God’s Word For Us March 5th, 2023
God of Life, send the Holy Spirit to guide us as we listen to stories from Scripture that may sound familiar. Speak your truth in ways that open our minds and hearts to a deeper understanding of your Living Word and instruct us how to live our lives in faithfulness to you. Amen
Over the last couple of weeks in our lessons from the book of Acts our focus has been on an issue which had caused a lot of internal debate within the Christian church and had the potential to destroy it in its infancy.
At the time, the crisis began when some men had come from Jerusalem to meet with the Apostle Paul and his companion, Barnabas, who were preaching the gospel in the towns and villages of what is modern day Turkey. They started telling the Gentile people there, who had come to faith in Jesus, that they couldn’t truly be saved until they first started following the customs of the Jewish religion. This didn’t sit well with Paul and Barnabas who knew that a person received salvation solely through the grace of God and faith in Christ, not by following their set of rules and customs.
As a result of this disagreement between those men and the missionaries the Apostle Luke tells us, “And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.” (Acts 15:2) Two Sundays ago we heard about this discussion which took place between Paul and Barnabas and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, which included the disciple Peter as well as James, the half-brother of Jesus. After much debate James, who had become the spokesman for the Church, stood up and said to those present, “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.” (Acts 15:19) The decision to allow Gentiles full status in the Church without first becoming Jews had been made.
And now in today’s lesson we’re going to see the outcome of that decision. The reading opened with these words from Luke, “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers.” And not only did these two men go with Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch to tell the people there the outcome of the meeting which had taken place in Jerusalem, but they were also given a letter to take with them to read to the congregations they met with.
The purpose of that letter was to tell the Gentile believers in Antioch and the surrounding areas the fact that they were accepted as being true followers of Christ without having to follow the rules of Judaism. There only were a few things that they were asked to do for the sake of their brothers and sisters in Christ who had come out of the Jewish faith. The letter said, “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.” So, the Gentiles were asked to refrain from doing these things out of courtesy to their Jewish brethren in order not to make them feel uncomfortable and ill at ease when they were worshipping together. A small price to pay and definitely something to which we today would eagerly agree.
And yet, not only is that decision which the church in Jerusalem made important, after all it confirmed the fact that salvation is the free gift of God to those who have faith, but it is also crucial to note the method in which it was delivered to those Gentile believers. Not only was it sent by a letter, but some men were appointed to go down and explain it to them. This is what Luke tells us took place, “They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.” We’re not told much more about those two men, Judas and Silas, but they would have been well respected by the leaders in Jerusalem as they were entrusted with both delivering and explaining the contents of the letter to the Gentile members of the church.
This was the beginning of a process for teaching in the church which is still God's plan for explaining the Christian faith to people today. He has written us a letter, the Bible, and put all that he wants us to know in writing. God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, has also given men and women the ability to explain what he has written to those around them. And it is not limited to those men and women who have had special training, each of us, in our own way, have the gift to bring others to Christ. We can look at the Bible as being an instruction manual, all the knowledge that is necessary to lead our lives in the example of Jesus can be found there. Often parts of the Bible are not easily understood, especially the Old Testament, as it is also a historical document of the times, but there are many important messages in it that God has passed down through the ages to his people.
So, how did the members of the church in Antioch react when they both read the letter, and had it explained to them by Judas and Silas? Luke writes, “So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.” Not only were they happy with the decision, but they rejoiced over it.
Judas and Silas, the two men who delivered the letter, were welcomed by the church, so much so that they spent some time there teaching and encouraging the congregation. Once again, we see God’s plan for spreading the Gospel at work. These relatively unknown men had been given the gift of instruction by the Holy Spirit and they made use of that gift. And here in our congregation there are many of you who have the gifts of teaching and sharing, comforting, and helping, encouraging, and guiding. There are so many ways we can live our lives for God and bring his gift of truth and faith to others. And like these early Christians we should remember, many times actions speak louder than words. The way we live our lives can be a true reflection of our faith in Christ. These words of the disciple Peter can serve as our guide, “but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the examples of early followers of Jesus who went forth, even, and especially, in the midst of much hostility, and proclaimed your gospel with power and conviction. Lord, their example and testimony are so encouraging. Give us that same faith so we can be able to preach the gospel in all seasons and in all circumstances and use the gifts you give us to help others in our family, our church, and our community. We pray that your love and peace will reach all in our world. Amen.