Unless... You cannot be saved!

Good morning and a happy and blessed New Year to all of you. As we enter into Acts chapter 15, we are at halftime. We're at halftime of the book of Acts. However, there's no halftime show, right? What we have here, and we're not even going to take a break. That's different from football halftime. All we have to offer are great accounts from Paul and Barnabas, right, here at halftime. No show, but some great things to report and deliver here out of Acts 15.

So one of the things we look at as we begin into this, all the apostles, including Saul, whose name is now turned to Paul, are in the process of making disciples, starting with preaching the gospel, and urging them to continue in the faith and the grace as we've seen here.

Peter said that his holding of the law of Moses would stand in the way. We saw that back in Acts 11, 17. Paul said that the law of Moses would not justify anyone. We saw that at the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey in Acts 13, 39. Nobody would be forgiven of their sins. redeemed and therefore declared righteous before God. That's what he's essentially telling them. So we're going to weigh in here about the Law of Moses as we go through Acts chapter 15, not completing it even today.

Various people in Christendom have taken a variety of views and positions regarding the Law of Moses, and they have sliced and diced the Law of Moses in a variety of ways for the church. You know that the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformed churches, the Orthodox churches, by that I mean Serbian, Russian, Greek, etc., and the Jews, Orthodox Jews, all have different breakdowns for the Ten Commandments. They all break it down a different set of ways.

So that's just a quick example. There are people who try to put us under all of the Law of Moses. There are people who try to put us under parts of it. There are people who want to vary certain things, just take away the punishment, but keep the rest of it. A lot of people who do lots of different things with the Law of Moses.

But before we're done here with Acts 15, we'll have the clear teaching of the Apostles on how the Law of Moses is to be viewed by us in the Church, the Body of Christ. And in fact, what we see here in Acts 15 is really quite simple and uncomplicated. And it in fact contradicts what most of Christendom, that is what people categorize as Christianity, teaches about the law. Now, you have some orientation here. This is the map that you have on page one of your handout here. It shows the eastern Mediterranean, and I would say even the northeastern Mediterranean.

And the reason we show that is we have Antioch, which is where Paul and Barnabas have returned. And it's the place where they've been sent on their first missionary journey. This issue of the law and what place it has for Christian believers has come up. And so Paul and Barnabas are going to be sent from Antioch to Jerusalem.

It is not quite 500 miles travel time. But so there you see it and get it in orientation with Some of the other places where Paul and Barnabas have been they've been to Galatia. You see Tarsus there where Paul is from and So anyway that gives us the picture of where things are located here.

Here's Acts 15 1 it says some men came down from Judea and and began teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now this is rather intense. This is rather intense. First of all, it's real difficult for the females to comply. But aside from that, unless you're circumcised, you cannot be saved. So all of a sudden circumcision, at least what we see from this, and what we're going to find out is that's not all they mean. Circumcision now becomes a requirement for salvation and not simply faith in Christ.

So this is a big, big issue. And in fact, there are those who will come with varying degrees of the law of Moses and either say, okay, you can't be saved, you can't keep your salvation, depending on which parts of it you keep. So there are various people who claim these things. This is a big issue. We're going to see what they mean here shortly.

These self-appointed teachers are saying a believer in Christ has to convert to Judaism in order to be saved. That's what they're essentially saying. In Judaism, in order to convert to Judaism, It was not sufficient to simply say, well, I like the Jews or something of that sort, but a person had to go through a series of steps. One of those things was to be initiated into Judaism by going through circumcision. And so that's really what these guys are saying, as we'll see shortly. It's really the introduction to following all of the law of Moses. That's what they're really saying here at this point in time. You must be a full convert to Judaism.

So really believing in Christ is a rather minor thing. in their view, and ultimately one cannot be saved unless one is converted, speaking with regards to all these Gentiles who are now coming into the picture. Now, one of the things that is rarely recognized, these legalists, these legalistic men, recognize that the Ten Commandments are not the first order in the issue of the Law of Moses. Many people do not recognize that. They think the Ten Commandments is the ultimate. It is not. Reason.

Circumcision was given to Abraham centuries before Moses was even born. So in terms of sequence, circumcision comes first. Secondly, What day was a man to be circumcised? On the H-day they were to be circumcised, even if that was on a Sabbath. So circumcision not only comes in sequence before the Ten Commandments, but circumcision comes in priority. You must obey the law of circumcision even if it means you have to do work on the Sabbath.

Circumcision is first. These guys in one sense are right. What many, many people have overlooked The Ten Commandments is not the top of the law. Circumcision is. Circumcision takes priority. If someone goes to the Ten Commandments, they've missed it. They have not understood. These guys at least understand that. We're going to see that being ritually circumcised is signing up for the whole law. That's what these men meant That's what they were understood to be saying.

Galatians 5.3, the Apostle Paul says the exact same thing. And he is the Pharisee of Pharisees. He knows. Circumcision is way ahead of first in order and on top of priority of the Ten Commandments and all the rest of the law.

But if you sign up for that, you've signed up for every single thing, all 613 laws. And you'd better know what they are. Oh, by the way, if anybody wants to know, I've got them all right here. And you'll be amazed what's in them. Let me read you something. Here's the last page. Oh, this is great. You're going to love this. To destroy the seed of Amalek. That's number 613.

Have you done that? What? You haven't done that? Now, here's another one. To keep a place outside the camp for sanitary purposes. That's what the outhouse out back is for. Right? No. That's a part of the law. You've got to keep that. Isn't that amazing? Oh, it's astounding. Anyway, you're welcome to come and take a look at it. This is not to sell a beautiful woman. How about that? Have you sold a beautiful woman? Shame on you. Right?

So, anyway, you're welcome to take a look at that. These men are calling for circumcision because it's signing up for the whole law, including a whole bunch of them I haven't read here. And you'd be astounded what's in there. Every single one of the 613. You're signing up for every single one.

So, what's the relationship between the people of Israel, the Jews, and the church, the body of Christ? That's a big question here. These guys are saying, look, if you're going to be a Christian, that's fine. If you're going to believe Jesus is the Messiah, that's fine. But you've got to convert to Judaism. That's what they're saying.

What's the relationship with the law of Moses to us in the church, the body of Christ? Now the question, what is necessary in order for us to be saved? What is necessary in order for us to stay saved? Do I have to keep the law? If I mess up on one, if I don't go outside the camp to go to the bathroom, right? If I mess up on one, have I lost it all?

How is righteousness lived out by and among us in the church the body of Christ? These are very, very big questions that this chapter is going to answer. When the law is in the New Testament, how do we know what applies to us in the church? Do you know that nine out of the ten commandments are brought up in the New Testament? Does that mean it's for you? Big questions.

Here's Acts 15.2.

And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate among them, and the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue, there was great debate. And has the debate subsided? Not even close. People get very very wound up over this. So one of the questions we have is what did Paul and Barnabas think about this? We actually know from this very verse what Paul and Barnabas thought about this.

They debated against these fellows. There was great dissension and debate and Paul and Barnabas were not on the side of you better sign up for circumcision. It was Paul and Barnabas who opposed the views of those claiming salvation by law. So the believers here in Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas had just come back, sent Paul and Barnabas and some others to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and the founding church elders to discover, excuse me, to discuss and decide this matter of law-keeping in order to be saved. That was the discussion.

Here's Act 15.3.

Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. So this wasn't just a business trip. It wasn't simply we're going down to Jerusalem. We're going to settle this matter once for all. Were they doing that? Yes, they were. But on the way, as they traveled.

If they had gone direct, it would have taken at least 18 days, possibly more. But if they stopped along the way, if they spent any additional time or took any side trips in order to include certain people, that would have taken even more time than that.

So they stopped along the way with these believers in Phoenicia and Samaria. And one of the things you'll notice on your map is we have some arrows pointing along the coast. of the Mediterranean there, north of Israel is Phoenicia, and in the area just north of Jerusalem is Samaria. So those areas are pointed out in there. And so they stopped along there.

Why? Because there had been groups of believers that had formed churches there in those areas, and they wanted to bring them up to speed as to what had happened. Imagine that you couldn't send out an email. You couldn't just say, well, I'll just text everybody, right? You couldn't do that. So you had to stop along the way at each place and tell the story again and again.

What's kind of fascinating to ponder is we've gone through the book of Acts chapters 13 and 14 and look at Paul's and Barnabas' first missionary journey. Is it possible that they told those people some things that we don't know about that first trip? Yes, it could very well be. So at each of these churches they gave the account, just like we read in Acts chapters 13 and 14, and possibly with some other details that we haven't gotten. So they gave the detail to the believers in the churches in Phoenicia and Samaria. It actually uses the word details in there, so it wasn't just a summary description.

Here's Acts 15.4, and when they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

So here's Paul and Barnabas. They go through Phoenicia and Samaria. They've taken some time, very likely some number of weeks, to make this trip and to stop with churches along the way. And they finally arrive in Jerusalem. And so let's take a look at it. They were received by the church, which is the body of Christ there at Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the founding church. It was where the church began, and all the others have essentially spread out from there.

They were received by the others of the apostles who were present there in Jerusalem, as many as twelve of them. It doesn't say exactly which ones or how many. It may have been as many as all 12 of the original apostles as listed in Acts chapter 1, or it may have been a significant number of them, we don't know. But as many as 12 of them were gathered there. They were also received by the elders of the founding church there in Jerusalem.

And here's what's interesting is when you go through the New Testament, we don't know for certain the name of any elder in the entire New Testament except for here in the founding church, James. And we're going to be hearing from James next Sunday. And so here we have a dramatic depiction here of James, Jesus' half-brother. We'll be talking about James, Jesus' half-brother, as well as Jesus' other brothers who are believers, and very likely were present there as well.

And so they were received by the elders. Again, the only name we know of is James. We don't know the names for certain of any other elders, and I think that's on purpose. An elder, contrary to some of our modern patterns, is not intended to be some famous and high-profile position.

So, Paul and Barnabas reported all that God had done, as we read in Acts 15.3.

Paul and Barnabas traveled from Antioch and Syria to Jerusalem. They told and retold the account of this mission to Cyprus and Galatia. And imagine Paul and Barnabas talking together with people and, oh, Barnabas, you've got to tell them about this. And Barnabas would say, oh, Paul, you really need to add this detail in here. You tell them about that, right? And imagine they'd get excited about what had taken place.

When they reached Jerusalem, they again retold these accounts of the church body in Jerusalem, which would include the apostles, up to twelve of them, and the elders in the church in Jerusalem, which would include James, the half-brother of Jesus, as well as others.

And so they reported, it says, all that God had done. And this is key, all that God had done. We saw in Acts chapter 14, verses 26 and 27, A lot of what was accomplished was reported there in chapter 13 and 14, and it was said there to be through the work of Paul and Barnabas, and so there looked upon as these are the instruments But now in Acts 15, 3 and 4, we're seeing something similar.

Paul and Barnabas did a great deal, but they credit God as being the one who did it. And by the way, it may not jump out at us, but this is actually the answer. This is the answer to the law. Who did it and who gets credit for it? Paul and Barnabas, if you were to look at it and had been along with them, you would have seen them doing a great number of things. Who did they credit for the accomplishments? God. God did it. This is really big. One of the issues that comes up with the law is the law defines outcome, but it has us doing something to supposedly please God. Grace looks at how and by whom the results are accomplished. Really, really, really big.

When in the writings of Paul, who would say, you're not under law, you're under grace. Oh, and by the way, you're not under law, you're under grace. In the writings of Paul, he will repeat and even quote and make reference to things like the Ten Commandments. What's the difference between being under law and saying, OK, here, thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal and things like that.

The difference is how it gets done and by whom it gets done. That makes all the difference in the world. Law defines the outcome, but it has us doing it. Who is the law? up to you. It's your job to carry out the law. What happens if you don't carry out the law?

You get to study rocks up close. Grace looks at how and by whom the results are accomplished and it's Him. That is all the difference in the world. It's a day and night law and grace difference. Only then, when He does it, is God pleased. We'll refer to this later when we talk about the will of God.

Here's Acts 14.3, Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.

Did Paul and Barnabas do things? Yes. Was it all their doing? Absolutely not. What they did was in reliance upon the Lord. It was the Lord who was doing the testifying through them. It was the Lord who is granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands. It was His doing, not theirs. Acts 14, 26 and 27, from there they sailed to Antioch, this is Paul and Barnabas, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had accomplished, Paul and Barnabas. When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all the things that God had done with them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. God had done it, God had opened the doors. Without that, Nothing they did was worth anything.

Acts 15.4, And when they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done. Really big.

Acts 15.5, But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying it was necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the law of Moses.

So this is really a fuller story than we got in verse 1. This is what they meant by it's necessary that they be circumcised. That's only the front end. It's not the whole story. It's necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the law of Moses. All 613 of these things. Circumcision is only the beginning. It's the front door. It's the camel's nose in the tent, so to speak. It is just the beginning, not the end.

So what we have here is first century Messianic Jews. Today we have this term, Messianic Jews, and it includes essentially a spectrum of different belief. In the first century, Judaism was very complicated. The Pharisees, however, We can summarize this way.

They believed in the Old Testament as scripture, so the whole Old Testament, as opposed to the Sadducees who only believed in the first five books, sort of. They believed in a Messiah. It doesn't necessarily automatically mean that they believed Jesus was the Messiah. In great part, they didn't. And they believed in a resurrection.

Those were some things that differentiated the Pharisees. So these guys were Pharisees, a similar orientation to where Paul came from. From among all the different Jewish groups, these Pharisees were most prone to be missionary about their beliefs. You had various groups in Israel, but it was the Pharisees who went out to all the different lands and spread Phariseeism, right? Their version of Judaism into all these other areas outside of Israel. And two-thirds of the Jews, in round numbers, lived outside of the land of Israel. Pharisees who came to believe in Christ were prone to view themselves as these messianic Jews.

We're still Jews. And we still have to obey the law and everything that's in it. We just believe that Jesus was the Messiah, and the rest of it we all still sign up for. That was their belief. So two very big questions among the Pharisees who became believers in Christ. One, are we fulfilled Pharisees, or as we might call them, Messianic Jews? And everything about Pharisees just stays. We just stay Pharisees, we just believe Jesus was the Messiah, and other than that we sign up for everything just as it was. Number two, are the Gentiles who come to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah just converts to fulfilled Pharisaic Judaism? And you can spell fulfilled with a PH and a PH if you want, right? fulfilled Pharisaic Judaism.

That's the critical question that's put before us here in Acts 15. The Pharisees in Acts 15.1 and verse 5 say that the entire law of Moses is required for salvation. Required for salvation.

In Acts 15.6, the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. Okay, we've got this really big issue and quite an argument stirred up. The apostles and the elders come together to look into this matter and to settle it once and for all. Did they settle it once and for all? Not so far as most of Christendom is concerned, they didn't settle it, right? But they in fact did.

Acts 15.7, after there had been much debate, oh boy, Peter stood up and said to them, brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that by the mouth of the Gentiles, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and belief. This is Acts chapter 10. He came back to the believers in Jerusalem, just much like what you see here, and he reported in Acts chapter 11 what took place.

So, much debate, okay? After 20 centuries have come and gone, the debate and the assertions about the law of Moses for us in the church, the body of Christ, has not subsided. Still great argument. Let me be very explicit. We have had people come to this church and leave very, very upset that we don't hold to some form of the law of Moses. And I've heard it. People who get very, very upset and irate and tell me off and tell others off that we don't follow some form of the Law of Moses. Just really upset. How or if the law of Moses has any part in either gaining or keeping salvation or in the ongoing sanctification of those in the church is still hotly debated among many. And for many, it's a settled issue that we would say is not really settled. Peter said that he was the one to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, as we're told in Acts chapter 10. That's what he's referring to when he reports there. He says, God did this before, and I already said this before.

What happened when Peter took the gospel to the house of Cornelius, and in doing so, he had to put the law aside. Remember, he was told, you know, eat, and things were brought down that were not allowed for him to eat three times. And he said, oh no, I don't do that, right? So Peter presented the gospel and Cornelius and those in his household believed and were saved. He recognized that. So did God tell Peter to have those Gentiles do anything else to be or to stay saved?

Answer is no. He did not then. He does not now. Acts 15, 8 and 9. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us. And He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their heart by faith." In the Gospels was there distinction between Jew and Gentile. Did Jesus even recognize the Jew-Gentile distinction? Yes.

Matthew chapter 10, Jesus sends out the disciples two by two. He says, do not even go on a road that leads to the Gentiles. Go only to those of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, in the book of Acts, he starts off chapter 1. You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, but don't leave yet. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is not given.

When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, then you go to those places. He gave the Holy Spirit to them. He also gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. As he summarizes here, He made no distinction between us and them cleansing their heart by faith, no law involved. Not one. not 10, not 613. So did you hear what God did? God testified to the Gentiles. God gave the Gentiles the Holy Spirit just as he did with the Jews back in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost. God made no distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles in doing so. He cleansed the hearts, the Jews hearts, and the Gentiles' hearts by faith as opposed to works of the law by Jew or by Gentile. There was no conversion to Judaism.

Acts 15.10, And now therefore, why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

In Deuteronomy 6.16, Moses told the Israelites, do not put the Lord your God to the test.

Jesus quotes this exact same passage in Matthew 4.7 and Luke 4.12. He quotes the same verse to Satan. Do not put God to the test. Peter puts the law of Moses for the Gentiles in the church body in the same light. Why do you put God to the test in direct conflict with the law of Moses by putting the Gentiles under the law? You know somebody who likes to put people under law? You can ask them, why do you put God to the test?

Why are you disobeying Deuteronomy 6.16, by putting people under the law. Why do you do that?

The old covenant, which is the law of Moses, is holy and righteous and good. This is Romans chapter 7. The problem is not with the law of Moses itself, but with the people who have to try to live it out in their own power and strength. The rabbis often called the Law of Moses a yoke. You know, Jesus said, take my yoke upon you and I will give you rest. Do you know the rabbis used to say that? The rabbis would say, take my yoke upon you, and by that they meant the Law. Peter calls the Law of Moses simply an unbearable yoke, even for the Jews.

Acts 15, 11. But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they also are. So what a refreshing thought. How are we saved? By getting circumcised? By trying to follow the ten? By giving an old college try? By trying again? By redoubling our efforts? By making a determination? By reading the law very, very, very carefully? Make sure that you hate Amalek and wipe them out from the land. Okay? That's the last of the laws. Do you hate Amalek? Have you gone thoroughly and wiped out Amalek from the land? Have you? If you've not done that, you've failed the law.

Oh, no. Peter says we're saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. He's got a real opportunity to tell them, ah, make sure you keep the ten. He's got a real opportunity to tell them, ah, don't eat that stuff. That's nasty. Right? He's got a chance to do that. What does he say? We are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. That's it. Here's Peter raised a Jew. Here's Peter.

He would even go through when he'd catch fish. Oh, that's good fish. Scales and fins. Ooh, that's an eel. Throw it over there. That's for the Gentiles. He'd go through and sort that out. Ah, got a crab. That's no good. He would sort all that. He grew up with that. He'd never serve ham at Easter, whatever that is. So here he comes.

We are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. So Paul himself would later write, by the way he's a Pharisee, a Pharisee of Pharisees, for by grace you've been saved. Perfect tense, it's a done deal. Ephesians 2, 5, and 8 says it twice. So keeping the law of Moses in whole or in part for Jews or for the Gentiles does not It doesn't gain salvation. It doesn't enhance salvation. It doesn't help to keep it. Not one bit.

Acts 15, 12, all the people kept silent and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. So, all the people made lots of noise. Not. Two things going on here. There was debate, discussion, and open testimony on the subject of the Law of Moses and Salvation, and Paul and Barnabas were also telling people about what had taken place on their first mission to the Gentile lands, to Cyprus and Galatia, and what, got this, God had done. And the people and the believers in Christ and Jerusalem took it all in.

So are we done yet? Are we done talking about the Law of Moses? Not even close. We have much, much more to go through, and the apostles and the elders are not done talking. We have more to find out as we go through Acts chapter 15. But the issue is not settled in the rest of the New Testament. The issue is not settled in more than 19 centuries that have passed since that time. But Scripture is very clear. We'll end with here a settled discussion as we proceed through the rest of the Book of Acts, as all three electives here at Holly Hills discuss the question, but what about the law?

That's something every single one of the electives, and by the way, we make it really hard for you to decide which one you're supposed to go to. That's on purpose. But all three of them, don't worry about it, all three of them will talk about your position in Christ, and all three of them will have a place of talking about what about the law. All three of them will. We've been talking, and I, just running out of room, didn't have a chance to put this in the handout, been talking about the big picture on God's will. All three of the electives will be talking about our position in Christ and our possessions in Christ. And so all three electives will be doing a great job to bring that out.

But the next thing, God's moral will is revealed in scriptures intended to be lived out by the life of Christ. Do you know that God does not want you to follow the Ten Commandments? No, God does not want you to follow the Ten Commandments. God's moral will for every single believer is that God do it, just like we saw with Paul and Barnabas. They went out on this first missionary journey for the Apostle Paul, and God did it. They relied upon the Lord. Do you know what God's moral will is for you? He does not want you to follow the Ten Commandments. He wants you to rely upon Him.

He wants for Him to do the work of living moment by moment. That's why we sang that song, right? moment by moment by His strength and His power. My understanding is that there was a fellow who wrote the song, you know, day by day, and the fellow who wrote moment by moment says day by day isn't often enough. So he wrote moment by moment, right?

So, at any rate, God's moral will for the believer is that you not go out and try to live by the Ten Commandments. Is there a lot to agree with that's in there? Yes. He does not want your best efforts to try to live by the Ten Commandments. He wants His life to be lived out in and through you. That's God's moral will. Christians will get tortured trying to find the yellow brick road, so to speak, of God's will.

Oh, do I buy the blue Chevy or the green one? You know, as if that's some big issue. And what God really wants is for us to rely upon and depend upon Him as we go about everything we do. Whether we buy the green or the blue Chevy or yellow or whatever other color. Or maybe it's a Hyundai, I don't know. Right?

The point is, God's moral will is not about a list of things to do and don't do. God's moral will is about your walking in fellowship with Him and dependence upon Him. That's where God's individual will gets worked out. We will never find God's individual will for our life trying to carry out the law in any form on our own.

Not happening. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, as we go through this, that we have understanding and insight. Here, guys, all of them raised as Jews under observance, knowing full well what the law required and what it did not. And we thank you that the apostles have begun, they're not done, to make it very clear what the truth is, and the reality is that you want us to have fellowship with you. You want us to rely upon you. You want your life to be lived out in and through us. And thank you for that clarity as we continue through Acts 15. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.