Dear San Lo Community, an update for the week of January 8, 2012…
Thank you to Pastor Scott Shimada for the message from Acts 15:22-32, “Revealing God’s Love.” When we come to faith in Christ, some people go through a period of time figuring out how to live as a Christian. It was similar for the Gentiles in Acts. They had come to Christ and left a life in darkness to live in the light. But they were still unsure what that exactly meant. The Jerusalem Council (apostles and elders) not only helped them but also set for us an example of how God’s love is revealed. At the beginning of this chapter, some were being taught they needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. One group of Jewish Christians pointed to the laws of Moses which required that. Paul, Barnabas and other church leaders believed Old Testament laws were very important, but did not need to be obeyed in order for someone to be saved. Converted Pharisees, on the other hand, preferred a legalistic religion. They believed that faith alone was not enough, that Gentiles would have to be circumcised in order to be saved. Had this been the case, Christianity would have been just another Jewish sect. So the council met and discussed this and agreed that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised. The Gentiles are waiting to hear what they should do which poses the question – How is God’s love revealed?
1) God’s love is revealed in person. It was not popular for Jews to associate with Gentiles. The council could have taken the easy way out and sent a letter explaining their decision. But (v.22) – “the whole church” – sent men with Paul and Barnabas. Paul, Barnabas, Judas, Silas – men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (v.26) The council knew that communication in person was more effective, so they sent people. They did not want to send just a letter. They wanted to make it personal. When God wanted to send His message to us, He could have just sent a letter, but He decided to come down here in the form of a baby (Jesus). He wanted to make it personal. God reveals His message of love and hope in person.
2) God’s love is revealed in the truth. The council had a very important decision to make. Would they go along with what the Jewish Christians were already teaching or would they put a stop to it? They stood with the truth. (v.24) – “without our authorization” – they separated themselves from this teaching. “we are not a part of this”. They made it clear that they did not condone, support or agree with the legalistic teaching that said you had to be circumcised in order to be saved. The council does warn there are things that the new believers should be aware of. Food sacrificed to idols – spiritual aspect. Blood from meat of strangled animals – cultural. Sexual immorality – physical. “You will do well to avoid these things” – not a requirement but things that they could do to live out their faith. There is a fine line with legalism – you can get caught up in trying to stay away from certain things but we have to remember that we have a freedom in Christ where we are not bound to any laws. At the same time, there are things that can hurt us and draw us away from our relationship with God. We have freedom in our relationship with Christ – but with that freedom comes a responsibility to live out our faith. When we do that, others can see it… as God’s love is revealed in the truth.
3) God’s love is revealed by encouraging. (v.31) The people rejoiced because the word for encourage means to call to one’s side; to aid, become a part of the help. It’s not used to send others out, but to bring people together. The letter encouraged and so did Judas and Silas. (v.23) – “adelphois” – “brothers” – a very personal way to say we are your brothers and we are here with encouragement. We cannot forget how significant this is. Jews did not usually call Gentiles their brothers. There were lines drawn. There were boundaries. This is like an old arch enemy coming up to you on the street and greeting you with a handshake, hug and a genuine, “How are you?” There were definite differences between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile believers. They may have acted different, talked different, looked different, but the elders and the apostles focused not on what was different but what they had in common – and that was a love and desire to follow Jesus. The Gentiles 2000 years ago were strengthened, supported and encouraged when they saw firsthand the love of God through personal visits, through the truth and through the encouragement of others. They stood at the doorway of a door that spread the Good News across the globe.
We are not much different and we stand at the doorway of a much different door. A door that already has seen much of the world already being reached for Christ. And yet with the far corners being reached, very few lives are being transformed. God’s love, now more than ever, needs to be revealed to His people. As we stand at that doorway, we need to decide, are we going to allow God to use us to make a difference or will we just stand here and wait for others?
Have a blessed week in God’s love,
Stan, for SLZJCC