ACTS: What do we expect of others?

 Scriptures: Acts 15: 10 "So, I suggest we not create tension for God by requiring other people to conform to a law that we could not even live up to or find any significant gain from.

 

Acts 15:1 At one point, teachers arrived in Antioch saying, "You cannot be saved without following the customs of Moses, including being circumcised." 2 Paul and Barnabas refuted this teaching and spent long periods of time debating this question with them. The followers in the gathering in Antioch decided this matter needed to be settled by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, so they sent a group there to resolve this matter.

 

Disputes happen, even in the church today. The question comes up often, should there be disagreements between believers? Well, I can tell you that arguments carry great benefit if handled in the right way. If it becomes a time when we say all sorts of things we probably should not have said, we can end up having deep scars, growing bitterness, and unhappy endings. However, if at the end of a dispute, we find reconciliation, if we make up, we can find that the argument has great and lasting value because if causes us to think differently and understand others more fully.

 

Sometimes, as is the case in Antioch, there is a dispute that cannot be resolved without help from someone else, a higher authority or just a friend who can see the situation from a fresh perspective. Although it is often difficult to bring someone else into the middle of a dispute, the result can be a deeper understanding of our situation and a resolution that makes both sides of the argument comfortable with the future relationship. As a side benefit, it helps the world see the way the love of Jesus and life in His family impacts us all in ways different from the world. Marriage counseling often has this impact on a couple who is going through rocky times. Many disputes can be talked out and there is no need for outside help, but often it is helpful to bring in a person with a fresh perspective so that friendships are not destroyed by the things we say and do.

 

Acts 15:3 Along the way they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, all the while describing to everyone they met, how the Gentiles were coming to believe in Jesus in great numbers. This continued to bring joy to all of the believers they talked with. 4 Those in Jerusalem, including the apostles and elders, welcomed the envoy with open arms and listened to all their stories of how the Gentiles were responding to the gospel. 5 There were some however, those believers from the Pharisees, who stood up saying, "We believe it is necessary for the Gentiles to be circumcised and follow the laws of Moses."

 

Keep in mind, people who see faith differently, are not enemies of faith, they just see something that we do not. What I believe about the gospel is what I hold to as truth. But I can tell you of many experiences in my life where I had an “aha” moment and began to see things very differently. Predestination, role of women, understanding of adultery, divorce, the value of the Bible, the need for good works, and the list goes on. I did not become instantly wise when I gave my life to Jesus. I have learned from Him along the way, and usually it was through discussions with people who saw things from a different perspective than I did.

 

I believe that I am continuing to search for nuances of truth as I grow in my faith with Jesus. And I believe I will not be fully mature or complete until I meet Him in the air, and He makes His work in me finalized at that moment. Paul says to the Philippians, “I pray for you often, and I pray with joy because we have worked together in faith from the beginning. I am confident of this, God has begun a good work in each of us from the moment we believed and He will make sure to complete that work on the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-6 EBV)

 

I have not attained completion yet, nor do I expect to become perfect in this life, only in the next. In the meantime, I need to be willing to listen to other points of view, search the Scriptures, and seek to understand the truth of what they might be saying. Finding truth, does not always mean we are right. It just means, that I will believe now what I believe until Jesus leads me into a new understanding of how I should see this world and His working within it.

 

The Pharisees who had become followers of Jesus believed that all Christians should follow the laws of Moses to the letter. Peter had been told that was not necessary. Paul found no reason to compel the people of other nations to follow the Jewish Law. The dispute was on but the discussion was now in the hands of the apostles and elders to make a ruling.

 

Acts 15:6 The apostles and elders thought about and discussed this matter for a long time. 7 Peter stood up and spoke to all who were gathered, "I want to remind you all of the time when God used my mouth to speak to the Gentiles and they believed. 8 "And God poured out the Holy Spirit upon them in the same way He did for us, thus validating 9 how there should be no distinction between them and us, because all of our hearts are cleansed through faith.

 

Experience carries weight in an argument; however, all experience is not right. Peter is a trusted leader and teacher, and if God spoke to him in such a dramatic way, we should at least listen to what he has to say. And his conclusion is that there should be no distinction between peoples, we all come to God through faith. We have different starting points, but once we are on the journey, we are all aiming toward Jesus. It might be compared to climbing up a mountain from a thousand different directions. Each climber will experience different pitfalls and find a variety of ways to climb successfully and when they reach the top they might well be amazed at the different paths and different methods each one took.

 

Do not limit God and His creativity. None of us will be complete and know everything about this life and Christian faith until we have finished our journey and see Jesus, face to face. Until then, love one another. 

 

Acts 15:10 "So, I suggest we not create tension for God by requiring the Gentiles to conform to a law that we could not even live up to or gain anything significant from. 11 "We believe salvation comes through the grace of Jesus for all people, Jews and Gentiles."

 

Did you ever think about the fact that our arguing and bickering and judgmentalism creates tension for God? Salvation is through the grace of Jesus for all people. Is anyone not included in the phrase, all people? If everyone is included in that phrase, then there is not a person on this earth we should not treat and love as a fellow child of God. We do not want to get in the way of what He is doing, nor do we want to bring distress to Him by what we do.

 

Acts 15:12 Then the people began to listen to Paul and Barnabas again as they told of the wonders God had done through them to the Gentiles. 13 Then James addressed those gathered, "Listen to what I have to say. 14 "Simeon reminded us of how God reached out to the Gentiles to bring them into the family. 15 "The prophets taught this, 16 'I am coming back, and I will restore the tabernacle of David and rebuild it. 17 Then the rest of the world will be able to come to the LORD, the nations shall call upon the name of the LORD' 18 These are the words of the LORD, who makes all things known.

 

From the first promise of God to Abraham the goal has been for the whole of the world to know Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And the way to knowing God comes through Jesus, through faith in Him. “And I will bring blessing to all the nations of the earth through your offspring, because you have trusted in Me.” (Genesis 22:18 EBV)

 

James continued,

 

Acts 15:19 "I now make the declaration that we put no burden of the law upon the Gentiles who come to believe. 20 "We will write a letter to them asking them to abstain from things contaminated by idols, from fornication, and from things strangled. 21 "The readings of Moses will continue in the synagogues every Sabbath in every city throughout the world."

 

The Old Testament is still read today in churches throughout the world. It is the laws of the Old Testament that teach us about love, loving God, and loving our neighbor. But we see the words of the Old Testament through their fulfillment in Jesus, the Messiah. He has brought salvation to us through our faith in what He has done. Salvation does not come to us because of the works we do in our life. No matter how closely we follow the teachings of the Bible, we cannot earn our relationship with God. He does not love us because of what we do, He loves us because of who we are. “He designed us in Christ Jesus to do good things with our lives. God has prepared these opportunities just for us before we experience them, and He gives us the chance to get involved in doing good.” (Eph. 2:10 EBV)

 

We are not called to live by a list of rules we need to obey, but to live by the law of love. What can we do in word or deed that will demonstrate to our neighbors, the love of God? Then do that. “Whatever choices you make in the things you say and the things you do, speak and act in the power and confidence of Jesus our Lord, and do all giving thanks to the Father in heaven.” (Colossians 3:17 EBV)

 

 

Acts 15:22 The apostles and the elders agreed with this statement and they asked those assembled to choose some men to send with Paul and Barnabas. They chose two men who were leaders in their midst, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas. 23 The letter they took with them read, "We, the apostles and elders in Jerusalem write this letter to the believers from among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. We greet you warmly. 24 "We have heard that some from here have come to you and created a stir among you asking you to question the details of your faith. We did not send them to you. 25 "We have, however, come to a resolution in this matter and are sending some to you along with Paul and Barnabas. 26 "These men have risked their lives for our Lord Jesus. 27 "Judas and Silas will report to you what they heard as we thoroughly discussed this issue here in Jerusalem. 28 "We believe that the Holy Spirit does not desire us to be burdened by the old laws of Moses, but to focus on the bare essentials; 29 abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication; you will do well to keep yourselves free from these things. Blessings on you."

 

Turn from your old ways and embrace the teachings of Jesus. Love one another.

 

May you be blessed with the love of Jesus overflowing from you to the people around you.

Pastor Edd Breeden