Christ Blesses One Church Through Another

All right, well, I'll read Acts 15, but to understand the context a little bit better, we'll begin reading in Acts 14, starting at verse 26.

! We read God's word, trusting it is his inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, sufficient word for you and me, his people.

So Acts 14, starting at verse 26.

This is referring to Paul and Barnabas on one of their missionary trips.

From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had completed.

Now, when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

So they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

Acts 15, 1.

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren,

Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them,

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 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.

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 to command them to keep the law of Moses.

Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

And 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 the mouth of the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit,

just as he did to us,

and made no distinction between us and them,

purifying their hearts by faith.

Now, therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples,

which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

But we believe that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

we shall be saved in the same manner as they.

Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Paul and Barnabas,

declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them

among the Gentiles.

And after they had become silent,

James answered, saying,

Men and brethren, listen to me.

Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles

to take them out, a people for his name.

And with this word,

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 had 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.

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,

but that we write 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.

Then it pleased the apostles and elders

with the whole church

to send chosen men of their own company

to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas,

namely Judas, who was also named Barsabbas,

and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

They wrote this letter by them,

the apostles and elders and the brethren,

to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch,

Syria and Cilicia.

Greetings.

Since we have heard some who went out from us

have troubled you with words,

unsettling your souls,

saying you must be circumcised and keep the law

to whom we gave no such commandment,

it seemed good to us being assembled with one accord

to send chosen men to you

with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

men who have risked their lives

for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have therefore sent Judas and Silas,

who will also report the same things

by word of mouth.

For it seemed good to us,

for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit

and to us to lay upon you

no greater burden than these necessary things

that you abstain from things offered to idols,

from blood, from things strangled,

and from sexual immorality.

If you keep yourselves from these,

you will do well.

Farewell.

So when they were sent off,

they came to Antioch,

and when they had gathered the multitude together,

they delivered the letter.

When they had read it,

they rejoiced over its encouragement.

The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

Please be seated.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

O Lord,

the way that you work

among your people,

among the churches,

it's so humbling

and so beautiful

and so glorifying

of who you are.

We pray, Lord,

that by your Spirit,

you'll cause us to see

the way that you work through the church

and use the church

in the way that you want us to see that today, Lord,

that you will apply that

to this congregation,

that you will guide us,

that you will give us wisdom.

You'll help us to ponder

what is the way

that you have given churches

to receive the blessings of Christ Jesus.

We ask this for your glory.

Amen.

Well, our American tradition tells us

that at the signing

of the Declaration of Independence,

Benjamin Franklin

made this comment.

And to appreciate what he said,

we have to remember,

these are former citizens of England

that are now living at the colonies

that don't want to pay taxes

back to England

without representation.

And those who rebel

against the monarchy of England

are considered treasonous

and therefore,

they would be publicly hung.

And Benjamin Franklin's comment,

at least according to tradition,

was this.

We must all hang together

or most assuredly,

we shall all hang separately.

Here come representatives

from all the colonies

taking a strong stand together

for their future.

In a different context,

this sentiment captures a reality

that we read in this passage.

Isolated churches,

places where God's power

had been manifested,

displayed,

the gospel was preached,

people believed,

even among the Gentiles,

and churches are now planted.

But on their own,

they're isolated.

And the enemy is attacking

and devouring,

and there are wolves creeping in

and bringing lies

that undermine the gospel.

And the principle we see

is that we must

help one another.

We must hang together.

So in the first century,

these churches

are under the guidance

of the Holy Spirit

and the apostles

in a powerful way.

The New Testament scriptures

as we have them now

are still being written

and given

even in the midst

of all these travels

and these discussions.

The principle for us

that I want to focus on

and encourage us with today

is this.

From Acts 15,

we see that Christ

blesses his churches

through one another.

That simple statement

that we can understand that,

see it in God's word,

and then discern together

what that means

for this congregation,

that Christ

blesses his churches

through one another.

As we walk through

this passage again,

I hope to point out

eight principles

that we see

in how God does this.

So let's begin

at where we started again,

chapter 14,

verse 26.

Notice how this one church

in Antioch,

which is modern-day Turkey,

it's called Asia Minor,

they receive the truth,

they receive the gospel,

they are formed

into a church,

and they enjoy

a time of peace.

We read in verse 26

of chapter 14,

from there,

Paul and Barnabas

sailed to Antioch,

where they had been

commended to the grace

of God for the work

which they had completed.

Other churches

sent them there,

they were commended

to go.

Now when they had come

and gathered

the church together,

take all the believers,

all those who heard

the gospel

and received God's word,

gather them into

an assembly,

they reported

all that God had done

with them,

with the church,

and that he had opened

the door of faith

to the Gentiles.

And the pattern

of ministry

was to present

Jesus Christ

first in the synagogues

because they already know

of God the Creator.

They already have

all the Old Testament.

They have the law

and the prophets

and the Psalms,

and they know

the true God,

but they need to know

about the Messiah.

And so,

they're explaining

that this gospel

of the Messiah

has gone out

not only to you

here in the synagogues,

but to Gentiles,

and God is causing

them to believe.

Verse 28 of chapter 14

says,

so they stayed there

at the church

in Antioch

a long time

with the disciples,

with the believers,

with this church.

They're enjoying

truth and peace.

But then,

in chapter 15,

verse 1,

comes a disturbance

to this peace

in the church

of Antioch.

Look at verse 1.

Certain men

came down

from Judea.

He's saying

came down

in an elevation reference.

You know,

so the mountains

of Judah

were a high point.

That's why

the Psalms of Ascent

are Psalms

you would sing

going up

to Jerusalem.

But if we look

at it on the map,

it's further south.

They came up.

They traveled.

And they brought

with them,

remember what's

in Judea

is Jerusalem,

the big hub

of the people

of Israel

in the first church

from which

all the missionaries

were being sent out.

And these men

taught the brethren

in Antioch,

unless you are

circumcised

according to the

custom of Moses,

you cannot be saved.

So,

this is the big

occasion

for everything

that we read

in chapter 15

of Acts.

My focus today

is on our series

on the church.

It's not to

necessarily

spend our time

on this theological

debate or all

the meaning

or look at all

the rest of the

New Testament

about that,

but instead

on the process.

I don't want to

skip over the

theological debate,

but I want to

point out that

what these men

from Judea

were teaching

is false.

Paul knew

this was false.

Barnabas knew

this was false.

And it was

reading the

Old Testament

wrong.

Deuteronomy 36

says,

the Lord your

God will

circumcise

your heart

to love

the Lord

your God

with all

your heart,

with all

your soul

that you

may live.

And the

decision that

we finally

get by the

end of Acts

15 around

verse 28

or so

is the same

decision

concluded

and made

very clear

throughout

all the rest

of the

New Testament.

For example,

Paul,

the same

apostle,

in Romans

2,

28 and

29,

he wrote

to the

church in

Rome,

no one

is a

Jew who

is merely

one

outwardly

or is

circumcision

outward and

physical,

but a Jew

is one

inwardly.

Circumcision

is a matter

of the

heart

by the

spirit.

This is

the correct

interpretation

of that

Deuteronomy

30 prophecy.

Philippians

3,

3,

Colossians,

Ephesians,

so many

other places

in the

New Testament

and all

of the

book of

Galatians

make this

very clear.

For example,

Philippians

3,

3,

we are

the

circumcision

who

worship

by the

spirit

of God

and glory

in Christ

Jesus

and put

no

confidence

in the

flesh.

Okay,

so for

all these

reasons,

we will

not spend

any more

time on

the theological

discussion

of the

occasion

of this

process,

but instead

we need

to ask,

why do

we have

all of

these

details

in Acts

15,

if it's

not just

to give

the conclusion

that's

made very

clear elsewhere

in Scripture.

We have

all of

these

details,

I and

the whole

Reformed

tradition

believes

because it

does teach

the church

the process

to follow

when truth

and peace

are disturbed.

So that's

what we'll

focus on.

Let's see

all that we

can learn.

So chapter

15,

verse 2,

what was

going on in

what was

going on in

this church

in Antioch?

The truth

was being

attacked

and there

were men,

mature believers,

preachers of the

gospel like

Paul and

Barnabas.

As a reminder,

Barnabas means

son of

encouragement.

He's the one

who discipled

Paul for

about 13

years.

When they

came as

missionaries

to another

city,

the people

seeing these

two minister

together said

Barnabas is

Zeus and

Paul is

Hermes.

Zeus is like

the fatherly

figure,

the older

wise one,

powerful.

That was

Barnabas and

Hermes is

mouth,

you know,

and that's

Paul.

Paul is doing

the teaching

and the talking

and that's

who Paul and

Barnabas are.

Paul's an

apostle.

He carries

apostolic

authority from

Christ himself

and yet within

this church in

Antioch,

there's great

dispute over

the truth.

It's being

challenged and

questioned.

Verse 24 says

this church in

Antioch was

troubled with

words that

they were

unsettled in

their souls.

This is what

happened when

false teaching

or false words

come into a

church.

An attack on

the truth

undermines

peace.

An attack

on truth

is what

unsettles

peace.

It's

impossible to

have peace

in a church

if we don't

care about

truth,

if we don't

care about

doctrine.

That's the

first principle

we can

notice.

And I think

now we have

an apostolic

example of

how truth

and peace

are to be

protected

by churches.

even though

Paul's an

apostle,

the church

in Antioch

verse 2

says determined

that Paul and

Barnabas and

certain others

from them,

so messengers

from the church

in Antioch,

should go up

to Jerusalem

to the

apostles and

elders about

this question.

This is how

God in his

wisdom chose

to bring

clarification,

to uphold

truth and the

peace in this

local church

in Antioch.

It wasn't

just for Paul

to write it

down as

breathed out

scripture,

though that

would have

been enough

and should

have been

received joyfully.

It was for

the church

to decide

together to

send them

and messengers

to go get

help from

another church.

So that's the

second principle.

A local church

acts on the

authority Christ

has entrusted

to her to

uphold truth

and peace.

Paul and

Barnabas,

even though they

knew the answer

that circumcision

was not to be

forced upon

Gentile converts

in the new

covenant,

that that's not

what saves you,

they modeled

humility and

they trusted that

the Holy Spirit

in dwelling in the

church would

illumine this

matter with

authority to

protect the

church in

Antioch.

So the Holy

Spirit through

the church was

directing Paul and

Barnabas along

with other

messengers to

submit themselves

and this matter

to the council

of another

church,

which would

include apostles,

!

elders,

and all the

brethren,

the whole

church,

so that all

churches in

centuries to

come would

have a pattern

to follow.

The third

principle we can

glean then is

this,

the most mature

believers here,

this was Paul and

Barnabas,

along with

messengers that

this congregation

would trust,

they report back,

they humbly

brought a

threat to

peace and

truth forward

into the light

of the broader

kingdom of

Christ and

they asked for

help from

another church.

Verse 3 says,

so being sent

by the church,

they passed

through Phoenicia

and Samaria

and as they

went they're

describing the

same things they

were describing

back to the

church in

Antioch.

God is

converting

Gentiles and

those churches

heard that news

and it caused

them great joy

to all the

brethren, the

whole church

hearing these

reports.

You notice the

pattern,

it's that,

it's what,

it's written in

Romans 10,

people can't

believe in

Christ unless

they hear the

gospel and

how will they

believe unless

someone preaches

and then here's

the part that we

can very easily

miss today.

Paul writes,

how will they

preach unless

they are sent?

And here Paul

is modeling that.

These churches

are sending

Paul.

They are giving

him that authority

to go on their

behalf and to

do this good

work.

So now they're

traveling from

Turkey, Asia Minor

all the way back

to Jerusalem.

According to

quick research,

this would be

about 300 miles

if you were to

do it by

foot, which is

probably a good

estimate.

300 miles would

take on average

about three weeks

to travel by

foot.

Hartleys, when you

all went to

Rangeley, Colorado,

we, we, it's out

of the way, but it

was a day's travel.

You know, we're

going to load up,

we're going to

drive there for a

day and, and it's

farther than I would

go, you know, on a

regular basis, but it

is doable.

And here they're

traveling for 300

miles on foot,

three weeks.

And notice how

even a trip to

meet with another

church is an

occasion for

fellowship.

They have Paul and

Barnabas along with

these other

messengers from the

church in Antioch

spending three weeks

together and

stopping at other

churches along the

way.

And as they go,

they're telling of

God's faithfulness

and praising God

together.

So the trip

itself is a

blessing.

And distance does

not matter.

If help can be

gained, even if it

takes us three weeks

to get to a place,

it's a blessing and

enjoy the journey as

we go.

Verse four, when

they had come to

Jerusalem, they were

received by the

church and the

apostles and the

elders.

Here's an

important point,

important point of

distinction.

Initially, in verse

four, we're told it

was the church,

which implies the

whole assembly, and

the apostles and the

elders.

A Presbyterian form

of government has

the elders gathering

as a presbytery

without the church.

Other forms of

government would

have what they

would view as

succession to that

role of a bishop,

like above the

elders.

So that would be

like a

Roman Catholic or

even Episcopal or

something like that.

What I'm going to

present to you is

what a

congregational,

still reformed,

Puritan, you

know, mode of

congregational church

government has, which

includes the church

and messengers from

the churches.

And they were

received by them.

Notice how they

approached them having

been sent by another

church.

Now they're formally

received by another

church.

It's not individuals

claiming an authority

of their own.

They're not presenting

their own agenda or

interests.

They were formally

sent on official

church business on

behalf of a

congregation in

Antioch.

And they could

approach this church

now as delegates,

as messengers,

as representatives,

and greet one

church on behalf of

another.

Verse 4 says,

they reported all

things that God had

done with them.

And the principle

here, this would be

number five, is that

Christians work not

for their own church

alone, but Christians

work alongside all

God's laborers.

We work together.

3 John

verse 8 says,

we therefore ought

to receive such

that we may become

fellow workers

for the truth.

So when we have

representatives from

other churches that

are laboring for the

kingdom, laboring for

the common cause,

we are to receive them

as fellow workers

of the truth.

Verse 5 says,

now this is within

the church in

Jerusalem,

some of the sect of

the Pharisees,

that means this

group that had

been really good

at keeping the law

of the old covenant,

but notice the

wording carefully

in verse 5.

Pharisees who had

believed,

they rose up

saying,

I think,

I think those

people from Judea

and Antioch

got it right.

I think Paul and

Barnabas maybe are

getting this wrong.

They says,

it is necessary

to circumcise

Gentiles

and to command

them to keep

the law of

Moses.

the church

in Jerusalem

is now also

divided on this

same question

of truth.

Believers

within the church,

they belonged

to this congregation.

How is the church

going to handle

this?

Some of our

members hold

this to be true,

others of our

members hold

this to be true.

How do we

resolve this?

In verse 6

we read,

so the apostles

and the elders

came together

to read the matter.

So in verse 6

we don't see

the whole church

being mentioned

at least not

initially.

It's the elders

and the apostles

setting extra time

aside to consider

the matter that

originated in

another church

but which now

also exposes

further clarification

needed in their

church here in

this city.

But if you look

down at verse 12

we're told

all the multitude

so before long

even if it began

being considered

by the elders

before long

they found a way

to involve

the whole congregation

and it's a big

church in Jerusalem

described as a

multitude.

They came together

the representatives

of the church

the elders

and even with

the apostles

with them

showing humility

involving all the

members

inviting the

brethren

the whole church

to prayerfully

weigh the teaching

that's been

introduced at

another church

and they made

time in their

busy schedules

for this need.

Again not only

the elders

maybe initially

setting that time

apart but eventually

the whole church

saying this is

important.

They accepted

this other church's

request for help

as a natural

part of the

scope of their

work as a

local church.

They put other

tasks on hold

for a moment

they called a

special meeting

or several

meetings of

their church

to consider

this matter

that was troubling

another church.

Verse 7 says

when there had

been much

dispute

vigorous debate

strong arguments

being exchanged

and weighed.

see how the

concerns of

one church

have become

now the

concerns of

another church.

Here's a

principle for us

when one

church asks

another for

assistance

with a matter

that threatens

peace or

truth

Christ expects

churches to

help one

another.

How do I

come to this

conclusion?

The Holy Spirit

is directing

every one of

these steps

things.

And when they

give their

answer their

conclusion they

say it seemed

good to the

Holy Spirit.

This is the

authority of

Christ guiding

the work of

churches with

authority to

labor for peace

and truth

helping one

another.

In verse 7

Peter rose up

and said to

the men and

brethren and

I'll summarize

verses 7

through 11

he's saying we

believe that

through the

grace of our

Lord Jesus

Christ anyone

will be saved.

In verse 12

we read that

all the

multitude

this is the

entire local

church that

was actively

participating in

a theological

discussion as

official church

business.

They kept

silent now and

they listened to

Barnabas and

Paul declaring

how many

miracles and

wonders God

had worked

through them

among the

Gentiles.

Verse 13

says after

they had become

silent James

spoke.

To summarize

he said God

knowing from

all eternity

that all

nations would

call on the

name of God

this is how

he is restoring

the kingdom

through David's

line in

Jesus Christ.

He is

rebuilding his

kingdom on

earth from

the ruins

of that

kingdom.

And now the

church made

up of Israel

and all

nations is

recipients of

God's grace.

Now verses

20 and 21

are tricky

and I

can't spend

a lot of

time on

them now.

I also

don't want

to skip

over them

entirely.

Look at

verse 20.

It says we

write to them

to abstain

from things

polluted by

idols,

from sexual

immorality,

from things

strangled,

and from

blood.

Verse 21

for Moses

has had

throughout

many generations

those who

preach him in

every city

being read

in the

synagogues

every Sabbath.

He's saying

this,

as the gospel

goes out

and God

has a people

that he has

dispersed

and put them

in synagogues

to hear the

Old Testament

to prepare

them to hear

the good news

of Jesus.

And as people

believe whether

Jew or Gentile

they need to

enjoy fellowship

with one another.

And the

practices of

these pagan

temples to

demons should

not be brought

into the church

in any way.

So sexual

immorality

was cult

prostitution

and it was

bundled in

with worship

of the emperor

and the demons

of a given

city.

So what he's

making clear

is this,

don't force

them to be

circumcised.

Salvation

is by grace

not by

the ceremonial

law.

But as

believers

united into

a church

they are all

to live

in fellowship

together.

And this

must be

clear by

the love

you have

for your

congregation

choosing

the church

even when

there are

Jews,

weaker

Jews

who are

understanding

now this

transition away

from the

ceremonial law

to the

new covenant

commands.

In other

words,

don't

circumcise

them but

also protect

the fellowship

of these

newly forming

churches.

Don't create

stumbling blocks

one for

another.

verse 22,

it pleased

the apostles

and the

elders

with the

whole

church.

There's an

agreement

here.

There's

what you

could call

a common

suffrage.

It's using

the authority

that Christ

has entrusted

to a

congregation

to affirm

what we

believe to

be right.

We don't

want barriers

to fellowship

but salvation

is by grace

not by

keeping the

law.

And because

it pleased

them then

they sent

men of

their own

church to

Antioch with

Paul and

Barnabas and

it lists who

those men

were.

Now notice

the detail

at the end

of verse

22.

These were

leading men

among the

brethren.

To be sent

on behalf of

a church to

another church

as a messenger

is a great

honor.

Leading men,

these are men

who are a

blessing right

here to our

church.

They have

the fruit of

the spirit.

They're capable.

They will

bring credibility

to this

decision.

And it

pleased the

whole church.

Here's our

seventh principle.

These believers

experienced a

special God

directed pleasure.

A blessing

of arriving at

a resolution,

better clarity,

and consensus

with other

believers.

Combining the

wisdom of

their churches.

The satisfaction

of confirming

truth together,

bringing closure

to a divisive

question,

affirming this

pleasing conclusion.

It was enjoyed

by all.

If it's a

blessing, it

should be

shared.

It should be

something that

everyone can

know they have

a part in.

The elders

were not acting

alone as an

entity unto

themselves.

It pleased the

apostles, the

elders, with the

brethren.

All who

participated in

this lively

process together

were edified.

They all

exercised the

authority Christ

gave the

church, fully

participating to

help another

church.

Verse 23 says,

then they wrote

this letter by

them, the

apostles, the

elders, and the

brethren, to the

brethren, the

whole church, who

are of the

Gentiles in

Antioch, Syria,

and Cilicia.

So notice now, this

letter is going to

be a blessing not

just to the one

church at which the

question originated,

but to other

churches.

Let it be

multiplied.

You could say

these churches

became almost a

laboratory to

accelerate,

pinning down

gospel truths to

protect the

peace.

The others

didn't have to

go through great

dispute to be

blessed by this

wonderful revelation

and this

conclusion.

They said,

greetings.

Verse 24,

since we have

heard that some

who went out

from us, they

had been part of

that church, they

have troubled you

with words,

unsettling your

souls, saying,

you must be

circumcised and

keep the law to

whom we gave no

such commandment.

They're saying

these people, using

words to cause

division, do not

have the authority

of this church.

We gave them no

such commandment.

Paul and Barnabas

modeled being sent

humbly as delegates

of a church, where

these others are going

around as

troublemakers.

Their authority is

not to be taken

seriously.

In verse 25, they

report, it seemed

good to us being

assembled with

one accord.

Assembled in the

name of Jesus,

having prayed,

discussed vigorously,

and arrived at a

conclusion.

It seemed good to

us to send these

messengers with

Paul and Barnabas,

giving you our

conclusion.

Here's an eighth

principle.

After the churches

discern the mind of

Christ together,

when they declare

his truth, it

carries his

authority.

The church has the

authority delegated

by Christ.

And as we

prayerfully discern

the mind of Christ

together, when the

church acts, it's

not just like a

social club making

a vote on some

transaction.

It's not like a

parent-teacher

association appointing

this or that or

doing something like

that for the

government.

government.

No, it's the

authority of the

kingdom of heaven

carried out through

the common suffrage

of a local church.

It's the whole

church exercising

what Christ gave

it, which Christ

himself called the

keys of the kingdom

of heaven.

And they do this by

sending a letter to

other churches in the

hands of messengers.

Their authority was a

declarative statement

of truth in line

with God's word.

So their authority

was declarative.

They send it through

these chosen men who

have risked their

lives for the name

of our Lord Jesus

Christ.

Don't forget, these

are Christ's

ambassadors.

They love him.

We receive them with

love.

Please receive them

back this way.

We have therefore

sent Judas and Silas,

who will also report

the same things by

word of mouth.

See, here's two

witnesses coming to

also bear witness and

report on the

discussion of the

church and help the

church to receive it

well.

Matthew Henry

commented out, these

were chief men and he

drew four conclusions

from that.

It shows a respect to

the church at Antioch.

Even though Antioch is

newly formed and like

a little small sister

compared to the massive

church in Jerusalem,

the church in Jerusalem

respects that little

church in Antioch way

out of the way.

We're sending some of

our chief men to

report this back to

you.

You are important,

little church.

Number two is to

encourage Paul and

Barnabas.

We're not making them

go back alone.

This is not just their

burden.

We're in this together.

Number three, as a

solemn embassy, here

comes this small little

group coming and it's

men that should be

received with reverence

and respect so that

the message will be

highly regarded when

it's heard.

And fourth comment by

Matthew Henry, it was

a way of keeping their

communion with the

saints as the Nicene

and Apostolic Creeds

affirm.

It's a way to say we

have the same gospel.

We're in the same

kingdom.

We have the same

interests.

We share in your

communion.

Notice that this is a

letter upholding

truth.

What it's not is a

church in Jerusalem

applying censures

saying now those men

who brought in this

false teaching need to

be excommunicated or

publicly admonished.

That's not the role

that's given in us as

an example of a church

to another.

The authority to

discipline, to carry

out, you know, the

decision making of

censure or of

consequences for sin,

that belongs to one

local church only.

Another church beyond

that, even in an

association and a

congregational understanding

does not have that

authority.

But they do have a

true spiritual

declarative authority.

And when it's the

truth from that

aligns with God's word

and in our case also

the confession of

faith as one more

safeguard, it should be

received with spiritual

authority of truth.

Verse 28, it seemed

good to the Holy Spirit

and to us to lay upon

you no greater burden

than those necessary

things.

And it's exactly what

James had suggested.

Again, not Peter, not

the Pope.

In this case, it was

James whose suggestion

they followed.

Verse 31, I'm sorry,

verse 30.

After they say farewell,

it's our blessing, when

they were sent off, they

came to Antioch.

And when they had

gathered the multitude

together, they

delivered the letter.

The letter is not just

to officers, the letter

is to the whole church.

And the letter would be

presented to the whole

church.

Verse 31, when they had

read it, they rejoiced

over its encouragement.

And every letter we get

in the New Testament, this

is the occasion, this is

the context.

Gather the church

together.

A public reading of this

now breathed out New

Testament letter for the

good of the church.

And notice how they

received God's word.

They rejoiced over its

encouragement.

Here's the ninth and final

principle that I see in

this passage.

When one church labors to

uphold truth and peace

for another, it leads to

rejoicing and encouragement.

It's a blessing.

It's a blessing from God

through one church to

another.

So I've asked you to begin

praying with me and

gathering more information

considering how can our

church carry out these

principles of this chapter.

I'm encouraging us to

consider, strongly consider

and participate in a

lively way with Brett

Shaw when he comes in a

few weeks as the chair of

the Rocky Mountain

Reformed Baptist

Association of Churches

for these reasons.

There's also nine of these

coincidentally, but these

are fast.

Okay, here's the nine

reasons.

Number one, I've thought

about how in Matthew 25,

Jesus says,

And he's speaking to

those he calls his

brothers, my brethren,

my disciples.

It's Christians have a

principle that's to be

applied individually.

Initially, I believe.

Show love to one another,

even the least among these

that are his brethren that

he adopted, as if you're

doing it unto the Lord.

And if that's true for us

as individuals, how much

more for us when we're

gathered disciples of

Christ, collectively.

A church cannot obey

Christ so long as it

remains bent inwardly on

itself.

We take care of one

another, but we also are

like these churches that

we see beyond our own

walls, our own lives, our

own needs, our own

desires, our own maybe

even priorities.

We let what God's doing in

his broader kingdom shape

all of those things, and

we do it as unto the

Lord, out of love for

him, no matter how small

or out of the way another

church may be.

Number two, because we

need to pray and we need

to receive the prayer of

other churches.

Ephesians 6, 18 commands

the church to be praying

always with all prayer and

supplication in the spirit

for all the saints.

We're commanded to pray for

other churches.

Think about this.

When we pray, it's the

Lord stirring our hearts to

care about what he cares

about, and our actions will

follow our prayers.

Those churches we know, we

will pray for.

On the other hand of it,

it's we don't want to be a

church trying to work

through whatever God has

given us to work through

faithfully without the help

and the prayers of others.

And I see this correlation

so clearly, at least on a

few occasions, where we

might be feeling a time where