1
00:00:00,760 --> 00:00:05,600
Speaker 1: Let us pray. Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble

2
00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:09,920
Speaker 1: not them, which from among the gentiles are turned to God,

3
00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:18,680
Speaker 1: Acts fifteen nineteen. As I am being transformed into your likeness, Jesus,

4
00:00:19,040 --> 00:00:22,600
Speaker 1: I consciously make the choice to let go of past

5
00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:27,319
Speaker 1: rules and outdated mindsets that stand in opposition to the

6
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:31,960
Speaker 1: new way of being. I am freely able to live

7
00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,200
Speaker 1: by the work of Jesus. I am now saved by

8
00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:41,920
Speaker 1: grace through faith keeping. Traditions that hold me bound to

9
00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:47,920
Speaker 1: the past can no longer serve in my new life. Therefore,

10
00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,120
Speaker 1: like the multitude of counsel and Acts fifteen, guide me

11
00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,200
Speaker 1: Holy Spirit and reveal to me what needs to stay

12
00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:01,320
Speaker 1: in my life and what needs to go. Reveal to

13
00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,760
Speaker 1: me in your Holy Word the ways I'm called to live,

14
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:09,920
Speaker 1: so I may experience the life in abundance that you

15
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:19,440
Speaker 1: died to give me. Lord in Jesus name, Amen, thank

16
00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,760
Speaker 1: you for making prayer a priority in your day. To

17
00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,160
Speaker 1: learn more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story,

18
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,280
Speaker 1: brought to you by Bible in a year dot.

19
00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:41,120
Speaker 2: Com the Jerusalem Council.

20
00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,760
Speaker 3: In our last story, Paul was nearly stoned to death

21
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,920
Speaker 3: by Jewish Christians, who sought to control gentiles by the law.

22
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,640
Speaker 3: They were dangerous and controlling, Yet Paul did not let

23
00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,960
Speaker 3: the stones stop him. Now we see a move of

24
00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:01,280
Speaker 3: God's spirit as he guides the apostles and leaders to

25
00:02:01,320 --> 00:02:04,920
Speaker 3: address the problems ahead. If gentiles are to be brought

26
00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,559
Speaker 3: into the family of God, they are going to need

27
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,040
Speaker 3: to learn to let go. Inspired by the Book of.

28
00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:17,680
Speaker 4: Acts, Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the

29
00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:20,880
Speaker 4: Bible in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I

30
00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,200
Speaker 4: want to let you know about a unique ebook that's

31
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:28,760
Speaker 4: yours to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free

32
00:02:28,800 --> 00:02:31,919
Speaker 4: from Stress, and my prayer is that it will help

33
00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,160
Speaker 4: you conquer the daily task and pressures and burdens that

34
00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,800
Speaker 4: bring stress in your life. Download your free copy of

35
00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:42,680
Speaker 4: Breaking Free from Stress today by visiting Jack Graham dot

36
00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:47,800
Speaker 4: org slash stress. That's Jack Graham dot org slash stress.

37
00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,079
Speaker 4: In yesterday's episode, we heard about the persecution brought upon

38
00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,120
Speaker 4: Paul and Barnabas by those who wish to silence the

39
00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,560
Speaker 4: message of Jesus. Twice I had escape those who wish

40
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,440
Speaker 4: them harm. But finally in Listra, Paul was seized by

41
00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:06,000
Speaker 4: angry men who stoned him and carried him outside the city,

42
00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,440
Speaker 4: leaving him for dead. But the disciples came to his aid,

43
00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,960
Speaker 4: and Paul rose up to continue preaching and teaching, and

44
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,679
Speaker 4: many more came to Christ as a result. Today we'll

45
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:19,880
Speaker 4: hear how christ following Jews attempt to add to the Gospel,

46
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,720
Speaker 4: trying to make Gentile believers follow Jewish religious traditions such

47
00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:29,480
Speaker 4: as circumcision. We'll see Paul and Barnabas journey to Jerusalem

48
00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:32,160
Speaker 4: and convene a council of the apostles and elders of

49
00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,280
Speaker 4: the Church to stand against these doctrines that threatened to

50
00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,520
Speaker 4: rob the Gospel of his power. Let's listen now to

51
00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:40,280
Speaker 4: today's reading from the Book of Acts.

52
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,080
Speaker 3: The toxic doctrine of the Church and Antioch was spreading.

53
00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:49,520
Speaker 3: Jews who had become Christian considered themselves more complete and

54
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:54,640
Speaker 3: holy followers of God. They lorded their heritage over the gentiles.

55
00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,600
Speaker 3: Many of them even taught that a gentile could not

56
00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:02,160
Speaker 3: become a follower of Jesus unless he circumcised. This was

57
00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:06,280
Speaker 3: in direct opposition to what Jesus had spent years battling against.

58
00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,720
Speaker 3: He died so that nobody would be judged on the law,

59
00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,320
Speaker 3: but on the righteousness given to them through His sacrifice.

60
00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,799
Speaker 3: So Paul and Barnabas called for the apostles and pastors

61
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,719
Speaker 3: of the church together to discuss these teachings. Since the

62
00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,520
Speaker 3: early Church was mostly made up of Jews, it was

63
00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,640
Speaker 3: hard for them to comprehend a faith in Jesus without

64
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,320
Speaker 3: embracing the Jewish culture. So they prayed and bore their

65
00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:35,560
Speaker 3: heads before God and one another. They argued and debated

66
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,120
Speaker 3: the law of Moses and the law of liberty established

67
00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,800
Speaker 3: by Christ. Then, in the midst of the arguments and debates,

68
00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:46,960
Speaker 3: Peter stood up before the room. Everyone paused as Peter

69
00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,479
Speaker 3: paced the room. He stood with authority. He was no

70
00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,520
Speaker 3: longer the scared fisherman. He was a man of quiet strength,

71
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,760
Speaker 3: a man who knew Jesus deeply. My brothers, Peter said,

72
00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:02,760
Speaker 3: I have been a witness to what God has done

73
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,360
Speaker 3: to the gentiles. God has met them and given them

74
00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,720
Speaker 3: his spirit. He has made no distinguishing between us and them.

75
00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:13,960
Speaker 3: He gives the same spirit to both. And we are

76
00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,599
Speaker 3: to not call unclean what God has cleansed. Do we

77
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,440
Speaker 3: not still believe that we are saved by grace? Should

78
00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,479
Speaker 3: we not believe the same is true? For them. The

79
00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:28,560
Speaker 3: room fell silent, and Peter sat down. Then Barnabas and

80
00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,839
Speaker 3: Paul recounted the violence of the Jewish Christians in Antioch.

81
00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,080
Speaker 3: After this, all looked to James, the brother of Jesus.

82
00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:40,000
Speaker 3: He stood to his feet. There was silence, and James

83
00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:44,240
Speaker 3: looked deep in thought. My judgment is this, we should

84
00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,919
Speaker 3: not bind the Gentiles to laws that bring them no

85
00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,680
Speaker 3: closer to Jesus. We should write to them to encourage them,

86
00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:55,359
Speaker 3: to guide them, to restore them. But we should also

87
00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,760
Speaker 3: inform them on the things from the law they ought

88
00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:02,480
Speaker 3: to keep, for such is our burden. As leaders. All

89
00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,680
Speaker 3: were in agreement, so they forged a letter of encouragement

90
00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:11,080
Speaker 3: to the Gentile believers, and thus the first major conflict

91
00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,120
Speaker 3: within the Church was solved by a multitude of voices.

92
00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,640
Speaker 4: In today's scripture, we find Paul and Barnabas at odds

93
00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,520
Speaker 4: with some Jewish Christians who came from Judea and began

94
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,120
Speaker 4: to teach that gentiles must first be circumscised in order

95
00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,680
Speaker 4: to be saved. Paul and Barnabas saw this for the

96
00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,560
Speaker 4: false teaching, that it was a burden on the Gentiles

97
00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:38,560
Speaker 4: that Jesus never meant for them to bear, and they

98
00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,599
Speaker 4: debated them with passion. It was no small matter, and

99
00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,120
Speaker 4: a rift was beginning to form in the church. So

100
00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,359
Speaker 4: Paul and Barnabas wisely traveled to Jerusalem to meet with

101
00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:52,479
Speaker 4: Peter and the other apostles, along with elders in the church.

102
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,240
Speaker 4: These were people who had lived alongside Jesus and heard

103
00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,240
Speaker 4: him preach. If anyone could rule on this matter, it

104
00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,400
Speaker 4: would be them. As it turned out, this was not

105
00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,320
Speaker 4: simply a question on the fringes. There were many Jews

106
00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,920
Speaker 4: in Jerusalem who believed the same things that gentiles had

107
00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:14,520
Speaker 4: to follow Jewish laws and customs and become circumcised. Of course,

108
00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:17,640
Speaker 4: it was a deeper issue than circumcision. This was a

109
00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,120
Speaker 4: fundamental misunderstanding of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

110
00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,880
Speaker 4: and the freedom that he gives to all who follow him.

111
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,760
Speaker 4: After a great deal of debate and discussion, Peter stood

112
00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:31,800
Speaker 4: and spoke with confidence. I can imagine that as he

113
00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,280
Speaker 4: addressed the gathering, he was recalling the day on the

114
00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,480
Speaker 4: roof when the vision of unclean animals came to him

115
00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,160
Speaker 4: and he heard God tell him to rise, kill and eat.

116
00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,280
Speaker 4: How after he protested, God told him that he was

117
00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,000
Speaker 4: not to call anything unclean that God had made clean.

118
00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,960
Speaker 4: And how just after he awoke from his vision, men

119
00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:53,400
Speaker 4: came to bring him to a centurion named Cornelius, a

120
00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:57,360
Speaker 4: gentile who came to faith in Christ. Peter had led

121
00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,840
Speaker 4: this man and his whole family to faith in the Lord,

122
00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,920
Speaker 4: and there had been no need for circumcision. Salvation came

123
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,320
Speaker 4: through faith in Christ alone, by God's grace alone, to

124
00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:10,520
Speaker 4: these gentiles who heard the word of God and the

125
00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,240
Speaker 4: message of salvation, and the same Holy Spirit had been

126
00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:16,880
Speaker 4: given to them as was given to Peter and other

127
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:21,040
Speaker 4: believing Jews. To Peter, the matter was settled. God made

128
00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,320
Speaker 4: no distinction and had called all nations and all people

129
00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:30,640
Speaker 4: to himself. So in Acts fifteen ten and eleven he concludes, Now, therefore,

130
00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,520
Speaker 4: why are you putting God to the test by placing

131
00:08:33,559 --> 00:08:35,960
Speaker 4: a yoke on the back of the disciples that neither

132
00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,560
Speaker 4: our fathers nor we have been able to bear. But

133
00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,200
Speaker 4: we believe that we will be saved through the grace

134
00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:46,439
Speaker 4: of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as they will. Paul

135
00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:49,280
Speaker 4: and Barnabas then began to tell those gathered what the

136
00:08:49,320 --> 00:08:52,000
Speaker 4: Lord had been doing among the gentiles who were coming

137
00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:56,440
Speaker 4: to faith. In the Lord. Finally, James, Jesus's own brother,

138
00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,640
Speaker 4: stood and testified that what Peter, Paul and Barnabas were

139
00:09:00,679 --> 00:09:05,200
Speaker 4: saying did not contradict Old Testament prophecy, but rather supported it.

140
00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,320
Speaker 4: This is so important that we remember this today as well. Yes,

141
00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:14,040
Speaker 4: God uses experiences to shape and inform us in our walk,

142
00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:19,040
Speaker 4: but our experiences do not trump God's revealed word. God's

143
00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,760
Speaker 4: word is our final authority for faith and practice, and

144
00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:27,200
Speaker 4: as James concluded, God did not intend for gentiles to

145
00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:31,520
Speaker 4: become Jews, so rather than burden them with religious requirements

146
00:09:31,559 --> 00:09:34,960
Speaker 4: of the law, they should instead exhort them to abstain

147
00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:38,920
Speaker 4: from things like sexual immorality, and other practices that would

148
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:43,360
Speaker 4: violate God's moral law, ultimately hindering their fellowship with God

149
00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,760
Speaker 4: and other believers. This Jerusalem Council then drafted a letter

150
00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:51,439
Speaker 4: to send out to believers, resolving the matter and encouraging

151
00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:55,080
Speaker 4: them to have unity in the faith. This was the

152
00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,760
Speaker 4: first major disagreement in the church resolved through wise counsel, discernment,

153
00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,880
Speaker 4: understanding of God's word and prayer. It would not, however,

154
00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:06,760
Speaker 4: be the last division in the Church, and as we'll

155
00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:10,720
Speaker 4: discover in our next episode, Paul would remind believers again

156
00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,719
Speaker 4: that righteousness and freedom come not from good works, but

157
00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,520
Speaker 4: through faith in Jesus Christ by God's grace. We'll learn

158
00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:22,680
Speaker 4: more about that the next time. Let's pray. Dear God,

159
00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,480
Speaker 4: we thank you for the gospel that your grace is

160
00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,040
Speaker 4: available to all, that this is not a religious experience,

161
00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,480
Speaker 4: but a life changing transformation by the power of the

162
00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:36,480
Speaker 4: Lord Jesus Christ. May we always judge our experiences