3. Who should be a part of the church?
The big controversy:
Who should be a part of the church?
Who gets in?
And how?

4. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Matthew 5:17 (NIV)

5. The ongoing tension:
Truth & Grace

6. Is surgery required for salvation?
Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."
Acts 15:1 (NIV)

7. Moses first, then Jesus?!
This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.
V. 2a

8. We need a “meeting”:
So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
V. 2b

9. Gentiles are being saved!
The good report:
Gentiles are being saved!
The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
Vv. 3-4

10. The “surgical” opposition:
Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."
 V. 5

11. Peter testifies:
The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them:  
"Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.”
V.7

12. We should not reject those whom God accepts:
“God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.”  
Vv. 8-9

13. A great question:
“Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?”  
v. 10

14. A clear & core doctrine of the church:
“No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
V. 11

15. “God can purify your heart, BEFORE you purify your life.”
A true principle:
“God can purify your heart, BEFORE you purify your life.”
-Andy Stanley

16. James concludes:
"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”  
V. 19

17. Call off the surgeon, but…
“…we should write to them, telling them to abstain from…
(1) …food polluted by idols,
(2)…sexual immorality
(3)… the meat of strangled animals
(4)…blood.”
V. 20

18. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
Whew!
The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 
Acts 15:31

19. 1) The drift towards insiders and away from outsiders.
Three drifts to avoid:
1) The drift towards insiders and away from outsiders.

20. 1) The drift towards insiders and away from outsiders.
Three drifts to avoid:
1) The drift towards insiders and away from outsiders.
Solution: BE BOLD!

21. 2) The drift toward law and away from grace.
Three drifts to avoid:
2) The drift toward law and away from grace.

22. Three drifts to avoid: 2) The drift toward law and away from grace.
Solution: Have more CONVERSATIONS & fewer CATEGORIES/POLICIES!

23. 3) The drift toward preserving rather than advancing.
Three drifts to avoid:
3) The drift toward preserving rather than advancing.

24. Three drifts to avoid:
3) The drift toward preserving rather than advancing.
Solution: Keep moving FORWARD & OUTWARD!

25. Three commitments: Let’s be BOLD!
Let’s always err on the side of GRACE!
Let’s always take the RISK!