The Uncompromised Gospel

[ 001 ] Introduction/Welcome

Back in the Spring, we spent a couple Sundays looking at Acts 13 and 14, which recounted the first missionary journey of two early Christians named Paul and Barnabas. [ 002 ] On that trip, they ran into false prophets, preached the word, and performed miracles – even seeing a prominent government official believe the word of God. They taught in synagogues with authority to the point where the people wanted them to stay longer, but the religious leaders were jealous and began to oppose Paul with insults and contradictions, even stoning him at one point and leaving him for dead.

Then last week, we saw Paul and Barnabas return to where they started in Antioch. There they got out the slideshow and reported to the Church what all they had seen and done, about how many Gentiles had turned to Jesus and all of that.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you come back from vacation or a missions trip or something, you’re fired up, you have the cell phone out and you’re whipping through pictures, telling stories and you’re just reliving everything that happened – and then it sort of dawns on you – I don’t think everyone is quite as excited about this as I am. They are yawning, they are just saying hmmm, um, and wow, that’s awesome. 

Well, what’s happening here in Antioch isn’t that the people listening are bored with the stories at all – actually they caught something in the stories and it’s rattled them a little. They apparently decided to call for backups because some dudes from Judea show up to set Paul and Barnabas straight on their storytelling here – look at [ 003 ] verse 1, ready to teach them a little something. “You guys do know that Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved,” right?

Now, if you’re new to the Bible, or new to faith in Jesus, this practice of circumcision actually goes further back than Moses, all the way back to Abraham in Genesis 17. [ 004 ] The customs prescribed by Moses in Leviticus 12 were built on the original covenant made with Abraham, where God had promised to bless and redeem the whole world through Abraham’s family. God’s side of the agreement was to provide the person to carry that out, and Abraham’s side of the agreement was to circumcise every male of his household as a sign of the covenant. 

You can use your own imagination on this, but this was meant to be a daily reminder of the covenant – a daily reminder that they didn’t belong to themselves but belonged to the family of God – his covenant people. It was serious enough that if you decided, nah man, that doesn’t sound like something I’m interested in doing – you had broken the covenant and were cut off from the family of God.

[ 005 ] So, back to Acts 15, “some men from Judea” refers to some men living near Jerusalem, which gives us a clue they are probably some high ups in the religious community, and they are showing up in defense of the law of Moses. 

And in some sense, you can’t blame them. Their whole lives they have been taught that circumcision is the marker that you belong to the people of God. If you don’t want to be cut off from the family of God, then be circumcised. All these Gentiles are starting to believe in Jesus, well, that’s great, we don’t have a problem with it. But if they want to belong to the household of God, I mean, you have some catching up to do – starting with a sharp knife.

Besides that, the law also has dietary requirements. So you should know what those are and obey them. The law also has clean and unclean distinctives. You need to understand what the purification rituals are. Listen, it’s great that Gentiles are believing in Jesus, but if they want to be part of the family, they are going to have to play by the rules – literally. 

And whether you think about this or not, I think it’s easy for some of us to jump on that bandwagon too today. What are those spoken or unspoken things that you are tempted to add to the plan of salvation? 

In the religious culture I grew up in, it was pretty well understood that a person who calls themselves a Christian can’t also smoke cigarettes. I mean that would explode our brains. Or a person can’t be a Christian and use swear words. They can’t be a Christian and drink alcohol, and certainly you can’t be a Christian and be divorced or get a tattoo after you are a Christian. I’m just saying, that’s the culture I grew up in. 

Now, there are definitely issues regarding Christian living in the Bible. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; let no unwholesome talk or crude joking come out of your mouths and so on. So scripture encourages us to have a consistent witness to the world, but those are not requirements for salvation. 

Look at the last four words of verse 1. That’s where these guys from Judea have gone wrong. They are changing the framework of salvation itself. They are saying, if you want to be saved, you need more than Jesus. You need good Christian living or law-keeping as well.

And That didn’t sit well with Paul and Barnabas who had seen firsthand the gospel being received by these Gentiles. There’s no question in their minds that these men and women are saved, circumcised or not. So, [ 006 ] verse 2 …Paul and Barnabas … engaged them in serious argument and debate. We’ll look at that word “debate” in a minute, but the original word that is translated “serious argument” actually means insurrection, riot, or rebellion. So when it says they engaged in “serious argument”, this was not two sides of the table going, “hmm. Interesting point, I see what you’re saying.” 

No, this was two sides almost violently arguing over this situation. I almost get the feeling that Paul was ready to throw fists because these guys were wanting to amend the gospel. And apparently, things got so heated they all decided that they should take this one all the way to the top of the food chain. [ 007 ] So, verse 2, Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this issue, and on the entire trip to Jerusalem, which is about 250-300 miles, [ 008 ] they 3 passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters. 

It always brings joy to hear of someone who has experienced life transformation, right? That’s what is so fun about baptism Sundays – you get to hear those stories of what God has done.  

[ 009 ] 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. [ 010 ] 5 But some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

The Pharisees were the religious conservatives of the day. They were very concerned about Law and order and following it to the letter, maintaining traditions, etc. And while none of that is bad in and of itself, the problem is that they are making it a matter of salvation, saying effectively, these Galatian people or Ephesian people or Samaritan or Syrian or African people have to become Jews in order to belong to God’s family. I underlined it for you in the verse _ it is NECESSARY. 

In their minds, God has always required the law, so these new believers must be circumcised and keep the whole law… in other words, become Jewish. [ 011-1 ] So, 6 The apostles and the elders gathered to consider this matter, and again, verse 7, there was a lot of debate. 

That word in the original language implies more than just two sides arguing with each other, like a Presidential debate that is 90 minutes of your life you’ll never get back. This kind of debate involves searching and conversation and investigation. Likely, these apostles and elders have copies of scripture in front of them that they are poring over. Looking through the law, looking through the prophets, trying to come to some understanding and conclusions here. 

[ 011-2 ] Finally, 7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. Peter is referring to an experience of his that happened about 10 years ago now where this whole “inclusion of the Gentiles” began. In Acts 10, God sent Peter to preach the gospel to a non-Jewish man named Cornelius. Peter says, based on my experience, I know God wants Gentiles to be saved. I was clearly sent to them with the gospel. 

[ 012 ] Secondly, verse 8, God knows the heart. Even in the Old Testament, under the Law of Moses, God always had in mind more than just demanding that his people conform to a certain behavior (in this case, circumcision). God knew all along that a Jew can be physically circumcised yet have a heart that runs after other gods. In Jeremiah 4:4, he tells the Hebrew people to circumcise their hearts – cut off the sin and idolatry that they were involved in and turn to him in repentance and faith. God is never fooled by the external. He knows the heart, and he either welcomes or rejects based on the condition of the heart. God has always wanted his people to have a heart to love, know, and follow Him. 

Thirdly, Peter says, God proved that the Gentiles believe (verse 8) by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. [ 013 ] 9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Peter recalls – I saw Cornelius and his whole family speaking in tongues the same way all of us apostles and disciples did at Pentecost. What Peter can’t shake is that in that Gentile home, “God gave the Spirit without any circumcision being done.” In other words, God saved the Gentiles as Gentiles. He saved the Romans as Romans. He saved the Galatians as Galatians. 

This is such a beautiful truth today. The gospel is not so weak that you have to conform to a certain culture in order for it to be effective. The gospel works in every nation. Every language. Every people group or tribe. That’s the picture we have of heaven in Revelation 7. 

So, Peter’s closing statement is in verse 10. [014 ]  10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 

Two things here.[ 015 ]  1) Peter’s language of testing God refers to people demanding that God intervene in their lives on their terms instead of his. It happened in both the Old and New Testaments. So that’s the first thing Peter infers – we come to God on HIS terms, not our own. And secondly, Peter says, if you’re going to force the Gentiles to keep the whole law of Moses, you’re putting a weight on them that you can’t even carry. You’re asking them to do the impossible.  

God has already proven at Cornelius’ house that he can pour out the Spirit on people who are not circumcised or even remotely interested in keeping the Law of Moses. So don’t turn around now and say that God can only save these Gentiles or enter them into fellowship with us on OUR terms. [ 016 ] And he closes out by reminding these brothers and sisters that 11 … we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.” 

Don’t forget, Peter reminds us all, you were saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus too. For those of us who grew up in the Church, this is something we need to remind ourselves of often. It’s easy to start thinking, you know it’s my years of obedience that made God sit up and take notice. It’s my faithfulness. It’s my steering my life away from serious sin that has me in God’s good graces. 

I came to the realization at almost 30 years old that I was one of these Pharisees. The Lord opened my eyes to show me that my self-righteousness had actually condemned me before God. Only then did I really understand what grace is. 

In Verse 12, Peter sits down, and Barnabas and Paul stand up to give their input, and then in verse 13, another one of the original 12 apostles named [ 017 ] James responded, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon (That is Peter) has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for his name. 

James basically says, you know, Peter is right. And the scriptures we’ve been studying, investigating, researching actually agree with him. And then James pulls up a prophecy from Amos chapter 8 that says [ 018-1 ]  – 16 After these things I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again, [ 018-2 ] 17 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord — even all the Gentiles who are called by my name — declares the Lord who makes these things 18 known from long ago. 

First of all, who is the one taking initiative here in those verses? It’s the Lord, right? I will return. I will rebuild. I will set it up, declares the Lord. James uses that language in his closing statement: God is the one who has intervened now to take from the Gentiles people who are called by his name. James is quoting scripture. 

He goes on – God is going to return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. What does that mean? I will rebuild its ruins and set it up again? Did they manage to find David’s home 1000 years after he died? I’ve seen and set up a lot of tents in my time, and you’re not going to do much with the ruins of a tent. You get a new one. 

AND, once God rebuilds this tent, it opens the door for the rest of humanity to seek the Lord – namely Gentiles! So what in the world could God be talking about that is something that has to do with David, kingship, kingdom, Israel, that gets torn down and ruined, but God himself builds back up? What is it about David that gets destroyed and rebuilt, and when people see it it opens the door to faith – even to Gentiles? 

There’s only one option: It’s the Son of David himself – Jesus Christ. He is the tent of David who was torn down and ruined in the crucifixion. But God himself restored Jesus, and set him up again, not just in bringing him physically back to life, but ascending him to the throne of heaven where he is the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the Name above every other name. 

So James settles this whole matter by quoting the Old Testament, saying in effect, God told us a long time ago that he would intervene in the world in such a way that he would draw even Gentiles to himself. And circumcision isn’t mentioned. He has drawn them to himself  through Jesus. Peter, Paul and Barnabas have witnessed it firsthand, and there is no question that the Gentiles didn’t need anything more than faith in Jesus to be saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. 

But, since there will need to be some understanding from both sides on how Gentiles and Jews start to worship together and interact with each other, James has found some additional things in Leviticus that will help us learn to worship together. Let’s not, verse 19, make things more difficult or complicated than necessary, but start here:

• [ 019 ] Stay away from things polluted by idols – specifically food. Gentiles, don’t be showing up to community group with a casserole that was blessed by or offered to a pagan god. That’s going to be pretty offensive. But more than that, you must cut ties with whatever else you have worshiped and worship only Yahweh. 

• [ 020 ] Stay away from sexual immorality – Temple prostitution was very common among pagan religions in those days, but again you’re leaving that world behind. Don’t bring that expectation of worship with you to church, and keep your relationships holy. 

• [ 021 ] Stay away from eating anything that has been strangled – This again is a food consideration. Not agreeing to this would have Gentiles bringing raw steaks to the potluck, and Jews would be grossly offended because they weren’t supposed to eat anything with blood in it. You get Gentiles with blood on their plates or on their hands and Jews are like, ugh, no thank you. So Gentiles, kill your meat in such a way that the blood gets drained, because to the Jews, blood represents life and atonement. 

• [ 022 ] And stay away from all other blood. 

With all of that said, [ 023 ] verse 21, if you have any questions about where we’re coming up with this, or why these are a big deal, we’ll be reading the books of Moses …in every city [on] every Sabbath day… in [all] the synagogues.” You’ll gain a lot more clarity on the issues of idolatry, sexual immorality, and blood as you continue to worship with us and become more and more familiar with the scriptures. James and the others agree to trust the Holy Spirit to do the work of sanctification in these Gentiles’ lives, and not feel the need to legislate certain behaviors inside the church.

[ 024 blank ] Basically this whole discussion boils down to this: Salvation is not “Jesus +” something else, no matter how spiritual that other thing is. Jesus alone is the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through him. Peter said it well in verse 10 that none of us have been able to meet God’s standards for holiness and obedience, except one. Jesus lived perfectly, which means he died innocently. When he died for sins, they were not his own. They were ours. And then God raised him to life, and returned him to his throne in heaven far above any other ruler or power or authority, so that you and I could walk in the newness of life as we are filled with the very presence and power of Jesus. 

That is something that is possible in every nation on earth. It can be preached or sung about or read in every language. You don’t have to conform to a certain set of cultural practices in order to be saved. You are saved into a multicultural, multiracial, multilingual Jesus family, and as we saw today it’s important to be considerate of the others in the family of God – especially when it comes to issues that aren’t essential to salvation.

We’ll see how this all played out next week, but for now, I think this is a beautiful description of how to handle conflict in the church between two groups who think about things very differently…. Especially in our churches today. 

What if someone believes that every believer should speak in tongues, and someone else says they don’t believe that gift is still in existence? Or maybe one person grew up in a culture where the Holy Spirit leads through carefully ordered plans, and another person grew up in a church culture where everything was spontaneous? What if someone grew up in a church culture where church was one hour and done, and someone else grew up with the expectation that church goes till the Holy Spirit is done with us for the day, whenever that might be? What do you do with those kinds of differences in the church?  

It would have probably been much easier for the Jerusalem church to say, you know what circumcision guys? Why don’t you start your own denomination? And we’ll start a Gentile denomination. Then you guys can practice circumcision over here and no one will force these new folks to do it over there. This way we’re all happy. 

But for Peter, James, and Paul, it wasn’t about making people happy. It was about protecting the simplicity of the gospel. It was about not making belonging to this new Jesus family more complicated than it really was. It was about making sure that no human efforts, no matter how well-intentioned, were added to the story of grace through faith in Jesus. 

[ 025 ] Conflict in the church is to be expected. It’s the beauty of the gospel, honestly, that God brings together people who would never hang out with each other under any other circumstances, and unites them in Christ - even though they see things differently, or they express worship differently. And I think this section of Acts is a beautiful illustration of how to handle these kinds of conflicts that can become heated. 

First, they trusted each other’s experience enough that when Peter and Paul both say they’ve seen Gentiles come to faith, they believed them. And then took to the scriptures to find their answers.

Secondly, they agreed that if someone says you have to be circumcised in order to be saved, they have compromised the gospel. True today: If a church says you have to be a member of that particular church or denomination in order to be saved, they have compromised the gospel. If a church says you have to dress a certain way, act a certain way, or vote a certain way in order to be saved, they have compromised the gospel. 

James’ decision is clear: Salvation is about receiving and relying only on the grace of God for forgiveness and salvation. 

Thirdly, being united through Christ into Christian fellowship means that we have to have grace for each other in the differences that are not central to the truth of salvation, as one of the ways we express love for one another. 

So let’s ask ourselves a few questions today: where are you tempted to add something to salvation? Yes it’s great that person now has faith in Jesus, but she should also ________ if she wants to be saved. 

Are you in conflict with anyone right now in this church? Maybe it’s conflict over a style of worship, or theological differences or preferences or certain beliefs. If so, how can you defer to that person in love without compromising the gospel? How can you disagree on specifics but still remain unified in Christ? 

Is there someone in your life where, like the Pharisees, you are tempted to do the Holy Spirit’s work for Him? You are trying to speed up someone else’s sanctification because the Holy Spirit is moving a little too slow for you? Where can you let go of some control there, and trust God to work his own will in his own perfect timing? 

I’ll give you a minute to pray and then the band will lead us out.