Acts 15:1-35, What’s Required?

Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council on Salvation by Grace

Acts chapter 15 be reading verses 1 to 35 hear the word of the Lord. 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.

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 that this question.

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 when they came to Jerusalem.

They were welcomed by the church and the Apostles of the elders and they declared all that God had done with them. 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.

The Apostles of the elders were gathered together to consider this matter 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 and God who knows the heart bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and he made no Distinction between us and them having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Now therefore Why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have? been able to bear but we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus just as they will.

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 after they finished speaking. James replied brothers.

Listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name and With this the words of the prophets agreed just as it is written. After this I will return and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen.

I will rebuild the 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. Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.

But should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him for he is read in every Sabbath in the synagogues.

Then it seemed good to the Apostles and the elders in the whole church. To choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barthas of us and Silas leading men among the brothers with the following letter.

The brothers both the Apostles and the elders to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words unsettling your minds.

Although we gave them no instructions. It has seemed good to us having come to one accord to choose men and send them to you with with our beloved Barnabas and Paul men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have therefore sent Judas and Silas who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements that you abstain from what has been Sacrificed to idols and from blood and for what has been strangled and from sexual immorality if you keep yourselves from these You will do well farewell.

So when they were sent off they went down to Antioch and having gathered the congregation together they delivered the letter and when they and when they read it they rejoiced because of its encouragement and Judas and Silas who were themselves prophets encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words and After they had spent some time they were sent off in peace to those who had sent them.

But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord with many others also. I mean the Lord has blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. What do you want to do something?

Maybe you're put off by the requirements. You're required to pay a fee or get a certification. Take a class pass a test. If you want to drive a license is required. If you want to be an athlete well working out is required.

If if you want to run a business a lot of hard work is going to be required. If You want to know something, you know anything whatever it is, maybe the Bible some study is required. What's required to get what you want.

I Spent a lot of my life taking classes and usually before signing up for one. I want to know what's required. And you're gonna have to write a paper for this or you got to know something else. Some classes come with prerequisites that is other classes that you have to take before taking this one.

You can't take advanced Greek until you've taken basic Greek or pass the Greek competency test. Many things come with requirements. So are there there things that you you want to do? Maybe I'm not sure you want them to do you want to do it except, you know, you're not sure the requirements.

Maybe you want to get a degree. Or pursue a career, but you're not sure you want to do what is what what is required to get it? I chose to get a PhD in the Puritans and Puritanism probably because I like the Puritans.

But also partly by process of elimination from all the theological fields, you know I figured my language skills weren't good enough. I didn't think to specialize in the Old Testament. Did you have to not only master Hebrew you probably end up having to study?

Some ancient other other ancient Middle Eastern languages like Aramaic or Akkadian. Not not for me. Can't do that. There were I thought too many other people specializing in New Testament. PhD in systematic theology would also require Latin and Probably having actually to use German.

And besides that I'm not interested in philosophical theology that that left in church history. I love Luther, but I knew German and Latin was too hard for me. So it's seemed obvious. Why not study people who wrote mostly in English and there were such a people so.

Even if with even if they wrote it with a lot of these and thous and a funny script in which the which the S's look like F's. But after a while you can you can learn how to master that. I still had an I had to study enough German to pass A test barely, but I I was able to get by most of the requirements.

I thought I could survive them and I and I did. What about for you? What's required for what you want to do. Maybe right now it's just going on a vacation and what's required is money. Oh, you know what how to solve that problem or whether you can solve that problem.

Maybe you think you what you really require the requirement that drives you every day. Is that that requirement for money? You think cash will solve your problems because with it you'll be able to get whatever else it is.

You require that vacation, you know, the beachside hotel dinners out the transportation a chartered boat. You know, whatever you want, but if you think that's all you require. You think it's just money.

No, you're you're an empty person. You'll find you require a lot more than what can be bought. All of us will work will encounter a problem. Eventually, we have it already that money can't solve. Maybe some untreatable health problem that it really doesn't matter how rich you are.

You can be Steve Jobs founder of Apple. Get get diagnosed with a kind of cancer and modern medicine still doesn't have anything all the money in the world. You can't buy anything for medicine that will cure you if we live long enough we'll run into that ultimate untreatable problem age.

That the only thing that could take care of it is a miracle your money or the money of your insurance company. Won't solve that problem. What's required? For your relationships. Maybe to be understanding to be caring to not make it all about you.

Not so selfish. What do you require? You require besides food housing clothing. Good relationships. Is there something more than that? Well a vital first step to anything you do anything you want really to life itself is to know.

What is required?

What Is Required to Be Right With God?

What about God?

What's required From him what's required to know him to be right with him to have him on your side to have him favorable to you. To have him where you're in his family. He doesn't hate you. He's not angry with you.

Well, you don't have to fear judgment from him now many people today just assume that we are already in that condition and we already don't have to fear him. And then we you Know we just don't have to worry about anything.

We'll go to heaven and we're almost everyone goes. That we don't need anything. We're just kind of all we're all God's children. It's kind of attitude prominent today. It's not the kingdom of God. Some say it's it's the kingdom of God.

Like we're all God's family someone who someone made that up who thought he was being clever. Many today believe we don't need to be saved from anything really except for maybe our poor self-esteem. But the Bible teaches that we are Dead in sin that we are by nature.

Children of wrath. In Ephesians chapter 2 think of that phrase we are by nature. That means that's what we're born into. That's who we are children of wrath. That means we are in the natural condition.

We are as we are as natural sinners in which every inclination of our heart is only evil all the time. Then we are by nature people who deserve God's wrath is angry punishment. Which we deserve by who we are for God is judged to be furious at us.

That's a pretty bad condition to be born into. Well what's required to get out of that. Paul begins his description of the gospel in the book of Romans by saying that now the wrath of God is being revealed.

So seemed like a strange way from many people think that's a strange way to begin talking about the gospel. The wrath of God is being revealed with the wrath of God is being revealed in the gospel because the gospel the good news Comes to us first telling us that we are sinners.

So we'll understand our condition. We are by nature children of wrath that Adams one trespass in his trip one trespass. We were condemned and made sinners. It comes to us the gospel does first telling us the bad news of our needs our desert that we are deserving wrath that will be it so that we'll be aware of our sinfulness and.

So we'll cry out, you know have mercy Lord. And so that will search for and grasp desperately at the good news. Where we'll find the requirement. Yes, something is required. To be right with God. We're not born naturally right with him.

Something's required to get right with him to escape the the fury of His judgment against us. Well, what is it? And we see that here in three major parts the problem the conference and finally the letter.

The False Requirement of Circumcision and Law-Keeping

What's the problem? So they're just the first five verses but the weight of the sermon will be on those first five verses. The problem is in the first five verses that some people think that they that they know what is required.

They are sure that they have the requirements. They're certain they got it from God and They're wrong. What makes them so certain is that they got the requirements they think kind of by what they assume from from the Bible.

They they said in verse 1 unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved. That is you have to become a Jew. Signified for men anyway by the mark of circumcision. Jesus was in their minds for just for the Jews.

And so if you wanted to benefit from him. You wanted the eternal life that he gives if you wanted to be saved and escape the wrath to come then you had to be converted to become a Jew first and Then a Christian Jew, maybe they said that you could do at the same time, I guess but you know get the point.

You had to become basically become Jewish. Jesus is for the Jews, but you absolutely had to be circumcised. It's the mark of the Covenant and you had to keep all the law of Moses the Sinai Covenant. That means no pork.

Sorry, you cannot have that ham. We'll be serving later. No shrimp. You must rest on the Sabbath day. Do your best to keep those 612 laws so that you can be saved by Jesus. The salvation wasn't then by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

It required you to to add to it some religious work that came from you. Now that's a big problem verse 2 says that Paul and Barnabas had. Like the way he puts us no small dissension and debate with them.

That's that's that's Luke's nice way of saying. They had a very severe probably loud hot argument with these people. Notice that in verse 1 that Luke calls these people. You know, you didn't call it brothers or disciples like when he's talking about Christians.

He just said some men. So he won't even endorse that these people who are saying this are true believers. We can see why in the book of Galatians. You know Paul's book of a letter to the Galatians that was probably written at this exact time.

I did I think I Think it makes no sense that if Galatians have been written after this that Paul would not have mentioned the conference here. So it seems apparent that Galatians is written at about this time.

To the probably to this well into this churches that Paul and Barnabas had planted in the previous two chapters of Acts. About these same kinds of men who are going around saying this that you know. Unless you're circumcised according to look at some of Moses.

You cannot be saved. Paul is in Galatians is responding. You want to hear his side of this? There's no small dissension in our argument in debate. Read the book of Galatians, right? That's Paul's side of it.

And There he says in the book of Galatians that if you add works to salvation even the biblical work of circumcision. That is you do it thinking that through doing it you have fulfilled a requirement to get to God to get grace.

Then he says in reality Christ is of no benefit to you in Galatians chapter 5 verse 2.

Think of that.

One side is saying here unless you are circumcised. You cannot be saved. And Paul is saying if you accept circumcision Christ will be of no advantage to you. In other words, not only is it not a requirement for salvation It's actually a disqualifier.

For salvation that is as long as you put your trust in it. For salvation that you think it's the essential ingredient something you had to add to it. Your your trust is at least in part on that that thing that right that ritual that what you've done.

Paul says Christ is no no benefit to you.

You.

Can't add to him can add to what Christ has done. So that's why the two sides had no small dissension in debate. Speaking of a debate last week. I took part in a debate kind of on the doctrine of original sin.

It was an interesting experience. Original sin is the theological term. I don't I don't really care about trying to define theological terms. What it describes is at the heart of the difference that we evangelical Christians are really just Christians of all kinds not just Calvinist.

But all kinds of Christians have with the group that I was debating a group that calls itself by a good name. It's really excellent name. You want to choose a name for a church? They got the best probably one of the best names the Church of Christ.

There's variations among them. Some are much closer to being to being evangelical but many maybe most of them Believe that we're not depraved at all we're born just for innocent and free like Adam and so that we can freely choose to obey God and if but if we do happen to sin.

Which everyone does except for Christ which seems to me Christ the last Adam. It seems to me that's kind of amazing that you think at least a few people. You know, even if it's hard kind of like running the four-minute mile, you know.

There's a few rare people who can do it. But after billions of people you think if we're really all born innocent. Somebody would manage to make it through life and be sinless, but no one no one ever seems to do it.

But anyway, but if we do sin and then we need to have those sins that we managed to fall into. Even though we're born innocent supposedly washed away. Well, then we can sort of a plan B I guess be baptized.

Baptism doesn't display salvation in their theology. It actually saves in that way of describing things. Baptism becomes a work. That it's a requirement that we do to gain salvation right, we're not saved until we get baptized because it is they say an Absolute requirement, of course as we saw in Acts chapter 10 Cornelius and his people were believed.

They were saved and they they manifested the gifts of the Holy Spirit before they were baptized. So Those people are wrong by making baptism a requirement for salvation. Like like the men here were making circumcision of requirement.

They say that salvation is not by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone. They claim salvation is by by works and you know, however, then they maybe say maybe he does 99 of the work. But we got to add that 1 of our little something but it's still a work.

We're still depends ultimately on something we do they will deny by that. That's a work. That is a requirement for people.

The.

And they'll whatever there are you they'll always come up with their argument saying this it's not a technically a work. And maybe they'll say well works are come from tradition works come from religion.

Works are man-made but but baptism is what God requires. They said so it's not it's not a work. Well, yeah, you're just redefining changing the definition of the of work. The men from Judea here could say the same thing about circumcision.

Isn't it in the Bible? Are you saying that we can disobey God's law? And be right with God you could you can probably understand you could probably pretty much Understand what their arguments were probably something like that.

We got to obey his law. How can we say we believe him if we're disobeying his law the Sinai Covenant? It's but that's of course untrue. It's a mark of the old covenant to set a nation apart from the world around them and the new covenant.

It's a new heart that is supposed to mark us apart from the world around us. It's not a mark on the flesh. It's a change in the heart. God graciously gives us a new heart taking out that old stone cold dead one that we were born with.

Gives us a living fleshly heart. That's alive to him that responds to him. And we show that we have experienced that new life that we've died to the old the what died to the old and we've been raised with Christ.

And to a new life we show that by being baptized. But baptism is a sign of that new life. It's not the thing that makes the new life happen. What makes it happen is Christ if our faith is in our baptism.

Or whatever they want to describe it. It's our baptism plus Christ. It's in Christ, but you gotta add baptism to it whatever however, they say it if. That's the case then as Paul said in reality Christ is of no benefit to us.

We're trusting in a work something we can do we can fool ourselves.

It's not really a work.

But I work as anything that arises ultimately from us that we trust in for our salvation. That we think that we must do to maybe to activate salvation Christ plus nothing. Equals salvation Christ plus anything.

Any work equals no salvation equals damnation. Well just this past week I've encountered people online saying that we must obey the dietary laws of the Old Testament. So so again, we can't have the pork.

We can't have the ham. No pork no shrimp or whatever else was forbidden in the Old Testament that that is a requirement. The kosher laws of eating our requirement for being right with God for living in a way that is pleasing to him.

Maybe for heaven itself for some of them. It's in the Bible. They say. They'll say that Peter's vision of Acts chapter 10 with a sheep coming down with all kinds of animals on it was just about people.

Not the actual animals in the vision. It doesn't have anything to do with food. It really doesn't make any sense. Does it to use an analogy or symbol of this not true? Of the analogy itself.

You know.

It doesn't make any sense to use an analogy or symbol for a greater truth. That's not true of the analogy or symbol. Understand what I'm saying if I say. Just like I could go out and flap my arms and fly home.

So too you can overcome your problems. You'll think you'll think wait. You make any sense. You can't flap your arms and fly home. So, you know, it doesn't communicate any great truth for analogies to work.

They have to be true. So if not, all foods are now clean as in Peter's vision. Then the analogy have now all people are acceptable to God is not true either. So well, they'll say that the phrase The Jesus says in Mark chapter 7 verse 19.

Alright, so actually interpreting what Jesus says where G where Jesus declared all foods clean. They claim that that's not in the earliest manuscripts. You say that's why it's in parentheses. You don't know what they're talking about.

They're wrong. It's that's not what parentheses mean. It is in the earliest manuscripts. Putting in parentheses is just an editorial choice of the translators. No, it's not an indicator whether it was in the earliest manuscripts.

Someone tried to tell me this past week that it wasn't in the important early manuscript called Sinaiticus. And I learned something this week and he attached a link to it to Apparently to prove his point assuming I guess that I couldn't read Greek and.

I.

Clicked on it and I looked at it. And in fact the phrase All foods cleansed is in it. Contrary to what he says, I guess he couldn't read Greek. That's my response back to him. Obviously, you can't read Greek.

They'll say that when Paul says in first Timothy chapter 4 that that God created all foods to be received. Thankfully that food Only means clean food. That's that's their way around that so it's you know food clean according to the law so pork and shrimp.

Because they're unclean don't actually qualify as food. Okay, that's just that's just ridiculous. Really? That's that's this that's this sophisticated PhD term for that is ridiculous. When he says all created things are good for food that in that passage at first Timothy 4 He says that all created things now our pigs created our shrimps created.

Yes. All right. Then their food even that before even before the dietary laws as Noah came out of the ark in Genesis chapter 9 verse 3 God said that he had given everything that moves. Do pigs move to shrimp move?

Yes given everything that moves this food the dietary laws I only come later with the Sinai Covenant with Moses. They're temporary there for Israel to mark them as a holy people is set apart now what should mark us as holy people.

It's not not eating pork. It is walking in the spirit. It's the fruit of the spirit. It's love joy. Peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control. So don't overeat the pork. But the lesson from all this nonsense is that religious people?

Will look desperately.

For something To have faith in except for only trusting your Christ. You think it would be just great easy news to say you're free from the law. You've except you're accepted by grace. Alone through faith alone in Christ only think people just love that but they don't they want something that they can show off that They've done.

Something in their hands they can bring to show to God. Look what I've done that makes me acceptable. Look at this requirement that I fulfilled. Something they can stand on. Something in their hands to bring to God so they can boast about it so they'll put their faith in their religion and their circumcision like these people here or their baptism or they're keeping the dietary laws or That their so-called Church Calls itself the true church or that are they put their faith in their family or their morality or if they're reformed.

They'll put it in their finely-tuned theology. But none of those things are requirements for salvation indeed. If you try to add any of them to Christ, then Christ will be of no advantage to you. Christ plus nothing equals salvation.

Christ plus anything Equals damnation. That's why this issue caused no small dissension and debate so Paul is Fired up. We know that from Galatians, right? You read Galatians, you know how fired up he is.

He's saying if you accept circumcision Christ will be of no advantage to you. He's saying that this is a false gospel. It's another gospel and if anyone preaches this let him be eternally condemned. I don't care if an angel comes down from heaven saying what these guys are saying.

Let him be damned to hell. That's that's what that's what Paul's saying. That's why there's no small dissension in debate he along with Barnabas and some of the others are chosen to go to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles and elders there and get it a judgment an official verdict about this now not that Paul Would have settled for a compromise on the issue when he we know he would not have.

No matter what how it came out of this conference. We know that from Galatians. Well, the church in Antioch is behind Paul. That's why they send him to Jerusalem and on their way up from Antioch which up in the north up in Syria down to Jerusalem.

They passed through what we would now call Lebanon through now. What's Part of northern Israel and they visit all the churches there. Telling their stories about their missionary journey, which we've read about in chapters 13 and 14.

You remember the mission magician bar Jesus and Cyprus who tried to oppose them and struck blind but all the miracles the stoning the opposition that through many afflictions We must enter the kingdom of God.

But most especially about all the Gentiles the non-jewish people all these kind of different ethnic groups. Streaming into the church being saved and not being circumcised being born again exhibiting the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but still Going to get ham to for lunch after church eating shrimp going to the checkered pig for barbecue putting their faith in Christ plus nothing and.

That news brought great joy in verse 3 to the believers in those churches, but when they made it to Jerusalem. There they're welcomed by the church the Apostles and the elders. There's the leaders of the church and they they told these same stories that God is saving the Gentiles without them being circumcised.

That is without them converting to Judaism first or maybe without them converting to Judaism at all. That they are that coming just as they are without one plea that one work that we have to do. To plead to God look how we've added to our salvation with nothing in our hands.

They were bringing Without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me but some there Luke says who belong to the party of the Pharisees in verse 5 you think of that? It could be Christian Pharisees when there are.

Like Paul used to be. Paul used to be belong to the party of the Pharisees. They were saying it is necessary. In other words, it's a requirement. To circumcise them these Gentile converts and to order them to keep the law of Moses.

Cut out that ham. No more shrimp for you all that that's the problem then there's the conference starting in verse 6 the Apostles and the elders of the church and There in Jerusalem have a conference the first offense of the church called the Council of Jerusalem.

There was At first much debate. That means that these believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees that they're allowed to have to have their say make their case. Luke obviously Doesn't think their case deserves to be preserved.

That's what he thinks about them. There's most debate. You don't need to know what they said because it's not good instead. He tells us of three main speakers. First Peter Barnabas of Paul got him together and then third James.

First Peter starting it sound like I'm talking about the letter. Don't I first? Peter speaks the man starting in verse 6 he recounts how he was the first to open the door. Is the keys of the kingdom remember God uses him to open the door to the Gentiles?

He says in verse 7 back in the early days. So this I don't know how many years later. This is some maybe like 10 years later back in chapter 10 with Cornelius God made a choice. Notice that God made a choice.

Peter says God chose. He's he's emphasizing that you know. It wasn't my idea Peter saying I didn't think of that myself to go to these Gentiles and start this. You know start offering the gospel to them.

It was God himself who chose that by my mouth. The Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. By the way, notice he doesn't say anything about baptism. If baptism were a requirement for salvation when you think you would say so here.

Say something like by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and be baptized and believe. He doesn't say that he says that the Gentiles believed and were saved without converting to Judaism and verse 8 God who knows the heart.

God knew.

The Cornelius and his people had true faith in Christ plus nothing and He bore witness to them. He gave them the Holy Spirit. Give them a gift of the Holy Spirit to the fact that they have true faith.

God gave them Gave them evidence that they that we could see by giving them the Holy Spirit. Just as he did to us like on the day of Pentecost the gifts of the Holy Spirit that were manifest that were Displayed were proof that they had true faith that God had accepted them just as they were Uncircumcised, you know still eating their Italian food with their sausage and their pepperonis on their pizzas and Saved by the way before they're baptized.

So in verse 9 God made no distinction Peter says but us we Jews who don't have ham and Keep the Sabbath and all that between us and them. Who don't keep these laws our law keeping? Didn't fulfill any requirements.

It wasn't a prerequisite for being accepted by God. God cleansed their hearts by faith faith alone in Christ alone now. He says the application in verse 10. Therefore, this is the conclusion. This is what it all means.

Remember that story Acts chapter 10 repeated again in chapter 11. Luke really wants us to make sure we understand it and then here again in chapter 15 Peter is explaining it. What does it mean? This is what it means.