SERMON OUTLINE
(1). Meet the cast:
• Paul.
• Barnabus.
• Titus.
• Peter, John & James.
• ‘False believers’.
(2). Drama in three parts:
• Act 1: Paul’s Coming (vs 1-2a).
• Act 2: Paul’s Companion(s) (vs 3-5).
• Act 3: Personal Confirmation (vs 6-10).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• A reporter was interviewing an old man on his 100th birthday, he asked him:
• “What are you most proud of?”
• “Well”, said the man, “I am proud that I don’t have an enemy in the world.”
• The reporter replied. “What a beautiful thought! How inspirational!”
• Then the centenarian said with a smile on his face:
• “Yep, I have outlived every last one of them.”
TRANSITION:
• The apostle Paul had enemies,
• They were the bane of his life and ministry.
• Wherever he went, it was only a matter of time before these enemies showed up!
• Whenever he planted a Church in some locality,
• Sooner rather than later false teachers blended in and started distorting it.
• At first they tried to discredit Paul’s message;
• And then they challenged Paul’s authority.
• One of the ways they challenged Paul’s authority;
• Was to hint that Paul’s gospel (the message he preached) was different to Peter’s;
• And that Paul’s gospel was also different to the other apostles back in Jerusalem.
Quote: John Stott:
• “They were trying to disrupt the unity of the apostolic circle.
• They were openly alleging that the apostles contradicted one another.
• Their game, we might say, was not “robbing Peter to pay Paul,”
• But exalting Peter to spite Paul!”
(1). Meet the cast:
• Before we try and make sense of these verses;
• Let’s take a few moments to ‘meet the cast’,
• To look briefly at the people mentioned in these verses.
FIRST: WE HAVE THE APOSTLE PAUL.
• He has previously in chapter 1 told us about his dramatic conversion to Christ,
• He has also told us a little bit regarding his calling into the ministry.
• Remember he did not choose to become a Christian preacher;
• He started out as a persecutor of Christians;
• But one day all that changed when God converted him!
• And God commissioned him with a particular calling, a particular vocation.
• He was to take the message of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles.
Now don’t skip over that last word ‘Gentiles’ (non-Jews);
• It might not sound very radical to you and me;
• But at this time and in this culture it was very radical!
• We might say it was a real ‘hot potato’.
• Had that apostle Paul just preached this message to other Jews,
• Then he would not be fighting these enemies,
• In fact he would be ‘flavour of the month’ with them.
• But because he shared the message of Christ with Gentiles (non-Jews);
• He was in big trouble with these enemies;
• These Judaizers (meaning: "to live according to Jewish customs").
SECOND WE HAVE BARNABUS:
• Barnabas, he was a devout Jewish Christian,
• He was a well-known respected man of God.
• He was very important to the apostle Paul in particular;
• Because when Paul got converted not everyone believed it was genuine.
• Many Christians thought Paul's conversion was just a trap;
• He would mix with them, find out who they were and then capture them.
• It was Barnabus who accepted Paul and stood by him,
• And then became his first partner in the ministry (Acts chapter 11 verses 22-30).
• The name Barnabus means ‘Son of Encouragement’;
• And you always find him living up to his name – encouraging someone.
Ill:
• A man said to evangelist Billy Graham on one occasion;
• “That God had given him the gift of criticism”.
• Billy replied: “You may have the gift but it did not come from God!”
• Question: When was the last time you encouraged someone?
• Do it! It is such a neglected ministry!
Barnabus is often linked with Gentiles:
• i.e. It was Barnabus who enlisted Paul to help minister at the Church in Antioch;
• Acts chapter 11 verses 25-26.
• i.e. Barnabus who also accompanied Paul on his first missionary trip.
• Acts chapter 13 verse 1 to chapter 14 verse 28.
THIRD: WE HAVE TITUS:
• Titus was a Gentile, a non-Jew who got converted and became a Christian.
• Titus chapter 1 verse 4 tells us that Titus was actually converted through Paul’s ministry.
• And that is one of the reasons Paul will take him with him;
• When he goes up to visit the Church at Jerusalem.
Ill:
• We might say Titus was exhibit A.
• Living proof of what God has been doing among the Gentiles.
• Later on Titus would assist Paul;
• By going to some of the most difficult Churches to help solve their problems.
• e.g. 2 Corinthians chapter 7& Titus chapter 1 verse 5.
FOURTH: WE HAVE PETER, JOHN & JAMES:
• These three men were ‘pillars’ of the Church in Jerusalem.
• Quote: “You can be a pillar or a caterpillar in your local Church – which are you?”
• These three men were ‘pillars’ of the Church in Jerusalem.
• We would say they were ‘spiritual heavy weights’,
• They were men of influence, position and power.
(a). Peter:
• We probably know all about Peter;
• Because he is such a prominent figure in the gospels & the book of Acts.
• Peter was primarily (but not exclusively) the apostle to the Jews.
• Although there is a progression in his ministry.
• The Jews (Acts chapter 2), The Samaritans (Acts chapter 8) and the Gentiles (Acts chapter 10).
(b). John.
• John we also know from the gospel accounts;
• He was one of three who made up an ‘inner circle’, the most trusted of Jesus disciples.
• Acts chapter 3 verse 1 shows us that John was closely involved with Peter;
• Working together in the ministry.
(c). James.
• James is probably the name in the chapter;
• That maybe needs a little bit more of an introduction;
• Don’t confuse him with the James the brother John;
• Who we read about in the gospels;
• And who Herod had killed in Acts chapter 12 verse 1.
• This James was the half-brother of Jesus;
• We know that after the unique conception and birth of Jesus;
• That Mary & Joseph had children together.
• (i.e. Matthew chapter 13 verse 55 & Mark chapter 6 verse 3).
• This James along with his brothers and sisters;
• Did not believe in Jesus during his three years of earthly ministry.
• (John chapter 7 verses 1-5).
• We are told that his conversion took place when the risen Lord appeared to him;
• (1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 5-7),
• He then went on to become a leader in the early Church at Jerusalem;
• (Acts chapter 15 and also Acts chapter 21 verse 18).
FIFTH: WE HAVE SOME FALSE BELIEVERS
• The New English Bible calls them: "Sham-Christians".
• J.B. Phillips translation calls them: "Pseudo Christians".
• The fact that they are called ‘false believers’,
• Would suggest they were not true Christians!
• Commentators call them ‘Judaizers’ (meaning: "to live according to Jewish customs").
• They were mixing the old and the new.
• Taking the gospel of grace and changing it to a gospel of grace plus certain practices.
• And as soon as you add to grace – then it is no longer grace!
• Galatians chapter 2 verse 4 tell us;
• That these men infiltrated the meetings;
• So that they could mix with and deceive other Christians into following their ways.
Notice in verse 4:
• Paul's deliberate choice of words;
• "Infiltrated"…”Penetrated”…"Secretly sneaked in”
• They had come to "spy," they were undercover agents on a mission.
• And there intent was to Christians away from the message of Paul;
• And get them to embrace the message they were proclaiming.
• Quote: Commentator James Montgomery Boice:
• "These words are a military metaphor,
• Used to indicate the subversive and militant nature of the evil that Paul was fighting."
• Paul was in war situation,
• A deadly battle was taking place that held an eternal outcome:
• Yet, Paul was not a passive foe:
• In fact he was a dogged opponent who fought with all his strength.
• Words like ‘retreat’, ‘defeat’ or ‘surrender’ were not in his vocabulary.
Important to Note:
• If you want to get the whole meaning of these verses;
• Then Acts chapter 15 - should be read along with Galatian’s chapter 2 verses 1-10.
• So pop a bookmark or keep a finger in the two passages.
In Acts chapter 15 we are given some background to the situation that arose.
• When Paul and Barnabus had completed their first missionary journey.
• Acts chapter 14 verse 27 tells us they were full of excitement;
• Regarding how God had ‘opened the door of faith to the Gentiles’.
• Acts chapter 15 verse 1 says that: ‘some men from Judea arrived’
• And started teaching that Gentiles had to first become Jews;
• If they wanted to be ‘proper’ followers of Jesus.
• And to show that they were ‘proper’ converts they need to be circumcised;
• This was of course for Jews an important Jewish rite,
• That was handed down to them from Abraham (Genesis chapter 17).
• Acts chapter 15 verse 2 informs us that Paul & Barnabus;
• ‘Vehemently disagreed with this’;
• And so a heated argument took place (Acts chapter 15 verse 2);
• And so it was decided that the best place to settle this argument;
• Was before the Church leaders in Jerusalem.
• Now having met the cast & looked at the problem;
• Let’s now look at the drama set before us.
Act 1: Paul’s coming (verses 1-2a).
• Jerusalem of course was and is an important city.
• Important to Jew, Moslem and of course Christianity.
• Because it was in Jerusalem where Christianity was born;
• We read in Acts chapter 2;
• That on the day of Pentecost, the very first Christian Church came into being;
• Si it was from Jerusalem that the message was taken elsewhere.
And for a while Jerusalem was therefore viewed as the ‘mother Church’.
• Because it was where Christianity had started,
• And it was the place where many key Church leaders (i.e. the apostles) lived.
• Now you might assume that Paul the apostle to travel this road to Jerusalem;
• O a regular basis – to meet with these other leaders;
• But you would be wrong!
• In fact the very opposite is true – we are told in verses 1-2:
“Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain”.
• Paul has already told us in chapter 1 verses 18-19 (Acts chapter 9 verses 26-28);
• That his contact with the other apostles after the first few years of his conversion;
• Was very, very small, almost nil.
• As mentioned earlier;
• Christians were suspicious of Paul, wondering if his conversion was just a trick.
• So practically the Church in Jerusalem did not seek his fellowship.
• And more importantly God did not lead Paul to go to Jerusalem.
Notice in verse 1 Paul writes:
• After an interval fourteen years since his first encounter with Peter and James;
• He was going back up to Jerusalem.
• In total that means for seventeen years;
• Paul had preached the gospel without any human instruction.
• No older, mature leader telling him what to say and do.
• He had not debated his message with other apostles to see if they agreed with him;
• The reason being that his message had come to him through a revelation;
• (Galatians chapter 1 verses 11-12 & 16-17).
• Therefore it was not open for debate & discussion;
• It was given to be shared and share the message Paul did!
• In my opinion he was the greatest evangelist that there has ever been!
Notice in verse 2 we are given another reason for Paul going up to Jerusalem:
• He did not go simply to settle an argument as mentioned in Acts chapter 15;
• That was the human part of it, but it was certainly not the whole reason.
• Paul had settled arguments like this before;
• And so he could easily have used his apostleship to settle the argument there and then.
• But in verse 2 Paul tells us that he went to Jerusalem;
• Because of a "revelation" he received!
• In other words it was God's idea that he should go!
• Please note that the other apostles did not summon him to Jerusalem;
• And asked him to give an account of himself
• His reason for going is very clear;
• It was God who told him to go, and God was sending him there for a specific reason.
“I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain”.
• Don’t misunderstand that last expression: "For fear that he had run in vain?"
• I don’t think Paul was afraid that he had got it wrong;
• That after all these years he had been teaching the wrong gospel!
Quote:
• Eugene Peterson in his paraphrase clarifies the meaning of verse 2 for us;
• As he summaries the apostle Paul's words:
"At that time I placed before them exactly what I was preaching to the non-Jews.
I did this in private with the leaders, those held in esteem by the church,
so that our concern would not become a controversial public issue, marred by ethnic tensions, exposing my years of work to denigration and endangering my present ministry”.
• Paul never had a problem with his message:
• After all he had received it directly from God by revelation.
• Therefor his message could not be wrong!
• ill: He was not walking on eggshells, in danger of cracking and being destroyed.
• ill: He knew he was standing on the unmovable rock of truth!
Paul did not need to win the backing of the other apostles:
• Because this was the same message that they too had been given by the Lord to preach;
• There was only ever one true gospel and it was given to all the apostles;
• To take and to share and to distribute and to evangelise with.
• Paul’s concern was to make sure that these enemies of the gospel;
• Would not use their influence to corrupt and spoil the gospel he had preached.
• Otherwise despite his hard work in planting Churches;
• And seeing men and women come to faith;
• It could all be in vain if they returned to spiritual slavery;
• By embracing and mixing Judaism with their new found Christian faith.
Act 2: Paul’s companion(s) (verse 3).
“Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised,
even though he was a Greek”
• All the men are quietly saying (Amen! Hallelujah!),
• Because had Titus been forced to be circumcised,
• Then the false believers would have won;
• And all Christian men since this occasion;
• Would probably need to be circumcised in order to follow Christ.
• Verse 3 is clearly teaching us that:
• Circumcision and following Old Testament regulations are not necessary for salvation;
• And Titus was living proof of that!
Ill:
• Some years after this occasion Paul did have Timothy circumcised.
• Acts chapter 16 verse 3.
• But this was NOT in connection with salvation.
• Timothy was a half-Jew and it was done for cultural reasons;
• By being circumcised Timothy would gain entrance into Jewish synagogues;
• Without that operation taking place Timothy would have been excluded from these places.
• His circumcision had nothing to do with his salvation;
• But was done in order that he could go and share the gospel in certain places.
• In comparison to Timothy, Titus was a full Gentile;
• So for him to be circumcised;
• Would be an admission that something was missing from his salvation.
Ill:
• If you are following the story in Acts chapter 15:
• You will notice that Dr Luke brings to our attention several witness;
• Who will testify that the gospel message is one of salvation is by grace alone;
• And NOT grace plus the keeping of certain Old Testament practices.
• In Acts 15 verse 7-11:
• Peter is the first witness called to bear out this truth.
• In Acts 15 verse 12: Paul and Barnabus take to the stand;
• And they report what God has been doing through the Gentiles.
• And they use Titus as evidence – he is exhibit A
• In Acts 15 verse 13-21:
• James, the leader of the Church,
• Gave the summation of the arguments and the conclusion of the matter.
• Which is that Jews and Gentiles are saved exactly the same way:
• Through faith in Jesus Christ ALONE!
Act 3: Personal Confirmation (verses 6-10):
N.L.T:
“And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favourites.)
7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles”.
• These ‘false believers’ had a cunning plan;
• They hoped to get the leaders of the Jerusalem Church to disagree with Paul.
• But their plan failed badly!
• Rather than dividing Paul and the Church leaders in Jerusalem;
• God used this occasion to sound out loud and clear;
• That salvation is a message of grace and grace alone!
• These ‘false believers’ learnt an important lesson:
• It was not a question of two different gospels being preached;
• It was the same gospel being taken to different people by those qualified to take it.
• Notice the expression in verse 8: "God was at work".
• Peter and Paul had the same Spirit and the same gospel.
• They were partners, united in vision and mission, unified in the message of salvation.
• But they were given different callings;
• Peter primarily to the Jews, and Paul primarily to the Gentiles.
• In other words, the one true God was directing their different ministries,
• One grace was empowering their different missions,
• And one gospel was the driving force in everything they did.
• So in verse 9: The Church leaders in Jerusalem;
• Gave Paul and Barnabas the "right hand of fellowship,"
• Quote NEB: "They accepted Barnabus and myself as partners, and shook hands on it".
• Which of course was a sign of agreement and trust
Notice: verse 10:
“All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along”
• The bulk of these verses are on talk and belief.
• i.e. What is the true gospel.
• But notice that once Paul, Barnabas, James, Peter, and John;
• Had all agreed on what the true gospel was,
• They make sure that it didn't become just a static definition.
• They make sure that it didn't become just a motionless statement.
• They made sure that it did not become words, words and more words.
• And so these verses conclude by reminding us;
• That the gospel is dynamic, a vibrant part of our actions and relationships.
• God's love changes us so that we love and care for the needs of others!
In Conclusion:
(1).
• Paul was ACCEPTED by the church leaders.
• He was not viewed as a self-appointed apostle;
• He was viewed as an equal, one who like them was chosen by God.
(2).
• Paul was AFFIRMED by the church leaders.
• Remember when Paul, Barnabus and Titus met the Jerusalem council;
• It was a meeting of spiritual giants of the early church.
i.e.
• Paul, James, Peter and John;
• Wrote 21 out of the 27 books of the New Testament.
• If Paul or Barnabus wrote Hebrews (many believe it was one or the other).
• That is 22 out of the 27 books of the New Testament.
• In other words:
• These folks had authority!
And in this passage and in Acts chapter 15:
• Paul is both accepted and affirmed by the Church in Jerusalem.
• And the true gospel of God was also affirmed!
• Salvation is all of grace!
