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 22 through 29.

Tony Clark: All right, let's dive into the word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 15 as we continue our verse-by-verse study through the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. And as you know, we are in the book of Ruth on Wednesdays, but my dad always said just keep living. And sure enough, here we are, just keep living.

Acts chapter 15, looking at verses 22 to 29. Father, we pray that your spirit would descend upon us. We are so grateful that you're in our midst. You said where two or more are gathered together in your name, you're in the midst of us, and we welcome you here. Speak to us by your spirit. Speak to us through the word of God, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts 15, looking at verses 22 to 29. The title of this message is "You've Got Mail, Part 1." Now, even in this age of technology, there is still a great feeling when you personally get mail, whether that is an email, snail mail, or a text message. You're excited to see who sent you something, unless it's a bill or if it's from the IRS. You don't want that kind of mail.

This is the subject of these verses. The Jerusalem Council is meeting to discuss what to do concerning the Gentile believers who were accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The subject at hand is: should they become Jews first and keep the law of Moses, or is salvation by grace through faith alone? Is that enough? That was the subject at hand.

After hearing from Peter in verse 7, Paul and Barnabas in verse 12, and finally from James in verse 13, they're about to make their decision on this sensitive yet important subject in verse 22. Look what it says there: "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, who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren."

The evidence was overwhelming that the Gentile believers didn't have to keep the law of Moses, and this decision, according to this verse, pleased the apostles. The apostles provided the oversight of the churches, and the elders listed here provided the leadership in the local churches.

Now they decided to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. This was important because if Paul and Barnabas came back with this news, the Judaizers—who were those Jews wanting the Gentiles to keep the law of Moses—would have accused them of being biased and not telling the whole story.

They decided to send Judas, who was also named Barsabas, and Silas. This was a wise decision because Judas was a Jew and Silas was a Greek, and both were called prophets in Acts 15:32 that we will later see. Their presence would give credibility to the council's decision.

Now they are about to send to the church in Antioch of Syria a letter that would inform them of their decision. However, through this letter, we will see three of the six ways God guides His people. Look what it says there in verses 23 to 25:

"They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, 'You must be circumcised and keep the law'—to whom we gave no such commandment—it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul."

This letter was going to be used to validate the verbal testimony of Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas. They acknowledge in verse 24 that there were some men who came from the church in Jerusalem and troubled them with words. It is this word "troubled" that I want to draw your attention to.

The Greek word for "troubled" is a powerful word. It's different from the Greek word "troubled" that's used in verse 19. This particular Greek word is "tarasso," and it means to deeply upset, deeply disturb, or to perplex or create fear. This same Greek word is used in John 14:1 to describe the emotions the disciples felt after Jesus told them that He had to leave them. You remember, He said, "Let not your heart be troubled." "Tarasso" is the Greek word.

Not only did the words of these men trouble or deeply upset the Gentile believers, but it also unsettled their souls. The Greek word for "unsettled" is "anaskeuazo," and it only appears here in the entire New Testament. It means to pack up, subvert, or upset. It was used in extra-biblical Greek literature to describe going bankrupt or of a military army plundering a town they just conquered.

Taking these two terms together shows the devastation that false teaching can have in people's lives who are under such teaching. False teaching has the power to deeply trouble or upset you, and unsettle or totally bankrupt you spiritually. False teaching is not just teaching that is incorrect. It has a way of troubling you, upsetting your soul, and causing you great problems.

The false teaching in this case is clearly stated at the end of verse 24, which is: "You must be circumcised and keep the law." Then the Jewish Council separated themselves from the men who unsettled the souls of these Gentile believers by saying, "to whom we gave no such commandment."

In other words, they were acting on their own. We didn't give them the commandment to go down there and unsettle your souls like this. They separated themselves from these men. Then they gave their conclusions in verse 25 by saying, "it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul," showing their approval of Barnabas and Paul by calling them beloved.

This leads me to the first of six ways God guides His people. Number one: God guides through a oneness of the church. The letter written to the church in Antioch stated that the believers in Jerusalem were with one accord on this issue. This is so important for us to understand today.

Whether you're wrestling with a decision of lifestyle or doctrine, find out what the church has to say about it. Throughout church history, what has been the stance of the church regarding the subject with which you are struggling? Whether that is living together before marriage or dating and you're not divorced yet, find out what the church has to say about it.

The church has made some important decisions throughout history that have helped guide us even to the day we live in today. This is very important because there are those out there, and those you know, who will say, "You don't need the church. The church is outdated. It's old-fashioned. It's not relevant for today's issues."

However, it is through the wisdom of the church being on one accord, presently and historically, that God has guided His people. So don't ever dismiss the church. Yes, times have changed, but God and His word never change. It's not on the screen, but in Malachi 3:6, God says, "I am the Lord thy God, I change not."

It doesn't matter what this world is doing or how they are changing. God said, "I do not change." Fashion will change, everything will change, but God's word is never going to change. This is what we've got to hold on to: God and His unchanging word. This is why it says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever."

God doesn't change, folks. I don't care what the culture is saying. I don't care what the culture is doing. I don't care what they're validating. I don't care what they're saying is right now. Let me tell you something: God doesn't change on the issue, His word doesn't change, and therefore we should neither. Find out what the church is saying about it, not the culture. What does God have to say on the issue you're struggling with or trying to understand in your own life? Find out what the church has to say.

Look at verses 26 and 27. It said that Paul and Barnabas were "men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth."

The character of Barnabas and Paul is given in verse 26. Notice they were called "men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." We know this to be true on their first missionary journey, how they faced persecution in Acts 13:50. Paul was stoned and left for dead in Acts 14:19-20. So, being willing to suffer for the cause of Christ was a constant part of their lives.

But why would they do this? Because Paul will later say in Philippians 1:21, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." He knew that if he died for the cause of Christ, it would gain him heaven. I have to ask us today, what are you living for today? What wakes you up and drives you each day? Is it the almighty dollar? Climbing up the ranks in the military or the corporate ladder?

The only way that we can say "to die is gain" is if we can say like Paul did, "For me to live is Christ." Is that your motto for your life? Or is it something else? We can easily give lip service to that in here, but is that your motto? I can see what you do from day to day to tell you what your motto is, even though your mouth may say something in here.

The only way that you can say "for me to die is gain" is if you can say "for me to live is Christ." The Bible says, and Paul will later say in Colossians, "when Christ who is your life appears." I wonder how many of us have Christ truly as our life. I can tell you what's your life by looking at your life from day to day. If I were to follow you around for a week, I could tell you what your life is. You can say in here, "Yeah, for me to live is Christ!" but then I'm going to say, "Let me get my coat because I'm going to follow you this week." I can tell you what your life is, even though you would say to live is Christ.

Paul was able to say, "For me to live is Christ, to die is gain." He said, "So what if I'm risking my life." He said if he happened to die, he's just going to gain heaven. He's just going to go be with Him. That's what he thought and what he felt. To risk their lives for the one who saved them meant nothing to them.

They wrote in the letter that they were sending Judas and Silas, who we were introduced to in verse 22, leaders that happened to be in the church in Jerusalem. From these verses, we see that God guides His people through number two: gifted men and women in the church.

We see this in Ephesians 4:11-12: "And He Himself," referring to Jesus, "gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ."

God has given these gifts to the church for a specific reason. Why? Verse 12 says, "for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry." I want to draw your attention to the word "equipping." The Greek word is "katartismos," and it means to restore to its original condition. To different people, "katartismos" meant different things.

To doctors, they used "katartismos" to describe the setting of a broken bone, to restore the limb back to its original condition. Sailors would use "katartismos" to describe the mending of a torn net to restore that net back to its original condition of catching fish. Soldiers used "katartismos" to describe the equipping of a soldier for battle to bring that soldier back to his original fighting condition. The purpose of a soldier is to go to war. We get in the battle and we get injured, we get tired, and we get weary, and we need to be restored back to our original condition, which is to go out and fight. "Katartismos" was used in a variety of ways.

God uses these gifted men and women in the church to guide our lives. Through the teaching of the word of God, whether it is in a women's study or men's Bible study, or during the teaching of God's word on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights, it is the wise man or woman who comes to the teaching of the word of God expecting for God to speak to them.

Is this how you come to church? Is this how you come to Bible study, expecting for God to speak to you? He's here. Throughout the scriptures, you constantly read, "He who has an ear to hear, let him hear." God wants to speak to us through the word of God. Do you come expecting to hear from God? Or do you come to meet your friends or to look for a little honey? Why do you come? Hopefully, you come expecting God to speak to you. God is in our midst. We say it all the time; it's a verse: "Where two or more are gathered together in my name, I'm in the midst of them." If God is in the midst of us, we should expect God to speak to us.

Look at verses 28 and 29: "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you would do well. Farewell."

To show the believers in the church of Antioch of Syria that the decision was not just a decision of man, verse 28 says, "for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us." Please don't miss the order of these words. They let us know who decided this sensitive issue. It was the Holy Spirit. They said that it seemed good to the Holy Spirit first and to us second. The Holy Spirit spoke through gifted men: Peter, James, Paul, and Barnabas.

The third way God guides His people is number three: through the gifts of the Spirit. At the beginning of this chapter, there was much debate and dissension over this issue. But when old "Camelnnees"—a nickname given to James because of his prayer life—stood up to speak in verse 13, something amazing happened. Everyone melted into a sweet unity and agreement.

What made this difference? James, who was a man of prayer, was in touch with God. God gave him a word of wisdom, described for us in 1 Corinthians 12. That word of knowledge, that all of them present knew was from the Lord, shut everyone's mouth according to Acts 15:13. This is what a word of wisdom does: it settles the issue. It shuts everyone's mouth on the subject. When God speaks through a word of wisdom, it just settles the issue. Everybody's like, "That's it. Yep, that's it."

I can't tell you how many times God has spoken a word of wisdom or a word of knowledge through me. A word of wisdom is that wisdom that settles an issue. A word of knowledge is knowledge that you cannot obtain from books or that someone didn't give you prior knowledge of. It is knowledge into a situation that only the Spirit of God can give.

I can't tell you how many times people have come up to me after Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights to say, "That message was just for me," or "I have been struggling with this or that issue and you addressed it today," or "Who told you my personal business?"

I remember one time, this is no joke, there was a guy who was hopping mad because his wife was trying to get him to come to church. He finally came, and through a word of knowledge and a word of wisdom, I talked about some things. He wanted to talk to me after service and wanted to know when I talked to his wife and how I knew he was going to be here today for me to say the things that I said.

Dude, I ain't talking to your wife! That's God reading your mail. You've got mail, and you got it today. God read your mail to you right here in this service. He was blown away. He was hopping mad. He wanted to know when I had time to talk to his wife to know he was going to be here for me to say the things I said. I said, "Bro, come on now. That was God reading your mail, bro. That's what that was."

I had someone leave the church because they said that when I got up in the pulpit, I talked about things that they were talking about in their little studies. I ain't talking to none of you folks! I don't like to talk on the phone. I don't like to talk outside this pulpit, really. I ain't talking to folk. But she left the church because she thought I was getting up here and addressing issues that they were struggling with and going through. God reading your mail. Reading your mail again. 'Cause I ain't talking to no one.

When I told her that, I just love when stupid is written on people's face. I just sit there and I just look at them because I'm not up here fooling around like that. I'm not up here saying, "Okay, now y'all tell me what's going on in the various ministries so I can know to write that in." That's God reading y'all's mail. That's what that is. Not me up here fooling around like this.

This is how God speaks to His people, through the gifts of the Spirit being in operation when the people of God are gathered together. I don't think we realize that God is in the midst of us as we gather together. We should expect for Him to speak to us.

The only person who will know is probably my wife who types up my notes. She knows there are many times where the Lord says, "Get off script and you need to address something." You'll hear me say, "Somebody needs to hear that. That's not in my notes. Somebody needs to hear that." After service, "Pastor Tony, that was me." That's what's happening. God speaks to us. There are many times I go off script and start addressing some things and I'm on the inside saying, "Get 'em, God, get 'em, get 'em." Because you've got to understand, this message goes through me first. So God gets me first. He got me first, and now it's time for Him to get y'all.

God speaks through the word of God. He speaks through the gifts of the Spirit through men and women in the church. They ended the letter in verse 29, letting them know what to stay away from in order to have fellowship with the Jewish believers that we dealt with last week.

So how did the church receive this letter from the apostles? Well, you've got to wait until next year to find out. We've got the holidays coming up, and you've got to wait until next year to find out.

Let me conclude with this: in this message, we saw how God so often guides His people. Number one: through the oneness of the church. Take the time to study the church to see what was or is her stance on issues that you're struggling or wrestling with.

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