86 Acts 15:30-33 The letter from the Jerusalem Church Delivered To The Antioch Church Introduction: Some brethren had come to the church at Antioch of Syria from the Jerusalem church or, at least from Judea, who told the church at Antioch that Gentiles must be circumcised and come under the law of Moses in order to be saved. This had brought a great dispute in the church at Antioch which they had been unable to settle. So the church at Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas and other brethren to Jerusalem to the Apostles and elders to inquire whether or not Gentiles really did have to be circumcised and come under the Law of Moses in order to be saved. The Jerusalem church, after much discussion of the question, concluded that it was not at all necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised and come under the law of Moses in order to be saved. They concluded that neither Jew nor Gentile has to come under the law of Moses in order to be saved. So they wrote a letter stating their conclusion and appointed two men from the Jerusalem church to accompany the Antioch brethren back to Antioch to deliver the letter which they had written. Our text today gives an account of that letter being delivered to the church at Antioch of Syria. I. The letter delivered to the church at Antioch V. 30, “So when they were dismissed...” The word, they, in this statement refers to the entire group who would be making the trip from Jerusalem to Antioch. It includes Paul and Barnabas and all of the other brethren who had come from Antioch asking for help. It also includes Judas and Silas, the two members of the church at Jerusalem, who had been selected to deliver the letter to the church at Antioch. Judea and Silas were to verify to the church at Antioch that the letter which was being delivered to them was actually the letter which the Jerusalem church had written and to verify that it had not been altered in any way by Paul or Barnabas or by anybody else. In our text the entire group was sent away by the Jerusalem church with the good will and blessings of the congregation at Jerusalem. They were not dismissed in a hostile spirit, but in a spirit of brotherly love and good will. (V. 30), “...they came to Antioch...” This implies that they went directly to Antioch. It appears that the group left Jerusalem and went as quickly as they could to Antioch to deliver the letter. They knew that their mission of delivering this letter was important and they did not waste time by making unnecessary stops along the way to see the sights or to visit with friends who lived along the route. They left Jerusalem and went directly to Antioch. They had no unnecessary delays. We can conclude from this that the Lord’s work was important to them and that it should be just as important to us today as it was to them. We should not allow unnecessary things to distract us and hinder us from doing the Lord’s work. We should learn to take care of the Lord’s work first and then afterwards do other things as we have opportunity. Those of us who are preachers or who teach the word of God in classes, let us begin as early as we can in the week making preparation for preaching or teaching for the next Sunday. Those who are not preachers or teachers should start as early as they can studying the Sunday school lesson for next week. Let us learn to put God’s work first and then take care of other things as we can. That way, we will not allow our personal pleasures or other personal interests to interfere with the work of the Lord. (V. 30), “...and when they had gathered the multitude together...” Even after they arrived at Antioch they did not delay. They immediately contacted leaders within the church and called for the entire church to come together to hear the letter read. From this, we learn how important it is for the members of a church to come together and to hear the message which God has in store for them. Church attendance should not be optional with members of a New Testament church. We have a personal responsibility to God to attend church and to worship God. We have a personal need to come to church and worship God. When we miss church we miss a blessing. We miss something which is very important to our happiness and our well being. Church is important to our lives. (V. 30), “...they delivered the epistle.” The word, epistle, means “letter.” They delivered to the church at Antioch the letter which the church at Jerusalem had sent to the church at Antioch. This was a letter that James, the pastor of the church at Jerusalem, had helped to prepare. It was a letter which the apostles had helped to prepare. It was a letter which the older members who had been taught by Jesus had helped to prepare. It was a letter which the entire church and approved. Yet it was more than just a letter from the Jerusalem church. It was more than just a letter from the apostles. It was more than just a letter from the members of the Jerusalem church. Indirectly it was a letter from God, Himself. James had said that the conclusion which they had reached was based upon the inspired word of God as it was recorded by the prophet Amos many years ago. James said that it was the Holy Spirit of God who had revealed to them the answer to the question. Therefore, the answer given in the letter to the question which had been asked was actually from God. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. This was a letter which would answer the question which had so disrupted the fellowship of the church at Antioch. This letter would give them God’s answer to their question. II. The letter read, verified and explained V. 31, “ [Which] when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.” I will get back to this verse later to discuss the importance of this statement. In the meantime let me direct your attention to the reading and discussion pertaining to the letter. The letter was brought before the members of the Antioch church by Judas and Silas who were members of the church at Jerusalem. These were honorable men in the Jerusalem church. They were honest men. They had been sent by the Jerusalem church to verify the authenticity of the letter. Luke says that “they” read the letter to the Jerusalem church. I take that to mean that one of them read out loud for all to hear and that the other listened. But they both verified that every word in the letter was just exactly what the Jerusalem church had written. V. 32, “And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed [them].” Luke says that Judas and Silas were prophets. We usually think of prophets as those who could foretell the future. They could, but that was not the primary work of the prophets. Their primary duty was to speak by special revelation of God and to proclaim the truths of God. Not all of the other revelations were new revelations, but they were all from God. What this means in this case is that if the contents of the letter had not been in keeping with the truth of God, then these two prophets would have told the people so. They would have said, “The letters says that Gentiles do not have to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved, but that is not the truth of God.” They would have then proceeded to tell the people the truth. But instead, they confirmed that the letter spoke the truth of God. Thus, they said not only that the letter was authentic but that it also spoke the truth of God. V. 33, “And after they had tarried [there] a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.” After verifying the authenticity of the letter and after verifying that it spoke the truth of God, Judas and Silas stayed there at Antioch for a number of days and they never said anything to the contrary in all of the time they were there. Their message was the same throughout their stay. III. The joy of the people at Antioch V. 31, “ [Which] when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.” I told you earlier that I would come back to this verse and have more to say about it. I want to point out to you the great joy that was experienced by the members of the church at Antioch. They rejoiced at hearing the news that Gentiles do not have to be circumcised in order to be saved. They rejoiced that Gentiles do not have to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. They had good reason to rejoice. For one thing, a goodly number of the members of the church at Antioch were Gentiles and we have reason to think that most of them had not been circumcised. Neither had they come under the other provisions of the Law of Moses. If Gentiles could not be saved without circumcision and without coming under the law that would mean that a goodly number of their members were not saved. It would mean that a large number of the people who listened to the reading of the letter were not saved. Furthermore, if Gentiles had to be circumcised and come under the law of Moses then this would mean that all of the Gentiles who had make professions of faith in Jesus under the ministry of the two missionaries whom they sent out were still unsaved. It would further mean that the churches which Paul and Barnabas had organized in Gentile cities were in reality not genuine churches. So by a large majority, the membership of the Antioch church were extremely well pleased to have the truth of this matter verified. The Gentile members of their church were saved after all. The Gentiles converts of Paul and Barnabas out on the mission field were saved after all. The new Gentiles churches were genuine churches of the Lord Jesus Christ after all. So they had good reason to rejoice. IV. The letters which were written to us Let me point out to you that the letter which Judas and Silas read was not addressed to us. That is, it was not addressed specifically to The Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Neither has Judas and Silas arrived here to stand before us and read the letter and verify to us that the letter is valid and true. But in essence, this letter was written for us. Yet it was, in a sense, written to us. It is a vital part of the Bible and, in reality, the whole Bible is a letter which God has written for us and to us. This letter specifically informs all of the members of the Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church that Gentiles do not have to be circumcised or come under the Law of Moses in order to be saved. Nobody, either Jew or Gentile, has to keep the Law of Moses to be saved. If we did we would all be in big trouble. None of us would be saved. None of us could ever be saved because we have all already broken the laws of Moses and none of us can keep the law of Moses as long as we live in corrupt, sinful fleshly bodies. Furthermore, all of the Bible is God’s love letter to us. It tells us that God so loved us that HE gave His Only Begotten Son to die for us that we might be saved. God has loved us in spite of the fact that we have not kept the law and cannot keep the law. God has provided a way whereby each and every one of us can be saved. Anyone of us can be saved and go to heaven if only he would do what God requires him to do. God requires the lost sinner to repent of his sins if he would be saved. Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” And God requires that if anyone wants to be saved he (or she) must trust Jesus Christ to save him. Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We ought to rejoice that this is so. We ought to rejoice like the people at Antioch rejoiced when they got that letter from Jerusalem. We ought to be extremely glad that salvation is not gained by keeping the law or by any works of righteousness on our part. We could never do enough righteous works to earn the right to go to heaven. We could never be righteous enough to go to heaven. Salvation is a free gift from God. We ought to rejoice that this is so. Conclusion: If there is someone here who is unsaved, let me say that this is good news for you. You ought to take advantage of the opportunity that God has given you this morning and call on Jesus this morning and ask Him to save you.