Audio Sermons

Building Up the Church of Christ:

Keeping Unity in the Church

Life B-P Church Worship Service, 13^th August 2023

Text: Acts 15:1-35

• Without unity, it is impossible to build up the Church of Christ.
• Our Lord Jesus prayed for the unity of the Church. (John 17:6-23)
• As more and more Gentiles were converted in the early church, many differences that divided Jews from Gentiles began to surface.

The Cause of the Dispute:

• Jewish believers from Jerusalem came to Antioch and began to teach that all believers must be circumcised. (v.1, cf. Exodus 12:48)
• This means that Gentile believers would have to keep the law of Moses. (v.5)
• The Jewish believers were observing these laws as an expression of their faith in Jesus, their Messiah. (cf. Acts 18:18,21; 21:20,26)
• If Gentile believers are required to observe them, the Church would soon move towards a teaching of salvation by doing the works of the Law.
• As Paul and Barnabas recognised this danger, they opposed the efforts of these Jewish believers to bring Gentile believers under the Law.
• How should this matter be handled without causing disunity in the Church?

Lessons from the Early Church:

1. Set aside time to discuss the matter together. (vv.2-6)

• The church of Antioch sent a delegation to bring this matter up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
• The apostles and elders convened a meeting to consider it carefully.
  This meeting became known as the Jerusalem Council.
• When leaders who are spiritually mature come together to deliberate on difficult matters, there is less likelihood of making a wrong decision.
  (Cf. Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 24:6)

2. Listen to each other’s views and opinions. (vv.7-12)

• The meeting began with much disputing, but Peter restored order by directing everyone’s thoughts to the very heart of the whole matter.
• Verse 12 – “Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul…” (cf. James 1:19)
• Their testimony convinced the council that faith is all that God requires for salvation, because salvation is wrought entirely by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. (cf. vv.10-11)

Application: No one is able to bear the heavy yoke of obeying God’s laws in order to be saved. Have you come to Jesus to find rest unto your soul?
(cf. Matthew 11:28,29)

3. Submit to the Word of God. (vv.13-21)

James rounded up the discussion by making reference to two portions of God’s Word:

• Amos 9:11,12 – This shows that God’s plan to save the Gentiles had been foretold hundreds of years before, and no mention is made of Gentiles having to keep the Law of Moses. (cf. vv.16,17)
• Isaiah 46:9,10 – This debunks the idea that God had only planned to save Israel, and then included the Gentiles as an afterthought. (cf. v.18)

4. Practice mutual forbearance in brotherly love. (vv.22-29)

• The final decision was that Gentile believers are not to be burdened with keeping the law of Moses.
• However, in order to avoid offending the Jewish believers, the Gentile believers would have to observe some basic restrictions. (vv.28,29)

The Outcome:

• There was peace and unity in the Church. (v.25; cf. Psalm 133:1)
• The decision brought much joy to all believers. (v.31)

Application: Every one of us has a part to play in keeping unity. (cf. Ephesians 4:3)
We can use a helpful guideline to do this: “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity.” (Peter Meiderlin, 1582-1651)

Questions for Reflection:

1. How can you play a part in keeping the unity of the church?
2. What are the essential doctrines of the faith on which we must stand united?
3. What are some non-essentials in which we can exercise liberty?