Should You Be Circumcised? That Sorta Depends...

The Growing Church of Jesus Christ

(Acts 16:1-5, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 30, 2012)

[16:1] Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra.

Barnabas and his young relative, John Mark, had gone by sea to Cyprus. Paul and his colleague Silas, a representative of the Jerusalem church, went overland with the blessing of the church in Antioch. They eventually came to the churches that Paul and Barnabas had planted in the inland region of Galatia on their first missionary journey.

Those churches were started with much suffering. Remember that Jews who were against the message of Jesus Christ had riled up the crowds against Paul and Barnabas in Lystra, as Acts 14:19 testifies, “But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.” If he was dead, he was soon alive again after the disciples gathered around him. He rose up, entered the city, and left the next day for the trek to Derbe. Amazing.

A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. [2] He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium.

Lystra was the place where the pagan Gentiles initially had thought that Barnabas was Zeus and that Paul was Hermes. This was in the region of a pagan people called the Lycaonians, but there were also Jews there, as there were throughout the Gentile world.

One of those Jews was the mother of Timothy, a young man who would be like a son to Paul. This gospel companion would learn from Paul and continue on in the ministry after Paul was gone. While Timothy's mother and grandmother, Lois and Eunice, were Jewish, his father was not. Timothy had believed the word of the Lord and was part of the church at Lystra. He was also known in Iconium, and was well spoken of by the churches in both places.

[3] Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Paul agreed with this assessment and wanted Timothy to join them as part of their missionary team as they traveled west. Knowing that their work would involve not only strengthening existing churches but also going into synagogues to announce to Jews that the Suffering Servant Messiah of the Old Testament had come, Paul circumcised his younger colleague.

This may surprise us, since we know that Paul strongly believed that it was not necessary for anyone to be circumcised in order to be a part of the church or to be a minister of the gospel. Why did he do this? The point is made here that the reason was missionary and not ethical. If Timothy had remained uncircumcised, that would have hindered the work of the whole team in going into synagogues and sitting down to eat together in Jewish homes. Paul was willing to make many sacrifices in order to gain a hearing for the message of Jesus, but he was completely unwilling to change the message itself. He believed that the message of salvation through Jesus was the gospel, and that this message was the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” both Jews and non-Jews. As an uncircumcised young man in Lystra and Iconium, Timothy had served very well in the new Christian churches there. Now he was circumcised in order to be useful even in synagogues where people needed to hear the gospel of Jesus.

[4] As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

Now with Timothy as a part of their team, Paul and Silas went on from Lystra to the other cities of Galatia. Everywhere they went, they brought not only the word of the Lord that they had preached before in Galatia, but also the decision of the council in Jerusalem that we have been considering from Acts 15.

They delivered this to all the churches “for observance.” The Jerusalem Council had settled that the message of Jesus would also be a way of life.

It is important for us to know something about Christian worship in the early churches. We learn about it from the letters of the New Testament. I would summarize it this way: 1. Take synagogue worship with its word-based reading and preaching, its singing, prayer, and giving. 2. Add the upper room with its Lord's Supper, 3. Stir in two divine ingredients and mix thoroughly: the reigning Son of God and the healing, renewing, transforming Holy Spirit. Then add one more thing: lots of non-Jews as full members in the body of the reigning Jewish King, the Head over the whole body. That was God's recipe for this Christian worship that was such a vibrant, life-bringing breath of fresh air in Galatia.

Now add the Jerusalem Council, and we have this wonderful word of restraint. Just because non-Jews were coming into these churches did not mean that they could expect that all their habits of worship were going to be thrown into this mixing bowl. Some ingredients were deliberately left out of the mix. Pagan sacrifices and sexual immorality would have destroyed the churches. The Jerusalem Council brought a needed word of decency, order, and loving concern for Jewish hearts.

God still loved the Jews. He would save them not through circumcision or the old habits of custom and Law, but through the message of Jesus Christ, and their ingrafting into a community of faith and holiness, of new life and the obedience of love. Timothy was a poster child for what the church was all about. His circumcision was an act of cross love and his assent to be a soldier in an army that would win hearts, minds, and lives by the power of heaven.

[5] So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

The result of this ministry was the strengthening of the Galatian churches. Just as had happened in Syria and Cilicia, the message of the gospel and the restraint of a life that cared about the new body of Jews and non-Jews together under the headship of the King who died on the cross and rose from the tomb.

I am all in favor of growth if it is based on that King, that message, that worship, and that life. The growth that took place in Galatia was not only spiritual and moral. It was also numerical. And it was happening fast. They increased in numbers daily.

Where the church gets into trouble is when we will do anything to grow. Circumcise Timothy for the mission? Yes. Entice new potential converts with something that looks like pagan worship and sexual immorality? No. The church stands for something unchanging both in worship and in life. The recipe certainly did change from Old Covenant to New. Does it need to change in every age? Certainly we want to do what we can to help people to understand the good news of Christ. But the message does not change. The basic worship mix does not change. The power of the Holy Spirit does not change. The willing restraint of missionary love does not change.

1. What are some of the significant points of the life of Timothy from the Bible?

2. What was the ongoing impact of the council in Jerusalem described in Acts 15?

3. What was the condition of the churches in Galatia?

4. Is there some significance to the fact that the church was increasing in numbers daily?

OT Passage: Genesis 45:4-11, Exodus 1:5-12

Getting Serious About Following Jesus

9/30/2012 – Evening Service - 5pm

Devoted

(Titus 3:8-11)

[8] The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things,

The message that we have been considering in Titus is not optional or unimportant. The faith that we love has a life of holiness that it demands. Ministers like Titus need to insist on the gospel of grace, and to help people in the church to walk in the way of the Spirit of God. This is an important aspect of what it means to be a devoted follower of Christ.

so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

You believe in God? Good. So does the devil. But He does not love God. You do. If you love Him, you will do what He says. These are not small points that are one (inspired) writer's ax to grind. They are a major chorus that all the New Testament (and Old Testament) writers sing out with real gusto!

Believe in God? Absolutely! Be devoted to Him in your life? Yes again! What are good works if not the transformation of every relationship and activity in your life according to the way of the Word, the heart of Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit? Good works are not some showy or fake spirituality. They are Romans 12:1-2 lived out in a “normal” life, yielding abnormal (heavenly) results, thirty, sixty, hundred-fold.

This is the way we obey God. This is how we show our appreciation for the work of salvation that Jesus did for us. This is the way we grow as Christians. It is the excellent way mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:1, the way of love. And it is very good for others too.

By whom are you willing to be inconvenienced? Just how much are you willing to be inconvenienced? Jesus was willing to be inconvenienced for all who would believe in Him. How much? Inconvenienced enough to die for them. Growing in that willingness to be living sacrifices for others is a life-long project. We need to get right on it.

[9] But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

If you are going to try this, you need to clear your calender of any previous engagements in the category of foolish controversies, or general wastes of time. Your time is not your own, because your life is not your own. Don't neglect your families, and take time to get rest and refreshment. Sure. But recognize a true waste of time for what it is. And give up everything that is nasty and worthless. You're too busy for that.

[10] As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, [11] knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

People that will not follow this directive but who insist on being petty and divisive cannot continue to distract the church forever. Titus needed to be ready to see such people removed from the church after a couple of warnings. Rotten behavior is not part of anyone's Christian freedom. We have a better Savior than that. And we just don't have the time for anything that is obviously not love.

The Word of the Lord, and yes, some conflict...

Strengthening the Churches

(Acts 15:30-41, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 23, 2012)

[30] So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. [31] And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. [32] And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. [33] And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. [35] But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Paul and Barnabas, accompanied by two representatives of the Jerusalem church, were sent forth by the apostles, elders, and the whole church with a letter that they believed to be the answer to a very difficult problem in the church. Jewish believers in Jesus Christ were concerned about pagan influences that would come into the church as non-Jews came into the church.

The solution of some unauthorized missionaries from the Jerusalem church was that all the Gentiles become Jews. This was rejected by Peter, James, and others in Jerusalem as unbiblical and against the obvious move of God who was at the forefront of displaying the clear fact to all that many non-Jews had been accepted by Him as sincere followers of His Son.

This did not mean that the Jerusalem church was unconcerned about the problems that might come from an uncritical acceptance of pagan ways. The letter that they sent by the hands of trusted emissaries directed the Gentile believers to abstain from practices that were abhorrent to the Jewish world and were associated with the pagan world view, in particular, participating in idolatrous sacrifices, and the rejection of Jewish sexual morality.

How real were these fears? We only need to read 1 Corinthians to see that these very issues had to be addressed in detail many years later by the apostle Paul, since the churches in Corinth began to have a view of Christian freedom that needed to be strongly condemned, lest the whole vibrant church in that region be destroyed by licentious arrogance and immorality. 1 Corinthians is the proof that these concerns that were addressed in Acts 15 were very real.

How would this letter be received in the places where the other solution, all Gentiles becoming circumcised Jews, had been a possible solution to the problem? The first test of the Jerusalem Council came in Antioch in Syria, the vibrant church that had originally send Paul and Barnabas on their great missionary adventure. The result was greatly encouraging. Calm was restored and the teaching ministry continued without the unnecessary distraction of unanswered fears.

What was the content of that teaching ministry? We have to believe that it was in accord with the earlier preaching of Paul and others that we have seen in Acts, and the preaching that we will see in the rest of this book. Verse 35 simply says these important words of summary: They were teaching and preaching “the Word of the Lord.” What does that mean? When the resurrected Lord Himself taught two men on the road to Emmaus, He “interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” That is precisely what Peter, Stephen, Philip, and Paul have been doing in the earlier chapters of Acts. The eyewitness testimony of the apostles is shown to be the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament had been preparing the Jewish world to embrace for centuries. The Suffering Servant Messiah had come, and He had brought in the new Kingdom of God with His death and resurrection. Such a message does not fit with the lifestyle of arrogance and immorality that would naturally flow from worshiping the gods of the Greek and Roman world. There would be a new way of humble love that would take root in the churches growing all over Syria and Galatia, and the old way of the gods would be seriously challenged by the new way of the King who died on a cross and rose from the dead.

[36] And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” [37] Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. [38] But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. [39] And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, [40] but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. [41] And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Knowing that this Christian message that they preached and the accompanying practical instruction from the Jerusalem Council was just what the church needed at this critical time, Paul and Barnabas were eager to retrace their steps and visit the churches that God had started in Cyprus and Asia Minor. This would be an important mission. Some would still be pushing circumcision, including Jews that rejected Jesus entirely. Others would ignore all restraint, and these young churches might be filled with the pagan culture that was so normal to so many Gentiles. They needed to strengthen the churches with the Word of the Lord.

But a problem arose between Paul and Barnabas concerning Barnabas' relative John Mark. You will remember that this Mark, who is most likely the author of Mark's gospel, had been a companion of these men through their earlier journeys, but had abandoned them before they ever got to Galatia, returning to Jerusalem. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, and Paul thought that it would be better not to take him along. There was such a serious disagreement on this strategic and relational matter that Paul went overland toward Galatia with Silas, and Barnabas went back to Cyprus with John Mark.

Jesus had said, “In this world you will have tribulation.” Some of the troubles that we face will be disagreements like this one, even between brothers. One may go one way and one another. When that happens, do not panic. Trust the Lord through that and every other trial.

Be careful not to give yourself over to your imagination. Do not invent things about one another and decide that your guesses are facts. Remember the message that you believe, the Word of the Lord that strengthens the churches. The Word of God is not just for other people out there. It is for you and I too, even through sharp disagreements that may include one sin or another affecting the way that we think about each other.

Perhaps Paul had lost confidence in John Mark. Maybe, but maybe not. Maybe he just felt that he needed some more time growing up before he went off on another journey of unknown duration. Do not hold a grudge. Do not impugn motives that only God can know for sure. Try to think the best of others. Pray for the well-being of others, even if a sharp disagreement causes a separation for a time. Paul wrote to the Colossians about Mark some years later: “If he comes to you, welcome him.” We're are happy to read those good words. Remember the King of the church, and do not make too much of personal disagreements between those for whom He died.

1. Why was the result of the Jerusalem Council so encouraging to the church in Antioch?

2. What do we know about the heritage and condition of that church?

3. How did John Mark fit into the larger history of the New Testament?

4. What is success supposed to look and feel like in the church of Jesus Christ?

OT Passage: Genesis 37:11, 37:20, 39:1, 40:23, 41:1, 41:53-57

Bigger News Than Sin

9/23/2012 – Evening Service - 5pm

God Our Savior

(Titus 3:4-7)

[4] But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, [5] he saved us,

Jesus is God our Savior. So is the Father, and so is the Holy Spirit. But it is especially in the coming of Christ in the flesh, in His cross, and in His resurrection from the dead that the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared. God has saved us from a world that was fatally infected with sin by the disobedience of one man.

not because of works done by us in righteousness,

We could not get ourselves out of the mess of the fall. Isaiah says that even our righteousness is as filthy rags before the holiness of Almighty God. The fall of mankind through Adam was an offense against God that man could not fix.

but according to his own mercy,

There is much in this world that is impossible for man. But what is impossible for man is not necessarily impossible with God. God was the offended party when sin entered the world. In the case of every sin ever committed, it is God who has been wronged. It is God who must determine the terms of satisfaction and reconciliation.

But what if God's requirements, perfect and perpetual holiness, cannot be satisfied by any man? It is not for us to lower the standards for the Lord. We look to Him for the solution to every problem that is too big for us. In the case of our salvation we know what was required. His Son would have to come as our substitute and die for us.

Knowing that answer is different than having the Answer come. We could not force God to do this. The gospel would have to come to us solely from His mercy.

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

It was the mercy of God that brought us Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost. And it was the mercy of God that touched our lives at just the right time. We know what we were according to the verse prior to this passage. But now we have been washed with the regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

[6] whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

This Spirit was not given to us as a separate plan from the gift of Jesus as the Son. The two are part of the One gift of God to us. The Spirit comes through the power of the reigning Son of God, and He brings benefits to us that come through the merit and mediation of Jesus the Messiah alone.

[7] so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The way to the benefits of eternal life which we have now inherited is through the grace of God and not through any merit that we deserve. We have been counted as righteous before God and as heirs to the promises of God through Father, Son, and Spirit. Our pride in our own achievements is not the answer for us, but the problem Jesus solved through His humble and powerfully effectual love. Praise be to God our Savior forever and ever!

What Does the Church Say? The Love of Christ Controls Us. Period.

The Word, the Holy Spirit, the Councils of the Church, and Love

(Acts 15:19-29, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 16, 2012)

[19] Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God,

The Gentiles were turning to God. That had created quite a stir among some of the Jewish Christians. Their solution: make them all Jews and teach the to follow all the laws of the Old Testament and the worthy customs of the Jewish heritage. The opinion of Paul, Barnabas, James, the elders in Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit: No way!

James had cited Hebrew prophets in order to show that the turning of the age had come in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One of the anticipated features of the age of salvation was that the nations of the world would begin to call upon the Name of the God of Israel. The dividing wall that had ceremonially separated Jews and Gentiles had to come down. The One who insisted on that most of all was God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This one God had revealed His pleasure to call the uncircumcised as well as the circumcised by displaying great signs of resurrection life even among the uncircumcised Gentiles. They had obviously received the gift of the Holy Spirit. James had shown through the words of the prophets that uncircumcised Gentiles calling upon the Name of Jesus in worship was known to God of old. It was time to celebrate the beginning of the salvation of the whole world through Messiah Jesus. To insist on Gentiles becoming Jews in order to worship God and grow in Jesus was to unnecessarily trouble Gentiles who were turning to God in large numbers through the Word of the resurrection.

[20] but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. [21] For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

Despite this clear word of grace and liberty, James proposed that a letter be sent out to all the churches telling them to abstain from certain behaviors that were commonplace among the Gentiles that might create unnecessary division with those who loved the Law of Moses. The Gentile world was full of idols. Most of the meat in some cities came from the sacrifice of animals to pagan gods. The animal was sacrificed and the meat was sold to people. Even if there was no false religion involved, the Gentiles had customs that involved eating in ways that Jews found difficult to tolerate. In particular, for centuries Jews had learned that they could not eat rare or raw meat. This was not presented as a health issue, but as a ceremonial prohibition because of the importance of the blood of an acceptable sacrifice.

But now the blood of the real Passover Lamb has been shed for us. These instructions about food that James proposed were not timeless moral laws. We know that from the rest of the Bible. Paul had told the Corinthians that they could eat meat sold in the marketplaces, but that they could not participate in ceremonies of idolatry. If you like your steak rare, you are not sinning against God.

Different than this was the Word against sexual immorality. This was a rule that would continue forever. Again we know this from the rest of the Bible. Paul's letters to the Corinthians made this very clear. The covenant of marriage is required for the joys of sexual love. The Lord understands sexual weakness. Sexual immorality is not the unpardonable sin. But the church was not to take up the sexual habits of the Greek culture while it was expanding so rapidly. Jesus had made this very clear, and His Word is consistent testimony of the New Testament. We see something different in the polygamous world of the Old Covenant life, but Christ explained that it was not so in the beginning. See Genesis 2. Not only had the blood of Christ put an end to all the blood sacrifices of the Old Testament, but the perfectly faithful Husband, Jesus, had given us the pattern of exclusive love for His bride, the church. Now husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. There is no room for sexual immorality in our assemblies. But there is forgiveness and full restoration for all who repent. As Paul says again to the Corinthians, “Such were some of you.”

Sorting out these laws for the churches proposed by James is no easy matter. But this we can say with confidence. The abiding Law of God can be summarized in one word: LOVE. The Gentiles who came to faith in Jesus did not need to keep all the Jewish laws and customs, and they did not need to be circumcised, but they did need to love their Jewish brothers. That meant not making things unnecessarily uncomfortable for Jews who were in the same churches with them who were struggling with their eating of blood and their immoral sexual behavior. One of those struggles was over a temporary matter, the other was over a law that is always in force, but both of them had to do with the Law of love and so they needed to be addressed now and not later.

[22] Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

These judgments would not just be James' decision, but the determination of a council. We expect to see God work through the church on matters that can be troubling to the body of Christ. We are grateful that the Lord gives wisdom to His people as they search the Word and seek the work of the Holy Spirit. We are very thankful that God fills His church with love that helps people find a way out of problems that seem like they can never be solved. This is Christ working through His body. Not only did the whole group agree with James, their decision would be communicated by more than one person, lending the weight of the whole church to the good decision that had been made.

[23] with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. [24] Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, [25] it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, [26] men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. [27] We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. [28] For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: [29] that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”Part of the written communication sent with the representatives from the church in Jerusalem was a clear rejection of certain self-proclaimed representatives of the Jerusalem church and an affirmation of the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. These statements were necessary. People had troubled the churches in Antioch and beyond. Those false apostles had to be stopped. It is not love to tolerate the promoting of serious error and discord within the church.

Above every other Law, remember the One who died to the Law that we might live forever. Remember Jesus Christ, and follow Him in the way of love according to the Word and Spirit of God. The way of love is forever.

1. What was James' advice and reasoning?

2. How were others involved in this important decision?

3. Why was it necessary to speak against some who had troubled the churches and for others who were beloved and trusted representatives of Christ?

4. What is the abiding importance of the decision of this council of the church?

OT Passage: Leviticus 19:17-18

Such were some of me...

9/16/2012 – Evening Service - 5pm

Where We Came From

(Titus 3:3)

[3] For we ourselves

“Such were some of you.”

“Judge not, lest you be judged”

“Do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think”

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

“Have mercy on me O God, according to your abundant mercy.”

But also... “Repent, and believe the gospel.”

We need to be honest about where we came from. This is a necessary component of gospel sanctification.

were once foolish, disobedient, led astray,

Do we see foolishness in others? We were once foolish, disobedient, led astray. Who can understand his secret faults? Who can see the nature of the battle against sin the way that Jesus saw the fight against the adversary who tempted Him in the wilderness. But then Paul says, “We are not ignorant of his devices.”

We don't want to glory in our past as if it is some badge of recommendation to a world that does not love holiness. But we also do not want to deny the truth and present ourselves as inherently holy and end up negating the cross.

There is a spirit that enters into the brothers of the Old Testament Joseph, delighted to strip him of his special clothing to bring him down a notch. We don't want that spirit in us. Nor do we want the spirit of hypocrisy that is quick to excuse in ourselves what we condemn in others.

slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

We don't want to be servants of Satan, or servants of our own eager desires. We don't want to be filled with malice, envy, or hatred for people we disagree with. We don't want to make it too easy for others to hate us by being unreasonable people.

What this means is that the way for us is love. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Take another look at this verse and consider the mess that Jesus took on Himself.

Remember where we came from. It was not a pretty picture. What was it that motivated our Lord to go to the cross when He had no sin in Him?

1. The glory of His Father.
2. The glory that was set before Him.
3. The glory of His character, which is not only holiness, but also love.

He Tented Among Us

I Will Rebuild the Tent of David

(Acts 15:12-18, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 9, 2012)

[12] And all the assembly fell silent,

Paul and his ministry companion Barnabas had experienced in person the turning of the ages. The movement from Old to New Testament was not just turning the page in a book for them. They saw it happen in Galatia. It was glorious, but it was also hugely controversial among Jews.

That controversy was not only between Jews that rejected Jesus as the Messiah and Jews who embraced Him as Savior and Lord. It was also within the group of Jews that believed in Jesus. In that group there were some who thought that the authorized pathway of salvation in Jesus Christ had to include circumcision and the keeping of all the ceremonial traditions of Judaism that they thought of as the Law of Moses. Paul strongly disagreed. This is what led to the Jerusalem Council, the “assembly” described in Acts 15.

and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. [13] After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. [14] Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. Prior to the verses we are considering here, Peter (Simeon) had argued from the events that had taken place in Acts 10 and 11 that God Himself had put an unmistakable mark of inclusion upon uncircumcised Gentiles (non-Jews) by pouring out His Holy Spirit upon a gathering at the home of Cornelius. Now Paul and Barnabas added more eyewitness evidence of how the Lord had done great signs and wonders through them during the mission in Galatia. That mission included distinctive signs of the coming of the resurrection age, signs that had characterized the ministry of Jesus prior to the cross in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies.

Jesus explained these signs by referencing the words of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” These were foretastes of the coming day of the fulfillment of the resurrection era. The greatest foretaste of that day came in the resurrection of Jesus Himself from the dead.

In John's gospel the Lord's signs of who He was began with Him turning water into wine. Those signs ended with Him taking up His life again after he had laid it down for our sake through His death on the cross. James, a son of Mary and Joseph, and a key leader in the church in Jerusalem, was an eyewitness to the resurrection body of Jesus. According to 1 Corinthians 15, after Jesus appeared to over 500 people at once, he then appeared individually to James.

[15] And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,[16] 

“‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,

When James spoke to the assembly in Jerusalem, he did what Jesus did. He grounded the experiences of the New Covenant age in the words of the Old Testament prophets. He did not use Isaiah, but the prophet Amos.

Amos was a prophet who largely wrote about the judgment of God upon Israel. For almost the entire nine chapters of this book, the Word of God through Amos was a devastating indictment against Israel for the nation's disobedience against the Law of the Lord. The last five verses of the book formed a very striking contrast since they were a prophesy of a coming era of outrageously abundant blessings.

Those five verses began with the words, “In that day.” According to James, the resurrection of Jesus, the resurrection signs through Peter and Paul, and the inclusion of non-Jews in the covenant promises of resurrection blessings, were all part of what God promised through Amos. “That day” had come in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the blessing of the Holy Spirit given not only to Jews (Acts 2), but also to Gentiles (Acts 10, 11, 14:3). James quoted Amos 9:11-12 with his own inserted comments of interpretation so that the assembly could connect the signs and wonders reported by Paul and Barnabas with words of the prophets concerning the nations of the world coming to the God of the Jews.

What you might miss is the reference in Amos 9:11 to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is vital to see, since the apostolic message that God had blessed with these resurrection signs and wonders in Galatia was the message of the resurrection of Jesus the Jewish Messiah. The gate to salvation for the world was not the ceremony of circumcision. It was the resurrection of Jesus.

Amos 9:11 prophesies, “I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen. There are three points you must see in these words: 1. Something is going to be raised up. 2. The booth is a tent, a word which the Scriptures frequently use to refer to a physical body that can be filled with the presence of God. 3. The David that James is counting on is not the one whose body had been in the grave for so many centuries by this time, but the long-expected Son of David who rose from the dead on the third day.

The rich heritage of tabernacle, temple, and living church would be worth considering now from the Scriptures, but we need to get right to the heart of the matter. When John wrote about God dwelling with us to save us, this was his exact message: “And the Word became flesh and tented among us.” He went on to say, “We have seen His glory.” The glory he was referring to was the glory of the resurrected Jesus, that glory that confronted Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus and sent him forth for the rest of his life preaching the resurrection of Jesus to the nations.

[17] that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things [18] known from of old.’

God raised up Jesus, James said, using Amos 9:12, so that the remnant of mankind might seek the Lord and find him. Some of that remnant who would call upon the name of the Lord would be circumcised Jews, but many others would be uncircumcised Gentiles.

In the resurrection of Christ we have the good news of the cross displayed for the world to see. The Lamb of God was slain, and his sacrifice was acceptable. The victory of the resurrection was the key. We preach that resurrection everywhere to everyone. We also look in hope for the fullness of the resurrection era, particularly when we don't know how to fix this broken world, the people that we love here, and even our own souls. We hear the remaining words of Amos 9, and we cry out, “How long, O Lord?” Our souls long for the sure fulfillment of the whole Word.

1. What is the context of this passage? The problem? The opinions? The earlier testimony of Peter?

2. How do the signs and wonders that God did through Barnabas and Paul among the Gentiles relate to James' understanding of Amos 9:11-12?

3. What is the story of tabernacle or tent throughout the Scriptures?

4. What is the purpose of God rebuilding the tent of David according to Acts 15:17?

OT Passage: Psalm 84

Sorry, Lord...

9/9/2012 – Evening Service - 5pm

Ready for Every Good Work

(Titus 3:1-2)

[3:1] Remind them

Paul was not giving Titus new teaching in this brief letter. He was urging him to remind the churches in Crete about the old teaching that they had received. The Word that had been preached was first and foremost a Word about the coming of the king who both saves and reigns. But if He reigns over us, we need to hear His voice and obey Him.

to be submissive to rulers and authorities,

He is the One who calls us to be submissive to rulers and authorities in this present age, even though they will not always believe in Him or be willing to submit to Him as the King of kings. We need to trust God in this and receive very discipline from His hand as He judges to be appropriate for the time and place in which we live. There are limits of course. When rulers demand that we deny God in Word or action, we have to refuse. We then need to face the consequences, or flee, protest, and in some rare cases find another lawful order under which we can resist what has become evil.

to be obedient,

But this should only be a very last resort. We set our hearts above, and we obey the Lord by obeying rulers in every way that the Lord would permit.

to be ready for every good work,

This in not merely about avoiding evil. Nor is it all about governing authorities. Most of our lives are lived with no civil authorities even aware of us. God knows. Our families may have a good idea of what is going on with us in secret. The church may have a guess. But the Board of Selectmen probably don't give any of us one thought.

We need to ready for every good work when the only one who will notice will be the Lord.

[2] to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling,

On the NO list, don't speak evil of anyone. Wow. And avoid all quarreling. Sorry again Lord for the ways I have violated this one. We need to be aware of the flash points that are temptations for us, and practice new habits to extract ourselves from unnecessary contention in a way that is honorable to the Lord and obedient to His Word.

to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

On the YES list, be like Jesus. He knew how to confront those who needed to be confronted, but He was gentle toward the weak. He was (and is) the King. How much more meek should we be? Paul is plainly telling us here how to live in a difficult world. We do need to show perfect courtesy to all people.

To do that we need to think about this commanded behavior as admirable, rather than as a pitiful sign of gutlessness. We need to see the courage of modesty and restraint. Isaiah 53 will help. But more than anything, look to the Christ of the cross that saved us from all the pains of hell. In that cross we find the power that we need for living well now and the perfect example of humility and bravery beyond compare that will lead us home.