82 Acts 14:28-15:3 DISPUTE IN THE CHURCH AT ANTIOCH Introduction: In our previous text the Apostle Paul and Barnabas arrive back at the church at Antioch of Syria, the church which sent them out, and reported how God had blessed their ministry on this first mission trip. They reported that God had saved many souls and that God had enabled them to establish churches in several Gentile cities. In our text today a major dispute arises in the church at Antioch and Paul and Barnabas get involved in the dispute. I. The lengthy stay of Paul and Barnabas at Antioch. V. 28, “And there they abode long time with the disciples.” Luke tells us that after their arrival at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas stayed there at for a long time. He does not tell us how long. It had to be more than several days. It had to be many days. Luke’s statement could have meant several weeks, several months or several years. It could not have been as long as twenty to thirty years because they had just completed their first missionary trip and we now know that Paul made three missionary trips. However, it could have been as long as six to eight years. That would still leave them enough time for the other two missionary tours. There is one thing of which we can be sure. The Lord had a hand in bringing them back to Antioch at this particular time. It is apparent that the Lord wanted Paul and Barnabas to be there at Antioch when some brethren from Jerusalem arrived and taught the church at Antioch an erroneous doctrine. The Lord wanted Paul and Barnabas to be there at this particular time to defend the true gospel message. God’s timing is always perfect and Paul and Barnabas were there at exactly the right time. Had they not been there, this good church might have been led off into heresy by those brethren from Judea. II. The arrival of brethren from Judea and the error which they taught V. 1, “And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, [and said], Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” Luke does not say specifically that the erring brethren were from Jerusalem, but he does say that they were from Judea, which is that district in which Jerusalem is located. They were, at least, from the Jerusalem area. These brethren told the church at Antioch that Gentiles could not be saved unless they would first be circumcised according to the law of Moses. This was in direct contradiction to what Jesus had taught. In John 3:18 Jesus said, “He that believeth on him is not condemned..” Jesus said that if one believes he is not condemned. That is, if he believes in Jesus --- if he trusts Jesus to save him he is not condemned. Jesus does not require one to be circumcised in order to be saved. If one believes in Jesus for salvation he is saved. He is not condemned. Therefore, it is not necessary to be circumcised in order to be saved. It is necessary for one to believe in Jesus in order to be saved, but it is not necessary to be circumcised. This was rank heresy coming right out Judea. If it did not come directly from the Jerusalem church, it came from some church right near to Jerusalem, because it was from Judea. Some of the Jewish brethren were still wanting to revert back to the Law of Moses as the source of salvation rather than faith in Jesus Christ. They did not deny that faith in Christ is necessary for salvation, but they did insist that along with faith in Christ one must be circumcised in order to be saved. To be technical, they believed the men, the males, must be circumcised. Luke does not say so here, but they thought that if the men of the house were circumcised that counted also for the women of that same household. But they denied what Jesus said. They denied that if one believes in Jesus that means that he is not condemned. They said that even though he does believe in Jesus if he is not circumcised, he is still condemned- --he is still lost. They contended that if one does not conform to the Mosaic Law he is still lost even though he has trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation. They believed that something in addition to faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation. They believed that one must trust Christ and that he must also keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. Since circumcision was commanded in the law of Moses, they said that if he is not circumcised he is not saved. Apparently they did not deny that Gentiles could be saved. The brethren of the Jerusalem church had earlier wanted to shut Gentiles out altogether unless they would become proselyte Jews --- joining the Jewish religion. When they heard that the Apostle Peter had preached to the Gentile man, Cornelius, the Jerusalem brethren had been very upset with the Apostle Peter. But after the Apostle Peter explained that it was after God ordered him to go and preach to the household of Cornelius that he went and preached to him. So these men who arrived at Antioch from Judah did not deny that Gentiles could be saved. The Apostle Peter had persuaded them that Gentiles could be saved, but they contended that the only way Gentiles could be saved was by being circumcised and keeping the law of Moses in addition to believing in Jesus Christ. Thus, they denied that faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient to save a lost sinner. They contended that both faith and circumcision are necessary for salvation. By the way, since these brethren were from Judea, all who insist that circumcision is necessary for salvation and all who insist that keeping the law of Moses is necessary for salvation are now commonly referred to by most Bible students as “Judaizers.” That is, they believe and teach the same thing as those men from Judea taught the church at Antioch. III. The dispute which arose in the church at Antioch V. 2, “When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them...” Now I want you to get the picture. Paul and Barnabas had arrived from the nation of Turkey were they had preached the gospel to many Gentile people and many of those Gentiles had believed the gospel message and had been saved. So Paul and Barnabas arrive back at their sponsoring church and relate to them what marvelous things the Lord had done in Turkey. They related that many people had been saved and that churches had been organized. They are very much enjoying their stay at Antioch fellowshipping with the church there, resting up and getting their spiritual batteries charged up so that they would be ready to go on their next missionary trip. Then “Boom” along came some brethren from Judea and upset their apple cart. Along come these brethren telling them and telling their sponsoring church that none of those people had been saved, that those congregations which they had left behind were not really New Testament churches and that all their effort on that mission trip had been in vain. There was just no way that either Paul or Barnabas could keep silent. Neither Paul nor Barnabas could listen to this kind of talk and keep quiet. What they were hearing was not only a personal affront to them, but it was absolutely doctrinally false. These brethren were teaching rank heresy. They were denying the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were denying what Jesus had said in John 3:14-15. There Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Jesus said that if anyone would look to Him for salvation that person would have everlasting life. The Judaizers said, “Not so. He must be circumcised in order to be saved.” The Judiazers deny the truth of the beloved Scripture, John 3:16. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Judaizers deny this. They say, “He will not have everlasting life until he is circumcised. He must be circumcised in order to be saved.” Paul and Barnabas firmly denied what the Judaizers preached and taught. Paul and Barnabas contended that if one believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of the soul that person is saved whether or not he has been circumcised. Paul and Barnabas contended that this applied to Gentiles as well as to Jews. The Judaizers just as firmly denied what Paul and Barnabas said. They insisted that one could not be saved merely by trusting in Jesus Christ. They insisted that in addition to believing in Jesus Gentiles must also be circumcised. Luke says that there was no small dispute between Paul and the Judaizers. And apparently there was no small dispute in the church. Apparently people in the church took sides on the issue. Some took sides with the Judaizers and some took sides with the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. Soon virtually the whole church was in an uproar over this question. Now we might wonder: Why did not Paul and Barnabas keep quiet? Why did they not just drop the matter for the sake of peace in the church? The answer is that if they had kept quiet, if they had not spoken up, it is likely that pretty soon this whole church would be led astray to believe in an erroneous plan of salvation. Pretty soon the whole church would be teaching rank heresy. There is little doubt that God brought Paul and Barnabas back to this church at this particular time to save this good church from going into heresy. IV. An impasse and a decision to seek help from Jerusalem (V. 2), “...they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.” There was no way that either side could persuade the other to concede. The Judaizers would not give in and Paul and Barnabas most certainly would not give in. For Paul and Barnabas to give in would mean to lose the church to error. It looked impossible for the two sides to get together. So rather than leave the church divided on the issue, the church decided that some should go to Jerusalem to seek help from the apostles and from the elders of the Jerusalem church. After all, the twelve apostles had been with Jesus and under His personal instruction for three years. In addition to the twelve apostles, many of the older members of the church had personally sat under the teachings of Jesus. Some of them may have been with Him for the full three years of His ministry. It was assumed that if there was anyone who could help this church to break the impasse the apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church could. Therefore, the church decided send Paul and Barnabas and, presumably, certain ones who were on the other side of the question to Jerusalem to seek their help. I assume also that some of the brethren who had not engaged in the dispute were sent to bring back an unbiased report from the church at Jerusalem. So without any unnecessary delay the delegation soon made their journey to Jerusalem. V. 3, “And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.” Their journey took the group down through Phenice and Samaria and as they passed through they found fellowship with the Christian churches which by that time had been established in the cities and villages of both districts. Luke says that those churches were delighted to hear Paul and Barnabas tell about Gentiles being saved. V. The importance of knowing the true gospel It is not only important that a gospel message be preached. It is important that the true gospel be preached. Just as there were those in the days of Paul and Barnabas who sought to add to the gospel and, thus, make it an erroneous gospel which could not save, even so there are men today who likewise seek to add to the gospel message and make it an erroneous gospel. Jesus preached that men should look to Him, accept Him as the Christ, the Savior of men and that they trust Him to save their souls. He said that as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness and put it on a pole, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up and put on a pole. That is, He must be crucified on a cross. Jesus said that the people of Israel who were bitten by serpents could look to the serpent of brass on the pole and live. The serpent bite would not kill them. Jesus said that even so lost sinners could look to Him and be saved. He said that if a lost sinner would look to Him for salvation, he would receive everlasting life --- he would be saved. I do not know of anyone today who claims that in addition to believing in Jesus, one must also be circumcised in order to be saved. Yet in our day there are well meaning brethren who mistakenly seek to add to God’s plan of salvation. They insist that trusting Jesus Christ is not enough to get one saved. They insist that in addition to one’s faith in Jesus that one must be baptized to get saved. They emphatically declare that if one does not get baptized that he will never make it to heaven. They actually have more faith in baptism than they do in Jesus Christ. They insist that faith in Jesus is not enough to get you into heaven, but they have the faith that baptism will get them to heaven. In spite of the fact that these brethren are well meaning what they preach and teach is not the right way of salvation. If the Apostle Paul and Barnabas were here today they would very stoutly dispute with these brethren. Paul and Barnabas would encourage their listeners to repent of their sin and to place their faith in Jesus to save their souls. They would insist that you trust Jesus and Jesus only to get you to heaven. They told the people of that day not to trust in circumcision to get them to heaven and I am certain that if they were here today , they would tell us not to trust in baptism to get us to heaven. Let me put it this way: If trusting Jesus and Jesus alone to save your soul would not get you to heaven, then trusting Jesus and baptism would not get you there. Jesus does not need any help from baptism. Jesus can save your soul without any help from baptism. It is not the waters of baptism which cleanses a sinner of his sin. I John 1:7 says that it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses one from all sin. Some say that it is the blood that saves, but they say that you have to get under the water for the blood to cleanse you of your sin. Then how in the world did the thief on the cross get saved? He could not get down from that cross and get under the water. What he did was to trust in Jesus Christ and call upon Jesus to remember him after He got into His kingdom. Jesus saved that man without that man getting down into the water. Conclusion: Listen there are two very important things that I want to impress upon you. The first and foremost is that those who are lost in sin should believe the promises which Jesus made. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In John 6:37 Jesus said, “...him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Believe that. Believe what Jesus said. Trust Jesus to keep His word and save your soul. Another important thing is that no matter what others may say about what one must do to get saved, we must always tell the unsaved that they should not trust in any plan of salvation that makes the works of man necessary. In Ephesians 2:8 the Apostle Paul wrote, “For by grace are ye saved through faith...” Then in verse 9 he wrote, “Not of works lest any man should boast.” In Titus 3:5 he said, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...”