Download Study Materials
The Counsel of Jerusalem… (3 things)
2nd – At the same time they are concerned about and care for the needs of others!
1st – The gospel to the Gentiles… vs. 1-2
After 14 years Paul went up to Jerusalem…
This was not Paul’s second trip to the Holy city…
Paul taught at the church of Antioch in Syria for most of this interval…
During that time he made at least one other trip to Jerusalem…
He brought money to the poor saints in from the church of Antioch – Acts 11:30…
After Paul and Barnabus had returned from the first missionary journey…
They took this trip because the Judaizers had come to the church in Antioch…
Acts 15:1 – “Certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’”
They taught that in order to be saved you must be circumcised – keep the Law…
Paul went up to Jerusalem to defend the Gospel of Grace…
Paul met with the leadership of the church – Peter / John / James…
And shared with them the Gospel of Grace he taught among the Gentiles…
He did not want to see the work destroyed by the Legalism of the Judaizers!
The defense of Grace (3 things)…
1st – The Law has its place – but it is not for salvation…
The purpose of the Law – is to show we are sinners…
The Law points out to us all our failures – showed us all our flaws…
Galatians 3:26 – “The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
The problem is it does nothing / can do nothing – to help us change…
There is only the ability to show us what we do is wrong – not to make it right…
The Law actually stirs in us the desire for sin – sin that leads to judgment/death…
Have you ever seen a sign that says ‘wet paint’ – and felt the need to touch it…
Why is it the only toy a child wants – is the one they do not have…
Why is it the moment we are given a ‘rule’ / ‘law’ we want to disobey it…
Because we are sinners – and the Law ‘stirs’ up our sinful desires…
Those sins inevitably lead to death – physical death / spiritual death!
It only takes one sin to keep you out of heaven…
James 2:10 – “Whoever keeps the law, yet stumble in one point, is guilty of all.”
God standard for heaven is perfection – not even one sin – Matthew 5:48…
When we understand God’s standard – we see our need for Jesus!
2nd – The only way to get to heaven is through faith in Jesus…
It is not being a sinner (we all are – Roman 3:23) that keeps us from heaven…
It is rejecting the solution for sin that God provided in Jesus Christ…
We are saved by believing in the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin on the cross
Ephesians 2:8-9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
We do not earn our way to Heaven – it is a gift to those who believe in Jesus!
3rd – The place of the Law in a believer’s walk…
Being saved by Grace – does not mean we can live our lives in sin – Romans 6:1
We are not saved by keeping the Law/works – but if we are saved…
You will be able to tell – by what kind of works/fruit comes from my life…
James 2:17-18 – “So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless…”
Easy to say we have ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ in Jesus – but the proof is in our actions…
If we say we’re Christians – but still live like the world – do we really have faith…
If we are saved – then the result should be good fruit coming from our lives!
II Corinthians 13:5 – “Test yourselves to see if your faith is really genuine.”
Eternity is too important to be uncertain – check out the fruit on your branches…
Be certain that you ‘bear’ the fruit of a life transformed by Jesus…
2nd – Do not compromise to the Law… vs. 3-5
Paul brought Titus (a Greekwho was not circumcised) with him to Jerusalem…
Titus was a key example of what the debate in the church was about…
A Gentile believer who was not circumcised – was not keeping the Law of Moses…
Those who we pressing for the Gospel of Legalism – wanted Titus to be circumcised…
It is possible even Titus felt the need to conform – be like the other Jews…
If everyone is not eating pork – we feel funny if we do…
If everyone is dressing up for church on Sunday – we feel funny if we do not…
It is easy to get sucked up into legalism – feel the pressure to conform…
But there are only two things that can come from Legalism…
If we manage to keep the rules – we feel like we have boasting rights….
If we fail to keep the rules – and do not do as well as others – condemnation…
The Judaizers came in secretly – to bring the believers into bondage…
They saw the freedom the Gospel of Grace brought – and they did not like it…
They all kept the Law – so in their mind everyone else had to as well!
If we have convictions we think God expects to obey – we expect others to as well…
We might be convicted that we have to go to church on Saturday…
Or be convicted that we need to give 10% of our money to the church…
Yet often we get our ‘convictions’ – not from God – but from other people…
But we tend to look down on and judge others who do not have those same rules…
Then we tend to think we are better Christians – more righteous than they are…
Paul would have nothing to do with it – he ABSOLUTELY refused to circumcise Titus…
What is interesting is Paul did circumcise Timothy – Acts 16:3
The reason – Timothy was a Jew where Titus was a Gentile…
No one should have been surprised Titus – being a Greek – was not circumcised…
Timothy had Jewish mother – the circumcision was the sign he was a Jew…
Timothy was circumcised – not to be saved – but so as not to offend the culture…
There are times when we should we relent and follow the ‘rules’ of others…
If you want me to wear shoes and a nice shirt to church – I can do that…
I Corinthians 9:22 – “All things to all men, that I might by all means save some…”
We should be willing to be flexible so we can to reach others with the Gospel…
But Paul did not give in to Judaizers – even for one hour!
Because they were not talking about culture – to them it was about salvation!
For the sake of the Gentile churches Paul would not give in to their pressure…
Typically when we hear how to be a ‘good’ Christian we are given a lot of rules…
Read your Bible / go to church / pray every day / stay away from ‘bad’ people…
They are good things – but following rules does not make us righteous…
We are not a better person if we read our Bible today – or worse if we do not…
The danger of these rules are they cannot change our hearts – Colossians 2:21-23
When depend on these rules – we end up putting ourselves in danger…
Because we trust in the rules – rather than looking to and depending on the Lord!
3rd – The counsel of Jerusalem… vs. 6-10
The courtroom setting… vs. 6
To finally solve this Great debate – do Gentiles have to become Jews to be saved…
A counsel was called – and the leaders of the church met to decide…
The Apostles Peter / John / and James (the Lord’s brother) – presided…
Not that Paul was dropping names – ‘God shows personal favoritism to no man…’
It was Paul and Barnabus stood in defense of the Gospel of Grace…
While the Judaizers – many of them former Pharisees – argued for Legalism…
The Apostle to the Gentiles… vs. 7-8
The Judaizers assumed the counsel (all Jewish leaders) would rule in their favor…
Instead Peter stood up and joined in to defend the Gospel of Grace…
Peter was used by God to bring salvation to the gentles – Cornelius – Acts 10
God gave proof He had granted salvation to the Gentiles – baptism of the Spirit…
So the Jews did believe that God had granted salvation to Gentiles – Acts 11:18…
But the Jew had the Law of God – and they thought that made them better…
If you read a book on how to drive a car – and a map – how to get to Bacolod
That does not mean you have driven a car to Bacolod – reading is not enough
There are many ‘religious’ who can quote Bible verses – tell you all about the Word
But their lives do nor reflect their knowledge – they don’t live what they preach
Knowing what Jesus can save you – is not the same as believing in Jesus!
Peter’s conclusion – why would we burden the Gentiles – Acts 15:10…
The Jews were never able to live up to the standard of the Law…
So why would they want to place that impossible standard on the Gentiles…
If I told you the only way to heaven was to swim across the Pacific Ocean…
The first question you would want to ask – did you swim across yet…
If I were unable to keep my own rules – why would you want to follow them!
Matthew 23:4-5 – “They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.”
So many churches today suffer from hypocrisy – living a double standard…
From the pulpit you hear the message of holiness / purity…
But practically the people listening – even the pastors – live just like the world…
If even they cannot live up to the message – obviously it does not work…
The conclusion of the counsel of Jerusalem… vs. 9-10
Peter said that the Jews could be saved the same way as the Gentiles…
So not only did the Gentiles not need to become Jews in order to be saved…
It was the Jews who had to be saved – just like the Gentiles – faith in Jesus!
So the Gospel of Grace was the only Gospel – for Jew and Gentile alike!
Paul might be the Apostle to the Gentiles / Peter to the Jews…
But the message they both taught – was salvation by faith in Jesus!
The main decision of the counsel was to spread the Gospel of Grace to all!
The Pillars of the church – James / Peter / and John – saw the Grace given to Paul…
They extended the right hand of fellowship – they would reach the Jews…
Paul and Barnabus would go to share the Gospel of Grace with the Gentiles…
The only other request they made – remember the poor…
This is something that was already important to Paul…
He and Barnabas has delivered money for the poor from Antioch…
Acts 11:30 – “They sent [money] to the elders by the hands of Barnabas & Saul.”
Paul also encouraged Corinth and Macedonia to give a collection for the poor…
Romans 15:26 – “For it pleased those from Macedonia and Corinth to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.”
You can always spot a good church / believer – by two things…
1st – They are focused on telling other people about Jesus – the Gospel of Grace…
They do not concern themselves with religion / rules / of denomination…
Leave a Reply