ACTS 15:1-32 HOW TO HANDLE BAD DOCTRINE2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 15:1-32 How To Handle Bad Doctrine

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016.

All right, well, this evening we're going to be looking at Acts chapter 15, and we won't cover the whole chapter, but we'll make our way through a good chunk of it. And as we do, we'd like to begin just by reading through a few of the verses to get started. So I'm going to read to you Acts chapter 15, verses 1 through 6, and then we'll get into the study for this evening. Verse 1 of Acts chapter 15 says, "...and certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren."

Verse 1.

So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren. Verse 4. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up.

saying, it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

That's where we begin now in Acts chapter 15, and we're looking at here in chapter 15, really a monumental chapter. Big decisions are about to be made, and the course and the direction of the church is being shaped here in Acts chapter 15 because of this dispute that arises there in Antioch.

Now Paul and Barnabas, we've been following their missionary journey in chapter 13 and 14. They just recently returned back at the end of chapter 14 and so now they're back in Antioch, their home church, and doing ministry there and working there and just walking with the Lord in that way. And

Suddenly there arises this dispute. These group of people come and begin to try to lay down a legalism upon the believers and really convert the believers to Judaism. And they're insisting that that must be done in order for them to be saved. And

And it's an incorrect doctrine, but it's one that we'll see time and time again here in the book of Acts and also throughout the rest of the New Testament. It's an issue that's dealt with over and over because it was a common thing for them in that day to get caught up in going back to the law, going back to the things of Judaism. And so this evening, as we look at Acts chapter 15, I titled the message, How to Handle Bad Doctrine.

So here's Paul and Barnabas. They're serving at the church. They're working at the church. They're ministering at the church. And now this bad doctrine is kind of confronting the church. It's coming against the church. And how they deal with it presents for us a pretty good example for us on how to deal with these kinds of doctrines. Because although we may not deal with this specific doctrine,

brand of bad doctrine that is converting to Judaism. Legalism is still something that is alive and well, and there are plenty of attempts for people to get others to be bound under some type of legalistic rule or law.

And so legalism is still something that is dealt with within the church today. And then there's a flood of other bad doctrines that we could consider as well. And so how to handle bad doctrine is an important subject and something that we need to know and understand as believers and as a church. And so that's what we're going to look at, the example here, so that we learn how to handle bad doctrine.

And so the first thing that we learn in verses one and two, point number one, is dispute the bad doctrine. How to handle bad doctrine? Well, first and foremost, whenever there is bad doctrine, it needs to be disputed. It needs to be refuted. It needs to be contradicted with the truth. Check out verse one. It says, "'And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren.'"

Now up there at Antioch, there was a mixture of Jews and Gentiles within the church.

And you might remember as Paul and Barnabas went out, they would go from place to place to place, beginning in the synagogue, but then inevitably being rejected by the Jews. And then they would minister to the Gentiles and bring the gospel to the Gentiles in each of the places where they went. And so Paul and Barnabas had a very strong ministry to Gentiles. And that was true also back in Antioch.

And so here's this church that has a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. Now,

The contrast in having that group mixed together is a little bit lost on us today because we don't have the cultural background that they had. But this was a really radical thing to have Jews and Gentiles grouped together and gathered together because the Jews despised Gentiles and wanted nothing to do with the Gentiles. And so this was the result of a radical work of Christ. And so this was a really radical thing to have Jews and Gentiles grouped together and gathered together.

that the gospel has brought in a unity to this congregation. And now the Jews and the Gentiles are worshiping Jesus together. They're seeking the Lord together. They're studying the scriptures together because of the grace that's found in Christ Jesus and the uniting that happens with that.

But now there comes this attempted division or this attempted, you know, bondage to legalism that's brought upon the church. Now, throughout the book of Acts, we've seen various attacks upon the church. And this is another attack.

Sometimes attacks come from religious leaders who try to attack the church from the outside. Sometimes attacks come from inside. We saw like Ananias and Sapphira and that deception and those kinds of things can come in and sin can disrupt the church. There can be attacks from spiritual things like we saw with Simeon, the sorcerer. There can be, you know, all kinds of different attacks. But here's another kind of attack. And that is a subtle attack.

influence or a kind of invasion of this teaching that is incorrect, bad doctrine. And sometimes the enemy will use people who are really zealous about certain things to try to come in and bring confusion and disrupt and bring bondage to believers in Jesus.

And so these guys come in and say, unless you're circumcised. Now, they're not just random guys who come in, but it says they came from Judea. That's where Jerusalem is. And there is an implication here in the text, as you read later also, that these guys were showing up in Antioch saying, hey, we're from Jerusalem.

We're from Judea. We're from, you know, the headquarters. And so we really know the truth about Christianity much better than you. You guys are far away. Antioch was about 300 miles away from Jerusalem.

And so they came with this air of authority, this claim to superiority because they were from the headquarters. They were from Judea. They were from Jerusalem. Now the apostles later, when they respond to the believers there in Antioch, they're going to write a letter. They're going to correct that and say, hey, we didn't send these guys. But that's the idea. They're coming with that claim, with that air of authority saying, hey, we're

We know what's best, and here's what you need. You need to be circumcised according to the custom of Moses, or you cannot be saved. And so they're bringing in this bad doctrine. Now today, there are discussions about different methods of baptism, and there are some that really strongly believe what

What baptism is, is a sprinkling. And so, you know, if you believe in Jesus and want to be baptized, great. And so come on up and then we sprinkle you in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and now you are baptized. And then there would be another group who would say, no, immersion is the correct way. You have to be dunked under the water in order to be baptized. That's what baptism is. And there's the discussion that happens between. And so you might be familiar with that.

This doctrine that these guys were bringing up, this discussion that was happening with circumcision is much more serious than that. And I'm not just talking because circumcision is a little bit more painful than baptism. I'm talking about this is an issue dealing with the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. This is not like a minor detail. This is not a little minor issue, a little issue of preference. This is an issue that's core to the gospel and

Because going back to the law of Moses is a return to legalism. It's a turn to things that cannot save you. And it's a declaration that what Christ did for us upon the cross is not sufficient for our salvation. You have to believe in Jesus and also, you know, fulfill these requirements. And that is contrary to the gospel message.

And so later on, the Apostle Paul is going to write the whole book of Galatians to deal with this subject and the Judaizers who have gone into the churches of Galatia and brought this message that is also being brought here in Antioch, that you have to keep the law of Moses and turn back to the things of the law. In Galatians chapter one, Paul calls that another gospel. It's not the gospel. It's a different gospel. And it's a gospel that cannot save you.

And so when we're talking about bad doctrine, primarily I'm talking about things that are actually core to the issue of salvation, core to the gospel message, essential truths of the Christian faith. And so when they're bringing in bad doctrine, it's not just like a little thing. It's not a preference on, you know, will we prefer this kind of baptism over that kind of baptism? You know, whatever side you take on immersion versus sprinkling, neither side would say,

Well, you know, one will save you and the other won't, except for there are some who go that far, and that's a whole other arena. But that's the point. Now when we're talking about what it means to be a Christian, how to be saved, those kinds of issues, that's bad doctrine. It needs to be disputed.

There's a lot of doctrine that's not worth disputing. There's a lot of things. I mean, we could talk about the differences of baptism. We could talk about the differences of opinion as far as when Jesus is returning, when the rapture of the church is. We could talk about all kinds of different doctrines. And discussing them is no problem. But when we're talking about disputing, we're talking about real battle taking place here. That's what was going on here. And it's worth battling for some doctrines here.

Some doctrines needn't be battled. We can discuss them and even have a good time with them, but bad doctrine needs to be corrected. It needs to be addressed because it endangers those who hear it, those who receive it, those who don't know better can be led astray by it.

Warren Wiersbe says, the progress of the gospel has often been hindered by people with closed minds who stand in front of open doors and block the way for others. And I like that description. Here's the, these religious Jews, they come to these people, they're closed minded. No, in order to be saved, you have to become a Jew. That was their perspective. You have to convert to Judaism and believe in Jesus, and then you can be saved.

And so they're trying to block the way. No, no, no, you can't be saved. You can't come in. You can't, you know, receive the gospel without becoming a Jew trying to block the way. And there's always that kind of attack on the church and on the work of God. That is something that we can expect in our church. That's something that we can expect in our day as well.

And so in verse 2, it goes on to say, So it tells us that Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them. These guys are fighting with God.

these Jews who have come in and brought this bad doctrine. This is a doctrine worth fighting for because it questions the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. It questions the grace of God and what is required to be saved. Now,

Again, just to say it again, there's many doctrines that are not worth disputing. We don't have to fight over, we don't have to divide over many doctrines. In fact, many times that can just be a distraction from our actual mission. We get so caught up, you know, debating and discussing the finer details of particular doctrines rather than realizing and focusing on the mission of reaching people with the gospel. But there are bad doctrines worth disputing.

In fact, there's doctrines that are worth strong dispute and great dissension and great division. This word dissension, it says they had no small dissension. And so you get the idea. It was a big deal, right? There was a big uproar. This word dissension, it's a battle word. It's a word used of war, of insurrection and uprising. It's a battle word. There was no small dissension that Paul and Barnabas had ever.

with these guys bringing this bad doctrine. They dealt with it in a very serious manner. They, not violently, I'm not saying they beat them physically, but that was the approach. It was very aggressive. It was very, a strong stance. No, this is worth fighting over. This is worth battling over. This is worth dividing over. We will not stand for this kind of doctrine.

You know, sometimes today there's this idea that we shouldn't, you know, take too strong of a stance on some things. We shouldn't take too strong of a stance on this or that because, you know, we want to promote unity and harmony and that's the most important thing. And certainly in a lot of cases, that is true. We should not, you know, contend too strongly over things that don't matter. But

We also need to remember that there are things that are worth fighting over. There are things worth fighting for. There are things worth dividing over and having an uprising and an insurrection that we need to hold fast to the gospel message and not deviate from that. There are things worth fighting for. Now there's a balance, right? Because, well, sometimes we can get caught up in just fighting over everything. And there are some people who just like to fight. So they just fight over everything. It doesn't matter what it is.

But then we can also get to the other extreme where we say, I'm not going to fight over anything. But there needs to be a balance. Not fight for nothing and not fight over everything, but know where it counts. Know what's important. Know what's core to the Christian faith and the gospel message. And that's worth fighting for. And that's worth making a stand for. And that's worth having a great dissension even amongst the church.

But it doesn't mean that we have to do it with bad attitudes or hard hearts. I like the words that Paul gives to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 2. He's encouraging Timothy because, well, there's a lot of bad doctrine there in Ephesus where Timothy is. And Paul is left in there to help deal with some of that bad doctrine. But he's a young guy and he needs some encouragement. So Paul tells him in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 24, he says,

He says, So you mustn't quarrel, Timothy. Don't be a fighter. And yet, notice in verse 25, he says, So don't quarrel, but you need to be willing to correct.

And so there's a difference in your approach. There's a difference in your attitude of wanting to fight versus in humility, wanting to bring correction, praying that God would grant them repentance, right?

See, there's the other attitude in a fight where it's like, hey, I want you to be destroyed. I want you to be humiliated. I want you to walk away crying in defeat and being shamed and everybody laughing at you. That's one way to approach a fight, but that's not the way the servant of the Lord should fight. That's what Paul is saying. But we're to fight with humility, to correct with humility, because our hope, our desire is that God would grant them repentance, that they would come to their senses and recognize this is bad doctrine.

And so Paul goes on to say in verse 26 of 2 Timothy 2, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

And so recognizing they've been taken captive. They're a worker of the enemy when they're bringing forth bad doctrine, but we don't treat them as the enemy. We deal with them in humility. I'm not saying we don't fight. Again, there's great dissension, right? But that we fight with a certain mentality, a certain attitude, desiring repentance, desiring for them to be saved, not to be destroyed. Right?

And so bad doctrine needs to be disputed. And that is what we see demonstrated here by Paul and Barnabas in verses one and two. Well, then the dissension continues and it grows. And so now verses two through six, we'll continue on to point number two, and that is bring the bad doctrine before leaders.

It's not resolved as they have this dispute, as they have dissension. It's grown. And so now, okay, this is beyond, you know, what we can handle. This is beyond what's appropriate for us. And so let's take this down to Jerusalem is what they decide. And again, verse 2. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they

They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So they determined, they decide, hey, we need to take this to Jerusalem. Now, this isn't because, you know, Jerusalem, well, that's where the Pope was, you know, Peter was there. So we had to go get Peter's word on this. But these guys who came in bringing the bad doctrine were from Jerusalem, right?

claiming to be authority from Jerusalem. And so they went back to the source. Let's go deal with it at the source. Also, this is where the apostles were. And so, you know, it was appropriate for them to take this to them so that this matter would be established kind of once and for all, so that as they went forward in ministry, that they would not have to deal with this as much. Although, of course, there will still be those things that pop up as we go through the book of Acts.

But so it says in verse 2 that they determined. The church decided, you know, this is a big fight. This is a big dissension. It needs to be resolved. It's not that Paul and Barnabas could not handle these guys. Of course, they were capable men. But this is what leaders are for. It's what leaders are responsible for. This is one of the reasons why God has appointed authorities within the body of Christ.

I would ask you to consider what Paul instructed Titus in Titus chapter 1 as he instructed him to appoint elders there in the island of Crete. Very similar to Timothy, there was lots of bad doctrine. There was lots of issues that needed to be resolved. And so he says, appoint elders to help with this work that needs to be done. And in Titus chapter 1 verse 10, he says, "...for there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision."

whose mouths must be stopped, who subverts whole households, teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain."

And so there Paul tells Titus, appoint elders because there's a lot of people whose mouths must be stopped. There's a lot of people and somebody needs to stand up against them and speak the truth because they're turning households away from the Lord for their own gain. And that's why you need to appoint qualified elders. And that is the instruction for us, that we have authorities within the body of Christ for this purpose. And so

And so they say, let's take this to Jerusalem. There's authorities there in the body of Christ. There's the apostles there. This is part of their responsibility to help deal with doctrine and decide good doctrine versus bad doctrine within the church. And so they bring the bad doctrine before the leaders. Going on in verse three and four, it says, so being sent on their way by the church, they pass through Phoenicia and Samaria,

describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them.

So they send out Paul and Barnabas with a few other people. These are now witnesses to the conversation that's happened, the dissension that's taken place in Antioch, and they'll be witnesses to the response of what happens there in Jerusalem. And while they're making their way down, they're sharing with people what God has done and how God has worked, and it's bringing great joy to people.

as opposed to, you know, these guys who came to Antioch. They were not excited about Gentiles getting saved. They wanted them to convert to Judaism, and so they got upset when Gentiles got saved, because, well, hey, they need to be converted to Judaism first. But that's not the mentality of the whole church. As they're going down and connecting with other groups of believers, it's bringing great joy. People are excited about what God is doing. And when they came to Jerusalem, the whole church gathers together and

they get the opportunity to share what God has done through them. Verse 5. So now in Jerusalem, they encounter the same bad doctrine.

As they're gathered together with the church in Jerusalem talking about, oh man, we went all over Galatia and we were preaching the gospel there and Gentiles were getting saved and Jews were driving us out of the city, but Gentiles were receiving the gospel and receiving Jesus and their lives are being changed and transformed and God was working in this way and the church is excited about what God is doing. But then it says the Pharisees who believed, right?

Now the Pharisees, they were a Jewish sect, right? They were Jewish leaders who were very strict in their observance of the law. And Jesus had lots of run-ins with the Pharisees because they held on to their traditions even more than the scriptures in the Old Testament. But some of those Pharisees have now become believers. So they're Pharisees. They grew up

believing that you had to keep the law, holding fast to the traditions that had been taught. I mean, that was them to the core. But now they've believed in Jesus. And here's the thing. So many times, it's really hard to get over those things that you've grown up with. Some of the cultural things in our lives, in our hearts, in our minds, those are some of the most difficult things for us to change

later on. And the gospel changes much of those things. I mean, there's a lot of cultural things, no matter what culture you come from, that are not of God and that are not according to the gospel. And those are hard things to break out of and to let God change us to that degree. And so we can see and understand the Pharisees and why they're wrestling with this. Because

Well, this is what they've always known. They've always known the law. They have a huge love and respect for the Old Testament scriptures. And so for them, it's hard for them to let go. And it's fine for them to love the Old Testament scriptures and even to keep the law of Moses themselves. But the real problem becomes now they stand up and say, everybody else needs to follow this like we follow this. And that becomes a problem.

There's a lot of things for us as believers. We might have convictions on. We might have things that God has spoken to us about, good things, but it becomes a problem when we try to enforce that on everybody else. Well, I don't watch those kinds of movies, so nobody else should watch those kinds of movies. I pray this much, so everybody else has to pray the way that I pray, you know, and that forcing of trying to get everybody to do what I do or believe what I believe about certain things is

That's really what's going on here. The Pharisees, they believed in Jesus, but they're still having a hard time letting go of the law. They're having a hard time accepting the idea that people could be saved apart from becoming Jews. It's not easy for them to let that go. They're wrestling with that, and so they're trying to insist, no,

All of those Gentiles, Paul and Barnabas, you guys got to go back. Go back to, you know, those several thousand miles that you traveled all over there. You got to go back there and convince them not just to believe in Jesus, but now you have to be circumcised and you have to keep the law of Moses. They need to become Jews.

That starts with circumcision, that continues with the keeping of the law of Moses. And so now they're facing this bad doctrine again. They're in Jerusalem. And so verse six, it says, the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

And so mission accomplished. They were sent down to bring forth this issue before the apostles and elders, the leaders there in the church of Jerusalem. And now that's what has taken place. As they've shared the good news about what God has done, the same message has been brought up, the same accusation that they need to keep the law of Moses. And so now the leaders are gathering together and they're going to consider this matter.

And so it's a good example for us how to handle bad doctrine. Individually, personally, we dispute it. And when the dissension is not managed, when it's not dealt with in that, well, then we need to take it to leaders. That's why God's appointed leaders.

to deal with, to handle these kinds of issues and doctrinal things within the church. And so it's the appropriate way to handle it. Well, now we get to watch the leaders handle this bad doctrine. And again, it's still an example for us whether or not you are a leader in the church. It's an example for how to handle bad doctrine and how to talk about and how to discuss issues and differences in our beliefs. So,

Verses 7 through 12, we have point number three. Leaders discuss the bad doctrine. Verse 7 says, Here in verse 7, we have a good example. It's a good example for us for evaluating the

doctrines, opinions, options. It's a good example for us on how to approach those kinds of things. Because you'll notice that the first part of verse 7, it says, and when there had been much dispute. So back in verse 6, well back in verse 5, the Pharisees said, hey, they all got to be circumcised. So then verse 6, okay, let's gather together the leaders. Let's consider this matter.

And then a lot happens here in the first part of verse 7. We don't have a whole record of the discussion that unfolds, but here's what we know. There has been much dispute. Now Luke here in chapter 15 is going to record Peter's thoughts, his perspective in just a moment. But what he doesn't record is the details of what happened prior to that. We just know that there's been much dispute.

But the fact that there's been much dispute is important. The word dispute, it means a mutual questioning. Discussion would also be an appropriate word to use there or reasoning. So when there had been much discussion or when there had been much reasoning, I like the idea of the mutual questioning because it gives us that picture of both sides saying, now what is it you're saying? And why are you saying that? And why do you believe that? And why do you think that?

And then returning the question, now, what is it you're saying? And why do you think that? And why are you saying that? And there's this questioning on both sides, not in a negative sense necessarily, but let's try to understand each other. Let's discuss this and talk about the pros and the cons. Talk about the for's and against. Talk about the reasons why to believe and the reasons why not to believe. Both sides are being heard is the point, right?

Both sides are speaking and both sides are listening and questions are being asked and reasons are being considered. I think it's a good picture for us. There needs to be good discussion between

whenever there's issues. There needs to be good discussion, and both sides should be heard, and there should be speaking, and there should be listening, and I think it's a good thing for us. I really enjoy a good discussion. I think it's important and good for us to think through and discuss various viewpoints and perspectives. It's important for us to do. Now, as the

deal with this bad doctrine, that's what they do. They discuss. They listen. They're talking. They're questioning on both sides and talking through the matter. But now Peter enters into the discussion and provides his own perspective. Again, verse 7, when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, "'Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.'"

He's referring back to Acts chapter 10 with the salvation of Cornelius' household. And there it was established. God had spoken to Peter. God had spoken to Cornelius. God brought them together supernaturally. He worked out all those details and the timing. And so as Peter was sharing about Jesus, without even giving an invitation, without even giving the option to be saved, the

household of Cornelius, Gentiles, they believe in Jesus. They're baptized in the Holy Spirit by the Lord. And they realize at that point, Peter recognizes God wants to save Gentiles by faith, just like he saves Jews by faith. Now we talked about this a lot back also in chapter 11, because later when Peter returns to Jerusalem after having that encounter in chapter 10 with Cornelius' household, he

The Jews confront him and say, hey, what do you think you're doing hanging out with Gentiles and offering them salvation? What's wrong with you? You can't do that. And Peter has to explain, no, no, I didn't do this. This wasn't my idea. This wasn't my thought. God did this. And here's how God did it. And he went down the line, very detailed. Acts chapter 10, Acts chapter 11 are very similar because it's recording that, hey, this was a work of God.

And so Peter's taking them back. Now this has been, you know, I think it's about 12 years now. I forget the timeline exactly, but it's about a decade. Okay. So, so 10 years have passed since that happened. And now in chapter 15, this is going on. And so it's been some time. And so he reminds them, hey guys, remember this. Let's, let's think back for a minute and remember how God did this. God brought salvation to the Gentiles. It was God's doing and it wasn't our doing. Verse eight.

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving the Holy Spirit just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. So as Peter goes on, here's essentially what Peter is saying. God has already ruled on this matter. God's already made his view clear because back in chapter 10, he poured out the Holy Spirit upon them just like he did on us. And he didn't require that they become circumcised first.

He didn't require that they start following the law of Moses first, but he just poured out the Holy Spirit upon them in the same way that he just poured out the Holy Spirit upon us. And so God made it very clear, Peter is saying, he's already ruled on this matter. Gentiles are saved in the same manner as Jews. It's not through a relationship with the law of Moses. He says in verse nine, he made a distinction or made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith.

God purified their hearts by faith, just like he purified our hearts by faith. There's no distinction. Their salvation is the same as our salvation. It's not based on a relationship with the law. And so Peter's perspective is that God has already ruled on this matter. He's already demonstrated his opinion, what he says, and that is Gentiles are saved apart from the law. They're not required to be circumcised. They're not required to keep the law. Verse 10 says,

So Peter says, God's already ruled on this. Now, why are you testing God by questioning it? And not only that, he says, we've never been able to keep the law. This is a heavy burden. We've never been able to keep the law. We've always fallen short in the law.

And of course, we know that really was the point of the law. And again, in Galatians, where Paul is dealing with this whole subject, he makes that point. You can't keep it. That's what the point of the law is, to show you that you need a Savior and to show you that's why salvation is by grace and through faith. It's not based on our relationship with the law or our ability to keep it. Verse 11 says,

But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved in the same manner as they. So he kind of sums up his perspective, his argument. Here's what we believe. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is the means of salvation. It's the same for Gentiles as it is for Jews. We are saved through grace. So Peter shares his perspective. Now again, the whole scene here, there's this big dispute. They're having this discussion back and forth.

Peter is one of the many voices that are sharing. Okay, so it's just kind of giving a little bit of the chronology, a little bit of the discussion that's going on as the Pharisees are there and saying they must be circumcised in order to be saved. Now Peter weighs in on his perspective and what happened to him and how the Lord worked through him to bring salvation to the Gentiles.

Now, as we go forward, we see Paul and Barnabas share their perspectives and testimonies along with it. Verse 12, it says, So they're having the discussion back and forth. Then Peter speaks up and then Paul and Barnabas begin to share.

And they say, hey, you know, Peter talked about some miracles that took place. Let's tell you about some of the miracles that took place with us as well. As God testified by miracles that these Gentiles are people that he loves and people that he will save by faith in Jesus Christ through grace, not by a relationship with the law. God has done these things.

And look how he's worked among us and look how he's given us an open door. And so they're sharing some testimonies. They're sharing some stories about different people. They're sharing some stories about events that transpired. And what I really think is interesting about this, really important here in verse 12, it says, then all the multitude kept silent and listened. So here's this very serious issue, right? This very polarizing issue. But what's happening here is a real discussion, right?

where people are listening and people are talking. Now, a lot of times, if there's a discussion about bad doctrine, there's a whole lot of talking and there's not a lot of listening, right? We find that easy to happen in our conversations, in our discussions with people. Many times, this never happens to me, but I'm told it happens to other people. Someone's talking and you're not listening. You're just preparing what you want to say in response. That never happens to me. I don't know why. I'm just kidding.

No, that happens, right? We're not listening to the other side. We're not listening to what the other person is saying, trying to see the other perspective. There's no attempt at that at all, but it's just our side. My side, my side, my side, my side. Let me tell you what I think, what I believe. But I think it's interesting. In verse 12, it says, they kept silent and listened while Paul and Barnabas shared. And then in verse 13, we'll see also, it says, when they became silent. And so there's silence. This is a real discussion, right?

And that's why I said going back to the previous thing, when it talks about them disputing in verse 7, there had been much dispute. They were hearing the different sides.

And one side was sharing and the other side was listening. And then the other side was sharing and the other side was listening. And they were going around it. They were allowing that discussion, allowing the different opinions to be shared, the different sides to be seen. They were walking through this issue. And this is so important to hear other people's perspectives and experiences from

To be able to understand where they're coming from and what's going on. It's so easy to become dogmatic over things that are not that important. And we just talk over each other and ignore each other, ignore those things. And that's not really a good thing to do. And so they set a good example for us here. Even though they're dealing with bad doctrine and even though there's strong opinions and things that are to the core, but they're able to have a real discussion about it.

There should be that ability to, even things that are to the core of who you are and what you believe, you should be able to have a discussion about those things. And not just get so worked up that you just talk over and you never listen to what the other side might be saying. I think also it's important to consider that it's easy for us to think that everyone's experience should be exactly like our experience.

Well, for me, I got saved this way. I got delivered from drugs this way. I got, you know, out of this or that way, or I handled this this way, or that's how God did work to my marriage, or that's how God worked in my kids or whatever. And then we just project that like the Pharisees. It's like, well, everybody else should have the same experience. It should work the same way. And if it's not working that way for you, you're doing something wrong. You need more faith. You need to repent or whatever.

But that openness, let's have a discussion. God doesn't work the same way every time. And so it's important for us to be able to discuss bad doctrine. Sometimes we're so afraid of discussion. Sometimes, you know, there's a fear. I don't even want to get into that discussion. But even bad doctrine, sometimes it needs to be discussed. It needs to be examined. It needs to be considered.

Not to accept the bad doctrine, but to recognize, okay, why is this? Where is it coming from? And how do we respond? How do we deal with this? And so they provide for us a really good example for handling differences, whether it's serious, critical doctrine or any other kind of difference in our relationships with one another and our families and our churches. We need to discuss the issue, discuss the things that are going on. And that means talking and it also means listening.

And so we have much dispute. We have Peter's perspective. We have Paul and Barnabas' perspective. And we also have the silence, that important silence of letting others speak as we consider the different perspectives of the issue. Well, moving on to point number four, we have verses 13 through 21. And point number four is leaders make a decision about the bad doctrine. So we don't just talk about it unendingly, round and round and round and round and round we go.

But there comes a point where a decision needs to be made. And so now James, this is the half-brother of Jesus, he's going to stand up and make a decision. It says in verse 13, James, the half-brother of Jesus, has become silent.

a leader within the church at Jerusalem. He's a leading figure. He's later on going to write the letter, James, that we have in our Bibles. And so he is a prominent believer now in Jerusalem. After Jesus was resurrected, he became a believer in Jesus. And so he now is a leader within the church. And it seems that he has a real leadership role even among the apostles and elders. And

And so this is often described as a leader amongst leaders or an elder amongst elders, that he has the final decision here as he kind of sums up, you know, what has been shared and makes a decision for the direction of the church. In verse 15, it says, and with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written.

After this, I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. I will rebuild its ruins and will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord. Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does all these things. And so James, as he stands up to kind of finish out this discussion, he says, you know, Peter made some good points. And he talked about how God brought salvation to the Gentiles and

And you know, that really lines up with what the Bible says. That's what James is saying. He says, the words of the prophets agree. And let's consider what is written. And he quotes here from the book of Amos. Now, I'm not going to get into the details of this quotation or that passage, but essentially here's what he's saying. God has already said in his word, there was going to be those of the Gentiles who are saved.

They're his people and they're Gentiles. The point that he's making is if they had to become Jews to be saved, they wouldn't be referred to as Gentiles here in the book of Amos. So God has kept this distinct separation, his people, the Jews, and his people, the Gentiles. They didn't convert to Judaism. That's not, Amos isn't talking about Gentiles who became Jews who are his people. He's talking about Gentiles who are saved, who are the people of God.

And so he says, look, the scriptures agree. They checked it out by the word of God. And the word of God agrees. Gentiles do not have to become Jews in order to be saved. Verse 18, known to God from eternity are all his works. Therefore, I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God.

James says, God has known his whole plan this whole time. So when he wrote those things back in Amos, and there's many other Old Testament scriptures he could refer to, but he just uses that as an example and says, look, God's always known this. And so he would have written it differently if it needed to be different. But he kept the classes distinct.

There are Jews who are believers in Jesus and there are Gentiles who are believers in Jesus. And they're both saved and they're united in Christ, but they don't have to become Jews in order to be saved. And so now James makes his decision. He says, therefore I judge. I'm making a decision, James says.

Here's my determination. Here's my judgment. And so again, here you see he has a role of authority there within the church in Jerusalem, a leader amongst leaders. It's part of the pattern that we follow as a church and our church government that, you know, there's a leader amongst leaders, that there's a senior pastor who leads the board. But

Not getting into church government discussion too much, but there's discussion. There's, you know, the different perspectives. There's the different things. And then a decision needs to be made. And that's the right way to make a decision, isn't it? You consider the options. You consider the perspectives. You consider, you know, the various things. And then knowing all that,

Okay, now let's make a decision about what needs to be done. And so that's what James does. And so his decision is that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God. Verse 20, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. Here's what James says.

Let's not require them to keep the law. Let's not trouble them with the law. But let's give them some things to watch out for. Why? Well, he says, because Moses has had his word brought forth.

The law has been shared in the synagogues every Sabbath all around the Roman Empire where the Jews are gathered. There's synagogues. The law has been read. There are many people who are familiar with the law of Moses, and there are certain things that are especially offensive to them. And so let's give the Gentiles some pointers about how to get along well with Jews. Gentiles don't come from the Jewish background, but the Jews have these things, and they're

Like the Pharisees, they're having a hard time getting over some of those things that they've held on to their whole lives, even as believers in Jesus. And so he's saying, let's give them some pointers on how to get along with and how to have fellowship with Jews in a way that'll be beneficial and enjoyable for both. I like the way that Thomas Constable puts it. He says, James was not putting Gentile converts under the Mosaic law by imposing these restrictions.

He was urging them to limit their exercise of Christian liberty to make their witness to unsaved Jews more effective and their fellowship with saved Jews more harmonious. Let's teach them how to get along. Limit some of your freedoms so that you can reach out better to the Jewish people so that you can get along better. So just think about most of the things that they require here are dietary things. Now, can you imagine having a church potluck and

And Richard insists on bringing bacon, even though he knows it's offensive to the rest of us. That's not loving. That, yes, you're free to eat bacon. Go home and eat bacon in your home. You don't have to come try to flaunt it in front of us or force us to eat it, right? And so that's really what is being dealt with here. He's saying, hey, limit your freedoms. Learn how these are some critical points for the Jews. This is really important to them.

So limit your freedoms for their sake so that you can reach out to them, so that you can be in a harmonious relationship with them without being offensive to them all the time. And sometimes, you know...

We kind of enjoy offending people a little bit. Like, hey, you know, look what I can do. But he's telling the Gentiles, no, no, don't do that. But let's love, limit your freedoms so that you guys can get along, so you can be a good witness to the Jewish believers and have the opportunity to share the gospel with them.

And so he makes a decision about the bad doctrine. It's based on the discussion. It's based on the scriptures. It's based on, you know, the things that have been discussed on all sides. And now here's the decision. Here's some practical considerations to help you work through that. Well, finally, point number five, we'll finish up in verses 22 through 32. Point number five is stand united against the bad doctrine.

So the leaders have gathered together. They've discussed it. They've made a decision. And now what we see is the church is united in this decision. Once the decision is made, the church comes together united under this decision. Now, it doesn't mean that all people had the same opinion necessarily. It doesn't mean that everybody was brainwashed and all their opinions were just washed away.

But they came to an agreement. This is what the leaders have decided. This is what God's appointed authorities have established. And so this is what we're going to follow. We're not going to require Gentiles to be circumcised or to follow the law of Moses. And so there was a unity. And that's another thing that is important. It's a good example for us.

In our day, it's a more popular thing when the decision is made for everybody to express their dissenting opinions. Well, that's what they decided, but I wish we would have done it this way. You know, don't blame me. I voted for the other person. You know, like we want to make sure everybody knows, well, I didn't want that, but that's what they decided. And that's not the attitude that the church had here. They stood united. Look at verse 22. It says, then it pleased the apostles and elders with the whole church.

So once the decision is made, then there was a pleasantness. Before there was a dissension, there was a dispute, but they were submitted to the authorities that God had established there. So once that decision was made, even those who maybe weren't fully convinced that's the right decision, they were

They were pleased to go along with that decision because, well, those were the people that God had placed in authority. And so it was established. Let's be united now around this decision rather than continue to fight over it. And so it pleased the apostles and the elders. These are the guys directly involved. But then it says, with the whole church.

And so now the whole church is involved. The whole church who previously, there was disputes with those who were Pharisees who became believers and there was these disputes, but now they're pleased. Hey, let's send a letter letting them know about our decision, letting them know what we've decided and the right thing to do in this case. And let's also send a couple guys to testify so that they can know for sure this is really what we say, this is really what we believe, this is really what God wants. And so they send letters

with Paul and Barnabas, Judas, also named Barsabbas, and Silas. So Judas and Silas go with Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch with this encouragement. Now verse 23 starts the record of the letter that they wrote. It says, They wrote this letter by them, the apostles, the elders, and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us

Verse 1.

Verse 30. So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch. And when they gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. So they write this letter, writing down their message, sending along a couple messengers to say, this is legit, this is true.

Paul and Barnabas, they're your guys. They're our beloved. Here's Judas and Silas, and they'll testify of these things. And here's our decision. We've decided you don't have to become Jews. We're not going to lay these burdens on you. Here's some pointers. Abstain from these things, and God bless you. That's the decision that they make. Now, in verse 24, they write a little bit of a response to those people who were causing the trouble to begin with. He said, it says, there are some from us who

And so again, there's that impression that these people went up to Antioch saying, we're from Jerusalem. We know how it really is. We have this authority because we come from the source. And here they make it clear, to whom we gave no such commandment. We didn't tell these guys that. They're speaking in our name, but not by our sending. They're doing this themselves. They've taken this upon themselves. And so they want it to be very clear.

They don't represent us. This isn't, you know, what we've asked of them. They're working on their own accord. And so they gathered the church together and they delivered the letter. Verse 31, when they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. So they presented a united front. We, the church, have made this decision. These guys do not represent us. And they deliver that message to the church at Antioch. They stood united against the bad doctrine and

And the result is they were rejoicing over its encouragement. It's great encouragement. In other words, hey, you are genuine believers. You are not, you know, partially believers because you've believed in Jesus and now you have to take the next step and be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. No, you are genuine believers. That's what God has said. That's what God has done.

And as they stand united against the bad doctrine, it brings great rejoicing and encouragement to the church there. Now, verse 32. Now, Judas was a Jewish name and Silas was a Greek name. And so it's been speculated. It's not for sure, but...

One was probably a Jew and one was probably a Greek. And so both are represented there as they minister to the church saying, look, we can exist side by side and minister together. It's the same gospel. It's the same salvation. It's the same message. And we can be side by side working together, united against bad doctrine. And so they're encouraged. They're rejoicing as they receive this message back from Jerusalem.

And so that gives us a great perspective, a great look at how to handle bad doctrine. First of all, we need to dispute it. Don't let it just go by. Now, again, bad doctrine is not just our preferences. It's about issues core to Christianity, core to the gospel message. That needs to be disputed. It's worth fighting over. It's worth having great dissension. It's worth going to battle over, not physically, but you get the point. It's worth fighting.

a separation. It's worth strong opinions and divisions because that is core to the Christian faith. It's core to the gospel and it needs to be stood for. The truth needs to be shared and the innocent need to be protected from that false doctrine. If it can't be resolved in that initial dispute, then bring the bad doctrine before leaders and the leaders have a responsibility to discuss it.

To look at it, to consider the different sides, and then make a decision about it. And then once the decision is made...

As a church, as a congregation, we need to be united against the bad doctrine, the things that are not of the Lord. Now, it needs to be founded upon the word of God. It needs to be founded upon, you know, all those things need to be at play. And there's appropriateness of, you know, us individually seeking the Lord. But as a church, as a unit, collectively gathering together under the authority and the leadership that God has provided.

So when they read the letter, they rejoiced in its encouragement. It was great encouragement. Salvation is by grace through faith. There's forgiveness. There's access to God. You can walk with God because of what Christ has done for us. And they held fast that truth. This is the gospel message. It's the same gospel that we celebrate and enjoy today. We're going to close out the service this evening with some worship and

also opportunity to minister to one another. And I'll just remind you of verse 32, Judas and Silas being prophets also exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. And I shared with you guys last Wednesday that, you know, I believe God wants to kind of do a little bit of restoration of that time of ministry that we did for many years at the end of service. And

As we began the book of Acts, you know, the Lord was putting it on my heart and I knew it was just really a matter of timing out of how he wanted to bring it back. And I think we're at that point now. And so we want to continue on Wednesdays to give a little bit of time at the end of service to give opportunity to worship and respond to the Lord and how he's speaking to us through his word, but also give opportunity to pray for one another, to encourage one another, maybe to share scriptures with one another, to be like Judas and Silas, to be like Jesus and Silas,

to be used by the Lord to strengthen our brethren. And so as Kim leads us in these last couple songs, I just want to give you the freedom. You can be there with the Lord and worship the Lord and respond to things that he's speaking to your heart.

But also don't be afraid to get up and go sit next to someone and pray for them or encourage them or strengthen them in maybe something that God is showing you personally or maybe something that God's put upon your heart to share with them or to pray for them. And just want to give that opportunity to minister to one another. So I encourage you to do that. And even if you don't feel like you have a lot to share, we talked about that last week, the Lord will use that. So let's minister to one another and worship the Lord together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.