Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

What is the ground of Christian unity?

What is the basis upon which one Christian is joined to another?

Or one church united with another?

What truly unites any group of people?

Don’t we usually think of unity as dependent upon some common-but-temporary priority or interest?

I mean, we can be united at a football or baseball game… we can be united in our vote for the best Italian food in Longview… we can even be united in our love for certain traditions or experiences… but that sort of unity is fleeting… it’s momentary.

So, what unites the universal Church of the Lord Jesus Christ?

What unity does every true Christian have with every other true Christian?

And how, if ever we find it, is that unity maintained?

Our passage today is a pivotal section of the book of Acts.

It is the major turning point in the expansion of Christ’s kingdom in the world.

The events of Acts 15:1-35 occur right after Paul’s first missionary journey and just before his second.

In fact, this passage asks and answers the question that must be resolved in order for any evangelistic efforts to continue among the world beyond the Jews.

The church in Antioch of Syria was growing, and other Gentile churches had just been planted in the broader regions of Lycaonia and Pisidia (specifically, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe; see Acts 13-14).

In Judea, and especially in Jerusalem, the largely Jewish population of Christians was growing in Christ, but they were also facing social and economic persecution from the Jewish brethren they’d left behind (having been baptized into the church of Jesus Christ).

And in the midst of all this growth and expansion of Christ’s kingdom in the world, there arose the second occasion for potential disunity and chaos.

The first was an administrative and practical problem in Acts 6, but this one, in Acts 15, is a fundamental problem.

Acts 15 drills down the very heart of the gospel, and asks the sort of questions that have to be addressed… in the first century and every century afterward: Who can be counted among the people of God? On what basis does any sinner become a partaker in the promises of the gospel?

Where is the burning core of Christian unity?

Let’s stand, and I’ll read our passage for today.

Scripture Reading

Acts 15:1–35 (ESV)

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

Main Idea:

The promise of forgiveness in Christ is applied on the basis of God’s sheer grace and through the genuine faith of sinners; and only this gospel transcendently unifies.

Sermon

1. Conflicting Gospels (v1-2)

It is vitally important that we understand the nature of the two conflicting gospels, which are the focus of our passage today.

We need to know exactly what they were so that we’ll be better able to recognize and apply this in our own day.

So, let’s define these two gospels, and then let’s make it clear how they were and are truly at odds with one another.

First, the gospels.

Only one appears explicitly in our passage, but the other has already been recorded several times in Acts.

The most recent detailed message of the gospel we’ve seen in Acts is in chapter 10.

Luke recorded Peter telling the good news of Jesus Christ to a Gentile named Cornelius.

Peter said, “38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

He [Jesus] went about doing good and healing… 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did… They [i.e., the Jews in Jerusalem] put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear… 41 to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses… 42 And he [Jesus] commanded us to preach… and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:38-43).

In other words, the gospel or good news that Peter and the rest of the Apostles preached is that Jesus was and is the very Messiah God sent to die in the place of sinners, and Jesus was raised back to life again to show that He is the Redeemer-King… He both forgives sin and judges sinners.

Everyone who believes or trusts in Him receives forgiveness; but everyone who does not turn from sin and believe in Christ remains guilty before God and under Christ’s judgment.

Friends, do you believe that?

Is this gospel truly good news to your ears this morning?

This is the core message of Christianity, and it is our only hope in life and death.

If you want to talk more about what it means or how you can have your sins forgiven, then talk with me after the service… or talk with any one of the many Christians in the room.

The other gospel in Acts 15 is right there in v1.

Luke says that “some men came down from Judea… teaching… ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (v1).

It’s important to note here that these preachers weren’t denying anything in Peter’s gospel from Acts 10.

Apparently, the Judean preachers also believed that the forgiveness of sins came only through Jesus Christ.

But where Peter and the rest of the Apostles called their hearers to “repent” and “believe” (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 10:43, 13:39), these Judean preachers called their hearers to repent, believe, and follow the law of Moses.

Following or keeping Mosaic law is implicit in v1.

They demanded that the Gentile believers be “circumcised” (v1), which was effectively the first step in living under all of the Mosaic law.

And they argued as much explicitly in v5; they wanted the Apostles to “order” the Gentiles to “keep the law of Moses” (v5).

But let me emphasize again… These Judean preachers seem to have been preaching a gospel that was almost exactly the same as the Apostles, except in one specific detail.

But it was enough to put their gospel in direct conflict with the other one.

Second, the conflict.

Luke says that “Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate” with the Judean preachers (v2).

And the conflict was so obvious and disturbing that a group of church members, including Paul and Barnabas, “were appointed to go up [from Antioch] to Jerusalem” to discuss this question with “the apostles and the elders” there (v2).

But what specifically was the question or conflict?

It was this: Are sinners saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone?

Or are sinners saved by grace, through faith in Christ, and also by obedience to biblical commands?

The way I’m phrasing these questions this morning is how they came to be phrased during and after the Protestant Reformation (of the 16th century), and it would be historically inaccurate to say that Acts 15 was dealing with the Roman Catholic and Protestant divide (which came a millennium and a half later).

However, it is a fact that the heart of the conflict in Acts 15 is the center of other conflicts throughout Church history and even today.

The doctrine of justification is on the table here, and it’s impossible to overstate how important and how divisive this doctrine is (dividing Christian from non-Christian, the saved from the lost).

Friends, you don’t have to know Church history, and you don’t need to know the finer points of theological lingo; but you absolutely must know what you believe and why.

It is not enough for someone to merely say “I am a Christian,” or “I believe in Jesus,” or even “I am saved by grace through faith.”

What do you mean by saying any of that?

On what basis do you approach the holy God of the universe?

What or who are you trusting for your right-standing before God?

These are vitally important questions that you must answer for yourself… without phoning a friend or expecting anyone else (including your pastor) to say it for you.

2. Conflicting Parties (v3-6)

Just as there were two conflicting gospels, there were two parties, and each was arguing for one side or the other.

One party, let’s call them the Faith Alone guys, was represented by the Apostles Peter and Paul, and also Barnabas (Paul’s missionary friend) and James (the half-brother of Jesus, who was probably like the Senior Pastor/Elder of the Jerusalem church).

The other party, let’s call them the Faith Plus Works guys, was represented by a number of unnamed “Pharisees” (v5).

Notice that both parties were promoters of Faith.

Again, the conflict was not “Must one believe or have faith in Christ to be saved?”

Everyone in Acts 15 answered that question the same way, “Yes!” Luke explicitly tells us that the “Pharisees” who argued for Faith Plus Works were “believers” (v5).