Call to Commitment

 

The Jerusalem Council

1.     And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." 

2.     Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. 

3.     So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. 

4.     And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 

5.     But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." 

6.     Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 

7.     And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 

8.     So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 

9.     and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

10.  Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 

11.  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." 

12.  Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. 

 In chapter 11, Peter was challenged by a Jewish party in the Jerusalem church, because he entered a Gentile house and ate with Gentile people, something prohibited by Jewish law. Peter explained the total account, concerning a vision of a sheet let down from heaven, containing all kinds of reptiles, birds and animals, unclean according to the law. A voice instructed him to kill and eat, but Peter refused to do so, after which he was commanded not to call anything, which God had cleansed, unclean. There were two elements in this vision, which indicated that it was from God. First, it came down from heaven and then returned three times, demonstrating the heavenly source of the vision. Then, there was a three-fold confirmation of the vision, showing a divine principle… God always confirms His word.

 At the end of the vision, Gentile men, sent from the Roman centurion, Cornelius in Caesarea, buhi arrived at the door of the house in Joppa, where Peter was lodging. Peter immediately concluded that God was sending him to a Gentile house to preach the gospel. It was in obedience to the Lord’s commandment, “What God has cleansed you must not call common,” that he went with confidence, Jews from Joppa accompanying him. Then he told of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Gentiles, in the same fashion, as he came upon the Jews on the day of Pentecost.  After this, the church of Jerusalem glorified God, seeing that He was granting repentance and eternal life to the Gentiles.

 There remained a problem in the minds of some of the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. Although they accepted the fact that Gentiles could receive salvation, they questioned whether the Gentile believer should thereafter practice Jewish law, beginning with circumcision. It was the Old Testament ritual, by which a people could be recognized as being God’s possession (Ge. 17:13). This became a major disturbance in the early church. These people, Judaizers we call them, traveled to the churches, with mixed Gentile-Jewish membership, and taught that they could not be saved without being circumcised (v. 1)

 Paul and Barnabas disputed this assertion and the brethren in Antioch, I suppose, because it is the main Gentile church, asked them to take this question up in Jerusalem. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul tells of this trip (Gal. 2:1-2), and in the context calls these Judaizers false brethren (Gal. 2:4). This is the second and last major doctrinal dispute discussed in Jerusalem. F. B. Myers commented: “These persons from Jerusalem stealthily commenced to undermine their (Paul and Barnabas’) influence. They contended that the way from paganism to Christ must be through Moses. They especially insisted that Gentiles must become Jews by submitting to the initial rite of Judaism. This insidious teaching followed Paul throughout his life, and extracted from him many of the noble arguments and appeals of his epistles. We can easily understand the vehemence with which he protested” (v. 2).

 To this topic, I will only add one comment: Down through the ages and in different places, false teachers, not a few, have attempted to augment prerequisites to the gospel of grace. Some have suggested legitimate Christian practices useful to the believer, such as water baptism, but none of these should be considered means to attain salvation by grace through faith.

 On their way to Jerusalem, the apostles visited Jewish churches in Phoenicia and Samaria. The news of salvation of the Gentiles was received with great joy by Christians in every place, without the reservations expressed by some in the Jerusalem church (v. 3). The general congregation in Jerusalem, along with the apostles and elders, received them, and Paul and Barnabas, once again, gave their report of Gentile conversion (v. 4).

 Now we learn that those who were questioning the doctrine of grace were, supposedly, Christians with pharisaical backgrounds.  These, as Paul, were of the strictest order of Jewish religion. They immediately showed their colors, asserting that the Gentiles must first be circumcised and afterwards obey the law of Moses (v. 5). The strictest and most demanding among the believers, were the ones who least understood the gospel and were farthest from the heart of God.

 The apostles and elders must confront and decide the issue (v. 6). Obviously, from the beginning, the meeting proved that there were divisive opinions among the body, therefore much dispute. The Apostle Peter stood up, having first-hand experience of the will of God, concerning the issue. He refered to his experience with Cornelius, his friends and household in Caesarea. He claimed, and in chapter 11 the church agreed, that God chose Peter, as the first preacher to a congregation of Gentiles. They came to indisputable faith in Christ, and their faith was confirmed by a mighty baptism in the Holy Spirit (v. 7).

 That experience trumped the assertions of the Judaizers. Peter and other Jews from Joppa observed a powerful work of God, ignoring bloodlines and race, even putting aside issues of the law, and looked upon the hearts of those Gentiles. Their experience equaled that of the 120 Jews on the Day of Pentecost (v. 8). Open hearts were purified by faith, upon hearing the gospel. The Holy Spirit from heaven empowered them with unearthly anointing (v. 9). 

 Peter pointed a finger, accusing the religious zealots of tempting God, challenging the work that He had done in liberating the Gentiles from the bondage of the law.  No one in that room in Jerusalem, and no one in all the past generations of Jews, had ever been able to endure the law. They adhered to the law, but they did not, in fact could not, keep it (v. 10).

 Peter knew of a salvation apart from the law.  Through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles are saved; there are no two ways! Through Gentiles, God showed the superior way, not by the keeping of the law, but by faith in the person of Christ and through His infinite work on the cross. Jews must come through the same door (v. 11).

 The powerful truth of Peter’s word brought silence to the room. No one there lacked the good sense of yielding to the Spirit of Truth. Now, it was time for Barnabas and Paul to give testimony to the truth, confirmed as always, by miraculous signs and wonders from heaven. That was their testimony. No Christian should be satisfied with less than the supernatural confirmation of the Holy Spirit, taught in the book of Acts. That is the significance that we began studying, when we turned to this book (v. 12).

  

James gives the final word

13.  And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me: 

14.  Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 

15.  And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 

16.  'AFTER THIS I WILL RETURN AND WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID, WHICH HAS FALLEN DOWN; I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL SET IT UP; 

17.  SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, EVEN ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, SAYS THE LORD WHO DOES ALL THESE THINGS.' 

18.  "Known to God from eternity are all His works. 

19.  Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 

20.  but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. 

21.  For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath." 

 James, John and Peter seemed to be pillars in the Jerusalem church, according to Paul in Galatian 1:9, and it would seem to me that James was the chief leader. He now called for the attention of the council (v. 13), to give the final word. He reiterated the witness of Peter, who gave the tremendous significance that God was carrying out in their day. Through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He called a people out of the world’s population to be His special nation, but now, He is calling a people out from among the Gentiles for His name (v. 14).

 James goes beyond Peter, to the inerrant words of the Old Testament prophets (v. 15). In verse 16, he gathered truth, which centered especially in Amos 9:11-12. Amos spoke of the Messiah, Who will Rebuild the tabernacle of David,” fulfilling this prophecy and many others to Israel, and then “the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name” (v. 17). Peter has witnessed, Paul and Barnabas had witnessed, but now, James quoted the Old Testament prophets in the Holy Scriptures, testifying to the work of the Lord, “who does all these things.”  

 The omniscient God was accomplishing His work, which He has purposed from eternity (v. 18). They were discussing in the Jerusalem council that work and woe to those who were challenging the Lord. James, with clear spiritual understanding, will not trouble the Gentiles, nor question the work that the Lord God was bringing to pass in them (v. 19).

 He now turned to the moral law of God, which Gentiles, as well as Jews, should respect… idolatry, sexual immorality and eating meat with blood is morally forbidden, from the beginning of time. God has placed a certain sanctity upon the blood and it could only be offered to God in sacrifice in the Old Testament. It was never a food, given for human consumption, and it is a moral atrocity for humans to eat it. Particularly, the holy life of the blood of Christ was offered up to God, and its application to the soul of the believer, washed him from his sins (v. 20). Reverence for His blood, prohibited above all, the consumption of any kind of blood.  

 James and the leaders in Jerusalem composed a letter for the Gentile believers. They made no effort here to give a correct, godly interpretation of the word of God through Moses. If the Jew was to see God’s truth through Moses, he had ample opportunity, because synagogues in every city throughout the world preached Moses every Sabbath and they had done so, since the Pentateuch was first written. Moses’ doctrine, rightly perceived, is a beautiful thing, but the Jew, whose eyes are closed and whose heart is hardened, cannot perceive, no matter how often and for how long he hears. The point can be made again, that heaven’s only Teacher is the Holy Spirit and unless he is under His tutelage, no matter the degree of intelligence involved, a human being can know nothing spiritual (v. 21). 

 

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers 

22.  Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 

23.  They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. 

24.  Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"—to whom we gave no such commandment— 

25.  it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 

26.  men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

27.  We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 

28.  For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 

29.  that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. 

30.  So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 

31.  When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. 

32.  Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. 

33.  And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. 

34.  However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. 

35.  Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 

 Apostles, elders and the church, as a whole, agreed to send two leading men from Jerusalem back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They were Judas and Silas, who were later mentioned in verse 32 and we will have much more to learn about Silas, as this book progresses. They were bearers of the message from Jerusalem, along with the two missionaries (v. 22).

 In the next few verses of this chapter, the full context of the letter is quoted. Those mentioned in the last verse, the authors of the letter, begin by presenting themselves to those, who will receive the letter in Cilicia and the entire province of Syria, including its capital, Antioch, sending greetings to them (v. 23). The leaders were joined by the Jerusalem congregation, showing the legitimacy of this congregation and the official position concerning the subject of the letter. They did recognize as their members, those causing trouble in the Gentile churches, damaging what God had done in their souls, admitting that they came from the Jerusalem church. However, they made it very clear that they did not authorize these people, nor the message that they were transmitting. That message was now titled: "You must be circumcised and keep the law" (v. 24). 

 This body of believers, along with the leadership, were unanimously in agreement in sending Judas and Silas, prominent leaders in Jerusalem, to them. They proclaimed their acceptance and unity with Paul and Barnabas, telling also of the Christian love motivation, which bolstered their relationship with them. They were one with these apostles in spirit, as well as in their doctrinal position (v. 25).

 The two that they were sending had allowed themselves to be in physically dangerous positions in their walk with Christ. It is always a qualifying test of faithfulness, when Christians have uncompromisingly stood for truth and righteousness in Christ’s name. They were not “armchair theologians”, writing doctrinal thesis from comfortable offices. They carried the weight of tried character in the middle of crisis (v. 26). These were making the journey to Antioch, not only in bearing the letter, but in giving verbal testimony to its message (v. 27). 

 At this point, they made the statement, that I have found to be an important part of the entire book of Acts, which I have mentioned more than once earlier. “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us,” illustrates the main theme of this book, which is to show us how it is possible that common human beings can walk in perfect conjunction with the Holy Spirit. It is the key behind the tremendous advances of the cause of Christ throughout the Roman Empire in the apostles’ day. Let it shine as a beacon before our eyes to mark the possibility of the same success at any point in the history of the church. Dear God, permit its beams to penetrate the depths of our souls in this 21^st Century!

 The Jerusalem church was not going to lay unnecessary, legalistic burdens upon the Gentile believers. Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Mt. 11:28). When the Christian burden becomes cumbersome and heavy, it is not Christ’s.  We need to remember the One, Who is in the yoke with us and know that we “can do all things through Christ, Who strengthens” us (Phil. 4:13). His winsome presence brings joy into all our labors (v. 28). 

 Now, the letter named three legitimate moral rules, which we saw previously in verse 20 and I refer you back to that verse for comments on them. The members of Christ’s church in Cilicia and Syria do well in keeping themselves from them and so do we. With this admonition, the letter ended (v. 29). Arriving in Antioch, the letter was delivered to the church, where it was joyfully received (v. 30) It was encouraging and it lifted the burden of doubt cast on them by legalistic Judaizers. Let us be part of the number of true helpers, in our day, who lift illegitimate weights from the backs of Christians, placed upon them by unwise, uncompassionate and self-appointed legalists (v. 31).

 Judas and Silas were sent to give verbal testimony to the truth, written in the letter. Their anointed ministry imparted strength and edification to the church. These men had the gift of prophecy, so common in the early church, and legitimate and needful in our times. Nowhere is it suggested in holy New Testament writing that its operation should ever cease (v. 32).

 Judas fulfilled his useful ministry and returned to Jerusalem, with grateful greetings to the apostles, whose wise counsel was so beneficial to Antioch (v. 33), but Silas decided to stay. We will soon find that he did this in the wisdom of God. I will point out an important principle in his case. Silas is not obligated to return to his home church, but was entrusted to find God’s direction for his personal life and ministry. This kind of freedom was seen in the primitive church very clearly, as well as in the case of Apollos (v. 34 and 1 Co. 16:12). We must be aware and very watchful that authoritarianism does not enter the church. It can bring irreparable bondage!

 Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, continuing in their ministry to the church. They unfolded precious truth in their teaching, always mindful of their evangelistic duties, as they also preached the gospel. God was sending many other ministries into this church, because of its importance in His plans. Peter was there, as well, at this time and commited an error, which Paul corrected (Gal.2:11-14). It can be noted, however, that upon great success in the Kingdom of God, very serious and useful people can make mistakes, and can be used by the devil to upset the purposes of the Lord (v. 35). 

 

Paul and Barnabas Separate

36.  Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing." 

37.  Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. 

38.  But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. 

39.  Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; 

40.  but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. 

41.  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. 

 I choose not to favor or blame either Paul or Barnabas in the separation that ensued, due to the difference of opinion, concerning whether John Mark should accompany the apostles on this second missionary journey. You will remember that John abandoned them in Perga, the reason for doing so is not given, and returned to Jerusalem. We also remember that John Mark is Barnabas’ nephew and his mother held prayer meetings in her home. That background might provide hints regarding the difference of opinion between the two apostles.

 Paul gave the suggestion that they should return to the cities that they had visited to see the state of the new Christians, who had believed, as a result of their first visit (v. 36). Barnabas agreed with the suggestion, but had an even stronger inclination to include his nephew as a traveling companion (v. 37). Paul had no intention of doing so, after John Mark’s former desertion (v. 38). Therein lay a difficulty that could not be resolved, not the first or the last to occur in the early church. We err in expecting perfection in the church on this earth at any period, if it was so that there were imperfections, even in apostolic times.

 God has always worked through an imperfect church since those days and, for this reason, we must overlook blemishes. if we plan to attend or minister in any body of believers, wherever it meets. Some of these maladies can and should be cured, others cannot be. As a matter of fact, the Lord advances His cause, working through the situation and seems to prophecy of them in His parables in Matthew 13. In three of the four types of soil in the parable of the sower, three did not bear fruit. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, the enemy sowed weeds among the grain. In that of the mustard seed, a tree developed from the intended mustard plant. The leaven produced an inflated bread, which always symbolized corruption in the church (Mt.16:6, 12; Mk. 8:15; Lk. 12:1; 1 Co. 5:6-9). The parabolic net caught good and bad fish and in chapter 25, the Kingdom on this earth, is represented by five foolish and five wise virgins. Finally, in the parable of the talents which follows, one of the three servants is described by his Lord as wicked and lazy.

 The result of the disagreement was the forming of two teams, Barnabas taking his nephew and traveling to the island that was his home, Cyprus (v. 39). Paul, formerly the junior partner on the first team, is especially commended to the grace of God by the Antioch church (v. 40). I mentioned a little earlier that Silas was free to continue in Antioch and not return to Jerusalem with Judas Barsabas. He was not mistaken in doing so, but now becomes Paul’s traveling companion, obviously, an arrangement ordained by God. The Great Commission is better served through it all.   Paul and Silas go by land through Syria and Cilicia, the latter being Paul’s home province (v. 41).