Monday, May 30, 2016

No Yoking Matter

The "Gentile Problem" has come to a head.  Paul and Barnabas have reported to the church in Antioch how God had used them to save not only Jews but Gentiles in Asia (Acts 13-14).  A group from Judea argued that there is no way these non-Jews could be saved unless they became Jews through circumcision and following the Mosaic Law (Acts 15:1, 5).

As a result, they sought a decision from the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2).  Their ruling on this vital issue of the early church makes such decisions like Roe v Wade or Brown v Board of Education pale in comparison.

Luke tells us that "The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter" (v6).  The author doesn't name names except Peter, the leader of the apostles, and James, the half brother of Jesus.  This is one of the two times in the Bible where we see Peter and Paul, the two key missionaries of Acts, in the same room together (the other mention is in Gal 2:11-14).

The two sides present their cases before the leaders of the church.  "There had been much debate" (v7).  The Greek describes it as zetesis.  This means an investigation or inquiry.  Lots of questions were asked of both positions.  This was no quick decision.  These leaders made a careful examination of the issue.  They clearly understood that whatever they decided would impact the the future of the Gospel.

After both the legalistic Jews as well as Paul and Barnabas presented their cases, Peter stands up (v7).  And when the leader of the apostles has something to say, you listen.

He tells the people in the room, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe."  Pete reminds everyone there of God had done through him.  Almighty God chose him personally to take the salvation offered through the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to unclean Gentiles.  That was the whole purpose of Pete's rooftop vision of a zoo on a blanket in Joppa (Acts 10).  That immediately led Pete to travel to Caesarea and tell the non-Jewish Cornelius and his family about Messiah Jesus.

God made it clear to Peter that He was not limiting salvation to a particular ethnic group.  "What God has made clean, do not call common" (Acts 10:15).  "God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean" (Acts 10:28).  "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him" (Acts 10:34-35).  "Everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name" (Acts 10:43).  And don't forget Peter's jaw-dropping report to the home office about this incredible move of God among non-Jewish people (Acts 11:1-18).

Peter goes on to tell his audience that no one but God knows the human heart (v8).  He alone is able to judge who is has truly repented and come to Jesus for salvation.  That's His job, not ours.  He's the One who decides who receives the Good News.  We must not limit those we tell.  When in doubt, tell people about Jesus.

Pete makes the point that God's salvation of non-Jews is 100% genuine because of one critical factor: He game them His Holy Spirit!  God gave these born-again Gentiles His Spirit just as He did to those Jews at Pentecost (Acts 2:4).  God saved them without circumcision, without obedience to the Mosaic Law, without sacrificial ritual.  All they had done was repent and followed Jesus.  How can anyone doubt the salvation of these Gentiles since God gave them the Holy Spirit?

The leader of the apostles goes on to say, "He made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith" (v9).  Pete tells that God saw no difference between Jews and Gentiles.  And it was God Himself that scrubbed their sinful hearts clean.  This was David's prayer (Ps 24:4; 51:10).  This sounds a lot like New Covenant language (Ezek 36:24-29).  Through Ezekiel, God promises to pull together a new people "from the nations."  They will be cleansed, given a new heart and a new Spirit.  It certainly sounds a lot like what is happening in the book of Acts.

If there's no doubt about Pete's position in the debate at this point.  He turns to the legalistic Jews and let's them have it with both barrels.  "Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers or we have been able to bear?" (v10).  Come on, guys!  There was no way anyone has ever earned any kind of salvation through law-keeping.  Rather than put the same burden on non-Jews that no Jew could ever keep, Pete says we should celebrate what God is doing among them!

This is no yoking matter.

Whenever we ask others to prove their salvation by jumping through manmade hoops, we're on a very slippery slope.  When we do that, Peter tells us that we're "putting God to the test" (Dt 6:16; Mt 4:7; Lk 4:12).  And, I'm not sure if you've heard, this is not a good idea.

Let's be clear on this.  VERY clear.  We must not make our requirements for salvation tougher than God's!  This doesn't mean that there shouldn't be expectations of discipleship and service in the local church.  But this doesn't mean that we can make a call on someone's salvation through some well-intentioned but misguided manmade rules.

This is no yoking matter.

Pete certainly remembers Jesus' own words.  "For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Mt 11:43).  Christ busted the Pharisees' chops for doing exactly what these Jews were attempting here.  "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger" (Mt 23:4).  You have to wonder if Peter's words influenced Paul's letter to Galatia.  "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Gal 5:1).

Let's be clear.  This is no yoking matter.

Pete brings his speech home with one of the most powerful statements on salvation by grace through faith found in the Bible.  "But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will" (v11).  In other words, God saves everybody through the grace of Christ.  Jews.  Non-Jews.  Everyone comes to faith the same way.  Through trusting in the free gift offered only through the radical and risen Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth.

There are many modern scholars that try to drive a wedge between Peter and Paul.  They try to make a distinction between the Gospel preached by each man.  They hold that Peter professed a very Jewish message while Paul was the one who opened the doors of faith to the Gentiles.  Did the two men have their differences?  Absolutely.  Paul's confrontation of Peter in Galatians tells us they had their moments (Gal 2:11-14).

But Pete's impassioned plea here in Acts 15 makes it clear that these two men were singing from the same page of the hymnal when it comes to God's gracious invitation of non-Jews.  "We will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."  Paul will echo this same idea of justification by grace through faith over and over again (Eph 2:5-10; Rom 10:9-13).

Most of you reading this are non-Jews.  Think how different your relationship with Jesus would be if God did not make such a gracious move to us Gentiles.  We can come simply by faith through His grace.  No circumcision.  No Mosaic Law.  No ritual

This is no yoking matter.      

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