How do you handle a clash between the truth of the gospel and the unity of Christian fellowship?
What we saw last week in Acts 15 seems to contrast what we see in the first verses of chapter 16. Did you notice? Paul and Barnabus argue very hard against the need for circumcision in Acts 15, but then when Paul picks up Timothy as a mission team member in chapter 16, what’s the first thing he does? He has Timothy circumcised! What’s going on?
About circumcision, listen to what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:2-6. By these verses, would you say that he is for it or against it? I’d say he’s pretty clearly against it. Why then, after all that work in the counsel to clarify that salvation has nothing to do with circumcision, does he have Timothy circumcised?
Well, there’s a couple of reasons: First is about Flexibility and Firmness. Paul is not actually against circumcision and keeping the law of Moses AS A JEWISH TRADITION. But Paul is completely adamant against keeping the law of Moses and circumcision AS A WAY TO BE SAVED. He makes a sharp distinction between doing these as a Jew to be Jewish, and doing them to be a Christian, to be saved. Think of the flexibility on the one hand, and the firmness on the other that this implies. As for flexibility, Paul said to the Corinthians, “To the Jews I became as a Jew to win the Jews…” Look at 1 Cor. 9:19-23 with me. His words which reveal his principles are these: “I have become all things to all men that by all means I might save some.” Saving people is paramount in Paul’s mind. And whether you practice Judaism or Gentileism, neither of these will set you free and save you. On the other hand, there is the firmness of the truth of the gospel. Only faith in Jesus Christ and following Him will save anyone, Jew or Gentile.
Second is about what and why. Once that distinction is established, then Paul sees nothing wrong with practicing the Jewish traditions (or fitting into other cultural expressions) in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts. But those can be affected by your intent. This means that you can do some things for the right reasons and they are ok, or you can do the same things for the wrong reasons and they are wrong. So the question has to be asked, “What was the intent and purpose of doing them?” That can make all the difference. The truth of the gospel was not violated when Paul circumcised Timothy as a Jewish custom, but to do it so that Timothy could be saved would be anathema to Paul. It would be tantamount to obeying a false gospel.
Listen to Paul’s words about this in Galatians 1:6-9. That’s pretty strong language, wouldn’t you agree? There may be many variations among the Lord’s people in different cultures, times and places, but there is only one gospel, only one way to be saved, as Ephesians says, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism. So what do we learn?
It is the unity of the one gospel of Jesus Christ that ultimately determines the unity of his church. While God’s word allows a rich diversity in some expressions among the saved, God does not allow a multiplicity of ways to be saved, just as there is only one Lord by which we are saved.
In the Jerusalem counsel of Acts 15 some of the Christians who were Jewish were saying that the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and obey the law of Moses in order to be saved. That’s not what Paul was teaching. There were even some of these Jews in Jerusalem who had heard about Paul’s mission work and went to the Gentiles in those churches to straighten things out and bring those Gentiles in line with the laws of Moses. They were telling these Gentile Christians that they had to be circumcised and obey the law to be saved. And they were having significant success! Paul was mortified! He wrote the letter of Galatians to defend the truth of the gospel to them. It is this truth that must not be changed. The truth of the gospel is this, it is the truth of how to be saved.
So… What is the truth of the gospel? How indeed are we saved? In fact, if you were to ask Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” How would he answer that question? Well, Acts 16 actually gives us the answer. We have a record of Paul’s own answer so you can know what he would say: look at chapter 16:30-34.
What Paul and Silas said here reflects obedience to what Jesus had commissioned the apostles to do. Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-16 are Jesus’ own words of gospel truth. Adding to them or taking away from them violates the truth of the gospel and divides the church. Coming together to Jesus Christ in faith and being baptized into Christ… this is where God unites us into one body, one family, one holy nation, one chosen race, one royal priesthood, and yes… one church.
God calls us through the gospel, and it is the unity of the one gospel of Jesus Christ that ultimately determines the unity of his church.
The New Testament is filled with instruction to secure the gospel from corruption and misrepresentation, and also to preserve the church from fragmentation and division. What is the vision of the one gospel of Jesus Christ who is King of kings and Lord of lords? What is the vision of God that we read about within the New Testament for those who are saved and added to the Lord’s church? Do we believe that there is one true gospel of Christ by which we are saved? Do we believe that the church is called to be unified in that one true gospel?
We live in a fallen, fragmented and divided world, do we not? Even among people who call on the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, there is division and dispute about how to be saved, is there not? That should come as no surprise. We find within the New Testament itself among the very leaders of the disciples a struggle about these things. But, what did they do about it? They decided to come together to work these things out. So should we! The vision of Jesus Christ for the church that he died to build calls us to higher and holier ground than what we see when we look around us. Are we to ignore this or isolate ourselves from others that disagree with us and simply point fingers? On the other hand, are we to act as if there is no division or that this fragmentation is acceptable to God? Should we not engage in discussion about it? Not in order to compromise, but in order to discover, define and defend the one true gospel of Jesus Christ?
I am convinced that God wants us to humble ourselves before him and pray the words that Jesus taught his disciples to pray: thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what the kingdom of God coming here is supposed to accomplish. This is the vision of God’s word for God’s people: to do his will here and now, just as it is done in his heavenly dwelling. Is this right? Then while we remain here on earth, let us also be about the kingdom work to come together according to the gospel of Jesus Christ and win the lost to Jesus Christ and train the saved to be like him.
Let me close with this. God is with us and will work through us as we give ourselves to his service and strive to follow Jesus according to his word.
How many of you here have been baptized into Christ? Raise your hands. Are you still committed to follow Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation? Are you committed to repentance, that is turning away from evil and doing good in his name? Are you committed to confessing Jesus as Lord before men whether they accept you or not? Is the name of Jesus Christ honored by your words and actions? Young people, are you walking according to the commands of Jesus? Do your friends at school know that you are a Christian? Do they see Jesus in you? Do the posters you put on the walls of your rooms honor God? Parents, are you bringing your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Is your home a place of holiness? Are you leading lives that look like Jesus Christ before your family? Husbands and wives, are you following the instructions of Christ in your marriage relationship? Older Christians, are you living so that we can see Jesus in you and follow your example? Are all of us as Christians committed to the word of God and prayer?
What does the church Jesus died for really look like? Well, it looks like what the people who are baptized into Christ live like on a day to day basis, not simply what is done in assembly but how we live period. Listen… The truth of the gospel hasn’t changed, but the question we must ask ourselves is this, has the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ changed me?
