The following teaching is the 18th of a series on the book of Acts by the Reverend John W. Howe of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. The title of this teaching is The Jerusalem Council, and the scripture references are Acts chapter 15 verses 1 through 35 and Ephesians chapter 2. We come to Acts chapter 15 this afternoon. This really is a decisive moment in the life of the early church. An issue which we've seen following us all the way through the book of Acts thus far finally comes to an official decision on the part of what is usually called the Jerusalem Council.

The first major council meeting of the Christian church. Just to set that in context one more time, I remind you that Paul and Barnabas have just completed their first missionary journey. They were primarily in Asia Minor.

They went through Cyprus first and then up to Asia Minor. And in the midst of that experience, they came to the point where they turned to the Gentiles. Now, it would not be true to say that the Jews rejected them.

Some Jews rejected them. Some Jews believed. Some Gentiles accepted them and others were stirred up by Jews who were very vigorously opposing the preaching of the gospel.

So it's not that the Gentiles received it and the Jews didn't, but there was a moment of turning to the Gentiles as a basic direction of their ministry and as a policy decision. And I want to remind you, secondly, that the cornerstone of Paul's preaching was that Jesus Christ has so fulfilled the law that there is no longer, in God's eyes, a distinction between Jew and Gentile. Just bear that very clearly in mind.

Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah. But in the process, he so fulfilled all of the law of Judaism, all of the old covenant law and obligation, that there is no longer a distinction. It draws to a conclusion one major epic in God's saving history.

And now, whether you were born into a Jewish family, or whether you were a proselyte to Judaism, or whether you were the most pagan of the pagans, now, salvation is a matter of receiving Christ by faith plus nothing. Can I say that again? Salvation is a matter of receiving Christ by faith plus nothing.

It's not Christ and I must do this. Christ and I must do that. It's receiving Christ by faith plus nothing.

Okay? Now there's another side to that coin. I alluded to it last time.

If your faith in Christ is genuine, it will certainly become active in expressing itself. But we're about to see how radically twisted that becomes in the conflict that, as I say, it's been pursuing us all the way. Now it really is about to be joined head on.

When you get to Acts chapter 15, you need to read it with another finger pointing to Galatians chapter 2. Now we've done that on several occasions already. Galatians chapter 2 is recounting a number of things that are unfolding in the book of Acts.

This becomes especially pertinent in Acts 15. You need to sort of cross-reference it with the latter half of Galatians 2. There's a tremendous amount going on just in the first couple of verses in Acts 15, which you would not be aware of but for the parallel account over in Galatians.

Now, I'm not going to try to do that verse by verse. We just don't have the time. I'm going to summarize it very quickly and invite you to go back and read it at your leisure and put the details together.

The first thing that you become aware of when you cross-reference is that when Paul and Barnabas get back to Antioch and they bring this tremendous glowing report of all that God has done. You remember the way chapter 14 ends. It says they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

and you can just imagine the rejoicing that's going on back in Antioch. It was the church in Antioch that sent them out in the first place. So they're going out as missionaries from the church in Antioch.

Now they come back to report the incredible miracles that God has done at every city as they've gone. What becomes apparent when you look at Galatians 2 is that Peter was present to hear all that. Peter's not mentioned here in the first paragraph of Acts 15.

but he was present in Antioch now exactly when he arrived we don't know this is the first time we've heard of Peter since he went underground back in Acts chapter 12 you remember that he had been arrested James the brother of John had been killed Herod was about to kill Peter as well the church prayed and he was miraculously released you remember the story how he comes while they're in the middle of the prayer meeting and at first they can't even believe that it's Peter and then he goes underground right this is the first time that he surfaces again now we don't know where he's been whether he's been in hiding in jerusalem perhaps he's been in antioch all this while and we don't know it but he appears in antioch at the time that paul and barnabas come back to receive this tremendous uh report to give this tremendous report to the church of all that god had done among the among the gentiles it's quite clear that at first peter shares in the general rejoicing praise god for what he's doing. Peter was the one who had the foretaste of it when he went to Cornelius. You remember, you're putting the pieces together.

And we observed how the gospel did not approach a new community apart from the leadership of Peter. It didn't go to the Jews, but for Peter. It didn't go to the Samaritans, but for Peter.

And it didn't go to the Gentiles, but for Peter. Peter opened the door, if you will, by the experience he had at the home of Cornelius. He was astonished.

This was in violation of everything Jewish that he had ever known, that he should welcome a Gentile who had not previously become a Jew. Cornelius had not become a convert. He was not a proselyte, but Peter's conclusion was, I now see that God treats all men alike.

All right. So here he is in Antioch to receive the report from Paul and Barnabas of the way in which God has built upon that first foundation and the tremendous things that are beginning to happen among the Gentiles. But, Acts 15 opens with the word, but some men came down from Judea.

You remember that that means they went north. From Judea, from Jerusalem, some men came from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now these men claim to be from James.

Now this is not James the brother of John who has already been killed. This is James the half-brother of Jesus himself, the son of Mary and Joseph. James becomes, in the interim here, the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

It was originally Peter, but now Peter has gone underground. James is, if you will, the bishop of the church in Jerusalem. He's the president of the assembly in Jerusalem.

Obviously has tremendous moral authority by virtue of his half-relationship with Jesus. Prior to the resurrection, James had not even believed in Jesus. neither had any of the other half brothers and sisters of the Lord.

It must have been an incredible situation in the household of Mary and Joseph. But Jesus appears to James, we're told in 1 Corinthians, when Paul summarizes the resurrection appearances in chapter 15. In other words, after the resurrection, James went from being a non-believer, a skeptic about his own brother, to being a believer.

and eventually becomes the leader of the Jerusalem church. These men come from Jerusalem claiming to be from James. Now whether or not they actually represented James' opinion would be a question we could debate at some length.

I'm somewhat skeptical of that, both by virtue of what James has previously said and by what happens later in Acts 15. They claim to represent James. what they're actually representing is very clearly a Pharisaic point of view.

This is going to be a mouthful for you, but they are Pharisaic Jewish Christians. Alright? Pharisaic Jewish, in fact, Jerusalem Jewish Christians.

Alright? What does that mean? They were out of the Pharisaic tradition.

They were Pharisees of the Pharisees. They were good Jews. They had embraced Jesus as Messiah.

They saw him as the fulfillment of everything Jewish. They saw him as their Messiah, but they had not abandoned that very exclusivistic viewpoint that you still need to be a Jew in order to be a Christian, that you still need to keep all of the rules, all of the laws, all of the ceremonies, all of the rituals, the very least of those, The very most basic of those is that if you're a male, you must be circumcised. Okay?

And with it, all the rest, all of the dietary laws, all of the temple observances, they're right back where Peter was at the very beginning of the story. You follow what I'm saying? They claim to represent James' opinion.

I'm raising a question about that and just leave it a question. They came and were teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now, when you take the time to read and cross-reference, what you're going to see happens is this.

They arrived and stirred up the community in Antioch tremendously, caused tremendous division. Up to this point, the church in Antioch has been one church. We are one in the Spirit.

We are one in the Lord. There have been Jews. There have been Sadducees.

There have been Pharisees. There have been people from Cyprus. Barnabas himself was from Cyprus.

There have been people from Africa, from Cyrene, from Libya. There have been members of Herod's court. There have been Jews, Gentiles, black, white, all one community.

Now, what happens when these guys arrive? unless you are circumcised and with it you keep all of the laws and all of the regulations of the Old Covenant, you're not a Christian. What do you think those who were Jews before they became Christians do in response to that?

They begin to have terrible second thoughts about the matter. At this point, the communion service has not yet become a formalized ritual meal. It is a real potluck supper.

All right? Everybody's sharing a meal, a real meal. And they all meet together and share their meal.

But at this point, the Jews begin to withdraw and have their own table over there. Gentiles over there. How do you think Peter feels in the middle of all this?

Good old Peter. Good old Simon Peter. Shifty, unstable, a little bit this way, try it that way, blurt it out after he can't. Good old Simon Peter, may I suggest to you, he felt at that moment approximately the way he felt when the cock crowed.

Do you remember? The cock crowed and he's overwhelmed with a sense that he's betrayed his master. That's exactly how Peter felt.

He's feeling challenged by these Jerusalem Pharisaic Jewish Christians, he's feeling challenged that in sitting down with the Gentiles, he has betrayed what he knew to be true. That, yeah, okay, yeah, I heard God about Cornelius, and even now it doesn't quite compute. I don't know how it fits together.

I know circumcision. I know keeping, I know the dietary laws. I've betrayed what I knew all along and Peter gets up and moves across the room and sits down with the Jews guess what else?

Barnabas! can you imagine after all that Barnabas has been through Barnabas is sitting there with the Gentiles and he says to himself if Peter thinks it's wrong it's wrong! And Barnabas leaves the table and goes and sits with the Jews.

And now you've got two churches. And at this point, Paul explodes. Okay.

And if you ever want to see Paul at white, hot anger, read Galatians. This is what's going on. In fact, you really need to turn to it for a moment.

look at chapter 3 for instance Galatians chapter 3 oh foolish Galatians and you read the various translations of that the words there are not forceful enough in English oh foolish and stupid and perverted these are the kinds of things J.B. Phillips translates it you dear stupid idiots of Galatia. Who has bewitched you?

All right. Galatians is written into this situation and the reason is that after they create havoc in Antioch, they don't go back to Jerusalem, they continue right on up into Galatia. Sowing the same kind of new gospel wherever they went.

Now just picture this. Here Paul and Barnabas have come back from this incredibly joyful, successful missionary journey. And these guys, we don't even know who they were, but they go right after them and visit every city where Paul and Barnabas had gone.

And they say, who is this Paul? Where's his authority come from? Who told him to set aside all of the laws and regulations of the covenant?

How can you expect to be a good Christian, receive the Jewish Messiah without being good Jews. They overturn, as best they can, the gospel of grace at every point. And so Paul fires off this letter.

That's what Galatians is written about. And in fact, you can trace the ongoing controversy in many of his other letters. You can see it in Colossians, in Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and so on.

There's a number of phrases that he uses that pursues us all the way through the rest of the New Testament. He calls them the circumcision party, the Judaizers. He calls them those who mutilate the flesh, which is a reference to circumcision.

In fact, in one incredibly caustic remark in Galatians chapter 5, he says, I wish they would mutilate themselves. Okay, I mean, that's pretty blunt language if you really think about what he's saying. Storcastically, in 2 Corinthians, he calls them those superlative apostles, you see.

And all the way through the rest of the literature, what he's doing is defending his gospel as the true gospel over against this false gospel, which says Jesus Christ plus law, plus circumcision, plus ceremony, plus observing the Sabbath, plus dietary law, plus, okay? the beginning of Galatians. I am astonished, verse 6.

I am astonished, I am absolutely amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. And then listen to this.

Even if we, Paul, Barnabas, even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preach to you, let him be accursed. Let him go to hell. That's what he's saying.

As we have said to you before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you receive, let him be damned. That's pretty strong, isn't it? Now this letter comes out of that conflict and the conflict itself is summarized in the second half of Galatians 2.

When Cephas, when Peter, verse 11, came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.

And with him, the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity. When I saw they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before all of them in public, if you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? We ourselves who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, Even though we have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified, but if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then an agent of sin?

Certainly not. Then he goes on. You can read the whole of that epistle.

Paul absolutely explodes in righteous, holy indignation. calls Peter to task in public and to make a long story short wins the day praise God that Paul didn't say a curse, a pox on all of you and say we'll go start a Gentile church he calls Peter back to a higher truth Peter may have felt like he was once again in the courtyard with the cock crowing I'd suggest to you it was rather more like the time he was on the water and took his eyes off Jesus. You know.

He saw Jesus calling him to something higher than he'd ever known before. But when he begins to look away from Jesus and look at what's happening around him, he's overwhelmed and he begins to sink. And that's really the better picture.

Peter had heard Jesus saying, no more any distinction. But he took his eyes off Jesus, listened to the circumcision party, and begins to sink. And Paul rebukes him publicly and the church comes back together.

Okay. It says in Acts 15 that there was no small dissension. Verse 2.

When Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, they won the day. Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were then appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. Let's settle it once and for all.

now as I've already said they didn't in fact settle it because the Judaizers the circumcision party ran all over the place undermining the work of the gospel of grace wherever they could and they're with us today alright I mean I don't know if you've run into them you find it in all sorts of ways some subtle and some so blatant that you really almost have to laugh we come from a variety of backgrounds I don't know how many of you have been raised in circles that were largely fundamentalistic, but you'll find it having one sort of expression there, for all their love of the Scripture and all of their allegiance to Christ, more often than not, you'll find people that are extremely fundamental in their viewpoint having a list of do's and don'ts. You see. And in essence saying, unless you obey these, I mean, how can you call yourself a Christian?

I applied to various seminaries and some very conservative among them. And to one seminary, which is a very well-known seminary, I admitted, because they asked, that I smoked a pipe. And I said, on the application, if that's a problem to you, I will abandon it.

Not out of principle, but I don't want to offend you. If that's your rule, I'll give up a pipe. Which, by the way, I no longer smoke, But at that point I did.

Okay? And they refused me entrance. Though I was willing to give it up.

Because I wasn't giving it up on principle. Do you see? How can you call yourself a Christian unless it's a matter of principle?

No smoking. No drinking. No makeup if you're a lady.

No long hair if you're a gentleman. No beard. God forbid.

Okay? I mean, the guys that look most like Jesus are not welcome, right? It's terrific.

No short skirts. You remember that whole controversy? No dancing.

Do you know what dancing is? Vertical intercourse. That's what they will tell you.

No movies. I mean, it's okay, five years later you can watch the same thing on television, but don't go to the movies. that's one set of do's and don'ts okay how many other sets are there have you ever run into some Episcopalians who unless you bow at the appropriate time cross yourself genuflect right have the right collars on right okay do you understand what I'm saying there's no one sector of the population that has a corner on the market the spirit of Pharisaism says that we will make an absolute out of that which God leaves to be relatively applied as you are obedient to what he is saying to you personally.

Okay? And the spirit of Phariseeism says Jesus Christ plus whatever it is. There are circles in this country where if you go and you admit that you would take a glass of wine, no way could you be a Christian.

As far as they're concerned. And you say you're filled with the Spirit? You know, I mean, it's absolutely inconceivable.

It's with us today. Here, it focused on those Old Testament laws. And Paul and Barnabas and others sent by the church in Antioch say, let's go, let's get the apostles together, let's settle this thing once and for all.

And so it says, they came to Jerusalem, they traveled on down through Phoenicia and Samaria, reporting all the way along the way the conversion of the Gentiles, and they gave great joy to all the brethren. Now, mind you, Phoenicia and Samaria are not Jewish territory. But when they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders.

They declared all that God had done with them, but some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to charge them to keep the law of Moses. okay it's on the table what do you think the rest of the chapter nearly the rest of the chapter deals with the resolution of that question I'm not going to take the time to go through it line by line I want to step back from it slightly the bottom line is they agreed together unanimously that that was not necessary they affirmed what God had said to Peter they affirmed what God had said to Paul and Barnabas they affirmed what God was demonstrating throughout this whole first missionary journey I'm interested in the pattern that we see the pattern of dealing with that question I can isolate seven elements to the pattern the seven fold pattern for discerning God's will first of all there's much debate they're not beginning of one mind they're beginning with much debate secondly there's an appeal to experience in verse 7 after there had been much debate Peter rose and isn't it lovely that Peter was the first one to jump to his feet having been dealt with by Paul in public Peter's learned his lesson and he addresses the question and he appeals to experience and the experience is to recount yet again what happened back in his going to Cornelius. It's interesting, Peter's very last words that are recorded in the book of Acts come in verse 10 and 11.

Now therefore, why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ just as they will. That's Peter's last word on the subject.

We believe that we, Jews, and they, Gentiles, shall be saved by grace. Period. So much debate.

Secondly, an appeal to experience. Verse 12, And all the assembly kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. Signs and wonders and the confirmation of two witnesses.

Fourthly, after all this takes place, James speaks. James, the leader, the president, the bishop, if you will, James, the brother of the Lord, has, I believe, a supernaturally anointed word of wisdom from the Holy Spirit. And he sums it up.

He says, brethren, listen to me. Simon has related how God first visited the Gentiles. With this, the words of the prophets agree, and he quotes Scripture from Amos.

And then he sums up verse 19, Therefore my judgment is that we ought not to trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God. Word of wisdom after the debate, after the appeal to experience, after the two witnesses confirmed by Scripture. And finally we come then to unanimity in verse 22.

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church. And they chose men from among them and sent them back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. In other words, to confirm that it wasn't just their own interpretation of what had happened, but others from Jerusalem to go back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.

They chose some other men and they issued a letter. And the letter sums up the decision. You can read it in its entirety.

I call your attention in particular to verse 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than the necessary things. They spell out three minimal things that the Gentiles ought to be aware of.

They are to abstain from that which has the connotation of blasphemy, from food offered to idols. They're to abstain from food which has been strangled because that gives an unnecessary offense to the Jews. And they're to abstain specifically from that which is immoral, that which is blasphemous, that which carries unnecessary offense, and that which is immoral.

But apart from those three rather minimal guidelines, if you will, they set the Gentiles free from all of the laws and regulations and ceremonial observances. Grace received by faith, plus nothing. You need not become a Jew in order to be a Christian.

So the sevenfold pattern, there's much debate, there's an appeal to experience, there's the recounting of signs and wonders with two witnesses, there's a word of wisdom from the chair, it's confirmed by scripture, and then the church is unanimous. And then comes the proclamation. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us.

We've tried to live in application of that pattern within the vestry and within the various committees and subgroups of this particular parish. I believe that that's a powerful confirmation of God's leading, that we will wait before making a decision until all those responsible for making it have come to agreement. This is what the Holy Spirit is saying.

And what we're interested in is what seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us. Theoretically, all could be wrong. You know, the fact that everybody agrees doesn't necessarily mean that they're right, but it's a mighty powerful check and balance in the business of discerning what God is saying.

I want to mention one other thing before we quit. The verses that are quoted here in James' little speech, come from Amos chapter 9. And if you were to go back and read Amos 9 in context, it would sound to you as if Amos was talking about the rebuilding of the literal physical temple.

What James does in quoting them at this instance is apply them to what God is doing in building his church among both Jews and Gentiles. After this, verse 16, I will return and will rebuild the dwelling of David which has fallen. I will rebuild its ruins.

I will set it up that the rest of men may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord who has known these things from of old. It's a subject in itself, but may I suggest to you that the only temple God is interested in building is a living one in which we are living stones and which the foundation stone is that which the builders rejected which has become the head of the corner which is Jesus Christ. And you'll find, they've been saying it for years, but you'll find people saying really funny things that the Jews are mining marble to rebuild their temple, you know, on the Dome of the Rock.

rather interesting implications of doing away with that edifice, but God has no interest in any other temple than the living temple, which is the church. And if the Jews were to rebuild the temple on that rock, it would be the worst apostasy in the history of their whole history. To rebuild a temple and start offering sacrifices again, the sacrifice has been offered.

Never again to be reduplicated. James saw clearly what we need to see. That the temple which takes the place of David's temple, Solomon's temple, the second temple, is you and me.

And he's building us together, Jew and Gentile, black and white, proselyte, convert, pagan, to be living stones fitted together by the Holy Spirit to be a living temple. in which the Spirit of the Lord dwells and shines forth as a witness to the whole world. So, there's much there to meditate upon.

Theoretically, theoretically, that settles it. Salvation is a matter of receiving Jesus Christ by faith plus nothing. And now we have the unanimous verdict of the apostles met in council under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

One church, not two, one church. We're one in the Spirit, one in the Lord. Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law, and we are free.

Hallelujah.