WEBVTT 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:04.480 Let me pray as we come to God's word. 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:12.480 Almighty God, Heavenly Father, we ask that you would open our eyes that we might behold wonderful things in your law. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:21.120 We pray particularly that for the first time or the umteenth time we would see, feel, and respond to you as a God of all grace. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:22.559 In Jesus' name. 00:00:22.800 --> 00:00:23.440 Amen. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.079 So Acts chapter 15. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:36.719 I'm actually going to start reading the last couple of verses of the previous chapter, Acts 14, 27. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.560 Let's listen to the words of Almighty God. 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:52.399 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:57.039 And they remained no little time with the disciples. 00:00:57.840 --> 00:01:11.439 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:25.439 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:36.560 So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:45.680 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:57.840 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:03.120 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:19.439 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:27.039 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:32.879 And he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:45.280 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? 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:51.120 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus just as they will. 00:02:51.680 --> 00:03:02.159 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:08.560 After they finished speaking, James replied, Brothers, listen to me. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:15.599 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:40.960 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen, I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 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 of old. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:46.080 Thanks be to God for his true and living word. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.759 What must you do in order to join the club? 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:00.000 What must you do in order to belong? 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:03.439 Sometimes you have to pay a fee. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:08.560 I've discovered there is something called the R360 Club. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:13.120 You have to be worth$100 million to join it. 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.240 But what if you're very poor? 00:04:16.879 --> 00:04:19.680 Sometimes you have to do something to join the club. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:22.000 Like the Monroe Society. 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:24.800 You must have climbed all of the Monroe's. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:26.240 What are they, I hear you say? 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:31.120 282 mountains, each above 3,000 feet in height. 00:04:31.920 --> 00:04:34.240 But what if you're not very strong? 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:37.360 How about belonging to the Church of Jesus? 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:41.439 If you join the Church of Jesus, is there something you must pay? 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:44.319 Is there something you must do? 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:59.839 This was one of the biggest questions that faced the New Testament Church of Jesus as it began to grow from Jerusalem through Judea to Samaria and onwards toward the end of the earth. 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:10.319 As the church encountered diverse people, as the church brought the gospel to the Gentiles, that's who we we're reading about in this chapter. 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:19.120 The Gentiles, non-Jews, people who are not in the biological family of Abraham, who had an ancient attachment to the God of the Bible. 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.639 It's what we've been reading about these last chapters in the book of Acts. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:31.759 As the gospel comes to people from different cultures, did they need to give up their culture in order to join the Church of Jesus? 00:05:32.879 --> 00:05:39.920 Just like all of us, as they came to faith and into the company of the church, they came with all kinds of baggage. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:43.680 What was sin that needed repenting of? 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.160 What was not sin? 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:52.319 So the church needed to think carefully and pastor wisely. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:06:00.560 The church needed to, the church needs to place Jesus' demands on new disciples. 00:06:00.879 --> 00:06:04.480 It's a disaster if you water down the way of Christ and the way of the cross. 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:08.160 When Jesus bids a man follow him, he says, come and die. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:10.480 There's a cost of following Jesus. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:17.279 But the church must place on a new disciple no more than the demands of Jesus. 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:21.199 And it's a disaster if you place unnecessary burdens. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:24.720 You leave that person feeling like they don't belong. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:25.839 They don't belong to God. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:27.519 Am I good enough for God? 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:31.360 Am I good enough for these people in whose company I want to find a home? 00:06:31.839 --> 00:06:36.560 It's a really quick way to destroy church unity and church health. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:45.519 And that's what was the subject of Acts 15, what's often called the Jerusalem Council. 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:49.759 The issue at the very heart of it seems a weird one. 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.839 Should we circumcise Gentiles as they come into the church? 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:56.000 It's actually an incredibly important passage. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:57.920 It's about church health and church unity. 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:01.360 It will help Emmanuel to stay healthy and united. 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:05.360 It's about what you must do in order to belong. 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:10.560 It's about what the church requires of its members in order to belong. 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:15.360 The story begins in Antioch. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.839 We're about 300 miles north of Jerusalem in Syria. 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:24.319 This is the place where Jesus' followers were first called Christians. 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:30.319 Paul and Barnabas, they're back there at the end of their first great mission trip, and they always go back there. 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:32.399 It's like they're sending church. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:40.399 In chapter 14, verse 27, they told the story of that journey to the church. 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:46.879 But they were not the only people to come to the church in Antioch. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:50.800 Chapter 15, verse 1, but some men. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.120 And it has an ominous ring. 00:07:53.279 --> 00:08:00.720 In verses 1 to 5, we learn this that a false demand requires a fierce confrontation. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:07.360 There is a massive argument alluded to at the start of the chapter. 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:14.800 So verse 2 it says, Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:17.199 Now that is an understatement. 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:20.639 It's the kind of thing an Englishman would say if they were writing this account. 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:22.800 Maybe Luke was English, I don't think he was. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:24.560 No small dissension. 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:27.199 It means there was a massive argument. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.800 Now, question, when should church leaders go to war? 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:33.200 When should church leaders go to war? 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:36.720 So when is it right to fight in church? 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:40.480 Well, the answer is when salvation is at stake. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:45.840 The issue in verse 1, if you don't do this thing, then you cannot be saved. 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:47.519 That's what they were saying. 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:50.320 And that is why Paul and Barnabas fought. 00:08:50.480 --> 00:08:54.080 When false teachers tell lies about the gospel, how to be saved, this is what you need. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:05.440 You need faithful ministers in the local church who will contend, confront, fight for the truth of the gospel, because the foundations of the gospel are under assault. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:11.919 Now, as the chapter goes on, we see this problem cannot be resolved in Antioch. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:24.720 It's not because Paul's authority, Paul the Apostle, his authority was in any way lacking, it's because these false teachers said they were from the church in Jerusalem. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:26.480 That's hinted at later on in the chapter. 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:28.720 Some persons have gone out from us. 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.200 It's what the Jerusalem church said. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:38.080 And so this claim needs to be silenced that they were speaking with the authority of the wider church. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:39.759 So it's time for another trip. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:45.840 Paul and his team are sent to Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem Council is called. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:53.519 And that shows us actually that the church in isolation, the local church in isolation, is not enough to defend against error. 00:09:54.399 --> 00:10:09.120 In the rest of chapter 15, what we see is faithful ministers coming together in a formal alliance, coming to a judgment together about truth and error, drawing a line, and then delivering a verdict to all of the churches in the region. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.039 This is actually the first New Testament presbytery meeting. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.320 It was for the health and the safety and the unity of the church. 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:22.720 It was not cuddly and fuzzy, it was clear and it was incredibly serious. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:24.399 Now, what was the lie? 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.799 What was the false demand that had to be confronted? 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:34.799 And it was this that Jesus plus your obedience earns salvation. 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.039 Verse 1, listen again. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:47.360 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:59.200 That's what prompted Paul and his team to go to Jerusalem in front of the church there with the apostles and the elders, Paul shares the wonderful news of all that God's been doing among the Gentiles. 00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:15.679 And that then prompts this same bunch of false teachers to say, verse 5, these believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees, they rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.840 Now notice this is a group within the church. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:21.840 They professed to be followers of Jesus. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.320 They knew you needed Jesus. 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:25.679 But here is the nub of it. 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:28.159 They said, You must also be circumcised. 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:31.759 You must also keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:40.799 And it was not a gentle request or a polite suggestion for the sake of the conscience of Jewish Christians or for the sake of evangelism among Jewish people. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:42.240 It's an obligation. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:43.440 You must do this. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.080 And if you do not do this, you cannot be saved. 00:11:46.320 --> 00:11:47.840 So you see what they're saying? 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:51.440 Believe in Jesus and obey the law and you will be saved. 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:54.799 Believe in Jesus and do these things, and you will be saved. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:11:59.519 Faith in Jesus plus your obedience ensures salvation. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:03.519 Now just think about that church in Antioch. 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:10.320 A bunch of Gentile converts that come to the Lord Jesus from all manner of false gods and immoral lives. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:12.159 It must have been so unsettling. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:16.639 One moment they are told, salvation is a free gift, it's all of God's grace. 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:21.679 And now they are being told, here is something you must do, a price you must pay. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.720 Jesus, plus your obedience, earns salvation. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:29.840 Now just pause for a moment. 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:33.759 This is the instinct of the human heart. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.039 This is the instinct of every single human heart the world over. 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:47.360 To earn, to imagine a ladder of good works or religious works to perform, to appear, and therefore to belong. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.759 It's the shape of every world religion. 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:55.519 Last month, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, he was interviewed in the newspapers. 00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:58.480 He was open about how his Muslim faith drives him. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:12:59.519 And this is what he said. 00:12:59.679 --> 00:13:03.600 He said, I'm hoping the work I do is earning me brownie points. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:05.759 The idea is that life is an exam. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.840 If you pass the exam, you go to heaven. 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:10.799 If you flunk it, you go to the other place. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.799 It's tragic, isn't it, on two levels. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:25.759 The God of Islam is a demonic fake, and he is desperately trying to climb that ladder and earn the favour of this fake God. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:29.919 But, but, but, but there is also a Christian version of this too. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:31.840 It's the heresy of Jesus plus. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:37.279 You need Jesus plus this thing that you must do. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:40.559 And large chunks of the New Testament were written to sort this out. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:58.799 Paul's letter to the Galatians, it's directly connected to this crisis in Acts 15, and then it speaks speaks directly to the instinct of the heart that says, I am right with God because I believe in Jesus and because of this thing that I do. 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:08.799 It's the instinct of the heart that says, as one Christian looks around at the church, you will be right with God if you believe in Jesus and do this thing. 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:13.039 And it's been there, we can see pretty much from day one in the church. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:15.360 It can creep into any church. 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:19.919 Probably it's the deepest error in Roman Catholicism, Jesus plus. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:25.039 And it's a bit like taking a bomb and implanting it in the gospel. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:31.360 The gospel is free, the gospel is the grace of God. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:44.399 And then along come these people who are highly plausible, and they say, believe in Jesus, but also you must become Jewish too, and therefore earn your favour with God. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:46.480 And who should the church believe? 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.039 And that is why the council gathers. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:57.279 Because these two ideas, these two groups, these two sets of teachers, they cannot coexist in the same church. 00:14:57.360 --> 00:14:59.600 They are diametrically opposed. 00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.159 And bluntly, who is going to get kicked out? 00:15:02.399 --> 00:15:05.600 Which gospel is going to be propagated the world over? 00:15:06.080 --> 00:15:07.519 So verse 6. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:14.159 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:16.879 They represent the church. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:18.320 There is debate. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:21.759 I suspect there would have been a lot of heat. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:28.960 And then they hear in turn from Peter, then Barnabas and Paul and James. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:32.720 And here is the glorious truth that they affirmed. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:41.039 God's grace means that every Christian joins the church in exactly the same way. 00:15:44.240 --> 00:15:49.600 Peter takes the floor to start with, and he begins by retelling his own experience. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.639 What we can read about back in chapter 10. 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:54.720 Do you remember to start with? 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:06.159 Surely these are unclean people, these are not belonging people. 00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:13.600 But then his mind, his heart, was blown open by the Holy Spirit of God. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:18.480 And Peter's big message here: this is the work of God. 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:26.000 God chose Peter to take the gospel to a Roman centurion, Cornelius, and his whole household. 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:28.559 God knows every heart, God bears witness. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.000 God gave them the Spirit. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:32.480 God cleansed their hearts by faith. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:33.919 It's a work of God. 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:38.879 And then down in verse 9, he sums up this massive lesson that he learned. 00:16:38.960 --> 00:16:39.519 Just have a look. 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:40.399 Verse 9. 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:46.240 He made no distinction between us and them. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:49.279 Those are really telling words, aren't they? 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:50.399 Us and them. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:53.120 We know that those are loaded words. 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:56.480 Us, we are on the inside track with God. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.360 Them, they are on the outside. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:02.159 But God makes no distinction. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:09.359 Converts from the Jewish faith, they came to Jesus with their circumcision, bearing the Old Testament sign of belonging to God. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:15.039 Converts from paganism, uncircumcised, not bearing that mark in their flesh. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:19.519 Well, God received and welcomed and cleansed both. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:20.960 Only one way. 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:25.920 Only one way to God through Christ for every kind of person. 00:17:27.440 --> 00:17:30.720 And then Peter turns his guns on the false teachers. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:32.799 It's not enough to affirm the positive. 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:34.960 He must now state the negative. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:38.960 Verse 10 now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test? 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.279 You're opposing these outsiders coming in. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:45.440 Well, actually, you're opposing God. 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:54.319 And then he goes on, you're placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:56.079 Now, what's a yoke? 00:17:57.200 --> 00:18:01.279 We were in a farm shop last week and I found a yoke for sale. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:08.400 I wasn't able to persuade any of my children that they ought to wear one as a visual aid, so still in the farm shop it is. 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:10.960 I shall try and describe what a yoke is. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:12.960 Some of us know, some of us don't. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:16.720 Imagine you're on an ancient farm in a field. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:30.160 There is a pair of oxen pulling a plough, and there is a wooden frame around their necks and across their shoulders onto which the plough is attached, and that wooden frame is the yoke. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:35.680 And in the Bible, it's a common picture of servanthood and burden. 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:50.319 So Peter says, requiring these new Gentile Christians to be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses as the way of salvation, that is an unbearable yoke. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:54.160 It is a weight upon their souls that cannot be carried. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:56.559 They'll be crushed beneath it. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:04.000 Now we need to ask some careful questions about what Peter is saying here. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:09.759 Is Peter saying that we do not need to worry about the law of God? 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:14.240 Is Peter saying that obedience to the Lord does not matter? 00:19:15.039 --> 00:19:18.880 Shall we sin in order that grace may abound? 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:20.880 And the answer is, of course not. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:22.799 The Old Testament law is good. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:27.599 The Old Testament says things like, I love your law. 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:32.720 Jesus says, take my yoke upon you. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.759 It's an easy yoke, it's a light burden. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.039 But a follower of Jesus is still a servant. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:42.880 We do bear the yoke of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:43.839 He rules us. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.720 We are his servants willingly. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:51.039 So the yoke of the Lord is unavoidable for the Christian. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.519 The Christian knows that it is the best of things. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:55.119 The law of the Lord is good. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:56.640 The Ten Commandments are good. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:59.680 The moral law of God, it is blessing. 00:20:02.240 --> 00:20:08.480 So the law of the Lord, it's not an unbearable yoke, but, and this is the key. 00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:14.000 The wrong use of God's law is an unbearable burden. 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:19.119 If you do the wrong thing with obedience to the law, you will crush yourself. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:29.200 If you're a teacher in the church and you do the wrong thing with obedience to the law, you will crush others and keep them away from the God of grace. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:34.480 So here is the burden, here is the yoke that these guys were laying on people. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:39.440 They made them obey for the wrong reason, and they made them obey the wrong law. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:53.839 So back then, back in Jesus' day, in the Jewish community, and then in the church, Jewish people who believed that salvation was through this terrible mixture of grace and works. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:57.680 And it is a terrible poison, grace and works. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:03.359 Faith in God plus your religious works means salvation. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:05.920 Now, why is that unbearable? 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:07.279 Listen to this. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:08.400 This is so important. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:12.960 The one true God, God the Holy Trinity, he is not like us. 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:19.599 He is utterly holy, he is majestic, he's unreachably holy. 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:23.519 And no obedience, no religious work can get us to him. 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:28.319 Perfect obedience by anyone other than the Lord Jesus Christ is an impossibility. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:34.160 So belonging to God, belonging to him, it cannot be based on us. 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:36.400 We do not have it in us. 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:43.119 And it's part of God's glory that he reaches out to us in the covenant of grace, grace alone, through Christ alone. 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:51.440 And in the covenant of grace, he cleanses people, he cleanses people by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:55.039 He offers that freely. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.039 Always been. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:03.839 God's Old Testament law. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:10.319 That's how people were saved through safe through faith in the blood of the Messiah who was to come. 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:18.799 So these false teachers they made people obey for the wrong reason, but they also made them obey the wrong law. 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:24.240 They hadn't understood that with the coming of Jesus, circumcision was no more. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:27.039 Yes, the moral law still binds. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:29.359 Christians must keep the Ten Commandments. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.559 That's what spirit-filled obedience looks like. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:35.920 The ceremonial law is no more. 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:43.440 Circumcision, it was it was the mark of belonging to the Old Testament church, but it was time expired. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:47.119 Your food in the fridge, it's got a best before date on it. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:49.200 Well, like that with circumcision. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:55.039 Best before the death and resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:58.640 Now the New Testament sign of belonging is baptism. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:02.640 Something has changed massively with the coming of Christ. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:09.119 So don't try to keep out these uncircumcised Gentiles. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:20.400 When Paul wrote his letter to the Galatian church, almost certainly at this time, he wrote to these Gentile Christians who've been saved by Jesus, then they'd been led astray by this false teaching. 00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:25.920 And his message was don't submit again to a yoke of slavery. 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:30.480 You've stepped into a slavery, get out of it, and don't go back. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:34.880 Now let me try and make this clear. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:42.400 What I want to try and do to make it clear is ask you to imagine two different men and how this applies to them. 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.200 Let's call these men Jethro and Hermes. 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:47.599 Okay, so here's man number one, Jethro. 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:51.839 He lived back in Old Testament times before the coming of Jesus. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:59.440 He was a Gentile, a pagan, but he heard of the one true God and he joined himself to the people of Israel. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.359 Did he need to be circumcised? 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:05.279 Answer yes, to show that he belonged. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:08.079 And it was a sign of salvation. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:10.400 Did that act save him? 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:11.119 No. 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:16.079 He was saved by grace alone through the Messiah who was to come. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:17.519 Now imagine another man. 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:18.640 Let's call him Hermes. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:21.440 He lived in the first century, the time of the early church. 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:23.920 Jesus has died and risen and ascended. 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:26.079 This guy, Hermes, is a Gentile. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:27.279 He's a pagan. 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:31.279 He hears of the one true God, Father, Son, and Spirit. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:36.160 He repents and believes, and he joins himself to this God and to his church. 00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:38.640 Did he have to be circumcised? 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:39.279 No. 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:41.440 In fact, he must not be circumcised. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:44.720 He needed to be baptized to show that he belonged. 00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:46.880 It was a sign of salvation. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:50.000 Did that act of obedience save him? 00:24:50.319 --> 00:24:50.640 No. 00:24:51.279 --> 00:24:54.720 He was saved by grace through Christ. 00:24:55.680 --> 00:25:00.079 And Peter's punchline to it all is down in verse 11. 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:02.079 It's a complex issue. 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:03.920 The punchline is super simple. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:05.039 Verse 11. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:13.359 We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.839 And notice the pronouns. 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:30.559 We, you know, believers in Jesus from a Jewish background, they believers in Jesus from a Gentile background, all will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. 00:25:32.640 --> 00:25:40.079 So when a person becomes a Christian, when they take on the yoke of Christ, must you submit to Christ and obey him? 00:25:40.640 --> 00:25:41.279 Yes. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.599 Must you keep the law and the power of the Holy Spirit, albeit imperfectly? 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:48.720 Yes, the Lord saves us for holiness. 00:25:49.119 --> 00:26:00.799 But, but, but, but your salvation, your righteousness, your standing with God, it depends only on the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:09.359 And to defend this, it is worth every argument, every fight, every cost, every sacrifice you can imagine. 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:12.400 That's what Peter says. 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:15.119 Barnabas and Paul stand up in verse 12. 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:18.079 The room is silent, they recount the story of their journey. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:23.599 Luke doesn't tell us what they said, it's in his book, chapters 13 and 14. 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:27.039 They know that God has sent the gospel out among the Gentiles. 00:26:27.119 --> 00:26:29.279 There is no more them and us. 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:32.079 Then James speaks. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:33.200 Verse 13. 00:26:33.359 --> 00:26:36.960 James, the brother of Jesus, who wrote the letter that bears his name. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:44.960 He reflects on all that's been said in the council, and he says, The words of the prophet agree with it all. 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:47.359 Gentiles coming to faith in Jesus. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.880 It's not God's plan B. 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:50.480 It's always been there. 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:51.920 It was known from of old. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:53.519 It's there in the prophets. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:26:55.599 It is his plan. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:27:03.599 It's always been his plan to save the Gentiles who are called by my name. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:09.440 Now that is an amazing phrase to read in verse 17. 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:14.400 The Gentiles who are called by my name. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.920 Try to imagine being an outsider to the things of God. 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:20.960 Maybe for some of us that's actually not all that hard to imagine. 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:22.960 You are unclean. 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:26.160 Your whole life you have been distant from God. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.559 What would he want with you? 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:33.920 Well, the Lord says, I want you to be part of my people, I want you to carry my name. 00:27:34.079 --> 00:27:36.079 I'm putting my name upon you. 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:38.480 The name of the true God. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:41.119 Extraordinary grace. 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:50.160 Now we're going to pause there at the end of verse 18, which really is completely a terrible place to stop. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:54.640 We're halfway through the chapter, halfway through what James is saying. 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:56.000 He's sort of mid-breath. 00:27:56.720 --> 00:28:00.000 And God willing, we'll get to the rest of the chapter next week. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:02.079 It is good though to finish on the basics. 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:04.240 And I want to ask this question as we finish. 00:28:04.400 --> 00:28:11.759 Please consider personally what must you do in order to belong? 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:15.279 And basically, there are two sets of answers. 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:20.079 The first set is this I need to do this. 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:23.680 Or Jesus will welcome me only if I. 00:29:26.400 --> 00:29:28.400 Thank you for your steadfast love. 00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:37.680 We thank you that no one, regardless of our background, our family, our sins, no one needs stay away. 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:43.039 Thank you that when you join us to your son, you will hold us there forever. 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:46.960 Please encourage our hearts today with the grace of God. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:57.920 And we pray in Jesus' name. 00:29:58.480 --> 00:29:59.119 Amen.