Two Issues
First B Jackson
2025-05-18

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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For children's church and there they go. And if you want to, there's some seats that just opened up. If you're in the back and you want to be upfront, not everybody wants to be upfront and I realize that but if you want to, you're welcome to sit in the room with us. We're continuing forward in our study of the book of Acts and we have this morning two issues. Uh-oh.

That's the wrong sermon, Josh. Completely. Like, by a lot. Here we go. Should have been put in this morning.

Let's talk amongst ourselves. What we're up to right now is a passage that is sort of sort of difficult honestly because last week, if you'll think back, it says, May 18, Acts 15, such and such. So, we're up to a passage in Acts. So, last week, if you remember, we covered the Jerusalem Council. Jerusalem Council is from Galatians two and Acts 15.

Galatians two and Acts 15, they coincide with each other. It's talking about the same event. There was some struggle up in Antioch and Iconium and all over the place really. There was some struggle in Antioch. There were some people that came in that said, you must obey the law of Moses.

You must be circumcised and obey the law of Moses in order to be saved and that is a big deal. If you're a Gentile and you've heard the word of the gospel and you put your trust in the one righteous one, the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus and then, someone comes in and says, no, no, no, no, no, that's not it. You have to also do this. They're adding to the gospel. Actually, in Galatians one, Paul says, in verses eight and nine, he says, if anybody comes to you proclaiming any other gospel than the gospel of grace in Christ Jesus, the one we presented to you, even if I come back later and say something different.

Y'all, that's not right and it's not good and that person should be anathema cut off. It's a big deal. There we go. Yay. Thank you, Josh.

Two issues. That's what we're dealing with today. One of them is what I was just talking about. That prompted a group from Jerusalem or a group from Antioch to go to Jerusalem, a group from Jerusalem to go to Antioch, someone went back to Antioch, other stayed back to Jerusalem, some stayed in Antioch, and this is where we're gonna pick up. So it says, after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas are in Antioch.

That is where Barnabas went and got Paul and said, you're the guy that this church needs years ago. Brought the man brought him in and said, we need your teaching about the Old Testament and how it relates to the New Covenant. And so, he was there for quite some time. They've already been on their first missionary journey and come back and it says, and they spent some time there. It was pretty good while apparently.

So, after some days, Paul said to Barnabas but this is after the Jerusalem council, okay? After some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let's return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. That's great. That's a missionary sentiment right there. We planted a seed and we saw some conversions and we saw the spirit taking hold and we also faced opposition and let's go back and see how they're doing.

Okay? Now, if the Judaizers had been to Antioch, chances are they've also been to these places. So, some of that is to carry forward from here. They were sent back from Jerusalem after the Jerusalem council with a word that we'll discuss in a moment But when they went back to Antioch and they're saying, it's clarified. Jews and Gentiles, Christians alike can coexist in a spirit of love for one another despite their backgrounds.

You do not have to become Jewish to become Christian. That was a decision. You do not have to be circumcised to become Christian, to be saved. Let's return and visit the brothers and sisters in every city in which we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are. So, Barnabas wanted to take John called Mark, John Mark along with them also.

But Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along with them this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia. You can see Paul's opinion. Luke is writing and from well, let me just keep going. Luke is writing having spoken to both I'm sure, but Paul for sure. Paul was of the opinion that they should not take along this deserter who had deserted them in Pamphylia really before much of the work got started.

They had been from Antioch to Seleucia down to Paphos, and he made it as far as Sergius Paulus receiving the gospel, and then when they got to Perga, he said, I can't do this anymore, and he went back home. So, that's the route that they had made with John Mark on the first missionary journey and John left them. Says so in Acts 13, that's John Mark just to be sure and he went back to Jerusalem presumably to his mother's house which we know from that's the place that Peter showed up, right? And Rhoda carried the news to the rest of the folks and they laughed at her. Jerusalem is a center point of the gospel so is Antioch.

Okay? So is Antioch. It's become a launching ground now. Now, the the is there any row between Jerusalem and Antioch? They had just had the Jerusalem council so there would not be.

So, I don't think this is a theological debate. Part, Barnabas wants to take along John, Mark, and Paul thinks, you know, he deserted us the first time. I don't think he has a stomach for it. He had not gone with them to the work. I guess Cyprus was not really work.

He had been with them for part of the work, but he did leave for whatever reason, we don't know why. It wasn't like he got a text or FaceTime from home, you know. But he went back for some reason. He had not gone with them to the work, and probably, they had not had as hard a time on Cyprus as they would in Iconium and Lystra and Derby and all those other places they went on the first journey. So, Paul's opinion was, listen, he abandoned us before it got tough.

I don't really want to take him in to those same places again. That's a reasonable argument, reasonable opinion. Barnabas. Oh, love Barnabas. Barnabas is the encourager.

His name is actually Joseph. Barnabas means son of encouragement. He is an encourager and it's worthwhile to take people who have failed and given them a second chance. Is that a good thing? That's a good thing.

They're both motivated by good. Now, it turned into a sharp disagreement. You know when you're preaching, not a lot of y'all have this, I guess, but when you're preaching through something and it's top of your mind, I have had two sharp disagreements this week. Not as sharp as this one, but I did. I I I found myself in the midst of I'm thinking, lord, I don't want a sharp disagreement this week but the feeling of not getting along actually especially since one of the last things I said last week to all of y'all was, if you and a brother or sister in Christ are in disagreement, at least one of you is wrong.

Maybe both of you and then the next passage and I knew what was coming. I knew what was coming. The next passages, it turned into a sharp disagreement. So sharp disagreement, I have mentioned a couple of times in Acts 13 I think about a word that's used for stirring up people against. But this is a different word.

It is a stirring for sure. Paroxysm in English, but paroxysmos. The definition is a provocation or a stirring up or a sharp disagreement, and that's what it's translated as right here. Now, is that other word, epigero, and it means stayed up. It is always negative, always.

Every time that it's used in all classical antiquity and in the Bible, I've never found it when it was not used negatively. Paroxysm actually is used twice in the New Testament. The other one is to be stirring one another up in loving good works from Hebrews ten twenty four. So it's stimulation or provocation or even irritation, but it can be angry dispute. The way we tend to read this is they were so angry at each other they had to just get out of each other's company, and maybe it was a sharp disagreement.

We don't have a ton of information about it, but contention or a provoking unto. It can be incitement to good things or it can just be a dispute and anger, and the range of meaning is there. I'll let you kind of go with whatever you think that is. I think that it was God's will. So, paroxysmos is a propagation which literally jabs or cuts someone, the other person so that they must respond and so, if Paul is like all about the advance of the gospel and the work and I'm willing to go into places that they beat me.

And I don't think John Mark can take that. I don't think we need to take him and Barnabas is saying, come on, Paul. He's a good kid. We need to take care of him And so Oh, there's the other, stirring one another up. That's where paroxysmos is used.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for He who promised is faithful. Let us consider one another. Considering one another is huge in this passage. We'll see it in both issues, considering one another. Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.

Not forsaken those someone of ourselves together as is a matter of some but keep on exhorting one another so much more as you see the day approaching. Now, it turned into such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another. I have been we have been in missionary circles for twenty five years and we have seen external pressures on missions agencies and more often than that, we've seen internal pressures on missions agencies where people are working for God and they feel directed in different ways and it is one of the most difficult things when a when there is disunity in the body of believers that came together for a specific purpose. Barnabas International is a a missions agency right now that goes alongside and helps missionaries who've gone through meltdowns or breakdowns. Sometimes they go to try to help solve the problem, but usually it's personally to go come alongside and help.

And and then there are others that are finishing the task. We're doing this. And those are the two sides of this. Both of them are valid. Both of them are good.

There's a sharp disagreement though, and they decided to separate from one another. And Barnabas took Mark with him, and they sailed away to Cyprus. They went back From Antioch, they went to Seleucia, I'm sure, and then sailed to Cyprus which is where Barnabas is from. We know that John Mark's from Jerusalem but Barnabas felt comfortable on Cyprus taking John Mark. Maybe training him up for ministry.

We see later in the Bible, we see how Paul writing years later says, send John Mark with my coat. He's useful to me in ministry. He recognized his validity as a minister but he didn't feel like he's ready to go on this first trip with him. So, Barnabas takes him to Cyprus. He had done well apparently on Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas.

Now, if you remember, Silas was the guy that was sent from Jerusalem back up to Antioch along with Judas called Barsabbas. They were sent both being actually, think the next slide says that. Judas and Silas also being prophets themselves, preachers, encouraged and strengthened the brothers and sisters with a lengthy message that's same Silas. Paul chose Silas and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. There was no animosity.

When he left, go with grace. I I say anytime that anybody lets me know they're leaving. They leave with a blessing. We bless them to go on to wherever it is God is leading them. Sometimes people don't let me know and they have from me in the grocery store but it's rare.

I'm joking. It's it's not that rare. I'm I really am kidding. I really am kidding. Paul chose Silas and left after being entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord and he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia strengthening the churches.

This is the place that he had been before except for it says, Syria and Cilicia. So instead of going across the Mediterranean, he went land bound. He went up from Antioch through Syria, through Cilicia which is he's from Tarsus probably through his hometown. I didn't put a map this time, but what was my point last week? Let me think about it.

If this is what I said, if you are ongoing disagreement with another brother or sister in Christ, at least one of you is wrong. Maybe that both of you are wrong. Unity does matter, and you should try to reconcile it. You should work at reconciliation, and our society has given up on that idea. Just look at it from two separate angles completely.

Coming back together does not matter as much it seems, but that's not necessarily true. Okay? It's not necessarily true. I don't think that either one of them had to be wrong. In fact, I think both of them were right in what they were doing.

I tend to be more like Barnabas. Carl tends to be more like Barnabas, I think. Although, I want the gospel to go forward. I care about the heart of the person that is damaged. One of it's not a not our official motto around here.

Our official motto is with all we are loving God, loving people through Christ. Right? With all we are. Our unofficial one is we don't shoot our wounded. Neither was said to be wrong.

No blame is apportioned according to Daryl Bach who wrote the book actually literally on Luke and Acts. That's pretty good. The concern was not theological. Both of them agreed on the gospel. Both of them agreed on the manner in which the gospel should be presented as a gospel of grace through Christ and we see that in both of their ministries from now.

We will follow Paul much more closely. We don't hear much about Barnabas from this point forward. It was about whether John Mark would be able to persevere in ministry and it is a merciful thing. If he was not, it was a merciful thing for Paul to not put him through it and it was a gracious thing for Barnabas to say, come alongside me and mentor him. So, Box says this, in sum, this is the end of the first issue.

In sum, here's an example where a disagreement was so great that the ability Tom, sorry, to work side by side was affected. What resulted was a solution that allowed the advance of the gospel to continue by cell division. Right? They moved apart from one another. It was in a way that recognized the need for distinct ministries, and sometimes this is the best solution.

And I say, don't immediately jump to this as a solution, but don't throw it away as an option either. I mean, there are a lot of missions agencies that have turned inward and caused such struggle that both of them walked away angry, upset, dejected. It's not a good idea. If you can bless one another as you go forward with the mission God's called you to, go for that. So, that's the end of the first issue, I hope.

End of the second issue or in the second issue, we'll come back to something from last week. So, now, Paul also came to Derby and Lystra. It's listed in the order like he goes up through Cilicia up through Syria, through Cilicia, to Derby, and Lystra. Opposite order from the way they encountered him last time And what happened there? Do you remember?

Yeah. Yeah. They were worshiped as gods, and then they were stoned. And they went back to encourage the church there. I'd say Paul is not weak in his desire to see churches strengthened in the gospel.

So, the Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and having one over the crowds. They stoned Paul. They dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead but while the disciples stood around him, he got up, entered into the city. Next day, went to Derby. Now, a disciple was there who was named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer but his father was Greek.

His mother was Eunice and his grandmother was Lois and both of them were Jewish believers, okay? And he had learned from them the tenants of the faith of Judaism since he was a child and maybe even the tenants of messianic Judaism, Christianity since he was a child. He was a disciple. He was a believer. He was a son of a Jewish woman who was a believer but his father was Greek and so that's a mixed marriage and he was well spoken of by the brothers and sisters who are in Lystra and in Iconium.

So, he his reputation for being a trustworthy carrier of the gospel was well known. So, I want to skip verse three for right now. I'll come back to it. Okay, there it is. Hey, look at it.

Rick. No, there it goes. Now, while they were passing through the cities, they went through, they were delivering the ordinances. Remember from last week, the ordinances, there were some things that they decided on. I got several questions about this this week.

So I want to cover it a little more thoroughly. Now while they're passing through the cities, they were delivering the ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem. They were carrying forward the Jerusalem council's findings. I went back. What was the point last week?

It was this, we all believe that we're saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the same way as they are also. Puts Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians on the same footing. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. Okay?

James says, it's my judgment that we don't cause any more trouble for those from the Gentiles who are turning to God but that we write to them. We're going to send these ordinances, Paul and Barnabas were carrying them. Now, Paul and Silas and Barnabas and John Mark were carrying them to wherever they went. Therefore, we have Judas and Silas who themselves will also report for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden. It was about whether or not you had to be circumcised to be saved and follow the law of Moses.

But this is what they came up with. Just these essentials that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood, and from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves free from such things, you'll do well, farewell. Short letter to the point. This is from my class on this in seminary.

Professor is now deceased. I did not get his approval to use them. Actually, he said, use everything that I've ever taught you as best you can. Conflict resolution is what the Jerusalem Council is about. They had the testimony from experience from Peter and from Paul and then James used the testimony of scripture to come up with a decision and the decision was to embrace the diversity of the peoples of these various lands and backgrounds by respecting their cultural identity, preserve the unity, use your freedom to serve one another.

Okay? Instead of using your freedom to do anything that ticks off the other side, use your freedom to in love serve one another. So the solution, what is the basis of salvation? I've already covered. Grace, but it's received through faith.

It's not through works so that no one should boast. Paul would write that later. There is a spiritual egalitarianism. Gentiles and he's given the standard of comparison. Gentiles were saved the same way that we were.

Now, there's criticism of the Judaizers in trying to to make you go back and if you read Galatians, it comes out very very vehemently before we get to the end of Galatians in that lunch study. We'll see Paul say some things that are outlandish. He's saying, listen, this is the worst possible idea that you can have. Going away from grace and back towards law. Commendation, Paul and Barnabas was towards end and this is what I was trying to use my professor slides for.

He says, this is a voluntary restriction. Table fellowship is so important in the New Testament. It's so important because the Jews were not supposed to eat with the Gentiles. Peter's not supposed to go into Cornelius' house but God. God directs and he says, there's no distinction.

This gospel is for all peoples, and so go and associate with them and eat with them. So there's a voluntary restriction that is given to the Gentiles for their eating practices primarily. In the presence of Jewish Christians especially, but not beyond what the Old Testament commanded for the Gentile stranger living among the Jews in the land of Israel. If you're not familiar with the law in Leviticus, here it is. Leviticus seven through nine says, and they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the prostitute.

He's saying, don't eat things offered to idols. Now, what if the goat demon is the God of the hunt? What if the goat demon is what you're using the spiritual entity that you're using to get your way? Well, that's the point. You don't rely on anything but God.

So it says, this shall be a permanent statute of them, and I think the fact that it says permanent statute is one of the things that you Judaizers are saying, we can't get rid of this. It says permanent. For them, it was very very close to their heart. Then you shall say to them, anyone from the house of Israel or from the strangers who reside among them who offers a burnt offering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the doorway of the tent of meeting, though proper way for giving sacrifices to God shall be cut off from his people. That's a big deal.

That was a big deal for them. Last week, I said it would be gross. This is not the one that would be gross. This is the one that is just unthinkable theologically. It's unthinkably unthinkable practically.

This one is one. Let anyone of the house of Israel or from the strangers who reside among them who eats any blood. So, that is a dietary restriction. Life force is in the blood. If you want to read Leviticus 17 in its entirety, it goes back to this over and over and so that is the prohibition here.

Who eats any blood? I'm going set my face against that person who eats the blood. It is a disrespect for life for you to eat blood. Okay. It's gross to me.

I don't think about it very often in my normal work a day life but I don't hunt very much. I don't catch things with my hands. He will be cut off from among his people. This is why they came down with these, the 13 says, so when anyone from the sons of Israel or from the strangers who reside among them while hunting catches an animal or a bird catches it, not shoots it. We think of boom boom or poop but we don't think so much of just setting a trap and catching it.

What do you do when you catch it? Well, ring the neck. You're not supposed to do it that way. That's what God says. If you're out there and you have to, and that's the way you catch it, then desanguinate it or exsanguinate it.

Ports, blood out, cover it with dirt, there's a procedure for that. But this is the law. It's very specific, and this is something that would have been absolutely worth anathema cutting someone off to the Jewish believers. Oh, Leviticus. Whoo.

Sexual immorality. If you want to know where all the stuff on sexual immorality is, it's right there. It gets down to the nitty gritty all over the place, but if you see the underline says, nor the stranger who resides among you. When it when they say to keep away from sexual immorality, this is what it says. This is the code.

Stay away from those things. And if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Believer, farewell. That's it. Short message.

Paul wanted, this is back to Acts sixteen three. Paul wanted this man to live with him, Timothy. He wanted Timothy to live with him. And he took him and he circumcised him. What did we just decide at the Jerusalem Council?

You don't have to do that. Why in the world? So last week I said, don't disagree with each other. Come to an agreement. Come to unity.

And then Paul and Barnabas had such a sharp disagreement that they had to separate from one another. And then, Paul, it says, no, they don't have to do that. No, they don't have to do that. They don't have to follow the law and yet, here he is circumcising somebody. It's it's necessary.

That's what the Judaizers are teaching But Paul took him and he circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts. For they all knew that his father was a Greek. So, Timothy was from there and all of knew his background. They knew Eunice, they knew Lois, but they also knew his dad. Who knows?

Who who he was? We'll call him Aristotle. I don't know. He's Greek. Anyway, he circumcised Timothy and you may just go, why would he do that?

That doesn't make any sense. Even though Paul holds a view of freedom regarding the law, he's very sensitive to how it works in a mixed community. He is okay and he knows it's not necessary but he knows that the people he is aiming at don't yet know. You can't expect somebody who doesn't know Jesus to act like they do. He's sensitive to how it works in a mixed community and in the context of the gospel.

So, out of respect for the customs of his perspective, evangelistic audience, he acts to render moot. Any debate over Timothy's lineage. An uncircumcised son of a Jewish mother in Judaism because the the line goes through the mom. An uncircumcised son of a Jewish mother is an apostate, a violator of the covenant and that's a big deal and Paul knew that. Paul knew that.

It says, he circumcised and Paul was a mole. He could do that and he did. Commitment from Timothy. Motive matters. So, Paul didn't want to have any question as to whether or not let me see.

Paul is going to work in the synagogue. Circumcision will ensure Timothy's credibility. His motive matters. So, I say voluntarily surrendering your rights out of love for the other people is commendable. As Americans, we demand our rights a lot.

Right? And we talk a lot about our rights, our rights, our rights. But for you to put your rights in the back so that someone else may come to know Jesus is commendable. It's downright Christ like, and that's what Timothy was proving. It's what Paul was saying.

He did not want for there to be a discussion. We'll concede that so that we get to keep on in community. And the fact that it was mixed is probably different too. They had said without any uncertainty what the Gentiles should do. But if it's mixed, he was a special case.

So, Paul said, we're going to air on the side of loving the other and setting our rights back. Now, while they're passing through the cities, they were delivering ordinances for them to follow which had been determined by the apostles and the elders in Jerusalem so that the churches were being strengthened in the faith and they were increasing in number daily. Amen. I think that's the last slide. The two issues.

The first one being consider that God in your disagreement with someone else. He may have an idea for you to increase your witness by separating, But y'all should agree that that's the case. Okay? It does not explicitly say they agreed that that was the case but I believe that it's implied. I also know that because of next week's passages where Paul is traveling with Paul, I mean, where Luke is traveling with Paul, you can see that he just gets Paul's side of the story.

The fact that he communicates good things about Barnabas and Mark later should say, they left amicably. I don't think there's any doubt about that. Just like I say, don't rush to flipping over tables, don't rush to separation among the body. You may be given separate things. The two sharp disagreements, I'm going to be questioned about.

One of em I will not mention. The other one is. No, I'm not going mention either. There are different ways of seeing things and we all want to carry the gospel forward and how best we do that every Sunday I pray from up here. God's will, God's way.

Lord, just show us your will, your way. We want to be unified in that. Show us your will and your way. Give us the power and the spirit to walk it out. So when we have disagreements among each other over what that should be, we really should consider and go, where how are we going to come together on this?

How are we going to get back together on this? I was kidding about the whole sharp disagreement. I did have two of them this week though, but I think it was just for this, honestly. It hurts your heart and it turns you inside out when you can't get along with a brother or sister in Christ. Both of them resolved, But I went through it for enough time to really honestly shake me where when people say, how you doing?

Instead of saying, I'm good. I'm fine. I said, I'm okay. Would y'all, the band come on back up here. Would y'all just pray with me?

Lord, the first issue of the sharp disagreement, may we live in agreement with one another. If there may need to be a separation, may we appreciate the other position and give a blessing to that line of thinking as we amicably separate, may we do that. And Lord, may we really consider which issues are big enough, which issues matter that rise to the level of knowing which principles are worth standing for and which ideas are not worth elevating to an importance that they don't deserve. Lord, may it be that we discern that and lead well, not every issue is worth starting a war over. When it comes to the gospel and to the unity of the church, lord, let us be very very considerate of one another.

In Jesus name, I'm thankful. Thankful to be here. Thankful to have gone through the difficulty this week. In Jesus name, amen.