“Bring out the holy hand grenade” – King Arthur said to Brother Maynard as a last ditch attempt to destroy The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog
From one of the best films of all time Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
It’s also what I call that moment when you’re in a debate or decision-making process and somebody says – well God told me! End of discussion.
• You certainly want to be careful where and when you roll out that bomb – that conversation stopper.
• You better be right and it better be important.
That is essentially what happened at a pivotal moment in the history of the early church. They brought out the holy hand grenade.
Here’s the story -
There was a disagreement – one of the most crucial in the history of our faith between two groups of Christ followers in the city of Antioch – 300 miles north of Jerusalem.
• Led to a gathering or council in the city of Jerusalem between the two disagreeing parties
• Debate and decision over a very important issue
They meet, they discuss, they hear evidence and then they decide to send a letter back to Antioch with their verdict.
Acts 15: 23 page
“This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!
24 “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them!25 So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.
28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”
“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”…
How did that happen? Did they “hear” something from him? Were there crazy but unmistakable circumstances that occurred? Did they sense it?
Whatever occured they knew they had the HS approval of this decision.
2 questions about this moment…
1- Is this a legit way to make decisions?
• Yes…but! This churches’ leadership has practiced this form of decision making it for 30 years. But it required radical humility, personal indifference, and active listening to each other and God.
2- What was so important about this moment that led to the council and the holy hand grenade and the letter that it shows up in the middle of Luke’s account?
So, let’s back up and I’ll tell you about it.
Acts 15:1 page ______
It was somewhere between 10-15 years since the events of Saul’s conversion.
• Paul has by now been out and about doing his missionary thing out of His home base – Antioch
• Meanwhile in Jerusalem there was a rise in Jewish nationalism fed by loathing the Roman occupation that led eventually to revolt and destruction at the hand of the Romans in AD 70
• Along with that there was a growing effort among some to keep Christianity Jewish – mix of Jesus and the law
• Antioch (where people first called Christians) was rapidly becoming the center of the new Christian movement especially among Gentiles
• As that became known to former Jewish Pharisees now Christians in the homeland some felt the need to put a stop to it to keep Christianity Jewish
15 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers[a]: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently.
• Arguing vehemently is an understatement – Greek = a throw down with lots of yelling
o Men from Judea – you gotta get these men circumcised like all good Jews … if not they’re not saved!
o Paul and Barnabas – you’re out of your minds! No way is following the law at any point a requirement for salvation!
This teetered on the verge of a cleavage/split in the church that would change history.
Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles (been with Jesus) and elders (leaders of the church led by James). They reported everything God had done through them. 5 But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”
• And it was on!
7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe.
• Peter was referencing that odd moment in Acts 10.
o The trance “Don’t call unclean what I now call clean!”
o The next day conversation with Cornelius which leads to his conversion.
And then we get the last words recorded in the narrative of Peter. He disappears after this.
8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith.10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers[b] with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
• Here is the game changing statement:
There is no longer any “us and them”.
• “distinction” between us and them – other ways of saying it..
o We are no longer separate from gentiles/pagans
o We can no longer discriminate against them
o We can no longer withdraw from each other
o We can no longer strive against them
I can’t overstate how radical this was
• Gentiles were considered unclean by what they touched and ate and idolaters by what they believed
o Some were dangerous and enemies – Romans
o Some were intellectually dangerous idolaters - Greeks
o Some were uncouth and savage
Scythians – pot smoking, blood drinking, human sacrificing, scalping, beheading monsters;
Peter says – If any Gentile has surrendered their live to Christ and follow him…
There is no longer any us and them.
And he explains why: God removed any hint of discrimination by:
• God examined and knew Gentiles hearts – he didn’t overlook their sin
• He gave them holy spirit to people
• He cleanses people internally – even the monstrous and barbaric
They are not like you, they don’t think the way you think, they don’t live the way you live, they are way out of your comfort zone but … stop making them jump through moral and religious hoops to be accepted into the community!
This was big!
• Then Paul and Barnabas gave them illustrations from their work among the gentiles
• Then James (pastor of the Jerusalem church) offers a summary and suggestion.
• Then they make the decision with the help of the Holy Spirit and send the letter and there was great rejoicing.
Note: the decision was out of commitment to community not the law
29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”
• Just don’t eat these things so that you can have a meal together.
• Everybody knows sexual immorality is a bad thing so don’t do that!
This moment certainly justified bringing out the Holy Hand grenade!
The Holy Spirit affirmed and put his seal of approval on this crucial value:
There is no longer any “us and them”.
Let me tease it out a bit…
God saves every human being through his undeserved grace. Let’s make sure our welcome and inclusion is as graceful as His.
• God knows hearts – he doesn’t need us to confront and expose people.
• He gives the holy spirit to people – the great equalizer – they need nothing else.
• He cleanses people internally – we need not impose rituals or values that we think clean people up.
Let’s make sure our welcome and inclusion is as graceful as God’s.
With whom are you not very welcoming into your life or our faith?
Who are those people whom you can’t imagine including in your life or our faith?
Finish this sentence. “I’ll welcome and include those people if they ____________”
Let’s make sure our welcome and inclusion is as graceful as God’s.