The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 15 verses 1 through 5.

Tony Clark: Let's dive right in. Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 15. We're going to be looking at verses 1 through 5 as we continue to study the word of God verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, and I have added sometimes word for word.

And we're going to be in the book of Acts as we are on Sunday mornings and you know, Wednesday—I forgot to mention this first service—Wednesday we'll be diving into the book of Ruth. We finished up Judges, now going into Ruth and just looking forward to all that God has for us through that great book as well. I just love the word of God.

And Father, we love you mostly, the God of the word. And we pray that your Holy Spirit would teach us this morning the truths of your word. Lord, that you would give us a timely word, a word in season. Lord, give us ears to hear it today. Lord, we pray that you would unclog our ears that we might hear your voice, your still small voice speak to us. And so God, you personally invited us to be here today to hear your word. Let us hear it today in Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts chapter 15, looking at verses 1 through 5. The title of this message is "Jesus Plus Nothing." This is part one of this message. Now throughout the centuries, there have always been people who would come along to try to add to our salvation.

And even though Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly teaches that salvation is by grace through faith alone—it says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast"—and even though the Bible clearly teaches this, you will always have those who will try to add something to our salvation. However, in these verses, we have the origin of such teachings, and this is the subject of this entire chapter.

Look what it says there in verse 1. "And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.'" Now in this verse, we see that these men came. We see the location that they came from—they came from Judea, trying to add to the salvation of the believers in the church of Antioch of Syria.

We also know what they came trying to teach, which was, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." We know that these men came from the church in Jerusalem, but they didn't have the authorization from the leaders to do what they were doing.

In other words, they were saying that these new Gentile believers couldn't become true Christians unless they first became penetration Jews and submitted to circumcision and started keeping the law of Moses. We know from verse 5 that these men were Pharisees, which were the conservative religious leaders in Israel who embraced Jesus Christ and the resurrection.

But they held on to their Jewish rituals and practices. They're called Judaizers throughout the New Testament, and they really wanted Christianity to become just another denomination under Judaism. Let's see what else happened in verse 2.

It says, "Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question."

Now Paul and Barnabas, being leaders in the church of Antioch of Syria according to Acts 13:1, and having just returned from a year-long missionary trip where they saw many Gentiles come to faith in Jesus Christ by grace through faith alone, had no small dissension and dispute with these men.

The Greek word for dissension is "stasis," and it can be translated as "standing position" or "uprising." And the Greek word for dispute is "syzetesis," and it means "mutual questioning." These words mean that they had a great strife, discord, and disunion with these men. These words are translated elsewhere in the New Testament as a riot or an insurrection.

Now why was there such a disagreement or uprising about this subject? Because this is a matter of salvation. Is it by grace through faith alone like Paul and Barnabas had been teaching all of the Gentiles, or is it Jesus plus Judaism? Jesus plus keeping the law of Moses? Jesus plus being circumcised?

They were also undermining the ministry of Paul and Barnabas and calling into question the salvation of all of the believers in the church of Antioch in Syria. So when they came there saying this, Paul and Barnabas said, "Whoa, wait a minute. We're about to have a verbal fight right about now because this is not only undermining our teaching, but the salvation of all the Gentiles that we just finished spending a year with around the world."

There are times where these kinds of discussions need to be had, especially when a person's eternal salvation is called into question. However, the Bible says in Ephesians 4:15 that we should speak the truth in love. And also in 1 Peter 3:15, it says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your heart and always be ready to give every man an answer, the reason of the hope that lies within you."

The Greek word for defense, "give every man an answer or defense," is "apologia." Yes, it can be translated as defense or an answer, but it's implying that we're not apologizing for what we believe, but we're defending what we believe. Oh, let me tell you something, there's nothing wrong with making a stand and defending the Christian faith against those who will come against it.

The Bible gives us a precedence here in 1 Peter 3:15. And in these verses, Paul and Barnabas were defending the belief of salvation by grace through faith alone plus nothing. However, the Judaizers are alive and well today. In our time, we have people say, "Well, in order for you to be saved, you must be baptized in Jesus' name only."

Or in order for you to be saved, you must speak in tongues. In order for you to be saved, you must keep the Sabbath. In order for you to be saved, you cannot wear makeup, and the list goes on and on. Modern-day Judaizers alive and well today.

Anytime anyone tries to give you a formula to be saved, they are no different than these false brethren, which is what Paul called them in Galatians 2:4. Stay away from them. Run from them. The second part of verse 2 I want to draw your attention to.

It says, "They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question." This was not an issue of "Well, just let us agree to disagree." No, this subject was at the heart of salvation and needed to be resolved. Why? Because we are saved by grace through faith alone, that's why. Or are we saved by grace plus works?

Paul had already been teaching salvation apart from keeping the law of Moses. You remember when we were in chapter 13, Acts 13:39, when he was in Antioch of Pisidia, he taught, "And by Him," referring to Jesus, "everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses."

Maybe these Jewish believers heard about Paul's teaching this particular subject and wanted to come down to the church in Antioch of Syria and straighten him out. I just have to pause here and ask us: what are you trying to be justified by?

In other words, what are you trying to add to your faith to save you? Being baptized a certain way? Being baptized in a certain church? Are you banking on keeping the Sabbath day? And let me tell you, Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. Can I correct you on that? Can I help us here?

The Sabbath is the Jewish Sabbath; that's Saturday. Sunday is not the Christian Sabbath. We worship on Sunday for a variety of reasons, but it's not the Christian Sabbath. So let us stop saying that and stop letting people tell us that. Are you counting on speaking in tongues to save you?

Are you counting on, "Well, I'm really counting on if the Lord would see that I read two chapters a day, I pray for two minutes, and I talk to two people about Christ." And I'm praying that God has a huge scale in the sky and He will weigh my good deeds. God is not some market merchant who has a scale in the sky. He's looking at each one of us and says, "Oh, what you did today, that tipped the scale. Oh, no. Oh, boy, you just blew it." That's not what God is doing in heaven, and I'm thankful that He's not doing that.

There are some people who are banking on God's grace by the curve, that God is the eternal teacher in the sky, that He grades by the curve. And all of a sudden, you come in at 4:00 in the morning from being at the club and partying all night, you say, "But if I go to church, though, and God sees me in church—well, I've got to wear my club clothes, because that's all I've got right now—and I come in, maybe that'll balance out the weekend?"

You'd be surprised how people have that kind of stuff in their heads—that God grades on the curve. Salvation, dear precious people, is by grace through faith alone. And then it says, "And yet not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." If you're trying to add to your faith in order to save you, then you're no different than these men in these verses.

The "they" in verse 2 that determined that Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem is answered in verse 3. Look what it says there in verse 3. It says, "So, being sent on their way by the church," that's the "they", "they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren."

Now the Antioch church sent Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem, which was a 300-mile trip. On their way, they passed through several cities and visited several churches. They went through the church in Phoenicia, which was founded by the believers that fled from Jerusalem according to Acts 11:19.

Samaria was evangelized by Philip the evangelist according to Acts 8:5. When the believers in these areas heard about the salvation of the Gentiles under the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, the news caused great joy to all the brethren, the end of verse 3 says.

I have to draw your attention to the word "great." You've heard it before; the Greek word is "megalon." It's where we get "mega" from; it means large or great. So these believers, they heard about the conversion of these once-hated Gentiles, and they were filled not only with joy, but with mega joy.

This is huge here. You have to understand, the Jews in the first-century Judaism, the Jews during this particular time, they felt that the only purpose of Gentiles—which were non-Jews—the only purpose of them was to keep the flames of hell burning. That was their only purpose.

Whenever a Jewish person, especially the religious leaders—they were the worst at it—when they saw a Gentile coming their way, they would clutch their little robe and, "Ugh, don't want to be touched by them." Now here it is, going back through this area, they're hearing about how these Gentiles are coming to Christ, and now they're filled with not only joy, but mega joy.

I have to pause here and ask us: how would you feel if you heard that someone you once hated gave their life to Jesus Christ? Would you be filled with mega joy or mega hatred? Joy or anger? I'm talking about that ex-spouse that dogged you out.

That parent that left, no longer part of the family and part of your life. That boss that fired you, probably justly—but that boss that fired you, late all the time, called in sick when you're just as well. They probably fired you justly, but that's another story. Or a friend that cheated with your spouse or someone you once dated.

If you have any other emotion than mega joy, then you're no different than Jonah, who ran from God when He told him to go preach to the hated Ninevites. You've got to understand, God said, "Jonah, Jonah." He said, "Oh, God, yeah, I'm here. I'm your boy."

He said, "I've got something for you." "Oh, God, you know I'm a prophet of yours, so what do you want me to do?" He said, "I've got somewhere I need you to go and preach." "Oh, that's why you called me to be a preacher. What you want me to do, God?" He said, "I need you to go and preach to the Ninevites."

He said, "What you say?" "The Ninevites. I need you to go to the Ninevites." "I'm not going to no Ninevites." See, you've got to understand, why would a prophet, called by God to speak, when God says, "Hey, go and speak," he says, "I'm not going to speak there"?

And then he went in the opposite direction and went to Tarshish. Why would he do such a thing? Because Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, and the Assyrians took the ten northern tribes into captivity in 721-722 BC, and the Assyrians were cruel to the Israelites. Did some cruel things to them.

The last group of people he wanted to see saved were the Ninevites or the Assyrians. He didn't want to see them saved; he wanted to see them judged. That's why he said, "I'm going in the opposite direction." We know what happened to old Jonah, that chicken of the sea.

We know the storm, and we know all that kind of stuff. God said, "You're getting there by hook or by crook. You're getting there." And we know the story and the great fish swallowing and barfed him on the shores of Nineveh. But here's the thing: when God saved the Ninevites—Jonah went there and finally preached an eight-word sermon.

It was only eight words. Basically God said, "Hey, Ninevites, you're toast. God is going to burn you guys." And he just went on top of the hill to watch the show. Probably had some popcorn. You know that meme? He had the popcorn, and he's probably waiting on the show.

And all of them repented. Every one. The king and everybody repented. They said they put sackcloth on the animals; animals were going around mourning and they repented. And Jonah was ticked off. He was upset because he wanted to see them judged, not forgiven.

And Jonah said, "Did not I tell you, this is why I didn't want to go? I told you because you are a merciful and forgiving God, and I knew you wanted to forgive them, and I wanted to see them judged." And therefore, if someone you once hated, someone who's hurt you, someone who has done you wrong—if that's you, and you're the type of person and now all of a sudden you see on social media they're saved, they gave their life to the Lord, and if you're not filled with mega joy, then you're no different than Jonah.

No different than him. No different than someone like a Jonah who wanted to see them judged, not saved. May God help us. All of a sudden, they contact you on social media, "Oh, you know, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me for what I did to you?" and you've got some kind of attitude and feeling some kind of way over something that happened 30 years ago in high school, and you're still feeling some kind of way about it.

You're no different than Jonah. God had to deal with Jonah over that. God had to deal with His man, His prophet, who wanted to do his own thing. You don't get to do your own thing when you're in God's hands. You do what He tells you to do or you're in disobedience. It's as simple as that.

Therefore, when these people heard about the salvation of the Gentiles, they were not only filled with joy, they were filled with mega joy. Maybe you're here and you're like Jonah: you're waiting on that person to be judged, and all of a sudden you see that God saved them and you're not happy about it at all.

You know how it is you feel when that person who's hurt you has moved on and they're taking new pictures with new family and a new boyfriend or new girlfriend or new husband or new wife, and you're just looking at that picture on social media seething? Just seething.

You're no different than Jonah, and you have to get your heart right. Because God wants us to be filled with mega joy. The Bible says that the angels of God rejoice in heaven over the salvation of one sinner, one person who surrenders their life to Christ. Heaven is throwing a party and you're down there like Jonah, souring because they hurt your little feelings. They hurt your little life.

I've been there, folks. You're not listening to somebody who hasn't been there; I've been there. Seething. I don't want to see them right with God; I want to see God deal with them. And secretly in my heart, I'm like, "I'm waiting on their destruction."

And God said to me, "Jonah, Jonah." I'm like, "No, my name ain't Jonah." "Yes, it is. You're acting just like him." And God had to deal with me; He had to deal with my heart over that kind of stuff. Look what it says there in verse 4.

"And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them." Now once they arrived in Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were received by the church, showing that this was a public meeting.

However, there were some who were ready to give Paul and Barnabas an earful. They couldn't wait until Paul and Barnabas finished telling them what God had done with them so they could give them a piece of their mind. They were not even hearing about the joyful conversions of the Gentiles; they were just sitting.

You know how it is when you're in an argument and you just can't wait for them to be quiet, you're not even listening to them, you're waiting to give your viewpoint? You just can't wait. So they're telling, "Oh, man, these Gentiles got saved over here and over here, and yes, boy, we really see them walking with God," and they're just sitting there like, "Will you hurry up? I want to give you a tongue-lashing."

And that's what they were waiting for. We see who they were in verse 5. "But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.'" Now they just bust out with this out of the blue. They're talking about the conversion of Gentiles, and they just get right to it.

"You know why we're here. It's necessary to circumcise them. We hear about the conversion, but what about circumcising them? They need to keep the law of Moses like we have done." As I mentioned earlier, the Pharisees were part of the early church because they believed in the resurrection, as opposed to the Sadducees, who were the liberal religious leaders.

They didn't believe in angels or the resurrection or that kind of thing. So the early church was filled with many of the Pharisees who were more conservative, who happened to believe in the resurrection. But they wanted to add Christianity to the law of Moses.

"Yes, believe in Jesus, but also keep the law of Moses, which includes being circumcised." Like I said earlier, Paul called them false brethren in Galatians 2:4 because of what they said. I want you to notice the strong language that is used.

"It is necessary to circumcise them," and watch this, "and command them to keep the law of Moses." Once again, putting a bunch of rules and regulations upon these poor Gentiles who are believing apart from the law of Moses. When Paul and Barnabas went around preaching, they didn't say, "Well, you believe in Jesus now. Okay, now while you're at it, there's just a few things we've got to just add to this. You've got to be circumcised."

I know those Gentiles were like, "What's that?" "Well, men, let me tell you what circumcision is." I'm sure they would have been like, "Ugh, I'm not doing that." They didn't go around doing that. They said, "Believe in Jesus Christ, the grace of God alone plus nothing."

And here these religious leaders said, "No. You can believe in Jesus, that's cool, but you've got to be circumcised. No, it is necessary to circumcise them and then command them to keep the law of Moses." Is it Jesus plus the law of Moses?

I'm sure Paul and Barnabas looked at one another and said, "Here we go again. We just dealt with a bunch of these guys when they came down to the church in Antioch of Syria. Now we're dealing with them up here. Put on your boxing gloves because it's about to be on. It's time to rumble." And we've got to wait until next week to find out what happened as they began to rumble about this stuff.

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