Bread of His Presence

Lechem Panim #190 “The Girl With A Python Spirit” (Acts 16:16-24) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today. If you have your Bible, go ahead and look with me at Acts 16. That’s Acts 16. You will remember that Paul is on his second missionary, having with him Silas, Timothy (whom they picked up in Lystra), and now Luke (the author of the book of Acts). Now God has re-directed them as they have sought to share the Gospel. They tried to enter Asia, but God prevented them. They tried to enter Bithynia, but again God prevented them. So they end up in Troas, where God finally reveals to them where they are to go, giving Paul a vision of a man from Macedonia calling out “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (16:9) And so they go to Macedonia, coming to the city of Philippi, a leading city of the district of Macedonia. And on the Sabbath they go to a place of prayer by the waterfront where they meet a group of women who have met there for Bible study. They sit down with them and share the Gospel with them and a woman named Lydia converts and is baptized along with her entire household. And so is started the Philippian church.

Satan Moves In-- But as the church in Philippi took root, Satan moved in to attack it, just as he had done in Samaria (8:9) and in Cyprus (13:6ff). And he tries the same two strategies he always tries. First, he tries to infiltrate the church and then (when that doesn’t succeed) he resorts to persecuting the church. And in our passage today we will see both strategies at play: Infiltration and then Persecution. Let’s begin by looking at his attempt at infiltration. Go ahead and look with me at verse 16. Luke writes…

Acts 16:16 (ESV)— 16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

The Place of Attack-- Now I find it interesting that when Satan chooses to use this emissary of his is when Paul and his companions are going to the place of prayer. And that is because it is when the Church comes together to study God’s Word and engage in prayer that Satan is most in danger of having his plans and purposes thwarted. And so we have to be prepared. Because when God moves in a special way, Satan moves right in to try to sow in tares and dissension. And here the tare was in the form of a slave-girl whom the text said had a spirit of divination. Now the Greek text actually literally here reads “a python spirit.” And for you and I that immediately calls to attention the snake in the Garden of Eden. But it’s interesting, the phrase “a python spirit” actually [derives from Greek mythology, in which the Python was a snake that guarded the famous oracle at Delphi. Eventually, the Python was killed by Apollo, the god of prophecy. Since it was believed that Apollo spoke through the oracle at Delphi, the term “python” came to refer to anyone in contact with Apollo. In modern terms, she was a medium in contact with demons.] And those demons apparently were helping her to see and know hidden things and was being used by her masters for profit as a fortune-teller. Now fortune-telling was big business in the Greco-Roman world by both Greeks and Romans. In that culture, any commander who was about to set out on a major military campaign or any emperor who was about to make an important decree would first consult an oracle to see if things would turn out good or ill. Now that made this girl a source of real profit for her owners. However, when the Christians are going to the place of prayer, Satan leads this girl to them and it says…

Acts 16:17 (ESV)— 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days.

A Sneaky Merger-- Now you and I, when we first look at this, might think that this is a good thing. After all, people know and no doubt believe in this girl’s clairvoyant abilities. So isn’t this good advertisement for the Church? Actually no; this was really bad because it was a subtle and very dangerous attempt for Satan to infiltrate one of his own into the Church, sowing a tare among the wheat. You see, what was happening was this girl with a demon was saying things that were absolutely true. And not only were they true, but she (or I should say the demon) was even using [biblical terminology. The term Most High God was an Old Testament designation of the God of Israel (Ps. 78:35; Dan. 5:18) {But} She also spoke of the way of salvation.] And Satan will often speak truth when it suits his purposes. He is the father of lies, but he knows (and we know this too) that the best lies are those that have some truth mingled in. He draws people into false belief all the time by emphasizing some true thing or genuinely beautiful aspect of that false belief. Now here what we have to understand is that because this demon-possessed girl was agreeing with Paul and his followers, people were going to come to the natural conclusion that she is a part of that same group. And appearing as part of the Christian Church, she could do great damage to the followers and cause of Christ.

Bad Publicity-- And so what we learn is that no matter how good publicity from Satan might at first appear, we don’t want that kind of publicity. In Mark 1:34 and Luke 4:41 Jesus silenced the demons rather than let them speak on his behalf. He did not want Satan to do His advertising. And neither did Paul. Furthermore, while her owners had reduced her to nothing more than a source of income, Paul genuinely cared for the girl. And so it says in…

Acts 16:18b (ESV)— Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

The Second Weapon-- And so we see that Satan’s attempt at infiltrating the church to destroy it from the inside did not work; he was cast out. But now we will see that he turns to his second weapon: persecution, where he attempts to destroy the Church from the outside. But as we will see, Satan’s attacks again will fail; and more than that, God will bring great fruit out of this persecution. And this is something that God is renowned for. He is able to bring about awesome things often in the bleakest of trials or the darkest of circumstances. I love what Paul writes in Romans 8:28...

Romans 8:28 (NIV)-- 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

He Experienced This-- Now that is a beautiful promise; but you know I think it is made all the more meaningful when we consider who penned it; because Paul, throughout the course of his entire ministry, face I meant the absolute worst of circumstances. And yet he was still able to pen this. Why? Because he saw demonstrated time after time God doing this for him in his own life. And you and I can know that God will do the same thing for us as well. No matter what we are facing, scripture promises that God is right in the middle of that storm with us and (though our ship might be getting tossed about) He is still guiding us in those circumstances to His perfect plan and purpose for us.

Some Key Examples-- God did it with Joseph in Egypt, who was sold into slavery by his brothers. He raised Joseph up to become second in command over all of Egypt. And because of that he could provide for the needs of his family but also save many lands from starvation from famine. Later, even though Israel was sent into captivity because of their going after other gods; in the midst of that captivity God raised up people like Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra, and Esther to bring deliverance and hope to His people. And even out of the greatest evil ever committed, the murder of the Son of God, God brought about His greatest provision; salvation from sin and death. And up until this point in the book of Acts (in chapters 4,5,7,8, and 12) we see that every single time the Church is persecuted, it ends up being bigger and stronger on the other side of that persecution. And that pattern doesn’t stop; and our passage today here in Acts 16 is just another example of it. Look at verse 19, where the reaction of the slave girl’s owners is given…

Acts 16:19-20 (ESV)— 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.

Anti-Semitism-- Now note how they highlight the fact that Paul and Silas are both Jews. There’s strategy in this; because there was a lot of anti-semitism going on at this time. I say that a bit tongue-in-cheek because they seem to be persecuted at all times and in all places. But notably at this time the anti-semitism was very high and about this time [Emperor Claudius {actually} issued an order expelling the Jews from Rome (Acts 18:2).] And so observe how the owners only grab Paul and Silas, but leave Timothy (who was only half-Jewish) and Luke (a Gentile) alone. They choose the ones that will be most repugnant and suspect before the magistrates and the crowds. And after bringing them, they say that they are the cause of disturbing the entire city, which was completely false. But they say the way they are doing this is by (verse 21)…

Acts 16:21 (ESV)— 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”

The Charges-- And technically that was true because [There was a law forbidding Roman citizens to practice any foreign religion that had not been sanctioned by the state, although this law was rarely enforced.] But they certainly were not causing any kind of mass confusion like what these men were accusing them of. As the text highlights, they were angry merely because of their loss of the profits they were gaining from the slave girl. However, they are able to stir the crowd into a frenzy, as it says in…

Acts 16:22a (ESV)— 22 The crowd joined in attacking them,

No Investigation-- And the rulers amazingly, without bothering to investigate the charges or give Paul and Silas a fair hearing and a chance to defend themselves (any of [the highly prized standards of Roman justice.], which by the way would have revealed to the rulers that Paul and Silas were also Roman citizens) they just give in to the mob. It says in…

Acts 16:22b (ESV)— and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.

Lictors-- [The beating was administered by the lictors (the “policemen” of vv. 35, 38), who were under the command of the magistrates (v. 35). Each lictor carried a bundle of rods tied together—ironically, as a symbol of Roman law and justice. With those rods they brutally beat the men, a punishment Paul endured three times (2 Cor. 11:25).]

Acts 16:23-24 (ESV)— 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison {(so in other words, “maximum security”)} and fastened their feet in the stocks.

​Trust in Him-- He was not taking any chances. But like Herod in chapter 12 and the Sanhedrin in Acts 5, the rulers in Philippi were going to learn that no prison is strong enough to hold those God means to be released. Because despite the Python spirits of this world, God is always with those who lean on and trust in Him. Let us always remember that and (in a similar way) trust Him. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #189 “Salvation Comes To Lydia” (Acts 16:6-15) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today. Last week we saw how Timothy has now joined Paul and Silas on their second missionary journey. And, leaving his mother Eunice and Grandmother Lois in Lystra, it says in…

Acts 16:6 (ESV)— 6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

Other Plans— Now we don’t know why God prevented them from entering Asia. Yet later there would be some very important churches that would be founded there; [churches in such cities as Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Colossae, Sardis, Pergamum, and Thyatira.] But for now, God had other plans for them and communicated to them through the Holy Spirit that for now Asia was off limits. And that was no doubt very discouraging for Paul. And it can be discouraging to us too when God says no to something that (at the time) might seem like the right thing. But what we have to remember is that God knows what is needed and when those things are needed and can be used most. And we have to trust His timing.

Don’t Fight The Air Currents— Sometimes my kids watch a movie I used to watch as a kid called The Sword In The Stone; a story about King Arthur coming under the magical teachings of Merlin, whose talking owl Archimedes also helps to instruct the boy. And one day Merlin turns Arthur into a bird and Archimedes (a bird himself) is trying to teach Arthur to fly. But he is struggling against the air currents and can’t get lift. And Archimedes says, “Don’t fight the air currents! Use them!” And Arthur does, and suddenly (for the first time) really begins to fly. And you know, the same is true of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach, the Wind of God. If we can keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), which is another way of saying “move our wings in accordance with how He is moving” we will soar. And so while God’s saying no may be discouraging, we must do what Paul did and allow that “no” to propel us into the better thing God has for us. And so they turned to Mysia, which is the region north of Asia. But it says in…

Acts 16:7-8 (ESV)— 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia {(which is farther north)}, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. {So again they are repelled.} 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.

Keep Moving— Now I love how they don’t stop and wait. They keep moving forward, knowing that God will redirect. You and I also are often called to wait on God not by standing still, but by following the next logical step; the next right thing. You can turn the steering wheel of car, but that will only change the car’s direction if that car is in motion. The same with us. Do what makes sense and leave yourself open for God’s redirection. Now we don’t know [how they were prevented {by Jesus here}, but with nowhere else to turn, they came down to Troas, a port on the Aegean Sea. They knew God would eventually reveal where He wanted them to go if they kept moving. At last, in dramatic fashion, He did so.] It says in…

Acts 16:9 (ESV)— 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Macedonia— Now [Macedonia was across the Aegean Sea on the mainland of Greece. In it were located the important cities of Philippi and Thessalonica. More significant, this would be the first entry of the gospel into the continent of Europe.] Now after Paul sees this vision, he doesn’t waste any time. It says in…

Acts 16:10 (ESV)— 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Luke Joins The Team— And so Luke is indicating that they knew immediately that that is where they were to go. But there is also something else here that can be easily overlooked. And that is the word “we”. This is [the first of the “we” passages in Acts], which indicates that [Luke, the writer of Acts, has now joined the missionary team. {And} Like Timothy, he was to be Paul’s faithful friend and loyal companion for the rest of the apostle’s life.]

Acts 16:11-12 (ESV)— 11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace {([Samothrace is an island in the Aegean Sea, approximately half way between Asia Minor and the Greek mainland. There they stayed overnight (to avoid the hazards of sailing in the dark)])}, and the following day to Neapolis {([the port city of Philippi])},12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. {And ([The winds must have been favorable, for the reverse trip from Philippi to Troas on the third missionary journey took five days (Acts 20:6).]) And so [When the missionary team landed in Neapolis, Paul’s ministry finally reached Europe.] But [The team did not stop to preach in Neapolis, but from there went on to Philippi, about ten miles inland.] And Luke writes, saying} We remained in this city some days. {Now it says…}

Acts 16:13a (ESV)—13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer,

A Place of Prayer— Now the reason they do this is because (although it was Paul’s custom to preach first in the synagogue of every city he visited) in order to form a synagogue you had to have the presence of ten Jewish men who were heads of households. And so Philippi’s Jewish community was apparently too small to form a synagogue. And [In such cases, a place of prayer, under the open sky and near a river or the sea, was to be arranged for. {And} The one in Philippi was located outside the gate by a riverside, probably where the road leading out of Philippi crossed the Gangites River.] They choose to go there in the best hope of finding people to witness to and (seeing a group of women) it says…

Acts 16:13b (ESV)— and we sat down {(which was [the normal posture for teaching])} and spoke to the women who had come together.

Paul’s Value for Women— And notice that there are no men mentioned, which is [further evidence of the small size of the Jewish community at Philippi. {And so} Lacking a man to lead them, these women met to pray, read from the Old Testament law, and discuss what they had read.] Now imagine their surprise to have Paul and his missionary team join them. And for them to have Paul (a traveling rabbi, who was not only a rabbi but had been a student of a great rabbi, Gamaliel) was no doubt a very rare privilege. Now I love how the very first people in Europe that Paul ever shared the Gospel with were women. That is important, because a lot of misguided people have characterized Paul as some kind of male chauvinist, particularly because of Paul’s teaching on the role of women in the church. And they conclude that he had some kind of prejudice against women. But we see here that that is not the case. He is eager to share the Gospel with them and to even teach them, which is more than could be said about the Pharisees. The Pharisees [would not deign to teach a woman, and regularly in their rote prayers they thanked God that they were neither Gentiles, slaves, nor women. {And yet we see that Paul both teaches and sees the value in women, which by the way} ran counter to the treatment of women in Greco-Roman society. {When we look through the New Testament we see that} Paul valued the ministry of women such as Phoebe (Rom. 16:1), the various women among those he greeted in Romans 16:3ff., and even Euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2–3).] And that of course stemmed from Jesus’ treatment of women, which also ran counter to the norms of that day. Just to give you an example of this, notice how the scripture describes women “sitting at the feet” of Jesus. Well “sitting at the feet of” is not merely a description of their posture. No, to sit at the feet of a rabbi was a phrase used to describe talmudim, disciples of a rabbi. Now only men were allowed to be disciples and it was very unusual for a woman be allowed. And yet Jesus was perfectly comfortable bringing women into that discipleship relationship. And we see here that Paul imbibes that same attitude. Now Luke writes…

Acts 16:14a (ESV)— 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God.

a seller of purple goods— Now Lydia was the Roman province in which the city of Thyatira was located. And so Lydia may be named after her province or Lydia may have just been [her name in business; she may have been known as “the Lydian lady.”] But whatever the case, her city (Thyatira, which is the cite of one of the seven church of Revelation) [was noted for its manufacture of purple dye and dyed goods. Not surprisingly, Lydia herself was a seller of purple fabrics. {Now} Purple dye, whether made from the glands of the murex shellfish or from the roots of the madder plant, was prohibitively expensive. {Thus} Purple garments were worn by royalty and the wealthy, and the selling of purple fabrics was a very profitable business.] And she herself was (apparently) very wealthy. And that we will see in that her house is large enough to accommodate the entire missionary team (v. 15) and later the new church at Philippi (v. 40). Now aside from her wealth, there are a couple of things we can string together (every pun intended) about Lydia. And the first is that she was a worshiper of God. This shows that she (like Cornelius) believed in and worshipped the God of Israel, but had not yet become a full proselyte to Judaism. And secondly, she was truly listening; not just hearing audibly, but paying attention and seeking to understand. And that is the kind of posture that God can work with. There are so many who hear, yet never understand because they are not truly listening.

Eyes Glazed— Have you ever been in a conversation with somebody and you see their eyes glaze over and you realize they aren’t hearing a word? Maybe some of you are doing that right now. I don’t know. But in all seriousness, I remember one particular instance where that happened to me while I was talking with somebody several months back. I was having a conversation with somebody who must have had a lot on their mind because not long after I began sharing what I had to say they completely checked out and were no longer paying attention. And a little voice in my head said “just stop talking and leave.” I heard that little voice but then (because I knew what I was about to say would, under normal circumstances, really interest this person) decided to plow ahead and somehow try to be more interesting. It didn’t work. But Lydia wasn’t checked out. She was fully engaged. And it says in…

Acts 16:14b-15 (ESV)— The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Lydia’s Hospitality— And so we see that Lydia and her entire household came to faith in Christ. And in gratitude, she insists that they stay at her house. Now hospitality [is required of all Christians (Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9), especially women (1 Tim. 5:10) and church leaders (Titus 1:8). {And} It was critical in the ancient world, where inns were often unsuitable {places} for Christians to stay in. They were filthy, dangerous, expensive, and often little more than brothels. {And so} To make a home where travelers could be exposed to Christian love, family life, and fellowship was a high priority for Christian women (cf. 1 Tim. 5:9–10).] And Lydia’s offering them her hospitality shows that she had in her the love and fear of God, which had now become more fully realized in Christ Jesus.

Use The Currents— Now what this passage shows us is that when God says no to us or no at that moment (like He did with Paul and his team entering Asia at that time), it is only because He has an awesome plan that He wants you to be a part of. And so don’t fight the air currents; use them. And even if that might mean stepping into some dangerous situations, God’s greatest blessings often lie in those situations. And so let us commit to trust and follow Him as He seeks to guide us into the fulfillment of His purposes. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #188 “Lois and Eunice Release Timothy” (Acts 16:1-5) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to the show today. In our study of Acts chapter 16 we have been taking a look at Paul’s setting out from Antioch on a second missionary journey; one that was aimed at strengthening all the churches that had been founded on his first missionary journey. And so naturally he wants to take Barnabas with him, as Barnabas had been with him on that first missionary journey and was such an encouragement to him; that’s what his name means, “son of encouragement”, which was given to him by the apostles. But Barnabas insists that John Mark also come. Paul doesn’t think that is a good idea because of how John Mark had abandoned them on their first missionary journey; and so they have a sharp disagreement about this and end up splitting up. Barnabas and John Mark go to Cyprus (which is where Paul and Barnabas had entered Asia Minor on their first trip, but with Barnabas and John Mark going, Paul chooses instead to enter Galatia from the opposite direction, traveling through Syria and Cilicia. And that may seem like an arbitrary decision (and may have been to Paul); but we will see in a few moments how God was at work in that in a huge way. Now [Syria was the region around Antioch, and the neighboring region of Cilicia contained Paul’s home city of Tarsus. {And so} Many of its churches had no doubt been founded by Paul himself. {And} As Paul and Silas traveled through those areas, they were busy with their priority, strengthening the churches.] Now as they [crossed the rugged Taurus Mountains through the Cilician Gates north of Tarsus, the missionaries came to Derbe and to Lystra. Paul and Barnabas had visited these cities on their first missionary journey (Acts 14:6ff.), and Lystra had been the scene of some remarkable events. It was there that Paul had healed a lame man (14:8–10). In response, the astonished crowd proclaimed the two missionaries gods (14:11–18). Following that, Paul had been stoned nearly to death by jealous Jews from Antioch and Iconium (14:19).] Now if it were me, I’d be a little nervous coming back to Lystra. But as for Paul, the mission of reaching people always trumped concerns for his own personal safety. Like we talked about recently, he always felt that weight of glory; that burden for people who were lost or who needed Jesus. And so unless God said otherwise, he was going to go.

Timothy— Now it is sometimes when we choose to show courage to obey God even in the midst of fear or danger that God often rewards us. And we definitely see that here; because while they are [At Lystra, the missionaries were joined by a certain disciple named Timothy.] And this young man Timothy (who was probably in his late teens or early twenties at this time) would come [to play a key role in Paul’s life, eventually becoming his right-hand man (1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Thess. 3:2; Phil. 2:19).] He would also be  Paul’s “true child in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2; cf. 1 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 1:2)]. And this was primarily because [he had been led to Christ by Paul when the apostle visited Lystra on the first missionary journey.] But it was also because of how Paul continued to pour into his life during the many years that followed. And for Timothy this was such a blessing because the way the his father is described in the imperfect tense (“was”) rather than the present suggests that he had already passed on. And so Timothy (a young man still in great need of a father figure) was blessed to find one in Paul. Now Timothy’s father had been a Greek, while his mother (Eunice) was Jewish. And so [Timothy had access to both cultures—an important qualification for missionary service at that time.]

Lois & Eunice— But another thing I don’t want to overlook is the fact that his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois were also both believers (2 Timothy 1:5). And that just reminds me that behind most successful men are righteous mothers and grandmother’s who have equipped, trained and prayed their men into they eventually end up in. And I can attest to that personally. My mom has been and still is a constant source of encouragement to me. And my grandmothers (both of whom are still living) are constantly praying for me; and only eternity will show how many pitfalls I have avoided; how many physical and spiritual attacks have been driven back; and even how much of my ministry itself I owe to all three of these mighty women of God ministering to me. Now we don’t know Eunice’s story or Lois’ story. But what we do know is that they no doubt were in Lystra during the time of (and may have even witnessed) Paul and Barnabas’ persecution and Paul’s near death by stoning. And yet here they seem willing, amazingly, to allow Timothy to join with Paul in his ministry. And so if we knew nothing else about them, that alone would tell us that here were women of faith and obedience; women who also felt that “weight of glory”; and the reason we know their names today is because of their faithfulness to release this young man Timothy into the dangerous calling of following God.

Paul Chooses Timothy— Now because Timothy had been mentored and discipled by Lois and Eunice, he no doubt carried over into his own life their righteous character. Because we read in verse 2 that: He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. And Paul sees great potential in him and therefore chooses him as a disciple. And so [After being commissioned by the elders of the local assembly of believers (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), he joined Paul and Silas, and the course of his life was set.]

A Providential Blessing— Now remember earlier I talked about how it is significant that Paul and Silas entered Asia Minor from the opposite direction; because if they had followed the same route as they did on the first missionary journey, they would not have come to Lystra until the very end of their trip. But God’s providence was at work in an amazing way as Timothy (because they came to Lystra first) now can be of help to them for their entire trip. And so God is showing that even when he calls us into difficult circumstances, we often find His greatest blessings in and during those situations.

Stepping Out To WBS— You know, in looking back at when God called me to go to seminary, I remember I wanted to wait, partially because the idea of seminary seemed way too daunting to me. I imagined myself surrounded by scholarly geniuses who would leave me in the dust. But my grandparents (because my family was in China during that time) were staying in my parents’ home, which was near Asbury College where I had been attending. And I visited them and told them of my intention to wait awhile. But (just like Eunice and Lois did with Timothy) they encouraged me not to wait. They even drove me down from Kentucky to Jackson, Mississippi to visit Wesley Biblical Seminary to kind of warm me up to the idea of starting seminary right away. And after receiving assurance that this was God’s will for my life and that it wasn’t totally beyond me and I could do this, I enrolled for that fall. And that was a big step of faith for me. And reflecting back, I think about how I never would have met and married Tanya had I chosen to wait. And so I would have missed out on who was without doubt God’s greatest blessing in my life. I don’t know who is Paul and who is Timothy in her and my relationship, but what I do know is that my life suddenly got a whole lot better after I met her. Even my grades made a marked improvement after she came into my life; because of both her belief in me and also her constant stream of encouragement, which has never stopped. Well, Timothy was kind of like that for Paul; and Paul was that for Timothy. God knew the right time and place to bring them together.

Timothy’s Circumcision— Now immediately following Timothy’s appointment to this ministry, Paul has Timothy circumcised. And some have criticized Paul for this, saying that he ended up falling into the same heresy he had fought against at the Jerusalem Council; that circumcision was necessary for salvation. However, nowhere does it say or imply that he did this in order that Timothy might be saved. Rather, it says in verse 3 that he did this because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. You see, circumcision was the number one condition that was seen as absolutely necessary for every Jew. And if Timothy did not become circumcised, all the Jews that they would meet on their missionary endeavors would assume that Timothy was renouncing his Jewish heritage; and that would place a stumbling block in the way of reaching those Jews with the message of Christianity, which remember is a fulfillment of Judaism. Also keep in mind that Paul always started his ministry in the local synagogues; and if Timothy wanted full access to those synagogues, he needed to be circumcised. And so it had nothing to do with salvation, but rather doing what is necessary in order to reach people for Jesus. Listen to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, because it really encapsulates Paul’s thinking on this…

1 Corinthians 9:19-22 (ESV)— 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.

The Meaning Behind The Action— Now having said this, I want to point out that later Paul did refuse to circumcise Titus (Gal. 2:3). And why was that? Because [Titus, unlike Timothy, was a full-blooded Gentile. {And} To have circumcised him would have been to capitulate to legalism. And what this reveals to us is that something might be okay to do in one culture and wrong in another; or right in one situation and wrong in another. It’s not always the action itself, but what the meaning is behind that action. Kind of like kicking a door down. That is wrong to do if you are trying to break into somebody’s house to rob them. But it is a good thing to do if their house is on fire and you are trying to save them. And so with Timothy, Paul saw circumcision as a means of avoiding unnecessary offense; but in refusing to circumcise Titus, Paul was showing that we cannot and must not compromise on any of the essential doctrines and teachings of scripture. In one circumstance circumcision is a means of helping to save people; in the other it is a practice that will rob people of the essential teaching of the Gospel, which is that salvation is by grace through faith alone. And that message (along with the council’s admonition that the gentiles live by love in being sensitive to the Jews and their ways) they are communicating to all these cities, which we see in that it says in…

Acts 16:4-5 (ESV)— 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Sold Out— Now what we can’t miss in our study today is this passage’s emphasis on what these early Christians were willing to lay on the altar for the sake of the Gospel. Timothy was willing to leave his entire old life to embrace a ministry that was permeated with danger and uncertainty. And (perhaps even more amazingly) Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois were willing to release him into that ministry. They were like military moms and wives, releasing their men into danger for the sake of a greater cause. But that is what it means to be a Christian; to lay it all down for the sake of Christ and the Gospel. I hope that you and I will be just as faithful. Let’s remember that we are called to be 100% sold out to Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #187 “Timothy Joins The Team” (Acts 16:1-5) Pastor Cameron Ury

Anchors— You know, in reflecting back on my life, there have been quite a number of people who have been anchors for me in my Christian faith; men and women who took time to invest in my life so that I could be thoroughly equipped both to know Jesus Christ in intimate and personal relationship, but also so that I could be thoroughly equipped to carry His Gospel into the world. And one of those people was one of my seminary professors, Dr. Matt Friedeman. Few people have helped shape my thinking about ministry as much as he did. He was not only my professor, but also the leader of a discipleship group I was blessed to be a part of; and it was a discipleship group that was very different from your typical one nowadays, with everyone sitting and talking about the Bible. No, not with Matt. His philosophy of discipleship (which is most akin to what we find here in the book of Acts, and which he would state often) was this: “If you make disciples by sitting around and talking, don’t be surprised if all your disciples do is sit around and talk.” “If you make disciples by sitting around and talking, don’t be surprised if all your disciples do is sit around and talk.” And so yes, we would do Bible study and prayer (and even sing hymns) together, but it wasn’t in the comfort of a home, but in a van on the way to the local prison. He would (like Jesus did) split the group into pairs and send each into a different prison block to preach. Now let me tell you, for a young man who had never preached a sermon before in his life, that was baptism under fire. And furthermore, he wouldn’t tell you when you were going to preach. He would just point at you before boarding the van and say, “Cameron (or whoever it was), you’re preaching tonight.” And (if you weren’t already prepared) you had the van ride over to prepare. Let me tell you, there were few things that I faced that were more intimidating. But looking back, there are few things I am more thankful for; because it taught me that though Jesus had called me to learn, it wasn’t so I could sit in a group of my peers and exchange meaningful ideas; it was so I could go into the darkest of places and bring into the places (and the people there) the transforming power of the Gospel.

Timothy Follows— Now the reason I say all of this is because here in Acts chapter 16 we see that Paul takes under his wing a young man by the name of Timothy, who joins Paul in ministry; and so Timothy becomes his disciple in the “following” sense of the word because he follows Paul into the spiritually darkest places in the world and joins in his ministry. It is discipleship by hands on training in meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people. And today we will begin to see how all that came about. It says in…

Acts 16:1-5 (ESV)— 1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Paul’s Living Fruit— Now this young man Timothy that joins Paul and Silas in their ministry was actually the living fruit of Paul’s ministry; because remember that on Paul’s first missionary journey into Asia Minor, Paul and Barnabas visited the city of Lystra, where it says in…

Acts 14:1b (NKJV)— …that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.

A Constant Companion— Well Timothy was likely one of that multitude. And he was a young man who already had solid Jewish training in the Scriptures from his mother and grandmother. And so when Paul and Silas return to Lystra here on their 2nd missionary journey, they find him, are impressed by his dedication to Christ and willingness to serve, and so Paul takes Timothy under his wing and begins to disciple him. And Timothy [would ultimately become Paul’s constant companion, traveling with him throughout Asia, Macedonia, and Greece. He was also in Rome for part or all of the apostle’s two-year house arrest—and is named as one of the senders in the letters Paul wrote from Rome to the Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon (as well as 2 Corinthians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians).] And we see his dedication even here as (as an adult) he allows himself to be circumcised in order to not create an obstacle for the Jews they would be witnessing to who might know of his mixed Greek/Jewish background and be offended because of their concern to keep the covenant of circumcision. So he is very dedicated. Now not only that, but (as we will see later) Timothy is one of the most self-less Christians in scripture. Paul writes to the Philippians in…

Philippians 2:19-22 (ESV)— 19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's[a] proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. {And so we see modeled in Timothy’s life the selflessness of Jesus Christ, which is the supreme mark of the true believer.}

Not Making Disciples— Now at this point I would like to return to something I said last week; and that has to do with what we were talking about in regards to discipleship, because I think that there are many churches that know how to make converts. But there are very few churches that know how to make disciples; who know how to establish new converts firmly in their faith; who know how to teach them the Word and ground them in sound doctrine; who know how to make disciples who will also be thoroughly equipped to make disciples of their own. That is the supreme weakness of the Church today, making disciples who can make disciples. Well, what is a disciple?

Wiersbe on Discipleship— Warren Wiersbe once said: [A disciple, then, is one who has believed on Jesus Christ and expressed this faith by being baptized. He remains in the fellowship of the believers that he might be taught the truths of the faith (Acts 2: 41– 47). He is then able to go out and win others and teach them. This was the pattern of the New Testament church (2 Tim. 2:1-2). In many respects, we have departed from this pattern. In most churches, the congregation pays the pastor to preach, win the lost, and build up the saved— while the church members function as cheerleaders (if they are enthusiastic) or spectators. The “converts” are won, baptized, and given the right hand of fellowship, then they join the other spectators. How much faster our churches would grow, and how much stronger and happier our church members would be, if each one were discipling another believer. The only way a local church can “be fruitful and multiply” (instead of growing by “additions”) is with a systematic discipleship program. This is the responsibility of every believer, and not just a small group that has been “called to go.” Jesus had opened the minds of His disciples to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24: 44– 45). They knew what He wanted them to teach to their own converts. It is not enough to win people to the Savior; we must also teach them the Word of God. This is also a part of the Great Commission.]

Jesus’ Pattern for Discipleship— And you know, he’s absolutely right. That was the pattern for discipleship modeled to us by Jesus. He chose a handful of guys and poured everything He had into those few men. He then showed them how to do ministry; he gave them His authority. Then at Pentecost He gave them His Spirit. And it was that handful of men who ended up changing the world. He trained disciples who could make disciples. Paul was himself discipled under the teachings of the other apostles. Then he takes a disciple of his own; Timothy; and pours everything he has into him. And he trains Timothy until he is ready for service. And Paul’s letters to Timothy contain much of that training. [Paul tells Timothy how to confront false teachers, how to order the church’s worship, how to select church leaders, and how to conduct himself as a young leader in a difficult situation. {And} Speaking as a father to a son, the apostle urges Timothy not only to stand up for the truth in public but also to guard his own soul from the errors all around him (1 Tim. 6:20, 21)].

Timothy’s Ordination— And when Timothy is ready for service, [In a ceremony that serves as the basis for modern-day ordination of ministers of the gospel, Paul and an “eldership” (group of church elders, or leaders) … laid hands on Timothy to set him apart for God’s service (1:18; 4:14). And we see that he becomes Paul’s handpicked choice to oversee the troubled Church in Ephesus; somebody that he himself had discipled. And Paul calls Timothy by a very personal title in his greeting to Timothy. He says…

1 Timothy 1:2a (NKJV) Greeting— 2 To Timothy, a true son in the faith:

Son Language— You know, that is pretty close and personal language. You can hardly get more personal than a relationship between a father and a son; a parent and a child. That is one of the closest, most intimate bonds there is. A child is dependent on you utterly and completely for sustenance. A child absorbs so much what you teach them. You bear them and then you lead them to maturity until they one day leave your home and go off to start families of their own.

Our Fruit— And the question I want to leave you with is, what children are you bearing for the kingdom of God? Who is the Timothy in your life? What young or new Christian are you pouring yourself into? Who are you carrying in prayer? To whom are you writing letters of discipleship and encouragement? If we want our nation to experience true freedom in Christ, then we have to start making disciples. It’s in our obedience to make disciples that we can help bring our nation back into right relationship with God. And so let us commit to do that.

Lechem Panim #186 “The Weight of Glory” (Acts 15:36-41) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. Thank you for tuning in today as we continue on our journey through the book of Acts.

The 2nd Missionary Journey— Today’s passage is an important one, as it marks the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey. After this interlude with the Jerusalem Council, Paul is eager to get back to the work of the ministry, which had been interrupted by this debate with the legalists. Now this wasn’t because Paul was bored with the ministry in Antioch. There are many things pastors are. Bored is rarely one of them. In full-time ministry there is always something to do. And helping to pastor the church in Antioch, where (think about it) there were so many new believers was no doubt a great challenge. But something happens when you truly encounter Jesus and allow His mindset to shape yours; and that is that you begin to think eternally. And that is a good thing. But with that will also come a burden. You will no longer be able to ignore the needy and the lost. You will (like God does) feel the weight of eternity on your shoulders as you become awakened to people’s spiritual conditions.

The Big Heat Wave— This past summer (which if you live around here you will know was unusually hot) I read of a man who drove all the way to Arizona during the heat wave in order to buy air conditioners for his friends and neighbors back home, which he then brought back and gave to them. It was apparently a big enough story to make the news. And this man no doubt did it because he knew the dangers of the coming heat. Well, how much more ought we as Christians who (seeing the heat wave of Judgment Day and Hell coming) do what we can to prepare people for it. You see, with an eternal mindset comes what Paul calls in 2 Corinthians 4:17 “The Weight of Glory”; recognizing that every person we meet is going to live forever in one of two places; and God has called us to share His burden in helping to lead people into the life that is found only in His Son Jesus Christ.

Paul On The Move— Well Paul is one of those who always felt that weight of glory, which is why when we look at the broad spectrum of his life, we see that he was never content to remain in one place for very long. No, he was always on the move. Anywhere he went was a step to somewhere else. Even Rome, which you would think would be a place he would be content to remain in (seeing as it was the capital of the greatest empire the world had ever known and therefore probably the best place to remain strategically); it was not his ultimate destination. He longed to visit there (which we read about in Romans 15:22-23); but even in his letter to them he writes “whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while…I will go on by way of you to Spain” (Romans 15:24,28). And the reason he was always on the move was because of how keenly aware he was that there were always other people in other places who had not yet been told about the way of salvation. And he always felt compelled to reach those people. Listen to his own words in 1 Corinthians 9:16: “I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel”.

Hudson Taylor’s Burden— [Paul’s passionate concern for those without Christ found an echo in the heart of J. Hudson Taylor, the nineteenth-century English missionary to China. He wrote: I have a stronger desire than ever to go to China. That land is ever in my thoughts. Think of it—360 million souls, without God or hope in the world! Think of more than twelve millions of our fellow creatures dying every year without any of the consolations of the Gospel. Barnsley including the Common has only 15,000 inhabitants. Imagine what it would be if all these were to die in twelve months! Yet in China year by year, hundreds are dying, for every man, woman and child in Barnsley. Poor, neglected China! Scarcely anyone cares about it.]

A Needed Burden— Now we can read every ministry strategy book out there (and let me tell you, there are tons of them), but none of them will ever replace that internal concern for lost souls that motivates us (or as Paul says “compels us”) to witness. That burden (as hard as it is to bear or even to think about at times) is what every Church needs more than anything else; the burden for the lost that only comes from being close enough to Jesus to have His mindset become our own. And so, feeling that burden, it says in…

Acts 15:36 (ESV)— 36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.”

Make Disciples, Not Merely Converts— Now even though some have called Paul the greatest human evangelist the world has ever known, we see that he is markedly differently from the modern, 20th & 21st-century stereotypical evangelist, who travels from city to city to win converts, but then leaves them to either grow on their own or be discipled by others. No, Paul didn’t believe in making converts; he believed in making disciples. Well, what is a disciple? Well, a disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who is rooted in and growing in faith and is becoming fruitful, leading others into faith in Christ and able to disciple them. Now how do you make a disciple? By taking a new believer under your wing (becoming a friend and mentor to them) and giving of your time to help them to become established in their faith. Now we’ll come back to this theme, because it is very important. But I want you to see how ingrained this concept was in the mind of Paul right from the outset, as he wants to return to all the places where he won converts to Christ in order to make sure that they are rooted and growing in Christ. Now Barnabas no doubt thought this second missionary trip was a great idea. But it says in…

Acts 15:37-38 (ESV)— 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. {The actual language in the Greek carries a tone of being adamant. Barnabas is determined to take him.} 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

John Mark Leaves— Now the reason that Mark had not gone with them was probably because, after he had arrived with Paul and Barnabas to Perga in Pamphylia and got a glimpse into the interior of Asia Minor and sees all the paganism and danger that lay before them, he gets scared (Acts 13:13). And so he decides to turn and go back to Jerusalem and (more specifically) to his mother, who was a prominent member of the Church there. Now here in this passage we get a glimpse into how Paul felt about that. He sees John Mark as lacking courage and commitment and therefore doesn’t want to take him. He sees Mark as more of a hindrance and a burden than an asset. And so he refuses to take him. Now Barnabas (whose name means “son of encouragement”) wants to give his cousin (Col 4:10) Mark another chance and to allow Mark to show courage where he had shown fear before. And this is typical of Barnabas. In fact years earlier it was he who recognized Paul’s calling (11:25-26). But remember that the other believers were afraid of Paul because of what he had done to the Church. And so Barnabas took him to the apostles (Acts 9:27) and insisted that he be given a chance to prove himself. And he is given that chance. But interestingly, here Paul doesn’t back down in his dispute with Barnabas. He is thoroughly convinced that Mark is not the right person to come along with them at this time. Now we don’t know all the reasons why. But Paul may have had in mind [the immediate needs and demands of such a rigorous journey. Undoubtedly, Mark’s earlier departure {had} placed increased demands on Paul and Barnabas, and he was unwilling to risk that again.] And so, sadly, immediately following the Jerusalem Council, where we see the Church coming together and becoming absolutely unified in their decision, we find in the very next section the opposite. Between Paul and Barnabas it says…

Acts 15:39-41 (ESV)— 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus {(which, by the way, was Barnabas’ home (Acts 4:36))}, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Was Paul or Barnabas Right?— Now I don’t know how you feel about this story; who was right and who was wrong. Scripture doesn’t explicitly say, though the weight of the evidence seems to actually favor Paul; because (think about it) Paul was an apostle, whereas Barnabas was not. That alone is enough reason for Barnabas to submit to Paul’s authority. But even if it wasn’t, Barnabas probably should have recognized that it would be unwise and difficult to take along someone Paul didn’t trust. And last but not least, it is important to note that it was Paul and Silas (not Barnabas and Mark) who are commended by the church in verse 40. Now does that mean Paul was completely in the right? Not necessarily. Maybe he should have shown more mercy. We don’t know enough concerning the circumstances involved to make a decision one way or the other. But what we do know is that [Although they apparently never again ministered together (this is the last mention of Barnabas in Acts), we know Paul and Barnabas eventually reconciled their differences, because Paul later wrote approvingly of Barnabas’s ministry (1 Cor. 9:6). Even John Mark, the cause of all the trouble, later became one of Paul’s valued co-laborers (Col. 4:10; Philem. 24; 2 Tim. 4:11). He also became a close associate of the apostle Peter (1 Pet. 5:13) and was privileged to write one of the four gospels. {And so} Barnabas did a remarkable job in helping to turn around the life and ministry career of his young cousin.]

God Used It— But at this point there is a very painful split. Yet even though it was painful, we see that God was able to use it for good in that because of the split, there are now two missionary endeavors instead of just one. And what that shows us is that God can use even the rough patches to further expand His Kingdom work.

Our Burden— And you know, it is a comfort to me to see that the early Church struggled with many of things that you and I face today. But they were always able to push through their differences and find healing and reconciliation. Why? Because the mission mattered more than their differences; that weight of glory was heavier than any individual’s own personal opinion regarding the way things ought to be done. And the same is true today. The Churches that are the strongest and the most unified are Churches who are living under that weight of glory and keep Christ’s Great Commission central. And so that is the challenge I want to leave you with today. Let us seek to live (like Paul did) under that weight of glory. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #185 “The Verdict Delivered” (Acts 15:22-35) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim! In our study of Acts 15 we have been talking about the events set in motion by this group of Judaizers (or Jew-makers) who came to the new Gentile Christians in Antioch and tried to impose upon them all of the ceremonial Law of Moses; specifically the right of circumcision. This caused quite an uproar, so that Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem to have the council give an official answer to this issue. And, after some debate, a decision is reached. And the council concludes that all the evidence shows that the Gentiles have already been fully accepted by God (having the Holy Spirit and the transformation of heart and life that goes along with Him); and so they prescribe only a few rules for the Gentiles to obey not in order to live lives of legalism, but to protect them from immorality and help preserve their relationships with their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ. And we expounded each of those last week. But now the time has come for the decision to be brought to the church in Antioch. And so it says in…

Acts 15:22-23 (NKJV)— 22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 23 They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,
To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

Now notice the loving language of this letter. They call them “the brethren who are of the Gentiles”. So right from the outset they are communicating that the gentile Christians ARE indeed one of them.

Acts 15:24 (NKJV)— 24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words {[The word translated “troubling” (from anaskeuazo) is “a military metaphor for plundering a town.”]}, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law”—to whom we gave no such commandment—

And so the council is reiterating that these Judaizers who had come to them had no authority or sanction from the Jerusalem Council and therefore what they said could be disregarded. And in a similar way with us, if anyone tries to place us under the law, we can know that they are not speaking with God’s (or the true Church’s) authority and can therefore (standing on the authority of the Word of God) reject what they are saying and cling to salvation by grace through faith alone. Now next they write…

Acts 15:25-26 (NKJV)— 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so the council sends to them men who have been tested; men who have risked life and limb for the sake of the Gospel.

Acts 15:27 (NKJV)— 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.

Judas & Silas— Now the reason they did this was because if only Barnabas and Paul were sent, the people might say, “Well, of course these two men would give us this kind of report.” So they send along Judas and Silas as well in order to confirm to the gentiles that this was indeed the decision of the council. Now the rest of the letter once again ties all this back to the moving hand of God and how He Himself was leading. It says…

Acts 15:28-29 (NKJV)— 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

And that is all. No in-depth theological treatise. Just a loving letter releasing them from all obligation to live under the law. Now after the men receive this letter from the council, it says…

Acts 15:30-31 (NKJV)— 30 So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 31 When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.

Comfort & Liberation— And that is what always happen wherever the TRUE Gospel is proclaimed. The Gospel of Christ is always one of consolation, comfort, and liberation. The Law (in the end) brings condemnation because it is a mirror that shows us how ugly our spiritual condition really is. But the Gospel brings hope that in Jesus we have received forgiveness from sin and the power to live a life that the Law had no power to help me live. Now after this it says…

Acts 15:32-34 (NKJV)— 32 Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. 33 And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.
34 However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

Silas Stays— Now Silas and Paul obviously got along really well together. Silas must have really like Paul, enjoyed working with him, and probably learned a lot from him. And so he stays in Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to help grow the church there. It says…

Acts 15:35 (NKJV)— 35 Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

And Paul and Barnabas were actually the pastors of the church there in Antioch.

The First Diversity— Now the challenge that the Church will continue to face after this council is not just the salvation by grace alone issue. Rather, it is how to bring together people from all different races and people groups; people who often had very little in common except their faith in the Lord Jesus. They had their own cultures and subcultures; different histories; different traditions and practices; they had different customs and even languages. And so to try to imagine how you can bring unity and oneness to such a diverse group would be difficult. One solution is simply to decide that it is impossible and not do it. Instead, [segregate, isolate, and study each other with suspicion.] But that approach [profoundly affects Christianity’s effective and attractiveness]. It leads to snobbery and a generally judgmental atmosphere, which would betray the teachings of Jesus and His desire to see His followers be one as He and the Father are one (John 17); and Christianity would lose it’s appeal. Now the other solution is to lay down our presuppositions at the feet of Christ and choose to imitate Him (as Ephesians 5:1 tells us to do) and [become tolerant, understanding, and accepting.] Now that of course doesn’t meant we are to tolerate sin or sinful lifestyles. [James mentioned a few laws the the Gentile believers should see, with an understanding that basic morality and living for God would cover the rest.] But nothing brings greater joy and glory to God than believers of all different racial and ethnic backgrounds and all different social strata coming together in worship of Christ and around the fulfillment of His mission.

These 5 Fingers— [In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. 
"These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
"Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?”]

The Three Results— Now this decision by the council accomplished three practical things. First, it preserved and strengthened the unity of the Church, keeping it from splitting into two extreme “law” and “grace” groups. Rather, they demonstrated the right kind of compromise. They didn’t compromise on doctrine (which is always wrong, as Jude 3 warns us about), but were willing to give and take in the practical arrangements of life so that the various members could work and live together in love and unbroken harmonious fellowship.
    Secondly, this united decision allowed the Church to present a united witness to lost Jews (Acts 15:21). And the compromise of the gentiles allowed Jews to be drawn to the Christian faith without being repelled by unneeded offense.
    Third, this letter brought blessing to all who heard it. Not only was this letter read to the gentile believers in Antioch, but Paul (on his second missionary journey) also shared this letter with all the churches he had founded on his first missionary journey. The result was that those churches grew in their faith and also in their numbers (Acts 16:5).

Christ of The Andes— This week I read an interesting story of how [Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. Called "Christ of the Andes," the statue symbolizes a pledge between the two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina. Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted -- the statue had its back turned to Chile. Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day. In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply said, "The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans.]

​Share The Grace— You know, it’s amazing what impact one person can have in bringing unity in a situation. And the way you and I can help do that is by being careful not to put stumbling blocks in front of people by forcing them to conform to what might not be a theological belief, but more of a traditional practice. We can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are honoring and obeying God with our traditionalism, structure, and legalistic requirements when in fact we may be creating distance between God and others. Freedom and life are what we give others when we share with them the true message of the Gospel, not rules and ceremonies. And so let us share that life; that freedom in Christ Jesus with those to whom we witness. Amen.

Lechem Panim #184 “The Dangerous Three” (Acts 15:19-20) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim! Today we will be continuing to look at Acts chapter 15, which tells of group of Judaizers (or Jew-makers) who had come to Antioch and began causing some major dissension by trying to impose the Jewish practice of circumcision on the Gentiles who had come to faith in Jesus Christ. And the Gentiles (understandably) were very taken aback by this; particularly by the idea that they might not yet be right in God’s eyes; that there was a work they needed to perform (an actual operation they had to undergo) if they were going to be able to be followers of Jesus. And really this issue could have created a lot of division and might even have split the Church. And it was about more than just circumcision, but had to do with the issue of whether or not gentiles ought to keep the Mosaic law. And there was a lot of debate on this; but in the end the Jerusalem Council agreed that the Spirit of God was leading them away from placing that burden of the Law upon them, seeing as the Gentiles already had in their lives the marks of being believers. And so James, the head of the Jerusalem council, saying in…

Acts 15:19-20 (NKJV)— 19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God {(And [The Gr. word for “trouble” means “to throw something in the path of someone to annoy them.”])}, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.

Polluted by Idols— And so Gentiles who have come to faith in Christ are not to be put under the weight of the Mosaic system. However, we see that they are asked to abstain from certain practices out of loving courtesy to their Jewish brethren in order to preserve the fellowship. And the first of these is that they are asked “to abstain from things polluted by idols”. Now the eating of food that had been offered to idols was a huge issue in the Early Church, which is why we see the issue discussed again in 1 Corinthians. And what the situation was was that the pagan gentile world of that time would worship idols, physical statues/images that represented spiritual beings. And in places like Corinth (to which 1 Corinthians was written) what people would do was they would take an animal into a pagan temple and offer that animal to the idol. And the “spiritual” god represented by the physical idol would eat the “spiritual” animal. And then you could use the actual physical meat however you wanted. Well, people were very clever about this. They would take their best animals for sacrifices and then (after the supposed god had eaten the spiritual animal) they would sell that meat in the meat markets at those pagan temples. You see it was quite different from Judaism, where you actually had to offer the physical animal (not just the spiritual one).

Hell Money— When I was visiting my parents in China a number of years ago, my dad took me to kind of a Chinese funeral home. And they had a whole lot of normal items you would buy in everyday life, except they were paper. Paper houses (mansions), paper cars, paper watches, purses, you name it. And what you would do is you would buy and burn the paper item so that your loved one could have the real item in the afterlife. And you can actually buy money (they call it hell money) that (when you burn it) your loved one supposedly receives it in real money in the afterlife and they can then buy what they want. Now, I don’t know if they have gift cards. If they do, and I die, do me a favor and burn a few paper Best Buy and Amazon gift cards for me, will you? Now, in all seriousness, it seems to me that if you really believed in this, you would put your money where your mouth is so to speak and burn real money. But you don’t, just like in these pagan temples you don’t burn the animal; no you just offer the spirit of the animal. How different this is from Judaism, where you give God (truly give Him) the animal.

The Offense— But what you need to grasp from all this is that because of all this, the place to buy the best meat was at those heathen temples because that is where people had come to offer their best animals and (consequently) to then sell their best meat. So if you wanted to buy the best steak; the filet mignon; the porterhouse; the New York cuts, you would go to the pagan temples to get it. Now the Gentiles were not offended by this practice because they had always bought their meat at these markets. However, for the Jewish Christian who had been brought up knowing what God said about idolatry (Ex. 20:3; 34:17; Deut. 5:7), they would avoid anything to do with idols, including meat that had been offered to those idols (1 Cor. 8:1-13). And so the thought is that if a gentile were to have that Jewish Christian over for dinner, he would not offend his Jewish brother by offering that food that had been offered to that idol. And this is key for us to understand because (as we have already said) this request given by the council was not an attempt to put the Gentiles under the Mosaic Law, but was rather a request that they not do anything that might harm the unity between them and their Jewish brothers.

Paul’s Stance— And it ought to be noted that later we will see that Paul seems to have taken [a more liberal approach to the issue of food offered to idols in 1 Corinthians 8, which was written six or seven years after the council (c. A.D. 55), and perhaps in Romans 14, which was written eight years after the council (c. A.D. 56).] In certain contexts that may be okay. But they needed to be sensitive to the scruples of their Jewish brothers and sisters and abstain when necessary in order not to wound them. [This is the stance that Paul takes in his discussions in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8. He recommends sensitivity to people’s consciences, to the weaker brother, and to putting a stumbling block in the way of someone else. {And so} Our convictions must always be tempered by love. Love will make us do things that we have fought against legislating.] In fact we will see that Paul (after all this) will have Timothy circumcised in order to not alienate Jews who might otherwise be open to the Gospel.

Sexual Immorality— Now next we see that the council requests the gentiles to abstain from sexual immorality. And interestingly, this is the one that it markedly different from the other three. It’s the only one that wasn’t a dietary restriction and the only one that seems to be an explicit evil in itself. And once again, we need to understand the background of what was happening at that time to see why this is specifically mentioned. What we are talking about here is likely the kind of orgies that were associated (once again) with the pagan worship the Gentiles had up until this point been a part of. This kind of immorality was so common among the Gentiles, to the point where their consciences had become completely numb to it. It was a part of the pagan religious system. And so these new gentile Christians who are coming out of that pagan background have to be told explicitly not do something that to us might seem obvious. But you know, in America we have been slowly yet steadily moving back to that way of doing life. The sexual revolution in the 70’s played a major part in that. And the ironic thing is that many today think that to cast off all sexual restrictions or boundaries is progress. But this “new morality” or “progressive thinking” is really nothing more than old-time paganism dressed up in new language. And in any culture where immorality has been allowed to pervade and the sexual lines crossed, that culture has crashed.

Purity & Revival— This week I read a devotional by Dr. Dennis Kinlaw in which he says this: There is an important link between our purity in physical relationships and our vitality in spiritual relationships. It is quite clear biblically that God’s purposes for us are tied up with our sexuality. He can only accomplish his purposes in human history, in human society, and in human lives if his followers use their sexuality according to his design and plan. I have noticed a startling truth in the history of the church: the Holy Spirit has a particular affinity for people who are very careful in the sexual aspect of their lives. You will have a difficult time finding an outpouring of the Holy Spirit among people where there is substantial sexual laxity. For some reason, purity and revival are linked inseparably together; God seems to have a particular sensitivity for protecting his creation in this way. Perhaps human sexuality is especially important to God because it is a prime symbol of the depth of intimacy that God desires with each human person. God uses most effectively those individuals who are committed to personal holiness and purity, and he seems to have a special blessing for groups who are committed to corporate holiness and purity. In our day, when such holy behavior is an anomaly, we need to set our course by his standards and not by the standards of the world. Whether you are married or single, young or old, are the thoughts, imaginations, and actions of your heart as pure as Jesus would have them be? If there is any impurity in you, you can expect spiritual impotence.]
    And you know, he’s absolutely right. And that is why we find here the council taking such a strong stand against sexual immorality. They knew that the power and effectiveness of the Church and it’s ability to be filled with and used by the Holy Spirit was largely dependent on their remaining holy before God. And that is something we need to remember in our day and age as well.

Things Strangled & Blood— Now after this they also add that the gentiles ought to abstain from things strangled, and from blood. This, once again, was a matter of courtesy to the Jewish Christians, who refrained from eating such things and who were careful to cut their animals in such a way so as to drain out all the blood; because God had specifically commanded them not to eat blood.

Where The Lines Are— Now you and I are always interested in knowing where the lines are. We want to know what we are and what we are not allowed to do. And that is good; and is what the Gentiles needed to know. But (and I think the Jerusalem council was aware of this), it isn’t always about what you do as much as how that action might affect your relationship with God or your brother or sister in Christ and their relationship with God.

Susannah Wesley’s Definition of Sin— For this reason, I have come to really appreciate how Susannah Wesley defined sin. This was how Susannah Wesley defined "sin" to her young son, John Wesley. She said: "If you would judge of the lawfulness or the unlawfulness of pleasure, then take this simple rule: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, and takes off the relish of spiritual things—that to you is sin.”

​Let’s Evaluate— Now I love that definition because it puts the focus right where it needs to be; on our relationship with God. How might the action I am considering affect the communion I share with God and (consequently) with other people? Will it nourish me? Will it enhance my love for Jesus and keeps me centered in His will and in love for those He loves? Let us learn to evaluate all things by that standard. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #183 “The Greatest Proclamation” (Acts 15:10-21) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim! In our study of Acts chapter 15, we have seen that the Church in Antioch is thriving and growing as a multitude of Gentiles have come to faith in Jesus Christ. However, some particular Jews come in among these Gentiles and tell them that in addition to Jesus, they must also become circumcised (as they are) if they are to be truly saved. And so the Gentiles are being led by these men to severely question their faith. Now Paul and Barnabas immediately seek to free the Gentiles from this false teaching by immediately heading to Jerusalem to appear before the church leaders there and explain the situation so that the church leadership can make an official response to all of this. And so the council discusses and debates this issue and eventually come to a decision; and this decision is announced through a series of speeches delivered by Peter, Paul and Barnabas, and then James, each of whom expounds the truth that salvation is by grace alone through faith, and is something wholly set apart from any kind of ritual or law-keeping. And collectively they present six proofs for this. And last week we looked at the first three: the proof of past revelation (where Peter points out that God already settled this years ago by saving Cornelius (who was a Gentile) and his household (also Gentiles) without their having to become Jews, the fact that the gentiles here in Antioch (like Cornelius and his household) had received the Spirit (as confirmed by their having spoken in tongues; who is only given to believers, as the Bible clearly teaches), and (lastly) these Gentiles having been cleansed from sin, having a transformation of heart and life that bore witness that they truly had become children of God. All of these were powerful evidences that God had already saved the Gentiles. But Peter continues. He says in…

Acts 15:10-11 (ESV)— 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.”

The Unneeded Yoke— Now here we find the fourth proof; and that is the inability of the law to save. And Peter’s description of a yoke (a heavy burden) being placed upon them was so fitting. It was one that the Jews themselves had been unable to bear, seeing as none of Peter’s listeners had been saved by the Law, purified & cleansed by the Law, or received the Holy Spirit by the Law. These vital things came from God by grace through faith alone. Why then put upon the Gentiles what had not worked for them? And I love the way that Peter closes. He doesn’t say they will be saved just as we are. No, he says “…we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.” He emphasizes once again that NONE of them can be saved by works (not the Gentile nor even the Jew), but by the grace of the Lord Jesus. Now at this point it says…

Acts 15:12 (ESV)— 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.

Confirming Signs— And so here we see presented proof number five, the fact of miracles. And this is important because remember we talked about how, at every major turning point in Israelite history when God was leading His people in a new or deeper direction, He confirmed the message of His spokesperson through signs and wonders. Well, Paul and Barnabas are showing that God has done the same thing again through them, confirming that they are indeed his spokesmen (2 Corinthians 12:12). The Judaizers (on the other hand) had no miracles from God to back up their teaching. And that is because God does not back up false teachers. But He has backed up Paul and Barnabas; and therefore their teaching (that salvation was by grace alone) must be true.

Prophetic Promise— Now after this James (the half-brother of Jesus and head of the Jerusalem council) gives the final speech. And in it he gives proof number six; and that is prophetic promise.

Acts 15:13-18 (ESV)—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. 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.’

James’ Word-Centered Response— Now it is so awesome to see the response of James here. After summarizing Peter’s message (thereby affirming it), that God saved the Gentiles by grace years earlier, he then reinforces Peter’s point by noting that the words of the prophets agree, supporting this. And he turns to what was for him (and most of his audience) his primary gauge of truth: The Word of God. Now I say “turn” figuratively because note that he doesn’t have a Bible in front of him. There was no such thing as your own personal Bible. The only Bible you had was the one you had hidden in his heart. And so from that Bible (what was hidden in James’ heart), he says “You know, it’s interesting what the Bible says in.… And then he quotes Amos 9:11-12. That is one way to help unify the Church, by the way; having such a deep shared knowledge of the Word that can be appealed to when guidance is needed in a particular situation. Because ultimately it’s not about what you and I think; it’s about what God thinks. And until we have internalized God’s Word in our hearts, we won’t be able to discern what God’s thinks.

The Millennial Kingdom— And so James brings to the forefront of all their memories this passage in Amos, which speaks of the millennial kingdom, during which God will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;…rebuild its ruins,…and…restore it,. And during the millennial kingdom 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 known from of old.’

Saved As Gentiles— And in this passage from Amos we see that Gentiles will be saved as Gentiles (not having to first become Jews) or verse 17 wouldn’t make any sense. Amos was talking about those outside of the covenant community of Israel being saved and made no mention of their first becoming proselytes to Judaism. And so James’ point is that Amos had clearly told that during the millennial kingdom Gentiles would become part of the kingdom of God without first becoming Jews. And so the question is why would they require that of them in this age? The obvious answer is “You wouldn’t”. Now James’ conclusion is very fitting; Peter had stressed how Gentiles in the past were saved by grace through faith alone; James concludes by showing that Gentiles in the future are saved by grace through faith alone (during the Millennial Kingdom). Therefore, salvation for the Gentiles in the present must clearly also be by grace through faith alone. Now at this point James (as head of the Jerusalem Council) says…

Acts 15:19-21 (ESV)— 19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, {(which meant that the Judaizers were forbidden from troubling the Gentiles further)} 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.”

Fellowship Rules— Now this final list of rules (it is very important to understand) were NOT a part of the salvation discussion. James isn’t saying, “The Gentiles need to obey at least these rules in order to be saved.” No, that would undercut the whole decision. No, what is happening here is that now that the major doctrinal issues are out of the way, being resolved by the Jerusalem Council, James is now turning to practical matters of fellowship. Now that the Gentiles were protected against being troubled by the Jews, James and the Jewish leaders want to also ensure that the Jews are not going to be troubled by the Gentiles. Well how would that happen? Well, the Gentiles might start reveling in their new freedom in Christ and begin pressuring the Jewish believers to exercise that same freedom and (in-so-doing) violate their consciences. And so James proposes that they write a letter to the Gentiles ordering them to abstain from four particular things: things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. Now each of these were direct violations of the law of Moses, whom James points out “…has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” So we see that James and the Jewish leaders do believe that the moral Law given through Moses (though not saving in itself) was still applicable. Now I’m not talking about the ceremonial law (those laws relating to purification and sacrifice), which all have been fulfilled in and through Jesus Christ; but those laws relating to the way you and I are to live morally (like the Ten Commandments). The Gentiles were to obey those, which James highlights are read every Sabbath in the synagogues. But as to the ceremonial law of Moses, the Jewish leaders wanted to encourage also that the Gentiles not needlessly violate them if doing so might destroy the Church’s credibility with non-believing Jews and also offend their believing Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ. And so we see that James and the Jerusalem leaders wanted (just as the Gentiles had been shown grace) for the Gentiles also to show grace to their Jewish brothers and sisters so that their fellowship might remain healthy and strong; so that nothing would needlessly come between them. And I want you to catch that, because you will remember that Paul will later (despite all of this debate regarding circumcision and circumcision being declared us unnecessary for salvation) still have Timothy circumcised. And that wasn’t because he thought Timothy should be circumcised in order to be saved or to seal his salvation or anything like that. No, it was for the sake of the Jews that he knew they would be ministering to. Paul didn’t want anything to unnecessarily impede his Jewish brethren from having an openness to the Gospel. And you know, I wish more Christians had that mindset; not “How much am I allowed to do?” but “In what way can I live that will most draw myself and others into the presence Jesus?”

​A Considerate Freedom— In what I am doing, am I showing that my love for Christ and my desire to see others come to Christ is greater than my need to exercise my freedom to do things that (although I might be able to justify some of them Biblically) might injure someone’s weaker faith? You see that was the mindset of these early Christians. James, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and the whole Jerusalem Council wanted to keep anything from unnecessarily coming between believers or preventing people from becoming believers. And you know, you and I need to have that same mindset. This passage is our Magna Carta of freedom, but it is freedom for a purpose; it is freedom meant to drive us closer to God, not farther away; it is a freedom to love God by loving those He came to save. It is about being all things to all people, that by all means I might save some., as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22. And so let us, therefore, as we celebrate a salvation that is by grace through faith alone also show, love, grace, and consideration to those we want to inspire to come to Jesus. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #182 “A Dangerous Wedge” (Acts 15:2-9) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim! You know, it’s interesting how, whenever God is doing a new thing, there almost always arises a small group of persons who want to kind of rob people of the joy of what is happening. Well, that even happened in the Early Church. You will remember that last week in our story of Acts chapter 15 that after a massive number of Gentiles in Antioch were coming to faith in Jesus, a group of legalistic Jewish men decided to go to Antioch and tell these new Gentile converts that they need to become circumcised if they wanted to share in God’s salvation. In other words, they were saying they had to have an actual physical operation in order to be a Christian.

Works, Faith, & Salvation— And last week we began to explore the mindset of these legalists and why they were saying what they were saying. They thought that these new Gentiles were getting in on very easy terms when they themselves (as Jews) had lived very strict, self-denying and self-righteous lives. And of course there was a lot of pride involved here. They wanted to get the credit for their good works. And if they could get these Gentiles to become as they are, then that would validate them and imply that they themselves had a higher status with God because of their works. But the reality is that none of us can tip the scales of eternity at all in our favor due to the magnitude of our sin. It is grace and grace alone that can redeem us. That is what Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant clearly demonstrated. Every one of us owed a sum we could never pay on our own by our own works. We needed forgiveness. Now are works are an important part of the redeemed life? Of course. Both Paul and James taught that works and faith must go hand in hand in the life of the believer. But the question is not what the Christian ought to do to live a God-pleasing life. The question is, “What must a person do to be saved?” And that is the question the Church had to answer once and for all, which they do here in Acts 15. It says…

Acts 15:2 (ESV)— 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.

The Wedge—  Now in all honesty, this controversy had the explosive fire power to split the Church. The Judaizers were declaring these Gentiles unsaved, which must have devastated them; and they no doubt refused to eat with them (which also meant not sharing in the Lord’s Supper with them). And so they were rebuilding the wall between Jews and Gentiles that Jesus had torn down through His work on the cross (Eph. 2:14-16). And so Paul and Barnabas rally to the Gentiles’ defense and begin to fight for the Gospel and against the wedge that was once again driving apart Jew and Gentile, seeking to preserve the unity of the Church around the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone. And they, along with a group of others (which we read in Galatians 2:1,3 also included Titus), are sent by the Church in Antioch to Jerusalem to settle this debate); and they leave with that unity-preserving mindset. And they employ a bit of strategy along they way. It says in…

Acts 15:3 (ESV)— 3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

Phoenicia & Samaria— Now Phoenicia and Samaria were both regions that were highly populated with Hellenistic Jews and Samaritans, who were [more open to the salvation of Gentiles than the Palestinian Jews were.] And when they heard the good news of the salvation of the Gentiles, they rejoiced. Now keep in mind that these were the spiritual children of Stephen, Philip, Peter, and John; and because of that they did not share the views of the Judaizers that were then troubling those in Antioch. And so what Paul and Barnabas are doing is they are building support as they are journeying towards Jerusalem. And eventually, they arrive at Jerusalem. And it says…

Acts 15:4 (ESV)— 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

A God Thing— Now notice where they put the focus; not on themselves, but on God. Their report is all about what God had done with them. They want to show that their ministry to the Gentiles and the amazing response was a God thing and not something they just thought up as some kind of man-made, man-motivated thing. And it must have been amazing to hear of all God had brought them through and done through them. Yet despite that, it says in…

Acts 15:5 (ESV)— 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.”

A Different Group— Now this is not the same group as in verse 1. The Jews who came to Antioch were described as “some men”, whereas this group is described as “some believers”. The first were clearly not Christians, since they taught that circumcision was necessary for salvation. But these men were believers and accepted the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. And so it is important to note that this group of men within the Jerusalem council, though they were of the legalistic party of the Pharisees, were not arguing circumcision and the keeping of the law as being necessary for salvation. They were simply saying that believers are still obligated to keep the law following salvation. Obedience to the law (in their minds) was necessary after salvation. And that is a very important distinction. These Pharisees were salvation by faith alone Christians, but as Pharisees they were still deeply committed to the ceremonial law, not realizing the liberating truth that the ceremonial law had actually been fulfilled in Jesus Christ; and we are no longer bound to the rituals of the Old Covenant but are “under the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21). Now after receiving the men from Antioch, it says…

Acts 15:6-7a (ESV)— 6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. {Note that it is not the full congregation, but only the leaders and elders.} 7 And after there had been much debate,

The Church’s Magna Carta— Now Luke does not give us the minutes of the meeting. I’m sure we would love to read them. I’m sure it would have been amazing to hear these mighty men of God arguing their positions with passion, fervor, and deep Biblical insight. But Luke skips forward to when the entire congregation has gathered to hear what the leaders have decided. And this decision is announced through a series of speeches delivered by Peter, Paul and Barnabas, and then James, each of whom expounds the truth that salvation is by grace alone through faith, and is something wholly set apart from any kind of ritual or law-keeping. And this series of speeches contain what has been called the Magna Carta of the Christian Church. And collectively they present six proofs that salvation is by grace and grace alone. The first proof is past revelation, the second is the gift of the Spirit, the third is the cleansing from sin, the fourth is the inability of the law to save, the fifth is the fact of miracles, and the sixth is prophetic promise. And Peter, as the one to whom Jesus gave the key to the kingdom, is allowed to speak first. And he begins with the proof of past revelation. It says in…

Acts 15:7 (ESV)— 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.

Already Divinely Settled— And Peter is of course talking about the salvation of Cornelius and his household, years ago. And Peter argues that God saved them apart from circumcision, law-keeping, or any kind of ritual (Acts 10:44-48). And Peter’s point is clear. If God had not required these things of Gentile believers, what right did they have to require it? Did they know something that God didn’t. Obviously not. Peter was saying that this matter has already been divinely settled years ago. And then he proceeds to the second proof, which was God’s confirmation of the salvation of Cornelius and his household. He says in…

Acts 15:8-9a (ESV)— 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,

Confirmed By The Spirit— Now here Peter very skillfully anticipates and refutes a possible objection to his first point. The Judaizers could have argued that because Cornelius and his household didn’t meet the necessary legalistic requirements for salvation, then they were not really saved. But Peter shatters that argument by pointing out that God (knowing the heart) bore witness of the genuiness of their salvation by giving them the Holy Spirit just as He had done for the Jewish Christians on Pentecost, making no distinction, which was evidenced by the fact that Cornelius and his household were allowed by God to speak in tongues to confirm that the same kind and level of blessing had been given also to them. And this is powerful evidence, because everyone knew that the Holy Spirit was for believers and believers alone (Rom 8:9, 1 Cor 6:19, 12:13, Gal 3:14, 4:6). And so Peter’s argument is that God was saving Gentiles through faith and then confirming that salvation by giving them the Holy Spirit. And then he moves on to the third proof, which is that God did something else. He (verse 9)…

Acts 15:9b (ESV)— having cleansed their hearts by faith.

​Our Mark— And this of course is connected with proof number 2, because the Holy Spirit always brings with Him radical change and transformation. It is His role to make us like Christ. He is really the Holy Making Spirit. And these converts had in their lives that unmistakable transformation that proved they must have the Holy Spirit; and if they have the Holy Spirit, then they must have Christ. Now that ought to say something to us about how the world will know that we are truly saved? It won’t chiefly be because our doctrine sounds nice (it probably won’t, at least at first). No, it will be the living doctrine enfleshed in the transformation they see in your life and in mine. In us people will encounter Jesus. And so let us make sure that in every way, we also are living out this signature marks of every believer. Let’s do so. Amen.

Lechem Panim #181 “The Danger of Jesus Plus...” (Acts 15:1) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim! I hope you are doing well and that this week you have experienced the nearness of Jesus Christ.

“Go Premium”— As we begin, I want ask you today, how many of you have subscriptions to any service that have following that service the word “premium“ or “plus”? For a while now, I have made use of a program that is available to pastors free of charge. But you have to pay for their “pro“ version. It is one of those yearly subscription things. And as you are using that program there is this constant marketing interwoven throughout that shows you snippets of the content that could be available to you if you were to spring for the “pro” version. Well interestingly, our denomination recently decided to go ahead and purchase the “pro” versions for any pastor in our conference who would like it. And so I excitedly said yes and went through the process of having my account upgraded to their “pro” package. And I delightedly began to peruse the content that had previously been unavailable to me. But it was not long after this, as I was going through the content, that I came across a bit of material that I was interested in, but when I clicked on it it immediately said that this content was available not in the “pro” package but in the even more exalted “platinum” package. But that’s always how it is, isn’t it. Companies are very good at making you feel inferior with what you already have so that you will attach yourselves to them and have something that is supposedly better than what you had before. And this has always been the case, both in the world of physical goods, but also in the world of spiritual goods. There are sellers of physical things and their are sellers of spiritual things. And no matter what it is, there is always somebody trying to upsell you from the free version to the premium package. Well, this is what we see in a huge way here in Acts chapter 15. A massive number of Gentiles have been coming to faith in Jesus Christ and experiencing the free gift of salvation. But a number of the Jews (who I would like to point out were completely unauthorized by the Church) entered in among these Gentile converts and immediately began trying to sell them the “plus“ version of Christianity. If they truly wanted to be part of the program and have salvation, then they needed to subscribe to the full weight of the Jewish law; all the rules and regulations that were a part of the Jewish religious system. Now I cannot stress to you enough the importance of this issue in this chapter. Because here is hammered out the most significant doctrine in Christianity; the doctrine of salvation. This is without a doubt the most important doctrine, because you can be a little off in your understanding about the end times, what the gifts of God are and how they are to be used in the Church, and so on and so forth. But the doctrine of salvation (how we get to heaven); there is no room for error on that point. Because a wrong understanding of the doctrine of salvation can cost you eternity. And so in the coming weeks we will be carefully moving through this chapter, expounding what the church clearly recognized regarding the way all people (including Gentiles like most of us) are saved. Go ahead and look with me at first one of Acts 15. It reads…

Acts 15:1 (ESV) The Jerusalem Council— 1 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.”

The Primary Issue— Now throughout the history of the church, often times church leaders have gathered in order to settle doctrinal issues. And in fact historians recognize seven major councils that met during the first several centuries of the Church. And you are perhaps familiar with some of the most significant ones, such as the Councils of Nicea (325) and Chalcedon (451), which met in order to confront and condemn false teachings about the person and nature of Jesus Christ and to clearly define what the Bible actually teaches about Him. But as important as these councils were, none were as significant or important as this first one that we find in our chapter today because it answered the most important question that could ever be asked: What must a person do to be saved?

Jesus Plus Something— Now these Judaizers said that in order to be saved, you needed Jesus plus circumcision. Jesus + Circumcision = Salvation. Now many of our men nowadays have been circumcised whether or not we wanted to be when we were very young; and so for most of us, this may seem like a discussion that doesn’t really matter to us. But it does in fact matter a great deal because what we are talking about is more than just circumcision. No, we are talking about what it is that saves us. Is it faith in Jesus alone or is it Jesus plus something else? I guarantee that most of you have heard at least one person say in and through the course of your life “You need to be baptized to be saved.” That’s a little rough on the thief on the cross, who never got that opportunity. Or you might have heard somebody say “You need to go to Church every week” or “You must complete catechism” or “You must do….” any number of things. Now all those things might be beneficial (as many traditions of the Jews are); but the question is whether or not those things save you.

Become Jews?— I myself am fascinated by Jewish traditions and culture. I believe that there is a wealth of treasures that remain untapped by many of us Westerners that could breath so much depth into our Christian walk if we only new better the Jewish roots of our faith; and that’s a large part of what this show (Lechem Panim) is about. To participate in many of the traditions of the Jews (like Passover; like the feast of Purim) is actually to visually live out the history of our faith. However, I am very wary of anyone who (having filled their minds with that depth of understanding, then fails to distinguish between what can complement your salvation from what gives you salvation). And some even go so far as to at least imply (if not outright say) that we must become Jews in how we live our lives if we are going to share in salvation. THAT is the heresy that was at this time starting to creep into the Church and needed to be confronted. The central question is: Do I need Jesus or do I need Jesus plus…?

The Fulfillment of Judaism— Now one thing we need to grasp if we are to understand the mindset of these Judaizers (men who sought to make Jews of others) is the fact that they (like all the early Christians) saw Christianity not as a separate religion from Judaism, but as a fulfillment of Judaism. Christianity was the climax of a process that had begun thousands of years prior. And so for a Gentile to kind of squeeze in for the end result (not having to go through the process they as Jews had gone through) was a real difficulty for them. Now they were willing to receive a comparatively small group of Samaritans into the Church. And they even allowed Cornelius (a Roman) to somehow squeeze in, though it is doubtful they really understood what that was all about. But it is one thing to allow a few Gentiles to squeeze in and quite another to go galavanting all over the Mediterranean world seeking out and bringing multitudes of Gentiles into the Church. That was something that was (in the minds of many Jewish Christians) completely unacceptable.

​Unfair?— Now it may surprise you, but I actually sympathize a lot with the Judaizers on this; and I think you will too as we proceed through the text. I don’t agree with them, but I know where they are coming from. These were men and women who (all their lives) had strived in the best way they knew how to do everything right. Most had grown up under very very strict rules and had said “no” to a great many things. And to see these Gentiles now be openly received as equal sharers in the salvation of God was profoundly disturbing to them. Why should Gentiles share in our inheritance?

The Prodigal— They were like the other son in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, who watched as his brother rebelled against their father, took much of their wealth and then went to the city and squandered it all on wild living. And then that son comes back and instead of facing judgment, the father receives him with open arms and receives him right back into the home. And he clothes him with a robe, puts a ring on his finger, and then shoes for his feet; and not only that, THEN HE THROWS A PARTY FOR HIM!!!! A party in which the father serves the fattened calf (the best calf)! And you will remember the other son (the son who had not run off) comes in from the field and hears the dancing and the music and (after inquiring about it and hearing the explanation) can’t believe it and refuses to join the party. And so the father goes out to him where he is sulking and entreats him to come in. But it says…

Luke 15:29-32— 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

The Son Who Stayed— Now you and I have heard many sermons preached about the sinful son who left. But what about the self-righteous son who stayed? We rarely focus (maybe mention but rarely focus) on this second part of the story. But it is this part of the story that I think may in fact be the most important for the Jews listening to Jesus to hear. Because Jesus knew (and of course it was always his intention) that the unclean, lawless Gentiles might be allowed into the family of God. Because ultimately (and here’s the thrust of it) God is their Father too just as much as He is of the Jew. And as their Father, God loves and desires that they also might know His salvation.

A Happy Ending— Now (spoiler alert) this story has a wonderful ending. The Church does come to unite around the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone and does not become yet another works-based religion. And we will see how all this unfolded in the coming weeks. But I want to leave you today with all that Jesus requires of you to be saved. It is found in…

Romans 10:8-13 (ESV)— 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Call Upon Jesus— If you haven’t done so yet, call upon Jesus in faith and ask Him to be the Lord of your life. And you will be saved. And He will be all you ever need; no plus required. Call upon Him today. Amen.