WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.700 This is, in a sense, a slight detour from Paul's missionary journeys. 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:16.199 But as I hope we'll see, and as Bob was alluding to, this is crucial to the mission of the church and to the continued unity of the church. 00:00:17.400 --> 00:00:20.519 As I was thinking about it this week, I was thinking about a couple of parallels. 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:23.260 One which I guess is in many of our minds. 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:26.219 Think about the Brexit discussions. 00:00:26.219 --> 00:00:30.799 The sort of years of intense debate and discussion that's going on. 00:00:30.899 --> 00:00:35.379 And that makes sense because it's a huge moment in our national political life. 00:00:35.399 --> 00:00:43.239 Because it's setting the course of how the UK relates to the rest of Europe at a political and economic level. 00:00:43.239 --> 00:00:45.379 That's not something you do casually. 00:00:45.379 --> 00:00:46.579 So there's lots of discussion. 00:00:46.980 --> 00:00:52.500 How are we going to relate from this point forward, together, or separate? 00:00:52.500 --> 00:01:03.679 The other thing that was in my head, slightly more mundane perhaps, think about when those ancient golf clubs began to change their membership rules. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:12.299 So for generations, for decades, for centuries, men only, and then they allowed access to women. 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:16.920 It was not easy for everybody to embrace that change of membership. 00:01:16.920 --> 00:01:22.420 There was a certain expectation that this club looked a certain way and felt a certain way. 00:01:22.859 --> 00:01:28.019 And to bring that kind of change was great progress for some, really challenging for others. 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:37.879 When we come to the Jerusalem Council, it's like both of those things, but much, much bigger and more radical and more significant. 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:53.619 It's the Jerusalem Council that really enables Christianity to be a truly global religion with a vision big enough to include Jews and Gentiles in the one church. 00:01:54.219 --> 00:01:59.280 And this is a radical change from the way things were in the Old Testament. 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:09.719 You know, you read the Old Testament, you find that there is a, I suppose, a large day, a trickle of believers who join the Old Testament nation of Israel to become part of the people of God. 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:14.479 But when they did that, they had to be circumcised as the sign of the covenant. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.180 They had to live under the law of Moses. 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:28.540 But now, in the New Testament, the gift of the Spirit, the sending of the apostles on mission, especially with Paul, people are being brought into the church. 00:02:28.640 --> 00:02:30.960 And baptism is the only sign. 00:02:32.099 --> 00:02:37.480 The people are becoming Christians in other parts, and their national identity is being retained. 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:39.840 They're not having to come to Israel. 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:41.840 They're not having to become Jewish. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:47.100 So this is a huge change in how church membership happens. 00:02:47.960 --> 00:02:50.460 And so at stake in the Council of Jerusalem is this. 00:02:51.159 --> 00:02:59.400 It's, can faith in Jesus alone be the basis for the church and for unity in the church? 00:02:59.819 --> 00:03:02.180 And there were some who were challenging that idea. 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:09.680 Can you follow Jesus as God's promised Messiah and Savior without becoming a Jew? 00:03:09.980 --> 00:03:13.580 And again, there was much debate and discussion about that. 00:03:13.580 --> 00:03:18.600 As Bob read for us, we discovered that there were two groups on either side. 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:25.720 And there was lots of debate and discussion so that they would be clear on God's vision for God's church. 00:03:27.040 --> 00:03:31.960 John Stott, in his commentary on the book of Acts, famously wrote this. 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:59.300 And so the issues and the implications were important then, but they remain important for us today as we think about our place in God's mission. 00:03:59.300 --> 00:04:06.920 So let's look at the first five verses to give ourselves an understanding of why the council took place. 00:04:07.160 --> 00:04:15.400 On trial really is the idea, or two competing ideas, is the church built on grace or is the church built on law? 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:16.780 Verse 1. 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:20.980 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers, 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:28.399 unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:33.699 So Antioch, as we remember, is the sending church of Paul and Barnabas. 00:04:34.139 --> 00:04:39.500 So it becomes, in a sense, the center for this new understanding that people are saved by grace 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:43.160 and there's no need to become Jewish to be part of God's church. 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:48.560 And this idea is clearly creating shockwaves back in Jerusalem. 00:04:49.339 --> 00:04:53.259 And so we read of the emergence of this group that we sometimes call the Judaizers, 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:57.959 and they're saying, yes, you need Jesus, but you also need circumcision. 00:04:58.139 --> 00:05:02.459 You also need to be under the law of Moses if you want to be saved. 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:08.139 If you're here when we studied Galatians, it's the same group causing problems there. 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:11.360 They're thinking, is the Gentile mission? 00:05:11.979 --> 00:05:13.159 Yes, that should happen. 00:05:13.300 --> 00:05:20.159 Of course, the good news should go out beyond Israel, but converts must then become Jews. 00:05:21.479 --> 00:05:27.240 And as we saw, as we looked at the letter to the Galatians, the gospel is at stake. 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:32.899 This isn't a matter of secondary importance or church practice, and it's kind of neither here nor there. 00:05:32.899 --> 00:05:42.019 What they're saying is, Jesus, yes, he starts your Christian life, but you need the law of Moses to finish the Christian life. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:46.179 You begin with grace, but then you need to add law. 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:47.419 You need to add merit. 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:48.659 You need performance. 00:05:49.919 --> 00:05:57.019 Verse 2, we discover, unsurprisingly, that Paul and Barnabas disagree strongly. 00:05:57.019 --> 00:06:04.819 And so the church in Antioch, they decide that they should call a council, a church council in Jerusalem. 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:13.339 And they then send Paul and Barnabas along with some others in order to get to the heart of the issue. 00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:18.519 So this council at Jerusalem is going to deal with the essence of Christian truth. 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:28.000 Can I be saved by God's grace alone, simply by trusting in the finished work of Jesus, or do I need to add something? 00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:35.099 Is the death and resurrection of Jesus enough to deal with my sin and to bring me back to fellowship with God, 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:39.479 or do I need to add some extra religious works and ceremony? 00:06:39.480 --> 00:06:46.140 And tied up with that is the idea, can a person from any country, any culture, any background, 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:49.080 be part of the Christian faith through trusting in Jesus, 00:06:49.280 --> 00:06:53.819 or are there extra steps required as a person need to become Jew? 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.720 So we can see, I hope, that the Jerusalem council is something that really matters 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:05.000 in terms of setting the course for our understanding of what's at the heart of the Christian faith 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:07.520 and what's at the heart of the church. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:09.359 So that's what's on trial. 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.620 Is church about grace or about law? 00:07:12.719 --> 00:07:15.500 So let's see how the Jerusalem council decides. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:23.879 The way Luke records this for us in verse 6 to 18 is he gives us, in a sense, three key witnesses 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:31.719 who give testimony to the fact that God's church absolutely is built on God's grace. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:35.719 The first defense witness to this idea is Peter. 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:40.140 Peter makes four clear and crucial points. 00:07:40.280 --> 00:07:43.280 First one is in verse 7. 00:07:44.880 --> 00:07:48.280 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them. 00:07:48.340 --> 00:07:53.760 Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you 00:07:53.760 --> 00:07:59.620 that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and belief. 00:07:59.700 --> 00:08:00.460 So there's the first thing. 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.260 This is God's choice. 00:08:02.259 --> 00:08:05.800 This new reality isn't Paul and Barnabas' thing. 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:08.899 This is God's choice, God's purpose. 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:17.639 And so Peter can say, remember that God sent me from Jerusalem to bring the good news to the Gentiles 00:08:17.639 --> 00:08:19.079 so that they might believe. 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:21.680 So God's choice is behind this. 00:08:22.199 --> 00:08:25.360 Another piece of evidence that he points to is God's gift. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:26.100 Verse 8. 00:08:26.740 --> 00:08:37.500 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he did to us. 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:41.100 So here is Paul remembering his own experience. 00:08:41.220 --> 00:08:42.039 Acts chapter 10. 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:47.000 He goes to the house of Cornelius, a God-fearing Gentile, 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:52.480 and he brings the message of Jesus and Cornelius and his household. 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:54.840 They receive the Holy Spirit. 00:08:55.620 --> 00:09:01.580 That there's no distinction between the Jewish Christians and this non-Jewish Christian. 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:06.279 And that has been the pattern of New Testament mission ever since. 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:10.440 That the sign of God accepting someone, the sign of someone having true faith, 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:14.279 is the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is what Jesus promised. 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.919 So Peter says, remember, God promised that. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:18.039 Jesus spoke about it. 00:09:18.579 --> 00:09:19.240 We saw it. 00:09:20.980 --> 00:09:24.860 The next piece of testimony that Peter brings, verse 9, 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:27.139 he speaks about God's washing. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:33.259 Again, he made no distinction between us and them, 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:36.199 for he purified their hearts by faith. 00:09:36.500 --> 00:09:40.240 So one of the big issues between Jews and Gentiles was the purity laws. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.199 And Peter is following the pattern of Jesus, 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:49.459 who reminded people in his day that purity is not an external thing. 00:09:49.579 --> 00:09:51.679 It's about a change in people's heart. 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:54.679 And so Peter is standing up at this council. 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:59.759 He's saying, it's Jesus' death for sinners that creates the internal purity that we need. 00:10:00.439 --> 00:10:02.860 And that's where fellowship can happen. 00:10:02.959 --> 00:10:05.860 It's not who does this washing and who doesn't do that washing. 00:10:06.439 --> 00:10:08.319 It's have we been washed? 00:10:08.319 --> 00:10:12.639 Have we been made clean by the saving work of Jesus? 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:18.319 And he's saying for Jews and Gentiles, there's evidence that that's true for both. 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:25.159 And then the last piece of evidence that Peter brings as he goes to speak about God's grace. 00:10:25.159 --> 00:10:26.659 It's verse 10 and 11. 00:10:26.659 --> 00:10:36.539 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:42.719 No, we believe it's through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:45.480 So again, this takes us back to Galatians. 00:10:45.860 --> 00:10:55.360 In Galatians, we discover that for Old Testament Christians, for Jewish Christians, for Gentile Christians, it's always been a case that a person is saved by God's grace. 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:59.940 It was never about keeping the law well enough to be accepted. 00:11:00.600 --> 00:11:01.720 God's standards are perfect. 00:11:01.820 --> 00:11:02.440 He is holy. 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:04.279 That's never going to be the way it works. 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:16.939 It's always about God's kindness, sending Jesus to do what we can't do, taking the punishment that we should take to allow us to be welcomed by God. 00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:21.360 And so Peter is very careful all through his testimony. 00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:23.539 He said there's no distinction between Jews and Gentiles. 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:24.480 We've been washed. 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:26.100 We've received the Holy Spirit. 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:29.139 And we're all saved by grace. 00:11:29.139 --> 00:11:35.340 It's compelling evidence from a key leader in the church. 00:11:35.939 --> 00:11:41.240 The second witness for the defense is Paul and Barnabas. 00:11:42.059 --> 00:11:54.679 Verse 12, the whole assembly became silent as he listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 00:11:54.679 --> 00:12:00.899 So what they focus on is the miracles that they have performed on their mission. 00:12:01.079 --> 00:12:04.439 We've read about some of those in earlier chapters and Acts. 00:12:05.079 --> 00:12:15.679 And Paul and Barnabas, like John's gospel, make the point that the miracles of Jesus and the miracles of the apostles stand as signs, signposts. 00:12:16.620 --> 00:12:19.500 Here is a sign that this is where God's kingdom is. 00:12:19.879 --> 00:12:21.939 God has been working in power. 00:12:21.940 --> 00:12:27.380 Here is proof that God approved of the message of Paul and Barnabas. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:31.020 So they're saying you're saved by grace and by grace alone. 00:12:31.520 --> 00:12:33.580 And then God enables them to do miracles. 00:12:33.700 --> 00:12:39.460 And that's a sign that their testimony, their message is approved of by God. 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:47.900 That's very strong evidence to support the idea that God's church is and always has been built on grace. 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:52.919 And then there's a third defense witness. 00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:57.659 James, the leader, it seems, of the church in Jerusalem. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.159 And his key point, he goes back to what Peter has just said. 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:08.559 And he says, what Peter says absolutely ties up with what God had said in the Old Testament. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:13.059 That's the direction that God always intended things to go. 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.119 So verse 15, or verse 14. 00:13:16.199 --> 00:13:22.519 Simon is described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:26.019 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this. 00:13:26.559 --> 00:13:30.099 And then he quotes from Amos chapter 9. 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:36.399 Amos chapter 9 pointing forward at this stage to a time when God would restore his people. 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.940 They had experienced exile, but there would be restoration. 00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:44.060 And that restoration would include people from other nations. 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:49.420 God's kingdom was always to be bigger than just national Israel. 00:13:49.899 --> 00:13:51.700 Because God is a missionary God. 00:13:52.379 --> 00:13:55.120 God's plan has always embraced the nations. 00:13:55.120 --> 00:13:59.980 All the way back from when God made that promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:03.019 All the nations of the earth will be blessed through you. 00:14:03.420 --> 00:14:08.259 So this is a new age of salvation in the New Testament with the coming of the Spirit. 00:14:08.340 --> 00:14:10.700 But it's not a new plan of salvation. 00:14:11.180 --> 00:14:12.600 Always saved by grace. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:17.659 The plan was always bless Israel that they would be a light to the nations. 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:19.680 Bless one for the sake of many. 00:14:21.800 --> 00:14:28.000 When we think about this in the context of a council making decisions. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:33.139 We've got to say there's a great team to have fighting your corner, isn't it? 00:14:33.659 --> 00:14:39.759 You think of the struggles that Theresa May has had to get any sort of backing either in Parliament or in the EU. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:47.299 She would do anything to have people like this with this kind of gravitas speaking for her position. 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:56.339 But it's great to see three apostles who've got different ministries operating in different contexts in different places. 00:14:56.559 --> 00:15:01.599 But they have the same gospel and they have the same understanding of God's mission. 00:15:02.439 --> 00:15:04.919 This is something that's not up for negotiation. 00:15:05.620 --> 00:15:06.959 There is no deal. 00:15:07.079 --> 00:15:09.299 There is no movement from this position. 00:15:09.979 --> 00:15:13.299 God's church is built on grace. 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:20.099 It doesn't matter what pressure comes from culture external to the church. 00:15:20.339 --> 00:15:24.419 It doesn't matter about alternative voices within the church. 00:15:25.379 --> 00:15:30.500 God's words they stand on is to be the final word for the church. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:38.679 You can see that they will not bend at one iota to their opponents. 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:42.879 God's church is built on the finished work of Jesus. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:47.480 It's built on his cross and his resurrection and what that means for us. 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:50.740 It means redemption is accomplished. 00:15:51.460 --> 00:15:53.939 And it is applied to us by the Spirit. 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:56.200 And it's not applied to us because we deserve it. 00:15:56.259 --> 00:16:00.840 It's applied to us because of God's mercy and God's loving kindness. 00:16:01.340 --> 00:16:03.580 So this is the core of our mission. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.759 Now these guys were working in different contexts in different places. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.019 So how they would communicate that is different. 00:16:11.100 --> 00:16:12.960 And we see that as Paul is on his mission. 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:16.319 When he speaks to people who know the Bible really well, he speaks one way. 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:19.399 When he speaks to people that don't know the Bible, he speaks another way. 00:16:20.639 --> 00:16:22.379 But the content doesn't change. 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:24.580 Still the gospel is the heart of it. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:25.799 And that's the same for us. 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:31.799 But, you know, we say things differently to an eight-year-old or to somebody where English is a second language. 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:33.819 Or somebody who's never read the Bible. 00:16:33.959 --> 00:16:35.240 Or somebody who knows a lot of the Bible. 00:16:35.859 --> 00:16:37.899 But we always want to be gospel people. 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:41.979 We always want to be that you're saved by grace. 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:44.819 Through faith in Jesus alone people. 00:16:44.820 --> 00:16:47.240 So that's their testimony. 00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:51.440 And straight on from the testimony, Luke records the verdict. 00:16:52.540 --> 00:16:56.960 James, having spoken, then calls the verdict. 00:16:57.100 --> 00:16:58.120 Verse 19. 00:16:58.620 --> 00:17:04.080 And the verdict is that grace means we are all one in Christ Jesus. 00:17:04.580 --> 00:17:06.620 It is my judgment, therefore. 00:17:07.620 --> 00:17:08.440 Love these words. 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:14.259 That we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:17.439 He has no doubt on God's purpose. 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:23.240 He has no doubt that faith in Jesus is bringing Gentiles into God's kingdom. 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.019 That the grace of God is at work. 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.379 That it's creating unity between Jew and Gentile. 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.559 And the implication, then, is that we should not make it difficult. 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:36.619 We shouldn't add extra qualifications that are going to become an unnecessary burden. 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:41.119 So then we need to ask ourselves, well, why? 00:17:41.500 --> 00:17:42.179 So he said that. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:43.059 We shouldn't make it difficult. 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:47.539 But why, then, does he immediately go to verse 20 and verse 21? 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:54.839 Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, 00:17:55.379 --> 00:18:02.299 from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:04.259 Don't make it difficult. 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:08.900 But then straight away, it sounds like extra rules they must keep. 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:13.539 And so maybe we need to ask ourselves, is this a little bit of double standards? 00:18:14.160 --> 00:18:15.559 Is this inconsistency? 00:18:16.019 --> 00:18:16.980 What's going on here? 00:18:17.079 --> 00:18:20.779 Why is James issuing this instruction? 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:27.119 Well, I think it's to do with the importance of church fellowship and church unity. 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:35.759 James, I think, is writing for the sake of the conscience of his fellow Christians who are also Jews. 00:18:36.819 --> 00:18:45.299 And he's asking the Gentiles to avoid practices that would make fellowship, especially sharing meals, a challenge. 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:47.259 You know, this is a new reality. 00:18:47.399 --> 00:18:55.139 This is not a straightforward, okay, the Jerusalem Council has issued its verdict, so let's just share life together as Jew and Gentile. 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:58.039 It's a complex thing. 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:10.519 And so for the sake of conscience, James asks that those things that the Gentiles know are so difficult for people who have lived under the Jewish law, 00:19:11.099 --> 00:19:18.740 like blood and food polluted to idols, if they could refrain from that for the sake of church unity. 00:19:18.920 --> 00:19:21.879 So in a sense, they're not commands, it's requests. 00:19:21.880 --> 00:19:32.840 We request that you do these things so that the sharing of food will be easy, so that the visible expression of fellowship in the gospel will be easy. 00:19:33.260 --> 00:19:40.300 That the church in various locations can bear testimony to the fact that Jesus really does make very different people one. 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:48.859 And then we see the outcome of the council as the letter goes out. 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:56.159 We see what a difference it makes in terms of fellowship in the gospel of grace. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:20:05.919 They write this letter, and within the letter we see lots of bridges rather than barriers to fellowship. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:11.620 They want to talk about how they are united together. 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:17.160 So some examples, verse 23, how do they identify themselves? 00:20:17.480 --> 00:20:20.720 The apostles and elders, your brothers. 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:28.000 What do they say about the Judaizers who brought this message, unless you're circumcised, you can't be saved? 00:20:28.100 --> 00:20:34.660 Verse 24, we've heard that someone out from us without our authorization and disturbed you. 00:20:34.660 --> 00:20:37.240 They were claiming to be speaking for Jerusalem. 00:20:37.800 --> 00:20:39.220 Clear message from Jerusalem, they're not. 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:43.400 This is not part of God's purpose. 00:20:44.800 --> 00:20:51.480 Verse 25, we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends, Barnabas and Paul. 00:20:51.900 --> 00:20:57.040 Barnabas and Paul, who are talking about this message, it's all about grace. 00:20:58.040 --> 00:21:02.880 Who were seen as rivals by the Judaizers, but to the true church, their dear friend. 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:12.279 Notice too that they say in verse 27, we're sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:18.860 They show them the honor of sending two of their spokesmen to make sure that there's no possibility for misunderstanding. 00:21:19.519 --> 00:21:24.640 That the church in the Jerusalem, the church in Antioch, the church worldwide, is united. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:27.820 When they're united by faith in the Lord Jesus. 00:21:27.819 --> 00:21:33.899 So Judas, Silas, Paul and Barnabas and others head back towards Antioch. 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:36.000 What happens when the message gets to Antioch? 00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:42.899 Verse 31, the people read it and were glad that it's encouraging message. 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:48.240 And then we see fellowship begin to work itself out in practice. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:54.000 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:22:01.259 Because after spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who'd sent them. 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:05.039 So they're welcomed in and they're willing to share hospitality. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:07.019 Whereas before they would have real difficulty. 00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:09.839 But now they know that this is God's plan. 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:14.319 And they're sent back to Jerusalem with the blessing of peace. 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:23.399 So here is the gospel creating a sense of fellowship and unity between different churches with different cultures. 00:22:24.419 --> 00:22:28.159 Now that is the Jerusalem council. 00:22:28.859 --> 00:22:30.399 We recognize its significance. 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:36.960 What are some of the implications for us today as we try and pull back and pull to our own day? 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:44.779 And I think one thing that we learn from it is that it's important for the church always to guard the gospel. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:52.299 To understand that that is the only basis for unity and fellowship. 00:22:52.660 --> 00:22:53.900 And that's not a given. 00:22:54.860 --> 00:23:00.220 There are lots of voices that would say that anybody who claims to be a Christian church, that we should all just get along. 00:23:00.759 --> 00:23:03.759 Really our theology doesn't matter too much. 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:05.980 What we think about Jesus or the Bible. 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:08.380 Well it's a second we should just all get on. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:17.180 But what's clear from Paul and Barnabas and the council of Jerusalem is that we need to be united on truth. 00:23:17.720 --> 00:23:21.279 We need to be clear on what Jesus has done and the implications. 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:28.920 The only message that we can unite around is that Jesus has completed the work of salvation. 00:23:29.140 --> 00:23:34.660 And that we receive it as a gift of faith and through grace. 00:23:35.980 --> 00:23:38.720 So we must guard the gospel. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:46.200 We also discover from the Jerusalem council that fellowship requires flexibility. 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:52.299 And we see this from the first request of the church in Jerusalem. 00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:54.399 Without compromising the gospel. 00:23:55.399 --> 00:24:02.519 We must be flexible in order to enable unity across cultures and backgrounds. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:04.539 Truth doesn't bend. 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:06.200 But love bends. 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:26.700 And so we must be able to make sure that we're not so bound to our culture or to our practice or to whatever it is that we struggle to unite with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:24:26.700 --> 00:24:32.380 So tied up with that we must be aware of barriers and instead be looking to build bridges. 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:35.360 And again that's what we see from the apostles. 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:40.220 That's what we see from the church council of Jerusalem. 00:24:40.220 --> 00:24:44.059 Things like avoiding Christianese. 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:51.680 You know that way of talking about our faith and about talking about Christianity where maybe we take a Bible word out. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:55.319 A word that's really remote to lots of other people and we don't explain it. 00:24:55.759 --> 00:25:00.980 Or where we use a lot of jargon whether we're talking to insiders or outsiders. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:07.299 Where we maybe struggle to articulate simple truths clearly. 00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:18.960 I think sometimes it does us good to try and think about how would I share my faith with somebody who has never heard anything from the Bible. 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:20.480 Who doesn't know anything about Jesus. 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:22.879 It would be a good thing to write it down. 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:24.359 If I had three minutes with somebody. 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:28.680 What would I hope to say to them about God? 00:25:29.419 --> 00:25:30.460 God the creator. 00:25:30.639 --> 00:25:31.799 About the love of God. 00:25:31.859 --> 00:25:35.480 What would I hope to say about us as people? 00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:40.700 How would I communicate the fact that we have wandered away from God. 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:42.339 That God made us for a relationship. 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:45.380 But we are running from the God who loves us. 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:50.279 How would we explain who Jesus is and why he came. 00:25:50.980 --> 00:25:53.220 In a way that people could understand. 00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:56.360 And that they would understand the importance of responding. 00:25:58.240 --> 00:26:00.220 Sometimes we need to just take a step back. 00:26:00.220 --> 00:26:03.559 And think about how we talk about our faith. 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:06.500 So that we're careful to be accessible. 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:08.360 And I think that's true for us as individuals. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.980 I think it's true for us as a church. 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:11.700 To be careful. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.120 To be accessible. 00:26:13.640 --> 00:26:15.079 And intelligible. 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:18.860 I mean that's one of the things that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians. 00:26:19.500 --> 00:26:21.860 That somebody should be able to walk in off the street. 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:26.339 And while yes of course church is going to seem strange to people. 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:28.479 If they're not used to coming to church. 00:26:28.579 --> 00:26:30.879 It's unusual for a group of people to sing together. 00:26:31.639 --> 00:26:34.599 It's unusual for people outside of a university context perhaps. 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:37.139 To listen to someone teaching from a text. 00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:40.219 So there's always going to be a certain amount of disconnect. 00:26:40.479 --> 00:26:41.759 Or struggles to overcome. 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:45.599 But we shouldn't add extra barriers. 00:26:46.119 --> 00:26:49.000 By making it seem really distant and remote. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:53.539 We need to appreciate that people coming into a church. 00:26:53.619 --> 00:26:54.980 Are stepping out of their comfort zone. 00:26:55.059 --> 00:26:56.920 Someone said it like this. 00:26:57.079 --> 00:27:01.259 Imagine if you were taken from your usual routine. 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:02.799 Of going to Sainsbury's every week. 00:27:02.940 --> 00:27:03.400 Or Aldi. 00:27:03.460 --> 00:27:04.759 Or wherever you go for your shopping. 00:27:05.259 --> 00:27:08.740 And then you were taken to a foreign supermarket. 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:11.259 Let's say one of the Asian supermarkets around here. 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:13.000 Imagine how instantly. 00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:14.839 Well I'm just going to speak for myself. 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.460 How instantly uncomfortable you'd be. 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:18.539 You'd have no idea. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:20.119 What you were purchasing. 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:22.079 You'd have no idea how to cook. 00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:23.339 The things you hoped to purchase. 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:26.319 You'd be really out of your comfort zone. 00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:27.900 And it's important for us to remember. 00:27:28.099 --> 00:27:29.960 That it's a big jump for people to come to church. 00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:30.839 We need to be careful. 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:32.640 To be accessible. 00:27:33.279 --> 00:27:34.619 And intelligible. 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:38.759 I think one of the implications that we get from the church in Jerusalem. 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:40.000 The council of Jerusalem. 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:43.279 Is that we are to create space. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:46.539 For people to enjoy a Christian community. 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:54.139 That one of the goals of the council was unity and fellowship in the gospel. 00:27:55.059 --> 00:27:58.759 And so practically as Christians and as a local church. 00:27:58.879 --> 00:28:03.779 We must be creating spaces where new people can enjoy Christian community. 00:28:03.779 --> 00:28:07.700 Whether that means opening our doors and inviting people in. 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:13.519 Whether it means opening our hearts so that we are on the lookout for new people and welcoming them. 00:28:14.480 --> 00:28:16.700 We need to be creating those spaces. 00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:26.039 And I think just as the church in Jerusalem was celebrating what God was doing. 00:28:26.380 --> 00:28:30.600 In terms of building a church that was bigger than just national Israel. 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:36.559 I think we should celebrate being part of a global multinational church. 00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:38.759 That was one of the goals of our missions day. 00:28:39.120 --> 00:28:41.720 That we'd remind ourselves that we're part of something much bigger. 00:28:42.299 --> 00:28:45.519 God's church is much bigger than we think. 00:28:46.700 --> 00:28:54.420 All of these things are made possible because of the events of this council. 00:28:55.860 --> 00:29:03.640 So in our mission we need to remember what started the council in the first place. 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:08.220 We need the truth that God saves people through his grace. 00:29:08.600 --> 00:29:11.039 And it's all about trusting in Jesus. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:17.819 And in terms of the implications we need a love that pursues unity. 00:29:18.619 --> 00:29:25.799 We need a practice that makes it easy for others to know and worship God with us.