Churches are People, TOO
Acts 15:22-41
Introduction:
Today we are going to look at Church. Church, such a formal sounding word, a stately word, and, according to the secular world, there are many definitions for this word. Here are a few:
1. A building for public, especially Christian worship.
2. often Church
a. The company of all Christians regarded as a spiritual body.
b. A specified Christian denomination: the Presbyterian Church.
c. A congregation.
3. Public divine worship in a church; a religious service: goes to church at Christmas and Easter.
4. The clerical profession; clergy.
5. Ecclesiastical power as distinguished from the secular: the separation of church and state.
Only two definitions in all five or so of those definitions are used, or rather, should be used by Christians. “The company of all Christians regarded as a spiritual body.” And, “A congregation.”
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4, verses 9-12
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: 10 If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Church is the people that make up the Body of Christ. We are the Body of Christ, and He, that is Jesus, is the Head of this Body. Church is two or more believers gathered in the name of Jesus for the express purpose of worshiping God.
Not only do we corporately, or together as a people, worship God, but, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, we ‘do’ things as a church, as an expression of our worship of God. We have services, ministries, studies, funerals, feasts, marriages, vigils, events, outreach… and the list goes on and on.
“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken..” Take those three strands and lay them side by side and they can do nothing. Take two of those three and the one is left out, weak and unable to withstand the world. Put those three together and they become CHURCH.
One believer by themselves is alone. Put two believers together in unity and you have CHURCH!
In one of the shortest chapters of the Bible, Psalm 133, King David tells us what unity does for the believer. In Psalm 133, he says,
Psalm 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
When we are together and unified through the Lord Jesus Christ, people will see Jesus in us. However, when we are bickering and arguing with one another, people will not see Jesus at all! Jesus Himself tells us this in John 17. Look at John 17, verses 22 and 23:
22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
If we are not together as one, then the world will not see that Jesus was sent to them and us, and they will not see any love.
Are we church, or a bunch of people that get together on Sunday to talk about only our own successes, or only our own problems?
Today, we are going to look at several key points in Acts 15:22-41. These points are inter-woven into the verses. At first glance you’ll quickly grasp the gist of these verses. You may see the mother church in Jerusalem stepping in to help those in Antioch and other places. And, you wouldn’t be wrong in your assumption. If you take a second glance at these verses you may see the Apostles, with Paul, Barnabas, Judas and Silas opening the arms of the Christian church to the gentiles. Once again, you wouldn’t be wrong in your assumption. But, dig a little deeper and you’ll see the crimson thread of Jesus. The unity of the brethren that He desired and prayed to the Father for in John 17. Ponder on every word in these verses and you’ll see that Peter and James had set up a Ministry Leadership Team that met together, discussed the problems, reached a decision, then laid that decision before the church for its approval.
You see, Peter and James were not the church. They were the MLT that met, discussed, prayed, and, through the Holy Spirit, presented options to the church for its decision. You see, the body of believers make up the church, and the body of believers are led by the Spirit of God to make decisions to the glory of God.
Let’s look beyond the surface of these verses at the crimson thread of Jesus’ unity. Let’s look at
I. Churches make Decisions
v22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided
II. Churches make Corrections and Apologies
v24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you
III. Churches make Choices
v25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them
IV. Churches make Spirit-led rules and requirements
v28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
V. Churches make Time
v33 After spending some time there,
VI. Churches make Agreements
v39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
VII. Churches make Disciples
v40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
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I. Churches make Decisions
v22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided
The believers, the members are the Church, and the Church Makes Decisions!
It’s important to know that the brothers in Jerusalem decided to send along Judas and Silas as witnesses, since it would be easy for the troublemakers back in Antioch to say, “You just made all that up!” Some good counsel came out of the trip to Jerusalem, but look at who makes the decision. Verse 22 says, “Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church decided.”
Sure there were probably people that yielded to the experience and knowledge of Peter and James, but there were other people, too. Older people who were just as experienced in making decisions (elders), but they didn’t hold the vote up because the vote went to the entire church, and the WHOLE CHURCH decided to choose.
A very good lesson for any person that desires to try to run a church by themselves. A very good lesson for any person that desires to try and take over a church and run it according to their own selfish desires.
Now, not only do CHURCHES MAKE DECISIONS,
But,
CHURCHES MAKE CORRECTIONS AND APOLOGIES.
II. Churches make Corrections and Apologies
v24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you…
v25 So we all agreed
Paul and Barnabas brought some disturbing news to the council at Jerusalem. They reported that there were some people who were saying that they came from Jerusalem with the message to become circumcised or they couldn’t be saved.
Not only did this news disturb the apostles and elders, who had not sent these people, but this news disturbed the whole church.
Look at verse 25, “So we all agreed.” The whole church is apologizing and seeking to correct the wrong that these other people had committed. The whole church is seeking to correct the wrong doctrine that these other disciples were teaching.
When a church body, as a whole, becomes convicted, that church body, as a whole, needs to get on its knees and ask for correction and forgiveness.
The church in Jerusalem is doing that very thing, asking that the doctrine be corrected.
III. Churches make Choices
v25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them
The church stepped up and admitted it was willing to correct the wrong, but it didn’t stop there. The church, as a whole, chose some men to send with Paul and Barnabas. This decision was crucial, as the people in Antioch would simply say that Paul and Barnabas had never went to Jerusalem, or, they had fabricated the document from James and the church.
Churches have to make choices. Sometimes, when there isn’t enough prayer, churches will make the wrong choices. Sometimes, when people unnecessarily rush decisions, churches will make rash decisions. Rash or rushed decisions are bad, but, what is worse than a rash decision? No decision.
When a church does not make a choice, several bad things can surface:
1. Lack of Leadership or bad leadership is displayed to the world.
2. Lack of Prayer concerning the choice.
3. A misunderstanding of alliance could occur. As an example, if the church does not make a statement about a Presidential candidate, it is telling the community that it either doesn’t care or that any of the candidates are okay.
Choices are important, and the most important thing is that CHURCHES MAKE CHOICES. They have to, and to the glory of God they do.
IV. Churches make Spirit-led rules and requirements
v28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
The church at Jerusalem, through the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, set forth only three requirements for the Gentile churches. These men and women were led by the Spirit and identified what the gentile people needed to hear, and, what not to burden them with.
I’m sure that later on the Jerusalem church probably sent more rules and requirements, but these were the beginning. This was the way to correct the current situation at Antioch and other churches in that area. And, the Spirit led these praying, unified men and women, these people that made up the church, to provide only three requirements.
V. Churches make Time
v33 After spending some time there,
Paul and Barnabas spent time with the believers, ministering to them, helping them, directing them and leading them. They didn’t pull up stakes and run after they delivered the message from James. They didn’t go into Antioch boasting about their success in Jerusalem and along the way. No, they spent some time there building up the body of Christ through His teaching through them.
Churches make time for its members. Meaning that people in the church need to make time for people in the church. People need to spend time together to learn about one another. To learn about their gifts, to talk about their issues and their problems. To acknowledge one another through time spent with one another.
Taking time with someone will build up a relationship. Taking time with people will ensure that whatever it is you are doing, will not have to be re-done in the future.
Taking time is beneficial to everyone and exalts Christ in us, and brings glory to God.
VI. Churches make Agreements
v39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
I say churches make agreements and use this verse? What are we thinking? Well, if you visit 2 Timothy 4:11, we’ll see just how much Paul cared for Mark. I don’t think this disagreement is as bad as WE make it out to be. I believe, actually, that Paul and Barnabas agreed to part company. They agreed to disagree concerning Mark and what he could do for the ministry.
Let’s look at 2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
VII. Churches make Disciples
v40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
We’ve established that CHURCHES ARE PEOPLE, TOO! And, since churches are people, when Luke says, “strengthening the churches...” we can assume that ’churches’ means people. Therefore, Paul and Silas went back through the country to the churches where Paul and Barnabas had already been.
Their whole purpose was to survey the churches, that is the PEOPLE. They wanted to take a look at the growth of the brethren. Their spiritual growth. They wanted to make sure the brethren were developing in the Lord.
Churches make disciples. We are commanded by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20, to make disciples:
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
In Christ, churches make disciples.
Conclusion:
Churches ARE People, too. And as a group of Spirit-led individuals, we are called upon at various times to:
make Decisions
make Corrections and Apologies
make Choices
make Spirit-led rules and requirements
make Time
make Agreements
make Disciples
Are you part of the membership of your church? Are you part of the CHURCH? If not, get with one of the Elders, Deacons or Deaconesses and tell them your situation. Tell them you want to join the church, or, maybe, if you’re not a Christian, let them know that you want to get saved, then become a member of the body of Christ.
