Summary:

We know we can trust the decision James makes here because he was not a usurper who illegitimately replaced Peter as head of the kingdom church, as some say. Paul calls him an apostle (Gal.1:18,19), and the Spirit must have thought he was an apostle too, for He inspired Paul to write that!

And we know Paul thought James was the new leader of the apostles because he mentions him before Peter in Galatians 2:9. When Peter was the leader, he was always mentioned first when apostles were listed. And Paul must have thought James was authorized to make agreements like the one in Galatians 2:9 or he wouldn’t have made it with him. Finally, we know we can trust James’ decision that Gentiles didn’t have to keep the law because it agreed with Paul’s epistles!

But why would James think Gentiles would have to be told not to worship idols (Acts 15:20) if they turned to God “from idols” (cf. IThes.1:9)? It was because he knew that through-out Israel’s history, Jews combined the worship of God and idols (cf. Judges 17:3), and he was afraid the Gentiles would too—and they did in Catholicism!

But why’d James think he had to tell them not to commit fornication (Acts 15:20)? It was because he knew they’d think grace was a license to sin, like the Corinthians did (ICor.5:1,2). Paul saw that coming and dealt with it in Romans 6, and James saw it coming and dealt with it here.

But why would James tell Gentiles they couldn’t eat blood (Acts 15:20) if he agreed they didn’t have to keep the law? It was “for” the sake of Jews who would be offended by it (Acts 15:21). Paul said the same thing in Romans 14:14-18.

The Jerusalem church then wrote letters to the Gentiles to tell them about James’ decision (Acts 15:22). Before Paul, you’d never catch a Jew calling Gentiles “brethren” (v.23)!

They wrote the Gentiles saying they knew some Jews had “troubled” them by telling them they had to keep the law (v.24) That’s the same word Paul used in Galatians 1:4-7 and 5:10,12! That word “subvert” (v.24) means to turn aside (Lam.3:35,36). Those Jews had made them turn aside from grace to the law. In time past, spiritual subversion involved turning away from the law, not to it (Josh.23:6), but there’d been a major dispensational change with Paul’s ministry. Timothy must have had trouble with legalizers as well, for Paul uses that word “subvert” in writing to him too (IITim. 2:14). He reminded him that the answer is found in “rightly dividing the Word” (v.15)! You see, the law is in the Word, but rightly dividing helps you realize that not everything in the Word is to you!

How did they know what seemed good to the Holy Ghost (Acts 15:25)? It was because the Spirit filled Cornelius when he got saved without the law (Acts 10:43-48). James found that very convincing (Acts 15:14).

One of the ways men worshipped idols was by eating meat that was sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:29). Paul later said we can eat that meat, but not if it offended weaker brethren (ICor.10:27-30). The way to convince weaker brethren that we are free to eat things that were forbidden under the law isn’t to eat those things in front of him while trying to explain it to him! That’s not grace! The gracious thing to do is to lay aside your liberty when in his company.

The world says, “Let your conscience be your guide,” and they think that’s living life on its highest plane. But Paul tells us to let our brother’s conscience be our guide. That’s living life on the very highest plane imaginable. But if the grace of God that saved you means anything to you, that’s the plane you should strive to live on. Remember, when you sing, “Lord, plant my feet on higher ground” that that hymn is a prayer. In it, you’re praying to live like this, so don’t sing it unless you mean business for the Lord!

A video of this sermon is available on YouTube: “The Decision Of The Jerusalem Council” Acts 15:19-29

Summary:

Peter presented such an unanswerable argument to the council that it left them speechless, and Paul began to speak (v.12). Since “the Jews require a sign” (ICor.1:22), Paul told them about the signs God wrought among the Gentiles. Since those miracles belonged to the Jews (Ps.74:9), and God never gave them to Gentiles, this was another strong argument!

But the official decision of the council had to come from James (Acts15:13), the Lord’s brother (Gal.1:19). He made the right decision (Acts 15:19)—but was it his to make? The Lord made Peter head of the kingdom church, so why did the church replace him with James? I believe it was because the wrath of God hadn’t fallen as Psalm 2:1-5 said it would, and when the church asked Peter why, he didn’t know, be-cause the mystery was revealed to Paul, not him (Eph.3:2,3).

So they picked James to lead them because he was big on the law (Acts 21:18,20). They figured if the Lord wasn’t coming back to conquer the world and set up the kingdom that Peter was always talking about, they’d return to the law that James was always talking about (Lu.16:16 cf.James1:25; 2:8,10,11, 12;4:11). James was so strong on the law that he even used the name “Simeon,” the law’s version of Simon Peter.

James said nothing about the miracles Paul mentioned be-cause, while Jews were impressed with signs, God told them to be more impressed with Scripture (Deut.13:1-3). He then quoted some Scripture from Amos 9:11 (Acts 15:15,16). What’s the tabernacle of David? Well, the wilderness tabernacle was a tent of skins with the glory of God inside—and so was the people of Israel! So the tabernacle of David that fell in the Old Testament, and needed to be built back up in the New Testament, was the people of Israel.

If you need help seeing that, consider that God promised to build David a house (IISam.7:2-11), a house that was connected to Solomon’s kingdom (v.12-16). So the fallen tabernacle of David is the people of Israel who lived in Solomon’s kingdom, the kingdom the Lord’ll “restore” at His 2^nd coming (cf.Acts 1:6). We know this restoration will come in the kingdom, for that’s the context of Amos 9:11 (cf. v.12-15).

God didn’t plan to rebuild David’s tabernacle because He only wanted Jews to be saved. It was so “that” (Acts 15:17) the rest of men (the Gentiles) would seek Him. The prophets predicted they’d be drawn to Jerusalem to learn about God (Isa.2:2,3) by Israel’s “rising” from their fall (Isa.60:3-5). That will happen after the Tribulation. But in the meantime, Gentiles are getting saved through Israel’s fall (Rom. 11:11) according to the mystery, instead of according to prophecy.

That’s why James didn’t say what Paul was doing fulfilled Amos 9:11. He said it “agreed” with it (Acts 15:15). Peter could say that what Joel predicted “is” what he was seeing (Acts 2:16), but James couldn’t say that—especially since Amos predicted the Jews would “possess” the Gentiles in the kingdom (Amos 9:12 cf. Isa.60:10; 61:5). Gentiles will willingly enslave themselves to Jews in that day in gratitude for teaching them about God. But Paul’s ministry agreed with what God wanted all along, so James approved it.

But why would James say, “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18)? I believe that statement shows that Paul told the council about the mystery, and how God knew from the beginning He’d save Gentiles without the law, but said nothing about it.

If you need more proof that God was thinking of us in Amos 9, verse 6 talks about the “stories” or levels of government in heaven that fell when Satan and his host disobeyed God—just like Solomon’s kingdom fell when they disobeyed God. Amos went on to talk about restoring David’s tabernacle in Solomon’s kingdom, but he said nothing about restoring those stories. Nobody did, until Paul was made an apostle!

A video of this sermon is available on YouTube: “The Jerusalem Council Weighs The Evidence” Acts 15:12-18

Summary:

After Paul spent 13 years telling Gentiles they didn’t have to be circumcised to be saved, some Jews said otherwise (v.1). Paul objected, so they sent him to Jerusalem to ask the apostles about it (v.2). Paul went (v.3) because the Lord revealed he should go “communicate” (Gal.2:1,2) his new gospel of grace to the 12 and the other Jewish kingdom church leaders.

Paul needed their stamp of approval on his new ministry, because God was not about to start a new church without telling his old church about it. So he left his home Gentile church in Antioch, and the church brought him on his way by walking him out of the city (v.3cf.21:4,5).

The “brethren” in Phenice and Samaria were Jewish kingdom saints (v.3cf.Acts 8:5,6;11:19). Verse 3 shows the Average Joe Jew rejoiced to hear about the conversion of the Gentiles, but the leaders might not (cf.Mark12:37,38). These leaders were saved, but even saved men don’t always accept dispensational changes like the one Paul was introducing.

The Jerusalem church gave Paul a hearing (Acts 15:4), but some saved Pharisees insisted his new Gentile converts had to be circumcised and “keep the law” to be saved (v.5). You see, getting circumcised was the first thing the law told a man to do, and it obligated you to do the rest (Gal.5:3). When Paul told the leaders Gentiles weren’t under the law (Rom. 6:15), they convened the council to decide (Acts 15:6).

The Lord told the 12 that the decisions they made on earth would be confirmed in heaven (Mt.18:28-30), and He had no intention of asking Paul to ignore that authority and preach grace without their approval. After the 12 and those leaders disputed about it greatly, Peter reminded them that God had earlier sent him to a Gentile in Acts 10 to break the ice for Paul’s ministry (Acts 15:7). Who better to introduce God’s new main apostle than His old main apostle, just as the last Old Testament prophet (Lu.16:16) paved the way for the first New Testament prophet (Mt.3:1-3 cf. Jo.6:14). If Christ needed a man to pave the way for Him, Paul needed Peter!

But God also used the Spirit to introduce the Lord (Mt.3:13, 16), and He used Him to introduce Paul too (Acts 15:8). Peter was “astonished” to see a Gentile saved without circumcision (Acts 10:44-46) because that meant God had purified their hearts “by faith” alone (Acts 15:9), without the law. That was astonishing in that it showed God put “no difference” (15:9) between Jews and Gentiles, whereas earlier He put a huge difference between them (Lev.20:26; Num.23:9).

When Peter reminded the council that the Gentile he ministered to was saved without the law, he was reminding them they already settled this issue (Acts 11:1-17,18). So Peter asked them why they wanted to put the “yoke” of the law on Paul’s Gentile converts (Acts 15:10 cf. Gal5:1-3). Obligating them to do the whole law meant doing it 100% perfect, 100% of the time (Gal.3:10cf.James 2:10,11). Acts 15:10 says that that would “tempt” or try God (Gen.22:1,2cf.Heb. 11:17). God tried Abraham’s faith in Genesis 22, and it’d try God’s patience to force Gentiles to be circumcised after God proved by His Spirit that they didn’t need circumcision.

Finally, Peter said, “You guys are trying to make Gentiles get saved like us Jews, by circumcision and the law. But we’re going to be saved like them, by grace” (Acts 15:11). They were already saved, but their salvation worked like yours does. You were saved when you believed, but the completion of your salvation will come at the Rapture (Rom. 13:11). Peter was saved when he believed, but the completion of his salvation—and the salvation of all the rest of the Jewish kingdom saints—will come when the Lord saves them by grace—“graciously” (Hosea 14:1-4), when He takes away the sin out of their lives when they enter the kingdom, just as He purified their hearts by faith when they believed.

A video of this sermon is available on YouTube: “Paul’s Message Is Officially Reviewed” Acts 15:1-11

Summary:

These Gentiles thought Paul was a god, but Paul was “scarce” able to keep them from sacrificing an animal to him anyway (v.18). That’s religion for ya! Religion loves to worship God—as long as He doesn’t have the nerve to tell religious men how to do it! When He does, religion bristles—sometimes violently, as it did when they stoned Paul (v.19).

But why does verse 19 say they only supposed they killed Paul? Well, they were sure, but then they weren’t so sure when Paul got up and started walking around! Paul himself didn’t know if he were dead (IICor.12:2,3), but you don’t get to go to heaven unless you’re dead. Souls in heaven can wear robes (Rev.6:9,10), which makes you feel like you’re in your body. But Paul’s body was being dragged out of Lystra.

And all this was a type of something God wants to teach us. In Acts 14:8-18, Paul healed a lame Gentile to illustrate how the Gentiles could now “walk and please God” (IThes.4:1). But to do that, they’d need some instruction, and Paul received some when he heard words “not lawful” to utter (IICor.12:2,3). Those were words about the grace message, words which were against the law of Moses to utter. Paul started the chapter by saying he’d receive revelations (12:1), and then told us about having received some!

So this miracle occurs here to symbolize how Gentiles who could now walk and please God must look to Paul for instructions as to how to do it. The whole chapter symbolizes how we should live in the dispensation of grace. After we learn we should take our instructions from Paul, verse 23 typifies how we should confirm Christians with Paul’s gospel, by ordaining elders to teach it (v.24). That’s why this miracle of Paul’s resurrection happens here, as the age of grace began to unfold, to outline how it should unfold.

How did they confirm those saints? With words (cf.15:32).

That strengthens them (cf.Isa.35:3-5). Of course, Isaiah confirmed Jews with spiritual strength with the words of Moses he was quoting (Deut.31:6). But today, we’re strengthened with Paul’s words. I find it encouraging to know I’ll enter the kingdom of God, don’t you (Acts 14:22)?

But why’d Paul have to tell them they’d enter it “through much tribulation?” Who doesn’t know Job 5:7? The answer? Jews under the law, who were exempt from troubles like sickness and poverty if they obeyed God! Paul was saying there’d been a dispensational change. That change included not being saved from our enemies like Jews under the law, something these Gentiles needed to hear, for God’s enemies persecuted them after Paul left their towns. Unless Paul told them they were no longer under that law that said things like Isaiah 54:17, they’d think God didn’t keep His promises! He told the Thessalonians the same thing (IThes.2:14,15;3:3,4).

Paul didn’t ordain elders (Acts 14:23) when he established those churches because some qualifications for leadership take time to surface (ITim.3:2-7). When he did ordain them, he didn’t commend them to the other Lord the 12 preached (IICor.11:4), but to the Lord “upon whom they believed.” The Lord of the 12 told them to teach the law (Mt.23:1-3). These Gentiles believed on the Lord Paul preached. Pauline grace is the only thing to commend a leader to (Acts 20:32).

How did Paul know he’d “fulfilled” the work the church in Antioch gave him to do (14:26)? The church had evidently told him to preach the gospel, then go back and confirm the souls of the saints and ordain elders among them. When he did that, his work was fulfilled! And we have the same agenda here at Faith Bible Church. We preach the gospel of grace by expounding the mechanics of salvation when we expound the great doctrines of forgiveness, justification, redemption, sanctification, etc. And we confirm the souls of the saints by teaching them the spiritually strengthening words of the Apostle Paul.

A video of this sermon is available on YouTube: “The Sacrifice That Didn’t Happen” Acts 14:18-28

Summary:

The healing of this lame Gentile that comes at the beginning of Paul’s new ministry among the Gentiles is a type of it. Before Paul, Gentiles couldn’t walk in a way that would please God (IThes.4:1) because only Jews could be saved. But this miracle typifies how that had now changed. In time past, if a Jew wanted to walk in a way that pleased God, he had to hear the words of Moses (Deut.11:22). But today, Gentiles must hear Paul, as typified with this lame man.

The Lord also healed a lame man to symbolize His new ministry among the Jews (John 5:2,3). He’d been lame 38 years, something pictured in Deuteronomy 2:1,14. God actually made the Jews wander 40 years until that generation died off (Num.32:13), so why’d Moses focus on 38 of them?

Well, the 40 years the Jews had to wait to enter the Promised Land typified the 40 generations they had to wait to enter the kingdom. Matthew 1:17 says it was 42 generations until Christ came to give them the kingdom, but there was no Israel until the third generation of Jews came along in Jacob, whom God renamed Israel. But instead of receiving their kingdom, the people of Israel crucified Christ, and God was ready to cut them down. But on the cross, the Lord asked God to give them one more year (Lu.13:6-9) when He prayed, “Father, forgive them.” And God did give them an extra year in Acts 1-7. But they stoned Stephen in response at the end of that year.

But at the beginning of that year, Peter healed a lame man to symbolize his ministry among the Jews (Acts 3:2-8), a man who was 41 (Acts 4:22). That would account for the extra year God gave Israel. That’s when God gave Paul a new ministry among the Gentiles, typified by this healing.

These Gentiles worshipped the planets and stars (Acts 14:11,12, and they had ever since Genesis 11:1-4. That was a religious tower with the zodiac on top, designed to help them “reach” heaven by worshipping the stars. That was a perversion of the religion God gave the Gentiles in the stars before the Bible was written. The story of Christ in the stars starts with Virgo to represent the virgin Mary, and ends with Leo to represent Christ reigning as a lion-like king in the kingdom (Rev.5:5). The sphynx, a monument with the head of a woman and the tail of a lion, was built in Egypt to help men remember how to read the circle of the stars.

After the Gentiles forgot how to read the stars, they made themselves priests to sacrifice to the stars, then point to them to tell men what the stars said to do (Acts 14:13). That was another perversion of the religion God gave Gentiles like Adam, Abel and Noah. He told them to sacrifice to Him and look to the message He put in the stars. But the Gentiles perverted that into sacrificing to Jupiter and Mercury, and looking to the zodiac to learn from it. They wouldn’t listen to a preacher who pointed to the Bible to deliver a message from God like Paul did. But this lame man did! That’s how Paul perceived he had faith (Acts 14:9).

Saying the gods had come down in the likeness of men (v.11) is another perversion of God’s gospel in the stars (Phil.2:7). Remember, this lame man couldn’t walk “from his mother’s womb” (v.8). Paul’s mother’s womb was a perversion of the religion God gave the Jews (Gal.1:13-15). This lame man represented how the Gentiles couldn’t walk and please God ever since they perverted the religion God gave them. They called Barnabas “Jupiter” because he was bigger than Paul. (“Paul” means small.) “Garlands” were given to kings, not gods, but the stars taught them that when God came down in the likeness of men, He’d be a king in the kingdom!

God lets people make idols out of the stars (Acts 14:16), even His own people (Hos.4:16,17). He stopped talking to Gentiles, but never stopped witnessing to them (Acts 14:17cf.Ps.19:1-3; 36:6,7).

A video of this sermon is available on YouTube: “A Gentile Who Walked The Walk” Acts 14:8-18