Acts 15:1-21

I had a break. I think we were in Acts like three weeks ago, maybe, or something like that. I can't quite remember.

But I appreciate you being patient with me. I got pretty sick a couple weeks ago. I should say three weeks ago.

I feel like I've been sick for over a month, really, and just kind of out of the game.

So thanks for all your prayers. I really, really am grateful.

Kathleen and I had a really great week at UAB Hospital, to be honest.

It was really a good time together, even though I wasn't feeling good.

And during that time, whenever I go to the hospital, whenever I go back to Birmingham, it's a lot of memories of death,

a lot of memories of wrestling with whether or not I was going to live or die, and contemplating eternity and all of that.

So I come back definitely renewed with a hope that I will live for eternity and not just what we see right here.

Because what we see here is fleeting. It's short. It doesn't last.

And so I kind of come even with a lot of that in thinking about our text today.

So just join me in a word of prayer.

Father, this is your time to work amongst the hearts of your people who are gathered.

And I just ask that our mind's attention and our heart's affection will be placed completely on you.

God, just protect us from the heart of your heart.

Not what happened before this time or not what's going to happen after this time.

That you would free us of all distractions.

God, just protect this time.

And may your word encourage, challenge, convict, and build up the body of Christ.

In his name, amen.

Amen.

So we're in Acts 15.

And typical good preaching rules, just to read the text first.

And then we'll dive into it.

So I'm going to just rewind a little bit though.

Just so you know what's been going on before we dive in.

But thus far, really, in Acts, if you look at chapter 14,

you see that Paul and Barnabas have kind of gone into the Gentile world.

And they're preaching the gospel to non-Jews.

Like the people in the Roman Empire, Greeks, and others.

And the gospel is taking effect in people's hearts.

People are coming to Christ.

People are surrendering all they have to the gospel.

And it hasn't really come easy.

They've suffered persecution.

Paul is even stoned, even to the point of death at one point.

And so let's just start at verse 27 of chapter 14.

Then we'll go down to 15.

So it says,

When they arrived, they gathered the church together

and declared all that God had done with them,

and how he opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

And they remained no little time with the disciples.

So that's sort of the backdrop,

is the gospel is going forward to the Gentiles,

and people are coming to Christ.

So, in chapter 15, we're going to see a kind of a hiccup,

I guess you could say, to the whole mission going to the Gentiles.

All right, starting in chapter 15, verse 1.

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers,

Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses,

you cannot be saved.

And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them,

Paul and Barnabas and some others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem

to the apostles and the elders about this question.

So being sent on their way by the church,

they passed by Phoenicia and Samaria,

describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles

and brought great joy to all the brothers.

And when they came to Jerusalem,

they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders,

and they declared all that God had done with them.

But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees

rose up and said,

it is necessary to circumcise them in order to keep the laws of Moses.

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.

And after there had been much debate,

Peter stood up and said to them,

Brothers,

you know that in the early days God made a choice among you

that by the mouth of the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

And God, who knows the heart,

bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did.

And he made no distinction between us and them,

having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Now, therefore,

why are you putting God to the test

by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples

that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

But we believe that we will be saved

through the grace of our Lord Jesus,

just as they will.

And the assembly fell silent.

And they listened to Barnabas and Paul

as they related what signs and wonders

God had done through them among the Gentiles.

After they finished speaking,

James replied,

Brothers, listen to me.

Simeon, that's a form of Peter's name,

has related how God first visited the Gentiles

to take from them a people for his name.

And with this, the words of the prophet agreed,

just as it was written,

After this, I will return

and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen.

I will rebuild its ruins

and I will restore it.

And the remnant of mankind

may seek the Lord.

And all the Gentiles who are called by my name,

says the Lord who makes these things

known from old.

Therefore, my judgment

is that we should not trouble

those of the Gentiles who turn to God,

but should write to them

to abstain from the things

polluted by idols,

from sexual immorality

and from things that have been strangled

and from blood.

The ancient,

excuse me,

for from ancient generations,

Moses has had in every city

those who proclaim him.

For he is,

excuse me,

for he is read every Sabbath

in the city of God.

So,

we're going to unpack all this slowly,

kind of scene by scene.

But this is a

kind of known church-wide

as the Council of Jerusalem.

48 or 49 A.D.

probably.

And it was between

the apostles

and some other church elders,

kind of against the backdrop

of the Pharisees

and what we would say

as the Judaizers.

And I just kind of want to

take a moment and say,

I challenge you to

to read church history,

particularly looking at

councils of the church

throughout the ages.

Some well-known ones

that particularly reform people

kind of hold very close.

Council of Nicaea

in 325 A.D.

That was when

they condemned

the Arian heresy.

So,

Jesus isn't fully God.

That was the heresy

and they universally

condemned that.

Jesus is fully God

but also fully man.

The Council of Carthage

in 418 A.D.

That's when

St. Augustine

and some other

church leaders

condemned

Pelagius

for saying

that man was born

with a clean slate.

Man was born sinless.

So,

that was universally

condemned.

And then also

to a lot of people

in 1618

the Senate of Dort

which condemned

Arminianism.

So,

a lot of

big councils

out there

but

but why,

right?

Tell me why I should care.

Why should I even

look at or read

these things?

Well,

look on your

your church bulletin

if you have it

and

this is a pretty

great statement

that R.C.

Spurl made

just about

looking at our history,

looking at our

tradition,

looking at church

councils

and so

this is why

you should care.

This is what I said.

Although tradition

does not rule

our interpretation

of scripture,

it does guide it.

If upon reading

a particular passage

you have come up

with an interpretation

that has escaped

the notice

of every other

Christian

for 2,000 years

or has been

championed

by universally

recognized

heretics,

chances are

pretty good

that you have

better abandoned

your interpretation.

Is it really good?

There's no new

truth,

there's no new

gospel,

there's no new

things added

to what we believe.

It's been passed

down throughout

the ages.

So if you

come up with

something completely

new that has

that no one's

noticed before

or has been

universally condemned

by the church,

there's reason

to fear.

So this is

one of the

earliest,

really,

church councils

we see

and it seems

to be by those

who are on the

fringe of the church

and not necessarily

mainstream.

And so

for history people

you could just say

this is

the Jerusalem

council,

the Magna Carta

of the Christian

church.

For people

of a more

competitive nature

you could say

this is

the apostles

versus the

Judaizers.

And then

one of my

favorites

for you

really,

really nerdy

theological

Puritan

types,

this is

the title

of the message,

man's fallen

tendency

to add

or improve

upon the grace

of God

in order to

prepare himself

there unto

the final judgment.

If you like

that title,

personally I like

that one.

To improve

upon the grace

of God

in order to

prepare yourself

unto the final

judgment.

so,

again,

I'm going to

tell you why

you should

care.

Because

if you knew

that you were

about to

go through

physical death

and then

spiritually

entering

to eternity

and to

the judgment,

what are you

placing your

hope in?

It's all

cool and

theological

just on

paper,

but deep

down

you're going

to want

to hope

in something

that's true

and secure

that gives

your soul

peace and

not in the

back of your

mind is

saying,

I hope

I did

what I

had to

do.

I hope

that I

did all

the good

things I

could do

and that I

believed all

the right

things.

Where is

your hope

going to

be?

Is it

going to

be in

your own

goodness

and your

works

or is

it going

to be

in the

finished,

completed,

work of

Jesus

Christ?

So there's

three points

and then we'll

get into some

more application

later.

But I'm

kind of doing

this as a

scene one,

scene two,

scene three

of all this.

But in

verses one

through five

you see the

first point

which is

scene one,

the dissension.

So this is

the problem

that's going

on.

And as I

said before,

Paul and

Barnabas have

been out

in the

Gentile

world

preaching

the gospel.

People have

been coming

to faith.

Great

things are

happening.

They have

pressed on

regardless of

persecution or

any other

thing.

And now

all that

they've done

is being

called into

question by

those who

hold to the

law of

Moses.

So these

are Jews

who say,

yeah,

like Jesus,

he was the

Messiah,

amen,

but we

have to

keep all

the old

stuff as

well if

we're going

to continue

to do

this.

And we

have to

instruct

the Gentiles

to also

observe all

these things.

So their

mission was

being called

them to

question.

And so

I guess in

the early

days you

could say

that you

might think

that the

biggest threats

to the

church were

from the

outside,

physical

persecution,

but really

I'm fully

convinced that

the greater

threats,

the greater

dangers come

from within

the church

by way of

false teaching.

It destroys

it from the

inside out.

In 2 Peter

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2,

Peter says,

just as there

will be false

teachers among

you who will

secretly bring

in destructive

heresies,

even denying

the master

who bought

them,

bringing upon

themselves

swift

destruction.

And among

these destructive

heresies,

the longest

living one,

the longest

living heresy

ever, and it

comes in so

many different

forms,

religions,

traditions,

cultural

ideals,

it's the

heresy that

you can

achieve the

right standing

and salvation

with God

by your

own merit,

by how you

work,

by how good

you are,

by the good

things that

you do,

because it

is within our

fallen nature,

it is the

hardest thing

for a fallen

man to

admit that

he needs

the grace

of God.

We are so

works-driven

in all that we

do, all of you

are, no matter

what you do.

You do it in

school, you do it

in sports, you

do it in

friendships and

relationships, you

feel like you

have to earn, you

feel like people

have to pay you

back, it's a

merited-based

thing, you feel

like you're loved

by people based

on your own

goodness a lot

of the time.

It's in us, it's

in our deepest

part to think

that we can

achieve this, and

it carries into

the spiritual realm,

like we can do

enough good in

order to be

right before God.

that's in us

very deeply, and

I love how it

kind of says

there was no

small dissension

and debate, like

they were ticked

that these guys

were saying this

stuff, and so

they kind of

went right at

them, and so

what is the

dissension, like

what is the

question?

And so you

see that in

verse 1 and

in verse 5,

these Jews

were saying,

unless you are

circumcised

according to the

custom of Moses,

you cannot be

saved.

Then in verse

5, it is

necessary to

circumcise them,

the Gentiles, and

to order them to

keep the law of

Moses.

So that was a

huge point of

contention in the

early church, and

that is simply,

how much does a

Gentile convert to

Christ, how much

of the law of

Moses did they

need to obey?

Because Gentiles

are sort of

newcomers, right?

Israel were the

people that God

had shown himself

to, and given

his law to.

So this is a

big deal.

Should Gentile

believers submit

to all the

requirements of

the law of

Moses given to

the Jewish

nation, especially

circumcision, in

order to be a

part of the

church?

You get asked

that question

today.

I can't tell

you how many

times on the

college campus

you get asked

a question by

either a, you

know, an

unbeliever who

will say, well,

what about

Leviticus?

What about all

those laws in

there?

You say you

believe the

Bible literally,

so what about,

are you supposed

to do this,

this, and this,

and this?

So it's

applicable very

much to

everyone here.

How much of

the law are we

supposed to

follow?

So the Jewish

law, I'm going

to get into that

more next week.

I'm just going

to talk about

the law, and

so give you a

one-on-one on

the law, but

very simple, you

know, glazing

over it, there

are moral laws,

that's the Ten

Commandments, that

is like, tells us

what sin is and

how to honor God.

Those are actually

still in effect for

us today as

believers, those

have not been done

away with at all.

Other ones are a

more ceremonial

nature, circumcision,

rituals, festivals,

purity and cleansing

that they had to do,

the way that they

dressed.

I love when I get

asked the question

about tattoos, like

I love that question.

So, like, so what

do you do about

that, right?

So there's these

things that God

gave the nation of

Israel to act like

and to do, to set

themselves apart from

other nations.

So circumcision,

though, seems to be

the biggest one, a

big one.

And that comes

from, really,

Genesis 17, 9-14.

And circumcision

was an outward sign

that you belong to

the people of God.

And it also was an

outward expression that

you were devoted to

keeping the law of

Moses.

But, I'll just go

ahead and throw this

out there.

Circumcision, in its

truest form, was an

outward expression of

an inward need.

it was saying, like,

I need God to

circumcise my heart.

What Daniel just

read a little while

ago is a perfect

picture of that.

We need new hearts.

God has to take out

our heart of stone

and put in a heart

of flesh so that we

can walk in a way

that pleases God.

So that's really what

circumcision was.

But these guys saw it

as, like, a cultic

right to be

circumcised, to have

male converts who are

Gentile go through

this process.

So, here's the

danger.

Here's the two

points of contention.

Okay?

Number one, it's

dangerous to the

gospel, the true

gospel, because they

were arguing that

Gentiles had to do

all this stuff in

order to be made

right with God.

So, therefore, it is

a works-based

righteousness and

salvation.

So, the true

essence of the

gospel is being

threatened.

Secondly, a big

one, the church's

unity.

The church's unity

is being threatened.

So, Gentiles have

to adhere to all

of the Mosaic

law.

That means that

they have to leave

their own communities

and leave the

Gentiles to be

separated from

them.

They wouldn't be

able to eat with

them, to have

fellowship with

them, because they

would be considered

ceremonially unclean

by Jewish law.

And even taking the

Lord's Supper, they

wouldn't have been

able to do that

with their fellow

Gentiles who

believed.

So, just for further

reading on that, look

at Romans, you don't

got to turn there, but

just write Romans 2,

25 through 29, for

just some more

reading on just the

law itself.

So, false teaching

was threatening the

gospel itself and the

church's unity.

So, this is a big

deal.

And the attitude of

the Judaizers seems

to be like self-appointed

leaders.

Seems to be haughty.

Seems to be superior.

We are holier than you

guys.

And so, we're going to

come down here and

inform you, you

ignorant Gentiles, that

that's great you have

Jesus, but you also

need this other stuff

in order to rightly

honor God.

Like, your faith is

not sufficient.

You have to have

this plus.

And in their minds,

you've got to think

about where they're

coming from.

They're like, we're

the Jews.

Like, we are the

people that God has

disclosed himself to

for thousands of

years.

Like, he's given us

his laws, given us

his statutes.

And even when Jesus

was here, he was a

Jew, and he upheld

the law of Moses.

But he did it to

fulfill it.

Insert that.

But surely, right,

they must be

thinking, it's God's

will for us to go

and educate and

teach these ignorant

Gentiles about all

the stuff that they

don't know in order

to make them more

holy, acceptable,

and devoted to God.

Yeah, Jesus is good,

but you need plus

the Mosaic law to be

right before God.

So, big deal.

So, this didn't go

without opposition,

as we see.

The apostles, I love

that, like it says,

that Paul and

Barnabas had no small

dissension and debate

with them.

So, they're like,

whoa, if you think

you're going to go and

corrupt them, think

again.

We're going to go to

Jerusalem, we're going

to sort this out.

So, that's where they

go.

They're going to go

deal with this.

It's just an issue

that's too big for

just a small local

congregation to figure

out.

So, this is a

church-wide thing.

So, that's what,

that's the problem.

That's the dissension.

That's the question

that's being asked.

I'm going to tell you

why you should care

later if you don't

already care.

But then let's just

move into scene two.

Scene two is the

discussion.

So, the dissension

and now the discussion.

And that's seen

in verses six

through eighteen.

So, just sort of

setting the scene.

It says the apostles

and the elders.

So, they're providing

like the main

opposition, the main

debate in leadership

over the council.

But I want you to

kind of see this.

Okay?

This is why we are

a elder-led, but we

are also congregational

here at Christ's

Family.

But if you look at

verse twenty-two,

it says that the

whole church was

present for this

momentous occasion,

and they also gave

consent to the

final outcome.

It wasn't like,

we're just these

humble people down

here and we have

to rely on these

apostles to be like

a direct connection

to God.

So, it was a

church-wide thing

that was consented

to.

So, whenever there

is a serious

spiritual, doctrinal

issue under

consideration,

congregation,

okay?

How should we

deal with it?

Think about it,

just here in our

own congregation.

Our example is

right here in our

text.

Look at verse

seven.

It says,

after there was

much debate.

So, important

decisions are not

decided by haunches

we have,

feelings,

our opinions.

They are decided

by prayer,

humility,

wisdom,

careful logic,

and reason from

the scriptures.

That happens

right here.

They use the

scripture to back

up what they're

trying to say.

So, the first

guy to kind of

weigh in is

Peter.

So, if I could

think I have some

guys on my team,

I would want Peter

on my team and I

would want Paul

on my team.

And I think that

would be probably

it in regard to

dealing with, in

terms of how much

of the Jewish law

do we have to

obey.

I just wish I

could have been

there, but this

is a big deal.

So, Peter kind of

weighs in.

And he says,

like in the early

days, probably

referring to when

he was used to

go to the house

of Cornelius and

to take the gospel

to the Gentiles.

But I'm going to

show you, just

with Peter, three

arguments that he

kind of uses to

say, no

circumcision for

the Gentiles, no

mosaic law for

the Gentiles.

So, you see the

first argument in

verse 8.

And he's saying

that like God

has given approval

of the faith of

the Gentiles, who

placed their faith

in Christ by

giving them the

Holy Spirit.

So, they received

the Holy Spirit

without being

circumcised and

without the

mosaic law.

So, he was

saying, they

didn't do those

things.

And God

himself, through

the power of

the gospel,

regenerated their

hearts and gave

them the Holy

Spirit.

Maybe today, you

might compare it to

people in the

church and say,

you have to be

baptized in

order to have,

in water, in

order to have

the Holy Spirit,

or at

conversion.

So, that's

his first

argument.

God gave

them the Holy

Spirit.

Argument 2

is in

verse 9.

And he's

referring to

the reality

that God

had cleansed

their hearts

by faith,

not by

works of

the law

or by

circumcision.

He might

have even

had a memory

of Cornelius

again when God

spoke to him

in that vision

and said,

hey, what

God has

called clean,

do not

call common.

God has

cleaned them,

so don't look

on them and

say that your

faith is not

good enough and

that you are

still unclean.

That Spirit-born

faith.

Okay?

God had

cleansed them.

The third

argument in

verse 10,

and I love

this because he

just kind of

poses a rhetorical

question,

kind of like

revealing that no

human being can

keep the law

of God

perfectly.

perfectly.

So, again,

the law,

we're going to

give you a quick

rundown next

week, but I

hope it was

more appropriate

for next week.

But Peter says

in regard to

the Mosaic

Law, like,

why in the

world are we

Jews trying to

place such a

heavy burden,

a heavy yoke,

on the shoulders

of the Gentiles

when none of

our forefathers,

and we,

cannot carry it?

Like, are you

crazy?

We cannot

place this

burden on

them.

And the

metaphor,

just look at

the word in

the verse

yoke,

it's like this

heavy burden,

something that

an oxen would

carry.

It refers to

the law,

not just

circumcision,

but the

entire Mosaic

Law.

Paul refers to

the law as a

yoke of

slavery.

And by

speaking of

the law as

an unbearable

yoke,

Peter is not

denying that the

law is still a

good thing.

It's a good

thing, because it

tells us what

dishonors God and

what pleases God.

It was a gift

from God, but

it was not

intended to

be the means by

which you were

made right with

God.

It's to expose

the reality that

you can't be made

right with God

according to your

own works.

you can't keep

the law

perfectly.

The law

itself never

provides people

with the spiritual

power to keep

it.

We need

something else

in order to

keep the law.

It's what Daniel

read earlier.

It's like we

need God to

change our

hearts.

We need to be

born again.

We need to be

regenerated by

the power of

the Spirit to

keep the law

perfectly.

So, that's

what he's trying

to say.

This law was

to show you

that you

can't do

it.

It was to

point you

to the

Savior who

could do

it.

You need

deliverance.

You need

the Savior.

So, then he

kind of wraps

up in verse

11 with that

closing, kind

of going back

to the thesis

here.

He kind of

closes and

he says,

but we

believe that

we will be

saved through

the grace of

the Lord

Jesus just as

they will.

the only

means of

salvation for

both Jew

and Gentile

comes only

as a gift

of God

by his

grace.

And the

connecting

point of

that is

our faith,

our complete

trust in

the Savior

to save

us.

So, that's

Peter.

Then he

does a

mic drop

and everybody's

quiet.

And then

Paul and

Barnabas

stand up

and they

speak out

in defense

of God's

work through

them and

the Gentiles.

Look at

the verses.

They related

what signs

and wonders

God had

done through

them among

the Gentiles.

So, he

had given

them great

success in

their mission

to the

Gentiles.

And I

want to be

clear here.

Paul and

Barnabas

aren't using

experience to

prove what

happened or

to prove

something true.

They're just

trying to say

like, this

happened and

we experienced

it because

God said

it would.

He promised

that this

would happen

and now

we're seeing

it.

He's not

saying, well,

these good

things happen

so it must

be true.

They're saying,

he's saying,

God promised

these things

would happen

and now we

see them

and God

is true.

Big difference.

So, that's

what they

kind of say.

We saw

God work

among us.

He did

wonders

among the

Gentiles.

And then

lastly,

James

stands up.

And this

is James,

the brother

of Jesus.

He kind

of weighs

in on the

argument.

And he

says, well,

you heard

Peter, you

heard Paul

and Barnabas,

but I want

to tell you

that what

they just

said is

supported

heavily by

Scripture.

That's kind

of what he

stands up

and says

here.

And he

refers to

the prophets

in verse

15.

And he

really could

appeal to

many,

many,

many Old

Testament

texts that

defend the

inclusion of

the Gentiles

and the

people of

God.

Isaiah

45,

21 is

one verse.

Isaiah

45,

21.

But James

refers to

Amos 9,

11 through

12,

the prophet

Amos.

And Amos

is speaking

of a time

when God

would include

the Gentiles

called by

his name.

If you

were called

by God's

name,

it implies

relationship.

It implies

salvation.

And he's

saying that

the Gentiles

will be

included

in the

people of

God.

They will

be included

in the

rebuilding

of the

house of

David.

Pretty

awesome.

So this

was foretold.

So he

kind of

is saying,

you know,

I concur

with them,

but I

just want

you to

know that

God is

always

foretold

this.

He was

going to

do it,

and now

we're

seeing it.

It's

happening

right now.

So that's

the,

you know,

the discussion,

the debate.

Brings us

to the

third thing,

scene three,

is the

decree,

the decree,

or he

could say

the decision.

So what's

the outcome

here?

That's

verse 19

through 21.

So here's

the final

decree.

How much

of the

law,

the

mosaic

law,

does a

Gentile

believer

have to

obey to

be saved?

Does he

have to be

circumcised?

And the

answer is

a resounding

no.

Keeping

the

mosaic

law,

rituals,

sacrifices,

customs,

are not

required of

a Gentile

believer to

be a part

of the

church.

the only

part of

the law

that's

really

valid,

which we'll

get into

next week,

is the

moral law.

And the

next few

verses are

evidence of

that,

to keep

the moral

law.

But God

has clearly

chosen to

include people

of all

nations in

the church.

So the

old restrictions

that set

Israel apart

don't apply

anymore.

Only by

faith and

trusting in

Christ.

So I'm

just going to

read to you

Acts 13,

28,

real fast.

It says,

Let it be

known to

you,

therefore,

brothers,

that through

this man

Jesus,

forgiveness

of sins

is proclaimed

to you,

and by

him everyone

who believes

or has

faith is

set free

from everything

from which

you could

not be

free by

the law

of Moses.

Couldn't

happen.

So,

James goes

on,

and he

proposes a

solution.

So,

we know

that Jews

and Gentiles

are going

to come

into contact

with each

other.

So what

do we

tell them?

How do we

move forward

without saying

you have to

keep the

whole Mosaic

law?

What do we

tell them?

How does

the mission

go forward?

And so,

that's what

we'll get

into a lot

more next

week.

But he

kind of has

a condition.

It's like,

this is what

we need to

do.

This is what

we need to

tell the

people out

there in

order to

interact with

one another.

other.

So he

humbly

offers a

suggestion

for the

fellowship of

Jews and

Gentiles.

And this

letter goes

out to all

the different

churches as

the gospel

goes forward.

So,

that's kind of

unpacking our

text.

So,

some application.

question.

Why should

you care?

Okay?

There's a few

things I have

for you.

But one is,

in a room

this size,

I can

guarantee

that there

are some

of you

here who

are still

convinced

that you

will be

made right

with God,

that you

will be

saved by

your own

goodness and

by your

own works.

You're

convinced,

like you're

even not

liking what

I'm saying

right now.

You really

are convinced

that as long

as your good

deeds outweigh

your bad

deeds,

or as long

as you go

to enough

religious

events,

that you

try to do

good to all

people,

that you're

moral,

that you

will be

okay before

God one

day.

If you've

been baptized,

if you take

the Lord's

Supper,

if you're

just a good

person,

then God

will accept

you.

No.

You need

to hear

this short

verse,

Romans 3,

Romans 3:20

verse 20.

Listen to

this.

For by the

works of

the law,

you can

insert good

deeds or

goodness,

for by the

works of

the law,

no human

being will

be justified

in God's

sight.

You will

not be made

right with

God at

all by how

good you

are.

Because the

Bible says

you are

rotten.

Jesus says

you are a

slave to

sin.

You may

be good

compared to

a lot of

other people

in this

world,

but you're

not compared

to God.

God is

perfect.

He is

holy.

He is

flawless.

He can't

abide

evil.

Some of

you may

be in

the group

of the

Pharisees.

What

other

churchy

laws

have you

added to

the

gospel?

He can't

be a

Christian

if he

has a

beer.

He can't

be a

Christian

if he

has a

cigar.

He can't

be a

Christian

if he

doesn't

wear a

suit and

tie.

Or you

can flip it

the other

way around

very easily.

What other

laws have

you added?

It's very

dangerous.

The gospel

of Jesus

plus this

is not

the gospel.

It's

adulterated.

It's not

pure.

Some of

you are

the older

brother who

is angry

at the

father who

gives

salvation to

unworthy

prodigals.

does that

bother you

that God

gives

salvation

to

unworthy

people?

Do you

think,

oh no,

well,

I've been

good so I

deserve it?

You don't.

For by the

works of the

law,

no human

being will

be justified

in God's

sight.

Your

righteous deeds

are filthy

rags