Title: Paul, We have a Problem Sermon by Joey McLeod 11-2-2014 Calvary Presbyterian Church Mize, Mississippi Acts 21:17-26 17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.18 And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.19 And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. There is an amazing thing that happens when one becomes a Christian. That amazing thing is that when ones comes to Christ, the Holy Spirit begins to work in our hearts to sanctify us and transform us more and more into the image of Christ. We begin to look, think and act more and more like Jesus with each passing year. This is particularly displayed in our relationship to God, and in our relationship to others. We have seen this in the life of Paul as he told the brothers, “I am ready not only be imprisoned, but to die in Jerusalem for the name of Jesus.” We hear the loud amen of Paul and the others, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” But this week, we see through Paul an example of the change in our relationship to others that the gospel brings about as his focus is solely on the good of others, even if it means that he has to cast aside his own Christian liberty. A life in Christ means considering others better than yourself, and putting their needs and desires ahead of your own. To God Be The Glory When Paul, and Luke with him, finally arrived in Jerusalem, Luke says, “The brothers received us gladly or welcomed us.” You almost get a sense that there was a sigh of relief that this was the case. First, this was not always the case in every place where Paul went. He was not the most popular person in the world, particularly in Jerusalem as we see. But even more, you recall that they have just seen and heard Agabus state that Paul would be bound and delivered to Gentiles in Jerusalem. I can imagine that they had thought about this with every step as they neared Jerusalem. But Luke says the initial reception was to be welcomed. I am sure that there was joy at seeing their brother who had been gone for about 5 years at this point, but there was probably even more joy when Paul opened his money sacks. Luke does not speak of the offerings that had been collected, but we know from Paul’s letter to Romans and Corinthians that this weighed heavily on him. It quite possible could have been the reason he was so adamant to get to Jerusalem, he had been collecting offerings for suffering saints in Jerusalem for quite some time. I am sure that this offering did much for the morale of a people who were struggling to survive in the midst of a famine that had been quite extensive. Paul states in 2 Cor. 8, “Your abundance should supply their need, their abidance your need… Give proof before the churches of your love.” The gospel had been going forth for many years to the Gentiles, but tensions remained high among the Jews even as we see in these verses. I think in Paul’s mind this offering would show a great sign of solidarity between the Gentile and the Jewish Christians. You also recall from Galatians 2 when Paul was commissioned by Jerusalem to go to the Gentiles Paul said, “Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing that I was eager to do.” This was now being fulfilled. But what Luke focuses upon, and what truly brought joy was the report of Paul of what God had done through his ministry. Luke says that he related or reported one by one what had happened on his third missionary journey. You can almost hear him telling about how in his return to Ephesus they were baptized into the name of Jesus and Holy Spirit fell upon them. He reported how he had labored among them for two years, and established a church working miracles until craftsmen’s guild ran them out of town chanting “Great is Artemis,” yet even then God raised up town clerk and gospel was defended. There must have been great joy when he told them about Eutychus falling out of the window, but his life being restored. But the bottom line is they realized that Paul may have been the worker, but it was God who deserved the Glory for the success of these five years. The gospel was going forth to the ends of the earth just as God has said, and God was to be praised as it progressed. What Shall We Do? After Paul finished reporting the work God had done through him, it was then time for the elders to report what God had done there in Jerusalem. It is easy to overlook the fact that they tell Paul that there were many thousands of Jews who had believed. Some say that this is hyperbole or exaggeration, but, even if it is, the fact can’t be diminished that many many Jews had come to faith. This was bound to be encouraging news to Paul as we hear him write to the Romans, “I wish that I were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” It had to have warmed his heart to hear the multitude of his kinsmen coming to faith, as much as the encouragement of Gentiles to elders in Jerusalem. But in spite of any joy their coming to faith might have brought, there was a problem. The problem was they were believers, but they had been Jews and they remained zealous for the law. As Paul’s reputation grew, so did the rumors. There had been rumors Paul was teaching to forsake the law of Moses, particularly teaching people not to circumcise their children and or walk according to Jewish custom. There was obviously much tension that remained between the Jews and those Gentiles who were coming to faith. Obviously there remained much work to identify the relationship between the Old and the New Testament. The relationship between the law and the gospel has and always will remain a tricky association. There was tension because Paul had taught these things. It is not that circumcision was wrong. Paul tells the Galatians that neither circumcision nor un-circumcision means anything, but only faith working through love. We have seen him making and keeping vows, which were Jewish custom, when he cut his hair because he was under a vow in Cenchrea. The problem comes when these things became a source of one’s justification, or righteousness before God. As He teaches Romans 10, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for those who believe.” Jesus is the end because he fulfilled it, whether the moral law or the ceremonial law is intended. It has been finished in him for those of faith. He is the one who kept every jot and tittle of 10 commandments, and who is the lamb of God whose blood was shed. The law is good, until it becomes source of our righteousness, and then it becomes not good for us, but rather it condemns us. The elders understand the tension of the situation and ask what then is to be done? They understood the danger, which is why they say they will hear you have come. Their proposal is to take four men who were under a vow and for Paul to purify himself along with them, as well as pay their expenses. The purpose being that then Paul would demonstrate that their fears about him were unfounded. He would show that he was keeping their customs living in observance with the same laws that for which they were so zealous. But the fact that they remind Paul of the previous letter that had been sent to the Gentiles demonstrates they had a grasp of the relationship law and gospel. There can be little doubt that this is a reference to the letter sent after the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, which had decided this very issue. Circumcision was not to be required. They only asked that they refrain from food offered to idols, blood, things strangled and fornication. They were in essence saying we still affirm that decision. Follow Christ Then tension in that room must have been great when the proposal was made as all eyes turned to the Apostle Paul to get his response. I would imagine that, even though James and the elders appear to kind of be the central authority at time, there must have been a sigh of relief among them. We saw in Galatians where Paul went head to head with Peter over a similar issue and refused to give way standing his ground. We have seen him appear before these same men and stand his ground, and eventually get his way, in the issue with circumcision in Antioch. Paul could have refused and simply stated, yeah that’s right, Christ has abolished those things and I refuse to participate in them. He could have demanded that it not be forced upon him, and I think he stood on solid ground that they not violate his conscience. But in reality it was a matter of indifference, as long as they were not be used as a source of justification, or a foundation for righteousness. We read that Paul went into the temple and announced the days of fulfillment, or how long vow would last, and present offering for each of them – himself and the four. Here is the reality of being a Christian, the mark of one who has matured in his or her faith, and that reality is the interests of others come before my own. Paul understood that they continued in these practices because they were still weak in their faith, infants in their faith and old habits are hard to break. He writes to Romans, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions… Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord… one who abstains… in honor of the Lord. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God… it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. If a brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.” He also wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews, I became a Jew, in order to win Jews… To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law… I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” He is doing nothing more than reflecting the character, or the image of Christ that the Holy Spirit is at work to produce in him, as well as all those who come to faith. We may all be at different stages of reflecting this image, but it consists in doing the will of God, even if it means death on a cross. Bearing the image of Christ also means putting the needs and desires of others before our own. Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” The law had no hold upon him, he is divine, but he came under the law that we might receive adoption. He came under law putting us before himself. 2 Cor. 5:21, “For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, in order that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor. 8:9, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich…” Becoming a follower of Christ is no easy task. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” He also said that before you follow him you had better sit down and count the cost. This is because to follow him means that we are everyday being conformed to his image, and this means putting the will of God and the good of others in front of my own will and my own desires. That means becoming all things to all people in order that I might win some. This means loving others as Christ has loved you. It means being willing to have your rights trampled upon if it will bring glory to God, and good to others.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 21:23:31 +0000
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