Acts 15:19

Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. (Acts 15:19–22)

How the early church settled its first great dispute—and seven ways God leads us to know His will today.

The Dispute That Brought the Church to Jerusalem

As we saw last week in Acts 15, a dispute arose in the early church—perhaps the biggest dispute to this point—requiring a gathering in Jerusalem we call the Jerusalem Council. Paul and Barnabas were overseeing the body of Christ in Antioch, a fellowship made up primarily of Gentiles who had come to faith. A group of Pharisees who had become Christians came down from Jerusalem, saw these Gentiles worshiping and fellowshipping with Jewish believers, and began teaching that unless you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.

The dispute became so great that Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to discuss it. There Peter rose and reminded them how God had already worked among the Gentiles at Cornelius' house in Acts 10. Paul and Barnabas declared the great things God was doing in Antioch and Galatia. Then James, the half-brother of Jesus and overseer of the Jerusalem church, stood and said the prophets of old had foretold that God would bring the Gentiles into the body of Christ.

A Letter of Exhortation, Not Bondage

So the council decided to write a letter to these Gentile believers. James said his sentence was that they not trouble them, but write that they abstain from four things: pollutions of idols, fornication, things strangled, and blood.

Remember, the Pharisees who became Christians had been determined to keep all 613 commandments of the law, plus the traditions of the elders, to make themselves righteous. But what the law reveals, as we considered last week, is that no one is made righteous by the law. More than anything, it reveals that we are wicked, sinful, and in need of a Savior and His grace. Jesus came as that Savior to give us grace, and we are thankful for it.

Yet after receiving grace, these Pharisees had a true concern about righteousness. They were stumbled by how many Gentiles had lived, coming out of paganism and the worship of false gods. We saw that vividly in Galatia, when Paul and Barnabas healed a lame man and the whole city wanted to offer sacrifice to them as gods. They had to withhold the people, saying, "We are men just like you—turn from these vain things to God."

Saved for Good Works

Paul was teaching much the same thing the Pharisees wanted—that the Gentiles should no longer walk in their vain practices. The difference was the gospel itself. The Pharisees said, "Unless you depart from those things, you cannot be saved." Paul said, "We are saved by grace through faith; but once saved, God has saved us for good works, which involve turning from these vain things."

So the council refused to lay a yoke of bondage on these people, demanding they jump through a hoop to be saved. Instead they said, "Now that you are saved, we exhort you, we challenge you, we call you to walk and live in righteousness." The four exhortations were not laws Gentiles must follow to earn salvation, but exhortations directed specifically at those who had come out of paganism. If the Jerusalem Council wrote to us Gentiles in America today, the list might differ—abstain from covetousness, guard your eyes in a flesh-saturated environment, depart from the rudimentary principles of this world.

The Law of Love

They were also calling these believers to the law of love. Though not bound under the law of Moses, they were bound under the law of love, as are we. A person might even fulfill the moral laws outwardly—Paul told the Philippians that according to the law, when he was a Pharisee, he considered himself blameless. That is a heady thing, but it is not the whole law.

When Jesus was asked the greatest commandment, every Jew knew to answer from Deuteronomy 6: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The apostle John writes, "A new commandment I write unto you"—yet not new—"that you love one another as Christ has loved you." In Antioch, two totally different cultures were growing together as one in Christ: one from the religiously ordered world of Judaism, the other from a pagan world. The middle wall of separation was torn down. How do you relate to one another?

The Concern Was Right, the Method Was Wrong

Many Jews looked at the Gentiles and saw only pagans, and the Pharisees feared they would bring their philosophies into the church. Their concern was right; their method of fixing it was wrong. Often that is our error too—we want to fix people before we will fellowship with them. The church said instead, "Come and fellowship with us; we are one in Christ—but we exhort you to live in righteousness."

These Gentiles had come out of temples where false gods were worshiped with sacrifices, sometimes involving strangulation and meat with the blood, which was not kosher. A Jew would see that as heathen practice. Paul gives more understanding in his letter to the Corinthians: don't stumble your weaker brother. If he has an issue with you eating meat offered to an idol, don't eat it. The Gentiles had the right to do these things, but out of love—esteeming others higher than themselves—they were exhorted to turn away.

Older Than the Law

It is striking that these four exhortations were given by God before the law of Exodus 20. In Genesis 9:4, God told Noah they could eat meat but not with the blood, for life was in the blood. The command against fornication and adultery goes back to the institution of marriage in Genesis, where God created male and female, that the two should become one and what God joined no man should separate. And the call to worship the one God alone, not idols, also precedes the law.

So this letter was one of the first epistles written to Gentile believers, exhorting them to godliness—and it would not be the last. Read Paul's thirteen letters, John's and Peter's letters, the book of Hebrews, and you find exhortation after exhortation, mostly to Gentiles, to walk in righteousness. Two thousand years later we still study the Scriptures to learn how to walk in righteousness from a position of salvation. We received salvation by grace through faith, but we are called to walk in newness of life—departing from every evil practice.

Knowing the Will of God: Unity and Quality

Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren. (Acts 15:22)

One of the most common questions I receive as a pastor is, "How do I know the will of God?" In these remaining verses I want to consider seven answers.

First, we find the will of God through the unity of the body. This dispute had the potential to divide the fellowship. The Pharisees could have said, "We disagree, so we'll start our own church—the first Christian church of the law down the street." Instead, after they discussed, prayed, and heard from Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James, they all came to a place where they were pleased with the decision. An issue that could have divided the church was dealt with in unity.

Second, the quality of the leaders. They sent chosen men—Paul, Barnabas, Judas Barsabbas, and Silas—chief men among the brethren. Verse 23 adds the apostles and elders. The early church had both unity of the body and quality of leadership seeking the Lord's direction.

The Activity of the Holy Spirit and the Consistency of Teaching

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things. (Acts 15:28)

Third, the activity of the Holy Spirit. As the leaders were unified, God by His Spirit led their discussion—reminding them through Peter of Cornelius' house, revealing through Paul and Barnabas the miracles in Galatia, and bringing to mind Amos through James. Over the years, when you can get seven or ten men to agree on anything, that has to be the work of the Holy Spirit.

So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch... which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. (Acts 15:30–31)

That they rejoiced is an understatement—they had been told they might need to be circumcised, and now they heard they did not.

Fourth, the consistency of the teaching. Judas and Silas, being prophets themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words and confirmed them, and Paul and Barnabas continued teaching and preaching with many others. They did not rely on one person. We are blessed the same way—Pastor Josh, Pastor Eric, Pastor Richard, Pastor Mark, and many elders, plus Bible studies through the week. When people ask how to know God's will, I ask if they are seeking the Lord in His word daily. Nine times out of ten the answer is no. How will you know what God is calling you to do if you never seek Him in His word?

As Hebrews 1 says, God who spoke in times past by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. People look for a guru or a prophet to tell them what to do. Would you rather have the counsel of your pastor or the counsel of God who created the world? If you consistently seek the Lord in His word and through the gifted teaching of the body, you will be far more apt to hear His voice when you wonder what you ought to do.

Your Desire and Your Burden

Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. (Acts 15:34)

Fifth, your desire personally. I have never met a missionary on the field who was not where they desired to be. This puzzles people. A student at the Bible college was struggling over whether to stay. She asked what I thought she should do. I asked what she wanted to do. She wanted to be a physical therapist. I said, "Then you're at the wrong college—doesn't God need Christian physical therapists? Maybe God gave you that desire." The psalmist says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Desire can be dangerous, but we should not discount it.

In the fall of 1998 I was at the Bible college in Marietta but had a desire to come back and serve here at Escondido. At first I thought it couldn't be the Lord. Then Pastor Richard asked Charles and me to become ministry interns. Pulling out of this parking lot, I told Charles I was going to do it. He said, "You haven't even prayed about it." I had—and there was an open door. God often leads me by a desire, then an open door; the desire comes first.

Later I had a desire to teach at a Bible school overseas. We inquired in York, England—no need, no open door, so I set it aside. Six months later a pastor friend, with no knowledge of that desire, asked if I'd be interested in teaching at the Bible college in Germany, because David Guzik needed a teacher. The desire had come first, then the door opened. And back in 2002, I confided to Pastor Richard a desire I'd told no one—that someday the Lord would call me to be senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Escondido—even though there was no vacancy. He wrote it in his little brown book. Years passed before the door opened, but the desire was already there.

And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. (Acts 15:36)

Sixth, your concern internally. As Paul taught in Antioch, a burden welled up in him for those he had ministered to in Galatia. God often leads us by a burden He places inside us. I have seen people sitting in a chair like yours when someone like Pastor Jim Davis shares about Asia, and suddenly a burden for China, Vietnam, or Cambodia comes that they never considered—and when the door opens, they are ready. Or perhaps you drive the same route to work and one person at a bus stop keeps sticking in your mind. Perhaps God is placing a burden on your heart to share His word.

Differing Visions and Full Circle

And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; and Paul chose Silas, and departed. (Acts 15:39–40)

Seventh, God leads us through differing visions individually. Paul wanted to revisit the churches; Barnabas wanted to bring his nephew Mark. But Mark had bailed out at Pamphylia on the first journey, and Paul didn't trust him. The contention was so sharp that these men—who had been shipwrecked, beaten, and knit together in years of ministry—split ways. Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, was always willing to go out on a limb and give a second chance. He had reached out to Saul of Tarsus when no one else would, and now he did the same for Mark.

I confess my personality sides a bit more with Paul—more reserved, more cautious. But I am thankful for the Barnabases, like Pastor Josh, willing to take a chance on anybody. And we should be deeply grateful Barnabas took a chance on Mark, even at the cost of dissension, because Mark became the author of the Gospel of Mark. The split was painful for them and for the church, but it was good for the kingdom of God—it multiplied ministry. We have seen the same in our church over the years: painful for those involved, yet God doing a new thing.

And God brings things full circle. In Paul's last letter, just before his martyrdom, he writes to Timothy from a Roman prison: "Do thy diligence to come unto me shortly... Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry" (2 Timothy 4:9, 11). The very man who caused division between Paul and Barnabas was, at the end, the man Paul needed. God is able to lead, guide, and direct—even through differing visions where someone says, "I believe the Lord is calling me to go," and we may not like it. God has a plan. We should be open to it.

Closing Prayer

Father, I pray that You would help us to be those who wait upon You, seeking Your direction. It is Your desire to lead us, just as You led the children of Israel through the wilderness toward the promised land. Lead us by that pillar of fire by night—in dark times, light the way that we may hear that word behind us saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it." Let us be led by the cloud by day, that in the heat of the day we would have rest and peace knowing Your will. Stir our hearts to seek You in Your word, in the unity of counsel, and from quality leaders. Help us not to discount the desire You place in our hearts or the burden we carry internally, and help us to recognize that others are called to differing things than we are as we follow You and light this world. We praise You and thank You, in Jesus' name. Amen.