary.

The adversary, however, several specific and effective strategies to hinder God’s people from experiencing all that Jesus prayed for them.

Calling God into Question

Just as in the Garden the adversary plants seeds of doubt. Remember how the serpent opened the discussion with Eve:

Genesis 3:1 (HCSB)

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Are you certain you heard God correctly? How confident are you that your husband accurately reported what God said (see Genesis 2:16-17).

We don’t have time to follow this trail, but throughout God’s Word we read of His people experiencing doubt, and the result is always division.

Confusing the Physical with the Spiritual

Circumcision is important in the account of God and His people. The physical act was given to Abraham at a rather advanced age. He and his male servants - regardless of age - experienced circumcision. After Abraham, boys would be circumcised (yes, even Jesus) on the eighth day after their birth.

This symbol (and that’s what God intended it to be then) was a physical reminder of a spiritual truth.

Much like the baptism we just saw, the physical act of circumcision - done on 8 day old male children - isn’t really the point.

Even Moses said,

Deuteronomy 30:6 (HCSB)

The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.

It’s not about a piece of flesh. Circumcision is about the heart.

Those Jewish believers arguing with Paul and Barnabas were focused on externals, forgetting the real significance of the act itself.

Fearful of the Future, Holding to the Past

By the time of Jesus’ birth the Jews had spent more time as slaves/subjects then they had as a free and independent people.

Generation after generation Jews were subjugated by Babylonians, Assyrians, Geeks, and when Jesus was born, Romans.

Circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses was a powerful reminder of God’s promises in the past, of God’s assurances of His presence.

Those who don’t know the past are likely to repeat it. So, holding to the past may - in many ways- keep us from failure and disaster.

God’s story, though, isn’t going in circles. The past is not to be repeated. God’s promise is for a future beyond description. Earlier in this service we read together part of John’s vision of what this future will be like - and it’s nothing like our past!

STEPS TO DOCTRINAL UNITY

Healthy Discussion

Acts 15:2 (HCSB)

But after Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, the church arranged for Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this controversy.

Acts 15:7 (HCSB)

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.

Have you ever watched British Parliament proceedings?

There are generally two main political parties. The room where they meet is evenly divided. One party sits on the right, the other on the left.

As a MP (Member of Parliament) speaks, those on the other side of the aisle often jeer, holler, yell, and do their best to create confusion, while those sitting around the MP speak words of support, cheer, and so on.

Compared to how our system works - at state and federal levels- the British system appears to be a circus.

Jeff Iorg describes this scene

The biblical record of subsequent events sounds benign, understated to say the least. “Then the apostles and the elders assembled to consider this matter. After there had been much debate . . .” (Acts 15:6). “Much debate” to be sure—what a raucous meeting that must have been! Robert’s Rules of Order were in short supply back then. These were passionate Jewish men, skilled orators accustomed to verbal jousting to advance intellectual positions. Much debate, indeed! It’s easy to imagine the intensity of the meeting since the nature of the gospel and the future of the Christian movement were at stake.

Iorg, Jeff. The Case for Antioch (p. 101). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

It may have been loud, it may have appeared from an outsider’s view to be a mess, the expression of views on every side is helpful in determining the ultimate outcome.

Debate and discussion are not to be feared, but welcomed. It’s as we discuss issues we learn and we grow.

Sources of Authority are Crucial

Peter shared his experience. Paul and Barnabas shared their experiences. Perhaps Philip (from Acts 8) was there.

Experiences, though, are not the final word.

James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, was acknowledged as the leader of the church in Jerusalem. (No, this isn’t the same James that was killed in Acts 12 - (Acts 12:2

Acts 12:2 (HCSB)

and he killed James, John’s brother, with the sword.)

After much discussion, James speaks:

Acts 15:13–17 (HCSB)

After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me! Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for His name. And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

After these things I will return

and rebuild David’s fallen tent.

I will rebuild its ruins

and set it up again,

so the rest of humanity

may seek the Lord—

even all the Gentiles

who are called by My name,

declares the Lord who does these things,

Everyone had an opportunity to speak. Positions were staked out, arguments and reasons advanced. Questions were asked, likely very loudly!

What did James do that truly ended the debate?

He quoted the word of God!

Everyone in that room agreed: God’s Word was the final authority in every area of life.

Those men - and maybe a few women- were thoroughly Jewish. They knew God’s Word - likely having memorized significant portions of the Old Testament.

As James quotes from Amos, he is pointing to a common theme clearly expressed in God’s Word from Abraham - the very present day.

God has always sought to include all peoples to be His people.

Remember John’s vision of the throne room of God?

Revelation 7:9 HCSB

After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands.

Clearing up Confusion

Romans 10:9–10 (HCSB)

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

If you’ve ever been to an emergency room or urgent care, you were part of a medical process called ‘triage.’

Triage is the process by which trained medical professionals decide on the order of treatment.

Some patients need immediate surgery, some can wait. Some patients need immediate attention, others can wait.

These aren’t easy decisions, but the one making those choices have been well-trained and are extremely competent skillful.

Let’s perform some ‘theological triage’ this morning.

How many hymns/songs must a worship service include?

Can one who is committed to three songs get into heaven on the same basis as one who believes no less than five songs must be sung?

Obviously, that’s a silly question. Yet, churches have split over such important theological issues as :

the color of carpet

the placement of piano and organ

the use of musical instruments

the style of clothing that must be worn

losing the election for chairman of deacons

To clear up confusion let’s go back to basics:

Romans 10:9–10 HCSB

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.