Grace & Truth Church
Acts of Jesus through the Holy Spirit - wk 15
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  • Acts 15

    We’ve been talking about Paul and Barnabas’ first mission to the Gentiles. They started out in Antioch with Mark, then went to Cyprus, and then Perga, where Mark parted ways with them to return to Jerusalem. We aren’t told why he left the trip early, but there appears to be some tension surrounding Paul and Mark that we will talk about today. Next they continued to another city called Antioch, and then Iconium, where they fled from people who planned to stone them.
    Next, they made their way to Lystra, where the people mistook them for the mythological gods, Zeus and Hermes. While they tried to settle the chaos, guess who showed up? The Jews who planned to stone them in Iconium arrived in Lystra, turned the crowd, then stoned Paul. Thinking he was dead, they dragged him out of the city. Amazingly, he wasn’t dead. He gets up and, of all things, walks back into the city!
    The next day, Paul and Barnabas go to the last city on their trip, Derbe, and then turn and make their way back to their home base in Antioch. That brings us to chapter 15. In this chapter, the missionaries find themselves in a dispute with other believers that goes all the way to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem before finally beginning their second mission trip. To use a military term, this chapter is the debriefing as a result of their outreach to the gentiles.
    Reading this chapter can sometimes feel like reading the minutes, or the notes to a church meeting. I know how exciting that can be, so we are going to read it line by line, studying it word for word. We’re gonna take our time and really let it speak to us! All joking aside, there really is a lot of information here if you want to dig your heals in and get sweaty. For today, we will keep it light. We’ll talk about what is happening and why it’s important, but I’m curious about what stands out to you in this chapter. There is a key element that has been on my mind about it that I will share, but if something grabs your attention I’d like to hear about it. Let’s pray and then we will talk about chapter 15...
    Pray
    At the beginning of the chapter, Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch sharing the Gospel with the Gentiles and teaching new believers. You may remember discussing Antioch a few weeks ago. Antioch was the Las Vegas of the area. It was very diverse, had plenty of immorality, and was mostly non-Jews (or Gentiles). It’s also the place where followers of Christ were first called Christians. They were beginning to be seen as their own religion rather than a sect of Judaism.
    God had only recently (within the last 10 years) made the believers aware that non-Jews could become Christ followers. Not only that, but they didn’t have to first become Jews or perform any of the rites and rituals of Judaism to qualify to be a part Christ’s new covenant. This was a very big deal and probably very difficult for many people to fully understand or accept. To use more familiar expressions, all of these people were becoming Christians but non of them were signing up for Sunday school. They were coming to church, but hadn’t officially joined. Even less signed up for the different ministry teams: Children’s church, youth ministry, the nursery, the worship team, the outreach team, the hospitality team, the facilities team, or even signed up as small group leaders.
    Clearly, this wasn’t going to sit well with the hyper religious crowd. Not to mention the fact that Paul and Barnabas were dropping the ball because they weren’t even teaching these new believers all of the things they had to do to become Christians! So a group of people came from Judea to set them straight. After my earlier analogy all I can see is a church bus full of old ladies coming to get people to sign up for the upcoming pot lucks and ice cream socials…
    Acts 15:1–2 NLT
    1 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question.
    We now have an official church dispute! They are getting the big dogs involved! I am making light of this event, but in reality it was an important and pivotal moment for the early church about a much more serious and theological disagreement than “Who’s bringing the mashed potatoes?” It comes down to understanding the first century Jewish mindset. According to Nate Sala…
    In this first century mindset, there were three distinctions or aspects to God’s law:
    Cultic Law
    Ethical Law
    Miqsat Ma’ase ha-Torah (“Some of the Works of the Law”)
    Cultic laws are ritual laws, or the procedures needed to maintain holiness and proper worship in Israel’s relationship with God.
    Ethical laws are the moral commands that reflect God’s character in everyday life.
    The last are the works of the law, or a selection of commandments that mark or define those who truly belong to God’s covenant people. It’s not the entire law, but select boundary markers, like circumcision, Sabbath observance, dietary laws, and purity rules.
    Some of the Jewish believers struggled to understand how Gentiles could become Christians if they didn’t adhere to these boundary laws. So Paul and Barnabas go to the church in Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders to settle the matter. As they debate this issue, Peter finally stands and addresses the council. We read this passage a few weeks ago when we read about Peter first witnessing the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit…
    Acts 15:7–11 NIV
    7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
    Paul and Barnabas also spoke about the signs and wonders that God had done among the Gentiles. James also spoke and quoted from the Old Testament to show how this was a fulfilment of prophesy. In the end, the council determined two things…
    Faith through the grace of Jesus is what saves Gentiles and Jews with no distinction.
    The Gentiles must obey key aspects of God’s commands in order to maintain table fellowship with Jewish Christians.
    What does that mean? Most importantly, it means that they realized that the only thing that saves a person is faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing else could bring someone into a right relationship with God. Paul once said this to Peter when he was falling into this same religious trap…
    Galatians 2:15–21 NLT
    15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” 17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
    It is only faith in Jesus that saves. So what about the second part? Why did they decide the Gentiles still had to obey key aspects of God’s commands? I think Paul would call it an act of love. Let me explain what I mean. This was a decision based on fellowship. Put yourself in the shoes of a first century Jewish Christian. Your whole life you have followed the law to the best of your ability. You love God and you have studied His nature. You are probably very familiar with what He does and doesn’t like. Because you love Him, you want to put your best foot forward. You want your life to reflect your love for Him. Even though you know that you are sanctified through Jesus, you still want to be pure. You don’t feel close to Him otherwise. Maybe there is even some residual law in your mind that tries to convince you that you might not actually be clean.
    One day you are sitting in church, doing all of your regular worship and purification rituals. You sit down and then a man you’ve never seen before walks in. He tells you how he heard the Good News this week and now he is a Christian. He gives you a great big hug and then walks off. As he leaves you say, “Maybe we’ll run into each other this week!” To which he responds, “That would be great! Come by my job. I am a butcher down at the pig farm.”
    Maybe you are a part of a small bible study and a similar situation happens. Someone new joins and while you are all eating supper you learn more about him and realize that you are ritually unclean simply by being in the same room as him!
    For a Gentile coming into contact with these people, doing their best not to be a stumbling block or cause distress would be an act of love. Paul actually does call this an act of love in his letter to the Roman Christians when he addressed a similar issue in regard to unclean foods…
    Romans 14:14–15 NIV
    14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.
    The Jerusalem Council is saying something similar. It’s true that this isn’t a salvation issue, but if you want to worship and fellowship with Jewish believers don’t let it become a salvation issue for someone else! Don’t, by not adhering to ancient and practiced Jewish laws, destroy someone for whom Christ died. It’s an act of love.
    I do like another thing that Paul said that ties into this same thought. I described the first century Jewish mindset earlier, but this next verse shows us how Paul thought. Not only did he see keeping peace as an act of love, but there is a deeper meaning to it. A stronger motivation. Listen to this powerful message he taught in his first letter to the Corinthian church and really let this first sentence sink in…
    1 Corinthians 9:19–23 NIV
    19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
    At our men’s breakfast I had mentioned how different people respond to different people differently. For example, I learned a lot about God and being a Christian from my dad but he never sat me down and preached to me from the bible. At the same time, I can walk into a room with someone on the other end of the spectrum yelling and screaming “Hallelujah!” and quoting scripture and it would just make me want to leave. It’s just not my personality or the way I learn. But someone else will be different than me. They may need or want that. We are all different in many ways.
    In other words, if we are all tools in God’s toolbox and He is building a house, He will have different tasks for each of us to do on the same structure. A wrench for over here, a screwdriver there, a hammer up there. Different tasks, different abilities, different kinds of service, but the same God at work within us. In fact, in a couple of chapters after the verse we just read, when speaking about Spiritual Gifts Paul said…
    1 Corinthians 12:4–6 NIV
    4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
    Before we close I want to mention one last thing that has been on my mind about this chapter. In fact, the last part of this chapter has been on my mind for a few weeks now. Let’s read it real quick…
    Acts 15:36–41 NLT
    36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.
    This is the beginning of their second missionary journey. It kicks off with another disagreement! Unfortunately we don’t know any more than this about the dispute between Paul and John Mark, but it has stuck itself in my mind. Was Paul being unreasonable? Was John Mark that big of a liability? Did Paul think he was unreliable? Was Paul upset because if John had been with them, maybe Paul could have avoided being stoned nearly to death? Why did John leave to begin with? Is that what this is really about?
    I don’t think this detail really matters, except to say that even in the very early days of the church disagreements and disputes could and would happen. Today we see church’s split over silly things and we see pastors disagree and go to different church’s. Even though it’s not fun to experience or witness these things, sometimes they are necessary. The first Old Testament story that pops into my mind is Babel. The people were no longer filling and subduing the earth, which was God’s primary directive for them, so He confused their language and scattered them.
    One way to see this disagreement is how it forced Paul and Barnabas to split up. Apart they covered twice the ground! They each went to different places. They took different people with them. In fact, Paul took Silas who may not have went otherwise. Silas was a leader in the Jerusalem church, so he could speak with authority on church affairs. This was probably very valuable to Paul, based on the events of this chapter. Silas was also a Roman citizen like Paul, so he could claim privileges of Roman citizenship. He was also a prophet who was fluent in Greek and could take dictation or copy manuscripts.
    We do eventually get another comment from Paul about John Mark which indicates that they, at the very least, made up with each other. One of my commentaries says that, “The final chapter in Mark’s story is that of a recovery.” Here is what Paul said…
    2 Timothy 4:11 NIV
    11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
    I like the lesson Nate Sala finds in chapter 15 of Acts. He says…

    When Christians unite to resolve disputes in the light of God’s Word, the Spirit of Christ is present.

    Sometimes it might seem like you are just looking for a silver lining, but God really does move the needle in all situations in which He is present. Even disagreements.
    As humans, we can often be so stubborn that disagreements and disputes are the only way that we will eventually move. We aren’t always supposed to avoid disagreements. To me, the lesson in chapter 15 is that rather than avoiding disagreements we should learn how to disagree in a Godly manner by facing them head on in the light of God’s Word and with Him present.
    In fact, when discussing this Nate shared a personal story about a church that he was attending with his family. He said they started noticing that a lot of people were getting fired from their positions on staff. When one of their friends was let go the senior pastor told the church to pray for the associate pastor, as if to suggest that he had failed morally. As it turns out, the people who were getting fired were people who disagreed with the senior pastor’s plans to shut down long standing ministries to fund building a larger sanctuary.
    Nate and his family decided they needed to leave the church, but it had to be biblically based. So he went to the pastor to talk about what was happening and how the church was supposed to be structured. When he asked the pastor who could fire him, his response was simply, “God.” Nate later learned that many more people eventually left and they even called it, “The Great Exodus.”
    A week after his confrontation with the pastor, Nate met with another pastor and asked him a ton of questions to see if his church was a good fit for their family. This new pastor became his friend and mentor who set him on the path to becoming a pastor himself!
    Nate says, “I wouldn’t be here [doing the Wise Disciple ministry] without my mentor. And I can honestly look back and say that the Spirit led me to him.”
    What about you? Is there anything in this chapter that stands out to you? Something that we might not have talked about? Maybe a connection to a different passage that comes to mind?
    Pray

      • Acts 15:1–2ESV

      • Acts 15:7–11ESV

      • Galatians 2:15–21ESV

      • Romans 14:14–15ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 9:19–23ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 12:4–6ESV

      • Acts 15:36–41ESV

      • 2 Timothy 4:11ESV

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