Ironically, tonight I am going to address much the same topic that Kenny and I heard addressed last week at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors. I say that I do it “ironically” because I did not at all set out to bring that message from there to here. I simply wanted to continue through my study of the book of Acts. What I was not aware of is that to do each of those would come pretty close to doing the same thing. For I think one of the main lessons we are to learn from this passage tonight is the same lesson that God was teaching me last week.
Therefore, let me clarify that I am not using this text to say what I might have wanted to say. Rather, I think God has me at this point in the text, following the same lesson last week, because he wants to ground this truth into my head.
So, yes, maybe this message is more for me tonight than anyone. However, I believe that it is something that we all need to hear and to use as a measuring rod to see if we are missing the mark on one side or the other.
What occurs in this fifteenth chapter (and in a bit of the sixteenth) is that while Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch, spreading news of how God has “opened a door of faith to the Gentiles” (14:27), some men come down from Judea and begin teaching that Gentiles cannot be saved simply by faith. Rather, they teach that they must have faith and be circumcised, then they can be saved.
Luke literally writes that Paul and Barnabas “had not a little dissension and debate with them” (15:2). What this means is that they had great dissension and debate with them. There was a serious debate and argument going on in this fifteenth chapter.
Therefore, the brethren determine that Paul and Barnabas and some others need to go up to Jerusalem, where the home church is and settle this issue. So they depart to Jerusalem, spreading the news to those accompanying them of how the Gentiles had been converted on their missionary journey.
When they arrive at Jerusalem, they continue to do the same. These brothers are bubbling over with joy at the conversion of these Gentiles. However, in Jerusalem there were some believers who were of the Pharisees, who stifle the conversation by stating that the Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. In other words, they would have to become Jews, for all intent and purposes, then believe, and then they could be saved.
This sparks much debate. And after a while, Peter stands and reports how Cornelius and the others believed. He then asks, “Why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” (15:10). He adds, “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are” (15:11).
In other words, Peter is saying, “We Jews have not obtained salvation by obedience to the law: so how can we expect the Gentiles to do so? No, rather Jews and Gentiles alike are saved by grace” (see note 1).
Upon Peter’s statement, Barnabas and Paul again report the signs and wonders that God had granted through them in their ministry to the Gentiles. Now, why is this important? It is Barnabas and Paul’s way of showing that God was interested in confirming the gospel among the Gentiles. If it were not in God’s plan for the Gentiles to be saved by simply believing the gospel, then why would he confirm that message in granting signs and wonders? This seems to be the argument and reasoning behind verse 12. Also, note that Barnabas is listed before Paul. This is not the usual case, however, it is probably Luke’s way of showing that Barnabas was the dominant speaker here. This will prove interesting later.
Finally, after Peter, Barnabas, and Paul speak, James (the leader of the Jerusalem church) speaks to determine the issue. He backs up the experiences of Peter, Barnabas, and Paul with Scripture. He quotes Amos 9:11-12:
“‘After these things I will return, And I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, And I will rebuild its ruins, And I will restore it, In order that the rest 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.”
He sees this as confirmation that the Gentiles who are turning to God are in line with God’s ultimate plan and need not be circumcised. Most likely he is seeing the “tabernacle of David” as Christ. Therefore, as Christ was resurrected, this prophecy was fulfilled, and the Gentiles have been invited to share in the covenant blessings of God through Christ Jesus.
The whole group heartily agrees. Therefore they send a letter that is to be taken to Antioch, Syria and Cicilia, and the Galatian towns. It affirms that Gentiles need not be circumcised to be among the people of God, however, it encourages them to abstain from certain practices which would be highly offensive to their fellow Jewish believers.
Paul and Barnabas take the letter, the churches are happy, strengthened, and grow in the faith. Also, in Lystra Paul picks up Timothy, has him circumcised, and invites him to join the mission team.
This move definitely seems pretty awkward after the decision of the council, but I believe it reinforces the lesson that we are to learn from this passage.
The lesson I think we need to learn is this: We need to be people who are unable to be shaken when it comes to matters of truth and crucial importance, standing strong against all who would oppose us, however, in areas of love, we need to be tender and flexible so as to reach out to those around us.
Christ was an excellent model in this. For it is almost hard to get a feel for his character when you compare his opposition to the self-righteous Pharisees in comparison to his response to the helpless and hurting. He is a beautiful combination in this area where so many of us fall off one side or the other.
John Newton pointed this out with Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18, in their dealings with Apollos. He writes, “Apollos met with two candid people in the church: they neither ran away because he was legal, nor were carried away because of his eloquence” (see note 2). They were tender and flexible in his legal nature, but corrected him where his teaching was with error. We need both of those.
However, I think the ultimate example may be found in Paul’s actions which we have just read. He was hard on truth, and would not back down to anyone. In fact, in Galatians 2:11-14 we read of Paul confronting Peter to his face about error while he had been influenced by men supposedly coming from James and while Barnabas was acting as Peter. This is boldness when it comes to truth. For all he knew, in one moment, he was opposing Peter, James, and Barnabas so that the truth might not be compromised. And when men promoting the same heresy come down from Antioch, it is he who is opposing them with great dissension.
We must be as a rock when it comes to the truth of the gospel, for if we do not have that truth, then we have nothing. All our hope is wrapped up in the truth of the gospel.
If you are afraid of people hating you or mocking you when you stand up for the truth, then remember Paul’s statement in Acts 14:22: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Tribulations are to be expected as we seek after our God and contend earnestly for the gospel (Jude 3).
We must never fall into the trap of not seeing sin as sin, not seeing Christ as the ONLY solution for that sin, and understanding that the gospel is by faith alone. If the day ever comes when defending this truth will bring great persecution, we must endure persecution.
“But what about our need for unity and oneness in the church?” someone might ask. The answer is this: As the church is proclaiming truth together, unity will be created. For after Paul confronted Barnabas, Peter, and James (if the men in Galatians 2:11-14 had really come from James), how would they ever be unified?
We see how in our passage tonight. Who is the first one we see speaking up to say that the Gentiles need not be circumcised? It is Peter—the very one Paul had confronted on that very issue. And though Barnabas was also lead astray with Peter, Luke shows us that Barnabas was the dominant speaker (even above Paul—shown by listing his name ahead of Paul’s) in defending the Gentiles. Finally, it was James who said ultimately that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised. So how were they ever unified? They were unified when they all began to proclaim the truth.
As we speak the truth and stand strong in it, the gospel will stand strong, unity will be created among the true believers, and churches will be strengthened—as Luke mentions in Antioch, Syria, and Galatia (15:32, 15:41, and 16:5).
But right on the heels of that, we need to be tender and flexible in issues that are not crucial.
Granted, our message is going to be offensive to the non-believer, but don’t strive to be offensive yourself. This is the very thing that Paul did with Timothy in having him circumcised in 16:1-5. Though he had stood firm in defense of the truth that salvation is not dependent on circumcision, if it were going to offend some of the Jews to whom they would be speaking, he was all for trying to break down any barriers. It should be noted as well, that he had agreed in taking the letter around that stated that circumcision was not necessary but practices that would offend a fellow believing Jew should be stopped.
John Newton once said, “Paul was a reed in non-essentials—an iron pillar in essentials” (see note 3). He was willing to live as if under the law to those who considered themselves under the law if it meant that he could lead them to his Lord. He was willing to by-pass something he realized was fine in order that he might not damage the conscience of the one who struggled with it. He was tender in his relation to people regarding things that were not essential truths. We must be that way as well.
Love people. Be tender towards people. Take as great of steps as you have to in order to love others without compromising the truth. That is what we must do if we are as passionate about glorifying God as Paul was.
Again, that is why I struggle with Christian radio that blasts pagan politicians all day long instead of just advocating for truth. Have we forgotten that at the end of the day, we want them to be drawn to the joy, peace, and hope we have in Christ?
We’re going to suffer as we speak the truth, so don’t provoke suffering in the secondary things. That is the lesson I believe we learn from the letter of the Jerusalem council and Paul’s actions with Timothy.
Now, I am not saying that you don’t enter controversy. You by all means do when it is compromising the gospel and the glory of our Lord. However, in non-essentials be willing to submit to others.
For the Jews, the idea that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised would have been hard to accept. This was the only sign they had known that declared that one was of the people of God. So Paul submits to their needs immediately after fighting for the truth in the council. This should teach us to be patient with fellow believers who we think have not “caught on” to some truths that are so clear to us. For why do we even know the truth? It is by grace.
So be tender and loving to those who do not yet know. Again, let me quote Newton on this subject. He writes, “A company of travellers fall into pit: one of them gets a passenger to draw him out. Now he should not be angry with the rest for falling in; nor because they are not yet out, as he is. He did not pull himself out: instead, therefore, of reproaching them, he should shew them pity … A man, truly illuminated, will no more despise others, than Bartimeus, after his own eyes were opened, would take a stick, and beat every blind man he met” (see note 4).
Let’s model Paul and walk as Luther writes, “Concerning faith we ought to be invincible, and more hard, if it might be, than the adamant stone; but as touching charity, we ought to be soft, and more flexible than the reeds or leaf that is shaken in the wind, and ready to yield to everything” (see note 5).
Grace be with you. Amen.