Sermon Central
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The Verdict Of Salvation’s Great Application Series
Contributed by T.j. Conwell on Jun 25, 2024 (message contributor)
Summary: How we respond to God's calling is very telling of what He is doing in our lives. Will we obey the command to go and tell others how to be saved, just as the Church has been directed since the beginning? Or, will we make the grace of Christ about what we have done instead?
To the Ends of the Earth, Part 23
The verdict of salvation’s great application
Introduction
- Welcome to Seasons Church & 2024 sermon series, “To the Ends of the Earth”
-- In 2023 we unpacked the beginning of all history (Creation/Fall/Promise)
-- And we looked ahead, anticipated the coming & victory of Jesus (Revelation)
-- But, in order to get to the end, we have to be busy doing the work now (Acts)
- Last time we saw how a meeting of the church clarified salvation
-- Legalism had taken root (circumcision & Law abiding required) in the church
-- God brought unity to the church in the form of: This is how people are saved!
-- Determined through testimony of what Jesus said & (IMP) what God did!
- Today, we will see the after-effect of the Jerusalem Council’s official decision
-- We will also take a look at honest conflict, and its results (both good and bad)
- Read Acts 15:23-41 / Pray
Point 1 – The Jerusalem Council’s Resolution
- RE: A great decree is issued to the Church: “salvation is by grace alone”
-- Now, watch how this is delivered to the church and to us …
a. Understand this: There is a humble attitude that brought the decree (v23)
No one was exalted in this; this is not an “I told you so” moment
• They affirmed that this decision was that of the entire Church
• The great decree of salvation is found in humility; humbleness before God
o The brothers have a common standing – all saved the same way
o No one had the authority to rule over another
o This shows the genuine fellowship they have
b. The decree: Ritual and Law are not necessary for salvation (v24)
- BIG: Salvation is, and always will be:
• By the grace of the Lord Jesus and Him alone (v11)
• By the miracles and wonders of God and Him alone (v12)
• How? By turning to Christ and begin forgiven of your sin (v19)
- Some were troubled by this however, even with a clear direction
• This led to false teachers having to be rebuked & corrected
• Why? They troubled the believers with their words
• The also subverted the believers souls; they caused confusion on this
o Greek: anaskeuazó; unsettle
• Also … these were never commissioned by the church to teach!
- Don’t miss how clear the rebuke is from Paul – they are not part of the Church
-- That is, those teaching false are NOT participating in the same ministry!
c. Men were chosen to preach the truth (vv25-27)
- The church sent Barnabas and Paul back to proclaim what they heard
-- It is still an instruction to how churches must call men today to preach
• There must be a willingness to proclaim the truth (salvation by grace)
• APP: We must not add to this determination with our requirements
• What the church needs is people who will serve Christ with their lives
o Greek: martus; messenger; martyr, witness
- Bonus: Judas and Silas are also sent to confirm the message
-- They were chosen specifically to confirm the message of the church
-- Why? For validation and authority of the Church’s agreement in Christ
- TR: What is passed onto the church? The same thing decided by them!
Point 2 – Affirmations and Results
- Take a moment to clarify “consuming blood” from v20 and again in v29
- In the Greek, the reference to blood is the word “haimatos”
-- When used in this, it refers to the blood of the righteous, or the blood of a person
-- Sometimes, it can even refer to the physical flow of blood in the body
- RE: God held very sacred the “shedding of blood” for the forgiveness of sin
-- The only one qualified to do that – for humanity’ sake – is Jesus Christ
- So, when that is removed what is the very common sin known to man?
-- Crimes against one another, such as murder (acts that deal with bloodshed)
- The original transcription in Greek says is this: “apecho kai tou haimatos”
-- Which means: “To hold back (or to abstain) from blood”
- So, the verb “consuming” is not in the original text … EXCEPT …
-- It implies “doing something”, although it’s not really called out originally
-- Thus, it is easy in a transliteration to tie those words together (not an error)
-- Rather, this is trying to make the Greek and the English “make sense”
- What we now see is a breakdown of how the agreement is to be applied:
a. There were few rules that were necessary (vv28-29)
• FACT: The Holy Spirit was heavily directing this decision
