The Pilgrim Path---Acts 15: 1 – 5 

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. 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.”

UNLESS YOU ARE CIRCUMCISED…

Until the Living Christ returns in glory, there will always be those who want to “add” to the teaching of grace alone. We are saved by grace alone---through faith alone---in Jesus Christ alone. If you seek to “add” to the “finished work of Christ---it is no longer grace alone theology. Paul and Barnabas were confronted by those who were convinced that man must “do something” to be reconciled to Almighty God. So, off they go to “Main Church” in Jerusalem for clarification on the matter. About like--- an appeal to the General Assembly. But you have even more in this passage. Notice verse 5: believing Pharisees wanted “all” Gentile converts circumcised---and most particularly, they wanted them “ordered” to follow every aspect of the Mosaic Code---in order to be right with God. Wow! Imagine what Paul thought when he heard that? The life-long Pharisee---who had been transformed by the resurrected and glorified Christ on the road to Damascus---- knew it was going to be painful--- but a necessary transition would have to occur for Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. The understanding that is paramount now---is that you must be “in” Christ, not a follower of the Law--- for hope of justification before God. The LORD Jesus is forming a new people---out of Jews and Gentiles---a new humanity in Himself. What a message! And it is all of grace!

The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 will be pivotal in Church History. For the New Testament Church, the people of God will be seen as “one.” What happened at the home of Cornelius in Acts 10: 30 – 48, was no oddity, but a warmup to the broad way of the LORD fulfilling the Abrahamic word of blessing to the nations…

---We must anticipate attacks upon “grace” and the arrival of false teaching. Man is naturally opposed to God’s unmerited favor as revealed in the Gospel of Christ…

---We must be sensitive to “new” believers’ previous theological formulation (or lack thereof). Discipleship involves conveyance of the truth, correction of error, and compassion in the process…

---We must pray a great deal when dealing with people and applying the truth of Scripture…

From Church Historian Philip Schaff:

---Controversies are unavoidable and are a sign of life and activity. All the great doctrines, the Trinity, the Incarnation, justification, etc., have come out as pure gold from the furnace of theological dispute. Only, let controversy be conducted in a Christian spirit, with a single eye to the cause of truth.

---The best way to settle a controversy is by full discussion and personal conference. Even inspired apostles did not decide the question by mere authority but travelled all the way to Jerusalem to secure a general understanding, after giving a full hearing to the opposition. It is good for Christians to come together, to think and talk together.

---Synodical conferences are clearly sanctioned by apostolic example and precedent. But the time and number are left to expediency. They may be annual, triennial, or occasional; local, diocesan, provincial, national, or ecumenical; advisory or legislative; all depends upon the necessities of the Church, which vary in different periods and countries.

---The composition of the Synod should be democratic. The apostles might have decided the controversy by their own personal weight and authority; but they preferred to confer with the brotherhood, and to allow a free and open discussion…

Please remember: Some 2,400 Commissioners converge upon St. Louis, MO---for the 48th Annual General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America---that is right now! Seminars start tomorrow…Rev. Peter Render is a commissioner from our Church---and a duly designated commissioner for Covenant College (and the work assigned while there for its permanent committee over-view).

Here is a good word from Richard Doster (BY FAITH Magazine, PCA), regarding this year’s Assembly:

“For the past 48 years, in the weeks just prior to General Assembly, PCA elders, finding themselves on opposite sides of difficult issues, have marshaled their arguments and expressed their views---soundly, persuasively, and sometimes heatedly.

That’s how Presbyterianism works.

But this year is unusually tense, many believe. “Open letters” have been written, signed, and posted. A conference was convened to define the pressing problems facing the PCA, and the proper response to them.

Several overtures that dealt with homosexuality have stirred the inordinate friction. With subtle differences, they address sexual identity, conduct, and desire---and each one proposes new and controversial policies for dealing with them.

Other matters loom as well: critical race theory, egalitarianism vs. complementarianism, social justice, and confessional integrity, to name a few. Behind them all are the ways that we, in our different factions, think about---or perhaps emphasize---truth, grace, the church’s mission, and the church’s relationship to culture…”

---One “Open Letter”---was put forward by 15 “former Moderators of the PCA General Assembly” in which they stated, “we do not know of a single pastor or ruling elder in the PCA who could be described as theologically liberal…” And they went on to reaffirm, “their confidence and deep devotion to the PCA, and its commitment to orthodoxy, purity of doctrine, and personal piety…” (June 17, 2021).

Please pray for the Assembly---the direction of the Spirit of God---utter devotion to God’s Holy Word---and commitment to unity in the Spirit---that honors the Living Christ…

HYMN

I love thy church, O God: her walls before thee stand,

Dear as the apple of thine eye and graven on thy hand.

Jesus, thou Friend divine, our Savior, and our King,

Thy hand from every snare and foe shall great deliverance bring.

Sure, as thy truth shall last, to Zion shall be given.

The brightest glories earth can yield and brighter bliss of heaven.

Timothy Dwight, 1800

Grace and Peace in Jesus, the Only Redeemer of broken and wretched souls, Pastor Jason