MPC, 19th March 2000.Background to Galatians
Acts 11-15
Phil Campbell MPC, 19th March 2000.
Christian Arguments
It's an awful thing, isn't it, when Christians can't get on. You've seen it. Sometimes very public. Sometimes over big issues. Sometimes over small. Sometimes, I want to suggest over the next few weeks, over things that LOOK SMALL. But underneath, they're much bigger than they look.
Here are some small things.
One friend of mine, he's a minister. Just started in a new parish in Sydney. And because he didn't pray the Lord's Prayer in the service, a member of the congregation stormed up to him and said she was going to leave. Resign her membership.
Marion Gabbott, she's speaking at the Womens Retreat weekend. Her husband Stephen is the minister of the Anglican church in Bangkok. Which has a 150 year tradition of being a sort of a British colonial outpost in Thailand. Lighting the candles, using the Anglican prayer book. Marion was saying there was terrible trouble a few weeks ago when Stephen read ONE OF THE PRAYERS from the prayer book that wasn't meant to be said during LENT.
We Christians get upset over all sorts of things, don't we. And you hear of churches that split over the colour of the carpet, the style of the music, the robes for the choir. Where the furniture goes.
So how do you know, how can you decide... whether something's worth fighting for... or not? Whether an issue's worth an argument - or it isn't?
It's sort of strange, these days - because even though we Christians will argue about all sorts of trivial stuff, when it comes to THEOLOGY, when it comes to matters of deciding what's TRUE and what's CENTRAL - so many Christians say NOTHING MATTERS. Everyone's equally right. We'll fight over colours of carpet. But not over matters of CREED.
As we look at Galatians over the next few weeks maybe we can learn to draw some lines. Issues worth digging in for. And issues that aren't. Issues worth taking a stand on. And issues to let go.
Before we start looking at the LETTER to the Galatians, I want to take some time this morning to MEET THEM. And see some of the issues behind that Paul's going to write to them in the letter. It's background you can read for yourself in Acts 13 to 15. And maybe you've done that in your GROWTH GROUP already. To see some of the issues behind the battle. Which for Paul the apostle was very much a battle worth fighting.
We're going to work backwards from Acts 15 verse 2. Which is where you can see things are starting to heat up. We'll look at the issues in a minute. But see the words there in verse 2. This is no polite debate round the barbecue. We're looking at a SHARP DISPUTE. Between Paul and Barnabas on the one side, and some men from JUDEA, from Jerusalem, on the other side. And whatever's going on, it's worth digging in for. They're saying ONE THING... Paul and Barnabas are saying another. And verse 2 says, this brought Paul and Barnabas into SHARP DISPUTE and DEBATE with them.
And the issue is - I guess it's not one that's troubled you much lately - the issue is, as it's spelled out in verse 1, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."
It's there in a bit more detail in verse 5. When the debate has moved back to Jersualem. They hold a council meeting to thrash it out. And it's put like this. Imagine a crowded room; Peter and James are there, Paul and Barnabas are there... and a whole bunch of others. And then, verse 5, some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stand up and they say "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to OBEY THE LAW OF MOSES."
And that's the issue; that's the hingepoint of the whole debate. The heart of the disagreement. The GENTILES... must be circumcised... and obey the law of Moses. Or they can't be saved.
Now remember, this is a time when for the JEWS... there are just TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Them. And everyone else. Jews. And GENTILES. Jews. Who carry the mark of circumcision, their initiation... and who KEEP THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW. The commandments; the regulations; the RULES handed down by Moses. The food laws and the Sabbath and the washing laws and the ten commandments. All exactly as they're spelled out in the Old Testament.
And so that's what they're saying. If you want to be saved, if you want to be IN... then that's how.
And the reason a statement like that brings Paul and Barnabas into such SHARP DISPUTE with them is it calls into question what they've been doing in Acts 13 and 14. When they've been travelling around GALATIA, preaching something VERY DIFFERENT.
Galatia - Where is it?
Now Galatia, if you want to check it on a map, Galatia is a part of what these days is TURKEY. Maybe you've been there. If you haven't, and you want to get a feel for what it's like, there's a great Turkish restaurant I can tell you about later. It's got the low tables with embroidered cushions on the floor, the big brass vases with fine engraved patterns, Turkish Coffee, kebabs, tabouli; turkish delight. And I reckon you step back two thousand years to when Paul and Barnabas were there, it probably wasn't all that different.
So Acts 13 and 14, as they're travelling round cities like Iconium and Lystra and Derbe, I guess you can imagine them chewing on beef kebabs; sipping thick, sweet turkish coffee; pretty much like you would be today. Cities where there are scatterings of Jews, who get together in their little synagogue meetings every Saturday; some local Turks who join in, because they think maybe there's something in this GOD the Jews are talking about; but just across town there's the temple to Zeus. And Apollo. Greek Gods. This is Multiculturalism alive and well.
And where ever Paul and Barnabas have been, I want you to notice a pattern. Same strategy every time. They start out at the Synagogue talking to Jews. And then they do the unthinkable. In most Jewish minds, anyway. By taking their message to people who aren't JEWS AT ALL.
And the message Paul and Barnabas have got for the Gentiles is VERY DIFFERENT... from telling them they've got to be CIRCUMCISED AND OBEY THE LAW OF MOSES.
Follow it through. Take a step back to Acts 13 when you've got Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch. And they're in the synagogue. A Saturday morning, surrounded by Jews. And there's a reading from the Old Testament, the law and the prophets; pick up in Acts 13 verse 15. And then Paul's invited to SPEAK TO THEM. Which is something he's more than happy to do.
Now make sure you've got the picture. Synagogue full of Jews. A reading from the Law of Moses. And what's he going to say? Read through it sometime and follow the logic. As he takes them for a guided tour of the history of Israel. But for now, let's cut to the chase. And pick up right at the end. Verse 38. Where he says this. And listen for a summary of his message. And especially what he's got to say about the LAW OF MOSES...
He says, "Therefore my brothers, I want you to know that THROUGH JESUS the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. THROUGH HIM everyone who believes is JUSTIFIED from everything YOU COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED FROM... by the law of Moses.
Ever heard anyone say, well, being a Christian, it's about KEEPING THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Being a Christian, it's about BEING GOOD.
To which Paul says, you've got it wrong. He says, I want to tell you about JESUS. Who's taken the punishment of God's law on himself... to justify YOU. He says, you're here in the synagogue reading out the law of Moses - but it can never JUSTIFY YOU... it can only show where you've gone wrong. What you need to know is HOW TO BE FORGIVEN. By believing in Jesus. Those last few words again. Acts 13 verse 39. "Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED FROM by the law of Moses."
And verse 43 says many of the Jews and the gentiles who had already converted to Judaism, they believe. But other Jews don't. And start stirring up trouble. And in verse 46, Paul and Barnabas make what's a pretty bold speech. And they do it boldly. You Jews, they say, "We had to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and don't consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, WE NOW TURN TO THE GENTILES. For this is what the Lord has commanded us... I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring SALVATION to the ENDS OF THE EARTH."
In other words, Jesus isn't just for JEWS. Jesus is FOR EVERYONE. And the salvation they're preaching, the eternal life they're offering, the FORGIVENESS OF SINS they're on about, it doesn't come from TAKING ON THE LAW OF MOSES... and becoming a Jew. It's not a NEW SET OF RULES. What they're preaching is THE GENEROSITY OF GOD... God's GRACE. In giving up JESUS.
At which point I want to bring you back to Acts 15. And that argument. And the answer to it.
Paul and Barnabas have been sent out to Turkey. Where they started with the Jews in their synagogues. And ended up with the Gentiles. And now these guys have turned up and they're saying, wait a minute, you can't just go to the GENTILES and TELL THEM about JESUS. You've got to go to the Gentiles and TELL THEM THE RULES. Circumcision. Commandments. Law of Moses.
Now I want to say at the outset as we look at this stuff, it's easy to say, SO WHAT. I mean, what's the big deal. For most of you, you've probably only met one or two Jews in a life time. And the fact you're a GENTILE and not a Jew probably never even crossed your mind.
And yet I wonder... if we've ever really got this right?
So back to Acts 15. Paul and Barnabas have come back to Antioch, these other guys have come up from Judea, and they're saying, UNLESS YOU'RE CIRCUMCISED according to the custom taught by Moses, you CAN'T BE SAVED. So if you're a gentile brother in Antioch and you haven't been circumcised, if you're a Gentile in Galatia who's come to faith in Jesus when Paul and Barnabas were preaching there, according to these guys from Judea, you're not saved at all. Only PART SAVED. Maybe not even that.
Which brings about that sharp dispute. And debate. Which can only be sorted out with a ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE in Jerusalem. Which is exactly what happens.
And that's where we are in verse 5. With that statement we saw before... as the believers from the Pharisee party kick off the debate. The GENTILES must be CIRCUMCISED and REQUIRED TO OBEY THE LAW OF MOSES.
Now friends, tell me it they're RIGHT or NOT. You're a gentile. Let's skip the circumcision because we're too polite. But the OBEY THE LAW OF MOSES bit. Right or wrong?
It's not something ALIEN they're talking about. In a nutshell, it's THE OLD TESTAMENT. Which the Jews have had all along. And now they're simply saying, if the GENTILES WANT TO JOIN IN, they've got to do what we do. Keep the sabbath. Obey the commandments. Be holy like we are. Which sounds ABSOLUTELY REASONABLE, doesn't it?
So what does the meeting in Jerusalem decide?
Acts 15 verse 6. The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion - it's a hard one - PETER got up and address them. Brothers, he says, "you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from MY LIPS the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that HE ACCEPTED THEM by GIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THEM, just as he did to us. HE MADE NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN US AND THEM... for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then... why do you try to TEST GOD by putting on the necks of the disciples a YOKE that neither we nor our Fathers have been able to bear. You ever done that? Created a Christianity that's a BURDEN. That you're quite prepared to lay on other people... and criticise them over; and measure them against... when you're not even living by the same standards yourself? That's what THEY WANT TO DO. And they've missed the point. Which Peter's about to spell out. Verse 11. He says NO! WE BELIEVE IT IS THROUGH THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS that we're saved... just as they are." He says we Jews are saved by grace. Just like the Galatians are. Just like one day the AUSTRALIANS WILL BE.
Don't go laying THE LAW ON THEM. Tell them about JESUS. Preach GRACE TO THEM. Is that what happened? Is that the message YOU'VE HEARD? Sometimes you've got to wonder.
As we take our first look at Galatians next week, we're going to see, it's a problem that wouldn't go away. Paul preached GRACE TO THEM... now there are people who want to add something MORE. Grace is not enough. HERE ARE THE RULES. Has that happened to you?
Let me say, this is one battle worth fighting. Because it's right at the heart of WHAT BEING CHRISTIAN IS ALL ABOUT. Paul stood his ground. And we're going to see that again in the next few weeks as we look at his letter. But from here in Acts it's clear, isn't it. Here are the Galatians, gentiles like us; they've HEARD JESUS DIED FOR THEIR SINS... and they've put their faith in him. And now someone wants to demand MORE THAN THAT, to load them with laws and rules, to load them with the Old Testament regulations of the Israelites. To do that is to miss the point. In fact to put up ANY BARRIER... is to miss the point. And it's a point worth fighting for. Jesus. Plus nothing. God counts us clean and gives us his Spirit when we come to faith in Jesus. So whatever you do... don't go putting up walls. Adding rules. Making a fuss about things that aren't the issue.
If you want to get fussed about anything, get steamed about what Paul and Barnabas did. That there would be people who want to ADD RULES - to the gospel of Jesus. People who want to ADD EXTRA REQUIREMENTS... to simple faith. To load on a burden they don't even carry themselves. And put it onto someone else. That's something worth sharply disputing. And standing your ground on.