1

A Momentous Meeting. Acts 15:1-35 Momentous meetings In February 1945 there was a momentous meeting of allied leaders at the city of Yalta on the Black sea coast of Crimea. Here Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met to discuss what would happen after the war against Germany ended. The agreement reached at that meeting influenced the history of Europe and the world for the decades that followed, with decisions affecting the partition of Germany, the integrity of Poland and Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, the establishment of the United Nations, and Russia’s engagement with the war against Japan. It was a history shaping meeting of the powerful. Yet the meeting of the leaders of a marginal and despised religious movement recorded in Acts 15 has had a far greater influence on world history for it clarified the content of the Christian message and the character of the community of believers that message was giving birth to. You and I are affected by the decisions taken on that day, decisions about the basis, the grounds, on which we can be included in God’s people, the grounds on which we are saved for eternity. So why did that Acts 15 meeting ever take place? What was the issue? What were the conclusions? And how did these believers arrive at those conclusions? Why did this meeting take place? The success of Paul and Barnabas’ mission Acts 13-14 The reader of Acts has just witnessed the success of Paul and Barnabas’ Spirit directed mission. They had been appointed to the task of taking the gospel into what is now Turkey by the Spirit [Acts 13:2], and the Spirit has accompanied their ministry with powerful works, like the blinding of Elymas who opposed the gospel on Cyprus [Acts 13:11] or the healing of the cripple at Lystra. Throughout the cities of Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe many Gentiles, that is non Jewish people, had believed in the Lord Jesus Acts 13: 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. Acts 14: 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 2

God, in the words of their report on returning to Antioch in Syria, had “opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” 14:27

A serious claim 15:1 While that news was a cause of joy for some, it was disturbing to others. Jews and Gentiles had been divided from each other for centuries, divided by the Jewish commitment to the law given by Moses. That division had created a history of hostility between the two groups. For many Jews Gentiles were idolaters, sexually immoral, ritually unclean. It seemed strange that they could become followers of the Jewish Messiah and included amongst the people of the Messiah without first becoming Jews, and to become a Jew you had to commit yourself to the law. So we read that Acts 15: But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” This was the position of a sizable number of Jewish believers in Palestine, people we read of in v. 5 Acts 15: 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” Their position is clear. Repentance and faith in Jesus are not enough to be included in the Messiah’s people, to be included in those who will be raised to life. You need more. Circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses. Those claiming this are serious, devout people, genuine in their commitment – people who in the past have been willing to suffer for their commitment to God and His law. And on face value they seem to have a good biblical argument. Abraham believed [Gen 12, 15], and then got circumcised [Gen. 17]. He is the model – you start with faith, and go on to circumcision Abraham’s true child Isaac, he was the one who was circumcised from birth. 3

And if you look at Jewish history the promise to Abraham found fulfilment in the giving of the law, which was God’s law. So what has been true for Abraham and the Jewish people should be true for people coming to worship Abraham’s God through faith in the Jewish messiah Jesus. They should commit to circumcision and the law. And if they were committed to the law it would make it possible for them to associate with Jewish people. Unity would be guaranteed. There would be no more worries about eating unclean food or contamination. It would have a pastoral benefit.

A necessary referral 15:2 It sounds reasonable, but it provoked controversy, “no small dissension and debate’ between these teachers and Paul and Barnabas, the gospel preachers. Acts 15: 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. And there was good reason for that dissension. Their teaching threw doubt on the gospel the apostles were preaching – was it the whole message, given by God, or a deficient message, lacking vital information about salvation? It challenged the basis of a believer’s security and hope – does it depend on what Jesus has done, or on what we do, our law keeping? If that’s the case, no believer can be secure. What is the basis for the unity and identity of the people of the Messiah? Is it trusting Jesus, or is it in those who trust Jesus becoming Jews. That is saying that the only way to overcome the great ethnic divide is through the triumph of one group over the other. The gospel would then become just a vehicle for Jewish nationalism, just as Islam with its insistence that all must learn Arabic to read the Quran is a vehicle for arab nationalism. And there are a whole series of theological questions, that Paul explores and answers in Galatians. There he writes that an insistence on circumcision and law keeping means Christ died for nothing, abandons grace, destroys the 4 power and certainty of the promise, and means we rely on the flesh and not the Spirit. But the dispute was not settled by Paul handing out his letter to the Galatians and saying ‘Here, read this.’ It was settled by referring the matter to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, the centre of the Jesus movement and still the home of those who were its founding preachers. And that is important, for the point of Acts 15 is that the decision they take is not just Paul carrying the day, persuading them to his point of view. It is the common mind of all authority in the church, a common mind arrived at by considering what God had done, was doing and had said He would do. It was the decision that God gave. What was said at this meeting in Jerusalem? After ‘much debate’ v. 7 the assembled elders and apostles gave their attention to three main contributions – those of Peter, Paul and Barnabas, and James. Firstly, Peter reminded them about what God had already done in saving Gentiles. He returns to the Cornelius episode that Luke has recorded in Acts 10. Acts 15: 7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

This is what God has done – Peter, vv. 7-10

Learning from Cornelius Cornelius, a Roman centurion, was clearly a Gentile [Acts 10:28]. But Peter reminds them that it was God’s deliberate decision that Cornelius should hear the gospel, and that Peter should preach it to him v. 7. In fact we know how 5

God brought that meeting about – giving a dream to Cornelius to send for Peter with instructions about where to find him at the house of Simon the tanner, and giving a vision to Peter to embolden him to go to the home of a Gentile. Peter’s preaching of the gospel to Cornelius was all God’s work. The giving of the Spirit without distinction Ezk. 36:25-27 And it was God who made clear Cornelius and his household’s inclusion in the people of God by faith. Before Peter had finished speaking, before Cornelius was baptised with water, God poured His Spirit upon them and they showed the same behaviour, ‘speaking in tongues and extolling God’ [10:46], that the apostles has shown when they received the Spirit. There was no baptism, no laying on of hands, no circumcision. It was the direct work of God, testimony from God that 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Cornelius, the Gentile, had experienced the fulfilment of the promise of the Spirit in Joel 2 and Ezekiel 36, just by faith in Jesus. They had been included in the renewed, resurrected Israel, the Israel that would live in God’s presence in the new heaven and earth, just by faith in Jesus. And like sinful Israel it was by grace, despite their law breaking and not because of their law keeping. Peter is saying – Remember Cornelius - this is what we all know God, through His Spirit, has done. There was no distinction between us and them, no different treatment of Cornelius because he was uncircumcised. And that has consequences Consequences vv. 10-11 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” To insist on circumcision and the keeping of the law to be included in the people of God is to put God to the test That shows you how serious an error it is. It is recalling the wilderness generation who had rebelled against God and failed to enter the promised 6 land. That generation said God “put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.” Psalm 95:9 That generation, although they had witnessed God’s power and faithfulness, still found fault with the way God was doing things and was insisting that God should do things their way. To insist on your way, to insist on what seems right to you, in the face of God’s demonstration of the acceptance of the Gentiles solely on the basis of faith in Jesus, is to be like that generation. It is to say that we know better than God how He should save, and we will only accept God’s work when it conforms to our opinion of how God should do things. Peter’s words are a serious warning. To put God to the test is to risk losing it all, losing your own share in salvation. And besides – you are unreal about the role and power of the law. Israelite history and our own lives show we constantly fail to keep the law, that it leads to condemnation. No says Peter v. 11. There is equality in salvation. The Gentiles hope is our hope – that salvation is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, not our law keeping. It is by grace, not works – and so by faith, faith in the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross. So says Peter – remember what God has done. God has plainly not required circumcision or law keeping in including Gentiles in the new covenant people, the people who receive His Spirit. It was by grace through faith in the gospel. This is what God is doing – Paul and Barnabas v. 12 Peter’s contribution silenced the debate and gave room for the Assembly to hear what God was now doing through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. Acts 15: 12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. And as they listened it was plain that their mission was the mission of God as they heard of the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 7

God had testified that their message of salvation by faith in Jesus was from Him, it was His message. He was the one now at work in the salvation of those Gentiles through the preaching of Paul and Barnabas. Having heard their report James was now in a position to bring the discussion to a conclusion.

Acts 15: 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.

This is what God said He would do – James, vv. 13-21 First of all he supports Simon Peter. What happened to Cornelius was God at work, God taking for Himself from among the Gentiles a people for His name – that is a people who would be identified as God’s own by their commitment to God as He had revealed Himself. In the time of Moses that people were identified by a commitment to God as He had revealed Himself at Sinai But this time it was by their commitment to God as He had revealed Himself in Jesus, and there was no requirement other than repentance and faith in Jesus Turning to the Scriptures Amos 9:11-12 And this is just what God had said He would do in his prophesied commitment to rebuilding David’s tent, rebuilding the glory of David’s throne.

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

16 “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things 18 known from of old.’

He quotes Amos 9 especially verse 17 which says that the purpose of that restoration is that the remnant of mankind, that is the rest of humanity, may seek the Lord, in particular – the Gentiles, the non-Jews, who are called by my name. 8

In Amos these Gentiles can belong to God without becoming Jews. It is as Gentiles that the Lord attaches His name to them. That is, they don’t have to become Jews to belong to the end time people of God, the people who will live under the protection of David’s Son, the people who will have access to Him in His new temple. James says Amos prophesies that the Jewish Messiah will be the saviour of all humanity, and that He will have the one people from the many. God has fulfilled this prophecy of the restoration of David’s throne not through law and circumcision but through the reign of Jesus, through Jesus’ kingly work, His dying, rising and exaltation. And He includes Gentiles in the people of God through the preaching of Jesus as Gentiles and Jews respond to it in faith. In saving the Gentiles through faith in Jesus, including them in the people of God through faith in Jesus, God is doing exactly what He said He would do ‘from of old’. This is always what He intended, always His purpose. What was decided at the Jerusalem meeting? And so – considering what God has done, what God is doing, and what God has said He would do, James gives His judgment, which will be adopted the meeting.

19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

James’ verdict vv. 19-21 – Don’t make it difficult They should not make it difficult for Gentiles turning to God by believing the Gospel. They should not add extra conditions to their belonging to the people of God. Moses and the law don’t need more promoters – they are already everywhere. Their job is to promote the gospel, and inclusion amongst Jesus’ people through repentance and faith in Jesus. 9

So why does he add what seem to be conditions v. 20 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. Avoid idolatry Is this some kind of new, abbreviated, law? Or temporary guidelines to facilitate relationships between Jews who cannot, for example, eat blood – and Gentiles? Concession for harmony? Neither, although they do touch on sensitive matters that were areas of acute suspicion of Gentiles by Jews, but those suspicions focused on their participation in idolatry and the practices associated with idolatry in pagan temples. James is calling on Gentile believers to make a complete and open break with idolatry. With the worship of idols in idol temples, and with the sexual immorality associated with that idolatry. This is just what the gospel called for. Paul had preached to the people of Lystra Acts 14: 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. And turning from idols was what was involved in believing the gospel

1 Thessalonians 1: 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

James has fleshed out that commitment in ways that will remove suspicion and promote fellowship, but what he is insisting on is that to be in the people of God is to have a complete break from the idolatry of their past. The unanimous outcome, carefully communicated vv. 22-35

Acts 15: 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul 10 and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them 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 themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

Having listened to Peter, Paul and Barnabas and James, the apostles and elders adopt unanimously James’ judgement. As they write to the believers v. 25, in this matter they have ‘come to one accord’. Nothing is to be added to the gospel they have heard and believed. They indicate their strong support v. 25-26 for Paul and Barnabas, and they make clear that this decision is in accord with God’s decision. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit” they write. They are not claiming that somehow the Spirit is mystically at work in their agreement, that they were all ‘led’ to this decision. No. They are acknowledging the Spirit’s objective testimony to the inclusion of the Gentiles in the people of God by faith in Jesus. They are pointing to what we also have heard – God at work in saving Cornelius by faith alone, God at work in supporting the apostles preaching of salvation by faith in Jesus alone with signs and wonders, God at work in giving the scriptures that speak of the inclusion of the Gentiles as Gentiles by faith alone. This is all the work of the Spirit, God making His decision, His way, plain, 11

And they have received this testimony, and conformed their thinking to is, just as it conforms to their own experience of salvation – not by law keeping, but by grace, through faith in Jesus. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. And having come to this conclusion they then take pains to communicate it carefully. They write v. 23 – giving a clear and permanent record of their decision so that there will be no ambiguity or possibility of contradiction. And they send reputable messengers, Judas and Silas, people of standing and ability, who can explain and enlarge on the discussion and conclusion, who can support the judgement and ensure its reception. This was especially important where word of mouth, the testimony of witnesses, was trusted more. Their care in communicating was a sign of respect to the believers. And their thoughtfulness and clarity has a good outcome The outcome Acts 15: 30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many Their coming and the message they bring – that it is by faith in Jesus that they are received into God’s people and have a share in salvation – brings joy to the believers. They are encouraged, because they know they are not second class believers. They belong simply on the grounds of faith, and there is no distinction. Jesus has saved them, and they are not abandoned to relying on their own works. And they can get on and keep sharing the gospel with confidence. It is the gospel of God, in no need of correction or addition, and as we read on in Acts 12 the gospel mission receives new impetus from this decision. It goes to the world, all the way to Rome. Three take aways We can be grateful for those deliberations at Jerusalem, because there God preserved the gospel for us. We don’t need to become Jews to be saved by the Jewish Saviour Jesus. We are saved simply by turning away from our idols to believe that the crucified Jesus is Lord, the one with authority to judge and forgive. We are saved by grace – God’s kindness, not by our works We are saved to live in the power of the Spirit, and not to go back to relying on our own efforts. Good news. But there are some other conclusions we can also draw. Resolving disputes There will always be conflicts, and we need ways of resolving conflicts, ways of coming to conclusion about the truth, that promote the truth. We have a model of that in Acts 15 There was consultation with others. The Antioch believers knew they were part of a bigger group, and the issue involved the bigger group – so they consulted. The issue was clearly defined There was discussion, then The testimony of the apostles was listened to The scriptures were consulted, and interpreted in the light of their fulfilment in Jesus A common mind was arrived at because all were willing to listen to that testimony And then the decision clearly and thoughtfully communicated to those it affected. That is not a bad model is it 13

And we see a good gospel principle articulated Don’t make it difficult We must not make it difficult for people to become believers. We must not burden people with extra-gospel requirements. There is always a cost in believing the gospel – for these Gentiles it was the cost of breaking with idolatry and the exclusion from the social and commercial life of their communities this would bring. But we must not add to that the burden of people conforming to human traditions and requirements that the gospel does not ask of them, requirements that make those believers second class citizens in the kingdom, that even undermine the gospel. What do we demand – explicitly or implicitly, spoken or unspoken – for people to belong to us, that make people feel excluded unless they conform to our expectations? In the past Never dance? Never drink? Standards of child rearing? Unthinking obedience to leadership? Views of the sabbath? We should only expect what the gospel calls for - repentance and faith in Jesus that makes a clear break with the idols of our past

Confidence in God But the great encouragement of Acts 15 is that the gospel is God’s gospel, and He is going to ensure that it continues to spread and that through its preaching He will fulfill His purpose to have a people of His own from every nation and tongue under heaven. Just as He protected it from external threat in Acts 13 and 14 – the lies of Elymas and the violence of those who opposed it – so that many were saved So here He has protected it from internal threat – the errors of those who would corrupt it. 14

It is God who ensured the outcome of the Jerusalem council, an outcome that meant the apostles could keep on preaching the true gospel, preach it with renewed confidence that this is the gospel of God for the whole world. God wants the Lord Jesus glorified as the saviour of the world And God wants His people saved. Before the gospel goes to Europe, before it goes to Rome, it has been made clear it is a gospel for the whole world, for all peoples, and not a cover for Jewish nationalism. And it is the gospel of a saviour, Jesus, who genuinely saves – not another doomed self help project There is the one people of God, and any and all may join – through faith in Jesus. This is still the case. The gospel is God’s, Saving people through the gospel is His project – He drives and directs it Neither opposition or error will stop Him We just need to get on board by preaching it, speaking it, sharing it, clearly and confidently.