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0:47Here's a church, very familiar First Baptist Church building. Life was, well, very 60-ish, churchy-ish. And you can see what church life was like, 1960s. I'll tell you about a movement that took place in the 1960s called the hippie movement. Very different from the church of the 1960s. And the sexual revolution, the drugs, psychedelic generation, and all that was very much alive and well in the 60s. But then something happened. In the 60s, called the Jesus movement. And people started communicating the gospel, and these masses of young people started turning to the Lord, and it became known as the Jesus movement. Jesus freaks. You see, some of them were realizing that the world of drugs and the psychedelia, if that's a word, was leaving them bankrupt. And so they turned. And they turned in mass. There were significant numbers turning to Christ.

2:12And then, let's go back to the church life. Then these folks started looking for churches. And they started showing up on the doorsteps. Wow, we've got to go to church now. Funny how, having had their hearts transformed by the gospel, there's an immediate affection for the church. And they start going to the church. And, but you still have the culture. And so you have a clash of two cultures. And by the way, this music leader who is leading music, his mouth isn't open because he's singing, it's because he sees what just came in through the back door.

3:01And so you had this collision of cultures in the church. Well, the same kind of event took place in the early church. What do you do with such people? Are they really saved? Should they be welcomed in the church? How do you deal with them? They're very different backgrounds. These were some of the questions being asked during the hippie movement and this collision with the church as they were coming in. And by the way, some churches fared well with that. They welcomed and learned, one of them being Grace Community Church in Los Angeles, where John MacArthur pastors. Their initial growth as a church was through this Jesus hippie movement, and they grew quickly as a result. Well, the same kind of questions were being asked by the Jews in the Jerusalem church with regards to the Gentiles coming in to the church. Going now, let's go way back to that first century. Paul has preached the gospel, and Peter has preached the gospel, and Gentiles are turning to Christ, and they are coming into the church. And the question starts becoming: how does a church foster faith? Fellowship between a former devout Jew and an uncircumcised, idolatrous, immoral pagan. How do these two get along in the same church? Other questions that were being asked and legitimately and needing to be answered. Some the Judaizers, on one hand, said they couldn't be saved unless they cleaned up their act first. They need to come under the moral law and the Mosaic law. They needed to come under it and be circumcised before they could even be saved. They had to clean up their act before they could even get saved. Others didn't think so. Others didn't know what to think. And so Acts 15 addresses this issue.

5:27Just a quick review of where we've been in this introductory series to Galatians. That's what we're studying, actually, is Galatians. And even though there's been now eight parts, and this will be the ninth part in introducing what happens in Galatia, because it's important that you get a background of what's going on, just to even understand what's going on in the book of Revelation. Well, we looked already at our first introductory message, which was focusing on God's sovereign grace and missions, God and Is the one who initiates the whole mission effort. He is the one behind it, and it is his sovereignty and his grace that is directing it all. He finds Paul, and he makes Paul a monument to his grace. He saves Paul by his grace. And before God will use anybody in his missionary enterprise for his grace, he makes them a monument to his grace. And then he makes Paul a missionary of his grace. And then he assembles a mission team of God's grace. So he makes Paul a monument. He then makes him a missionary to carry the gospel. And then he brings together through a series of events that only God could do, brings him together, assembles a mission team, and then launches them off on that first mission trip, which is by God's grace, into Galatia. We have spent weeks looking at that mission trip and what all took place.

7:09And with that mission trip, there is definitely a message of God's grace. There is the communication of the gospel. Christ crucified, Christ resurrected, Christ exalted. And for everyone who puts their faith in Him, a transformation of heart takes place. And an exalting of the name of Christ ensues in former complete pagans and even moral Jews. Complete transformation of heart takes place. But then in Galatia, we also looked as the message went forth, there was opposition to that message of God's grace. Opposition took the form of contradicting the gospel, and it also took the form of persecuting the gospel messengers. And it was brutal, as we saw several weeks. But then we also recognize that despite all of the opposition, the gospel triumphed in Galatia. Disciples were made. Churches were planted. The gospel went forth. The mission team arrived safely back in Antioch from where they were commissioned.

8:45And they were able to rejoice with the sending church. Well, that's where we've been. Today, I want to look at the threat to God's grace. And this is different from the opposition. There was opposition that came from the outside. The threat to God's grace is now going to be something that takes place on the inside of the church. And so that's what we're going to be looking at today. And I want you to see this early threat to the gospel and how the Jerusalem church addressed it so that we will recognize similar threats in our day and know how to respond as well. So, first of all, we'll just jump right in and look at the threat to this grace, God's grace, in Galatia. It's going to reach Galatia, but it's certainly a threat throughout. It's just a threat to God's grace, period. But specifically, this is going to be the issue or a version of this, is what Paul is going to deal with in his letter to the Galatians. In fact, this is really the central theme in the book of Galatians. Well, just if you're there in chapter 15, verse 1, I'll just look at the first five verses and look at this threat exposed. The threat being exposed.

10:07Verse 1. Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. You cannot be saved. So there they are at the end of that first missionary journey. They're back in Antioch. There's a celebration going on about. All that God is doing among the Gentiles. But then some people come down from Jerusalem, from Judea, and they seem to appear as some kind of representatives of the church in Jerusalem. They gained an audience, and then they started teaching. And notice what they're teaching: unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. So their doctrine, the core part of their doctrine, advocated obedience to the Mosaic law for personal salvation. You must clean up your act according to the Mosaic standard in order to be saved. This was very much a salvation issue.

11:25Look at verse 2. And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. Notice there's a great dissension. This is an internal threat. And this isn't the same as the opposition from the outsiders. This is an internal threat. It's a threat to biblical truth. And it's also a threat to the biblical community. It's a threat to truth. And inevitably, threats to truth are going to create threats to the community. Great dissension. That's what it does. People on both sides, people confused. And this is having an impact on how the community relates to one another. Verse 3. Therefore, in light of this great dissension, therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and were bringing great joy to all the brethren. You can see this on a map. You can see Antioch up there in the north. You can see the area of Phoenicia, the area of Samaria, and they made their way down to Jerusalem. And so, and as they went, they described the turning of the Gentiles to Christ. And those who were of the faith, they were greatly excited, great joy, bringing great joy at the end of verse 3 to all the brethren.

13:15Now, look at verse 4. When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, it is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the law of Moses. It is necessary to put on them the mark of the Mosaic covenant as an indication that they are under the Mosaic covenant. Well, and so as Paul and Barnabas first get up there, they have this private meeting, and that's what's happening in verse 4 and 5. It's more of a private meeting. And Paul is going to talk a lot about this in Galatians chapter 2. And so we'll table that for a later morning.

14:19But he, just enough to point out, there's this private meeting that takes place. But notice that the Pharisees, there were Pharisees there who had believed. Now, taking this at face value, they're believers. And I don't think we should read into them that they're not, because the text is saying that they are. Paul is saying that, or Luke is saying, some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, these are genuine believers, believers in Jesus, the Messiah. And they're trying to get the Minds around this and say, Look, they need to come under the Mosaic law.

15:06It's necessary. They asserted that these Gentiles were not saved because they had not come under the law of Moses. But Paul and Barnabas, on the other side, thought, yes, they are saved, and they are saved on the basis of faith alone. And so these opposing views, as you can imagine, uncovered some questions that had to be answered. Were these Gentiles, these Gentile believers in Jesus, part of the spiritual body of Christ or not? Are they part of the spiritual body or not?

15:46Second question, were there two bodies of Christ, one Jewish and one Gentile? Or was there just one? Third question, I'm sure that was being asked, does he really intend for them to be part of this one body? Does he really intend this to happen? Does God really intend for this? And then perhaps another question, if so, how are the Jewish believers to receive them? And how are they to fellowship with them? You can see this is a significant issue. And by the way, this same kind of thing has happened throughout time.

16:26Very important questions need an answer. And so the private meeting then became a public meeting, a public meeting. And it's there that they discussed the threat. Ah, I don't know what happened. The threat then gets discussed in verse begins in verse 6. Look back at Acts 15:6. The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter. So after this private meeting, then they come together. Let's discuss this. But it's important to point out that what's at stake in this issue is not so much a matter that affects the Gentile mission, but the Jerusalem church. Look, the mission to the Gentiles is going on. It is like a lion that's been let out of the cage. The gospel is advancing with little, if no, involvement now from the Jerusalem church. They sent Paul, yes, but I mean, this is a Gentile church, largely a mixed church, Jew and Gentile, that launched it, Antioch, and now churches are springing up everywhere, and they're going forward. So the mission to the Gentiles, it's not so much about the mission going forward as it is about a matter within the Jerusalem church. And this council, and rightly called the First Church Council, it's more of An inner church. I mean, it's not like a bunch of churches from around are coming in. Yeah, you have some representatives from Antioch, but this conversation is really inside the Jerusalem church. The issue is: how is the Jerusalem church going to recognize these Jewish or these Gentile converts? Are they going to welcome them? Are they going to welcome fellowship or not? Or are they going to force Jewish customs upon them? That's really the issue. And so this discussion takes place in verses 6 through 21, and it's a very simple pattern.

18:41You can have several speakers, three groups. Really, you have Peter, he's going to speak. And then you're going to have Paul and Barnabas are going to speak, though not much is said about what they say, but enough is. And then, third, James is going to speak and render his judgment. So that's how this threat is discussed. So look at, beginning in verse 7, Peter begins his testimony. He stands up and talks. Look at verse 7. After there had been much debate, so this is going on, debating back and forth, Peter stood up and said to them, Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

19:31So, what, and this is, he's referring back to chapter 10 where he goes and visits Cornelius, and he communicates the gospel. But Peter's point here is that I went into the territory where there were Gentiles, and I preached the gospel. I didn't preach obedience to the Mosaic law, I preached the gospel. That's what I sent out, and that's what they believed. They believed the gospel in chapter 11, the church in Jerusalem rejoiced that God had saved Cornelius and his household. And they were like, wow, God has granted to the Gentiles also this repentance that leads to life. 11, 18. So the church is rejoicing, recognizing that Peter has gone and he did not preach the Mosaic obedience to the Mosaic law, he preached the gospel. And that's how they responded.

20:37Look at what he goes on to say in verse 8. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did us. And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. He's saying, look, God testified. To them by giving them the Holy Spirit. It wasn't the sign of circumcision, but the sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit in their life that identifies who they are.

21:19Same today. Holy Spirit baptism, what is it? It's spiritual immersion into union with Christ and all the benefits that come associated with being in Christ. With his crucifixion, sins forgiven, with his resurrection, new life, and exalting him, a new disposition of life, exalting Christ. And notice that it's the sign of the presence of the Spirit that Peter is dealing with. He's not saying the flesh mark on the flesh is not the sign of identity. He gave them the Spirit of God in response to them believing.

22:06It's like Peter is saying, Look, just like he did to us. You remember, we received the Spirit, so did they. And it's like Peter is saying something to the effect, we know that they were baptized into the same spiritual body as we were because of the evidence of the Holy Spirit within them. That's how. We know, not because of an outward sign of circumcision. Peter's like, we know they're part of the body of Christ because they received the same Spirit that we received. And he goes on, and he said, he made no distinction between us and them cleansing their hearts by faith, faith alone. The cleansing that Peter is saying he observed was that of faith, not by works of the law.

23:00And so, what Peter is saying is, look, they're already part of the same family. This isn't an issue about salvation at all, they are part of the family. And the next two verses are viewed as one of the greatest expositions of the doctrine of justification in Scripture. Look at verse 10. Now, therefore, why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they are also. So, Peter, look at this, why do you put God to the test? This is a strong defense of the gospel of grace. To expect that they have to come under the Mosaic law to clean themselves up in order to come to the Lord. To Christ is direct disobedience to what God has revealed. That's the kind of language that Paul is saying. He's saying, the doctrine that these Pharisees are started at, if we go with them, it's direct disobedience because what God has already revealed. You see, to test God is to question what He has revealed as truth. What Peter is saying, let's not test them. And notice he also, if you notice that he says, verse 10, why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke, a burden?

24:42Peter is calling them disciples. They are disciples. The Gentile believers are disciples. A yoke. Why would you put a yoke upon them that we couldn't, that neither we or our forefathers were able to bear? Why would you put that burden on them? What Peter is making clear, he's saying, Look, obedience to the law didn't even save Jews. But he says, Look, we are saved in the same way as they are also. So in Peter's mind, the Gentiles didn't need to become Jews in order to be saved, but Jews needed to exercise. Faith in the same way that the Gentiles did in order to be saved. That's what Peter is saying.

25:38So obedience to the Mosaic law was and is not the basis of salvation for the Jews either, says Peter. And so he clearly sides with Paul. It wasn't the church at Antioch that needed to change its perspective, but some among the Jerusalem church needed to change theirs. Salvation is by faith in the God of scriptures, not in performing the works that are written therein. Oh, yeah, those who combined faith with the Mosaic law, yeah, they came to Christ. They came to God through faith.

26:22But simple carrying out deeds required in the law doesn't make a person saved. So here's Peter's response to these questions. Were these Gentile believers in Jesus part of the spiritual body? His answer is, yes, they're part of the same body as we. Were there two bodies of Christ, one for the Jews, one for the Gentiles? Peter's like, no, there's one spiritual body in Christ. Does God really intend for These Gentiles to be part of the body with the Jews? Peter's answer is an emphatic yes.

27:07How are the Jewish believers to receive them? Peter makes it very clear: as family. That's Peter's contribution to the discussion. And after Peter finishes speaking, then Paul and Barnabas begin to speak. Look at verse 12. All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. That's really all they say. Just one verse about Paul and Barnabas. They go on talking about all the things that God was doing, the signs and wonders that God had done through them. Notice that not that they had done, but that God had done through them. And what they're testifying is that God was doing signs and wonders among them. God was obviously showing his favor to the Gentiles in the same way that they saw him extend favor through such signs and wonders and what he was doing to the Jews. And so Paul and Barnabas speak. And then you have the third speaker in this series, and that's James. Look. Verse 13. After they had stopped, after Paul and Barnabas had stopped speaking, James answers and says this, saying, Brethren, listen to me. This is classic. This is the classic pastor in the middle. Here's James. Who is he? Well, he's the pastor of the Jerusalem church. He's not to be confused with the original disciple named James, the brother of John, son of Zebedee. That's not him. He's the half-brother of Jesus. James, the half-brother of Jesus. He's the one who wrote the epistle that bears his name. And this is the leader of the Jerusalem church.

29:13Eusebius writes that this James was also known as James the just because of his unswerving devotion to the law. He was a man of the law. He knew the law. He was devoted to the law, and he is called James the just. Well, this is the pastor. So think about what he's got going on here. He's in the middle of this, or certainly one of the elders, one of the key leaders. And Paul is going to talk about him in Galatians as well. But this is that pastor in the middle. He has to take a stand. You've got these people among his congregation, devout Pharisees who have come to Christ and who are asserting one thing, and then he's got Peter, Paul, and Barnabas on the other side.

30:01And he's got to take a stand. He's got to choose sides. He's got to lead the church. And so he's going to make his judgment. And his judgment is actually going to come in verse 19, and we'll work our way to it. But it's going to come as a logical conclusion to what he believes God's future plan on earth is. We'll see that in a minute. And so, what he does, he says, Brethren, listen to me. And he's going to identify three sequences, three happenings in sequence.

30:43And this is going to bring him to his conclusion. Three events in human history still to come. And this is what's going to settle his opinion. Look at verse 14. Simon has related how God first concerned himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for his name. And with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written. So, event number one: a taking of Gentiles for his name. James is saying, Look, God has promised that he is going to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name.

31:31And notice in verse 15, with this the words of the prophets agree. The words, plural, prophets, plural. So this is spoken of in many places, multiple places. But then James is going to select one scripture reference as an example, and that's going to be Amos 9, verses 11 through 12. And we read those earlier in the service. So the first event from where James is standing, somewhere around 50 AD, 49, 50 AD, he's saying God is going to go forward and take Gentiles, people from among all the nations for his name. Second event coming in the future. Look at what he says, verse 16. He's using now Amos 9. After these things, I will return and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it.

32:43Very significant. A rebuilding of the ruins of David. First, a taking of people from among the Gentiles for his namesake. Second, a rebuilding of the ruins of David. Now keep in mind, the year is 40. 49, 50, somewhere in there. James, the leadership in the Jerusalem church, still see the booth of David as fallen. That's how he's using this. I will rebuild the tabernacle of David, the booth. So here you are in 50 AD. The church at Jerusalem is seeing that the booth of David is still fallen. In other words, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension, even those events have taken place, the booth of David is still fallen. This is one reason why I think, why I believe that David is not, or that Jesus is not currently sitting on David's throne. I don't think the Jerusalem church believed that, based upon this text.

33:59Oh, yes, he's sitting at the right hand of the Father, but David's throne was a geopolitical entity. No, he's not sitting on his, right now in the minds of, and this is pre-70 AD, when the Romans are going to come and destroy. They still see at this moment the booth of David is still fallen. They still see at that moment in time that Jesus is not ruling and reigning over the hearts of Israel. But then he promises this: yet, after these things, after God has taken a people for his namesake, from the Gentiles, I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins and I will restore it. James sees a time from where he's standing that Jesus will return, rebuild its ruins, and it will happen after he has taken Gentiles from his namesake.

35:13But then there's a third element in time. Look back at verse 17. So that, so what's going to happen? So that what? So that what he's just described, taking the Gentiles from the nations, to a rebuilding of the booth of David, building up its ruins, so that, verse 17, the rest of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago. So James understands the sequence of future events from where he is standing. First, the Lord taking a people for his name from the Gentiles. Second, then returning to rebuild the booth of David for the purpose that all manifested. Mankind may seek the Lord. And so by the time you get to the end of the New Testament, it's clear to me that this coincides with the thousand-year period in which Satan is bound and Christ rules from Jerusalem. Very straightforward. This is the golden age of humanity that is still to come.

36:22But keep in mind, and I recognize, and this is important to point out, James's goal, he's not trying to identify an issue of eschatology. He's trying to give a rationality for its ecclesiology. In other words, he's not trying to point out events of the future. That's not what he's trying to do. What he's trying to do is provide a basis for how the church is to interact in its present time. And it's on this basis, having gone through these events that he sees coming in time. And by the way, the church is in agreement with this.

36:59On this basis, James confidently instructs the church to receive Gentiles as Gentiles. That's his point. You are to receive Gentiles as Gentiles, and you are to relate to them as brothers and sisters in Christ. That's what's in store in the future. And that's how they should be received now. And so his point is that to require them to come under the Mosaic law. Law is to trouble them. That's his conclusion. I mean, that's his rationale. Now, look at his conclusion in verse 19. Therefore, it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who were turning to God from among the Gentiles. To put the law upon them is to trouble them. So, James clearly sides with Peter and with Paul in this. God is saving Gentiles as Gentiles, as he is still today, because he will reign over them in the future as Gentiles. And on that rationale, James is saying, we do not put the yoke upon them.

38:23So, James addressed the doctrinal threat. But what about the community threat? He addresses really the doctrinal issue has been settled at this point, but he goes on. He's going to go on, and he's going to address now the threat to the biblical community. He goes, Yeah, it's clear. They're saved by faith alone. That's clear. That's the doctrinal issue. So he settles the doctrinal issue, but then he's got these folks in his church that are saying, okay, what do we do? Do with all these Gentiles?

39:03And he's going to address, he's going to give them something. Like I said, he's the pastor in the middle. He goes on to address the concern that the Jews have about fellowshipping with Gentiles. How do you have a devout Pharisee? And how do you have this Gentile from a pagan world who are in one body? And what does fellowship look like without calling upon them to violate their conscience? Well, the Gentiles are going to need to be sensitive.

39:46And that's where James is going to go. Look at verse 20. But that we write to them that they abstain from the things contaminated by idols, from fornication, and from what is strangled and from blood. So there's his four things. Abstain from things contaminated by idols, abstain from fornication, all forms of sexual immorality, abstain from the meat of strangled animals, and abstain from blood. Why? Why? He has something, he has these in mind. Look at verse 21. He says, why? For Moses from ancient generations has In every city, those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every week. What James is wanting to do is protect this spiritual fellowship in the churches and the problem of these relationships within these churches of mixed races.

40:52And so, if the Gentiles were not going to be required to observe these Jewish customs, how would the Jewish Christians who believed they needed to follow the Torah, who had been brought up following the Torah, how would they fellowship without calling them to defile their own conscience or break their own conscience? And so it's clear that James doesn't disagree with Peter or Paul on the basis of saving faith. He affirms that boldly. But he also makes a concession to the Jews. Gentiles, you're going to need to be sensitive. And some things need to be clear. Number one, the Gentiles need to abandon the temple idolatry scene, which Paul has already called them out of that. Have nothing to do with these worthless things. Call them out. We turn away from them. So they are to turn away from the temple idolatry scene. They are to come out of every form of sexual immorality. And that, too, is going to be something that is going to be proclaimed. Gentiles are expected to come out and avoid every hint of sexual immorality. Let it not even be named of you. But he makes a couple of other concessions. The last two, he doesn't go into kosher and non-kosher food as much as he goes through just strangled animals and animals with blood. And this too would have been grouped in that whole temple worship scene, the eating of blood. And now, some people, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, we'll deal with this more when we get into the book of Galatians. But some think this is going back to the Noaic restrictions. Basically, you can eat whatever you want, just don't eat anything with blood in it. Others take this to be more of a temporary measure that's specific to Jew-Gentile relationships. And that's both may be involved there, but I think it's probably dealing with the Gentile relationship, the Jew-Gentile more of an emphasis upon the fellowship, protecting the biblical community. There's people with different opinions on this issue. Give them time. Work through it.

43:24Don't make it seen. And so that is the exhortation. That's James's judgment. So then the threat is going to be addressed. So then they're going to publish. So they've exposed the threat, they've discussed the threat, come to a conclusion upon the threat, and now they're going to address it. So they select a delegate. Look at a delegation. Look at verse 22. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Judas called Barsabas and Silas leading men among the brethren. And so they write up a letter. Look at verse 23. And they sent this letter to them. The apostles and the brethren who are elders to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles. Greetings.

44:28And notice they acknowledge the problem. Verse 24. Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. In other words, we want to make sure you get the message. And he's saying, look, there were some who went down. We understand the problem. We understand the problem came from us, or at least some who pretended to come from us, speaking on behalf of us. They've unsettled your souls, and now we're going to address this.

45:18And this is how they're going to remedy it. Look at verse 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these three essentials, or these essentials, that you abstain from things sacrificed to idol and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves free from such things, you do well. Farewell. So here's the counsel. It's interesting. Verse 28, it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. So they have confidence in the process of the counsel that this is the Spirit of God at work. And these are the burdens. And they rearrange it a little bit. Notice that abstain from the things sacrificed to idols, blood and strangled. All of that was associated with the temple and how they handled the animals. And then, fourth, from fornication, every form of sexual immorality. If you do these things, farewell.

46:24No other burdens. Verse 30. So when they went. So then they were sent away, they went down to Antioch. Having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. Verse 31, when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with the lengthy message. After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out. But it seemed good to Silas to remain there. But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others, also the word of the Lord. So a letter was written, a letter was read, and the letter was received. That's how they addressed the threat.

47:26And so this early threat wanted us to look at this threat, this threat that's exposed, discussed, and addressed. Because these kind of threats come against the church over and over. They threaten any kind of doctrinal threat really inevitably ends up being a threat against the community as well. We must continue to boldly address and defend doctrinal truth, but also be sensitive to the community and bringing the community Through it as we do. I'm going to leave with the question in your mind: Do you really want grace to triumph in our land? I mean, we often pray for revival, and I hope that we do, continue to. I hope we pray for renewal.

48:24But something happens. You take your mind back to the 60s. People praying for revival, masses of people running to and fro, looking for an answer to life, looking for purpose, meaning, relationship, something eternal, something lasting. And then the gospel came among some. And that gospel, when one gets a hold of the truth that Jesus really does love you, that God Himself loves you, and that God loves you to the degree of sending His own Son to take away your sin, to give you something really worth living for. And all of a sudden, when the darkened soul realizes all is not lost with God, that God, in spite of all this, God loves me.

49:31And it is not that I have to go and do so. He loves me already. And when that truth, when the gospel of God's grace really gets hold in a person's heart, it completely changes them. And that's the way a society really changes. Politics are on the top, superficial. You see great revivals in the Bible, such as Josiah's, the reforms under Josiah's time, and yet they were superficial. They didn't really take root in the heart. So I hope you will pray for real revival.

50:15And that comes by the gospel. But be ready. If you really want the gospel of grace to triumph, get ready for them to show up on your doors. Get ready. Because guess what? When they do come to Christ, guess where God places them? He places them in the body of Christ. And that is where they're going to learn the way of Christ. That is where they're going to learn to grow in Christ. That is where they're going to learn to put on Christ. And we are to receive them. I'll tell you, people are coming out of the world today, and many of the things that are going on in our times make the 60s look like a bunch of prudes.

50:58So get ready for the dysfunction. And the many disorders that come out of the worship disorders to come right in through the back doors and be a person, be an instrument of God's grace, a minister of God's grace, welcoming them. And at the same time, let us be mindful of the body of Christ that is here and call them to enter in such a way that we'll respect and acknowledge the body of Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for your goodness. We give you thanks for the truth. Father, now may your gospel go forth. May we be good stewards of our duty, our gospel duty. Let our civic duty be gospel duty, bound up together for the true transformation of society for the glory of your namesake. Father, we give you thanks for sending your Son for the work of the cross, giving us new life and a reason to live. So, Father, may you be exalted here, and I pray for everybody here that we would be touched by your grace and become ministers and ambassadors of that grace. In Jesus' name, amen.