(Read Acts 15:22-35)
This morning we continue our series “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing to learn more about the amazing life of the Apostle Paul. Yesterday we picked up the story where Paul and Barnabas were in a closed-door meeting with the church leaders (Apostles and Elders) in Jerusalem. God’s grace was on Paul and Barnabas and they had favor with the leadership. Although initially resistant, it seems like Paul and Barnabas won them over. The Apostle James got up, agreed with Paul and Barnabas, and then said something I personally love. James said, “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”
Then the Apostles and Elders, together with the whole church in Jerusalem, chose delegates and sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report their decision. Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem for one purpose: to get consensus amongst the church leadership that Gentile converts should not be forced to be circumcised or required to live under the Law of Moses. As they left, with a delegation from Jerusalem accompanying them to report the decision, I would say that Paul and Barnabas’ mission was successful.
The men accompanying Paul and Barnabas were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. This is the letter they took with them: “This letter is from the Apostles and Elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.” That was the initial greeting. The letter continues with the important issue: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.” That’s it. No penis’ had to be cut. No long list of commandments or Laws. All the church leaders asked Gentile converts to do was to abstain from eating a few things and to abstain from sexual immorality. As Judas and Silas shared the letter with the believers in Antioch, there was great joy throughout the church.
The short list of “Do Nots” the church leaders in Jerusalem came up was not necessarily a new list of commandments. You don’t even see this list mentioned again. It was just basically a list of things the church leaders wanted new converts to stay away from and it was more ‘good sense’ than a commandment from God. Now, you may be thinking, “But Rick, if we are not under the Law of Moses, then what Law are we to follow?” The answer is found in the Holy Spirit. As a Born-Again believer God’s Spirit lives inside of you. If God Himself is inside you (and He is), then you don’t need external Laws, all you need to do is to be led of His Spirit. His Spirit will never lead you to lie, commit murder, or sexual sin. So it’s not like His Spirit will ever lead you to do anything that the 10 Commandments told you not to do, but His Spirit will also tell you to do things, or to not do things, that are not listed in the 10 Commandments. Living by the Spirit is liberating and it is also provides a much more comprehensive interaction with God; far greater than any list of rules could provide.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. The early church council in Jerusalem agreed that new Gentile converts did not have to get circumcised or live under the Law of Moses. That was decided 2,000 years ago by people who had direct contact with Jesus. Today we should not require something the early church clearly didn’t.
2. The early church decided they should make it easy for unbelievers to come to Christ. 2,000 years later, are we still making it easy, or have we made “church” so hard that unbelievers would rather stay away from the only place where they can find eternal life?
3. As a Son of God you are supposed to be led of the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14). If you are led of the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Gal 5:16).
4. As Born-Again believers our requirement is to be led of God’s Spirit, who lives in us. The Spirit of God will never lead you contrary to the Word of God, so He will never lead you to violate God’s original Commandments, but He will lead you to do things, and not do things, that are not listed in the Commandments. This way your relationship with God is much more comprehensive and intimate than following a list of external rules.
Closing Confession: Father, thank You for Your amazing and underserved Grace. You made it easy for me to become a Christian. I did not have to earn it, deserve it, or work for it. All I had to do was to believe in Your Son. I believed with my heart that Jesus was Your Son, that He lived a sinless life, that He died on Calvary’s cross, and that You raised Him from the dead with all power in His Hand. I also believed that You ascended Him into heaven, that He is now seated at Your right hand, and that He is coming again, in glory, to judge the living and the dead. I believed this with my heart and I confessed with my mouth that Jesus is LORD! At that moment, I was Born-Again and Your Holy Spirit took up residence inside of me. I am now Your temple and Your Spirit lives in me. Your Spirit leads me from within, so I don’t need a list of external rules or Laws. I am Your Son, I am led of Your Spirit, and He leads me in the way that I should go. I have a comprehensive and intimate relationship with You, through Your precious Holy Spirit. And when Your Spirit leads me to share the Gospel of Grace with someone else, I refuse to make it hard for them to become a Christian. I make it easy, because You made it easy for me. I don’t focus on rules when I am talking to them. I focus on Your Grace, because that is what saved me. Your Grace has come TO me, and now it freely flows THROUGH me. As I enter this day, and every day that follows, I ask You Father to use me for Your glory. None of me, all of You! Speak through my vocal cords, think through my mind and operate through my limbs, that Your Grace and power may be manifested through my life. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
