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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

942. “Hey Paul, Issue a Retraction About Your Teaching” (Signed, the Jerusalem Church)

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We're nearing the conclusion of our series on the challenging time of transition after the resurrection related to Gentile controversies from the book of Acts. Taking a look at Acts 21, where Paul went to Jerusalem to address some issues head-on ... knowing he may end up suffering or even facing death. This would have been about a decade after the heated debate centered around Gentiles back in Acts 15 with other apostles and elders. This time, he met with James and the leadership council from the "church headquarters" in the city. Paul was eager to share what God was doing among the Gentiles and they all rejoiced. But there was still a barrier causing a division or separation between Jews and Gentiles. That barrier of hostility was connected to the law of Moses which was still being embraced among the church leadership and their community.

Many Jewish people were also coming to believe in a risen Jesus, but remained zealous or fervent for the Mosaic law ... a law that Paul had been teaching was abolished and a ministry of death and condemnation from which Jews had been fully redeemed. These newer believers who were passionate for the law were unhappy to hear Paul was proclaiming these things and some wanted death for him. During this private meeting, those who were present from the Jerusalem church attempted to convince Paul that he should squash the rumors of his teachings, denouncing them as empty hearsay, and declare he also was zealous for the law and traditions of Moses ... while participating in an old covenant cleansing ceremony. But ultimately, Paul would not compromise his message, as he would escape death for a period of time and primarily spend the rest of his days as a prisoner ministering a gospel of grace apart from works.



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940. The Judgment: Gentiles Remain Free From Moses (Except for the Fine Print)

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The scene takes place about a decade or so after it came to light that Gentiles could be saved. In Acts 15, a contentious debate occurred between apostles and other Jewish elders and leaders in the early church at Jerusalem. Should non-Jewish believers in Christ be forced to abide by the Mosaic law ... as these believing Jews thought they were still supposed to follow? Gentiles never had the law. James provided a compromise of sorts. He sided with the team of Peter and Paul - that Gentiles should not be burdened with the law in the same way as Jews - but it often gets skipped over that he made exceptions to the "rule." James listed four things from the law that he felt Gentiles should do going forward.

We'll begin to take a look at these lawful line items, and what it would mean for the Gentiles of that time within their culture as they would be trying to live in harmony with nearby Jewish believers who still embraced Moses. These four things were not merely 4 commandments out of 613 from the law, but were more like categories which would involve much more than what it initially looked like on paper, and would unnecessarily result in a much bigger burden than what would have been initially understood.



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939. Confusion and Controversy: Gentiles Required to Keep the Law? (Acts 15)

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After Peter's revelation of Gentiles coming to faith - which coincided with Paul arriving on the scene - non-Jewish people were beginning to believe in Jesus and to receive the Spirit resulting in eternal life. The wildfire began to spread throughout certain regions. But it collided head-on with Jewish believers in positions of high authority who jumped to the wrong conclusion that these believing Gentiles needed to adhere to circumcision and other aspects of the law of Moses in order to be truly saved.

It resulted in "no small dissention" and "much debate," and it was suggested that the Gentile converters gather for a meeting at the church headquarters in Jerusalem, where Paul and Peter (among others) would meet with the apostles, the council and elders to determine if Gentiles who never had the Mosaic law should be required to follow it as those Jewish believers in Jerusalem assumed they were still required to do.



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938. Gentiles No Longer Denied: “Revered Paul” to the Rescue

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In Acts 13 and 14, after what may have been close to a decade after the resurrection, Paul was in the early days of his ministry of the gospel to Gentiles and also Jewish people. He and Barnabas connected in the region of Antioch for about a year, finally opening the message of salvation available to Gentiles found through faith in a risen Jesus.

But first they addressed Jews who gathered at the nearby synagogue on the weekly Sabbath to hear a customary reading of the law of Moses. Some received their gospel message, but just as many did not ... and the city became divided. Jews who were advocates for the old law didn't appreciate being told that only Jesus could bring them forgiveness and freedom—while the law never could.

This ... combined with Gentiles coming to faith in Christ ... led Paul's Jewish contradictors to stone him while in one particular city, and dragged him out of the town to be left for dead. This would just be Round 1. The bell would ring, and Paul would get up and head boldly back into the ring, undeterred by those who threw rocks while they were clinging to the stone tablets.



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789. Paul Persecuted – for Teaching Against the Law and the Temple

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It’s often assumed Paul was persecuted because he believed in Jesus. But the bulk of Paul’s persecution came from Jews who opposed his teachings about salvation and righteousness coming by faith alone, apart from works, and that Jews had been freed and redeemed from the Mosaic law through the finished work of Jesus. Even the early church leadership (James and others) believed there was a different gospel for Jew and Gentile, and many believing Jews still assumed Gentiles were considered unclean—as the law declared. Keep them away from the temple so it wouldn’t be defiled!

During the early decades after the resurrection, when the church was still growing in their knowledge of the truth, even the apostles didn’t completely understand the fullness of the gospel, although God’s Spirit would reveal things to them … often from what we call the Old Testament—the only Scriptures they could reference. Paul and some of his companions were a major force in sharing the more complete truth of what was accomplished through the blood of the cross—for both Jew and Gentile.

The church today continues to struggle with a mixed message of faith and religious rules, while trying to establish theology and doctrine based upon their own assumptions about the Bible writings. Just as in the early years of the church, we’re not growing in the knowledge of “the Bible,” but we’re all growing in the knowledge of the truth found in the Person of Jesus Christ, as we receive it from the Holy Spirit.



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788. James and the Elders Encourage Paul to Deny What He Was Teaching

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The Apostle Paul declared over and over again that the law which came through Moses was something Gentiles had no part of and Jews had also been freed from its impossible demands. It could not bring life, but had a purpose of death and condemnation, having been replaced by a more glorious ministry of the Spirit. James and the elders from the Jerusalem church had very little problem with Gentiles not being required to try to keep most of the law—because they had never been under it. But James and his council viewed Jews differently and with an attitude of superiority, even after the cross, which resulted in believing they had a different gospel with a different set of rules which were rooted in that law for justification.

They rejoiced that Gentiles were coming to Jesus, but stumbled over Paul’s teachings that the Jews who lived among the Gentiles should also “forsake Moses.” James and the elders ordered Paul to publicly denounce the accusations against him by saying he believes in keeping the law … and to do this by participating in an old covenant purification ceremony—as if the blood of Jesus was not enough. In other words, they wanted Paul to deny what he had been teaching about grace through faith, apart from works of the law.



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787. The Evidence Mounts: James Touted Law – 30 Years After the Cross

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While continuing our series on Paul and James, and faith compared to works, we spend some time this week summarizing what we’ve been covering. Since our short weekly programs are chopped up, we wanted to review some of what has been covered so far in order to help connect the dots on the tremendous struggle that is revealed in New Testament writings during those early years of the church. And what was that struggle? Most of the early church leadership—including James—believed the law was still meant to be a part of the equation for Jewish believers … and many were perverting the gospel by trying to burden believing Gentiles with portions of the law.

We also take a look at more evidence where James and the elders in Jerusalem convince Paul to participate in an old covenant exercise where ceremony and sacrifice would occur in order to show the Jews that Paul was also a law keeper and had not forsaken Moses. This event from Acts 21 would have been nearly 3 decades after the cross, and about 20 years after James wrote his Bible letter. More to come!



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784. Paul and James: The Abraham Chronicles

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How is it possible that both Paul and James quote the same passage from Genesis 15 – referring to Abraham – and come to different conclusions on how Abraham was declared justified? It might be for the same reason we often see today … in an effort to prove an assumed mindset, one of them attempts to apply the “verse” out of context. We break it down on this week’s program.

And what about those “Judaizers” who came from James to bewitch Gentile believers in Christ with requirements from the law and Jewish ceremonial customs? It caused even Peter to play the hypocrite as he feared the peer pressure, which led to “not being straightforward about the truth of the gospel.” Ultimately, Paul’s message was that justification was purely by grace through faith, apart from works. But this would be a battle he would fight even with those who were considered of high reputation and pillars of the church.



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781. Paul and James: The Elephant in the Bible Room

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Christian theologians have always been concerned about the elephant in the room – the quandary or controversy regarding what appear to be conflicting statements by Paul and James about justification, salvation and righteousness. This week, we continue looking at the apparent differences or viewpoints between them and how it does not take away from the truth within the Bible as a whole or Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. Interestingly, both men use Abraham as the example to make their case (examples in Romans 4 and James 2). They both quote Genesis 15:6 about how Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness.

Paul dives into a much longer explanation, using the context that Abraham was declared righteous by faith before any work was performed, including circumcision … when he believed God would provide a child. Whereas James jumps out of context to when Isaac was taken to the altar. If one is going to tout a mixture of faith plus works when it comes to salvation, those who hold to James’ view will need to be much more specific on exactly what type of works or action is needed to maintain their justification. That ingredient is always missing, leaving people in doubt and fear instead of peace.



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780. Faith, Works and Justification: Did Paul and James Disagree?

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We’ve all seen it. Time and time again, Paul declared the gospel is based upon justification gifted freely by faith, through the blood of Jesus, apart from works. James said something that appears to be quite the opposite. Bible teachers will fear such a contradiction diminishes the validity of the written pages and therefore, may affect the credibility of the entire Bible and bring doubt to the truth of Jesus Christ.

Teachers and ministers begin to feel the need to try and explain that there was no disagreement between the two, and that their views simply complimented each other … as both legalistic and grace teachers put their spin on trying to assure people that Paul and James were in perfect harmony. Both guys use Abraham to make their case for justification but even their context from the Old Testament is different. We attempt to bring a different perspective in considering they were not in agreement at all, and yet it takes nothing away from the truth of Jesus.



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779. Paul, James and the Gentile Dilemma

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Following up on last week’s look at Acts Chapter 15, there was great debate among Jewish believers as to whether non-Jewish people (Gentiles) should be required to follow the law of Moses as they were coming to belief in Christ and getting saved. After all, Gentiles had no relationship with that law and now it was presenting a dissension among those who felt the law was still a necessary component with Jesus added to it. James appears to reach a compromise which was accepted between both parties … or was it? We’ll discover the possibility this controversy would continue and the debate between law and grace was just beginning as we look at various passages in the weeks ahead.



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778. Grace or Works: The Apostles Vs. The James Gang

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This week’s program dives into Acts chapter 15 where Peter, Paul and others met with the Jerusalem church council which included James and former Pharisees. The apostles were making the case during a heated debate that God was saving the Gentiles and receiving the Spirit freely. The council had accepted that Gentiles could be saved, but believed they needed to be “brought into the fold” by including and applying the law of Moses with the newfound life given by God’s Spirit.

The debate was about choosing whether salvation is by grace through faith alone … or whether works of the law needed to be included. In the end, James spoke on behalf of the church board with a surprising change of opinion—or judgment—by saying the Gentiles should not be troubled with keeping the Mosaic law. Although not everyone agreed, the revelation being brought forth was that Gentiles would not be brought into the old way of law, but that Jews were also freed from it. It couldn’t be a grace/law mixture for one group (Jews) and not the other (Gentiles).



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