Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you today.
I pray that it's well read and treasured in your heart.
And turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 21.
We've now been in our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts for quite some time.
This is Luke's second account of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
The first, the Gospel according to Luke, of Jesus' earthly ministry.
The second now, of Jesus' ascended ministry.
He's working in the lives of His church by the power of His Holy Spirit.
And so we see Him still at work.
And the main character in our past study, quite a few chapters now, has been Paul and Paul's missionary journeys.
He's completed his third missionary journey.
He has traveled now to Jerusalem.
And the series of events we're going to see in the coming chapters are hastening him along to Rome.
So we find ourselves in the conclusion of Luke's account, witnessing these things.
Our text for today is verses 17 through 26 of Acts chapter 21.
And before I lead us in reading that, let me remind you that this is God's Word to us.
It's written for His glory and our good.
And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
And I begin reading in verse 17.
When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.
On the following day, Paul went in with us to James and all the other elders were present.
After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through His ministry.
And when they heard it, they glorified God.
And they said to him,
You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed.
They are all zealous for the law.
And they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses,
telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.
What then is to be done?
They will certainly hear that you have come.
Do therefore what we tell you.
We have four men who are under a vow.
Take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads.
Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you,
but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.
But as for the Gentiles who have believed,
we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols
and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.
Then Paul took the men and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple,
giving notice when the days of purification will be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
So upon Paul and his companions arrival in Jerusalem,
we find them received gladly by the brothers.
These brothers are likely those Christians in close relationship with Mason of Cyprus,
who we find out in verse 16 of chapter 21,
Paul and his companions are lodging with.
So those that are in close relation, moving in and out of his home.
The next day they visit James and all of the other elders of the church of Jerusalem.
Here I think the word for church being used in a broader sense.
So likely church is as there's many, many, many believers now in Jerusalem,
but all of the elders that were in Jerusalem were gathered.
It is now almost three decades since the church of Jerusalem was founded on the day of Pentecost.
Tradition holds that all of the apostles are now on missionary journeys,
or in the case of James, the son of Zebedee,
not the James that we're referring to in this text,
but James, the son of Zebedee, martyred.
The James of our text is James, the brother of Jesus,
who is now serving alongside other elders to oversee the church.
It would appear that he has taken the place of Peter,
a spokesman on behalf of the elders.
In verse 19, we are told that Paul does not give them a sweeping overview
of his ministry amongst the Gentiles,
but rather he related one by one the things that God had done.
Rightly, Paul speaks to the power of God through his working, right?
He tells them the story one by one of the things that God had done through his ministry.
And it has its proper effect among the elders.
What do they do when this happens?
They hear the telling of what God has done.
They glorified God.
The elders of the church of Jerusalem recognized that God's amazing grace
was working in an ever-broadening way amongst the Gentiles.
That God would call those outside of Israel to himself,
and that he would not require them to keep the ceremonial or civil laws
was difficult for Jewish Christians to understand.
But further, so fierce was their sense of national identity.
Remember, that they are a conquered people, right?
They're living in their land.
They're living in Jerusalem, but under Roman rule.
And the suggestion that Jews were no longer bound by the ceremonial or civil law
and not justified by the moral law,
but now justified only by the grace of God in Christ's perfect life and perfect sacrifice,
was not always easy for them to wrap their minds around.
Paul speaks to this issue in Ephesians 2, verses 11-18.
In this case, he's writing to Gentile believers, but he speaks to this.
Beginning in verse 11, Paul writes,
Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,
called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision,
Gentiles and Jews, which is made in the flesh by hands,
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus,
you who were once far off been brought near by the blood of Christ,
for he himself is our peace,
who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances
that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two,
so making peace,
and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross,
thereby killing the hostility.
And he came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father.
So Paul speaks to this very issue that the gospel has gone forth to Gentile believers,
to Jew and Gentile alike,
and he's broken down the dividing wall of hostility between the two.
That we now have redemption in Christ alone,
by grace alone through faith alone,
in Christ alone.
The law never justified anybody before God.
It was difficult for the Jewish population to always wrap their mind around this.
People professing to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ had gone forth,
they'd gone out into Gentile churches.
We call them the Judaizers, right?
And they went out and they said,
yes, faith in Christ,
but also circumcision,
but also ceremonial, sacrificial law.
They heaped onto the Gentiles burdens that weren't theirs to bear.
This is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But I think we have to really work,
we really have to have some imagination
to try to put ourselves in the shoes of first century Jewish believers, right?
People who had in their minds devoted their lives to God,
have been exposed to the proper way to be restored to Him in Christ,
but yet still holding their national identity and their customs all the same.
So there's a lot of confusion, I think, in these days for them.
And this sets the stage for the conflict of our text,
which is presented to Paul in verses 20 through 22.
Elders say to them,
there were many, many believing Jews.
And these Jews are zealous for the law.
I take that to mean the ceremonial law, right?
James is referring to, right?
Because of the text that follows
and the things that Paul is asked to participate in.
Luke is not suggesting that they didn't believe,
that they weren't followers of Christ, right?
They're shown here to be believing Jews, right?
But they still held to the customs.
And they had heard,
and they had believed a nefarious rumor
that Paul was seeking to strip Jewish believers
of their national and cultural identity.
Paul most certainly taught Gentile believers
that they were not to circumcise their children
or walk according to Jewish customs.
But that's not the concern here.
If you look in verse 21,
they've been told about you,
that you teach all the Jews
who are among the Gentiles, right?
Scattered amongst largely Gentile populations,
there were Jews.
And recall as we've been studying through Acts
that Paul's primary strategy
was to go first to the synagogue in a town
and to find the Jewish populace.
They had a basis for which to believe in God, right?
They had read the Old Testament Scriptures.
It was a starting point for him
to minister the gospel in those places.
And so there are Jews mixed in amongst Gentile believers.
So Paul did teach this to Gentile believers,
but not to Jewish.
We can read Paul's strong words
to the Galatian believers
concerning this very matter
in Galatians 3, 1 through 3, right?
So the Church of Galatia was infected by Judaizers, right?
Many of them were being convinced
that they needed to be circumcised
in order to please God.
And Paul says this to them,
O foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you?
It was before your eyes
that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
Let me ask you only this.
Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law
or by hearing with faith?
Are you so foolish,
having begun by the Spirit,
are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Well, Paul's rebukes were sharp to Gentile believers
who were beginning to believe
that they were justified by the law
and therefore keeping it for their justification.
But Paul did not instruct Jewish believers
to forsake their customs
and therefore their national identity.
He was very pleased to have Gentiles
in matters that were not sin
and Jews in matters that were not sin
maintain their national and cultural identities,
but united as a new people
who were ultimately identified by Christ.
The Jerusalem elders are not concerned
about Paul's teaching, right?
They know this to be true of him.
What they are concerned about
are the many Jewish believers
who have been misled to believe
that Paul was erring,
and they are concerned about the division
that this will cause.
They say,
they will certainly hear
that you have come.
This is going to cause an uproar
amongst the church in Jerusalem.
So they devised a plan
for Paul to participate
in a Jewish custom,
which brings us to our outline
for our study
of the rest of this text.
This morning,
I will ask three questions
and work by grace
to answer them for your benefit.
And those questions are as follows.
Number one,
what was the custom
Paul was asked to participate in?
What was the custom
that Paul was asked to participate in?
Number two,
why was Paul asked
to participate in the custom?
Why was Paul asked
to participate in the custom?
Now, I will answer
the first two questions in brief.
I hope.
That's my plan.
And then spend the majority
of our time together
answering the third,
which is,
number three,
why did Paul participate
in the custom?
Why?
Why did Paul participate
in the custom?
Number one,
what was the custom
Paul was asked
to participate in?
Verse 23,
in the first part,
the first part,
the first part
of verse 24.
verse 24,
the elders say,
we have four men
who are under a vow.
Take these men
and purify yourself
along with them
and pay their expenses
so that they may
shave their heads.
And the vow
that these four men
were under
was called
a Nazarite vow,
which you may recall
we considered a bit
as Paul participated
in the same type
of vow
recorded in Acts
chapter 18,
verse 18.
The details
of the Nazarite vow
are expounded upon
in Numbers chapter 6.
So if you would like
to study the matter
at length,
I invite you to do so.
It's very interesting.
But for our purposes,
I'm going to give us
a brief version
of what a Nazarite vow
was
and what it was meant
to picture.
The Nazarite vow
symbolized
total separation
to God.
It was usually
made to express
gratitude for provision
or protection
or in seeking
future provision
or protection.
The person
who made the vow
was to abstain
from alcohol
and other products
derived from grapes,
so vinegar
would be an example,
let their hair
grow long
and cut their hair
during this period
of time
and avoid contact
with dead bodies,
which seems like
the easiest
of those expectations
to me.
The typical length
for a Nazarite vow
was 30 days.
But there are some
biblical exceptions
to this,
like Samson and Samuel
and John the Baptist
were all lifelong
Nazarites.
They kept a vow
of this nature
for the entirety
of their lives.
The vow would be ended
through a purification
ceremony,
part of which
was the shaving
of the head
and an offering
made of the hair
that was shaved off.
Now,
we cannot know
with certainty
how it is
that Paul
was to purify himself
along with them.
We just don't get
the details
in the text.
I read a lot
of commentary
this week
of people
guessing
at what was
happening here.
He would not
have had time
to begin a 30-day vow
in order to join them
in its completion.
There is no hint
in the text
that it took
that long
for it to happen.
In fact,
in verse 27,
possibly it was
only seven days
from the time
he agreed to do this
to the time
that it actually happened.
So,
he wouldn't have been
able to begin
it that way.
Now,
there was a Jewish
custom of purification
for one returning
from Gentile lands
back to Jerusalem.
They were seen
as unclean,
so there was
a purification process
they were meant
to go through
upon coming back
into Jerusalem.
So,
maybe this is
the purification
he underwent
before going
to the temple
with them.
But,
and this is my guess,
I want you to know this,
my postulation,
in Acts 18.18,
Luke states
that Paul shaved
his head,
but we see
no record
of him making
an offering
of the hair.
We see no record
of him traveling
to Jerusalem
in order to make
that offering.
In the following chapters,
we see him hastening,
he's working quickly
to make his way
to Jerusalem,
and the law
made provision
for travelers
upon completing
such a vow
to save
some of the hair
and offer it
at a later time.
So,
maybe,
again,
my postulation,
maybe,
he completed
his vow
along with
the four men,
even though
that 30-day period
had already passed
when he was
on his last
missionary journey.
So,
maybe he still
had that hair
and he still
intended to make
that final sacrifice
along with him.
We cannot know
with certainty
how he participated
in the purification,
but the point
is that
Paul
participated.
He participated
in the purification
custom.
And not only
did he participate
in the vows
of the four men,
but also
he paid
their expenses,
which would have
been charged
as part of
the offering.
So,
he came alongside
and showed
clearly
that he was
not against
the Jewish
custom.
So,
this was the
custom that Paul
was asked
to be part of.
Secondly,
why was Paul
asked to participate
in the custom?
We're
hinting around
this for sure
and we'll get
into this more
as we answer
the third question.
But if you look
at the last
half of verse
24 and
verse 25,
we can see
that the Jerusalem
elders wanted
the rumor
laid to rest.
They said,
this is going
to be a problem.
Let's get out
ahead of it.
Let's be wise
in the way
we deal
with this
potential issue
that's before
us.
The last
half of
verse 24,
they say,
thus all
will know
that there
is nothing
in what
they have
been told
about you.
There's
nothing
in what
they have
been told
about you.
It's
false
that you
yourself
also live
in observance
of the law.
As a Jewish
believer,
you yourself
are keeping
the customs.
At the same
time,
they wanted
Paul to know
that they
did not
desire to lay
any burden
on the
Gentile
believers.
They were
not
Judaizers.
They wanted
to be clear
of that.
They did
not expect
the Gentiles
to conform
to their
Jewish
national
identity
and culture,
but to be
sensitive
to it.
Working to
maintain
the unity
of the
Spirit.
So they
tell Paul
in the last
part of
verse 25
that they
sent a letter
with their
judgment
that they,
being the
Gentiles,
should abstain
from what
has been
sacrificed to
idols and
from blood
and from
what has been
strangled.
And from
sexual
immorality.
Which was
a restatement
of the decision
made at the
Jerusalem Council
in A.D. 49.
So about
11 years
earlier.
They're just
restating the
very same
thing.
There are
some culturally
sensitive
issues as
it pertains
to Gentiles
and Jews.
Don't do
those things.
Love your
brothers in
the faith
who are
Jewish.
And of
course,
sexual
immorality
is not
negotiable
in that
list.
You can
read more
about this
in Acts
chapter 15.
And I would
encourage you
to go to
our website
if you'd
like to
hear a
sermon.
Clay
preached it
on that
text as
well to
understand
to greater
degree what
they mean
in sending
this letter.
But the
point being
that the
Jerusalem elders
did not want
Paul to think
that they were
laying the
burden of
ceremonial law
on top of
Gentile
believers.
Now,
thirdly,
why did
Paul participate
in the
custom?
Well,
for the
same reason
that the
Jerusalem elders
wanted him
to.
Paul did
not want
to see
the unity
of the
Jerusalem
church,
the unity
between
Gentile
believers
and Jewish
believers
severed.
But rather,
he desired
to see it
flourish
and was
willing to
submit to
the instruction
of the
Jerusalem
elders to
see it
so.
And I
love that.
I love
that the
apostle Paul
comes to
Jerusalem,
right,
having apostolic
authority,
and the
elders say,
hey,
we have a
suggestion
for you.
And he
follows that
suggestion,
right,
coming to
their city
and the
church they
were given
charge to
oversee,
and he
follows their
suggestion.
This text
today serves
as an example
of Paul's
desire to
become all
things to
all people,
as he states
in 1 Corinthians
9,
22.
I want to
look at the
larger portion
of Scripture
in 1 Corinthians
9,
but before
we do,
let's first
look at an
example of
what Paul
is not
doing,
right,
in this
activity,
right,
and the
activity that
he would
condemn in
doing this.
So,
turn with
me,
please,
to Galatians
chapter 2.
So good
to hear
real paper
pages flipping.
Thank you.
Now,
I mentioned
previously,
the letter
primarily
written to
the church
of Galatia
was written
because of
the Judaizers,
right,
because they
had ceased
believing in
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ,
right,
that our
justification
comes by
grace alone
through faith
alone,
in Christ's
person and
work alone,
but they
had begun
to add
to that
laws,
right,
to begin
to find
themselves
justified
by those
laws.
And so he
writes this
letter to
them and
he uses
as an
example,
a poor
example,
Cephas.
So Galatians
chapter 2
verses 11
through 14,
by recounting
an event
in order
to instruct
the Galatian
church.
It says in
verse 11,
but when
Cephas,
now Cephas
was Peter's
name in
Aramaic.
So Peter
is the
Roman
version,
Cephas
is the
Jewish
version
of his
name.
So Paul
here is
referring to
him by
his Jewish
name to
the Galatian
church.
But when
Cephas
came to
Antioch,
Antioch was
kind of
Paul's
home base,
his home
church,
all of the
missionary
journeys,
left from
there and
went back
to there.
That's how
we know
they concluded.
He went
back to
the church
that
commissioned
him to
go out.
So when
Cephas
Peter came
and visited
him in
Antioch,
I opposed
him to
his face
because he
stood
condemned.
For before
certain
men came
from
James,
James from
our text
today,
so elders
from the
church,
Cephas
was eating
with the
Gentiles.
But when
they came,
he drew
back and
separated
himself,
fearing the
circumcision
party.
And the
rest of the
Jews acted
hypocritically
along with
him, so
that even
Barnabas was
led astray
by their
hypocrisy.
But when
I saw
that their
conduct was
not in
step with
the truth
of the
gospel,
I said
to Cephas
before them
all,
if you,
though a
Jew,
live like a
Gentile and
not like a
Jew, how
can you
force the
Gentiles to
live like
Jews?
So you
see what's
happening
here.
Peter ceased
associating with
the Gentiles,
instead
associating
with the
party that
was called
the circumcision
party, those
that were
trying to
have people
circumcised
in order to
keep the
law.
But he
did so
out of
concern
for himself
at the
end of
verse 12,
fearing the
circumcision
party.
He ceased
associating with
the Gentiles
out of
concern for
himself, and
Paul rebuked
him publicly
and sharply
for this.
In today's
text,
Paul participates
in the
Jewish
custom for
the sake
of others,
not for
himself, for
the sake
of others.
And this
brings us to
1 Corinthians
chapter 9, so
join me there.
1 Corinthians
chapter 9,
verses 19
through 23.
1 Corinthians
9, 19
through 23,
which we'll
spend the
majority of
the rest of
our time on
together.
Paul writes,
for though I
am free from
all, I
have made
myself a
servant to
all, that I
might win
more of
them.
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.
those outside
the law
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.
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.
I do it
all for the
sake of the
gospel, that
I may share
with them in
its blessings.
So Paul
begins,
in verse
19, saying
that he
is free
from all.
Having been
justified
through grace
by faith
in Christ,
he is free
from the
condemnation
of the
law and
anyone who
would place
burden upon
him for
it.
This we
often call
Christian
liberty.
We've been
given freedom
in Christ.
many will
say that
this text
is about
Paul
foregoing
or laying
aside or
not exercising
his Christian
liberty.
And I
disagree
entirely.
I think
it's wrong
to say,
well, I
am free,
but I'll
no longer
be free.
No, we
are free.
We are
free in
Christ.
He didn't
forego the
use of his
Christian liberty,
but he
used it.
he used
the fact
that he
is free
for the
good of
others.
He made
decisions
within that
freedom for
the good
of others.
He willfully
bound himself
to the service
of other
people's
souls.
Jesus
stated in
Mark
chapter 10
verse 45,
for even
the Son
of Man
came not
to be
served,
but to
serve and
to give
his life
as a
ransom for
many.
Now, we
don't get to
give our
lives as a
ransom for
many in
the way
that Jesus
did.
But we
ought to
model our
lives after
our
Lord's,
following
him,
being
followers
of Jesus
Christ,
not to
be served,
but to
serve.
Paul
modeled his
ministry
after that
of our
Lord.
Fill in
the blank
in the
quiet of
your mind,
for to
me to
live is...
If you
put any
word in
that blank
other than
Christ or
some variance
of that
matchless
name,
then you're
faced with
two options.
number one,
you are not
a follower
of Jesus
Christ.
It's very
possible that
you have
never tasted
and seen
the goodness
of God
to us
in Jesus
Christ.
That you
couldn't
possibly say,
for to me
to live
is Christ.
This is from
Philippians
1.21.
He is my
greatest
treasure.
I would
gladly give
up all
else for
the sake
of his
name,
that I
might gain
more of
him.
It is
possible that
you have
not been
saved by
his grace
and you
need to
repent and
believe in
him.
The other
option is that
you are a
follower of
Jesus Christ,
but you
just have
simply stopped
following.
You have
forgotten that
Jesus came
into the
world to
seek and
to save
the lost,
and you
have started
living for
yourself.
And of
this,
you need
to
repent.
We need
to join
with Paul
in saying,
for to
me,
to live
is
Christ.
We need
to follow
him and
follow his
example in
laying our
lives down
for the
sake of
others.
Beginning in
verse 20 of
1 Corinthians
9, Paul
gives us
some of
the particulars.
He says
to the
Jews,
I became
as a
Jew.
Paul was
Jewish,
you remember,
but he
picked up
the customs
of the
Jews.
In order
to what?
Win
Jews.
To those
under the
law,
I became
as one
under the
law,
though not
being myself
under the
law.
And he's
saying that
is,
right,
his
righteousness
and our
righteousness
does not
come from
the law.
So in
the case
of our
text today
in Acts
21,
right,
he
participated
in the
custom,
fully
recognizing
that he
was not
justified
by the
custom.
Much in
the same
way,
we might
participate
in a
church
fellowship.
We're not
justified
by coming
to church,
right,
but it is
a good and
proper thing
for us
to do,
right?
It's
commanded
to us,
it's a
good thing
for our
soul,
it's a
means of
grace
to us,
so we
participate
in that
way.
He
goes on
to say
in verse
20,
that I
might win
those under
the law.
Verse
21,
to those
outside the
law,
he's not
talking about
Gentiles,
people who
are not
Jewish,
to those
outside the
law,
I became
as one
outside
the law.
So he
may have
picked up
and eaten
something he
may not
have eaten
in a
different
context.
And then
the
parenthetical,
not being
outside the
law of
God,
here he's
referring to
the
moral law
of God,
but under
the law
of
Christ.
But under
the law
of Christ.
Beloved,
Christianity is
unique from
every other
religion in
the world
because every
other religion
in the world
can be
boiled down
to this.
You must
act in
order to
be accepted
by God.
Do the
following things
in the right
way and
enough of
it and
maybe you'll
be accepted
by God.
This is a
frightful
proposition.
If you
know
yourself
at all,
you'll
know you'll
never do
enough.
It's
impossible.
My
wickedness
so often
far outweighs
any good
that I
could do.
You
act to
be
accepted.
Christianity
is the
opposite of
that.
We are
accepted
and therefore
we act.
And this
is a
proper
understanding
of the
gospel of
Jesus
Christ.
There
is
floating
out there
a teaching
that there
is a
heresy
called
lordship
theology.
And we
believe that.
So this is
what I'm
talking about
right now.
But there
are people
out there
even in
our own
denomination
that would
suggest
that those
who would
say that
the evidence
of your
salvation is
that you
pursue
Christ as
your lord
that that's
heretical.
They would
suggest that
you can have
Jesus as
your savior
and not
as your
lord.
And that
is a
lie from
hell.
The book
of James
says it's
our work
that evidences
our faith.
It's that
shows that
we are in
fact in
Christ.
That we're
regenerate,
we've been
made different,
that we've
repented,
we've turned
from our
sin.
We no
longer love
the things
we used
to love.
We now
love God
and his
ways.
This is the
truth of
the gospel.
Which is
why I
want to be
careful when
we try to
preach the
way we
should go.
There are
things we
should be
doing as
Christian
people.
They're
good for
us.
They're
good for
the kingdom.
They're
evidencing.
You want
to have
assurance of
your salvation?
Start
working it
out.
With
fear,
trembling.
Start
being
obedient to
the
commands
of God.
And when
you find
there's no
inclination in
you for
those things
at all,
you have
no desire
to pick
up and
read and
obey,
you're not
in the
faith.
Jesus is
not your
Savior because
he's not
your Lord.
You find
in you that
impulse,
as small as
it can be
sometimes,
in your
heart and
in mind,
as cold
as it can
be,
that impulse
to want
to please
God,
to want
to walk
in his
ways,
to recognize
that his
counsel is
good.
I'm a
child of
the Most
High.
This is
where our
assurance
comes from.
I can
stand before
you in
all my
failings and
say to
you,
I am
possessed
by God.
He has
saved me
and he is
keeping me
because he's
working in
me.
I know
this to
be true
because I
am laboring
in obedience
and I'm
seeing him
work in
and through
me to
accomplish
his good
pleasure.
That's what
Paul means
when he
says,
not being
outside the
law of
God,
but under
the law
of Christ.
Don't let
anybody sell
you a
cheap grace
theology
that simply
says,
make a
decision,
and that's
what's
expected of
you.
So much
more,
so much
better,
so much
good,
and it
gives the
evidence that
we are,
in fact,
in Christ.
And so
Paul says,
to those
outside the
law I
became as
one outside
the law,
that I
might win
those outside
the law.
To those
outside the
law I
became as
one outside
I read it
again.
Verse 22,
excuse me.
To the
weak I
became weak
that I
might win
the weak.
And I
believe here
Paul is
referring to
those who
are weak
in faith,
who still
have not
quite wrapped
their mind
around the
goodness of
God and the
gospel of
Jesus Christ,
who still
think the
customs,
have some
value,
have some
importance,
ultimate
importance in
their pursuit
of God.
He goes,
that's okay,
they're weak
in faith,
but I
myself,
I myself
can observe
these things
that I
might win
the weak.
They become
all things
to all
people that
by all
means I
might save
some.
And here's
the driving
force behind
Paul's desire
to give
his life
away,
to use
his liberty
for the
sake of
others,
to willfully
bind himself
to the
service of
other people's
souls.
Verse 23,
I do it
all for
the sake
of the
gospel,
that I
may share
with them
in its
blessings.
The blessings
of the
gospel are
far better
than anything
that we
may be
permitted to
experience as
a result
of our
Christian
liberty.
The blessings
of the
gospel are
better,
far better,
immeasurably
better than
anything you
might experience
temporally
because of
your Christian
liberty.
being set
free from
the law
is not
meant to
serve your
temporal
whims,
but your
eternal
soul.
Jesus Christ
kept the
law perfectly
because we
could not.
By faith,
he grants
us his
perfection.
Jesus Christ
died the
death that
we could
not to
cancel the
debt of
our sin.
By faith,
he grants
us forgiveness.
This is the
liberty that we
now have,
and it is to
be used for
our joy
in Christ,
and it is to
be shared
with others
for the
magnification
of our
joy.
I do it
all for the
sake of the
gospel that I
may share
with them
in its
blessings.
So what are
you unwilling
to give up
for the
sake of
others?
Do you
practice your
liberty in
service to
yourself,
or in
humble service
to the
kingdom of
God?
Today's
text gives
us an
example of
Paul's
love for
others,
seeking their
good at
his expense,
literal,
his expense.
He paid
for the
ceremony.
Paul desired
to preserve
the unity of
the church
in Jerusalem
for the
sake of
the individuals
of the
church,
but also
for those
outside the
church who
watched it
with great
care.
There are
a lot of
examples that
we could talk
about when it
comes to
Christian liberty
and how to
best serve in
our community.
So many that I
thought, you
know, I'm just
going to give
one from my
life that's
really simple.
The way I
dress on
Sunday mornings
is a practice
of my Christian
liberty for
your sake.
I know that
I don't
dress impressively.
That's by
design.
Come to a
wedding sometime.
I'll put on
duds for you.
I'll wear my
bow tie and
my pocket
square for
you.
But as I
prayerfully
considered,
how do I
love and
serve Christ
Family Church
Dahlonega when
I step up
onto the
stage?
It seemed
appropriate to
me to try
to mitigate
the offense
that I might
give to a
guest who
expects me to
be in a
suit and tie.
And those
people exist
in our
culture.
And I
can tell you
that if I
were the
pastor of a
church that
expected that,
I would
gladly do
it.
It would
be no
problem at
all for
me to
put on a
suit.
It wouldn't
be my
favorite thing.
I wouldn't
want to get
suits dry
cleaned all
the time.
I'd probably
ask for a
dry cleaning
line item
in our
budget.
But I
would do
it.
I would
don a
suit every
single
Sunday so
that I
wouldn't
offend
anybody so
that they
could hear
the truth
being preached.
On the
flip side of
that,
I think
that if I
wore a
suit,
jacket,
and tie
every Sunday,
you guys
would think
that I was
separating
myself from
you and
I wouldn't
be relatable
to you
because some
of you
aren't even
wearing shoes
right now.
And I
think that's
okay to
be clear.
So I
try to hit
the middle
of the road,
tuck my
shirt in when
the shirt's
meant to be
tucked in,
not this
morning,
throw on a
jacket,
yes,
the same
jacket every
Sunday,
which I am
hot in.
I'm warm
up here
at the
moment.
That is an
example though,
right?
And I don't
feel bound
by that.
If the
demographic of
our church
suddenly shifted
dramatically and
I was expected
to wear a
suit,
I would
exercise my
Christian liberty
in donning a
suit every
Sunday morning
for the sake
of the gospel
that I might
share with
you in
its blessing.
On your
bulletin this
morning is a
quote from
Charles Spurgeon,
which I'd
like to
read.
He wrote,
My brethren,
let me say,
be like Christ
at all times.
Imitate Him
in public.
Most of us
live in some
sort of public
capacity.
Many of us
are called to
work before our
fellow men
every day.
We are
watched.
Our words
are caught.
Our lives
are examined,
taken to
pieces.
The eagle-eyed,
Argus-eyed,
which if you
don't know who
Argus is,
he was a
hundred-eyed
giant in
Greek mythology.
The Argus-eyed
world observes
everything we
do, and
sharp critics
are upon us.
Let us live
the life of
Christ in
public.
Let us
take care that
we exhibit our
master and not
ourselves, so
that we can
say, it is no
longer I that
live, but
Christ that
lives in me.
And in
conclusion, I
want to give
you just
another example,
but an
example from
history, a
better example
than my
Sunday morning
attire.
In the
mid-1800s,
Hudson Taylor
went to China
as a Christian
missionary.
While he was
there, he
founded the
China Inland
Mission in
order to work
in the interior
of China, a
place that very
few missionaries
had ventured.
It was
extremely
dangerous in
his day.
Taylor argued
from the
example of
the Apostle
Paul, let
us in
everything not
sinful become
like the
Chinese, that
by all means
we may save
some.
In saying
that, Taylor
was taking a
different approach
than most of
the missionaries
at the time,
who expected
converts to
Christianity to
adopt Western
culture.
people
were even
given English
names,
forbidden
from speaking
in their own
tongue.
Hudson Taylor
grew his hair
out.
He wore it
in a long
braid.
He strictly
ate Chinese
food.
He wore
traditional
Chinese clothing
and he learned
their language
and stories.
Taylor
recognized
forcing his
culture on
the Chinese
wouldn't work,
so he became
like the
Chinese as
much as he
could without
sinning in
order that he
might save
some.
May we be
more like
Hudson Taylor,
more like the
Apostle Paul,
and most
importantly,
more like
our Lord and
Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Let's pray
together.
Let's pray.