36 "Settling the Debate Between Law and Grace" Acts 15:1-35 | Sunday, December 14, 2025

I'll invite you to take your Bibles at

this time and turn to Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

Acts chapter 15.

Acts 15 · chapter mention

We're coming to a good stopping point in

the book of Acts here this week as it

really uh brings some finality to the

second section of the book of Acts. is

the first section details the spread of

the gospel in Judea and Samaria. And

then this next part from chapters 9

through uh chapter 15 is about the

initiation of the spread of the gospel

to the uttermost part of the earth. The

rest of the book is going to detail the

widespread

uh nature of the gospel. And before Paul

goes on his second missionary journey,

something has to be settled here. And

it's a good transition between uh the

second section and then into the final

section of the book of Acts. And so uh

we're going to uh cover verses 1 through

verse 35. And then we're going to take a

few week uh break from Acts as we look

at the birth of Christ next week. And

then the last week of the year uh we

review our theme for this year. So,

we'll uh reconsider our our theme text

from Zechariah chapter 4 by his spirit.

Zechariah 4 · chapter mention

And then we'll have fresh start Sunday,

the first Sunday of January. And then

we'll have vision Sunday, the second

Sunday of January. Introduce the new

theme. So, we've got about a month here.

We're going to take a break from the

book of Acts. But ordered of the Lord,

this is a good breaking point here. And

so as we come to Acts 15, we've seen

that the gospel has spread into Syria

and Cissia and a region called Galatia.

Paul and Barnabas have returned uh from

their first missionary journey to give

the report at their sending church in

Antioch of Syria. And what happens here

is that there is as you have the gospel

going to the Gentiles for the very first

time, you have Jews and Gentiles coming

together. And there's a question that

arises over how Gentiles are called to

live in obedience to God. And the debate

is over whether or not they must be

circumcised to follow the Old Testament

law and keep the law of Moses, the

Jewish traditions, festivals, dietary

laws, and all of those things. That's

what the debate's about. Now, when it

talks about circumcision, that could

sound really weird and confusing to us.

And so I want to remove that distraction

now by simply explaining that that was a

a mark of identification in the Old

Testament that Israel was God's people.

It was circumcision and the Old

Testament law is what separated them

from all the other nations. It's what

sanctified them as a holy people unto

the creator God. And so you have these

Jewish people who have lived their

entire nation's history understanding

that to become a part of God's people,

you must enter through the right and the

symbolic um mark of circumcision and

then you must keep the dietary laws. And

that's even what God commanded in the

Old Testament when a foreigner enters

the nation of Israel. And so it's

natural for Jewish people in a very new

covenant, a very new uh development of

Judaism and turning into Christianity.

It would be very natural for them to

presume,

well, you might be saved by Jesus Christ

or you might believe in who Jesus is,

but unless you're circumcised, unless

you keep the law of God, you're not

really a part of his people. And that's

the the first real theological debate

that spread through the early churches.

The book of Galatians was written by

Paul to those churches on his first

missionary journey to combat this very

issue. The whole book was much of Romans

was written to talk about how the Jews

and Gentiles at Rome come together in

spite of their cultural differences. And

so it was a really big deal then. And it

may not seem as big of a deal to us, but

I trust that by the end of the message,

we will understand better how it is. And

so, let's do our reading beginning in

verse one. I realize this is a lengthy

reading. You've been standing for a good

bit this morning. I'm going to ask you

and encourage you to tune in and and pay

attention to each movement as we make

our way through this text. So, let's

read together Acts 15:1.

Acts 15:1

And certain men came down from Judea,

which came down from Judea, taught the

brethren, and said, "Except you be

circumcised after the manner of Moses,

ye cannot be saved." When therefore Paul

and Barnabas had no small dissension and

disputation with them, they determined

that Paul and Barnabas and certain other

of them should go up to Jerusalem unto

the apostles and elders about this

question. And being brought on their way

by the church, they passed through

Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the

conversion of the Gentiles, and they

caused great joy unto all the brethren.

And when they were come to Jerusalem,

they were received of the church and of

the apostles and elders, and they

declared all things that God had done

with them. That goes back to the end of

uh chapter 14. And opening the door of

faith to the Gentiles. That's what

they're talking about. So verse 5 says,

"But there arose up certain of the sect

of the Pharisees which believed, saying

that it was needful to circumcise them

and to command them to keep the law of

Moses." And the apostles and elders came

together for to consider of this matter.

And when there had been much disputing,

Peter rose up and said unto them, "Men

and brethren, ye know how that a good

while ago God made choice among us, that

the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the

word of the gospel and believe. And God

which knoweth the hearts, bear them

witness, giving them the Holy Ghost,

even as he did unto us, and put no

difference between us and them,

purifying their hearts by faith." Now

therefore, why tempt ye God to put a

yoke upon the neck of the disciples,

which neither our fathers nor we were

able to bear? But we believe that

through the grace of the Lord Jesus

Christ, we shall be saved even as they."

Then all the multitude kept silence and

gave audience to Barnabas and Paul,

declaring what miracles and wonders God

had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

And after they held their peace, James

answered, saying, "Men and brethren,

hearken unto me." Simeon, this is

referring to Peter by his uh Hebrew

Aramaic name, Simon. Simeon, it says,

hath declared how God at the first did

visit the Gentiles to take out of them a

people for his name. And to this agree

the words of the prophets, as it is

written, after this I will return and

will build again the tabernacle of

David, which is fallen down. And I will

build again the ruins thereof. And I

will set it up that the residue of men

might seek after the Lord, and all the

Gentiles upon whom my name is called,

sayaeth the Lord, who doeth all these

things. Known unto God are all his works

from the beginning of the world.

Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble

not them which from among the Gentiles

are turned to God, but that we write

unto them, that they abstain from

pollutions of idols, and from

fornication, and from things strangled,

and from blood. For Moses of old time

hath in every city them that preach him,

being read in the synagogues every

Sabbath day. 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, surnamed

Barabus, and Silas, chief men among the

brethren. And they wrote letters by them

after this matter. The apostles and

elders and brethren, send greetings unto

the brethren which are of the Gentiles

in Antioch and Syria and Cissia. For as

much as we have heard that certain went

out, certain which went out from us,

have troubled you with words, subverting

your souls, saying, Ye must be

circumcised, and keep the law, to whom

we gave no such commandment. It seemed

good unto us, being assembled with one

accord, to send chosen men unto you,

with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men

that have hazarded their lives for the

name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have

sent therefore Judas and Silas, who

shall also tell you the same things by

mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy

Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no

greater burden than these necessary

things, that ye abstain from meats

offered to idols, and from blood, and

from things strangled, and from

fornication, from which, if ye keep

yourselves, ye shall do well. Fair ye

well. So when they were dismissed, they

came to Antioch. And when they had

gathered the multitude together, they

delivered the epistle, which when they

had read, they rejoiced for the

consolation. And Judas and Silas being

prophets also themselves exhorted the

brethren with many words, and confirmed

them. And after they had carried there a

space, they were let go in peace from

the brethren unto the apostles.

Notwithstanding, it pleased Silas to

abide there. Still, Paul and Barn also

and Barnabas continued in Antioch,

teaching and preaching the word of the

Lord with many others. Also, the title

of our message this morning is settling

the debate between law and grace. Let's

ask God to help us understand. Father,

we ask you for the help of your Holy

Spirit to give clarity to the truth of

your word that we might believe it and

apply it to our hearts and our lives

even today. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Thank you for standing and honor God's

word. You can be seated.

In our day and time, there is no

shortage of theological debates.

See, if you briefly venture online,

you'll find Christians debating things

like the age of the earth, Bible

translations, the rapture in the

millennial kingdom. There's a debate

over whether hell is eternal or if it

ends in annihilation. There are debates

over baptism, reformed theology, and

everything else that you could imagine.

Believe it or not, at one point in time,

everyone in the church believed the same

thing.

Because early on the apostles were the

ones going around proclaiming the gospel

of Jesus Christ and unfolding the New

Testament truth that Christ had given to

them. Everyone believed the same thing.

But what sparks debate is when teachers

come in preaching something other than

what has always been believed.

Now there are two voices instead of just

one. And then two become three and three

become four. And that's how you end up

with a a plethora of theological debates

and a multitude of denominational

traditions. That's how this happens.

We aren't here to settle every Christian

debate today, but we can settle one. We

can settle one, and that is the debate

between grace and law.

whether or not a believer is compelled

to be circumcised and to keep the law or

if they are free from the law under

God's grace. That's what Acts 15 is

about. It's the first great theological

debate and it gets settled once and for

all in this council at Jerusalem.

We read how the debate was sparked by

some men from Judea who had come from

Judea to Antioch in Syria. And they

began to teach the gentile brethren, if

you are not circumcised, you cannot be

saved. That you need Jesus. Yes, but the

only way to really be included in God's

people is for you to enter through the

old covenant sign of circumcision.

That's what they taught.

And so after a localized debate with

Paul and Barnabas who have labored

faithfully and isn't this how it works

in the church, you can have a pastor or

a group of men who are laboring

faithfully for years and years and years

at a church and some sleasball false

teachers try to walk in there in a

moment and divide the church and split

it up.

This is a problem as ancient as the

first century.

That's what's going on here. Paul and

Barnabas are protecting the flock.

They're coming to combat and to dispute

and to debate over this because this is

a gospel issue. This is no small thing.

Are you saved by works or are you saved

by grace? And so they're rightfully

disputing this. It becomes clear this

matter is not going to be settled in

Antioch. And so they are sent along with

a group of other disciples to Jerusalem

to confer with the apostles and the

elders of the church at Jerusalem to

settle once and for all what the answer

to this debate is.

And so they head to Jerusalem and it

says that they are declaring along their

way what God was doing among the

Gentiles. And it was a cause for great

rejoicing throughout Phoenicia and

throughout Samaria. And then when they

get to Jerusalem, before anyone can

rejoice, it tells us that there is a

group of believing Pharisees. Remember

the Pharisees? They were often the

opponents of Jesus Christ. They were

very strict in their traditions of

following Jewish law. They they went

over and above the law with their own

traditions. And yet they have come to

recognize by the power of the spirit and

the preaching of the apostles that Jesus

is the Messiah. They've trusted him as

their savior.

But there's still a part of them that is

so tied to the old covenant and tied to

the Old Testament law and to the right

of circumcision that they begin to say,

um, you need to circumcise those

Gentiles and command them to keep the

law.

That's the problem.

And so it tells us in verse number six

that the apostles and elders came

together for to consider of this matter.

The debate is really about this. Does

inclusion in God's people require more

than faith in Christ?

Uh does it uh require circumcision? Does

it require keeping the law of Moses and

dietary laws and Jewish festivals and

and traditions? Is it just Jesus or is

it Jesus plus something else? This was a

debate between law and grace.

The reason this matters to us today is

because there are still some Christian

circles that teach Jesus isn't enough.

They would not be so bold as to say it

so directly,

but they believe that you must be

baptized in order to be saved. They must

believe that you they believe you must

take communion in order to be saved.

They believe you must be a member of a

particular denomination in order to be

saved. There are still some Messianic

Jews even today that teach that yes, you

need Jesus, but you still must keep the

law, the festivals, the Jewish

traditions. And so they meet on the

Sabbath day on Saturdays and they they

open the the the Old Testament and they

teach almost exclusively from the Old

Testament trying to get God's people to

keep old laws.

How far must we go in following the Old

Testament law?

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, "All

scripture is given by inspiration of

God." the only scripture that was

available to them was the Hebrew Old

Testament.

And so what we know is that it is the

inspired word of God. That there are

still things in the Old Testament that

are profitable for doctrine, for

reprove, for correction, for

instruction, in righteousness, that we

might be made complete, mature, perfect,

and thoroughly furnished in all good

works. There is value in the Old

Testament. But where is that value

found?

Is it found in the fact that we must

keep all the Old Testament traditions?

If our faith is tied to the Hebrew Bible

and the law of Moses, why don't we keep

the weekly Sabbath?

Why are we fine having bacon on our

burgers?

Why are we uh why don't we celebrate

Hanukkah in December and Passover in the

spring? Are we not so bound to the law

of Moses? That is what this debate is

about.

They're out to settle it once and for

all. And the conclusion they arrive at

is this. When you're saved by grace, you

aren't bound by law. That's the

conclusion they arrive at. Now, the

question is, why is that true?

What is it about God's grace that frees

you from keeping all of the Old

Testament Jewish traditions?

How did they arrive at this conclusion?

That's what we're here to talk about

this morning. This sermon is divided up

into two parts. Number one, we must

identify why we are free from the law.

And it gives us two reasons in Peter's

opinion and in James opinion. But then

also we find that there are some

implications of this truth of how we as

gentile believers live in light of our

freedom in the gospel, our freedom from

the law and yet our reception of God's

grace. Let's begin with identifying why

we are free from the law. The first

reason is because God's grace purifies

your heart.

We see it in Peter's opinion in verses 7

through verse 12. Peter is recalling

here how God chose him to deliver the

gospel to the Gentiles. It says in verse

7, "And when there had been much

disputing, Peter rose up and said unto

them, men and brethren, ye know how that

a good while ago God made choice among

us that the Gentiles by my mouth should

hear the word of the gospel and

believe."

Peter's referring back to his time in

Acts chapter 10 with Cornelius.

Acts 10 · chapter mention

Remember, God gave both Peter and

Cornelius visions to bring them together

so that Cornelius's gentile household

could hear the gospel. And before Peter

could even give the invitation, they

believed in their hearts on the Lord

Jesus Christ. And Peter says in verse

eight, "And God which knoweth the hearts

bear them witness, giving them the Holy

Ghost, even as he had us." They received

the gospel before he could even invite

them to. And God received them by the

sign of the Holy Spirit.

Peter says in verse 9, "And put no

difference between us and them,

purifying their hearts by faith." This

word purify is the word they would use

in the Old Testament to cleanse from

sin.

By sacrificial blood, they were made

clean from their sin. By ritual washing,

they were made clean from their

uncleannesses.

And what God is saying or what Peter's

saying here is that God made a specific

choice

to purify and cleanse the hearts of the

Gentiles not by the works of the law but

by the grace of the Lord. It was by

faith in Jesus Christ. So Peter issues

his opinion in verse number 10. Now

therefore, why tempt ye God? to put a

yoke upon the neck of the disciples

which neither we nor our fathers were

able to bear. You know what a yoke is?

It's not the yellow part inside of an

egg. Get that out of your mind. A yoke

we're talking about here is

like a a wooden stock that they would

put on two animals. They had two holes

in them and they would latch them in

like this and they would pull together

and it they would pull this burden of

weight behind them for the ones who were

in control of the reigns.

Peter says by compelling Gentiles to be

circumcised and keep the law, you're

making them pull a heavy weight.

And he says that weight which neither we

nor our fathers could even bear. You

know Israel's history,

rebellious as could be, sinful as could

be. They couldn't keep the law for a

year to save their lives as a nation.

And so what Peter is getting at when you

see it, he says, "Why tempt you God?"

What he's doing is he's saying this, God

made a choice to purify the Gentiles,

not by the works of the law, but by

faith in Jesus Christ. God made a

determination, a choice. And what you

are doing by compelling them to be

circumcised and keep the Old Testament

law is you are calling God's choice into

question.

Why are you putting God's decision on

trial?

Anyone in here want to be guilty of

that?

Yeah, that's exactly what Peter is

saying that they are doing. And so Peter

says in verse number 11, "But we believe

that through the grace of the Lord Jesus

Christ, we shall be saved even as they."

Everyone gets saved the same way, not by

the works of the law, but by the grace

of the Lord. And so I want to tell you

this morning, the first reason that

you're not bound to all those dietary

laws and to Sabbath laws and Jewish

festivals, the reason why you're you're

not called to to keep all of the

regulations and rules of the Old

Testament law is because God's grace

purifies your heart by faith. The reason

they had all these laws was to stay

clean. The reason they had all those

sacrifices was to get clean when they

became unclean. And what Peter is saying

here is that it is God's grace that

makes you clean. And once you've been

made clean, you can't be defiled again

because the grace of Jesus Christ is

sufficient. His sacrifice was eternal.

It was permanent. It was finished upon

the cross. There's nothing left for you

to do.

You were not saved because you were

circumcised or because you kept the

Sabbath. You weren't saved because you

didn't eat pig or you kept Jewish

festivals. You weren't even saved

because you were a good and moral

person. If you're here and you're saved

this morning and your heart has been

purified, it has been by nothing more

than trusting in the atoning blood of

Jesus Christ and his resurrection.

That's it. And so, you can only be saved

by the grace of the Lord Jesus. What's

grace? Well, it isn't something you work

for.

Grace is not the check that your

employer writes to you for working 40

hours this last week. That's what you

earn. That's called a wage. You know

what the Bible says? The wages of sin is

death. Because we're all sinners, that's

all we can earn is death and damnation.

But the Bible says the gift of God is

eternal life through Jesus Christ our

Lord. You know what grace is? It's when

you get your kids Christmas presents in

spite of how rebellious they are against

you.

They did. We've got Christmas presents

all around our tree at home right now.

And there's not a single thing that my

kids did to earn that. It's because

their mom and dad loved them. Not

because they're good,

but because we are gracious.

God's been gracious to you, my friend.

He gives you a salvation that cannot be

earned.

In spite of how long in your life you

may have rejected him, in spite of the

long list of sins that are on your

record,

God's grace is extended to you. How so?

He gave his only begotten son, Jesus

Christ. He came and laid down his life

on the cross and shed his blood as an

atoning sacrifice for all your sin. The

Bible says in the book of Hebrews that

without the shedding of blood, there is

no remission of sins. But instead of you

having to bring sacrifice after

sacrifice to God, which could never

atone for all of your sins, Jesus came

and gave his life for you. That's grace,

my friend. And that's grace God has

given to you.

You did nothing to earn that.

He didn't do that because you were good,

but because you were not.

It's because your sin separated you from

God. And the only way for you to be

reconciled to God and have eternal life

is for your heart to be cleansed from

sin. And the only way to have your heart

cleansed from sin is to trust in the

sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The way he laid down his life for you.

That was God's choice. And it was a

choice of grace.

to purify your heart and save your soul

not by the works of the law but by

faith.

Peter argues here that if God chose to

purify them by faith, why circumcise

them now? Why compel them to keep the

law now? All that does is question God's

choice.

And it says in verse number uh 13,

excuse me, verse number 12, then all the

multitude kept silence.

Peter's argument silenced the disputers.

It tells us that Paul and Barnabas then

spoke up and they declared the miracles

and wonders that God had brought among

the Gentiles by them. in verse number 12

that that's just simply saying and

because the brevity of this they're just

verifying that what God did with Peter

and Cornelius and his house is exactly

what he's done through us in the region

of Galatia. He saved the Gentiles

without the law by faith in Christ.

Purified them.

And so then James steps up. He's the

leading elder now of the church at

Jerusalem. likely the halfb brotherther

of the Lord Jesus and the author of the

epistle from James.

He steps up and gives us a second reason

we're not bound to the law. Number one,

God has purified our hearts by faith.

But number two, God's grace calls you by

his name. Calls you by his name. That's

James argument. He affirms

that the prophets agree with Peter's

declaration. And if you look at verse

13, it says, "And after they had held

their peace, James answered and

said,"Men and brethren, hearken unto

me." Simeon again uses another name for

Peter here uh really to identify him as

a Hebrew. That Peter's not a gentile

trying to figure out how he can get

around the law. Peter is a a genuine

Hebrew. He calls him by his Hebrew name.

And he says, "Simeon hath declared how

God at the first did visit the Gentiles

to take out of them a people for his

name." And then it says in verse 15,

"And to this agree the words of the

prophets

and and he gives an example here from

Amos chapter 9 in verses 16 and 17." In

Amos 9 · chapter mention

Amos chapter 9, God declares that

Amos 9 · chapter mention

because of Israel's rebellion against

him, that he is going to judge them by

allowing them to be carried away captive

into Babylon. But he tells them, "I'm

not going to utterly destroy you. I'm

going to return to you and I'm going to

bring a remnant back to the land."

That's what God has told them leading up

to these verses. Now, would you look

with me at verse number 16? Here is what

God says.

After this, after Israel has been

restored to the land, after this, I will

return and will build again the

tabernacle of David, which has fallen

down, and I will rebuild again the ruins

thereof, and I will set it up." Notice

here, he's not talking about the nation

of Israel. He is talking about the

household of David. A tent is a place

you sleep in.

And so that indicates to us that it's

talking about David's household. What

gives here? Well, because of Israel's

rebellion and the the the tragic uh

downward spiral of David's royal line

throughout Judah's history, the southern

kingdom of Israel, that they were going

to be cut off,

that they were going to be they were

going to descend into irrelevance.

They were going to be left in ruins, the

Davidic line. But God said, 'I'm not

done with the Davidic line because a day

is going to come after Israel is

restored to the land that I'm going to

rebuild the tent of David and I'm going

to bring up its ruins again and I'm

going to set it up. What he's talking

about here is the messianic kingdom that

all the other prophets talk about that

there's a messianic king who will come

from the line of David to rule and reign

on the throne of David forever and ever.

That is the prophecy that runs through

Israel's rebellion. That is God's grace.

Why is he going to do that? Verse 17.

That the residue or the remnant of men

might seek after the Lord and all the

Gentiles upon whom my name is called,

sayaeth the Lord, who doeth all these

things. I want you to notice something

here.

Who is the idea of seeking after is they

are flocking to him. We've read some

scriptures here recently about how the

Gentiles will flood to Jerusalem and

flock through Israel to the Messianic

King. We've we've read about that. But

notice who it is that is seeking after

him. It says in verse 17, "All the

Gentiles upon whom my name is

called." that there's already a remnant

of the nations

that are called by the name of God by

the time the Messiah is built up. This

is not talking about the first coming of

Jesus Christ. It's not talking about his

birth, his incarnation. This is talking

about his second coming that he is going

to return much later. And at that time

Jesus said this, "When I return, I will

gather my elect from the four corners of

the earth, from all the nations." And so

this is talking about at the return of

Christ, God is going to gather through

the messianic king a new people from all

nations who already have God's name on

them.

God speaks as if this is already done.

How can he do that? James says in verse

18, "Known unto God are all his works

from the beginning of the world." God's

always known what he was going to do.

And what God's doing now has been his

choice.

He's connecting the dots here to

understand that what God is doing

through Peter's ministry and through

Paul and Barnabas's ministry is what he

said he would do throughout all the Old

Testament prophets. that he was going to

call a people from among the nations and

put his name on them and when Christ

returns gather them together.

God chose to do that.

And Peter has said God chose to purify

the heart by faith. And James is saying

God called them by his name by faith as

well. That is grace. You don't earn

God's name. You don't earn a purified

heart. That is something that God has to

do in your life. And the way he has

chosen to do that is not through the

keeping of the law. It is through faith

in Jesus Christ alone.

That's why you're not bound by the law,

believer. Your heart's already been made

pure. You might look at your life and

say,

"I don't feel that way.

That's God's grace.

That in spite of your sin, in spite of

your struggles, he chooses to see you

not through the lens of your sin that is

condemned by the law, but through the

lens of the righteousness of his eternal

son, Jesus Christ. That is his grace.

Therefore, when you've been purified by

faith, you can't be defiled again by

faith in God's sight. He receives you.

He accepts you. and he puts his name on

you. What's that about? We got a bunch

of millennials in here, right? Remember

Toy Story?

You got Woody and Buzz Lightyear. And

those were Andy's toys. And what

identified them as Andy's toys was when

Woody looks at the bottom of his shoe

and he sees Andy's name written there.

And Buzz Lightyear lifts up his space

boot and he sees Andy's name on his

shoe.

Their identity was written, inscribed in

permanent marker

upon themselves. Andy was staking his

claim on them. I own them. They're mine.

They're precious. They're special.

They're my favorite. Listen, when you

trust Christ as your savior, God puts

his name on you. He calls you his own.

He claims you as his. He calls you his

child. He chooses you as a special and

precious treasure. And it's not because

you were good. It's not because you kept

Sabbath laws. It's not because you kept

Jewish traditions and didn't eat pig.

No. God put his name on you because you

trusted his son. That's what he's done

for you. He's called you by name

without the works of the law.

So the reason the two reasons here why

you're not bound to the law is number

one God purified your heart by faith and

number two God called you by his name

also by faith and that is why Peter can

say we believe that through the grace of

the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved

even as they what's true for us is true

for them we had the all and it couldn't

help us. But now we have Christ and it's

changed everything. So why would we make

them go back to something that could

never help them in the first place?

So James issues

his sentence

and his sentence is in verse number 19

that we trouble them not which from

among the Gentiles are turned to God.

They arrive at this conclusion

that when you're saved by grace, you're

not bound by law.

Now what does that mean?

in our lives. The rest of the text shows

us the implications of what it means to

live under the grace of the Lord Jesus

Christ. Number one is this. You don't

need to be troubled by the works of the

law. That's what we read in verse 19. He

says, "My sentence is that we trouble

not them which from among the Gentiles

are turned to God." They're already

turned to God. They're already purified

by faith. God's name is already on them.

And so, we don't need to trouble them. I

love this word trouble. You know what it

means to annoy?

To harass. You ever had annoying and

harassing siblings? Our kids are that

age. My soul, all you hear is fussing

and fighting and bickering and trying to

take things and trying to just be

annoying. And in the car, you know, I'm

not touching you. I'm not touching you.

I I I'm guilty as charged. I've done

that before. You know what that is?

That's annoying.

What James is saying here is because

they've already turned to God and

they're purified and they're called by

his name.

Don't come bringing up the law in front

of them. Don't annoy them and harass

them with circumcision.

All the Jews got circumcised at 8 days

old. You don't remember that, but an

adult will. Don't trouble him with that.

I don't mean to be crass, but

legitimately

the men had trouble with that.

And then don't harass them with dietary

laws. Let them eat pig. Let them let

them eat whatever else was unclean. All

these types of fish. I mean, there's you

they would have they would have had to

have a scroll this long that identifies

the animals that are unclean. Says don't

annoy them with that. Don't annoy them

with Passover and Pentecost and and all

of those things. No, they're they're

good as they are. How do we know that?

God said so. He gave them his spirit. He

purified their hearts. He wrote his name

upon them.

So don't be troubled, friend. That's why

when we come to the Old Testament law,

we study the Hebrew Bible. We study the

Old Testament on on on Thursday nights.

We've gone all the way through Genesis

and Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers.

Yes, all of those rules, all of those

regulations. But we don't come to the

Old Testament to determine how to handle

property sales, how to wash our bodies

and our dishes. We don't study the

Jewish sacrifices, festivals, and

dietary laws so that we can practice

them. The letter to the Hebrews at the

end of the New Testament tells us that

all of those things foreshadowed Christ.

You know why we study those things? The

law helps us learn what sin is. Paul

says, "Without the law, I wouldn't have

known what it meant to covet. I wouldn't

have known what it meant to lust. But

because the law, I know what sin is."

the sacrifices. We we learn all that

Christ accomplished through his death.

The way he atoned for all of our sin,

the way he reconciled us to a right

relationship with God, the way he

mediates peace with God. We learn that

through all the sacrificial system and

through the priesthood. We learn about

all that Jesus does for us as our great

high priest. Whoever liveth to make

intercession for us, whoever mediates

the that remember the picture of the the

golden candlestick shining the light of

God's face over upon the 12 loaves of

bread, the tribes of Israel. And it's

the high priest who goes and makes sure

that oil is full and that the lights are

always lit upon God's people that tells

us that you know what Jesus Christ does

in heaven. He's constantly mediating our

relationship with God. He keeps the the

face of God's blessing shining upon your

life. That's why we study the Old

Testament. It gives us all the pictures

and the shadows and the types of who

Jesus is and what he has done for us.

That's why we study it.

We learn through the festivals how we

are blessed in Christ. And so, it's not

that the Old Testament has no meaning

for us, but it's not what purifies our

hearts. It's not what identifies us as

God, as God's people. Well, God said

time and time again in the Old Testament

that by circumcision and by his law,

they would be sanctified from all the

other nations. They were identified as

God's people by his law. God said the

law would be as frontlets between your

eyes

and they were to bind it upon their hand

for sign that they belong to God.

But you know what God says in

Revelation?

that the righteous

who are clothed in the blood of the lamb

and white robes,

that the name of God is written in their

foreheads and on their hands. Do you see

what God is saying? He does not call you

his people because you keep a law. He

calls you his people because he's put

his name on you. He's put his mark on

you. And so because of that, you can

know that that you don't have to be

troubled by the law. It it has a

specific purpose. purp and that purpose

is to reveal our sin and to bring us to

Christ. Paul makes this very clear in

the book of Galatians which is all

written about this subject as he's

bringing it to its head. He says this in

Galatians 3:25 after that faith is come

Galatians 3:25

ye are no longer under the law for ye

are all the children of God by faith in

Christ. He says the law was our school

master. It was a teacher and a tutor

that shows us we're sinners. We need a

sacrifice and that savior is Jesus. And

once it has brought us to Christ and you

trust in him, it has served its purpose

and therefore it becomes a friend of the

past. The law is your friend.

Without the law, you couldn't know that

you're condemned before God. Without the

law, you couldn't understand the need

for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The

law is your friend. But once it leads

you to the true friend,

the greater friend who has no greater

love than this, that he laid down his

life for his friends. When it leads you

to Christ, you can leave it behind. You

don't have to be annoyed by all those

rules and regulations and all those

traditions and festivals. You can simply

exercise freedom from the law by the

grace of Christ. But understand that

freedom from the law does not give you a

license to live however you want.

While you don't need to be troubled by

the works of the law, the second

implication that we see is that you do

need to be loyal to God. Verse 20,

but that we write unto them that they

abstain from pollutions of idols and

from fornication and from things

strangled and from blood. I wish we had

the time to go into the details of what

all this is, but we just don't.

All of these things are associated with

the pagan practices of idolatry that

were prevalent in the Greek world.

Sacrificing uh having having fellowship,

sacrificial meals in honor of these

gods, Zeus and Hermes and and all the

other Greek pantheon.

The fornication is talking about temple

prostitution

that they they would commit sexual

immorality at the temple of these gods.

It was very perverse. It was very

godless. Think today of of like pride

festivals. That's what these things were

like. They were vile. It's not just that

you get to live however you want, but

I'm going to flaunt this disgusting

nature. That's how they lived in their

worship and their pagan practices. The

idea of of blood and things strangled

was they wouldn't drain the animals.

They would they would eat it with the

blood and they would drink the blood of

these sacrifices for divination to try

to tell the future, to try to have some

uh special privilege with this god. And

so these were all pagan practices. And

what what James is getting at is look,

we don't need to burden them with all

the rules and regulations of the law,

but they do need to demonstrate they've

severed their ties with idolatry and

demonstrated their loyalty to the true

and living God.

And that's the same thing for us today.

You need to be loyal to God.

While you're not bound to keep the law

of Moses, you don't live lawlessly

before God. If you came to Christ from

si systems that are associated with

paganism, you need to sever those ties.

You shouldn't go to their temples and go

to their mosques and go to uh

universalist churches that say all paths

lead to God. No, there's only one way to

God and that is through the Lord Jesus

Christ. And so, you shouldn't associate

yourselves with the practices that are

reflective of an evil, pagan, sinful

world. You got to sever those ties in

your lives.

You should demonstrate loyalty to the

true and living God by worshiping him,

by gathering with his people and

committing yourself to his church and

following his son Jesus.

Can I ask you about your daytoday life?

the movies that you go to, the concerts

and the comedy shows, the things you

watch on your computer, your phone, the

clubs and the bars. Can I just ask you

if you're born again Christian, should

your life reflect a world that is lost

in sin and darkness and steeped in

paganism and ruled by evil?

Or should it reflect the holiness of the

God whose name is written on your life?

That's what he's calling to. You don't

have to keep all the rules and

regulations, but you need to demonstrate

exclusive loyalty to your redeemer,

to your creator,

while you're not bound by the law of

Moses. Your life should demonstrate a

severing of worldly ties and a loyalty

to God. But we notice also a third

implication in verse 21.

You also need to be considerate of

others.

In verse 21, he really gives the

reasoning behind this severing of ties

and this loyalty to God. For Moses of

old time hath in every city them that

preach him being read in the synagogues

every Sabbath day. What he's getting at

is this. You need to be considerate of

your Jewish brothers.

See, because they have grown up in the

synagogue

hearing all the rules and regulations.

They've grown up hearing Moses

proclaimed from ancient generations, he

says. And that means that even though

they trust Jesus as their personal

savior, there are still going to be

cultural traditions and matters that

they associate with loyalty to God. And

there's going to be cultural traditions

and things that you might do that

demonstrate a disloyalty to God. and

that could hurt their conscience. And so

you need to be sure that you don't live

lawlessly for the own pleasure of

yourself, but that you live

considerately and charitably of your

brothers and sisters in Christ.

That you need to be sensitive to their

consciences. Don't invite them over for

a meal of pulled pork and bacon wrapped

smokies. Don't serve a meat to a Jewish

brother or sister that's been offered to

idols that you purchase from a discount

market. Even though you know an idol is

nothing. Paul deals with this

extensively in 1 Corinthians chapter 10

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

and Romans 14. He says, "We know that an

idol is nothing. And if I want to go

down to the shambles, the discount

market, and purchase some meat that had

been offered to an idol simply because

it's discounted, I'm free to do that."

He says, "But that may deeply trouble a

Jewish brother. So don't set meat in

front of them that's been offered to

idols. Don't hurt their conscience.

Don't hinder their their growth." He he

calls us to be charitable and sensitive

toward others in our lives. And so while

we may not be bound to the law of Moses,

we do need to be sensitive to others in

our lives. And when you go to eat with

someone that you know is a vegan or

vegetarian, don't order a big massive

steak.

Don't order a pulled pork sandwich.

You need to be sensitive to them. Get a

veggie dish so as not to offend them.

Listen, we we meet at a Jewish synagogue

here and and it's it's very different

than Hebrew uh Jud Old Testament Judaism

that we've talked about this morning,

but they share a lot of the cultural

traditions and dietary laws. They're

strictly vegan and vegetarian. That's

the reason why we don't have fellowships

here. That's why we don't have meals

down uh after a Sunday service. It's

because we we don't want to eat anything

that might cause offense to them. Why?

Because they need Jesus Christ.

They need to hear the gospel and be

saved. That's why Paul calls or or uh

James here is calling us not to be

selfish with our freedom, but to be

charitable with it to be sure that that

we're loyal to God, but also to be sure

that we're considerate of others in our

lives. But then there's a final

implication of this truth and that is

the best one of all. You don't need to

be unsettled in your salvation.

you can be settled in Christ.

It tells us in verse 22, then it pleased

the apostles and elders with the whole

church to send uh chosen men of their

own company to Antioch with Paul and

Barnabas and namely Judas surnamed

Barcabus and Silas, chief men among the

brethren. And they wrote letters by them

after this manner. So here's the content

of the letter. The apostles, the elders,

and the brethren. That's how there's

authority and weight behind this letter.

We send greeting unto the brethren which

are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria

and Cissia. For as much as we have heard

that certain which went out from us have

troubled you with words subverting your

souls. This word trouble doesn't mean to

irritate. It means to disturb deeply.

Subverting means to unsettle. That's why

I say unsettled here because now they

are at a point where they were anchored

firmly in Christ through the ministry of

Paul and Barnabas and the other great

teachers they had at Antioch. But now

because these teachers have come now

they're wondering if they're even saved.

Why? It says saying ye must be

circumcised and keep the law. Well, he

puts the first nail in the coffin here

at the end of verse 24. To whom we gave

no such commandment.

They were rogue teachers who came to you

with no apostolic authority. You can

completely disregard anything that they

said. Verse 25. It seemed good to us

being assembled with one accord. We are

of one mind on this to send chosen men

unto you with our brethren, our beloved

Barnabas and Paul, men that have

hazarded their lives for the name of our

Lord Jesus Christ. The indication here

is what have those teachers been through

that compares to what Paul and Barnabas

have been through for the sake of the

gospel? have hazarded their lives. It

says, "We have sent therefore, verse 27,

Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you

the same things. For it seemed good to

the Holy Ghost. This is not just us.

God's spirit is in this, bearing witness

in your heart. It seemed good to the

Holy Ghost and to us to lay upon you no

greater burden than these necessary

things that you abstain from meats

offered to idols and from blood and from

things strangled and from fornication

from which if ye keep yourselves ye

shall do well. Fair ye well. So they

write the letter. Verse 30 says, "So

when they were dismissed, they came to

Antioch. And when they had gathered the

multitude of the Gentiles here together,

they delivered the epistle." Verse 31.

Which when they had read, they rejoiced

for the consolation. What does it mean

to console someone? When they're deeply

troubled, weeping uncontrollably, you

come and put your arm around them. You

might rub on their arm a little bit and

you love them. And you tell them, "It's

okay. I'm sorry you're going this. I'm

here for you. If you need anything, let

me know. Let me pray for you." You're

consoling their troubled souls.

The souls of these gentile believers

were deeply disturbed

and unsettled in their salvation.

But when they read this letter and they

understood that they are saved by the

grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, that

their hearts have been purified by

faith, that God's name has been put on

them through the Holy Spirit, they

rejoice for the consolation.

They became settled in their salvation

when they realized this truth. When

you're saved by grace, you aren't bound

by law.

So it says in verse 32, "And Judas and

Silas being prophets also themselves

exhorted the brethren with many words

and confirmed them. They strengthened

them and settled them in their faith."

Friend, if you've trusted Christ as your

savior,

let me help settle your soul today.

You are saved by the grace of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

There's nothing you can ever do to earn

what God gives by grace.

And what God gives by grace, he does not

remove when you fail.

How do you know that?

Because God purified your heart by

faith. He made you clean and acceptable

as you were without having ever done

anything good according to his law. He

purified you, but he also put his name

on you. He gave you his Holy Spirit. And

there's nothing in the Bible that ever

says when he gives you his Holy Spirit,

he will take it away. He remains on you.

Why? The Holy Spirit is the sign of the

new covenant. It is how God puts his

mark on you. It is the spirit which

sanctifies you and separates you as

God's chosen people. There's no reason

for you to doubt because you don't

worship on Saturday.

There's no reason for you to be

unsettled because you've spent your

whole life eating particular foods that

are unclean or because you never kept

Jewish festivals.

God saved you when you simply trusted in

his son Jesus.

when you received God's grace by faith

that he accepted Christ's sacrifice in

your place that he rose Jesus up from

the dead

and has promised you eternal life. All

you got to do is trust in Jesus

because God's called you by his name.

There's nothing that can erase his name

because he's purified your heart.

There's nothing that can defile your

heart. When you're saved by grace,

you're not bound by law. Well, pastor,

does that mean I can live however I

want? No. You need to be loyal to God.

You need to be considerate of others.

You need to follow the teachings of the

Lord Jesus Christ. You need to live a

holy life. But while the law was the

identifying mark of God's old covenant

people, the spirit is his identifying

mark in your life. It is the spirit that

purifies your life and guides you into

righteousness. All that you must do is

what Paul says in Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

Walk in the spirit and ye shall not

fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Galatians 5:22 says, "But the fruit of

Galatians 5:22

the spirit is love, joy, peace,

longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,

faith, meekness, temperance." You know

what all that is? A whole lot of not

sinful things.

The spirit of God produces an abundant

righteousness in your life. And Paul

tags a little line onto the end of that

and says this, "Against such there is no

law."

When you compare what the spirit

produces in your life with what the law

produces in your life, there's really no

comparison. So he says, "Walk in the

spirit." He told those Galatian

believers, the very ones that he had

just returned to Antioch from, he wrote

them that letter and said, "Stand fast,

therefore, in the liberty wherewith

Christ hath made us free and be not

entangled again in the yoke of bondage."

You're free in Christ. So stand free.

Can I ask you today, have you trusted

Christ as your savior?

If you have not, you are not free from

the law, which means that you stand

condemned by the law.

The punishment for sin is death.

Eternity separated from God in a place

called hell.

But God in his great love and grace

provided one way and one only for you to

be saved, and that is through the

sacrifice of his son, Jesus. And if you

will believe on Jesus Christ and call on

him to be your savior, God will purify

your heart right here, right now of all

the sin in your life. God will place his

name upon you and call you his precious

treasure.

and he will secure you all the way to

the end when Christ returns and gathers

his elect from the four corners of the

earth and ushers in his eternal kingdom.

Friend, you can be settled today in

salvation if you'll trust in Christ. Our

father, we come before you grateful for

your grace and the grace of our Lord

Jesus Christ who gave his life for our

salvation.

I pray for those in here who may be

troubled about their past

or they may be troubled by the sins of

today.

We don't want to have a false sense of

security, but nor do we want to believe

that just because I failed, God's grace

is no more. What you made clear here is

that you purified us, made us clean,

holy, put your name on us. I pray that

you'd help us to rest in the security we

have in Jesus Christ. I pray for those

in our midst or online who may not have

ever trusted Jesus. This may be the

first time they've heard the gospel or

perhaps this is the clearest time

they've heard the gospel and your spirit

is bringing conviction and is saying

what he's talking about is what you

don't have, but it's what you need. I

pray that he would continue to bring

that conviction that they would trust

and call on Jesus today. It's in the

Savior's name I pray. Amen.