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.

Paul & Barnabus Show Courage

Acts 14:1-7

To Iconium

Basically, the same thing happened in Iconium as in Antioch. There were a great number of Jews and Greeks that believed. The Jews that did not believe inflamed the people. Paul and Barnabas had to leave.

Acts 14:8-18

Mistaken for gods

Paul and Barnabas were involved in an interesting incident in Lystra. This was around mostly non-Jewish people because the crowd got the idea that Paul and Baranabus were Zeus and Hermes come to earth in disguise to interact with them.

This is interesting because it shows Paul interacting people non-Jewish people and how that he gets the point across. Paul started with nature to lead them to introducing them to the God behind it all. He started with the here and now to get to then and there-the story of Jesus and his sacrifice for all people.

Where do we start with the here and now? Then, how do we get back to then, the crucifixion, and there, the middle east?

Trouble in Antioch

Acts 13:42-52

Trouble in Antioch

Paul and Barnabas started by speaking in the synagogue in Antioch and all seemed to be going well. They were invited to stay in Antioch and speak again. Word spread during the next week and nearly the whole town showed up to hear what they had to say. Some of the audience that day were filled with envy and started arguing with Paul and Barnabas. Paul points out to the Jewish brethren that the word was preached first to them, but since they reject the gospel it was taken to the Gentiles.

One thing that infuriated the Jews more than anything else was they were keeping God's privileges to themselves. Christians were preaching and sharing the gospel with everyone – the uncircumcised Gentiles. With that openness, the Jews took action.

Antioch was a city of a host of nationalities all in one city because it on a road, it was a Roman city with Romans, Jews, Greeks, and a few native Phrygians, who are volatile and unpredictable people. This is quite a mix of people who can be easily sparked into emotion driven actions with devastating effects. These people were also very lax in their sexual behaviors causing a breakdown in the family and society. No one paid a dearer price than the women of these breaking families.

The Jews were preaching Godly family values appealing to these broken-hearted women, many of whom were married to men of power. The Jews prevailed on the women of affluence to turn their husbands against the Christian preachers. They used their influence on their husbands to in effect persecute the Christian preachers including Paul and Barnabas.

Paul and Barnabas had to leave at this point because it was not safe for them to stay. They shook off the dust from their feet and went to Iconium where they were well received with joy. The brethren were filled with the Holy Spirit there. A good place to recover from what they had endured.

Do we as Christians sometimes keep God's privileges to ourselves? How can we guard against this religious discrimination?

Next week, we will be going to Iconium. Things seem to be better there!

Have a Great Week!

Brad

The Preaching of Paul

Acts 13:16-42

The Preaching of Paul

When we look at the preaching of the early church, they are almost identical in form and message. Comparing the message from Peter in Acts 2 and this sermon shows the main elements of the sermons are the same.

1. Paul insists that the coming of Jesus was actually the fulfillment of scripture and the end of history. He recounts the history of the Jewish nation coming to an end with Christ. It is easy for humanity to see this as a recounting of sins, mistakes, and shortfalls. The Christian view is that of hope pointing toward Jesus, our savior. History always shows us going forward according to the purpose of God.

2. Paul states the fact that when God's fulfillment came in Jesus Christ, it was not recognized. When man rejects the message, he enslaves himself to the world and cuts off from the spiritual wellness provided by acceptance of Christ.

3. Even though the people rejected Christ in the crucifixion, God could not be defeated (and will never be defeated). We have choice. The misuse of our choice will separate us from Christ and deny entry into the kingdom.

4. Paul goes on to use a purely Jewish argument. The promises given to David were leading people to look ahead and be completed by God's purpose. The resurrection was the proof of realization of God's purpose.

5. The coming of Christ is Good News to one group of people. All those who accept and obey the message a Christ have the hope of heaven.

6. What is intended as good news is in fact bad news to another group of people. Those who reject Christ and his message are given the bad news of eternal separation from Christ.

The message in this sermon is clear. The choice is ours every minute of every day.

Have a Great Week!

Brad

Paul working through physical infirmery

Acts 13:14-15

An Adventurous Journey for a Sick Man

Paul mentions several times in his ministry that he prayed to have something he was afflicted with taken away. He reports that this request was denied. In a sentence, a heroic journey of Paul and Barnabas was passed over. Pisada Antioch was at 3600 feet above sea level, so there was quite a bit of climbing on the road. The road was notorious for being one of the most dangerous because of the number of highway robbers working on that road. Then, later Paul mentions his physical infirmary that was plaguing him on this trip.

This was so hard of a journey that it begs the question, why did they not go to Pamphylia? The gospel had not been proclaimed there and it was along the coast and easier road to travel. Not long later Paul wrote to the Galatians and talked about the time when he came and proclaimed the gospel.

Galatians 4:13 Paul reported that he first came to them because of his physical infirmary and proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:7-8 Paul talked about his thorn in the flesh. Paul obviously had some physical challenges in his ministry that he pushed through and still continued to proclaim the gospel. He continued his mission. He was patient and tenacious about persevering in the work of the Lord.

Read Acts 13:16-41

Paul addresses them as God-fearers. How does he address those from Jewish background? As we study Acts, compare this to how he addresses those who do not have a quality identification and relationship with God.

Note that what is intended as good news to one group is in fact bad news to another group of people.

Check out Mark's lesson at www.putnamchurchofchrist.com.

Have a Great Week!

Brad