MAR 17 2013PM Gaining a Worldwide Vision
Acts 11: 1-18
Usually as we begin each study, I lead in to the message with the ending of the previous week’s message. I don’t have to do that tonight because our passage comes from Acts 11: 1-18 and in it, Peter recaps the whole episode. So let’s get into the message.
What happened in this passage is of critical importance to church history. The events in this passage need to be studied by every church and every body of believers.
READ 1-3. The church’s early vision was narrow and traditional. It mentions the apostles and the brothers in v. 1. That was the church. They heard about Pete’s preaching mission to the Gentiles and about their having received the Word of God. As I have said before, it was unheard of that a Jew would fellowship and eat with a Gentile. So news probably traveled fast. And then to hear that Peter had baptized the Gentiles without first requiring them to be circumcised.
Remember, most if not all the believers at Jerusalem were Jews. They were circumcised as small children and had been committed to the Law of Moses since childhood. You see, when they accepted Christ, they didn’t have to forsake their Judiastic religion. They saw Christianity as an extension of Judaism. In their minds, Christ had only added new teachings to their existing law and religion. So, in their minds, if a person wanted to accept Christ, he had to become a Jew first. That meant being circumcised, committing himself to the Law of Moses. And observing all the ceremonies and rituals of Judaism. Once a person had done all these things, then and only then could he receive Christ and be baptized.
Peter had allowed Gentiles to receive the Word of God w/o circumcising them. He had broken the Law of Moses by going into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them. So the news was bound to travel fast.
The circumcised segment of the church was especially aroused. In v. 2 is says the circumcised believers criticized Peter. The apostles and most of the Christian brothers felt no contention or divisiveness. They trusted Peter’s walk with the Lord and felt sure that he would have an adequate explanation when he had the opportunity to share the experience.
Many church and church goers can learn some lessons from this.
1. Some church people want to hang on to their ceremony, rituals, rules and regulations. Those things are placed before the lives and salvation of people and that’s sad.
2. Note the true spirit of these legalists. Their spirits should have been rejoicing that some people were now saved and brought to the knowledge of Christ. Instead their spirits were full of contention because some religious practices were violated. But before we criticize, we are a lot like that. Don’t think so, change the order of a service. Do something different than we NORMALLY do. (Whatever normal is). Go against the grain in any fashion and someone will hear about it.
3. Prejudice, discrimination, rituals, and rules can blind us to God’s purpose to reach out to all people in salvation. Everyone is to be reached no matter who they are. No church should exclude anyone.
And here is a deep but fairly easy thought about all this. Listen closely. A disciple (you and me) is called to do the Lord’s will, to reach and evangelize the world. That’s the just of it. A disciple often has to break tradition and buck the tide of doing things the way they have always been done. And whenever that happens, whether it be the pastor, a deacon, or any church leader, that person can expect criticism from the traditionalists. But, the true disciple of Christ remains faithful just like Peter did. He does what God says.
If churches are not careful, they can commit a terrible crime: they monopolize the gospel, seldom if ever sharing it. They take the gospel and keep it to themselves, shutting out all others that don’t fit THEIR plan in things. This builds barriers of exclusiveness and prejudice, shutting themselves off from the rest of the world.
Now Peter recaps the whole story. READ 4-15. Peter simply shared what had happened. Even though we have been through this whole story step-by-step, let’s look at it from another viewpoint. Note what Peter stressed: God’s will is a worldwide mission, the door of salvation is to be thrown open to the whole world.
The stress of Peter’s story is on God’s intervention: God acting, moving , revealing, and making His will clear. Peter stressed:
• A trance and vision from God. READ v. 5.
• Also in v. 5, he stressed a large sheet descending FROM heaven TO him.
• He stressed the Lord speaking to him. READ v. 7-8.
• In v. 10, he stresses the Lord commanding him 3X. READ.
• Also in v. 10 he stresses the sheet ascending back INTO HEAVEN.
• He stresses the supernatural timing in the arrival of Cornelius’ servants. READ v. 11.
• He stresses the HS’s instructing him to go to the Gentiles. READ v. 12.
• He stressed the angel’s visit to the Gentiles and his instruction to send for Peter. READ v. 13.
• He stressed the HS falling on the Gentiles even before he had finished. READ v. 15.
• Notice how he says it in v. 15. The HS fell on the Gentiles just as “on us.”
• In v. 16 he stresses that the HS fell just as the Lord promised. READ.
• In v. 17 he says God gave the HS to Gentiles just “as He gave to us.”
Let’s note 4 things about Peter’s story and then we will move on.
1. Everything that happened to Peter in opening the door to the Gentiles was of God, initiated and controlled by God. It was God’s will, God’s work, God’s activity, God’s carrying of the gospel to the world, not Peter’s
2. There were 6 witnesses to what happened, each one verifying that the event was all of God. And note: they were Jewish believers themselves.
3. The words “no hesitation” in v. 12 mean making no distinction. God tells Peter in no uncertain terms, “Go with them (the Gentiles) making no distinctions.” We have the same command. Believers aren’t to make distinctions, not to discriminate in proclaiming the gospel. I wonder how many Christians withdraw from the poor, or from other races or social classes.
4. Note the amount of space and detail given by the author (Luke) to this event. He stresses the event more than any other in the book of Acts. Add to it the long discussion and chapter dealing with the same subject in Acts 15 and its importance becomes even more significant.
READ 16-18. The church responded to God’s will with a vision for worldwide missions.
1. First there was Peter’s conviction. He was convinced of 3 clear truths.
a. The Lords’ promise was fulfilled in the Gentiles; the Gentiles were being baptized with the HS.
b. Peter was convinced of another truth: he could stand against God. Peter had nothing to do with giving the HS to the Gentiles. The gift was God’s doing. It was God’s will that the door of salvation be swung open to the Gentiles.
c. It’s not circumcision—not some ritual, ceremony or religion—but belief that caused the HS to enter a life.
2. Then there was the church’ conviction: God grants repentance to all men. Let’s note three points about this repentance and then we will stop for tonight.
a. Repentance is the gift of God and the HS. If there were no God, no HS, there would be no opportunity to repent. Since God and the HS exist and are actively working to save men, there is such a thing as repentance.
Repenting is a privilege. It is a privilege to be given a way out of our sin. Did you notice in this passage what God expects of us? He doesn’t expect religion, not some ritual or ceremony, not social standing or success, not race or knowledge, but repentance.
b. Repentance is unto life: that is, it leads to life. Abundant life and eternal life are the end, the experience of repentance. The person who repents experiences life immediately, and lives on experiencing life to the fullest—forever. He never has and never will taste death.
c. So God has thrown open the door of salvation to the world, that is, the Gentiles. This is the church’s first stamp of approval to worldwide evangelism. But the battle is far from over. Selfishness and self-centeredness are hard to erase from depraved human nature.
The battle had to be constantly fought in the early church, and the struggle has continued on down to the present time. That is why we, as a Southern Baptist Church, work in cooperation with other Baptist churches around the world the support worldwide missions. Anne Armstrong, World Hunger, Mary Hill Davis, Lottie Moon as well as supporting the planting of new churches in our area. That’s a worldwide vision and that’s why I feel God continues to bless our efforts for His kingdom.
