83 Acts 15:4-12 A DISPUTE IN THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM Introduction: After Paul and Barnabas completed their first missionary campaign they returned to their sponsoring church, the church in Antioch of Syria and gave them a report of their work. They reported that many Gentile people had believed in Jesus Christ and had been saved. They also reported that churches had been organized in several Gentile cities. But after the arrival of some Christian brethren from Judea a great dispute arose in the Antioch church. The brethren from Judea contended that Gentiles could not be saved without first being circumcised according to the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas stoutly contended that Gentiles could be saved without being circumcised. The result was that the church at Antioch sent Paul & Barnabas and certain other brethren to the church at Jerusalem asking them to help settle the dispute. In our text today when the brethren arrive at Jerusalem from Antioch. Instead of the dispute being settled, it breaks out also in the church at Jerusalem. I. The arrival of the group from Antioch and the spread of the dispute V. 4, “And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and [of] the apostles and elders...” Luke says that Paul and the brethren from Antioch were well received by the church at Jerusalem. This is in sharp contrast to Paul’s first arrival there after he was converted. Upon his first arrival at Jerusalem following his conversion the members of the Jerusalem church were deathly afraid of him. They thought that he was merely pretending to be a Christian and that he had really come there to take them prisoners. On that occasion they did not really welcome Paul among them until Barnabas arrived from Damascus and confirmed that Paul really had been converted and that he posed no threat to their safety. On this arrival Paul, along with all who accompanied him were very warmly welcomed. (V. 4), “...and they declared all things that God had done with them.” It appears from this statement that before saying anything about the dispute which had taken place at Antioch, Paul and Barnabas told the Jerusalem brethren about their missionary effort and about the many Gentiles who had believed in Christ and about the new churches which had been organized. According to Luke, they placed special emphasis upon the fact that it was God Himself who had opened the door for the gospel message to be preached to Gentiles. Right off the bat Paul and Barnabas wanted to make the point that God had approved of their preaching the gospel to Gentiles and that God had demonstrated His approval of their efforts in spite of the fact that they had not required the Gentiles to be circumcised. Luke does not say so, but it is obvious that they then related to the church at Jerusalem that a great disputed had arisen in the church at Antioch about whether or not Gentiles could be saved without first being circumcised. They related that it was brethren from Judea who had caused the dispute insisting that no Gentile could be saved without first being circumcised. The purpose of the arrival of the group from Antioch was to get the assistance of the Jerusalem church in settling the dispute. The Antioch church recognized that the apostles and older members of the Jerusalem church had been taught personally by Jesus and should be able to settle the dispute with accurate information from the Lord, Himself. II. The dispute spreads to the Jerusalem church V. 5, “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them...” It should be noted that these brethren were not the same brethren who stirred up the dispute at Antioch. Rather, there were brethren of the Jerusalem church who now stood in opposition to Paul and Barnabas on the issue. They stood in opposition to the truth. Luke says that they were of the sect of the Pharisees. That is, before they were converted to Christianity they were Pharisees. Now they were Christians. They now believed that Jesus is the Christ and that He is the Savior of men. They certainly must have believed that in order for a Gentile to be saved he must believe in Jesus Christ. But it had been hard for them to break from all of the teachings of the Pharisees concerning the law. As Pharisees they had always believed that any man must be circumcised in order to go to heaven. Jews were circumcised from their youth; --- but the Gentiles were not. Therefore, they insisted that the Gentiles must be circumcised in order to get saved. This is the same thing that the men from Judea had said back at Antioch which started the dispute. The brethren who had started the dispute at Antioch had said that circumcision is necessary for salvation. But these men went further than those who started the dispute at Antioch. (V. 5), “...and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses.” Those who started the dispute at Antioch had only inferred that it is necessary to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. That is what they believed. The reason they insisted on Gentiles being circumcised is because circumcision had been incorporated into the Law of Moses and by insisting that circumcision is necessary for salvation they implied that it is necessary to keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. But what those men had only implied, these men in the Jerusalem church declared openly --- and they declared it emphatically. They said that one must be circumcised and that he must keep the other commandments of the Law of Moses in order to be saved. It was hard for them to break from their raising. Let me say to you that it is still very difficult for one to shake off all of his old erroneous ideas when he gets saved. Before I got saved I believed in order for a person to get saved he had to live good and do right. He had to earn his salvation by his good works. I thought that no matter how much he believed in Jesus Christ, it was necessary for him to earn his way into heaven by his good works. I must admit to you that it was not easy for me to give up that idea and to accept the idea that one’s works do not in any way whatsoever earn him the right to go to heaven. However, it finally got through to me that the Bible teaches that salvation is not earned by good works. Ephesians 2:9 says, “Not of works lest any man should boast.” Titus 3:5 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...” I strongly suspect that most of you who are saved also had a hard time trying to discard some of the old religious falsehoods that you held to prior to salvation. V. 6, “And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.” It appears that not all of the apostles and elders were present when the question was first presented by the group from Antioch. The ones who were present thought that this was a matter of great importance and they sent for the others to assemble with them and take part in the discussions --- and discuss they did. There was no small dispute. On the one side there were the Apostle Paul and Barnabas and all of the brethren present who held that circumcision and the keeping of the law are not necessary for salvation. These brethren were very dogmatic that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and that neither circumcision nor the keeping of the law is necessary. On the other hand there were the brethren who just as dogmatically held that circumcision and keeping all the commandments of the Law of Moses are necessary for salvation. The discussion continued on and on and nobody was persuading anybody. The discussions back at Antioch had deadlocked and it appeared that now that the discussion at Jerusalem would also end in deadlock. III. The Apostle Peter’s words on the subject But finally there arose one man who would turn the tide and bring a settlement to the debate. V. 7, “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them...” I want you to get this picture. It was not at all like the Apostle Peter to keep quiet in a discussion of any kind. He was almost always speaking out without thinking a matter through. But this time was an exception. This time he had sat quietly throughout all the discussions. I can just imagine that he was just itching to say something. He must have been squirming like he had ants in his pants. Finally he speaks up and when he does he really says a mouthful. Listen to what Simon Peter said. (V. 7), “...Men [and] brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.” Simon Peter said in effect, “Brethren, we don’t have to decide if Gentiles can be saved or not. God, Himself made that choice and God has decided that Gentiles can be saved.” He said, “God made the choice to send me to a Gentile family and to carry the gospel to them so that they could be saved.” V. 8, “And God, which knoweth the hearts...” In effect what Peter said was, Men look at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Men consider whether or not the sinner has been circumcised, but God considers what is in the heart. Men look to see if the Law of Moses has been obeyed, but God looks at the heart. God looks to see if the sinner has repented of his sin and placed his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to save his soul. When God looked at the hearts of those Gentiles to whom the Apostle Peter had preached, God saw that they had repented of their sin and that they had placed their faith and trust in Jesus to save them from their sin. Because God saw that they had repented and trusted in Jesus God accepted those Gentiles and saved their souls.” Furthermore, God gave evidence which the Apostle Peter and all of the Christian brethren with Him could see that these Gentiles had been saved. (V. 8), “...bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as [he did] unto us.” After Cornelius and his household believed in Jesus God sent the Holy Spirit upon them in somewhat the same manner as He had sent the Holy Spirit upon the Jerusalem church on the Day of Pentecost. By the Holy Spirit He gave those Gentiles special miraculous gifts similar to the miraculous gifts which He had given the Jewish Christians on Pentecost. There two big differences. For one thing, there were no cloven tongues like as of fire lit upon each of them as had happened on Pentecost. For another thing, there was no sound as of a rushing mighty wind which filled the room where they met. On Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled the room and the entire church congregation was baptized or immersed in the Holy Spirit. But the household of Cornelius was not baptized in the Holy Spirit. Rather, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were given special miraculous gifts. What Simon Peter is saying is this. He is saying that when God gave those Gentile believers those gifts by the Holy Spirit He gave witness that He had accepted them. They were saved. God looked at their hearts and God saw their faith in Jesus and they were saved. By giving those special miraculous gifts God also showed that He did not require circumcision for them to be saved. He was showing that He did not require that they keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. God, Himself, showed that Gentiles can be saved without being circumcised and without keeping the Law of Moses. Let me also add, my brethren, when God looked at the hearts of those Gentiles and saw their faith in Jesus Christ and gave evidence that they were saved, God gave evidence that men today can be saved by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. He showed that it is not necessary for any individual to be circumcised to be saved. He showed that it is not necessary for any individual to be baptized in order to be saved. Those Gentiles had not yet been baptized when God gave the evidence that they were already saved. God gave evidence that when one places his faith in Jesus he is saved. Since faith takes place before baptism, and since God has shown evidence that when one believes in Jesus he is saved, then baptism is not necessary in order to get saved. V. 9, “And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” Now the Apostle Peter was not saying that there is no difference in the physical appearance of the Jew and the Gentile. What he was talking about was that there is no difference in how they get saved. There is no difference in what God requires in order for one to get saved. The Jew gets saved when he places his faith in Jesus and, likewise, the Gentile gets saved when he places his faith in Jesus. V. 10, “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Simon Peter had already proven his point that it is not necessary for any man to be circumcised in order to get saved, not even the Jew. Nor is it necessary for any man to keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved --- not even the Jew. What Peter is pointing out here is how foolish some had been in trying to make it necessary for one to be circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses to be saved. The Judaizers had tried to put the yoke of bondage to the Law of Moses on Gentile people. This was a yoke that not even Jewish Christians had been able to bear. Not one of the men who were saying that it is necessary to keep the Law of Moses to be saved had kept the law of Moses. Not one of their forefathers had kept the law of Moses. The law is a yoke that sinful man cannot bear. Sinful man cannot keep the law. It is ridiculous for men who have not kept the Law of Moses to say that a man must keep it in order to be saved. V. 11, “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” Salvation for both the Jew and the Gentile is by the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. V. 12, “Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.” After Simon Peter’s speech, not one of the opponents to the truth spoke a word. They all kept quiet. However, both Barnabas and Paul spoke up again for the truth and declared anew that one is saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This time they pointed out, just as Simon Peter had done, that God, Himself, had given evidence that He was pleased with the gospel message which they preach. The way He gave evidence was by the miracles which He enabled Paul and Barnabas to perform. If God had not been pleased with their message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, He would have shown His displeasure by withholding the power to do miracles. But by enabling them to do great miracles, He confirmed that the gospel which they preach is the true gospel. IV. The gospel message today The true gospel message is the same today as it has always been. It is the same message which the Apostle Peter preached to the household of Cornelius. It is the same message which Paul and Barnabas preached in those Gentiles cities. It is the same as the gospel message for which Paul and Barnabas contended at Antioch and for which they contended at Jerusalem. It is important for men, women, boys and girls to believe the gospel as is set forth in God’s word. It is not a matter of believing what Baptists say or believe or what Methodists say or what Episcopalians say or what some other religious group says. It is a matter of believing what God had said. It is a matter of believing God. It is one thing to dispute what man has said, but it is dangerous to dispute what God has said. But it is necessary that men do more than accept the Biblical gospel message as being true. It is not enough to believe that Jesus can save. It is necessary to turn to Jesus and place your faith and your trust in Him to save your soul. You must trust Jesus to save you. Conclusion: The vital question for you is: Have you ever called upon Jesus and asked Him to save you? Have you ever stopped trying to save yourself and just trusted Jesus Christ to save you? If you have you are saved. But if you have never yet trusted Jesus to save you, then let me ask you this: What in the world are you waiting for? Do you ever intend to trust Him and get right with God? If you do intend to trust Jesus and get saved some day, then why not now? If you are saved have you ever been Scripturally baptized and joined a New Testament church? Have you ever committed your life to Jesus? If not, then why not now? Are you in need of a church home? If so, then why not give God a chance to lead you to this church? What not now?