Andreas Latossek
Kirche am Bahnhof, Frankenberg, April 30, 2023
Make decisions with the Holy Spirit
The video of the sermon can be found here
I don’t know if you know this from your work:
Sometimes there are meetings where you know in advance they are really boring. Some companies proceed according to the motto: If I don’t know what to do, I’ll set up a working group. By the way, it also works well in communities.
In the past, we used to play bingo in the company, today you would call it bullshit bingo, to distract us. So in a large field all sorts of typical phrases are written and ticked off, which are often so meaningless and yet occur so frequently. I’ve heard people do that during a sermon too, so I hope it’s not that boring here.
Today our passage in Acts is also about a meeting. In professional circles it is called the Apostle Council, and that was a very drastic meeting with a very important decision. And how it was made, what we can learn from it and what it was all about, we’re going to look at now.
Jesus had given his disciples the task of proclaiming the good news that God loves us humans and that a relationship with him is possible because Jesus died on the cross for our guilt, to proclaim this news to the end of the world.
They had started among the Jews, and eventually people from non-Jewish circles had also come to the faith. First a Roman centurion Kornelius with all his relatives. And then, as we looked at last Sunday, Paul and Barnabas were commissioned by God with a special task and blessed by the church, sent on a missionary journey.They went about preaching the good news. Wherever they went, they mostly started in the synagogues with the Jews, but then also among everyone else, and people came to believe in Jesus. This, in turn, led to differing views and eventually to a dispute:
Acts 15:1-5
1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. 3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. 4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. 5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
So non-Jews come to faith and people from a Jewish background who have come to faith, and here a few Pharisees are explicitly mentioned, who were always there with a lot of zeal and dedication, who wanted to do it right, who demanded that these non-Jews now also to be circumcised and to obey the law of Moses.
Now, what’s actually behind this?
For the Jews, circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with their people, and the law of Moses was not just the 10 commandments but all of the covenant laws that God had specifically given to his people Israel.
For the Jewish Christians, the idea was that the Gentile Christians not only accepted the gift of God, but also converted to the Jewish people and were saved only in this way.
So that was a question of principle.
We have seen before how difficult it was for the apostles to understand at first, that salvation was not just for the Jewish people, and how God Himself had to intervene through a vision of Peter and the evident work of His Spirit.
And now more and more Gentiles were coming to the faith, which obviously made people happy, and at the same time there were theological questions and ideas.
Before we get into the content of this argument, I would like to talk about how the apostles have now made a decision on these issues.
6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. 7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. 8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. 12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. 13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. 18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
And then afterwards in this letter, which you can read afterwards, among other things,
Verse 28 :For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
Because of this verse, I called today’s sermon Making Decisions with the Holy Spirit.
And how did you do it now?
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Look at the facts
The Pharisees came with the requirement that the newly converted Gentiles should be circumcised and keep the law of Moses.
The apostles and the elders of the church in Jerusalem come together. This is initially about a process in a church, but also in private it can be good to get the advice of other Christians who also have a spiritual perspective.
They also discuss and look at the different sides. And then Peter, who had this experience with the vision, describes how the Holy Spirit activated it through his work, so Peter describes what he experienced, his experience, what is there. Paul and Barnabas also tell of the work of God on their journeys.
But, and this is very important: Experience is not enough, because it can sometimes deceive us.
5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
God gave us a mind to judge things, yes. But you cannot judge spiritual things with your mind alone.
And that’s why the 2nd step is very important:
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Include God
James now stands up, he takes up what the others said and he quotes from the Bible, from Amos 9:11-12 from the Greek translation of the time and he makes it clear that the experience with the teaching of the Bible matches.
Amos had said that one day God would raise up the fallen tabernacle of David.
The fallen tabernacle of David was the kingship, the eternal dominion that God had promised to David and his descendants. Jesus came from that line and is beginning to restore the kingdom of God. And this kingdom is not only for the Jews, but for people from all nations who are God’s property, which God wanted from the beginning. He had only picked out a special people in order to reach everyone.
Even if it is not explicitly stated here, I am sure, as we have seen so far in so many places in the book of Acts, that the whole congregation prayed and struggled before God for this decision.
When we looked at the story of Joshua last year, there was a similar situation where the leaders just made a decision without involving God, and it went terribly wrong. When we ask God for advice, we can also trust that he will guide us.
Psalm 32:8 : „I will teach you and show you the way that you should go!“
He promised us that. So we should include him. did you give me this opportunity, god?Should I go this route? Your word is a lamp for my life, it gives me light for every next step.Psalm 119:105
NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
That is what the apostles experience here. And finally:
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make a decision
Some find it difficult to make decisions, because with every decision I commit myself and I close the door to another path. But I can’t move forward without a decision.
In our case we see that the leaders make a clear decision and then also communicate.
From the Bible we see that God uses leaders in churches who have a special responsibility before him to lead the church in service and to determine the way of the church. And at the same time, the church is asked to listen to its leaders.
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
This does not mean that leaders do not also make mistakes and are not addressed about them.And it doesn’t mean that leaders can’t stray from Bible standards, too. There are also guidelines for this in the Bible, and if a congregation strays from the path and leaders do not allow themselves to be corrected, then it means that I have to obey God more than people and ultimately maybe also leave a congregation so as not to support their decisions, behind that I don’t standNot every topic is covered by the Bible, often there are also questions of taste, forms and traditions that lead to conflicts. And so it can be that even if I involve God, our congregation may come to a different decision on an issue than a neighboring congregation and take a different path.
God gives us the freedom to shape our own lives and make decisions.
But he wants to guide us and keep us from falling. Sometimes we experience this very clearly. Sometimes we experience this when we are on the road. We can trust that God will direct our thoughts when we include him. That He gives us peace or strife about a decision. And finally, God can open and close doors. Before making important decisions, people in the Bible often took a period of fasting and prayer to listen to God.
God has promised us that he wants to lead us to the goal in our life.
This can take away our fear of sometimes making the wrong decision. It’s all about getting God involved. Sometimes we deliberately leave it out. And yes, then we also have to bear the consequences for our actions. But maybe you’re here this morning regretting paths you’ve taken and thinking you’re forever set by those choices.
Then I would like to promise you that God promises you:
Jeremiah 29:11or I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.And directly in this context, God also promises us that if we look for him, this also applies to the decisions we have to make in our lives, then we will find him
Finally, I would like to take a closer look at the content of the concrete discussion here in the Acts of the Apostles.
As I said before, this is a question of principle, and it also has an impact on the way we live faith today. Is the grace of God enough, or do I have to do something else? The Pharisees who believed said you must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. And Peter responds to that, and let’s look at that again:
9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:9-11
Paul will later write similarly to the Galatians and the Romans.
It is grace alone, an undeserved gift, that we are saved, that our guilt is forgiven. We can’t do anything about it. Peter speaks of a yoke, which they want to impose on the followers here.The yoke is what you put two oxen around your neck to pull a cart. It’s a burden that’s on them. But Jesus came to set us free, not to put additional burdens on us. Peter even says here that it is a yoke you want to put on others that neither you nor your ancestors could bear.Because we cannot stand before God through our deeds, through our goodness. It is basically hypocrisy what they are demanding here: they should achieve something that they cannot do themselves. Today we have long since overcome that, haven’t we? I don’t believe.
We can see from this story that everyone who becomes a believer brings their own background with them. We don’t just put that down, even after years as Christians. We are shaped by our parents, our environment, and we bring that with us. This can affect notions of God and faith, but it can also affect forms and traditions. And the danger is that we want to make the law for everyone: faith and. Only if you do this and that or live faith in such and such, then you are really a believer.
That was also a challenge for many missionaries, for example, not to impose their own culture on people from other cultures with the belief, eg in the sense of: a real church service should look like this. What must the preacher wear in front? What style can the music have? Just as I live piety, the other must do the same. Or sometimes, as I can see from the Bible, the other person has to live it, even if I can’t even manage it myself.
Just as the Pharisee naturally brought his legalism with him, that is, the idea of impressing God by faithfully following the law, we may have a completely different background and we need to constantly reflect our lives in the light of God’s Word.
Who are the people today who have a longing and risk their lives for it and realize they will be disappointed, it doesn’t work, maybe the climate stickers, Fridays for future or others? And are we then open without rejecting them?
God made no difference between them and us, but also cleansed their insides from all guilt because of their faith.So it is God’s grace alone that saves me because of faith. And this faith means, from a literal point of view, trust. It’s about relationship.Relationship with God becomes possible through what Jesus did and I say yes to this relationship and start to live my life in this relationship trusting in God.And the way the Bible understands that, and here there is a big misunderstanding, which Paul already addresses in the letter to the Romans, because people now said:
It’s great, by grace I’m saved and I’m forgiven and I’m free and now I can do whatever I want? But that’s not the point. It’s about the fact that this gift that God gives me makes a relationship with him possible again and I say yes to this relationship.That would be like marrying my wife, saying yes to this relationship and from now on doing what I want and cheating because I know she will forgive me.No never! On the contrary, I want to strengthen my relationship with her, so what she says is important to me.And that’s how it is in the relationship with Jesus. And on top of that I know that he has the big picture and means well by me because he loves me and that what he says in his word not only strengthens our relationship but also helps make my life successful . So it’s not a burden that Jesus puts on me.I don’t have to live like this, I want to because I love him. And I don’t have to and can’t do anything to make him love me more than he does right now.
Because in Christ God’s grace has become visible – the grace that brings salvation to all people. It teaches us to turn away from all ungodliness and the lusts of this world and while we are still here on earth to act responsibly, conform to God’s will, and live in ways that honor God.
I am convinced that the more I understand God’s grace, the more I am drawn to Jesus and not away from Him.
But now comes the fine print, right?
There’s a catch, isn’t there? At least it seems that way when we read our text earlier, because James suddenly says that we should now ask the Gentile Christians in a letter, literally:
- from the contamination of idols
- and from fornication
- and from the suffocated
- and keep away from the blood.
For Moses from ancient times had in every city those who preached him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
And I would like to explain that briefly so that we understand that this is not just about the small print and why we don’t live it like that anymore.
At first glance, these 4 points are a strange mix. Keeping myself away from idolatry and not practicing fornication is what the Bible means for any sexual intercourse outside of marriage, which is already included in the 10 commandments.
Why are these two points, which should be clear, mentioned here, but not the other commandments, and then two extra rules? So that can’t be meant and it isn’t. All 4 points come from the ceremonial law of the Jews from Leviticus 17-18.
The first involves eating meat sacrificed to idols. Meat that had been dedicated to gods in pagan ceremonies and then sold in the market.
The subject of fornication refers to kinship marriages, which were permitted to a certain extent by Roman law at the time, where the law God had given to the people of Israel was narrower.Asphyxiated, it’s about the type of Jewish slaughter.Today we refer to this as kosher meat.And the Jews were not allowed to eat blood either.
Why do the Gentile Christians get these 4 points imposed?
The next verse is the justification:
Because there have been Jews in the cities since ancient times, i.e. many centuries, who were shaped by the reading of these laws and it is about consideration for these Jews. Paul writes exactly the same thing specifically on the subject of meat sacrificed to idols in Romans and Corinthians.It is about consideration for the Jews who had become Christians, but did not yet understand the freedom they had in such depth and breadth that they would not stumble in their faith and unity among Christians would be preserved. And it’s also about being considerate of the Jews, not creating unnecessary obstacles to the evangelism of the people who live around them. But it is precisely through the Bible passages in the letters to the Romans and Corinthians that we can see that these are culturally conditioned restrictions, because Paul proclaims a fundamental freedom. And that’s why we no longer live these points today, because we live in a completely different environment. So there is no fine print.Nevertheless, we can also ask ourselves out of this freedom, what are the issues today, when it means doing some things out of consideration for other fellow Christians and not doing others, although we are free, and also to the people around us to reach.
For example, when I am in contact with Muslims, I refrain from eating pork and drinking alcohol, because otherwise I will not be accepted as a conversation partner for the other person from the outset.
Make decisions with the Holy Spirit
We have seen from the Apostles‘ Council, where there was a question of principle, how we can make decisions with the Holy Spirit, and we have seen that we are saved by grace, that there is no fine print, but also how quickly we can risk of imposing on others or on ourselves, because each of us brings our own story and that it is also important to be considerate of others, be they other believers or people from our own, out of the freedom that God has given us environment that we want to introduce to Jesus.
You may be faced with an important decision this morning,but maybe the meaning and magnitude of God’s grace has become clear to you again in a completely new way.Let’s lay what moves us before God with the next few songs and reach out to him.We stand up for it.
Amen