2013 Acts #23: an exposition of Acts 15:1-35. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, October 27, 2013.
Intro:
It has long been a hallmark of Baptist life. We are a stubborn, independent bunch and as such we have loved independent thinking. Baptist fought and died for religious freedom. Baptist fought and died so that people would be free to follow their conscience. Baptists cherish the precious doctrine of the priesthood of the believer and have fought to preserve that great biblical truth. Now the common thing you’ll note through all of this is that Baptist fight! I’ve known Baptist that would fight at the drop of the hat and they’ll bring the hat! Perhaps it is in response to that, that some Baptists have gone to the other extreme. They don’t want to fight about anything. They just want to “get along.” In their desire to get along and to be inclusive, convictions have been replaced with preferences. Truth has been replace with “the way I see it.” The result being biblical categories have given way to politically correct terminology. I am all for getting along. I have no problem with reaching out to the whole world with the Gospel. I believe the church of the Lord Jesus ought to reflect the diversity of the community in which it exists. I want to be understanding and accepting of others – but at what cost?
In a world of half-truths, exaggeration and distortion just how far are we willing to go? At what point do we stand up and say, “What you’re teaching is wrong.” “What you are saying is not biblical.” Granted, it is a difficult line to walk. Which issues are worth “going to war” over. Do we make an issue of eschatology? If your version of the meaning of Daniel’s 70 weeks differs from mine do we draw a line in the sand? Do we make Bible translation a test of fellowship? There are no simple answers to these questions. These are not easy issues to decide. Good and godly people disagree. My concern is not so much what are the issues we should fight over. There is a larger issue that concerns me. And that is the issue that was at stake in the first church council, which was held in Jerusalem and is recorded for us in Acts chapter 15.
Text: Acts 15:1-35
At various times in the history of the church issues arose that demanded a response from the church. Official delegations from churches around the known world would gather and work through the issue and then respond in a unified voice. Issues like the nature of Christ, his deity and his humanity. The doctrine of the Trinity was hammered out over hundreds of years as various questions sparked controversy. The first great crisis brought about this meeting in Jerusalem.
Questions were raised about the nature of salvation. Who can be saved? What is necessary for or essential to salvation? From the church’s response to this crisis we learn a valuable lesson for today:
Thesis: In an age of hype, distortion and “spin” the church must maintain its integrity at all cost.
In the later part of the 19th century, P.T. Barnum, the head of the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus, invited Charles Haddon Spurgeon to lecture in America. Spurgeon, the pastor of the world famous Metropolitan Tabernacle in London was the best-known preacher of his day. His sermons were carried every week in newspapers across Europe and the United States. He preached to thousands every week. Spurgeon was a great pastor, soul winner and Christian statesman. Barnum promised great crowds and much money. It was a promoter’s dream – Barnum and Spurgeon. Spurgeon responded to the invitation with a brief telegram:
Dear Mr. Barnum,
Thank you for your kind invitation to lecture in your circus tents in America. You will find my answer in Acts 13:10.
Very sincerely yours,
Charles H. Spurgeon
If Mr. Barnum opened a Bible to Acts 10:13 this is what he would have found:
O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
Those were harsh words.
Why? What was so awful?
Such good could have come of it.
So many could have been saved.
But Spurgeon, like the apostle Paul before him, wanted nothing to do with “peddling the word of God.” To have allowed Barnum to merchandise the Gospel would have been to compromise the integrity of the Gospel and Spurgeon would have no part in it. It seems to me integrity is in short supply in our day. When the church turns to the world and asks how to conduct worship and how to present Gospel truth it reveals a lack of soundness or wholeness within the church. We must guard our integrity. We must seek to protect this treasure entrusted to us.
There are three things I want us to note from our text related to this issue of integrity.
- Integrity demands that we stand against that which threatens the essence of the Gospel. (15:1-6)
- Integrity demands that we confront error with truth, honesty, boldness and compassion. (15:6-21)
- Integrity demands that we respond graciously and redemptively toward those with whom we disagree. (15:22-35)
Conclusion:
I am concerned about those in the Christian family who are in constant search of a fight. I’m equally concerned about those who never see a reason to fight. We must pick and choose our battles. But without question we, as the church, must maintain our integrity no matter what the cost.
That integrity demands that we:
- Stand against that which threatens the essence of the Gospel
- Confront error with truth, honesty, boldness and compassion
- Respond graciously and redemptively toward those with whom we disagree.