026 The First Gentile Church (part 1)
Acts 11:1-18
September 9, 2012
Tonight we begin to study what really ought to be
A very important date in our history.
• We know about 1492 and Columbus exploring the new land.
• We are all familiar with July 4th and the Declaration of Independence.
• We certainly all “Remember the Alamo”
Big events for sure in our life.
We all remember big Christian events as well.
• We continually remember the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord.
• We are familiar with Pentecost and the birth of the church.
But an often overlooked event, yet one that is very important to you and I is the beginning of the first ever Gentile church.
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Jesus laid out a strategy for reaching the world with the gospel.
It would all start in Jerusalem.
The disciples were to remain in the city until they were clothed with power from on high.
And Jerusalem was in fact the first reached city.
After Peter preached in Jerusalem:
Acts 2:41 “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.”
But Jesus saw Jerusalem as the beginning point, not the ending point, and from there the gospel would go to Judea.
Acts 5:16 “Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”
And again Jesus had bigger plans for His church.
We are all familiar with the persecution that broke out
On the heels of the stoning of Stephen.
The result was that Samaria would receive the gospel.
Acts 8:5 “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.”
And so the only place left was for the gospel to branch out to was:
“the remotest part of the earth.”
That branching out actually began in Acts chapter 10
With the conversion of Cornelius and his household.
Acts 10:44-45 “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.”
Christ is literally building His church exactly as He said He would.
Christ is building His church.
And tonight we see the very first Gentile church.
“Antioch”
And this is a wonderful church,
• Not only because it was the first,
• But also because this is the church that was first pastored by Paul,
• And which literally became the sending ground for Paul’s missionary journeys.
Acts 13:1-3 “Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
That means that we trace the existence of our church back to this one.
The Jerusalem church went on mission accidentally.
This church went on mission intentionally.
They set out to reach the world.
The church at Antioch started it all.
But as we see the birth of this new church,
We are again reminded that God was doing it.
For if anything the Jerusalem church was opposed to it.
Their beginning is marked with
Prejudice, Skepticism, and even Stubbornness,
But because this church was the will of God it was formed.
So tonight let’s examine the beginning of this first Gentile church.
(We probably won’t make it all the way through, but we’ll at least get started tonight)
7 things we see here in this chapter.
#1 THE INITIAL REACTION
Acts 11:1-3
Well in a strange way it’s actually a little encouraging to read those words,
For we learn that the early church in Jerusalem was human just as we are.
What took place in Acts 10 was in reality a marvelous thing.
Jesus had taught us in John 10:
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”
Jesus had also taught in Luke 15:
Luke 15:7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”
Acts 10 therefore was a prophetic fulfillment
As well as a cause of great heavenly joy.
The early church should have rejoiced as well, but they didn’t.
In fact here we read that as soon as Peter returned to Jerusalem,
The believers from the entire area came to Jerusalem to find him
And Scripture says they “took issue with him.”
In short, they called him on the carpet.
On this last little mission trip Peter went on,
In their eyes, he clearly crossed the line.
And it is apparent that someone traveling with Peter had posted a picture of Peter and Cornelius on facebook and when the other Jews saw it they wondered just what Peter was thinking.
So when Peter gets home,
It is time to have a little meeting to set him straight.
And their main complaint?
(3) “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
They had two issues.
• You went to them.
• You ate with them.
First of all, what were you even thinking
Approaching those people with the gospel?
• Those aren’t Jews, those aren’t descendants of Abraham.
• At least Samaritans (despised as they were) were sons of Jacob,
• You actually entered their home and ate with them.
What were you thinking!
And I hope you see here a familiar attitude,
And one we have seen many times before.
Jonah 1:1-3 “The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.”
Why did Jonah not want to go?
Jonah 3:10-4:3 “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.”
Jonah didn’t want to go because he didn’t want the Ninevites saved.
The Assyrians had done horrifically cruel things to his people,
And Jonah wanted justice, not redemption.
(Raavi Zaccarias likened it to a Jew going on mission to Germany after the Holocaust)
That is a similar sentiment here.
• These were Gentiles.
• This particular Gentile was a Roman.
The Jews didn’t particularly want them saved.
But Jonah isn’t the only place we have seen this attitude.
We continually saw a similar attitude from the Pharisees.
Luke 13:14 “But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
Luke 6:7-11 “The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.”
So concerned about the Sabbath that they couldn’t even see
the glorious works of compassion and power that Jesus displayed.
And yet that is the same mindset we find here in the early church.
Could they really look at what Peter did, see all those who had been saved, and take issue over something as ridiculous as Peter eating in their house?
Apparently they could.
The early church here displayed all the prejudice and spiritual arrogance that we came to hate in the organized religion of old.
Did the early church really consider themselves worthy of the Holy Spirit, while the Gentiles were not?
Apparently they did.
That is why they took issue with Peter.
The Initial Reaction
#2 THE INFORMATIVE RE-TELLING
Acts 11:4-14
It is very interesting that Luke records this story again in its entirety.
That indicates how important it was to Luke
That we all understand the hand of God in this event.
So Peter begins to explain to this self-righteous group what happened.
And Peter reveals that God dealt with him in three ways.
1) GOD DEALT WITH PETER’S THEOLOGY (5-10)
And of course you remember the story.
Peter was praying on the roof and fell into a trance
And saw the image of the sheet filled with all sorts of unclean animals.
(7) “I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’”
And you will remember that Peter took issue with that command.
(8) “But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’”
In short Peter says, “Hey guys, I was with you on this one.”
But God corrected my theology.
(9) “But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’”
And this is something we have to understand in our own lives.
WHAT DETERMINES RIGHT AND WRONG FOR US?
God does.
Our definition of what is right and what is wrong
Is only based on God’s definition, not our own personal preferences.
• Things like abortion…
• Things like homosexuality…
• Things like drunkenness…
• Things like adultery…
The only reason they are wrong is because God says they are wrong.
We base our convictions on God’s commands.
And that includes the flip side.
If God says it is ok, then it is ok,
Regardless of rather or not we think it is.
(Take alcohol) – in other countries, not even a stumbling block.
God says it is ok.
So despite your preferences, it is ok.
And this is one of those issues Peter was up against.
Jesus had already declared all foods clean.
Eating with these Gentiles was not forbidden.
Peter was not breaking God’s commands,
Peter was breaking his religious traditions.
But God corrected his theology.
“Peter, if I say it is ok, then it is ok.”
So Peter got his theology corrected.
2) GOD DEALT WITH PETER’S HESITANCY (11-12)
We already recognized in that God had to give that vision 3 times.
(It always happened with Peter in 3’s)
But I also like God’s command here.
After the men showed up from Cornelius,
One would think that obviously you would go with them.
But God knew the prejudice of Peter’s heart
And knew that he would need a little extra prodding.
So (12) “The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings.”
I like that.
The Spirit not only told me to go, but to go “without misgivings”
Don’t fret it
Don’t question it
Don’t struggle with it
“It’s of Me, it’s fine, go”
God knew Peter would be hesitant, but He dealt with it anyway.
3) GOD DEALT WITH PETER’S CONFUSION (13-14)
You will remember from our study of Acts 10
That Peter didn’t really know what was up.
But God straightened all that out.
When Peter got there he understood that
God was working on the other end, and it all started to make sense.
And so as these men came to take issue with Peter,
Peter is very honest and says,
“Look, 3 months ago I would have been with you.”
This was really not what I wanted.
• But God corrected my theology.
• God corrected my hesitancy.
• And God corrected my confusion.
And that was an important testimony for Peter to share.
The Initial Reaction, The Informative Re-telling
#3 THE IMPORTANT RECOLLECTION
Acts 11:14-16
And this is still part of Peter’s recounting testimony,
But it gives a very important distinction that we need to observe.
“And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. AND I REMEMBERED THE WORD OF THE LORD, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’”
Now the reason I separate this out from the rest of the testimony is
Because I want you to recognize where Peter’s authority came from here.
Peter doesn’t say, “So it seemed right to me…”
Peter says, “Jesus said…”
Peter again takes the situation
And puts it squarely on the back of Jesus.
What he witnessed was directly in line with Scripture.
What he observed was perfectly compatible with the words of Jesus.
Acts 1:4-5 “Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
These were among the final words of Jesus on this earth.
Jesus told them that all true believers
Would in fact be “baptized with the Holy Spirit”
And don’t go all mystical on me here.
Neither Jesus nor Peter were referring to
Some sort of secondary filling of the Spirit apart from salvation.
Even at Pentecost Peter said:
Acts 2:38 “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.”
Peter understood correctly that the baptism of the Holy Spirit
Would occur simultaneously with a person’s salvation.
And that is Peter’s point to the group here.
I remembered that Jesus said His people would be
Baptized with the Holy Spirit, and low and behold these people were.
• I went to them.
• I ate with them.
• I spoke to them.
• But I didn’t give them the Holy Spirit.
I baptized them with water, but not with the Spirit.
The Lord did that.
And I remembered that He said He would.
Peter took this incident and linked it to the word of Jesus;
VERY IMPORTANT.
The Initial Reaction, The Informative Retelling, The Important Recollection
#4 THE INTELLIGENT RESPONSE
Acts 11:17-18
And what a smart response this was.
“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?”
What a brilliant statement!
We all remember Gamaliel giving the same advice to the Sanhedrin
When Peter and John were on trial.
Acts 5:38-39 “So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”
Peter in essence says the same thing.
It was clear to me that God was doing something here beyond my control,
And there is no way that I was going to stand in His way.
He corrected me
He sent me
And He saved them
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT ME TO DO?
(Tell God no and try to stop Him?)
(18) “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
And at once every Gentile would lift their voice and say,
“If God be for us, who can be against us!”
And what a glorious truth this is.
• I hope you understand that magnitude of what occurred here in chapter 10.
• I hope you understand the magnitude of what was just realized here.
Israel is the chosen people of God.
Abraham was the recipient of the promises.
But here we find that God willed
To include the Gentiles in that promise.
Romans 9:22-26 “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As He says also in Hosea, “I WILL CALL THOSE WHO WERE NOT MY PEOPLE, ‘MY PEOPLE,’ AND HER WHO WAS NOT BELOVED, ‘BELOVED.'” “AND IT SHALL BE THAT IN THE PLACE WHERE IT WAS SAID TO THEM, ‘YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE,’ THERE THEY SHALL BE CALLED SONS OF THE LIVING GOD.”
God took that wild olive shoot and sovereignly chose
To graft it in to His olive tree.
Not because we were worthy…
Not because we were favorable…
God did it because He wanted to.
He did it in spite of Jewish prejudice…
He did it in spite of Gentile ignorance…
God did it because He could and that is what He wanted to do.
And the implication for us is huge!
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
• Take all of your accomplishments…
• Take your fancy pedigree…
• Take your favorable past…
Throw it all out the window,
Because NONE of that is the reason you are a child of God.
It is all only because of Jesus.
He makes us heirs of the promise.
Ephesians 2:11-19 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called ” Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — 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. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household,”
Christ did it, He did it all.
Thanks to Him Gentiles are fellow heirs of grace.
Thanks to Him we all have an inheritance.
God did it in spite of the prejudice of the Jews.
God grabbed Peter and forced him to talk to Cornelius,
And then saved them without Peter even giving an invitation.
It was all God.
And we have much more to see about the start of this church, but let me just leave you with an important thought of application even for us.
WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES A MAN ACCEPTABLE TO GOD?
Only faith in Christ.
Remember what Peter learned at Cornelius’ house?
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”
Paul taught us:
Romans 2:9-10 “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 3:28-30 “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.”
And of course we know that whether Jewish or not,
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
These Jews were willing to ostracize Peter
Simply because it didn’t fit with their prejudices,
And were also willing to push away those Christ was drawing near.
We have to be mindful of potential prejudices in our own lives.
We certainly don’t want to be those who would push away
Someone Christ is drawing near.
Because the reality is
A man doesn’t have to become Jewish before he can be a Christian,
And a man doesn’t have to be Baptist before he can be a Christian.
A man doesn’t even have to be a Republican before he can be a Christian (although we can’t imagine him not wanting to be)
But you get the idea, what matters is that men trust Christ,
Not conform to you.
Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;”
We want people to look like Jesus, not like us.
And really if we had time we could talk about Romans 14
And judging our brothers because they eat or don’t eat certain types of meat,
Or because they honor one day above another.
We could even get into personal appearances
Or racism or clothing or music styles.
Make sure you keep the main thing the main thing
And that is that men repent of their sin
And place their faith in Jesus Christ.
And we’ll pick the rest of this text up next time.
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?”
