The Proof Presented at Jerusalem

Acts 15:6-12

Peter States the Case

Peter reminds the stricter Jews how he had been chosen to preach God's grace to Cornelius and his household about ten years before. God had granted those very Gentiles to have the Holy Spirit come upon them. They may have been ceremonially unclean, but the Holy Spirit from God cleansed their hearts. The attempt to earn salvation through commands is a losing battle everyone is inadequate to attain.

Peter cut to the heart of the matter by asking if we can earn the favor of God through what we do? Or are we going to have to admit our own humanity and helplessness throwing ourselves on the mercy of God? The faith of works or the faith of God's grace is the underlying question being debated. Peace cannot come until we realize we cannot put God into our debt because we owe so much more. We gain victory through surrender. Ironic, isn't it? We cannot have salvation without admitting our own helplessness and put God in control of life.

Acts 15:13-21

James Showing His Leadership

James was an outstanding individual and the brother of Jesus. He had a post resurrection appearance of Jesus all his own reported in 1 Corinthians 15:7. He was a pillar of the early church proclaimed in Galatians 1:19. He was known to be in prayer often and long. He was also known as James the Just and a strict observer of the law.

His silence followed by careful words help to overcome the last barriers between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. Why make it so hard on the Gentiles who wish to follow Christ? James then suggested a sort of compromise that would not be too cumbersome to the Gentiles, but allowed them to grow in spirit and truth as their Christian brothers. They were finally united in spirit and truth.

The letter was written and the decree went out to the brethren of the decisions of the meetings in Jerusalem of the leadership of the early church. Paul and Barnabas go back out on the road to preach the good news again.

Go ahead and read the rest of the chapter before the next lesson. Have a Great Week!

Brad Loveland, Adult Bible Class Teacher, Putnam Church of Christ

PS. Tell others who would enjoy these lessons to Subscribe to the entire list of lessons by sending me an email at acts@bradloveland.com and confirming in the return email.

The Problem of the Gentiles

Acts 15:1-5

The Problem

A continuous stream of Gentiles being added to the church would inevitably be a problem for the early church. The Jews were still in firm belief that they were God's chosen people and felt they had certain rights and privileges associated with their ancestry. The Jewish sense of national identity was based on being the chose people of God.

The problem then is this. Since the gospel of Christ was sent first to the Jews, do the Gentiles have to become Jews first to be added to the church? There were Jewish preachers of the word that taught the Gentiles must become Jews first and undergo circumcision in order to complete their conversion to Christianity. Paul comes onto the scene now and is confronted with this problem.

What hoops to we require the newly converted to jump through today? Are these requirements based on the Bible or on the wishes of man?

The Problem Becomes Acute

The statement reported in Acts 15:1 being spread by some men was that Gentiles must be circumcised to be saved. Paul and Barnabas became involved in a huge dispute over this. Things had been going well in Antioch between Jews and Gentiles but the problem was inevitable to arise. They were not able to resolve the dispute, so there was only one thing to do. They went to the leadership of the church in Jerusalem creating the meeting known to us as the Jerusalem Conference.

The principle in question was quite simple and basic to Christianity. Was the gift of God for the select few, or for all of the world? Are we to look at this gift as a privilege or a responsibility?

The basic premise of question is a division or a preference between people. Our problem with division today is not necessarily between Jew and Gentile, but we do still have divisions in our world between people. There are people divided because of income level, race, location, etc. What can we do about them?

Next week we will dive into the question more and see what the arguments presented by the church leadership gives. Read Peter's argument in Acts 15:6-12 for next week.

Paul's Courage

Acts 14:19-20

Courage of Paul

Some of the Jews had found Paul and stoned him. They left him just outside of the city for dead. As the disciples were standing around him he rose and left with them. Then, Paul and Barnabas gathered up and left for Derbe. Paul showed his courage when he came back to his senses because the very first thing he did was to go back into the city. How many of us would have left from the edge of town.

How do we show our Christian courage?

Acts 14:21-28

Paul does not shy away from problems. In this passage, we find out that Paul is returning to help the early Christians establish their churches in several of the areas where Paul and Barnabas threatened earlier. Not only did they return to those churches, but the spent a good amount of time.

We can see some interesting insights to the mind of Paul through this passage.

1. Paul showed his honesty to those who chose to become Christians. He showed them that Jesus did not come to make life easy, but to make people great.

2. As Paul traveled back through towns he appointed elders for all of these tiny groups of newly converted Christians. He made the point that the Christian life was for them. God opened the door for them as Gentiles to accept the mercy God showed by the crucifixion of his son. They had to rely on each other for support and encouragement to stay on the Christian path.

3. Paul and Barnabas never thought that anything happened through their own strength. They spoke over and over about what God had done for them or through them. Our Christian service is that we are tools that God uses to fulfill His purpose.

The critical problem of the Jewish brethren who saw themselves as chosen or better than non-Jewish brethren threatened to split the church. The problem had to be solved.

How do Christians encourage new Christians who are struggling because problems they are encountering in their lives? New Christians may blame God for their problems and eventually separate themselves from the church if there is not good encouragement and support for them to stick it out.

Have a Great Week!

Brad

Give God the Glory.