July 12, 2026-Evening Service

Studying Acts 15:1-29

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Getting stone, getting meat has not been the most pleasant thing. Okay? As we ended last week, they return back to Antioch and they give reports of all that God has done. We pick up in chapter 15, and we're going to come up to an issue of the church that is something that is not breathtaking, but monumental in terms of how the church figures out how they move forward with new people that come to be a part of the church. Okay? Our process is simple. If they come from another church, we'll receive their letter, or if they never profess Christ, they profess Christ. So if you get your Bible, take a look at Acts chapter 15, and we'll look at verses uh we'll start with verses 1 uh through I think it is verse uh five. All right. Um we get together in your Bible, the title of this might be called the Jerusalem Council. Uh Jerusalem coming from where the church was, the main church was located, where it all started. Being my witnesses, what in just saying, being my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, all right? So we're going back to the church, it's in Jerusalem. Uh you we'll see why we're going back is to try to get some answers to this many great theological question that they had. Okay? And this question affects us today on many different levels, and we'll look at that as time allows. Somebody read verses uh one through five.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

And first men, everyone in Judea told the brethren and said, that you be circumcised. After the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension for argument and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, at certain other, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through the niece, that's remarried, declaring the founders, the first of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were coming to Jerusalem, they were received by the church of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But then rose up certain of the Satan Pharisees which believed Satan that it was needful to circumcise him and command him to keep the law of Moses. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:04

Old Testament time until about right now, the focus had been on specifically the Old Testament, the focus had been on the children of Israel. They were to be a light to the nation. They were God's chosen people. There were rules that were set out, what we called the Torah, the first button to the Bible, the Moses room, gave out instructions on how you're gonna live. You were gonna be a good uh churchy words today. If you're gonna be a good church member, you're gonna follow all these rules, okay? Uh, and those, as we've known before, those rules can be legalistic because sometimes the Pharisees over did it on the rules that would kind of expand it more than what God had originally intended. They kind of lost some meaning. But specifically, you you've got that camp. Now become the New Testament, and Christ is saying go to the Jews first, but then as they move forward, they start moving into the Gentiles. Wasn't it Peter the one that had the vision? The vision that the animals came down, and God said, Don't call unclean when I'll call clean. About that time, Cornelius, the Gentile shows up and gets held, and then all of a sudden the people, the Gentiles, they start, they've received the Holy Spirit, and proof of that, they start speaking in tongues. So it's all of a sudden like God's got them on the same playing field slang there. Uh to be a believer. Okay. So they've come in, Paul Burns have come in, they've gone back and out, they've been telling people how what all God's been doing. And about that time, and God's a word, somebody's gonna come in and be negative. Okay, that hadn't changed from the beginning of the time. It happens everywhere at all churches, unfortunately. That's just to be expected. But listen to what they say. We've already read this once, but again, verse one people came down, men came up from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now we know the Old Testament talks about circumstances, and there was a reason that God told them to do that to be set apart. That's real simple. That's Old Testament. But here's the catch. These guys are saying for these Gentiles, because the Jews, you are a good Jew, all Jews are circumcised. There's no doubt you just get it out of it. There's no questions, this stands no butts. You know, I think it's the eighth year or something, or the seventh day, boom, you circumcised day, boom, you're done, you do it, right? So the problem is you've got these Gentiles coming in. The Gentiles they didn't go up, they didn't grow up going to church. They grow up being a Gentile, doing what Gentiles do, just living their life. Okay. There were some God-fearing Gentiles. That's how we get Cornelius and uh Lydia in the Bible was a God-fearing uh Gentile that we'll look at later on. But uh, so the problem is these people come down from Judea and they say, Unless you're circumcised, you cannot be saved. You see any issues with that? These men have decided on their own because they want to be such good bombers of God based off the Old Testament, not fully understand what God was doing in the New Testament when He created the church, and they first got Christians in Antioch, and now you've got this church all over the place. They're coming and saying, Oh, you're gonna be saved, you have to be circumcised. Now, we don't even discuss that, but imagine our tracks today, if this were true. You've got to confess your sins, accept Jesus as Lord, uh, accept and believe in confess your sins, and also you have to get cut. If you're a man, could you imagine that on this track? That would be really weird, okay? It's about nothing talking about it. It'd be really weird to have to do that, right? But do you see how that could be an issue, right? Now, today's advantage, we need to understand this is the first time we're having to figure out what life looks like as a church when you got the old tradition from how God set up the nation of Jews versus now the Gentiles are gonna be grafted in, and scripture doesn't even tell us there's no different slave free, Jewish, Gentile, okay? So we're having to figure out how is this gonna melt or how's this gonna come together? Okay, we look back and it's real simple and duh, but we weren't there. That was some serious issues, okay. Paul and Barnabas, like how it says this here in verse 2, they had no small dissension and debate with them, okay? Put it in Arabic term today, they had a big old bad business meeting and fallen out. Okay? When it says no small, that means that the opposite of not being small would be big, large, rape, right? So they had some serious discussion about it. Because we can imagine the Jewish being said, well, that's not fair, they're gonna become a virco. And the Gentiles are like, wait a minute, we're we're looking at Christ that's risen from the dead, the church in Antioch, and we've spoken in tongues, we've got proof of the Holy Spirit. So don't tell us you've got to add something to that, because that's not what we see in the New Testament, right? So they had this very distinction means that they weren't all on the same page, and they had this great debate with them. And then what did they do? The next part of that verse is Paul Marmus and some of the others were appointed to go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So basically, they had Paul Varnus that they sent up by Aniog, they went on the first mission trip, they come back, they share, and then all of a sudden the negativity hits, and they want to get some authority on it. Okay, they couldn't pick up the New Testament and read it and see what the New Testament says. Okay. All they can do is talk about the experience that has happened up to that time. And we'll see that as Peter talked about that in a minute. We'll see that in a minute. But it was a little bit different for us today. But what they do, they go back to what we would call the mother church, the first church of interest in Jerusalem. If James would have been over to ask them to say, okay, now what guidance can you give us on that? So they have several people, Paul Barnabas, and others who go with them to Jerusalem to get this answer. Look at verse 3. Uh, so it says here, verse 3, so being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia, Samaria, describing in detail the conversation with the Gentiles, bringing great joy to all the brothers. Now, when you read this, as they're going back from Antioch, going back to Jerusalem, part of what they could be sharing is what they had done on their first missionary journey. And part of that would be how God protected them, how God made the church grow and uh people were healed. The other part of that could be, oh, by the way, the reason we're passing through is because we had a serious question. Some people say if you're gonna truly be saved, you've got to be circumcised. Now, the Jews would be having great joy, like, yeah, yeah, yeah, especially if they were legalistic. But the Gentiles would be like, oh, this is gonna be good. Let's get to settled because we don't want to have to do anything else for salvation, right? Um, so verse 4. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they all declared, or they declared all that God had done with them. Um so they get to make it to their final destination, and they're saying, Oh, by the way, Antioch sent us out, if you heard. We went on this first missionary journey, one of three, by the way, and then they come back and they're telling them all this taking place, and everybody's messed up. But in verse 5, some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and in order to keep the law of Moses. So you go from just a few men in Judea, you travel all the way to Jerusalem, and you get these people called Pharisees. And who are the Pharisees again? Say again?

SPEAKER_02 10:30

The law makes the one.

SPEAKER_03 10:31

The law and religious people thinking they'd know it all. Okay. They're saying, oh, well, the rule of says you have to be circumcised, and they need to keep the law of Moses. Okay, so what are we looking at here? What is salvation? They're saying you have to keep the law of Moses, all of it. That would be dietary restrictions, that would be moral restrictions, which is authority, uh, but everything, specifically the idea of circumcision. So there's a great distinction, and from the descension, we move to a discussion, verse 6. Look what it says. The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. They got those who were elders, the leaders of the church, along with apostles, those who had been with Christ, known with Christ, and in others to get together and to have a bigger discussion, what they call nowadays the Jerusalem Council. And just a side note, if you can look back in church history, there's been lots of councils where the church had to make major decisions on different issues, more so in the Catholic Church than any other church. Uh, but those are very popular. Specifically one you won't look at being the Nicene Council. You can look that up for later, it'd be a little topic or review later, study more about that. But this is what they're having, they're having this big Jerusalem council and having this big meeting. And what did they come up with? Let's look at the discussion they had. Verse 7. Uh, it says, after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, so they've been talking for who knows how long, they've been debating this. Each side get to speak, slice them, not slice them, whatever. Peter gets to listen to what he says, brother, because you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So he's given a little history lesson of what taken place when he was at Cornelius' place, right? Give a testimony. And how was that confirmed? They believed and they also spoke in tongues when the Holy Spirit came upon them. So we see uh just in that little argument that he gives that salvation is by God's grace. And they believed, and that was it. Didn't say how many times they had to come to church, didn't say how much money they had to give, it just says the Gentiles should hear the gospel and then believe it. Okay? Now look at the next little argument, verse 8. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and made no distinction between them and us. So Peter's experience in the church, he knew it was like with the Jews, and now he's seeing the same thing happened with the Gentiles. That same Holy Spirit that came to Pentecost, he's seeing that not just in the lives of the Jews from Pentecost on, but now he is seeing that with the Gentiles. So once again, the idea that they had the same Holy Spirit is more proof that salvation is by grace, by God's grace. Does that make sense? So he's arguing that circumcision ain't got nothing to do with the New Testament and with the church, okay? Verse uh nine. Second part of that. Having been cleansed or having cleansed their hearts by faith. So we look at that second part. Uh Brooke, not have been telling that. Sorry, personal together says he made no distinction between them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. What did God do? He cleansed their heart, he forgave them, made them a new person. Why? Because of their faith. Because they believed in Jesus. What's John 3 16 saying? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, but whosoever got circumcised, so who believed, right, will have eternal life for everlasting blood. Okay? So there's making this argument here having their hearts cleansed by God because of faith is another sign that salvation is by grace, not by circumcision, or how many times they went to the synagogue or to mass or the church or they had things like that.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Yes. Um on verse five, you're saying that the Pharisees were believers. Is that when they they believed in Christ as a Savior at that time? Even though they they being believers, because they're still saying that uh they still must be circumcised and follow the law of Moses, right? Yeah. So when they say believers at that time, what what do they mean about the Pharisees?

SPEAKER_03 15:21

Okay. It says there, but some believers took a long party of the Pharisees, some people who are believing in Jesus and called the vision, they still subscribe to the beliefs of the Pharisees. All right, just like you had the Sadducees, you had June groups. Yeah. It'd be like us today saying you come join the church, but you grew up Methodist, so you still do some of the Methodist ways. You want the living genuine church to be the same where it's Sunday after Sunday. Yeah, pass some of that old Testament stuff. Some of some of the Old Testament stuff, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Very good question.

SPEAKER_00 15:54

They were kind of what we call legalistic. They believed in Jesus, but they were kind of legalistic. They want to go by the law.

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Yeah, they got Jesus, but they got the law with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very good question now. Uh so looking at verse uh 10, what we see is how the law is not good enough to save people. It says in verse 10. It says, now therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ just as they will. But what's the figure saying to them? Hey, you're complaining because these people are not following the Old Testament law. It's like you're trying to put a yoke on them, something heavy. You're trying to guide them with extra stuff or what we might say, extra biblical stuff, so they can be a part of your version of what it means to believe in Jesus. Jesus plus the Old Testament. Now the catch is Pharisees just couldn't let it go. They could not. Exactly right. No, they could not. They grew up, that's how it was. It'd be like trying to say it's a sin to drink sweet tea and eat barbecue. Okay. Now we can argue the barbecue because it's in the Bible, right? And you can say you're not supposed to eat Israel clear, you don't think pork. Okay. But we let that go because we're southerners, so we get people to cook it here. But truly we let it go because we know what happened with Peter, and when God said, Don't call unclean when I call clean. You know, now, honestly, when I look back at it, there's a theological side, but I also sometimes see the practical side, the fact that they didn't prepare the pork correctly, it'll get you on it. It gets in your brain and the worms, and all that sudden you die. Okay. There's a reason outside of theological that you need to watch for that kind of stuff. Okay? They didn't know how to cook it right or where it's faithful to do it. It still happens today, but not as often, right? But anyway, yeah, very good question. So it says, therefore, why are you putting God in the test, placing a yoke, putting something else in place that even those people had trouble fulfilling? Okay. Can we add to salvation? Can we tell somebody, oh, you want to get saved, you gotta believe in Jesus and you feel in the life. Can you do that? That's what they were doing. Saying, oh, fill in the blank, oh, you gotta be circumcised. But that's not what Christianity is about. Christianity is about faith. Abraham walked with God and was considered righteous because he had what? Faith, right? Yeah. Everybody does that. Okay. How are we today when it comes to that issue? Now, obviously, you can't leave a pastor, somebody walks the aisle to join the church. I'll talk to them, make sure they place their faith in God, they would be a part of the church. Okay. We're not talking here about being part of the local church. We're talking about technically, it is the local church, but it's really the whole body of Christ. I can't come somebody walking the aisle and I say, oh, if you're going to be a believer, a member of this church, you've got to speak English, and you have to, you know, get baptized, and you have to get you have to believe in Jesus. I have to say, to be a believer, to be a member of our church, you have to be baptized, but to be saved, you just got a place with faith in God. But you don't have to wear a certain amount of clothes or do this or that. You know what I'm saying? You can't add extra stuff to that salvation. Okay? I mentioned that because one time in Texas, we had a church, one of the church members, we were we were members in the church at the time, and uh we were talking about doing some English stuff with some Hispanics and they said, well, why don't we teach them English first? They're in America, they're to learn English. And I'm like, we can't put that as a qualification for salvation. You know, if they wanted to do government things like get a driver's license or a vote, sure, we're gonna be able to learn English, that's a whole different story. But when it comes to God's word, they need to hear their language. That's why I was trying to talk to them about doing ministry for the Spanish speakers. So we can't add a salvation, okay? We get in big trouble if we try to say you're gonna be saved, you've got to believe in Jesus, but you also have to be church every time the doors open. Or you can have to tithe, every ties, and tithe extra and above and give them you know, over and beyond and whatever. So we have to be real careful with that. Now, look at the next part, look at verse 12. Look at the idea that salvation is by faith and the grace for God, verse 12 says, and all the assembly fell silent because they had just heard everything saying that uh the sufferers saying that the verse 11 that you believe that we'll be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, just like they will, Jews and Gentiles. So it gets quiet about that. Who's going to next one to say something? It gets quiet, and then Paul and Barnabas again get up because they've been on fire, because they've been on this mission trip. Listen to what they say. And they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. During that time, the beginning of the church, God was doing some amazing things that yes, he can still do today, it's just not as common. But to confirm that the Gentiles had truly received the Holy Spirit, okay? AKA they were believers. So if they've seen that and witnessed that, how can you go back and say, oh, we got something going to do something else? You know, well, that's kind of the Holy Spirit's job. And if he's already saved them, he's dwelling in them, and they're manifesting these signs, speaking in tongues, the miracles that are taking place, the signs of wonders, you can't argue with that. That's God. I mean you can try, it's not a good idea. So Pharisees and these people complexions were bringing about these legalistic uh demands uh that are not found in Scripture. Uh look at verse 13 through 15. After they finished speaking, James replied, James mean the head of the church at his time, he said, Brothers, listen to me. Simon of here has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take them, uh uh take from them a people for his name. And with these words, the prophets agreed just that it is written. So James here has given his verdict as the head of the church. This is how it's going to be. We've had all these specialist debates. We've heard testimonies. We see what God's doing, so here's how it works. And listen to what he he quotes from verse 16. After this, I will return. I will reveal the tent of David that has fallen. I will reveal its ruins and I will restore it. That the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord. And all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from up old. He uses the Old Testament to say, hey, look, the Gentiles are going to come in faith. There's no question about that. Yes, you've heard Testament of Paul Barnabas and others, but we're even told in the Old Testament, they didn't talk about it. So verse 19, here's the final decision here. Therefore, my judgment is the authority that James has ahead of the church. That's what he says. But should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled from blood. For from ancient generations, Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him. For he is read the he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. So what's his decision? We can't require them to be circumcised. But he does have advice for them. Practical advice for the help side, sustain it, don't be drinking blood or eat the blood, you know, could you stay a little bit more, at least medium rare, right? Don't have a bullet on you. But also do what? Are you gonna be truly believed you have faith in God? There's the morale morality section of that, right? So stay from sexual immorality. And you can look at Paul's letters in the New Testament, see fornication and you know, adultery, etc. etc. All kinds of stuff about that, with specifically what he's talking about. So it says, by judgment, don't trouble with the Gentiles who come to God, but they need to be careful, watch out for things plumbials, sexual immorality, what's been strangled from blood. Moses, his generation, the things that he taught, that's been read in the synagogues, people know that. Alright? Verse uh 22. And it seemed good to the apostles and the elders of the whole church to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul Barnabas. So what do they do it now? They're trying to get the word out. A letter's been written and they're gonna go tell them about the decision. Uh it says there in the second part of 22, they sent Judas called Versavus and Silas, leading them among the brothers, but the following letter. So here's the response. The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, aka the main leadership in the church at the time, uh, local church and elders and the apostles who were kind of white but you see in all the churches. And to the brothers who are the Gentiles of Aeneap and Syria, Celestia, Greens, says 24 hours since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words and settled, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions. It seemed good to us having come to one accord to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of Jesus Christ their Lord. We have therefore sent Jews and stylists who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit, okay? They weren't just big headed thing, okay, we had the power to make decisions that were being led by the Lord. It's real important there. It seems good to you, but the Holy Spirit to us that lay on you no greater burden than these requirements. That you're stained from what's been sacrificed to idols. That idea is we see that, I think it's in Timothy, right? Stain from many forms of evil. So those days, if you're going around and have idol worship, things like that, and you're going to participate in that and eating at those tables, things like that, that's going to cause some difficulty. Verse 29 is stain from what is sacrificed to Ida from blood and what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourself screen from these, you will be what? Saved? Ah. Then say you'll be saved, it says you will do well. All right? Salvation comes by faith through God's grace alone. Okay? We can't add anything to it. Um, we got five verses left, but it's 701. It's also telling us about the storm for gets out of here. We'll pick this up probably next Sunday night, uh, but we're willing. Uh, but keep that in mind. People walk through our doors. What do they need to do to be saved? They gotta stop drinking and custom to be saved. Stop living a bad life. No, no, no. They want to be staying, they gotta face the faith in God. And the cool thing is the God who stays there and staying God is gonna clean them up. That's right. And that's what we pray for the expected hope. If they don't get cleaned up, then they really have a natural fate. Uh that was fun. I think I'll just tell them, but it's that one is pretty bright. All right, let me pray first, and then we'll safely get out of here, and we look forward to seeing the men uh Thursday morning breakfast at 8 and then uh next Sunday in church. All right, just pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. Thank you, Father, for your word. Help us, Father, to continue to walk humbly before you, to study your word, to share it, to preach it with faithfulness, and uh to remind others that salvation is through faith in you alone. I pray that we never put any of the requirements in front of other people besides what you told us to do, Lord. We love you. We pray that tonight you'll bring us home safely, and we thank you for the reign that we'll have. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.