The Priority of Grace | Acts 15:1-33
Luke’s account of the Jerusalem Council shows four indications of the priority of grace in Christian belief and practice: (1) the subject of contention; (2) the object of faith; (3) the fulfillment of prophecy; and (4) the guide for relationships. This sermon is part 8 of “Spreading the Faith,” Bryan Craddock’s verse-by-verse sermon series on Acts 8-20.
Eighteen years ago this week, I ended up in the emergency room. I had taken my kids sledding at Kindleberger Park. My five-year-old daughter was riding in my lap on an inner tube, and I realized that we were headed straight toward a jump. I rolled her off to the side at the last second, but I flew through the air, lost the tube, and landed hard.
I was able to walk into the hospital, so the triage nurse must have assumed that I was just bruised. They left me sitting in the waiting room for a few hours. When they took me in, they gave me a shot for the pain. Another hour passed, and I still wasn’t feeling any better. So, they sent me for a CT scan and discovered that I had fractured one of my lower vertebrae.
That revelation changed everything. Everyone started paying attention to me. They were concerned that the bone might shift and press on my spinal cord. Thankfully, that did not happen! The staff took good care of me, and with four months of bedrest at home I made a full recovery.
It’s never easy being stuck in the waiting room. But that triage principle makes sense and even has some application to our life, our faith, and our ministry as Christian believers. We should pay the most attention to the things that matter most to the Lord. So, what are those things?
Our study of the book of Acts brings us now to Acts 15:1-33, a passage that reveals the priority that we should place on grace. In chapters 13 and 14, Luke recounted how Paul’s teaching on God’s saving grace came under attack during his first missionary journey. He faced outright denial, personal defamation, idolatrous delusion, and subtle depreciation. But as he returns home, he encounters an even more dangerous attack from people who claim to be believers in Christ. They use the Mosaic Law to detract from grace, perhaps even discarding it entirely. That leads to what is often called the Jerusalem Council, and Luke's account of it shows four indications of the priority of grace in Christian belief and practice.
So, as we walk through these verses, I encourage you to consider how important God’s grace is for you personally. Does it take priority in how you think, what you say, and what you do? The first indication of its importance might surprise you.
The Subject of Contention
Several years ago we renovated our church lobby, and we wanted to cover the inside of the exterior block walls with a nice smooth finish. But our contractor told us that plaster work is becoming a lost art. He only knew of one company in town that still did it well.
It seems even harder to find a person who can smooth over conflicts and disagreements to reconcile people and bring unity. Some people are always ready to fight. Others stay quiet and avoid conflict at all costs. But Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt 5:9).
Barnabas was particularly good at that. His name meant, “Son of Encouragement.” He managed to convince the church of Jerusalem to accept Paul even though he had persecuted them prior to his conversion. Yet one issue was important enough that even Barnabas felt compelled to make it the subject of contention. Acts 15:1-2 tells us,
But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.
Why do these men see circumcision as a requirement for salvation? The practice originated long before the Mosaic Law was given. Genesis 17:9-14 tells us that God commanded Abraham and his descendants to circumcise their male offspring as a sign of his covenant with them. They were granted a special relationship with God, and any male who was not circumcised was to be cut off from the family for breaking the covenant. Later at the time of the Exodus, the Lord said that any outsider who wanted to keep the Passover could become part of the Jewish people by being circumcised (Ex 12:48). So, these men in Acts 15 argue that the same requirement applies to Gentile believers in Christ.
Paul and Barnabas strongly disagreed with that view. Luke does not explain why, but we find out in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which he probably wrote right before or soon after the events of Acts 15. In Galatians 5:2-4, he says,
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
So, the debate is not just about circumcision itself but about justification. What is it that makes someone acceptable in God’s eyes? Is it our connection with Christ by God’s grace or our personal efforts to keep the law? According to Paul, there is no middle ground.
As Luke continues the story in Acts 15:3-5, we learn more about those who are advocating circumcision. He speaks of Paul and Barnabas and says,
So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses."
The Pharisees took great pride in observing the law and all the oral traditions associated with it. But Jesus exposed them as hypocrites because they focused on the external while neglecting the heart of God’s commands. So, they were sharply critical of him during his ministry and played a part in orchestrating his crucifixion.
Over time, however, some of the Pharisees come to believe in Jesus and to associate with the church. Perhaps they accept him as the king who will return and reign. But they still consider obedience to the Law as a requirement for salvation, and they are trying to persuade others of their point of view.
So, Paul and Barnabas are not trying to pick a fight. As we see in Acts 15, their desire is to encourage people with the joyful news of what God has done through their ministry. But the teaching of these Pharisees contradicts the gospel of grace, so they cannot smooth over this issue. In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul highlights the seriousness of this problem by saying,
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
So, the priority of grace as an essential element of the gospel of Christ makes it a subject that is worthy of contention. Are you willing to speak up if you hear someone distorting the gospel? Do you understand it well enough to recognize when that is happening? Are you equipped to explain it? The next passage will help us.
The Object of Faith
Do your household projects ever turn out to be easier than you expect? We typically underestimate the difficulty and overestimate our ability. You start off thinking, “I can do this!” But then you encounter problems. Your stress level goes up, and your standards begin to drop. You don’t want to admit it, but you might be in over your head. You need to entrust the job to a professional before you do any more damage.
The Mosaic law was like that kind of do-it-yourself project. God provided his chosen people with clear instructions for building his kingdom on earth. To experience the full restoration of his blessing, they had to follow his directions perfectly. But one generation after another failed. They encountered all sorts of problems, chiefly their own sinfulness, and incurred penalties. But rather than humbling themselves, they often ignored God’s standards and caused a lot of damage. They needed to entrust the whole work, including their personal salvation, to a professional, who could fulfill the law perfectly and bear its curses in their place.
So, as the Jerusalem Council debates whether Gentiles should keep the law, Peter stresses that salvation is by faith in Jesus and his grace. Acts 15:6-9 says,
The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Luke has already told the story about the conversion of Cornelius twice, once in Acts 10 and then again as Peter recounted it to the church in Jerusalem in Acts 11. Those accounts say that Peter spoke, and the Spirit fell upon the Gentiles. They spoke in tongues and were then baptized. The Gentiles did not do anything to bring about their salvation. So, here in Acts 15, Peter explains that they simply believed the gospel and God cleansed their hearts by faith.
This cleansing of the heart is what circumcision was meant to symbolize. In Deuteronomy 29, Moses told the Jewish people that they would fail at keeping the law and would experience its curses. But then in Deuteronomy 30:6, he prophesied,
And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Around 800 years later, the prophets were still looking forward to this transformation. Ezekiel 36:25-27 links it to the coming of the Spirit. God says,
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Jeremiah 31:31 describes this change as part of a new covenant unlike the old one articulated in the Mosaic law. So, Peter questions why anyone would want to go back. In Acts 15:10-11, he says,
Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."
The Jewish people were never able to obey the law. It exposed their sinfulness and burdened them with guilt. But God gave it to them so that they would rely completely on a gracious Savior who would fulfill the Law and die to pay the price for our sins. Is he the object of your faith or are you trying to do it yourself? We must see the priority of grace, and that leads to a third indication of its importance.
The Fulfillment of Prophecy
Once you begin to think of someone as your enemy, it is not easy to change your mind. You don’t forget the damage or hurt that they have done. You expect the worst from them moving forward. You assume that they will always be out to get you. That’s why it was so radical when Jesus told his followers,
You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matt 5:43-44).
The Jewish people had a lot of enemies then as they still do today. Part of the problem was that God promised them a strategic piece of land that everyone else wanted to control. But beyond that they have also been the target of a lot of hatred. So, you can understand why Jews would want a Messiah to bring justice by crushing the nations, and many Old Testament prophecies anticipate that. But the prophets also foretell a different trajectory for some Gentiles. They will be adopted as God’s people.
So, the fulfillment of this line of prophecy is another indication of the priority of grace, and it is raised at the Jerusalem Council by James, the brother of Jesus. He, not Peter, seems to be the leading voice in this meeting. Acts 15:12-18 tells us,
And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, 'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant 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 of old.'
So, as James considers Peter’s experience and hears Barnabas and Paul report on their ministry, he sees God’s work among the Gentiles as a fulfillment of prophecy. He quotes this passage from Amos 9:11-12. The rebuilding of the tent of David looks forward to the time when one of his descendants will rule the earth. Jesus is that promised Messiah.
Now our English translations of Amos 9:12 speak of “Edom” being possessed instead of “mankind” seeking. They follow the Hebrew text, but in Acts 15 James is quoting from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. In Hebrew, there is only a slight difference between Edom and Adam, the word for man or mankind. So, the ancient translators of the Septuagint chose that interpretation. Either way, the point is that people from Gentile nations will enjoy the privilege of being called by the name of the Lord just like the Jews are. Enemies will be adopted into the family, and that can only happen by grace.
Most of us do not have Jewish heritage, but we are so accustomed to New Testament Christianity that we don’t recognize the incredible privilege that we enjoy. In ancient times, religion was determined by your family and your nation. Many people around the world still think of it that way. But by God’s grace, the gospel gives us a choice. You hear it in the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19 tells us that Jesus told his followers,
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
You are not bound by your family or national heritage. You can choose to be baptized and follow Christ. If you do so, you become identified with the Triune God. By God’s grace, you are no longer an enemy but a part of the family. That great privilege leads us to one more indication of the priority of grace.
The Guide for Relationships
We often speak of grace as a gift that we receive. Jesus died and rose again to give eternal life to those who believe in him. But his gift is so powerful that it turns recipients into givers. In fact, grace is such a priority that the failure to give it to others calls into question whether you ever genuinely received it yourself.
We hear that connection in the Lord’s prayer when Jesus teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt 6:12). He also told a parable about a servant whose king forgives him an unimaginably high debt of ten thousand talents. But then the servant has someone who owes him a few months wages thrown into prison. In Matthew 18:32-35, Jesus concludes the story by saying,
Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
Forgiveness is a gracious reaction when someone wrongs you in some way. But grace goes farther than that. It is not just reactive, but proactive. In other words, it takes the initiative to help others and to bless them. Jesus did not wait for people to seek him. He came to seek and save the lost, and as we continue in Acts 15, we see the priority of grace as the guide for our relationships.
James makes a proposal to the Jerusalem Council. In verses 19-20, he says,
Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
On one hand, grace guides James to say that they should not trouble the Gentiles. Yet he also lists four things that Gentiles should avoid. Sexual immorality is forbidden in both the Mosaic law (Lev 18) and in the teaching of Jesus (Mt 5:27-30). According to Genesis 9:4, the prohibition of eating blood goes back to the time of Noah. But abstaining from things polluted by idols and from what has been strangled is not stipulated in the law. So, why does James include them? In verse 21, he says.
For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."
With this list of restrictions, James is making a plea to Gentile believers to show grace to Jews in their communities. He is asking them to avoid any appearance of support for idolatry that might offend scrupulous Jews like the Pharisees. Paul addresses this issue in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8. He says that even though idols are not real (1 Cor 8:4), believers should avoid causing a weaker brother to stumble. In Romans 14:15, he says,
For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.
So, grace should guide our personal choices and also our interaction. We hear a consistent tone of grace in Acts 15:22-29. Luke says,
Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."
The apostles and elders show grace in working through the issue together. They even involve the whole church in the decision. They communicate their concern for the Gentiles. They respect and honor the ministry of Barnabas and Paul, and they send leading men to explain their thinking clearly.
Showing this kind of grace encourages people. Verses 30-33 tell us,
So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them.
I suspect that if the Pharisees had won the debate, the interaction would have been completely different. Legalism tends to be critical, demanding, angry, and condescending. But grace leads to encouragement, joy, and strength. Which approach characterizes your interaction with people? Is grace the guide for your relationships?
__________
Acts 15 shows us that grace must take priority in our belief and our conduct. It is a subject worthy of contention because it is the object of our faith. It is a fulfillment of prophecy that should become the guide for our relationships every day.
Are you trusting in God’s grace? Sadly, a lot of people fall into a Pharisaic approach to Christianity. They try to earn God’s acceptance by following rules, but they cannot do it. Salvation is not a do-it-yourself project. Only Jesus can do it. So, cast off that burden and start believing in grace. If you want to learn more about the freedom of grace, take some time to read Galatians 5.
If you’re a believer, does grace take priority in your thinking? Does it fill you with gratitude and joy? Does it guide your relationships? Celebrate the grace of God and let it spill over into everything you do!
May we live for the praise of his glorious grace!
Reflect
What expressions of legalism have you encountered?
How would your thinking change if you were to give priority to God’s grace?
What practical things could you do to show more grace in your relationships?