The Jerusalem Confession – part 4
Acts 15:1-35 (13-35)
January 6, 2013

Well, I realize that it has been several weeks since we have come together
To study this passage in Acts.

I really wish we had been able to finish it before all of the events of Christmas,
But we didn’t, and so tonight we’ll come back to it again.

Just to sort of refresh your memory as to what is going on.

• You know that God has been doing a tremendous work among the
Gentiles in order to bring about their salvation.

(It really wasn’t the plan of the Jewish church, this was something God did.)

• And just as we saw that not all the Jews were excited to go and
share the gospel with the Gentiles, there were also some who
weren’t overly excited about Gentile salvation once they received
the gospel.

(The fear was that the Gentiles were doing it all wrong
and the real traditional Jewish feel was in jeopardy.)

That is why we saw what occurred at the onset of this chapter.

Acts 15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

And that is what we called “THE DISAGREEMENT”
Certain Jews wanted Gentiles saved, Paul argued with them,
But the issue was not resolved there in Antioch.

The result was that Paul and Barnabas
Had to travel to Jerusalem and iron out this issue.

Once the council was convened we saw the second major point of this chapter:
“THE DEBATE”

The apostles and elders began to debate what needed to occur.
And while we are not given the entire transcript of the debate,
Luke does preserve for us the argument of Peter, Paul, and James.

We already saw PETER’S REACTION
It was an argument based primarily on REALITY.

You could argue that Gentiles needed to be circumcised to be saved,
But the reality was that God had already saved them
And given them the Holy Spirit apart from them being circumcised.

It seemed like a foolish decision to force circumcision now.
Acts 15:8-9 “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”

Next we saw PAUL’S RECOLLECTION
It was an argument based mainly on EXPERIENCE

Acts 15:12 “All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

You could argue that God was concerned about circumcision,
But Paul and Barnabas experienced just the opposite.

What they saw was a God passionate about revealing Himself to the Gentiles, and not once had God required circumcision in return.

When one looked honestly and objectively at what was occurring,
It just didn’t seem that God was as concerned about circumcision
As these men insinuated He was.

And that is where we left off in our study of this council.

And tonight we pick up where the third member takes the floor,
And that man is James.

So just to refresh your outline a little bit.
I. The Disagreement (1-5)
II. The Debate (6-21)
A. Peter’s Reaction (6-11)
B. Paul’s Recollection (12)

And so now let’s get to the third aspect of this debate.
C) JAMES’S RECOMMENDATION (13-21)

So having heard from Peter and Paul,
We now hear what James has to say.

And really if we want to fast forward to his decision,
It is clearly stated in verse 19.

“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,”

James’s recommendation falls right in line with that of Peter and Paul.

Peter had said, (10) “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”
And that is essentially James’s belief as well.
He doesn’t think circumcision should be a requirement for Gentiles either.

But really what I want us to focus on here tonight
Is how James came to that conclusion.

We’ve already seen that
• Peter came to that conclusion through examining the reality of the situation,
• Paul came to that conclusion by recalling his experiences.

BUT HOW DID JAMES REACH HIS CONCLUSION?

Well, there are four things that influenced James’s decision.
1) THE ACTIVITY OF GOD (13-14)

In essence what we find here is that James refuses
To disregard what Peter has just said.

“Simeon (Peter) has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.”

In other words James said,
“I’m not going to completely discount Peter’s testimony.”

Peter said that God called him to share the gospel with the Gentiles
And when he did this,
God saved them without ever requiring their circumcision.

“I cannot disregard what God has obviously been doing”

And incidentally we see this type of reasoning in Scripture.

You may remember the man who was born blind, whom Jesus healed.
The Pharisees where sure that Jesus was a sinner,
But remember the man’s logic?

John 9:25 “He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

And that wasn’t his only response:
John 9:30-33 “The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

That man’s response was very simple.
You can call Him a sinner if you want,
But what are you going to do with the miracle He worked?

Perhaps you remember when Peter and John were on trial before the Sanhedrin for healing the cripple:

Acts 4:15-16 “But when they had ordered them to leave the Council, they began to confer with one another, saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.”

You understand the logic.

You may believe something to be true,
But if God obviously does something contrary to what you believe
You’d be foolish to just disregard it.

And that is where James was.
One of the things he based his judgment on what the obvious activity of God.

But that wasn’t all (and this is important)
2) THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE (15-18)

I hope you recognize what a tremendously important verse we have here.

(15) “With this the words of the Prophets agree…”

Now let me tell you why this is important.

James listened to the testimony of Peter
And James listened to the testimony of Paul.
But James did not just believe them in a fully gullible sense.

WHAT DID JAMES DO?
He examined those stories through the filter of Scripture.

And this is so important!
2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

What Paul was saying there is that we are taking every speculation
And assertion and forcing it through Scripture to see if it is true.

It is not different than what he told the Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.”

Listen friends.
In no way should a Christian be heard-hearted or stubborn
Or unwilling to believe honest testimonies of what God has done.

But a Christian should also refuse to be gullible.
Not every story shared as a work of God is in fact a work of God.
• Not every testimony is accurate…
• Not every vision is legitimate…
• Not every preacher is truthful…
• Not every spirit is trustworthy…

HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH IS WHICH?
Scripture.

Suppose someone comes to you having seen a vision from God,
How do you know if it is true?

2 Peter 1:16-19 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” — and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

Peter said that Scripture was even more sure than his vision.

Suppose someone comes with a testimony or new theological idea,
Where do you turn?

Ephesians 4:11-15 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,”

Or what if a spirit gives you guidance in life, how do you know if it is true?

1 John 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”

(We could even go to John 16 and see what things the Holy Spirit does)

And I think you get the idea.

Peter’s testimony was great, and so was Paul’s,
But the fate of the church and the requirements for the Gentiles
Could not just be left up to testimony.

The Scripture had to be searched to see if their testimonies were true.
And that is what James is doing.
(15) “With this the words of the Prophets agree”

And then James gives his scriptural support.

(16-18) “AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’ SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.”

If you are curious, James is quoting Amos 9:11-12.

Those of you who are studying Amos with us on Wednesday night
Know that Amos has been outlining judgment for Israel.

The end of Amos 9 speaks of the restoration
That will occur after the judgment.

But what Amos revealed is that not only will God restore Israel, but also “all the Gentiles who are called by My name.”

Why is that verse scriptural support
That Gentiles don’t have to be circumcised?

It is support because Amos called them Gentiles.

If they were circumcised Gentiles
They would have been called proselytes or even Jews.

But the fact that Amos called them Gentiles indicates
That God would accept them even apart from them becoming Jewish.

This passage validated Peter and Paul’s testimony in the mind of James.

So James reaches his decision based upon
The Activity of God, the Authority of Scripture
3) THE SIMPLICITYOF SALVATION (19)

I really like this verse as well.
James knew something that can be quickly forgotten today.
And that is that salvation is not complicated.

Is salvation difficult?
Absolutely, Jesus Himself said “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Is salvation costly?
Absolutely, “whoever wishes to save his life will lose it”

But salvation is not complicated.
Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

You don’t have to trek up to heaven to find the secret…
You don’t have to dig through the earth…
You don’t have to go on some deep pilgrimage…

Romans 10:6-11 “But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART” — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

In order to be saved God does not hand people a study guide,
Nor does He give them a list of external requirements to be met.

He simply requires faith in Christ.
(Not granted that faith requires pure devotion and total submission)
But it isn’t complicated.

James knew that salvation was not intended to be complicated,
And so he also saw no reason to add to the difficulty of it.

If God didn’t require men to be Jewish, why should we?

Remember when Peter was being questioned for going to Cornelius’s house?

Acts 11:17 “Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

Would you really have me require something God wasn’t?

It was the same thing Peter said earlier in this debate:
Acts 15:10 “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”

In fact, complicating salvation was not the work of Jesus,
That was the work of those hypocritical and legalistic Pharisees.

Matthew 23:4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”

James knew salvation did not involve complicated requirements
And since Scripture aligned with Peter and Paul’s testimony,
He sought to keep it simple.

His decision was based upon
The Activity of God, The Authority of Scripture, The Simplicity of Salvation
4) THE UNITY OF BELIEVERS (20-21)

Now this is also important.
And if you aren’t careful these verses can cause some serious confusion.

• Peter just got through defending that it was faith alone.
• Paul just got through defending that it was faith alone.
• James just got through agreeing that it was faith alone.

And then all of a sudden he throws in some requirements.

Don’t make salvation any more difficult on them:
(20) “but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.”

WHAT?!?!
Why does circumcision not matter, but those things do?

The answer is found in verse 21.
(21) “For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

James just said he didn’t want to trouble Gentiles.
Here it is obvious that he doesn’t want to trouble Jews either.

Here James is acting with wisdom, seeking to unify the church.

This had nothing to do with Gentiles being saved,
This had everything to do with the church dwelling in unity.

If you write to Gentiles that nothing matters but faith in Christ,
Then Gentiles relishing in their freedom could do all sorts of things
That totally alienated their Jewish brothers.

Things like eating in idols temples or consuming strangled animals, etc.

James here understands the issue
And while validating Gentile salvation apart from circumcision
He still appeals for Gentiles to be sensitive to their Jewish brothers.

It is similar to what Paul wrote to the Galatians.
Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”

Galatians 5:13-14 “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

James wanted to make sure
That while asking Jews to accept Gentiles,
That Gentiles do everything they could to make themselves acceptable to Jews.

And so that is James’s judgment.
And it brings the Debate to a close.

• Peter’s Reaction based upon reality was that God was saving Gentiles apart from circumcision.

• Paul’s Recollection based upon experience was that God was saving Gentiles apart from circumcision.

• James’s Judgment based upon Scripture was that God was saving Gentiles apart from circumcision.

The Disagreement, The Debate
#3 THE DECISION
Acts 15:22-29

Now that the debate is over, it is time determine the answer.
The church’s official doctrine must be declared.

Yes or no to Gentile circumcision.

(22) “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas — Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren,”

And there you have what we talked about
At the very beginning of this text several weeks ago.

• We have Spirit-filled men of God
• Not just reading what Scripture says,
• But discerning what Scripture means
• And setting the direction of the church.

These men decided what the official doctrine of the church would be.

This is the actual “Jerusalem Confession”
This is the verdict determined by those men.

(23-26) “and they sent this letter by them, “The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

And I want you to see how important unity was to these men.

• They Showed unity by sending additional messengers with Paul and Barnabas.
• They Spoke unity by apologizing for those unauthorized messengers.
• They Sought unity by asking the Gentiles to work with them in regard to those specific issues.

But their decision was clear, and the church has maintained this theological position since that day.

Gentiles are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus
Apart from the works of the Law.

God is most certainly willing and eager to save all Gentiles
Who will come to faith in Christ whether they ever became Jewish at all.

Furthermore there is no need for any Gentiles who are already saved
To bring themselves back under the Law of Moses.

The church settled that issue at the Jerusalem council.

The Disagreement, The Debate, The Decision
#4 THE DELIVERY
Acts 15:30-35

I don’t think it’s necessary to break down all that is said here too deeply,
But I do want you to see the result of this decision.

We have here REJOICING
(31) “When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement”

We have here ENCOURAGEMENT
(32) “Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.”

We have FELLOWSHIP
(33) “After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out.”
We have GROWTH
(34-35) “[But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.”

Rejoicing, Encouragement, Fellowship, Growth
Legalism didn’t do any of that.

All legalism does is divide:
Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”

That event was actually after this council,
But you can see the effects of legalism on the church.

But the work of the Spirit of God here in the midst of the church
Brought rejoicing, fellowship, encouragement, unity, and growth.

And so as we bring our study of this Jerusalem Confession to a close

I just want to remind you again of what we started out talking about.

• Your faith rests on more than what you read in the Scripture.
• Your faith also rests on the meaning of Scripture that has been
preserved by faithful men who sought the Spirit of God in order to
discern it.

Here is why I want you to know that.

It was men of old who were devoted and disciplined and dedicated to seeking the face of God in order to discern and protect the truth.

And we are thankful that they did,
Otherwise we could be trapped in legalism today.

Now, today we are those entrusted with
The preservation of the purity of the gospel.

We also must be willing to give ourselves
• To seeking the face of God and the true meaning of the Scripture
• And to preserve those precious doctrines from those who would corrupt them.

We now carry that mantle and defense of the truth
Is of the utmost importance.

After all, what is the church?
1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.”

That is why Paul told Timothy:
1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”

Again:
2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

That is why Jude said:
Jude 3-4 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

We now carry the mantle.
We now support the truth.
We now do the work to preserve these doctrines for future generations.

Study the Scriptures.
Seek the Spirit of God.
Stand upon the Truth.

The Jerusalem Confession – part 3
Acts 15:12
December 9, 2012

Well, as you know we are presently studying one of
The most important councils to ever convene in the history of the church.

The setting is familiar.
• Gentiles are being saved.
• Some Jews fear this is the loss of their cultural way of worship.
• Some traveled to Antioch and demanded that Gentiles be circumcised.

And apparently their argument was compelling enough
That Paul and Barnabas ended up having to travel to Jerusalem
To settle the matter.

Here we find the apostles and elders gathered together
To seek God’s will and to seek God’s word in regard to this issue.

Do Gentiles have to be circumcised to be saved?
And if not, do saved Gentiles need to be circumcised to be obedient?

Now, on the surface that appears to be
Simply a matter of religious ordinance.

To side with the Judaizers would have certainly caused the church to maintain a much more Jewish flare.

To side with the Gentiles would cause the church to take on a much Jewish flavor and would end up much like we see church today.

And on the surface it just appears as a matter of style of preference.

But much much more than that is at stake.
This isn’t a debate about how the church should look,
This is a debate about how the church is saved.

Salvation hangs in the balance here.

And Peter really made that point clear in verse 11.
Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

And Peter, as we saw the last couple of weeks, adamantly defended
That salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.

Peter certainly did not believe salvation could be attained
By human effort of any kind, including circumcision.

And we called that Peter’s Reaction.
Well tonight I want to move forward a little bit.

I. THE DISAGREEMENT
II. THE DEBATE
A. Peter’s Reaction

Now let’s look at the second leg of this debate:
PAUL’S RECOLLECTION

(12) “All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

The phrase “All the people kept silent” really doesn’t have
As much to do with Paul and Barnabas as it does with Peter.

Peter’s dissertation thoroughly silenced the critics.
They had nothing to say to Peter’s assertions.

They had nothing to say, but Paul did.
He seized the opportunity as if to say, “Amen” what Peter had just said.

Peter gave the exhortation of God’s grace
Paul gave examples of it.

“they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

So Peter preached doctrinal truth
And now Paul supports him with relevant testimony.

He simply wanted the crowds to know
That he could vouch for everything Peter had just said.
Furthermore, God was vouching for everything Peter had just said.

Paul was giving first hand accounts of how God was in fact
Choosing, Consecrating, and Changing the Gentiles.

And the main thing mentioned is “the signs and wonders God had done”.

And we are familiar with at least a few.

Remember Bar-Jesus?
Acts 13:11 “Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.”

Then at Iconium:
Acts 14:3 “Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.”
Acts 14:8-10 “At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.”

I even think Paul’s survival can be seen as a miracle.
Acts 14:19-20 “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.”

Those were all miraculous events.
FOR WHAT PURPOSE?

To indicate two things.
1) That Paul and Barnabas were true servants of God.

2 Corinthians 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.”

These miracles were not for all believers, but rather they were
Specific gifts the apostles had in order to gain credibility to speak.

That was exactly the same purpose Jesus used them for.

John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

Their miracles certainly gave them credibility.

2) To prove that God was in fact at work. (the point made here)

What man could make Bar-Jesus blind?
What man could heal that lame man?

These miracles didn’t just validate Paul and Barnabas,
They were also indisputable evidence
That God was in what they were doing.

Hebrews 2:2-4 “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”
The writer of Hebrews saw the miracles worked
At the hands of those whom Jesus commissioned
And knew that was evidence that God was in what they were doing.

And this is really the main point of Paul’s defense here.
What Peter said was true.
God did choose the Gentiles, and God was saving the Gentiles,
And God was saving them apart from requiring their circumcision.

God had worked miracles and had validated the message.

It was obvious from a testimonial standpoint
That God saving Gentiles apart from making them Jewish.

Now, here in the record of Acts 15, that truth only occupies one verse.

But since we are here, and on the subject,
I think it’s important that we understand what a big deal this is.

It wasn’t just a big deal that this council understand this
And that they make the correct judgment.
It is also important that believers understand this.

Only one verse is devoted here to Paul’s debating
That God’s miracles validated Gentile salvation by faith apart from works.

But if you continue on in the New Testament,
We get a whole book devoted to this argument.

That book is the book of Galatians.

TURN TO: GALATIANS

Now for accuracy sake, I want you do know that
The setting for the Galatian letter is after this Jerusalem council.

In fact, Paul actually mentions in this letter how he went to Jerusalem to debate this issue, and then how Peter came to Antioch and he and Paul had an important conversation there.

So the setting of the letter is later.

What is evident is that those Judaizers
Who were at the first insinuating that the Gentiles be circumcised
Apparently were not in agreement with the decision
Reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.

The council upheld that circumcision was not necessary,
But the Judaizers continued to travel and preach that it was.

Now as we saw last week
It can be a very compelling argument that a Gentile be circumcised.

I mean if a man showed up and started quoting one Old Testament passage after another (and you didn’t yet have a New Testament)
You can see why the Gentiles were confused.

Well, that is what happened in the region of Galatia.
And now they were all be compelled to be circumcised.

That is why Paul gave that very harsh rebuke right off the bat

READ: GALATIANS 1:6-9

Now obviously Paul is here to make his defense.
• And if we had time, chapter 2 is very interesting as Paul actually recounts this Jerusalem council and then gives an instance in which he was forced to confront and rebuke Peter.

But what I really want you to see is this same argument in the Galatian letter that Paul made to the Jerusalem council.

To the Jerusalem council Paul reiterated that God was saving Gentiles
Apart from circumcision and validating it by miracles.

Now this is the same argument Paul will make to the Galatians.

READ: GALATIANS 3:1-5

Those who went to Sanyati this past summer are probably sick of that passage, I think we listened to about 6 sermons based on that one passage.

But the passage is important and certainly sheds light
On what Paul was debating back in Jerusalem.

Now first we notice a scathing rebuke from Paul.
“You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you”

Paul is really angry at the Galatians because some snake oil salesman
Came through town and completely seduced them.

He is angry because they were so gullible.
Wasn’t that what he said in chapter 1?
“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you…for a different gospel?”

And the reason here Paul can’t believe they’ve been seduced is because it was before their “eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified”

The point being.
How could you so quickly listen to some sermon on circumcision when you know good and well that Jesus Christ was crucified?

Why did you think He was crucified?
If circumcision saves you, then what was the cross for?

See Paul saw all forms of legalistic ritual as a tremendous insult
To the sacrificial death of Christ.

Every form of legalistic effort only minimized what Jesus accomplished.

But then Paul goes into deposition mode.
(2) “This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

Now if you will recognize it, that was precisely Peter’s point.

What was it that caused you to receive the Spirit of God?
Circumcision?

Obviously not, because God already gave you the Spirit
And you still aren’t circumcised.

(3) “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Now this implies that the argument reaching the Galatian region
Wasn’t that they needed circumcision to be saved,
But rather that they needed circumcision after salvation to remain pleasing.

And Paul says that it is a stupid thought too.
Which is a bigger deal?
Which is more difficult?

Is it more difficult to change a sinner or wash a saint?

Well if God saved you (gave you the Spirit) based solely on your faith,
Do you really think that He will now finish your salvation based on works?

Obviously not.

(4) “Did you suffer (experience) so many things in vain – if indeed it was in vain?”

In other words, was God’s pouring out of His Spirit wasted on you?

And then here comes the point.
It is the same point Paul made in Jerusalem.

(5) “So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

And the answer is so obvious, that Paul does not record it.
And there you see why Paul is so passionate.
• God gave you His Spirit.
• God worked miracles among you to validate His offer.
• And He did all that based on your faith.

If works like circumcision were so important then why did God do all that apart from you being circumcised?

It just makes no sense to go adding works to the obvious work of God.

Now, let me show you one more passage here in Galatians that will really sort of solidify why this is such an important truth for us to grasp.

READ: GALATIANS 5:2-6

Last week I asked you:
“Even if God saved Gentiles apart from being circumcised, don’t you think it’s still a good idea that they go ahead and do it?”

Look at Paul’s answer to that here.
(2) “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.”

(Now if you’re setting there, having been circumcised, don’t flip out, Paul will actually circumcise Timothy in Acts 16. Three times Paul says that circumcision is nothing)

What we are dealing with here is the Gentiles were viewing circumcision
As an important requirement to make them pleasing to God.

And Paul is telling them if you do it for that reason
Then “Christ will be of no benefit to you.”

What do you need Christ for
If you’ve determined to go ahead and try to earn salvation?
See Christ can’t save those who are bent on saving themselves.

Don’t we remember the necessary attitudes of salvation?
Matthew 5:3-6 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

In order to be saved the first thing you have to realize is that
You are weak, poor, helpless sinner
Whose only hope is if someone else delivers them.

I told you last Sunday morning
About Israel’s prophetic future salvation in Isaiah.

Isaiah 64:5-8 “You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved? For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on Your name, Who arouses himself to take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your hand.”

Salvation requires a broken, helpless desire for salvation.
But a person who thinks they can earn salvation has no use for Christ.

But that is not the only problem.
(3) “And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.”

See, you can’t just pick and choose
Which commandments you are going to keep.

You can’t pull a “Rich Young Ruler” and say, “Which ones”
If you are going to earn it, then you have to earn it.

And Paul says, “I earning salvation is what you choose
(made obvious by a decision to receive circumcision)
then you had better keep it all.”

Go pick up that burden that Peter said none of the Jews
Had thus far been able to carry.
But you can’t just pick up a few.

This is one of the things that really concerns me
About groups like the Seventh Day Adventists.

Now, first of all there is nothing wrong with worshiping on Saturday.
The day doesn’t matter.

However, if worshiping on Saturday is some sort of requirement
By which you are made pleasing to God then we have a big problem.

Namely, you can’t just pick that one command and say, “We’re good”
You have to take them all.

And then notice what Paul says to those who choose circumcision.
(4) “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

Works and Grace are like oil and water, they cannot mix.
You cannot be saved partly by grace and the rest by works.
You cannot be saved partly by works and the rest by grace.

To choose salvation by grace is to rest from your labor.
To choose salvation by works is to toss grace out the window.

And that is what Paul says there.

If you choose to earn your salvation.
• Say goodbye to Jesus
• Say goodbye to freedom
• Say goodbye to grace
None of those things are found by keeping the Law.

But you should also know
If you say good by to Jesus and to grace,
Then you can also say goodbye to salvation.

(5) “For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.”

See those using works are working like crazy
Hoping they will obtain righteousness.

But hose who trust Christ for it and receive the Spirit by faith
Have the hope of righteousness.

For the one who works, “hope” is a verb.
(He hopes he will get it)

For the one who trusts, “hope” is a noun.
(He has hope because of it)

And those who trust Christ have hope.

(6) “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”

When you get Jesus, who cares if you’ve been circumcised.
It doesn’t matter.

All that matters is faith in Christ based on a love for Christ.

But you see Paul’s point.
This circumcision issue matters.

If you let circumcision sneak in here as a requirement for salvation
Then kiss Jesus goodbye,
Kiss grace goodbye,
Kiss freedom goodbye,
And kiss glory goodbye.

And that doesn’t just go for circumcision,
But any work that someone seeks to add to salvation.

This is a major issue.
And so now not only do we understand
Why Gentiles don’t have to be circumcised,
We also understand why Peter, Paul, and James fought so hard against it.

Salvation was at stake.

If these men succeeded in getting those Gentiles circumcised,
Then we would have been right back where we were
Before Christ ever came.

Right back to the unbearable burdens…
Right back to the futility of sacrifices…
Right back to the veil of separation…

Jesus and His grace is the greatest gift mankind ever received,
Don’t disregard it.

Now, I think that leads us to important point to make in our lives.
It is so easy to let legalism creep in to our lives.
It is so easy to become “works” oriented.

But when we are tempted to put confidence in our own works,
All we are really doing is saying
We don’t have confidence in the work of Christ.

KNOW THAT THE DEATH OF CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT.

And know it is not only sufficient to save you, but to perfect you.

Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

The issue there wasn’t salvation, but rather sanctification.
We know that a true believer still has sin in his life,
But we also know that he hates it.

The question is, how are you going to go about getting rid of it?
How are you going to achieve sanctification in your life?

Are you just going to try harder?
Are you just going to work at it?
You’ll end up disheartened.

Remember what Paul said about struggling against sin?

Romans 7:18-19 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

It is amazing how many people in the church
Know they can’t be saved by works of the flesh,
But the second they get saved they say,
“Thanks Jesus, I’ve got it from here.”

We sort of assume that all Jesus came to do
Was get us saved and now the rest is up to us.

And tonight I just want to throw those same questions out to you that Paul gave the Galatians..

• Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with
faith?
• Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the
flesh?
• Does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles
among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with
faith?

Make sure you aren’t sucked in to legalism,
Either for salvation or for sanctification.

There have always been those Judaizers out there
Who try to get you to earn what Jesus came to freely give.

Don’t give in to them.

Galatians 2:2-5 “It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”

You don’t give in to them either.
• Trust the work of Christ to save you.
• Trust the work of Christ to sanctify you.
• Don’t disregard grace
• And certainly don’t substitute grace with works.

Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

The Jerusalem Confession – part 2
Acts 15:10-11
December 2, 2012

Last time we met we started studying what I have called
“The Jerusalem Confession”

I take that term based on the various creeds or confessions
That have been written throughout the history of Christianity.

It’s no surprise that at times God’s people can read the same Bible
And yet come to a different consensus as to what it is saying.

That does not mean the Bible is promoting some sort of dual message.
I do believe and have always believed that there is but one truth
And one meaning of Scripture.

However, we as fallen man don’t always
Immediately come to the right conclusion.

And so we can even disagree
As to what Scripture may in fact command us to do.

Now, in that list certainly there are some issues
That are of minor importance and not worth fighting over.

For example,
• I don’t care if you think the Bible says you can or can’t dance.
• I’m not overly concerned if you think instruments are allowed or not.
• I’m not fighting over if you think the church should meet on Sunday night.

Those issues really are minor and in the end
They boil down to the condition of the heart.

But there are issues that really are non-negotiable.
• The person and nature of Christ.
• The role and relevance of Scripture.
• The means of salvation.

Issues like that matter because they affect salvation.

The church may differ on whether or not Christian women can wear makeup, but in matters relating to salvation,
We cannot be wrong.

Whatever the labor required,
Whatever the length of study,
Whatever the time needed,
We must involve ourselves in it until we find
What Scripture unequivocally teaches in regard to salvation.
And throughout the years the church has embarked in such endeavors.
From the council of Nicea to Constinopole, to Chalcedone and so on.

Debating things such as
• Whether Jesus was in fact equal with the Father.
• Whether Christ was fully God and fully man.
• Whether Christ had a divine will and a human will.

And in all of these issues the Holy Spirit was SOUGHT,
The Scripture was SEARCHED,
And Spirit-filled men were SUMMONED to find the truth.

The rulings became the basis for orthodox Christian doctrine.

Well, often overlooked in the list of church ecumenical counsels
Is the first ever, and that one occurred in Jerusalem,
And the apostles themselves actually attended it.

The question of the day?
Circumcision

More specifically; Does a Gentile have to be circumcised to be saved?

Acts 15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

And because the argument was so intense and the split was so even,
It was time for God’s will in the issue to be found at all cost.

So Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to meet with James and Peter
And the other apostles to clear up this matter.

Their decision is what I call “The Jerusalem Confession”

Last week we saw Paul and Barnabas arrive and begin to testify to all that God had done with them on their missionary journey.

But as Paul shared his opponents could no longer contain themselves.

Acts 15:5 “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

And so the council was convened.

Acts 15:6 “The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.”

It wasn’t left up to chance…
It wasn’t left up to local autonomy…
This was an issue that had to be settled.

Truth and error had to be clearly defined and so the debate was on.
And while there was much debate that we have no record of,
Luke does allow us to hear what Peter had to say.

Acts 15:7-9 “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”

And without rehashing it too much you will remember that
Peter basically insinuated that requiring Gentiles to be circumcised
Completely ignored what God had already done in their lives.

• God had chosen the Gentiles
• God had consecrated the Gentiles by giving them His Spirit
• God had cleansed the Gentiles from their pagan way of life

God had already done that without them having been circumcised.

Peter’s insinuation was that to now require circumcision
Would be to ignore all that God had already accomplished.

What more could you want for them, than to have them be God’s chosen, Spirit-filled, and holy people?

What is circumcision going to accomplish that God hadn’t already done?

And then last week we covered verses 10 and 11 rather quickly,
But I really want to spend a little more time in them this evening
And make sure we fully understand the issue and Peter’s argument.

I told you last week that according to verse 10 Peter was saying that CIRCUMCISION TESTS GOD

(10) “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”

And we said that this legalistic requirement tests God,
Because it questions the validity or effectiveness of His salvation.

Very similar to the way the Israelites questions God’s provision when demanding water.

And then in verse 11 we said that Peter revealed that
CIRCUMCISION MINIMIZES GOD

(11) “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

If works are required for salvation, then what good is grace?
And that was really the heart of Peter’s argument.
• Requiring Circumcision Ignores God
• Requiring Circumcision Tests God
• Requiring Circumcision Minimizes God

But before we move on to Paul and James
I want us to dive into the issue here a little more deeply
And seek to fully understand the point that Peter is making.

In verse 10 Peter asked a very important question.
“Why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?”

We talked about the testing part earlier,
But I want to zoom here a little more on this notion of an unbearable yoke.

You know what a yoke was.
It was the device that was thrown over the neck of an ox
To make it possible for him to pull a plow or a cart.

The very presence of yoke indicated work.

And Peter said that the yoke Israel carried
Was a yoke they were not able to bear.

WHAT WAS THIS YOKE?
It was the Law, and more specifically it was the requirements of the Law in order to be saved.

For those Jews who sought to earn or deserve their salvation
Through their adherence of the written command,
The attempt was literally exhausting.

There were so many commands and so many requirements that the daily grind of trying to keep up with it all would have literally exhausted a person.

Keeping the entire Law was really impossible.
It was a yoke they could not bear.

And certainly this mentality was the one of the things Jesus appealed to.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

That was Jesus saying that He could accomplish for them
What they could not accomplish on their own.

It was similar to the statement He made in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

He didn’t come to nullify God’s standard, He simply came to make a way
For mankind to achieve God’s standard.

Abigail can’t make a basket on her basketball goal,
But I’m not going to take the goal down. Instead I raise her.

That is similar to what Christ came to do.

Jews carried an enormous burden with an impossible standard
Christ came to relieve the burden and achieve the standard.

And while people really couldn’t see that during His life on earth,
It was a point that finally became clear at Pentecost.

After Peter preached,
You can still hear the “works-based” mentality of Israel.

Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ” Brethren, what shall we do?”

There were still curious about what the requirement was.

But Peter helped them to see the work of Christ on their behalf.
Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

On that day Jews finally realized
That Jesus could achieve what they never could.
He could save them.
He could make them right with God.

And so by grace, through faith, the Jews that day
Were relieved of their burden and finally found rest for their souls.

And Peter even referenced that in verse 11.
(11) “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus…”

But that still left a tremendous amount of confusion
In regard to some of their practical areas.

We know the path the Jews took to salvation.
• They were chosen of God, and entered into a covenant with Him.
• They then broke that covenant repeatedly.
• Christ then came and purchased their pardon.
That was their path to salvation.

But now we have these Gentiles coming to Christ
From a seemingly different path.

They didn’t get circumcised…
They didn’t accept the Law…

They bypassed all of that and came straight to Christ
And that was very confusing to the Jews.

And that is the basis for the issue regarding circumcision.
NO, THEY HAVE TO DO IT LIKE WE DID

And when we read that there was much debate, I’m sure that was true.

There are plenty of Scriptures in the Old Testament
That clearly command circumcision.

Genesis 17:9-14 “God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. “And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. “And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations, a servant who is born in the house or who is bought with money from any foreigner, who is not of your descendants. “A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. “But an uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”

In fact years later as God has called Moses back to Egypt
God nearly killed Moses simply because he had not circumcised his son.

Exodus 4:24-26 “Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.”So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood” — because of the circumcision.”

In fact, not being circumcised was really a statement of being Godless.

Remember David’s reproach of Goliath?
1 Samuel 17:26 “Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?”

Circumcision was literally “THE” sign
Of being in a covenant relationship with God.

It wasn’t just the physical part, but what it symbolized about your heart.
Deuteronomy 30:6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”

Jeremiah 4:3-4 “For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD And remove the foreskins of your heart, Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Or else My wrath will go forth like fire And burn with none to quench it, Because of the evil of your deeds.”

Even Paul would tell the Romans:
Romans 2:28-29 “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”

So circumcision was an outward picture of an inward reality
And according to Scripture it was the most important symbol.

I mean a man could even be cut off from his people if he didn’t do it.

And this is just a few of the Scriptures that could have been quoted during this debate.

And I think you can see how this would have been a confusing issue.
(And really we could have the same debate over keeping the Sabbath or dietary restrictions, or anything else Jewish)

So let me ask you:
If the Old Testament is that clear on circumcision,
Why do we say Gentiles don’t have to do it?

(Now you could answer, “because the New Testament says we don’t have to”
But at the time of the council they didn’t have a New Testament)

Well, let me give you the simple answer.

CIRCUMCISION WAS THE SIGN OF ISRAEL’S COVENANT WITH GOD

TURN TO: Romans 4:9-12

Paul is here making the argument that Abraham was saved or justified
Before he was ever circumcised.

Therefore circumcision could not have been what saved him.

Yet, God still required him to do it even though he was already saved.
The reason is because it was the sign of His covenant with God.

And therefore as Abraham’s descendants all Hebrews or Jews
Were therefore commanded to be circumcised.

So why not Gentiles?
Because we are not a part of that covenant.

Now we read the Law because it is the Law of God,
But we aren’t under the Law like the Jews were.

We read the Ten Commandments because they are of God,
But we were never under that covenant.

WE WERE SAVED APART FROM THE LAW.

Remember when Paul spoke of being all things to all men?

1 Corinthians 9:19-21 “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.”

Notice Paul referred to Gentiles as those “without Law”

Romans 2:14 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves,”

Gentiles were never under the Law, never under those covenants
And therefore never required to be circumcised.

The question then is: DON’T YOU THINK THOUGH IT IS A GOOD IDEA FOR THEM TO GO AHEAD AND GET UNDER THE LAW?

The answer?
NO, not if they have already come to Christ.

The whole purpose of the Law was to lead Israel to Christ.
Galatians 3:24 “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

And so once a Jew found Christ, he no longer needed the Law.
• That doesn’t make the Law wrong
• That doesn’t make the Law bad
• That doesn’t make the Law without value

But when a person finds Christ they no longer need the Law.
Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

What we have here is Gentiles who managed to find Christ
Without ever having the luxury of the Law.

That is really miraculous when you think about it.
It is a testimony to the sovereign election of God.
But the question is, if Gentiles have already found Christ, which is the goal of the Law, then what is the point of making them now go back to the Law?
There is none.

That’s why circumcision is an O.T. command that we don’t keep.
We aren’t under that command.
Just like we aren’t under any of the Law.

Doesn’t make the Law wrong,
Doesn’t mean there is no value in studying it,
There’s just no need for coming under it when we already have Christ.

Now this leads me to the next thing that is so important.

Look at what Peter said here in Acts.

(10-11) “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

Peter said we couldn’t bear the burden of the Law,
Christ had to take that burden from us.

And as a result “we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

And that is the other statement I want you to recognize tonight.

We aren’t saved by adhering to the Law, even Jews couldn’t do that.
We are saved “through the grace of the Lord Jesus”

But I think it is very important that we understand this grace better.

Now, I’m not going to be able to fully satisfy
Your heart’s curiosity in regard to grace.

I can’t fully explain it to you.
There are some aspects of grace that we will literally spend all of eternity learning about.

Ephesians 2:5-7 “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

We will learn about grace “in the ages to come”
So I’m not going to pretend to fully explain it to you.
But there is a part of grace that we can grasp
And it is important that we understand the best we can.

Now the best way to look at grace is to examine our lives before grace,
And then to examine our lives after grace.

So let’s take a pre-grace evaluation of our lives.
Titus 3:3 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.”

Ephesians 2:12 “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Ephesians 4:17-19 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”

Romans 8:5-8 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

And those verses give us a very clear picture of a “grace-less” life.

FOOLISH – DECEIVED – ENSLAVED – EXCLUDED – STRANGERS – DARKENED
– CALLOUS – HOSTILE – CANNOT PLEASE GOD

What you may not realize is that this is the very best
That humanity can hope for.

My parents have a song they love called “Where it not for grace”

“Where it not for grace, I can tell you were I’d be. Wondering down some pointless road to nowhere, with my salvation up to me. I know how that would go, the battles I would face, forever running, but losing the race, where it not for grace.”

Human Ability, human Wisdom, human Effort,
Human Ingenuity can only take a human so far.
The problem is that the human limit is well short of God’s requirement.

But let’s take a look at that same life after grace.
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Ephesians 2:12-13 “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

And now the picture begins to emerge.

Now let me see if I can accurately describe grace for you.
For years grace has been defined as “God’s unmerited favor”

And that is certainly true,
But that definition has always seemed a little incomplete.
It certainly explains God’s propensity to be merciful to sinners who don’t deserve it,
But it still seems to leave off much of what grace accomplishes.

So in regard to grace, let me describe it like this.

GRACE COMPENSATES FOR HUMAN WEAKNESS IN EVERY WAY

Now that is probably the most clearly seen in:
Romans 5:20 “The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,”

But there is still more that can be understood.
Grace compensates for human weakness in every way.

It compensates for human weakness in regard to RIGHTEOUSNESS
(we would call this salvation)

Mankind needs righteousness to be pleasing to God,
But in his own ability and by his own merit he cannot produce it.

Grace supplies it.
Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”

And that part we are probably most familiar with.
It is the grace of God to forgive a sinner and bestow righteousness on him

It compensates for human weakness in regard to ABILITY

Now this is more than salvation.
And this by the way is why a Christian
Should always recognize the necessity of grace.

You may have been forgiven,
But how are you going to serve God the way He deserves?

We are beset with failure and weakness and futility.
Our ministry is powerless on our own.
We can in reality accomplish so little for God in our own strength.

Where does the ability or the strength to serve come from?
Grace

1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

Hebrews 12:28 (NKJV) “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

It is the grace of God that strengthens you and allows you to serve.
Apart from grace you cannot serve God in an acceptable manner.

See grace is more than just favor, it is also power.

It compensates for human weakness in regard to PERSEVERANCE

On your own, you do not have the ability to push forward,
You could not carry on through trials, tribulations, persecutions, hardships or discouragements.

Humanity is too weak to carry on.

Where does he get his strength to endure?
Grace

2 Corinthians 12:8-10 “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

It isn’t the strength of man that allows him to endure, man is too weak.
It is grace that allows him to endure.

It compensates for human weakness in regard to RESOURCES

Many times we want to serve, and may even have grace to serve,
But still lack the resources.

Where do the resources come from?
Grace

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;”

Now I’m not pretending that that is a comprehensive list,
But I think it sets us in the right direction.

GRACE COMPENSATES FOR HUMAN WEAKNESS IN EVERY WAY

• Where humans are too weak to achieve righteousness, grace intervenes.
• Where humans are too weak to serve acceptably, grace intervenes.
• Where humans are too weak to endure, grace intervenes.
• Where humans are too weak in regard to resources, grace intervenes.

Grace is the divine answer to human weakness.
AND GRACE IS ALWAYS ENOUGH.

Now here is the point that needs to be made tonight,
And the one that Peter was making in his speech.

• If the problem is human weakness…
• If grace is the answer to human weakness…

WHAT SENSE DOES IT MAKE TO PROMOTE HUMAN EFFORT WHILE DISREGARDING GRACE?

And the answer is that it makes no sense at all.

And that is the argument that Peter has been making.
• It’s not that circumcision wasn’t commanded…
• It’s not that the Law is bad…

It’s just that all of those things focused on human effort
And humans were too weak to succeed in that regard.

But now grace has come,
And it has compensated for our weakness in every single way,
So why would we now try to go back to human effort?

And why would expect others to go back where we failed?

That is in essence what Peter said:
(10-11) “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

And I hope that now you not only understand why circumcision wasn’t important, but also why grace is important.

 

Furthermore I hope you are filled with a desire
To no longer seek to walk in human strength,
But that you set your mind to walk according to grace.

Grace is the divine answer to your weakness
In every way and at every turn.

2 Timothy 2:1 “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

The Jerusalem Confession – part 1
Acts 15:1-35 (1-11)
November 25, 2012

As you know we have been studying through this book of Acts.
It is the record of how Christ built His church.

Well, one of the unique things about Christ as the builder is that He not only is responsible for adding bricks,
But for designing the structure as well.

He doesn’t just grow the church, He builds the church

And one thing we are sure of
Is that His sovereign hand is all over the church.

Nowhere is that more clearly seen
Than in His sovereign addition of the Gentiles to the church.

For example:
As we have studied this book we have looked at three different events
That we called Divine Appointments.

The first was Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.
Now he was certainly a proselyte for he had come to Jerusalem to worship,
But a Gentile none the less, and God saved him.

Then we saw Ananias and Saul.
Now Saul was certainly a Jew, but saved for what purpose?
To be a spokesman to the Gentiles.

Then we saw Peter and Cornelius.
Cornelius was a Gentile, but also a “God-fearer” which meant
He adhered to all Jewish thought, but had not been circumcised.

But we have continually seen the sovereign hand of God
Literally push His church in the direction of the Gentiles.
(That was certainly seen during that first missionary journey)

In fact when Paul and Barnabas returned, we heard their testimony.
Acts 14:27 “When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

It really isn’t hard to detect what God has been up to.
He is saving Gentiles according to His sovereign will.

And so Christ is building His church with both Jewish and Gentile bricks.

BUT CHRIST ALSO DESIGNS THE CHURCH.
He also determines how she looks and operates.
And that is one thing that becomes apparent in our text here tonight.

We get to see the sovereign hand of God direct the doctrine of the church.

Now you may not realize it, but this is really
A very important chapter in your Bible.

I know that as Baptists we pride ourselves in being “People of the book”
• We like to claim that we simply believe Scripture.
• It is our guide
• It is where we go for all our answers

And certainly we strive to do that in all things.

But it might shock you if I told you that your faith
Rests on more than just the Bible.

Our faith not only rests on the word of God,
But on the consensus of what God’s word means.

Let me put that another way.
We don’t just believe what Scripture says,
We believe what Scripture means.

How do we know what Scripture means?
Well, it is the Holy Spirit who interprets Scripture for us.

1 Corinthians 2:10-13 “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

2 Peter 1:19-21 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

So it isn’t just us reading the Scripture,
But us having the Scripture revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.

In order to help us do that, God has granted to us tremendous gifts.
One of those is obviously the Holy Spirit,
Of whom every believer is a partaker.

Every believer gains his understanding of Scripture from the Holy Spirit.

BUT WE DON’T GET ALL OF OUR UNDERSTANDING
DIRECTLY FROM HIM.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

Well, let’s suppose you go home and read Acts 16 to get a head start in our study and in verse 3 you read that Paul circumcised Timothy.

(That will seem strange after the fight of chapter 15,
Not to force Gentiles to be circumcised)

But you read that and wonder, why?
What does that mean?

In order to find out you should pray and ask the Holy Spirit.
But is that all you will do?

No, some of you will come and ask me.
Some of you will go and read a commentary.

WHY?
(Is it because you are giving up on the Holy Spirit?)

No, it’s because this is also how the Holy Spirit works.
Ephesians 4:11-13 “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.”

It is the Holy Spirit who gifts men to be able to understand
And explain and apply and proclaim the word of God to us.

It is still the Spirit, He just does it through us.

WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS?

That means your faith doesn’t just rest on
What you go home and read in the Bible in a closet.

Your faith also rests on what Spirit-filled men of God
Have taught you in regard to what the Scripture means.

Our faith not only rests on the word of God,
But on the consensus of what God’s word means.
This is in essence what Paul meant with statements like this:
1 Corinthians 11:2 “Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.”
2 Thessalonians 2:15 “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”

Paul didn’t just point the churches to the Scriptures,
He pointed them also to the traditional belief of the church
Which was gleaned from studying the Scriptures.

Now, whether you realize it or not, you and I benefit greatly from this.

Most church historians recognize at least 7 ecumenical councils
Which shaped what is considered to be orthodox Christian doctrine.

The first would have been the Nicene Creed.
“I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. AMEN.”

From that some still argued how Christ could be both God and man.
This eventually led to the “Chalcedonian Definition”

stating that “…Jesus Christ is one and the same Son; the same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man…”

And there were others.

But the point is that throughout history men have read the Bible
And come to different conclusions as to what it said.

But Spirit-filled men of God studied the Scriptures,
Sought God’s wisdom, and laid down for us
What is true doctrine and what is false.

These men helped solidify the church’s belief as to what the Bible means.
And everything else was considered heresy.

For example:
• The Council of Nicea said anyone who denies the deity of Jesus is a heretic.
• The Chalcedonian Definition says that anyone who denies the hyper static union is a heretic.

And that has guided and protected
The true doctrine of the church for generations.

Your faith rests on more than what you have learned
Directly from the Holy Spirit.
Your faith also rests on what other gifted, Spirit-filled men have learned.
Now I tell you that, because tonight we study the first ever church council.
We study the first time that believers gathered together
To determine what the official doctrine of the church would be.

Their decision (led by the Holy Spirit) would
• Shape the direction of the church
• Solidify the doctrine of the church
• Separate what is true from what is heretical

This was an important council.

AND WHAT DOCTRINE WAS DEBATED AT THIS COUNCIL?
Whether or not salvation was obtained by grace through faith,
Or if it was obtained by works.

And this is just one of those areas in which Jesus Christ,
By the power of His Spirit, through His people,
Would continue to build and design His church.

This is a very important chapter.

So tonight let’s begin to work our way through it.
#1 THE DISAGREEMENT
Acts 15:1-5

At this point you know that we have a predominantly Gentile church in Antioch and it is thriving.

We already saw back in chapter 13
• How they loved the word of God,
• How they genuinely worshiped God,
• How they submitted to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

We saw that they were a missionary church
And one that rejoiced at the growth of the kingdom.
The church in Antioch was a great church.

And so it was only a matter of time before Satan attacked.

(1) “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the customs of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Not only where they upholding a works-based salvation,
But they were also indicating that
None of these uncircumcised Gentiles at Antioch were yet saved.

• Forget that they already had the Holy Spirit…
• Forget that they had already been walking in submission to Him…
• Forget that they had a love for truth…
• Forget that they had a love for the lost…
• Forget that they had left paganism to worship Jesus Christ…

These men came down and indicated that despite all that,
They were still not saved.

The implications of this are huge.

THIS MESSAGE RAN THE RISK OF WRECKING THE ANTIOCH CHURCH.

In fact later in the chapter when the church in Jerusalem responded
With a church to Antioch they wrote:
Acts 15:24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,”

This message literally unsettled the souls of these new Gentile believers.
In short they began to doubt their salvation.

The believers at Antioch had believed they were forgiven and saved from God’s wrath, now to find out that this may not have been the case at all.

You can only imagine the fall out here.

And so naturally Paul quickly rose to their defense.
(2) “And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.”

We’ll get into in a little more detail later,
But for now it suffices to see that Paul had “great dissension and debate”

Paul didn’t agree with their assertion one little bit.
He did not hold to their works-based doctrine of salvation
And he challenged them head on.

However, their argument was compelling enough that instead of just dismissing these men from Judea, notice what the church did.

“the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning the issue.”

This was a serious debate, and these Gentiles wanted to know.

And so what we have here is literally a debate that threatened
Not only to wreck the church, but to split it right down the middle.

See, you had Jews who always believed
That Judaism was paramount to salvation.

And they didn’t have any problem with Gentile salvation
So long as they first became Jewish.

But here we had Gentiles claiming salvation,
And skipping over Judaism to acquire it.

No doubt, the fear among Jews is that their traditional way of life would somehow be lost in the mix, and they were fighting to keep it.

But the debate was on.
And Paul and Barnabas and others are off to Jerusalem to settle the issue.

Now I do like Paul’s journey to Jerusalem.
(3-4) “Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.”

Paul really sounds confused doesn’t he?

The debate is supposed to be that these Gentiles aren’t yet saved
Because they aren’t yet circumcised.

But that didn’t stop Paul from stopping in every town on the way
To share about God’s salvation of the Gentiles.

And perhaps it was Paul’s zeal to speak of Gentile salvation
That caused the issue to flare up again in Jerusalem.

(5) “But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

Now there is a similar argument,
But I want you to notice a bit of a difference.

The first group had said back in verse 1, “Unless you are circumcised…you cannot be saved.”

I think we can assume that those men
Were for the most part indifferent to Jesus.

It doesn’t appear that they minded people following Jesus,
They just wanted to keep the focus on Judaism.

But this group is different.
• They were a “sect of the Pharisees” which says a lot.
• But they also “had believed”

These men were saved and yet they said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

We can probably classify the original group as non-believers.
And we can classify this group as weak believers.

They are similar to those weak believers we find in Romans 14
Who think you can be saved but must still honor one day above another,
Who think you can be saved but still must maintain a certain dietary restriction.

The danger is that the weak faith of these believers
Had united with the unbelief of the Judaizers
And it has put the church at a dangerous cross-roads.

At the heart of the discussion was: SALVATION
What is required for a man to be saved?

And to answer the question the council of Jerusalem is about to convene.

The Disagreement
#2 THE DEBATE
Acts 15:6-21

Now we won’t make it all the way through this section tonight,
But quickly let me point out to you what we see.

Now first it is important once again to notice
How the church handled this matter.
(6) “The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.”

This issue was not opened up for a church-wide debate.
They didn’t take a majority vote among the people.

The spiritual leaders of the church convened
To determine what God’s will was on the matter.

The rest of the congregation isn’t involved until verse 22,
When the decision of this council has been reached.

And even then the only part the rest of the congregation has in the matter
Is to determine who goes, not what the verdict is.

This was how the early church handled doctrinal issues.
It was left up to the spiritual leaders to come to a consensus of God’s will.
And in this debate, it would be nice if we had a transcript,
But Luke gives us the responses from three people.
Peter’s Reaction
Paul’s Recollection
James’ Recommendation

All three of these apostles weigh in, and all are vitally important.
• Peter’s response is based on experience and belief.
• Paul’s response is based upon God’s activity.
• James’ response is based upon God’s word.
(all three of these matter in discerning God’s will on the subject)

Well, let’s get into Peter’s Reaction

And according to Peter, there are three problems
With seeking to force the Gentiles to be circumcised.

1) CIRCUMCISION IGNORES GOD (7-9)

Now you will see that this council began with “much debate”.
There was no obvious answer for them.

After all, those who held to the necessity of circumcision had a wealth of Old Testament Scriptures to support their view, but one would be hard-pressed to find a verse that said circumcision wasn’t important.

This was an intense debate.

And then Peter stands and starts his reasoning.

And Peter’s first point is that requiring circumcision ignores God.
How?

Well look at what Peter remembers.

GOD CHOSE GENTILES
(7) “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.”

And we certainly remember that.
• Peter didn’t choose the Gentiles.
• The Jerusalem church didn’t choose the Gentiles.

It was God who sent Peter to Cornelius.
Peter didn’t even want to go, and God had to convince him.

There was only One who wanted Gentiles saved, and that was God.
GOD CONSECRATED GENTILES
(8) “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;”

God has a unique and special way of setting apart those who are His.

WHAT IS THAT METHOD?
He gives them His Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
And Peter said, God gave them the Holy Spirit.

GOD CLEANSED GENTILES
(9) “and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”

Not only did God choose them and consecrate them,
God also cleansed them.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

A mark of a genuine believer is the process of sanctification in their lives.
These Gentiles had left pagan lifestyles filled with idolatry to walk in righteousness and serve Jesus Christ.

God did that in their lives.

And this is Peter’s point.

God Chose them, God Consecrated them, God Cleansed them
And all of that without ever circumcising them.

To come in now and declare the necessity of circumcision
Completely ignores all that God has already done in their lives.

• Was God’s choosing and consecration and cleansing all for nothing?
• Did God accomplish nothing by this?

By coming in now, you ignore the obvious work
God has already accomplished.

Circumcision ignores God
2) CIRCUMCISION TESTS GOD (10)

Now that is really an interesting statement.
Peter directly confronts his opponents.

“Now therefore why do you put God to the test..?”

I think we all know the implications and problems of this.
Namely you aren’t supposed to put God to the test.

Matthew 4:5-7 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ‘ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'”

Hebrews 3:8-10 “DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME, AS IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS, WHERE YOUR FATHERS TRIED Me BY TESTING Me, AND SAW MY WORKS FOR FORTY YEARS. “THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THIS GENERATION, AND SAID, ‘THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY DID NOT KNOW MY WAYS’;

You don’t test God.
You don’t push Him to prove Himself to you.

Jesus preached that “an evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign”

And yet Peter says that these people,
By enforcing circumcision were testing God.

“by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear”

HOW WAS REQUIRING CIRCUMCISION PUTTING GOD TO THE TEST?

By ignoring God’s obvious work and now requiring their own conditions
They were calling into question the effectiveness of God’s salvation.

Remember the Israelites?
Exodus 17:1-2 “Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?”

Then after Moses brought water from the rock
Exodus 17:7 “He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us, or not?”
They called into question the REALITY or GENUINENESS or EFFECTIVENESS of God’s salvation.

And that is what these Judaizers and this sect of Pharisees had done.

They completely ignored God’s salvation, called it into question
And then declared that more was needed.
WHO WERE THEY TO CHALLENGE GOD’S SALVATION?

Furthermore you are requiring something of them
That we couldn’t even live up to.

You are completely overlooking God’s work and enforcing your own.

Circumcision Ignores God, Circumcision Tests God
3) CIRCUMCISION MINIMIZES GOD (11)

And there is Peter’s complete and total doctrine in regard to salvation.

“We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

Peter says, “We aren’t saved by our works, we aren’t saved by our efforts, We were saved by grace.

• Which one of you earned God’s favor?
• Which one of you achieved righteousness on your own?

The only reason you are saved is not because
Circumcision earned you the right to be saved,
It is because God was gracious to you.

You didn’t atone for your sin, Christ did.
You didn’t satisfy God’s righteous requirement, Christ did.
He graciously granted you salvation when you did not deserve it.

Peter’s question now is, “Do you think God saves us by grace and them by works?”
And the answer is obviously no.

But see, to require circumcision is to minimize the grace of God.

And there really is a lot more to say about this,
But we’ll have to get to it next time.
I don’t want to short cut over Peter’s main point.

But tonight, I want you to see how the church handled doctrine,
And that their decisions were so important for us.

It was these Spirit-filled men who saved this precious truth for us.
And now, it requires Spirit-filled men to preserve it.

But we’ll have to continue on with this next time.

 

This was in essence what Paul wrote to the Galatians who were most affected by this heresy.

You will remember in the second chapter of that letter Paul recounted an argument he had with Peter over Peter’s inconsistency regarding this issue.

It ended with Paul saying this:
Galatians 2:15-16 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

And then Paul said:
Galatians 2:20-21 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

See, to trust in works is to nullify grace, it is to minimize the power of grace to save.

It is to say grace is good, but not good enough.
It is to say Jesus paid a lot of it, but not quite all of it.

And that is what these men were doing, they were minimizing the power of grace.

We sing that grace is amazing and rightly so.
We sing that grace is marvelous, infinite, matchless
We sing that grace exceeds our sin and our guilt

Don’t nullify it.

Paul will go on in his letter.

Galatians 5:2-6 “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”

There again Paul is saying seeking to work for it is to disregard the power of the grace that was offered.

And this is Peter’s argument.

To push for circumcision on these Gentiles is
To Ignore God’s work,
To Question the effectiveness of God’s gospel,
And to minimize God’s role in salvation.

Why would you do that?

Now, there is obviously a whole lot more to be learned from this council, but I hope you see the tremendous fight that occurred to secure a salvation for us that was void of all human effort.

This was an important event, hopefully we’ll conclude it next time.

Opposition & Open Doors
Acts 14:1-28
November 11, 2012

As you know, we are still studying
The first missionary journey of the apostle Paul.

God had chosen Paul as His minister to the Gentiles
And that ministry is underway.

And we have seen God’s sovereign prerogative
To select the Gentiles for salvation.

As we have noted several times already,
Gentiles weren’t saved because the Jews so badly wanted it.
Gentiles were saved because God wanted it.

This is still evident tonight as we close out this first missionary journey.

We are going to look at the entire chapter,
Because through this chapter Luke is making two distinct points.

(VERSE 27) “When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”
1) HOW GOD USED US
2) HOW GOD OPENED A DOOR FOR US FOR THE GENTILES

By the way, both of those concepts emphasize the sovereignty of God.
And both of those concepts are very important to us.

First Paul wants them to know how God used them.
It is not how we used God…
It is not how God helped us fulfill our mission…

Paul and Barnabas wish to make it known
How God used them to fulfill His mission.

He is the One with the plan,
We are merely tools in His hands to accomplish His purposes.

We are also familiar with the concept of open doors.

Revelation 3:7 calls Jesus: “He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens,”

And in that regard, Jesus says to the church at Philadelphia
Revelation 3:8 “I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”
We understand the “open door” / “closed door” concept.

The idea is that there are insurmountable barriers to our mission.
There are WALLS we can’t climb, there are VALLEYS we can’t cross,
There are BURDENS we can’t move.

We understand that the work of missions and evangelism
Is a spiritual battle against an extremely crafty foe.

In fact Paul wrote:
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

We also know that man is spiritually dead
And unable to come to Christ on his own.

I’ve always thought the best picture of this is the story of Lazarus.
Here was a dead man in a tomb, unable to hear the voices weeping for him.

But when the voice of Jesus told him to come out of the tomb,
He was able to immerge.

It takes the work of God to accomplish these things.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

And that is where we get our “open door / closed door” theology.
If God opens a door, we step through it and seize our opportunity.
If God does not open a door, we move on, recognizing our inability to force it open.

And this isn’t bad theology.

Paul actually said:
Colossians 4:2-3 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;”

Paul recognized that apart from the intervention of God,
His ministry was dead in the water.

It really links back to Jesus’ statement about being the vine
And we the branches, saying, “apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

We understand the necessity of God’s intervention
To open doors if men are to be saved.

In this chapter Luke wants you to know how God used Paul & Barnabas
And how God opened doors for them.
And so tonight as we study the end of this first journey,
I want us to walk through the text and see the hand of God at work.

5 things God supplied to Paul and Barnabas to enable them fulfill His mission.
#1 HE GAVE BOLDNESS IN ICONIUM
Acts 14:1-7

• You remember that this mission started out with Paul, Barnabas and Mark all sailing to Cyprus where Paul saw the salvation of the proconsul after silencing the false prophet Bar-Jesus.

• And from there they traveled up to Pisidian Antioch where we just heard Paul preach an inspiring message in the synagogue and saw many Gentiles be saved.

Now Paul and Barnabas have traveled to Iconium.

Iconium was about 80 miles SE of Pisidian Antioch and when they got there, “they entered the synagogue of the Jews together”

Paul had just revealed that he was turning to the Gentiles,
But as you can see he never completely gave up on the Jews.

And that is a good thing, for in Iconium they “spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.”

So, there were some Jews who were saved.

And then this is where the boldness comes in.
(2-3) “But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.”

While some Jews were saved, some remained militant.
They actually “embittered” the Gentiles against “the brethren”

“embittered” comes from a word that actually means “poisoned”
They completely turned the crowds against Paul and Barnabas.

But, notice their response.
“they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord”

Instead of retreating, instead of becoming timid,
Paul and Barnabas stepped up the plate and stood for the truth.

And this boldness came from who?
“the Lord”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

God gave this.
1 Thessalonians 2:2 “but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition.”

Philippians 1:19-20 “for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”

And this even explains why Paul told others
To pray that he would have boldness.

Ephesians 6:19-20 “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
He knew his boldness came from God.

God was also “granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.”

This was certainly meant to give credence to their message.

But the main thing you see is that God wanted to use them to preach the gospel, and in order to do that He gave them boldness.

So they preached, and then the town became really rough:
(4-7) “But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region; and there they continued to preach the gospel.”

They boldly preached and when an assassination attempt became known
They moved on to another region.

This, by the way, is not cowardice.
Matthew 10:22-23 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.”

It wasn’t cowardice this is one of the ways in which God OPENS DOORS.
What was it that got the gospel out of Jerusalem to begin with?
Persecution

So already we see God using these men,
And God opening doors for them.

So God gave them boldness in Iconium.
#2 HE GAVE CONVICTION IN LYSTRA
Acts 14:8-18

So now Paul and Barnabas have moved on,
But they have not stopped preaching the gospel.

And here, they are met with another interesting catalyst.
(8-10) “At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he leaped up and began to walk.”

This was nothing short of a miracle worked at the hands of Paul.
God had granted him the ability to perform the signs of an apostle
And that is what he did.

The reason Luke specifically includes this miracle
Is because of the confusion it produces.

(11-13) “When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have become like men and have come down to us.” And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.”

So Paul works a miracle and the crowd completely misinterprets it.
They think Barnabas is Zeus and Paul is Hermes
And they are so convinced that they priest of the temple
Wants to actually come and sacrifice to them.

But once again, although not ideal, this is God opening a door.
You may not realize it, but the crowds misconception actually allows Paul the opportunity to preach the gospel as a correction to their behavior.

And as God opens the door, He also supplies Paul with conviction.

the conviction clearly seen in Paul is
• The conviction that God alone should be worshiped,
• That Jesus Christ alone can save,
Paul was so convinced of this, that he didn’t even let a flattering event like this change his message.

But God had supplied Paul with conviction
And he took the open door afforded by their ignorance
And once again stood to preach the gospel.

(14-15a) “But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you,”

Paul adamantly opposed their gesture and made no bones about it.
He then preached.

Now, unlike at Iconium, here we actually know what Paul preached.
“and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Paul sermon is clear, convicting, and to the point.
1) ABANDON IDOLS
2) EMBRACE THE TRUE GOD
A. He is Creator
B. He is Sovereign
C. He is Gracious

God made everything and should be worshiped by you.
Now He hasn’t judged you yet for your willingness to give His glory to images,
But rest assured He isn’t ok with it either.

That is why He has continually left a witness for you,
By doing good for you and giving you rains and harvest.

God wants you to turn from idols and worship Him.

And again, it wasn’t a message that was completely received.

(18) “Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.”

But the point is that God had given Paul a conviction to preach to this pagan crowd, and even opened a door for him to do so.

It may not have been an ideal door, but it was an open door none the less.
He gave boldness in Iconium He gave conviction in Lystra
#3 HE GAVE ENDURANCE IN DERBE
Acts 14:19-20

Now this is without a doubt a difficult truth to swallow.

Paul has been faithful to preach God’s message without hesitation.
• He has confronted false prophets…
• He has confronted hateful Jews…
• He has confronted mindless pagans…

And now he is confronting tremendous hostility.

(19) “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.”

I guess that helps us understand just what type of opposition
Paul was facing in Pisidian Antioch and in Iconium.

These weren’t people who apparently could agree to disagree.
These Jews came and somehow won the crowds
And succeeded in getting Paul stoned.

This is enormous hostility.
• Paul was just hit with rocks until they thought he was dead.
• He had to be tremendously broken and tremendously bruised and bloodied.

And then, out of complete disrespect
They just tossed his body outside of the city.

At this point, we would be awaiting our care-flight home.

But notice what God must have provided.
(20) “But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.”

I have no difficulty in seeing a miracle here that Paul was able to get up.
I would almost have to think bones should have been broken,
And so to get up must have been a miracle.

But beyond that, look at what Paul did.
He “entered the city”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Paul was no quitter, he had endurance from God.

And then, “The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.”

“The next day”!?
• Derbe was 40 miles.

Could you really be stoned on one day, left for dead,
And then make a 40 mile walk the very next day.

That is what we call ENDURANCE

Paul would later command Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:2 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

And I think Paul certainly modeled it here.

He had endurance.
God undoubtedly supplied it.

And by the way, his endurance paid off.
Look at verse 21, “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples…”

God gave him the endurance he needed to continue on in the journey
And people were saved as a result.

He gave boldness in Iconium He gave conviction in Lystra
He gave endurance in Derbe
#4 HE GAVE COURAGE TO RETURN
Acts 14:21-23

This is another aspect of the story that I find tremendously fascinating.

• It is one thing to boldly confront Bar-Jesus when he is trying to deceive…
• It is one thing to debate Jews who are blaspheming in Antioch…
• It is one thing to preach to embittered crowds in Iconium…
• It is one thing to correct confused crowds in Lystra…
But you just got stoned.

It was Jews from Antioch and Jews from Iconium, and it happened in Lystra, and now you are going to return to all of those places?

That is exactly what they did.

You and I fully understand that this was courage,
And it could have only come from the hand of God.

God undoubtedly gave Paul and Barnabas the courage
To return to those places of hostility.

But beyond that I also want you to see the door that God opened.

Because we saw the aggression of the Jews from Antioch and Iconium,
We obviously know what it must have been like
To be a Christian in those towns.

It could not have been easy to be a new Christian convert in those areas.
These new churches had a tough row to hoe.

And so Paul comes to deliver them a message:
(21b-22) “they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

He wanted to deliver a message encouraging them
To endure tribulation for the sake of the kingdom.

But I want you to understand, not just anyone can go into a persecuted area
And tell those who are suffering that endurance is necessary.

Why would they listen to Paul to endure tribulation?
God opened a door of opportunity.

WHAT DID THAT DOOR LOOK LIKE?
Stones in Lystra

That stoning must have been awful, but it did open a door
To be able to effectively encourage other believers.

God not only granted Paul courage to return,
But also granted him an opportunity
To encourage believers in a difficult region.

You will also notice that Paul did more than simply encourage them, he established them.

(23) “When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.”

I know that our prior conversations about being elder led stirred up quite a bit of controversy around here, and rest assured I’m not doing anything right now.

But it is important that we all recognize what Scripture clearly says.
Every church had “elders”, and those “elders” were appointed.
(Actually appointed by God and revealed through prayer and fasting)

There was no pulpit committee
There was no majority vote

And this was the norm for the early church.

Titus 1:4-5 “To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,”

But the point is that God gave courage to Paul
And at the same time gave him credibility and an open door through the stoning he endured.

He gave boldness in Iconium He gave conviction in Lystra
He gave endurance in Derbe He gave courage to return
#5 HE GAVE PERSPECTIVE IN ANTIOCH
Acts 14:24-28

The first mission trip is over.

Paul would preach in Perga on the way home
And then sail from Attalia back to Antioch which was their home church.

And verse 27 is the verse that really gives us understanding.

(27) “When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

Now this is what we call perspective.

We know what occurred on this trip.
• Opposed by Bar-Jesus in Cyprus
• Argued with blaspheming Jews in Pisidian Antioch
• Confronted an embittered mob in Iconium
• Corrected confused pagans in Lystra
• Ultimately stoned in Lystra

And yet Paul and Barnabas come back and report
How God used them and what open doors they had.

WOULD YOU HAVE CALLED THOSE THINGS OPEN DOORS?
Would you have looked at all the opposition they faced and seen it as opportunities?
I’m not sure I would have.
(but they were)

• It was stubbornness in Antioch that first led Paul to push to the Gentiles.
• It was opposition in Iconium that gave Paul opportunity to publicly address them.
• It was confusion in Lystra that gave Paul opportunity to preach the gospel.
• It was the stoning in Lystra that gave Paul opportunity to encourage the brethren.

They saw all that happened as open doors.
That is tremendous perspective that God had given them.

It reminds me of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Paul is writing from prison.

Philippians 1:12-14 “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”

Let me give you another example of an open door:
Galatians 4:12-14 “I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong; but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time; and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.”

Or how about the island of Malta?
• Paul arrived there after being shipwrecked.
• Paul received credibility after a snake bite failed to injure him.

Are those things really open doors?
Yes they are.

The point that we see at the end of this missionary journey is that God was working to bring about the salvation of the Gentiles.

And He did it by giving boldness and courage and conviction to preach.
He also did it by using opposition to open doors for more ministry.

And because Paul and Barnabas were interested in being used by God,
They were able to see that the struggles they faced
Were not indicators of divine displeasure,
But rather ways in which God was granting them opportunity
To speak to people they would not have otherwise been able to speak to.

• Do you suppose the Gentiles ever get word that they have been selected by God, if the Jews in Antioch don’t first resist?

• Do you suppose the priest of Zeus’s temple ever hears the sermon of Paul if the crowd does not first misidentify Paul and Barnabas?

• Do you suppose the believers in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch would have been as apt to listen to Paul to tell them to endure tribulation if had traveled unscathed?

God was working.
He was using opposition to open doors,
So that He could use apostles to preach the gospel.

If nothing else tonight it helps us understand
That God may be opening more doors in our lives for ministry
Than we at first thought..

That is why after revealing that his imprisonment had actually furthered the kingdom, Paul gave this encouragement to the Philippians:

Philippians 1:27-30 “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; in no way alarmed by your opponents — which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”

And so we hear his encouragement
And look for open doors in our ministry,
Even ones that we did not originally see as open doors.