128. Beginner Bible Course: The Jerusalem Council - Acts 15

EPISODE 128:  THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL, INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS

We're up in a good conservative religious home with a family who really wanted to please God. And I went to a church filled with similar kinds of families. This was the sixties and seventies to this day, my siblings and I joke about the seven things we learned. Christians shouldn't do drink, smoke, dance, play cards, go to movies, have sex or tell dirty jokes. Some of you older people listening, who grew up like me are smiling right now. The goal of my parents and others in our little church full of good people, trying to please, God was this live a good life is a good witness for Jesus. But all too often, the seven things Christian shouldn't do morphed into the seven things Christians won't do that is if they really are Christians.

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If the difference between seven things, Christians shouldn't do, and seven things, Christians won't do sound subtle. It really isn't one. Our attempts at God honoring behavior and the other is conditions to be God honors at all. If you took any of these good people in my little church aside and pin them down one by one, you could make some progress. You could ask them, can you smoke? And still go to heaven. They would probably reply. Well, your body is the temple of the Holy spirit. Smoking harms that temple. You shouldn't do it, but if you press them, could a Christian have an occasional cigar? Like maybe when someone has a baby dads actually used to do that.

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When you had babies back before the flood, when I was born, they might stand there pondering. Then you might press them. What about Charles Spurgeon? He was one of history's most powerful pastors and preachers. He loved a good cigar. Will you meet Charles Spurgeon in heaven? They'd probably cave smoking as something Christians probably shouldn't do, but can and still be Christians. Or how about drinking? If I asked one of these dear people, can you drink and go to heaven again? They might say the Bible says don't be drunk with wine that's dissipation. They might further press fully devoted people in the Bible were Nazarites and they didn't touch alcohol. But when you remind them, Hey, even Jesus, wasn't a Nazarite.

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And Oh, that first miracle that turning 180

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Gallons of water into vintage wine.

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What do you say about that? Or maybe even press further. Did you know this Sunday, somewhere in Germany, a genuine Jesus loving group of people will have a church, potluck, supper, and tap a keg. They may hesitate, but they'd agree. Those people really could be Christians. What are the things Christians shouldn't do? And what are the things you can't do and really be Christian. That's the situation we encounter in acts chapter 15. Well-meaning Jesus followers came up with their things. Christians can't do list. That is if they really want to be Christians, to be more specific, some good devout well-intended Jews.

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Those who had been farracies come to Antioch from Jerusalem and proclaim, unless you are circumcised. According to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved a Christ follower, a Christian they're essentially saying this faith only in Jesus and his work on the cross was not enough to equal salvation. Their equation was faith in Jesus. Plus circumcision equals salvation. X 15 tells us Paul and Barnabas had a vigorous debate with these men from Jerusalem. It doesn't tell us what Paul said. We can fill in his blanks from his letters.

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Here are just five things. I bet he said first. He was once one of these well-intended, but misinformed rule, keeping chore doing Pharisees. Second, he just witnessed Gentiles coming to Jesus in droves, as evidenced by being baptized with the helper, the Holy spirit, when they believed in Jesus as Messiah and Lord. Now they were being told faith in Jesus was not enough. It had to be Jesus plus the right of circumcision. Third. I'm sure he pointed out to these Jews. The Jews hadn't even kept the circumcision part, perhaps citing the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness when they hadn't circumcised their own children, generation two, not a single one of them.

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And now you're pushing this on Gentiles. Fourth, this old Testament lawyer couldn't help, but point out they were directly contradicting their own scripture. The old Testament, I bet Genesis 50 and six came up and Abraham believed God and God counted it to him for righteousness. I'll bet. He mentioned it was 14 years later in Genesis 17, that Abraham was even told to be circumcised. And he may have added Moses 10 commandments came 400 years after that. How on earth could you think God would require Gentiles to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved?

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God didn't even ask Abraham to do that. And I bet he got around to this. If you add anything to faith in Jesus, that Jesus is not enough. You're contradicting Jesus. When he said on the cross, it is paid in full whatever Paul said, there was a great dissension and vigorous debate. This had to be taken up the food chain to the apostles in Jerusalem. Luke tells us the church in Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem sent nothing. Bile. Camels would not have kept Paul away from this one on the way there as if to rub salt in the wounds, Paul and Barnabas visit Phoenicia and Syria all the way, proclaiming what God had done among the Gentiles, winning more Gentiles with their faith in Jesus.

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Plus nothing equals salvation gospel equation. When they get to Jerusalem, they give a full report to the apostles of what God is doing. But these men who had come to Antioch, the ones who'd come from this Pharisee background stand up and insist. It is necessary to circumcise them and have them keep the law of Moses. You can't be a Christian, a Christ follower, unless you do these things. These two parties go nose to nose in the council of Jerusalem. Over this critical issue is the gospel equation. Faith in Jesus, equal salvation or faith in Jesus plus equals salvation.

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If you're a history buff, this is essentially Martin Luther's issue with the Catholic church. The issue that led to the division of the church into Catholic and Protestant camps. After a long debate, Peter gets up to provide some direction. I got sent by God to Cornelius, the Gentile, they heard the gospel went all in on Jesus and God gave them the Holy spirit. You got to believe that means they were saved just by their belief in Jesus as Messiah and Lord, why would God put a distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles? We both have clean hearts by faith in Jesus. Don't we all believe we're saved through the grace of the Lord.

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Jesus Christ. Why would we put on the Gentiles, a yoke, a burden, a Jesus plus that we Jews couldn't even bear them. James stands up. This is not James. The disciple, the brother of John. This is James, the brother of Jesus. He's now moved up in the pecking order. James is now the leader of the church in Jerusalem though. Peter is in the council. James is now the man James cites the prophet Amos. The word of the Lord had come through Amos that God would rebuild the tabernacle of David. So that all mankind and the Gentiles who are called by his name could seek the Lord.

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Then James says this, let me make a proposal. We tell the Gentiles, you don't have to be circumcised. It's faith in Christ alone, but here are three things. We're going to say good Gentile. Christians shouldn't do one fornication to being contaminated by idle things and three, the blood of animals. We need to break that down. The old Testament was crystal clear. Sex was meant for one man and one woman glued together in a covenant relationship. So when James suggests Gentiles avoid fornication, he's probably not talking about sex outside of marriage.

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That was just clear. He's likely referring to the old Testament law about sex in marriage, between close relatives. The very thing John, the baptizer addressed with Herod and his brother's wife. Herodians, there's a joke about, you know, you're a redneck. If you go to your family reunions to pick up a date that wasn't much of a joke in that culture, it happened a lot. And it was very offensive to Jewish people. As for idle contaminated things. He's saying things like food. Here's what would happen. Meat in the marketplace might come from sacrifices to false gods.

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They'd probably even label that in their meat case, you know, and raise the price. This is special meat. That was extremely offensive to Jewish people. They'd never buy that. James is saying Gentiles, don't buy and eat. That it's extremely offensive to Jewish people. And that leads us to blood all the way through the old Testament. God had said, don't eat meat with the blood drain. The blood, the life of the flesh is in the blood blood is the symbolic bandaid or covering for our sin. They had very specific ways of keeping meat that was going to be eaten. Kosher.

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Bloodless. James is saying Gentile believers, please don't order your steaks rare so that your Jewish brothers and sisters have to see that bleeding out on your plate. James comes up with these three offensive things that Gentile Christ followers shouldn't do. Now here again, we've got to be really careful. Paul was smart enough to know this was risky. He knew Jews and Gentiles could end up changing these three things. Christ followers shouldn't do two, three things. Christ followers can't do and be Christ followers. So in his letters, he's constantly making these things clear.

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His salvation, Jesus plus not eating animals rare. Nope. His salvation Jesus plus not marrying a two near relative. Nope. His salvation not eating food. That's first been offered to idols. Nope. So why are they taking the risk? The same reason my dear well-intended church friends were doing in the sixties. Some behaviors of Christ followers are so offensive to some people in a culture that God wants to reach with the gospel. We decide to avoid these behaviors. I give my students an example, pretend you get a new youth pastor. Let's say it's a lady. You come to the church to meet pastor Susie for the first time she's outside to greet you.

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And she's having a cigarette. I asked the students, what would you think they reply? Oh man, that would be kind of hard to see. I press them on that. They say things like, I wonder what else she does that I don't see. I think my parents might worry about what other things she might do in front of us or behind the scenes. I press them to smoking mean pastor Susie is not a Christ follower. They usually agree. No doesn't necessarily mean that. So I asked, do you think it would be appropriate for her church board who hired her to make a rule? We ask our pastors not to smoke or at least ever smoke in public so that parents will trust them more.

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And they will be a better influence to the kids. They usually say, yeah, that would be appropriate back to our council. James wraps up by saying every Sabbath across the Roman empire, good Jews who loved God assembled to read from the law of Moses. These good Jews think keeping the law is essential to be right with God. We have to reach them with the good news through Jesus. It's finished, paid in full it's, the new covenant in his blood. So let's not alienate them from listening to this gospel by offending them before we can even share it. Luke reports, this decision seemed good to the council and the Holy spirit.

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This is a pretty big deal in historical decision. And by God's spirit, they come to a reasonable compromise. They write a letter and choose to have their representatives Judas and Silas sending a letter with them back to Antioch. Please read that letter in acts 15. Here's the cliff note version Gentiles, no circumcision. It's Jesus plus nothing equals salvation. However, as leaders we ask you to do three things, avoid idle things, avoid the blood of animals and avoid fornication. The messengers and letter arrive when it's red, the Gentiles rejoice Judas is set back to Jerusalem and Silas decides to remain with Paul and Barnabas building up the Christians in Antioch.

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And that's what they do. Paul and Barnabas continue to teach the believers, but something else happens with Paul. He gets a message from the churches in Glacia Antioch of <inaudible> I conium LR and Derby the area of his first missionary journey. It's this same Jerusalem issue. Jesus plus circumcision and keeping the law equal salvation issue all over again. Men like the men who came down from Jerusalem are going all over these towns, teaching these baby Christians, faith in Jesus alone is not enough. It's not even close. So Paul picks up his pen and he writes a masterful defense of grace, a letter to the Galatians in my class, we call it Grayslake oceans.

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We're going to look at that letter next, but before we do, we should talk briefly about the letters, the third clump of literature in the new Testament. Here's a very quick start-up guide to the letters. There are 21 of them in the new Testament from Romans to Jude letters were a very common form of instruction in a way to teach doctrine. At this time, these letters are mostly written to churches. The some to individuals, such as pastors who lead churches, some of these letters were intended to be read by one church, but then passed on to other churches. Litters were normally dictated to professional scribes while the four gospels introduce the savior and acts describes the spread of the salvation.

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He brought the letters, explain how to apply the salvation. Jesus brought to our daily lives because of this nearly all doctrine applying to us is found in these letters over half of which are written by Paul letters are literature that should be interpreted literally we're definitions matter sentence and argument structure matters because of this letters are some of the most difficult passages to understand. Part of the difficulty is an answering. The question is this passage in teaching descriptive or prescriptive? If you haven't listened to episode 12, please go back and do so before the next episode, these 21 letters were written by Paul James, Peter, John, and Jude.

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One of these letters is mysterious. Hebrews. We'll talk about that. When, when we get there of the writers, Paul is the toughest one to follow. Even Peter agrees. He says, Paul is deep and hard to understand. That's a brief introduction to the letters. Now we're going to look at the first one written right around the time of the Jerusalem council, 49 or 58, the letter to the Galatians, perhaps the earliest new Testament book. It's both incredible and essential both then and today. And we'll examine it in our next wordpicture.