WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:09.500 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:15.280 redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:22.660 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:28.820 --> 00:00:29.940 Good morning. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:30.899 I'm Bea Radenauer. 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:38.939 Today's scripture reading is from the book of Acts chapter 15 verses 1 to 15 and 22 to 29 as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:43.519 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:48.240 unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. 00:00:48.939 --> 00:00:53.240 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. 00:00:53.939 --> 00:00:58.820 So Paul and Barnabas were appointed along with some other believers to go up to Jerusalem to see the 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:00.780 apostles and elders about this question. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:05.379 The church sent them on their way and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:08.219 they told how the Gentiles had been converted. 00:01:08.939 --> 00:01:11.460 This news made all the believers very glad. 00:01:11.459 --> 00:01:19.239 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders to whom they reported everything God had done through them. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.119 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:28.680 The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses. 00:01:29.480 --> 00:01:31.920 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 00:01:32.820 --> 00:01:35.400 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them. 00:01:36.080 --> 00:01:43.840 Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:50.480 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he did to us. 00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:55.040 He did not discriminate between us and them for he purified their hearts by faith. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:03.140 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of a Gentile a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 00:02:03.740 --> 00:02:08.099 No, we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are. 00:02:08.099 --> 00:02:17.180 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 00:02:17.900 --> 00:02:19.979 When they finished, John spoke up. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:22.400 Brothers, he said, listen to me. 00:02:22.979 --> 00:02:28.500 Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:32.900 The word of the prophets are in agreement with this as it is written. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:43.560 Then the apostles and elders with the whole church decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:50.319 They chose Judas, called Barsabas, and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 00:02:51.460 --> 00:02:53.219 With them, they sent the following letter. 00:02:54.180 --> 00:03:00.020 The apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:01.259 Greetings. 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:08.439 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 00:03:09.359 --> 00:03:14.599 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul. 00:03:15.799 --> 00:03:19.340 Men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:03:20.259 --> 00:03:24.239 Therefore, we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.959 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements. 00:03:29.960 --> 00:03:37.760 You are to abstain from food sacrifice to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. 00:03:38.140 --> 00:03:39.760 You will do well to avoid these things. 00:03:40.020 --> 00:03:41.100 This is the word of the Lord. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:50.560 Thanks so much, Bea. 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:52.900 And good morning, you all. 00:03:53.019 --> 00:03:54.419 It's good to be with you. 00:03:55.180 --> 00:03:57.819 Kids, don't feel bad if you don't know what circumcision is. 00:03:57.859 --> 00:04:00.400 I had to explain it to Andrew earlier this week. 00:04:01.579 --> 00:04:04.579 I was trying to explain the differences between being Scottish and Chinese. 00:04:04.799 --> 00:04:06.060 It was a long conversation. 00:04:06.060 --> 00:04:08.939 But anyway, it's good to be here together. 00:04:09.319 --> 00:04:10.680 Super glad it's summertime. 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:14.659 And we went camping, not this past week, but the week before. 00:04:14.819 --> 00:04:22.060 And I read the first book I've read for fun in like two years, which I highly recommend to you, called A Gentleman in Moscow. 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:24.300 Great historical fiction. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:24.759 Wonderful. 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:27.800 Thanks to Ken Johnston for letting me borrow his book. 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:31.939 But our family's leaving to go on vacation later this week. 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:37.699 And if you have other great must-read summer books, we would love to hear about those at our coffee time. 00:04:38.340 --> 00:04:44.480 But our summer read as a church for Christ Church this summer is the Acts of the Apostles. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:48.139 The Acts of the early church. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.460 The Acts of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. 00:04:51.459 --> 00:04:58.120 And we're looking at this book because we're asking the question, what kind of church does God want us to be? 00:04:58.659 --> 00:05:02.699 What kind of church are we going to be in this post-COVID moment? 00:05:02.799 --> 00:05:06.659 What kind of church is God wanting to rebuild among us? 00:05:07.039 --> 00:05:12.039 And so we're going to talk today about this church meeting, which you're like, oh, it's boring. 00:05:12.479 --> 00:05:14.479 You know, who cares about a church meeting? 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:21.580 But actually this book opens up in chapter 1 and you have the ascension of Jesus into heaven. 00:05:22.340 --> 00:05:24.520 You have Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:29.180 And sandwiched between these two world-altering events is a church meeting. 00:05:29.700 --> 00:05:34.280 A meeting to answer a very messy question, who's going to replace Judas? 00:05:34.379 --> 00:05:37.180 Who's going to be part of our leadership team as a church? 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:45.500 And then here in Acts 15, we have another important church meeting, which is really the turning point of the book. 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:51.900 It's the centerpiece and the watershed of the whole thing to answer another really big question. 00:05:52.300 --> 00:05:55.340 And to seek God through his word and through his spirit. 00:05:55.879 --> 00:06:03.579 And in the middle of this conversation, in the middle of this discussion, the apostle Peter stands up and he says in verse 11, 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:10.500 No, we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are. 00:06:10.539 --> 00:06:14.800 And that's an amazing statement in and of itself on many levels. 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:22.459 Because a short time before this, the apostle Paul had a first-class argument with the apostle Peter. 00:06:22.979 --> 00:06:27.539 And Paul publicly contradicted and rebuked his brother Peter. 00:06:27.699 --> 00:06:28.620 Why did he do that? 00:06:29.180 --> 00:06:30.680 We read about that in verse 1. 00:06:30.680 --> 00:06:36.579 And certain individuals came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, 00:06:36.939 --> 00:06:43.939 Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:48.040 Antioch was just north of Israel and Syria. 00:06:48.259 --> 00:06:50.019 It was this emerging center of Christianity. 00:06:50.579 --> 00:06:52.620 A city of about 500,000 people. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:59.060 And in that city, there were about 18 different eclectic ethnic groups. 00:06:59.060 --> 00:07:03.879 And among these ethnic Gentiles, they started to hear the gospel of Jesus. 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:09.879 And many of them started to follow Jesus alongside of these Jewish believers. 00:07:10.060 --> 00:07:13.300 And Gentile converts were just pouring into the church. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:19.519 And so this group of Christians became a pressure group called the Pharisee party. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:32.279 And they came along and started to teach that circumcision and obedience to the Torah were a necessary condition and a prerequisite for salvation into the kingdom of God. 00:07:32.339 --> 00:07:39.379 That you had to have both faith in the Messiah and the works of the law to be saved into his kingdom. 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:46.199 And tragically, the apostle Peter caved in to this point of view. 00:07:47.379 --> 00:07:54.600 And previously, he had enjoyed fellowship with Gentile, uncircumcised Christians. 00:07:55.259 --> 00:07:58.420 But then, you can read all about this in Galatians chapter 2. 00:07:59.219 --> 00:08:01.079 He began to withdraw himself. 00:08:01.939 --> 00:08:03.399 He began to separate himself. 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:15.199 He began to practice and impose upon himself a theological and spiritual apartheid to not have fellowship anymore with these Gentile Christians. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:23.919 And Paul, seeing that the heart of the gospel was at stake, he opposed Peter to his face. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:33.659 And then, they sent a delegation to Jerusalem to consult with the rest of the apostles and the elders to settle this dispute. 00:08:34.060 --> 00:08:38.139 And this is probably when Paul dashed off his letter to the Galatians. 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:44.500 And if you read that letter, you can feel the heat of this moment, the heat of this dispute and debate. 00:08:45.539 --> 00:08:52.600 And I want to say that there's really never been a golden moment in Christianity without that heat. 00:08:52.600 --> 00:08:59.700 Without these questions, without these church meetings, without these debates to determine the truth. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:02.560 Who's going to be our next church leader? 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:08.139 How can ethnic Gentiles be saved and not become culturally Jews? 00:09:08.899 --> 00:09:14.540 And that question is so important, this question of eternal salvation. 00:09:16.040 --> 00:09:17.960 What must I do to be saved? 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:23.980 How can I, a lost and guilty sinner, stand before a just and holy God? 00:09:24.060 --> 00:09:25.580 Where am I going to spend eternity? 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:29.780 How can I spend eternity with my creator? 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:37.300 The answers to those questions bear on every aspect of our relationships with each other, bear on every aspect of our lives. 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.900 So, I hope to unpack some of that for you today. 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:59.899 And the point I want to make here is that the church centers on the gracious Savior, the cleansing Spirit, and the inspired Scriptures. 00:10:00.579 --> 00:10:03.899 Let me start with how the church centers on the gracious Savior. 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:04.500 Savior. 00:10:05.419 --> 00:10:07.639 Again, verse 11, Peter says, no. 00:10:08.319 --> 00:10:12.720 We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved just as they are. 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:23.220 And when Peter says no, he's rejecting a false teaching by fellow Christians, the Pharisee party, the Judaizers, which he temporarily embraced. 00:10:23.220 --> 00:10:32.940 And thank God for Paul's courage in confronting and admonishing his brother Peter to come back in line with the truth in love. 00:10:33.700 --> 00:10:39.220 And thank God for Peter's humility to acknowledge his fault and repent of his mistake. 00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:46.100 And thank God that by the time they came to this Jerusalem council, Peter was back in full accord with Paul. 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:51.920 He was living in line with the truth of the gospel and the unity of God's truth had been preserved. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:02.240 So that when Peter says, we believe, he's saying, this is what we believe about the apostolic scheme of salvation. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:08.159 And by implication, what is the false scheme of salvation that he's rejecting? 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:14.699 Peter says, salvation is through the grace of the Lord Jesus alone. 00:11:15.319 --> 00:11:16.199 And what is grace? 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:26.200 Grace is that free, totally undeserved gift of God that takes initiative and comes after us and rescues us from ourselves. 00:11:26.900 --> 00:11:37.700 It's when the creator God graciously sends his son Jesus who graciously empties himself of his heavenly glory to become not just a human being, 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:44.080 but a humble servant who humbles himself all the way down to death on a shameful cross. 00:11:44.140 --> 00:11:50.780 And on that cross, he bore our sin, he died our death, he paid our debts. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:12:00.840 And that crucified Jesus would be resurrected from the dead in order that he might now come after each one of us with the gospel of grace. 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:03.920 To reconcile us to reconcile us to God as our father. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:07.860 To give us the gifts of faith and the Holy Spirit. 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:13.220 To give us that spirit that cleanses and purifies us from sin. 00:12:13.320 --> 00:12:20.759 That spirit that regenerates and recreates us from the inside out and gives us a new life in Jesus. 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:29.399 A new life that will be completed at the last day when our humanity is fully transformed. 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:34.240 Fully in conformity with who Jesus is. 00:12:34.740 --> 00:12:38.039 And we're going to get a new resurrected body like his. 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:42.679 We're going to live in a new creation where heaven has come down to earth. 00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:49.620 All of that and more is what we mean when we say that we're saved by grace. 00:12:49.620 --> 00:13:02.759 Because grace is that undeserved initiative that Jesus takes to reconcile us to God and make us whole and full and true human beings. 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:06.860 And we contribute nothing to our salvation. 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:09.139 That's the conclusion of this church meeting. 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:14.259 That we're not saved even a little bit by ourselves. 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:18.519 There was a former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple. 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:20.319 And he famously said, 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:27.120 The only thing of our very own which we contribute to our salvation is the sin which makes it necessary. 00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:35.639 This Pharisee party was the first of many, many, many well-meaning Christians through the past 2,000 years. 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:39.860 Who decided they didn't like this non-contributing scheme of salvation. 00:13:39.860 --> 00:13:44.560 That they strenuously insisted like many people have. 00:13:44.659 --> 00:13:52.940 No, we contribute something of our own obedience as a prerequisite to God accepting us and saving us. 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:59.039 Jesus' good work, that's good but it's not sufficient. 00:13:59.180 --> 00:14:02.740 If you want God to love you, if you want God to save you, 00:14:02.800 --> 00:14:07.120 then you must add to Jesus' work the good works of your own. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:10.000 And we call that Jesus plus theology. 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:22.799 A Jesus plus theology insists on a contributing scheme of salvation in which salvation is a joint enterprise between God and us. 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:23.899 But Peter says, 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:25.360 No. 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:27.240 No. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:30.320 Salvation is not something we achieve. 00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:33.399 Salvation is something we simply receive. 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:39.120 And friends, human pride resists divine grace. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:47.519 Because how many of us really want to be paupers who depend entirely on the charity of heaven? 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:55.019 How many of us want to say that we're beggars who feed totally from the hands of Jesus? 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:57.759 Our prideful hearts don't like that. 00:14:57.819 --> 00:14:59.699 But that's what grace means. 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:03.920 This party of well-meaning Christians got it wrong. 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:11.120 And they needed to go home that day realizing that they were out of line with the truth of the gospel. 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:18.840 That we're saved by the sheer unmerited favor of Jesus with no contribution from us. 00:15:18.840 --> 00:15:21.879 We sing this great hymn in the church. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:24.639 Nothing in my hand I bring. 00:15:25.920 --> 00:15:27.639 Simply to thy cross I cling. 00:15:27.800 --> 00:15:28.120 Naked. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:29.920 Come to thee for dress. 00:15:30.060 --> 00:15:30.500 Helpless. 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:32.540 Look to thee for grace. 00:15:33.060 --> 00:15:33.500 Foul. 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:35.460 I to the fountain fly. 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:36.500 Wash me, Savior. 00:15:37.160 --> 00:15:38.700 Or I die. 00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:45.200 There is no religion in the world that rides so roughly over human pride as Christianity. 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.620 And that's my question for myself today and for you as well. 00:15:49.680 --> 00:15:56.200 Have you allowed this gospel of grace to rip up your self-righteousness to tatters? 00:15:56.200 --> 00:16:02.040 Have you allowed God's grace to shatter your conceit to smithereens? 00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:08.320 Because that's the fruit of saying that we're saved alone by this grace of Jesus. 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:10.200 That we become a humble people. 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:13.660 A people with humble hearts before God. 00:16:14.740 --> 00:16:18.200 And the church centers on this gracious Savior. 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:22.980 But the church also centers on God's cleansing spirit. 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:26.200 The church centers on God's cleansing spirit. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:30.360 And this is Peter's point when he stands up in this meeting and he says in verse 8, 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:39.580 God who knows the heart showed that he accepted the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he did to us Jews. 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:46.019 He did not discriminate between us and them for he purified their hearts by faith. 00:16:46.080 --> 00:16:49.340 And when he says they purified he uses the word katerizo. 00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:51.960 He katerized their hearts. 00:16:51.960 --> 00:17:01.300 And that's a medical practice where you burn a part of the body to remove and close off a wounded and infected part of the rest of the body. 00:17:01.980 --> 00:17:08.600 And when you cauterize something you destroy some tissue in order to mitigate bleeding and damage. 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:14.279 And that's what the Holy Spirit has done in our hearts at the innermost roots of our beings. 00:17:14.279 --> 00:17:27.899 He's freed us from the wound and the infection of the self-centeredness that was previously destroying not only us but destroying the world. 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:39.140 And so to be a Christian is to live with the presence and the power and the purification of this cauterizing spirit of God inside of me, 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:43.380 in my mind, in my heart, in my will. 00:17:43.380 --> 00:18:06.260 So that though I contribute nothing to my salvation, I'm called as a disciple of Jesus to work out my salvation with a strenuous effort that the power of God's spirit living in me enables me to live out a cauterized and purified love for God, for his people, for the world. 00:18:06.259 --> 00:18:09.220 This is how Peter puts it in his first letter. 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:12.400 He says in 1 Peter 1, verse 2, 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:23.759 You have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying or purifying work of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ. 00:18:25.099 --> 00:18:31.660 And having established who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does as our purifier and our sanctifier, 00:18:31.660 --> 00:18:43.620 Peter says that the basis of Christian fellowship is a common sharing in this Holy Spirit who applies the grace and the salvation of Jesus to us. 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:48.259 He says in verses 8 to 9, he says we all have the same spirit. 00:18:48.900 --> 00:18:57.019 We have the same spirit-given faith, the same spirit-given purity, the same spirit-given acceptance to God our Father. 00:18:57.019 --> 00:19:07.339 And he says in verse 11, he says we Jews and they Gentiles are one because we're saved by the same person, Jesus. 00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:10.639 We're saved in the same way, grace. 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:15.519 And that's made operative and effective in our lives by the Holy Spirit. 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:23.160 Peter's argument here is that internal purity of heart makes Christian fellowship possible, 00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:26.279 not external purity of ritual. 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:31.119 Internal purity of faith, not external purity of works. 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:39.899 The unity of fellowship that we enjoy with one another is based on our common salvation from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:19:40.019 --> 00:19:45.839 And if God made no distinction between us and them, says Peter, 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:51.359 then we should make no distinction between us and them. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:20:00.379 And friends, in the 21st century, there's just far too many us and them divisions in Jesus' church. 00:20:01.199 --> 00:20:01.759 Amen? 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:15.219 There are many historical, social, economic, political, intellectual forces that are trying to squeeze us into a mold that tells us we need to be divided. 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:26.660 Powerful ideologies, powerful ideologies, powerful algorithms that want to drive a wedge between us and keep us locked in this eternal struggle between us and them. 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:28.660 Because I'm of Scottish descent. 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:29.279 Because I'm of Scottish descent. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:30.960 And you're of Chinese descent. 00:20:31.300 --> 00:20:32.920 And you're of Kenyan descent. 00:20:33.040 --> 00:20:34.720 And you're of Mexican descent. 00:20:34.800 --> 00:20:36.720 That we can't be one family together. 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:40.560 Because we've got a Democrat over here and a Republican over here. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:42.980 We can't be a family together. 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:51.200 But the church of Jesus, that's full of the purifying spirit of God, is called to be different. 00:20:54.339 --> 00:20:57.220 Am I getting, can I get anything out there? 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:03.900 We are saved in the same way because the ground at the foot of the cross is level. 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:09.680 We've been accepted by God in the same way, so we should accept one another in the same way, says Peter. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:13.680 We should welcome one another as God has welcomed us. 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:19.920 And this is how Paul says it in his very passionate letter in Galatians chapter 3 verse 28. 00:21:20.360 --> 00:21:22.080 There is neither Jew nor Gentile. 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:23.720 Neither slave nor free. 00:21:23.840 --> 00:21:25.180 Nor is there male or female. 00:21:25.340 --> 00:21:27.860 For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 00:21:28.980 --> 00:21:31.400 Our differences aren't demolished. 00:21:32.160 --> 00:21:33.600 We still have our ethnicities. 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:35.539 We still have our biological sexes. 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:43.500 We still have our temperaments and ages and languages and accents and cultural backgrounds and educations and personal stories. 00:21:43.500 --> 00:21:49.960 That make us utterly unique individuals within an astonishing array of diversity just in this room. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:57.220 But overarching all of those distinctions is our common salvation. 00:21:57.220 --> 00:22:07.079 That's been put into effect and made operative by the presence and power and purification of the Holy Spirit of God. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:14.039 And we can apply this even today as we come to this table in just a minute, the Lord's Supper today. 00:22:14.839 --> 00:22:18.299 We're going to eat bread from the common loaf of Jesus' body. 00:22:18.299 --> 00:22:22.220 We're going to drink wine from the common cup of Jesus' blood. 00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:32.359 And when we do that, I want us not to focus on our differences of race and class and sexuality and gender and all of these other things. 00:22:32.579 --> 00:22:40.700 I want us to come together and focus on the fact that the people around us are wanted and welcomed by God just as much as we are. 00:22:40.700 --> 00:22:48.559 I want us to focus on the fact that we belong to the same redeemed community of Jesus throughout the world. 00:22:49.140 --> 00:23:02.500 And that we are all equal citizens of the kingdom of God, all brothers and sisters in the family that the Father loves so much that he sent his Son and he sent his Spirit to purify us. 00:23:02.880 --> 00:23:05.940 And to make us different in this world. 00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:08.500 You feeling me? 00:23:08.500 --> 00:23:13.220 So the church centers on a gracious Savior, the gracious Savior. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:15.339 It centers on the cleansing spirit. 00:23:15.460 --> 00:23:18.799 But the church also centers on the inspired scriptures. 00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:19.980 And this is where we'll end. 00:23:20.200 --> 00:23:22.380 It's July 4th. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:25.519 Hopefully you're listening to the musical Hamilton. 00:23:26.420 --> 00:23:32.240 This is now the primary lens through which we learn history and interpret the history of the founding of our country. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:40.099 And the writer of this musical, Lin-Manuel Miranda, one of his favorite songs he wrote in that musical was The Room Where It Happens. 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:41.859 You guys know this song, The Room Where It Happens? 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:49.940 It's about the compromise of 1790 between Hamilton on the one hand and Madison and Jefferson on the other. 00:23:49.940 --> 00:23:54.940 And basically the compromise was, you know, the national government will pay all the state's debts. 00:23:55.400 --> 00:24:00.120 But the national capital will move to the District of Columbia to be closer to the south. 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:00.640 Right? 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:03.900 And amazing lines in the song. 00:24:04.580 --> 00:24:05.240 Miranda says, 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:29.680 And my question for us is, is this Jerusalem Council of 48 A.D. the same as the compromise of 1790? 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:35.860 Did this meeting happen in a private room behind closed doors? 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.440 And do we not really know how the game was played? 00:24:40.900 --> 00:24:43.860 Read verses 12 and following with me. 00:24:44.820 --> 00:24:54.299 The whole assembly became silent after Peter spoke and they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 00:24:54.299 --> 00:25:04.579 And when they finished, James, the pastor of First Presbyterian Jerusalem, he stood up and he spoke up and he said, 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:06.000 Brothers, listen to me. 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:12.960 Simon Peter has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 00:25:13.559 --> 00:25:18.659 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this as it is written. 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:25.380 I want to say that Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James show us how the game is played here. 00:25:26.100 --> 00:25:35.340 They show us that a healthy church talks about the experience of God converting people to himself, the Gentiles, through Paul and Barnabas on the one hand. 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:40.080 And a healthy church talks about the word of God that guides us into the truth. 00:25:40.180 --> 00:25:47.519 On the other hand, Pastor James standing up to speak about the prophets, Amos, Jeremiah, and Isaiah, which we didn't read to you. 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:59.500 The reason this is important to me is because postmodern people read Scripture through the lens of their experience. 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:05.839 But the apostles tell us to read our experience through the lens of Scripture. 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:16.839 They hold up this issue of Gentile inclusion in the church up to the light of what has been written, what God has revealed in his authoritative word. 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:24.099 For the apostles, doctrinal and moral truth was not to be found in their individual, personal, subjective experiences. 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:28.099 It wasn't to be found in their feelings about those experiences. 00:26:29.139 --> 00:26:36.099 Doctrinal truth, moral truth, was to be found in the voice of God written into the text of Scripture. 00:26:36.099 --> 00:26:44.919 So that later on in verse 28, when they write this letter and they say, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, they're thinking about Jesus teaching. 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:47.980 That the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. 00:26:48.679 --> 00:26:55.399 And the Spirit will lead you into all the truth that I've spoken to you, all the truth about who I am and what I've done. 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:56.919 And that's what James is thinking here. 00:26:56.959 --> 00:27:00.199 He's saying, look, we've had the Hebrew Bible all along. 00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:02.799 All that that Bible says about the Gentile nations. 00:27:03.860 --> 00:27:05.779 But we misinterpreted the Bible. 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:10.420 We misunderstood it to mean that Gentiles needed to become Jews. 00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:11.940 But now we have the Holy Spirit. 00:27:12.680 --> 00:27:16.059 And the Holy Spirit enables us to reread our Bibles. 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:19.799 To interpret Scripture by Scripture. 00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:24.960 And to become reformed according to the word of God. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:29.240 Now what does that mean for us 21st century Christians? 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:37.360 Well some people point to the Gentiles not needing to follow the ceremonial laws of the Bible. 00:27:38.100 --> 00:27:41.940 Of circumcision and all these things that the book of Leviticus talks about. 00:27:42.019 --> 00:27:47.059 And they say, look, if they don't have to practice these laws of circumcision and a kosher diet. 00:27:47.059 --> 00:27:48.860 And the feast of Passover. 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:50.279 And worshiping in the temple. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:52.460 And all these sacrifices and all this stuff. 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:58.720 Then doesn't that prove that we can set aside any part of the Bible that doesn't fit us anymore? 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:02.620 Aren't we free to pick and choose what to hold on to. 00:28:02.759 --> 00:28:05.819 And mix and match what we let go of. 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:09.259 But friends, Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said, 00:28:09.819 --> 00:28:11.600 I've not come to abolish the law. 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:13.960 I've come to fulfill it. 00:28:14.840 --> 00:28:21.819 And just because Jesus fulfilled all of these ceremonial laws that were signposts to his person and his work. 00:28:22.460 --> 00:28:31.279 Does not mean that any party of Christians has the authority and the right to dispense of God's moral laws altogether. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:39.079 In fact, unless the authoritative Bible itself tells you that part of the Bible is no longer binding on you. 00:28:39.940 --> 00:28:46.620 Then you are not allowed to put anything in the Bible aside unless the Bible itself tells you to put it aside. 00:28:47.620 --> 00:28:48.640 You tracking with me? 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:50.420 So look at verse 28. 00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:52.000 They say, 00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:59.720 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements. 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:05.480 Having established the truth that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. 00:29:05.740 --> 00:29:07.519 That it's God's work and not our work. 00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:14.840 Now the apostles want to show that God's grace is at work in our lives. 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:24.519 When we work that grace out in grateful obedience to the requirements of God's moral law. 00:29:25.059 --> 00:29:31.339 They don't expect or assume that Gentile Christians will follow the ceremonial and civil laws of the Torah. 00:29:31.439 --> 00:29:38.399 But they do assume that Gentile Christians will absolutely follow the moral law of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:43.180 Because this is our biblical blueprint for Christ-like living. 00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:51.140 These are the divinely inscripturated words that safeguard us from offending God and oppressing our neighbors. 00:29:51.140 --> 00:29:56.220 And how are the Ten Commandments life-giving guardrails for us? 00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:03.440 They negatively speaking keep us from idolatry and immorality. 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:08.440 And positively speaking they show us how to love God with all our heart. 00:30:08.920 --> 00:30:12.320 And how to love our neighbors as ourselves. 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:17.179 God has written this law on the human heart. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:21.240 And God has sent his son Jesus to perfectly fulfill this law. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:26.379 And that's why he wants his people, Jewish and Gentile Christians, to live by it. 00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:31.019 And beyond that moral law of the Ten Commandments, 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:39.039 these Gentile Christians are asked to avoid four specific things listed in verse 29 to give no needless offense. 00:30:39.139 --> 00:30:40.919 And where do these four items come from? 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:42.920 They come from the Bible. 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:44.519 They come from Moses. 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:54.080 They come exactly from Leviticus chapter 17 and 18 that says both Jews and Gentiles are to avoid these particular things. 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:55.279 Why? 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:59.660 Because every city in the world at the time had Jewish inhabitants. 00:31:00.720 --> 00:31:07.920 Because every church was becoming this strange, new, unheard of, multi-ethnic mixture of Jews and Gentiles. 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:13.900 Because Christians were claiming that in Jesus the Messiah, the law and the prophets had been fulfilled. 00:31:14.360 --> 00:31:20.279 And because this claim was always going to be at best puzzling and at worst offensive. 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:22.380 Gentile Christians. 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:35.420 Gentile Christians are encouraged not to offer needless offense to their fellow Jewish believers or their as yet unbelieving Jewish neighbors. 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:47.720 It would therefore be a great help, says the apostles, if you would keep away from pagan temples and all the pagan culture and things that are going on inside of those temples. 00:31:47.720 --> 00:32:09.200 By asking Gentile Christians to steer clear of pagan idolatry and pagan immorality, the apostles are protecting and preserving the integrity of the church's loving fellowship and the influence of the church's provocative mission. 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:14.039 Yes, converts into the church are welcomed, but not without limits. 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:16.500 Not without requirements. 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:23.360 Even as change was required of Jewish Christians to include these converted Gentiles into their fellowships, 00:32:23.360 --> 00:32:32.000 so these converted Gentiles must change their lifestyle, must change their behaviors to come in line with the gospel out of love for the church community 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:37.559 and for the sake of our ministry and for the sake of our ministry and for the sake of our witness as the light of the world. 00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:45.920 Nothing in our behavior should obscure the light of Jesus' grace shining through us to all people. 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:52.779 Everything in our actions should reflect the light of God's goodness, beauty, and truth going out to all people. 00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:56.880 And how did the church come to this conclusion? 00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:01.440 How did they come to this conclusion? 00:33:03.120 --> 00:33:15.500 They came to it on the basis of the authoritative, inspired scriptures of God, which is one of the greatest treasures we have. 00:33:15.600 --> 00:33:24.520 So Christchurch, my prayer and my hope is that as we move further into 2021, further into this post-pandemic reality, 00:33:24.519 --> 00:33:31.359 as we're having questions and conversations about who are we as a church, what have we been about, who are we going to become, 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:36.759 and I pray, Lord, make us centered on the gracious Savior. 00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:40.839 Make us centered on the experience of this cleansing spirit. 00:33:41.000 --> 00:33:45.139 Make us centered, Lord God, on your inspired scriptures. 00:33:46.779 --> 00:33:47.559 That's what I want. 00:33:47.579 --> 00:33:48.259 Is that what you want? 00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:50.700 Is that what you want? 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:54.339 In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen. 00:33:55.480 --> 00:33:55.900 Amen. 00:33:56.299 --> 00:33:56.400 So. 00:33:56.400 --> 00:33:56.660 Amen. 00:33:56.859 --> 00:33:57.079 Amen. 00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:57.139 Amen. 00:33:57.259 --> 00:33:57.400 Amen. 00:33:57.500 --> 00:33:57.920 Amen. 00:33:57.920 --> 00:33:58.400 Amen. 00:33:58.420 --> 00:33:59.099 Amen. 00:33:59.099 --> 00:33:59.460 Amen. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:33:59.839 Amen. 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:02.019 You need to hear the spirit of God. 00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:02.359 Amen. 00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:03.480 Amen. 00:34:03.579 --> 00:34:03.639 Amen. 00:34:04.639 --> 00:34:05.940 Amen. 00:34:06.119 --> 00:34:07.240 Amen. 00:34:07.240 --> 00:34:07.879 Amen. 00:34:07.879 --> 00:34:08.139 Amen. 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:08.820 Amen. 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:08.880 Amen. 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:10.400 Amen. 00:34:10.400 --> 00:34:10.800 Amen. 00:34:10.900 --> 00:34:11.659 Amen. 00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:11.739 Amen. 00:34:12.119 --> 00:34:12.579 Amen. 00:34:12.579 --> 00:34:13.000 Amen. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:13.239 Amen. 00:34:13.259 --> 00:34:14.139 Amen. 00:34:14.340 --> 00:34:14.820 Amen. 00:34:14.820 --> 00:34:15.219 Amen. 00:34:15.219 --> 00:34:15.759 Amen. 00:34:15.980 --> 00:34:16.519 Amen. 00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:17.179 Amen. 00:34:17.719 --> 00:34:21.500 Amen. 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:22.400 Amen. 00:34:22.519 --> 00:34:23.619 Amen. 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:24.360 Amen.