The apostolic council Acts 15

The apostolic council Today we consider one of the most crucial decisions in the history of the church of Jesus Christ It took place nearly 1970 years ago, in the year 49 AD

The apostolic council Today we consider one of the most crucial decisions in the history of the church of Jesus Christ It took place nearly 1970 years ago, in the year 49 AD We see disagreement in the church

Though our situation may be different, The apostolic council And, let’s ask the question, Though our situation may be different, are we facing a similar decision today?

The apostolic council As we consider the decision in Acts 15, let’s focus on Why it was and is important, How the decision was made, What was the decision, and How was it communicated

The apostolic council Background From the beginning, Jewish believers had trouble accepting Gentiles It began with that God-fearing centurion in Caesarea, Cornelius Remember? God had to repeat his “vision lesson” three times before Peter began to understand

The apostolic council Background Then Peter had to go back and explain the full facts to the Jerusalem leaders, who instead of raising objections, they “glorified God” (Acts 11:18) Next came the movement in Antioch where unnamed missionaries “spoke to” the Greeks also (Acts 11:20)

The apostolic council Background A great number believed The Jerusalem church heard this and sent Barnabas to check it out He saw great evidence of the grace of God

The apostolic council Background The third development was the first missionary trip Remember the magician, and Sergius Paulus who believed And then Paul and Barnabas responded to the Jewish unbelief with the bold declaration “we are turning to the Gentiles”. (Acts 13:46)

The apostolic council Background Thereafter everywhere they went, both Jew and Gentile believed Now, one or two Gentiles becoming Christians, like Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch – well that was at least tolerable for the Jewish believers in Jerusalem

The apostolic council Background But, in their opinion, things got out of hand when Paul and Barnabas returned from the first missionary trip and told how God had “opened a door of faith to the Gentiles…” (Acts 14:27) After the conversions of Cornelius and the Gentiles in Antioch, the Jewish leaders were able to assure themselves that God was in it

The apostolic council Background They did not have a problem with the general concept of believing Gentiles – the Old Testament passages predicted their inclusion But, something quite different was happening Something that disturbed and even alarmed them

The apostolic council Something had to be done Gentile converts were being welcomed into the fellowship by baptism without circumcision So they sent some men to Antioch saying that enough is enough Now, here is the dispute, the heresy

he must first become a Jew The apostolic council If a Gentile was to become a Christian, he must first become a Jew and be circumcised

The apostolic council These converted Pharisees and their followers were not bad people They were Jews who knew the Old Testament well They wanted to follow the Word of God

The apostolic council And, the Old Testament required circumcision as a sign of the covenant – a sign of belong to God’s people Their problem was that they stood with one foot in Moses’ Law and one foot in Christ’s love And the ground was separating beneath them

They were saying, “you have to have faith in God’s amazing grace, AND The apostolic council They were saying, “you have to have faith in God’s amazing grace, AND

The apostolic council They were saying, “you have to have faith in God’s amazing grace, AND You had to be circumcised

The apostolic council The issue was central for the future of the church To insist on circumcision would have demanded a person to become a Jew before they would be accepted as a Christian And it would have made Christianity a sect of the Jewish religion

The apostolic council But even more important, the issue cut to the central belief of the Christian church On what is our salvation based? Is it based on Christ alone? Is Christ’s death on the cross sufficient or do we also have to follow rules to be saved?

Do we in part make the same sort of mistake today? The apostolic council Do we in part make the same sort of mistake today?

The apostolic council Consider Because people of different faiths are moving to our country, and because the media makes us more aware of what is going on in other parts of the world, we are confronted with more and more religions We can find in some major cities, within a few blocks, a Buddhist temple, a Moslem mosque, a Jewish synagogue, and a Christian church

The apostolic council Consider Do we have the right to say to these people, who are seeking God, that they will not be saved unless they renounce their beliefs and put their faith in Christ alone? Do we have the right to say about salvation that there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved?

The apostolic council Consider Many say no – we cannot say that Many churches are starting to say there are different ways to God Some are saying, “Who are we to say that other religions are wrong?” Do we believe that Christ is necessary for salvation and Christ alone?

The apostolic council Consider Or, is it more subtle Do some say the grace of God is not enough – that to be a Christian – to be saved – there is something extra a person must do: Tithe their 10% Attend church 3 times per week Serve on committees

The apostolic council Importance of this Issue Paul and Barnabas were mature enough spiritually to understand that this position on circumcision impacted a foundational principle of our faith They realized that this issue need to be dealt with So, with the blessing of the church leaders in Antioch, they went to Jerusalem

The apostolic council How the decision was made The series of meeting that followed have been called the Jerusalem Council Notice the procedure The proponents of the circumcision position were permitted to present their position (Acts 15:5) Much debate followed (Acts 15:7) Then Peter stood up and spoke

The apostolic council How the decision was made Peter reminds the council of his own experience with the household of Cornelius Peter had gotten into trouble from the Jerusalem Christians for entering a Gentile house and peaching the gospel But his answer was that if God had made them clean, and that was shown by the fact that the Holy Spirit fell on them, then how could anyone consider them unclean

The apostolic council How the decision was made Peter reminds the council of that, and that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved In Peter’s last statement recorded in Acts, he opens the way for Paul and Barnabas, who tell of the way that God has blessed their mission into Asia Minor

The apostolic council How the decision was made Finally, James, the brother of Jesus, the leader of the Jerusalem church, speaks His conclusion is a wise and Godly compromise based upon his clear reading of Scripture and his understanding of the theology of salvation He quotes from the words of Amos 9 where God says He will restore Israel, at the same time including in it those Gentiles who bear His name

The apostolic council How the decision was made So, the inclusion of the Gentiles is not some divine afterthought, or a mistake by Paul, but part of God’s salvation plan foretold by the prophets Then James concludes, and shows the compromise in stating “we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” (Acts 15:19-20)

The apostolic council The Decision James made it clear what was to be voted upon First, that ANYONE, Jew or Gentile, can be saved Second, was that Jesus ALONE can save

The apostolic council The Decision James made it clear what was to be voted upon First, that ANYONE, Jew or Gentile, can be saved Second, was that Jesus ALONE can save Not Jesus plus baptism Not Jesus plus circumcision Not Jesus plus a holy life Not Jesus plus anything

The Decision We are saved through faith in JESUS ALONE The apostolic council The Decision We are saved through faith in JESUS ALONE

The apostolic council The Decision Notice James’ sensitivity He realized how hard it would be for Jews to worship and fellowship with Gentile believers Although they were now Christians, they still followed Jewish customs written down by Moses The Gentiles were told that they were to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood

The apostolic council The Decision These were not requirements to be saved, but rather a result of their salvation As believers, they were not to take part of sexual immorality This had often been part of their pagan worship before they had become believers To eat food polluted by idols, would be offensive to the Jewish Christians and would easily tempt the Gentiles to idol worship

The apostolic council The Decision The call to not eat meat of strangled animals nor blood is out of respect to the customs of the Jewish Christians The Jerusalem Council affirmed the two statements of doctrine, and the four compromise guidelines

of the Jerusalem Council The apostolic council Application How does the decision of the Jerusalem Council apply to us today?

Application Our Christian Faith The apostolic council Non-Essential Application Our Christian Faith Essential

The apostolic council Essential Those things which we believe that we do not waver on or compromise on Non-Essential Those things which we may reasonably differ on, which we approach in a humble and sensitive to the positions held by others

The apostolic council Communication of Decision The decision was written down so people could not later dispute what was decided The written decision was given to the church – note that Paul and Barnabas went, but also two from the council itself – Judas called Barsabbas and Silas – presented the letter to the church – representing the council, not one side of the issue

The apostolic council The Jerusalem Council Decided that anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved

The apostolic council The Jerusalem Council Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved Jesus alone can save

The apostolic council The Jerusalem Council Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved Jesus alone can save In considering issues within the church, give both sides an opportunity to speak

The apostolic council The Jerusalem Council Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved Jesus alone can save In considering issues within the church, give both sides an opportunity to speak Use the Word of God to guide decision making

The apostolic council The Jerusalem Council Anyone, Jew or Gentile, can be saved Jesus alone can save In considering issues within the church, give both sides an opportunity to speak Use the Word of God to guide decision making Communicate the decision directly to the church

The apostolic council Our Great and Glorious God, Prayer Our Great and Glorious God, Help us to be firm and steadfast in the Essentials of our Christian faith, and to be humble and sensitive to the Non-Essentials impacting the daily lives of other Christians