This Week\’s Sunday School Lesson, \”Saved By Grace Not By Works\”, 11/8/15

 

 

SAVED BY GRACE NOT BY WORKS

 

Acts 15:1-12

 

 

V:15. \” Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: \”Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.\”

1. When you have been raised and taught by one set of rules, it is hard to change and

embrace new teaching.

1. The Nation of Israel began under the Law fifteen hundred years earlier.
2. It was their guide book for living a godly life.
3. Circumcism of a male baby the eighth day after birth was a sign of a covenant

between God and Abraham 430 years before the Law was given.

1. This sign was never meant for salvation purposes but as a promise from God,

that Abrahams seed would be a blessing to all generations and the promised land

was theirs as a permanent inheritance.  Gen 17:1-8

1. Circumcism was incorporated into the Law as a reminder of the covenant between

God and Abraham.

1. The Jews were never able to keep the whole Law.
2. The Law was not designed for salvation but to show man\’s need for a Savior.
3. Abraham was considered righteous not for his works, but for his faith.
4. Notice the text says some men came down, not some disciples of Jesus.
5. These men rejected faith in Jesus only, as the means for salvation

of man.

1. They taught that circumcism was necessary for salvation.
2. In that case women could never be saved because their was nothing to

circumcise.

1. They had not come to the conclusion that Salvation is by Grace through faith.
2. They had not come on the authority of the Church nor the Authority of God,

but on their own accord to push their agenda; make Jews out of new believers.

 

V:2.  \”This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. \”

1. In chapter 13, Paul and Barnabas had been commissioned by the Holy Spirit to preach

the Gospel to the Gentiles (all non Jews).

1. Notice, these men did not come in the name of Jesus.
2. Paul and Barnabas had a conflict with any doctrine that was not Jesus Christ and

Him crucified.

1. You and I should be in opposition to any doctrine that is anything other than the

words of   Christ.

1. At some point in our walk with Christ, we will have to defend our faith in Jesus.
2. The argument of these outsiders were so persuasive that the leaders of the Antioch

church sent Paul and Barnabas to the Apostles in Jerusalem to settle this matter.

1. Salvation in the name of Jesus is no small matter, it is the only thing that does matter.
2. You have to know the Word for yourself, otherwise you can be confused by others

who stand by their beliefs which does not include Jesus.

1.   This shows that Jerusalem was the center of religious activities.
2. This also shows that Satan was busy in the Church.
3. A small group of Jewish believers who held on to their beliefs under law

tried to impose the Mosaic Law on the new Church.

1. The Jewish community was quickly becoming a minority in the Church as

large groups of Gentiles were added.

 

V:3. \”The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. \”

1. We should be joyful when others in the dark come to Christ.
2. The Church should be filled with people from all walks of life with all kinds of

pasts.

1. Everywhere we go, our conversation should be a testimony of the goodness of the

Lord so that others are encouraged and drawn to Christ.

1. We all are the product of some ones teaching about Christ or some ones testimony

of what God did in their lives,

1. God prepares the hearts of those we come in contact with to receive a word from

Him through us.

1. There are also those we come in contact with, who will attack the Word of God

with false and misleading information.

1. If you cannot find support for others beliefs in the Bible, ignore them.
2. God will not change His Word or add to His Word.

 

V:4. \” When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.\”

1. Everybody reports to somebody.
2. There is a head in every organization.
3. Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.
4. Man is the head of the household.
5. On your job, someone is the head of you.
6. Paul and Barnabas reported to the Apostles in Jerusalem
7. Paul and Barnabas were successful in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ

and as a result many Gentiles and Jews were saved.

1. No mission is without problems.
2. Their mission was dogged by Jews who rejected salvation by faith in Jesus.
3. All around us are religions with different views, and some do not in include

Jesus as Lord and Savior.

 

V:5-6.\” Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, \”The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.\”

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question.\”

1. I think God uses our differences to cause us to study the Word, meditate and pray.
2. When there are differences in interpretation and application of the Word, we

should come together, study the Word and let the Holy Spirit guide us to the

proper interpretation.

1. We should never argue the Word, we should study the Word so we can rightly

divide the Word of truth

1. When there are opposing view points, they should be heard and discussed.
2. The conclusion of a matter must adhere to Biblical Truths.
3. We should never give into good arguments that deviate from the Word.

 

V:7-8. \” After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: \”Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.

8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.\”

1. Believers should come together and discuss their differences.
2. Every discussion should be centered around the Word of God.
3. Any differences should be resolved by Word of God.
4. What is right is based on the Word of God.
5. The truth about life\’s situation can only be understood by discussing the Word.
6. Peter related his testimony of how he was directed by God to preach to Cornelius

his, family and friends and How they received the Holy Spirit upon hearing the Word.

1.The hearts of the Gentiles was purified by faith.

1. God does not require believers to be circumcised or become Jews to be saved.

V:9-10.\” He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.

10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?\”

1. Don\’t judge other by standards you cannot or will not live by.
2. God\’s Law was given to the Jews immediately after they were freed from slavery

in Egypt some 1500 years earlier.

1. The Nation of Israel rejected God divine guidance through His Priest in favor

of earthly kings who led them away from God.

1. There were a few good kings. But there more ungodly kings who led the Israelites to

worship idol gods.

1. At the time of these events, Jesus Christ was the one true living spiritual King of

all men.

1. The Jews developed traditions and a non spiritual views of the Old Testament

scriptures.

1. Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior was rejected by the Jews who held to

 

their traditions, that no man could claim to be God.

1. Those Jews who believed in Jesus, still held onto some of their Jewish

traditions, rejecting salvation by faith alone.

1. The Jews were never able to follow the Law, but they wanted the Gentiles

to follow them to be saved.

 

V:11-12.\” No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.\”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. \”

1. The Apostles Peter and Paul explain how God had granted salvation to the Gentiles

based on faith in Jesus alone.

1. Sometimes you have to stop and listen and reason in the Word to learn the truth

of the Word.

1. Peter pointed to his witness of the Holy Spirit given to the Gentiles in the same

manner as God used at the day of Pentecost when it was given to the Jewish

disciples.

1. Jesus death on the cross fulfilled all the requirements of the Law with His

blood sacrifice.

1. The Church was never under the Law, but under grace.
2. It is the Grace of God that saves all who believe in Jesus.
3. God so loved the World, that He gave His only Son that who ever

believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

 

 

Rev. M. Mitchell

 

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church.