Why Gentiles Don't Need the Law of Moses — Acts Chapter 15 Explained

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer. Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for over 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say, time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Gentile congregations, and so it is just as appropriate as it is written to us today. Again we like to welcome our television audience, and I guess I haven't mentioned it for a while, but how we appreciate your letters, your comments, your financial help. But I also want to include now, if you have never written, or you've never contacted us, and you would like to receive our quarterly newsletter, we've started putting that out. Nothing big, and nothing tremendous, but we have an article or two on prophecy, and we answer a couple questions. And then we usually announce our coming seminars and so forth. So if you're not on our mailing list, and you'd like to receive a newsletter, you drop us a note, or call us and give us your name and address. We do not use it as a vehicle for appealing for funds or anything like that, so don't worry about getting a lot of propaganda asking for your money. We do like to let you know where we are at given times, and what we're doing. Also all the past programs that you're seeing on the screen, we have all of them available in video tape, audio tape, as well as the printed page. Jerry just continues to transcribe them, and like he said years ago he didn't really know where all the books of the Bible were, but he does now. And he's just been doing a fantastic job transcribing for us. Alright, now let's go right back to where we left off in the end of our last program, and that was in Galatians chapter 2, and we just finished our comments on verse 5. Now remember the setting. The church up in Antioch, which is up in Syria, has become predominantly Gentile, where Paul and Barnabas have now been laboring as well as moving out from Antioch into the Gentile world of Asia Minor in Greece. And everywhere they go their little congregations are constantly being subjected to the Judaizers who are trying to bring them back under the Law. And they are claiming that Paul's converts cannot be saved unless they keep the Law of Moses, practice circumcision, and so forth. So finally after many, many years this comes to a head, and Paul and Barnabas by the Lord's direction sends them up to Jerusalem to confront Peter and of course the hierarchy there at Jerusalem. And so this is what Paul is rehearsing in Galatians chapter 2. Now we're going to take just a moment here in Galatians, and then we're going to go back and pick up Luke's account of this same meeting back in Acts chapter 15. But first once more, Galatians chapter 2, and we're dropping in at verse 6. Now we just finished verse 5, and we're now in verse 6. "...but of these who seemed to be somewhat." Now read that carefully. What does that tell you? These who seemed to be somewhat. What does that imply? Hey, they're not what they thought they were. Now I'm not being disrespectful of Peter in Acts chapter 11. No way. I'm going to be just as anxious to see Peter, and James, and John, and the rest of them as anybody else. But in the whole economy of things, here they have been promoting Christ as the Messiah of Israel, and His coming kingship, and His Kingdom, but Israel is rejecting Him. Now that wasn't Peter's fault. He had done all he could. He preached His heart out all through those early chapters of Acts, but Israel rejected it. They could not believe that anything good came out of Nazareth. Well in God's divine purposes then, as Israel kept slipping, and slipping, and slipping away in unbelief, then naturally Peter, and the eleven, and these Jewish leaders of Jerusalem were losing their clout. Because the whole system was, as I've said so often, falling through the cracks. But God isn't going to be out of it. So as Israel is slipping, and in unbelief rejecting all this, God has now turned to what people? Well the Gentiles. And so as the Jews are going down, the Gentiles are coming out. And this of course is Paul's ministry. And so in verse 6, those who seemed to be somewhat, had to be the twelve, and the elders of the congregation at Jerusalem, but they no longer had the power rightfully as God had entrusted it to them. Let me show you what I'm talking about. Come back to Acts chapter 4, and again watch every word of this. Here we are, let's go up to verse 32. And of course much the same thing as took place in chapter 2, where they began to have all things common, and they lived out of what I call the common kitty. Now it's still operating in chapter 4, which is probably a year or two later. And the multitude of them that believed, that is these Jews now at Jerusalem, were of one heart and one soul. Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. In other words, they took all their wealth, whatever they had, and they brought it into a common kitty, and with great power gave the apostles, what did they have? Power. Don't miss that. With great power the apostles gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all, neither was there any among them that lacked. Now you want to remember there are thousands of these Jewish believers now that are all living out of that common kitty. I imagine it was a pretty big chunk of money. Verse 34. Neither was there any that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands, or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid the money at whose feet? The apostles. Why? They were in control. They were the leadership. Verse 35. They laid them at the apostles feet, and distribution was made unto every man of all these thousands of Jews now, who had come from every nation under heaven, and they were now staying in Jerusalem, waiting for the King that thought surely that he'd be coming at any moment. Verse 36. And Hosea, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son of consolation, a Levite, and of the country or the island of Cyprus, having land on Cyprus of course, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles feet. Even Barnabas, that good man who was probably coming up in the leadership, he too laid every penny of what he had gotten for his sold real estate at the feet of the apostles. They were in control. They were the leadership. Now it's these same apostles that Paul, by inspiration, and this isn't just Paul getting back at them. This is Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it's for our purposes that it's said, Now these who seemed to be somewhat, they no longer had that kind of authority that they had in the early years. It was slipping away. And whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me, God accepts no man's person. So in the final analysis, in God's view, Peter was no greater than anybody else. And Paul is always saying, I'm the least for they who seemed to be somewhat. Now whenever you see Scripture repeat something in a short order, what have I always told you? Emphasis! He's driving the point home that these men no longer had the preeminence of God's dealing with the human race that they had enjoyed back in the earthly ministry and in the early days of Acts. It was slipping away. So these who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me. Why? Because they had no comprehension of these revelations that the Apostle Paul had been receiving from the Ascended Lord. They knew Jesus in the flesh. They knew Jesus that 40 days in Acts after his resurrection, of course, but they knew nothing of the Ascended Lord, and this is where Paul has received all of his, from the Ascended Lord in glory. Now one more verse, and then we have to go back to Acts chapter 15. But contrary wise, or on the other hand, when they saw that the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto them as the Gospel of the Jew, the circumcision was committed unto Peter. Now you know that, we saw that 4 programs ago. Jesus chose the 12, and He commanded them not to go to a Gentile, but go only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. So the 12 were apostles of what people? Israel. You know I've said as long as I've been teaching, you can't show me one record from Scripture. Now I'm not going to go by legends or anything like that, but you cannot show me from Scripture that these 12 men ever had a ministry among Gentiles. Now I'm not going to take away the fact that they may have visited, we know Peter went up to Antioch, but to actually have a ministry amongst the Gentiles is not a word of record in this Book. They were the apostles of Israel, and they understood that. A lot of people today don't, but those 12 men did. And so now then, Paul says that they are now beginning to understand that as he was given the Gospel for the Gentile, it was from the same God, and with the same kind of authority that they had received the Gospel of the circumcision, or the Jew, which was of course we've seen so often the Gospel of the Kingdom. Now let's come back to Acts chapter 15 for a moment, and as we mentioned in an earlier program, Acts 15 is Luke's account, and Galatians of course is Paul's account in the first person. But now let's look at what Luke writes in Acts 15. We already looked at a few of the early verses in the chapter, but let's jump in at verse 5, and in the midst of all of this disputation over whether Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the Law, there rose up certain of the sect of Pharisees who believed, saying, It was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. So the apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter." Now verse 7. And when there had been much disputing, now I don't know how long this went on, and with again no disrespect to our Jewish people, yet have you ever seen 2 or 3 Jews get into an argument? I'll tell you what, it's interesting. I know we've had it happen in the hotel in Jerusalem, and even though we couldn't understand a word they said, I know the fur would like to have flown because they can really get after it. And I'll bet they did here. There was much disputing, and they weren't making any bones about what they believed. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up. Now I like to make a point of words. If he rose up, where must he have been? Seating. Now in all the midst of this disputing, I have to think that these Jews weren't just sitting in a conference room, they were standing. They were nose to nose, and they were going at this tooth and toenail. And Paul, you remember in Galatians, said he would not give in for a minute, and then all of a sudden Peter who had been over there nonchalant, just sort of taking it all in, and not all that interested, finally the Holy Spirit nudges him and says, Peter get up. Come on now, speak up. And so that's what happened. Peter rose up and he said, Now remember Peter is still the chief apostle, and when Peter spoke, what was the old commercial? They listened, and so Peter rose up and said, And brethren, we know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. What's he referring to? Chapter 10 of Acts, the house of Cornelius. And you all remember that account, how that Peter and 6 other Jewish believers went up to that Gentile home of the Roman officer Cornelius, and while Peter hadn't even finished preaching, hadn't said a word yet about repenting and being baptized, what happened? Oh the Holy Spirit came down and signified to those 7 Jews that these Gentiles had become believers. Without an invitation, without walking an aisle, without repenting, without baptizing, all of a sudden Peter was just stopped in his tracks, and here these men are evidencing their salvation by faith, and faith alone, not yet Paul's gospel, only that Jesus was the Christ. But they had believed it, and the Holy Spirit came upon those Gentiles, evidenced with tongues, which was a manifestation that the Holy Spirit had come upon them. And Peter had to just stop. He flabbergasted. Hey, this isn't the right order. This isn't the way it's supposed to go. My goodness, I should have been able to say, Well have you repented? I have to be able to baptize you. And then the Holy Spirit would come, but none of that happened. And while he was yet preaching, you're looking at me with kind of a blank stare. It's been a long time hasn't it? Let's come back to Acts chapter 10. Acts 10. Peter is in the home of Cornelius, and we don't know how many Gentiles, how many Romans were there. It was a household, so it couldn't have held that many. It was probably his immediate family, and maybe some of his closest Roman officers, or what? I don't know. But anyhow, Peter has now been preaching, and hasn't said a word about the work of the cross for salvation by his shed blood, like Paul would have done. But all Peter can rehearse is that this Jesus of Nazareth, who had appeared to the nation of Israel, had now been crucified, killed, but had been raised from the dead, and was alive. Alright, now verse 43 of Acts chapter 10. And to him, Peter says, give all the prophets witness. In other words, it was foretold all the way up through Scripture, that through His Name, not through His work of the cross. Now that's what I always have to point out. Peter as yet does not know Paul's Gospel, but Peter does know that the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Son of God, was the vehicle for salvation. And so he says that through His Name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sin. He hasn't said a word about repenting, and hasn't said a word about baptizing, but look what happened. And while Peter yet spake, see the Scripture is so descriptive, here he's still preaching at them. And while he's still preaching, lo and behold, the Holy Spirit fell on all them who heard the word. Why? They had become believers. See, that's all. They had believed what Peter was saying. And then verse 45. Now you have to go over to chapter 11 to find out that there were 6 Jews that went with Peter. So for the 7 Jews, they of the circumcision who believed, were astonished. Now you know when we taught this in Acts, I made a point of that one word. Hey, if Gentiles have been saved for the last 6, 7, 8 years, why be astonished? But they haven't been. This is the first instance. And it was an astonishing fact that Gentiles could be saved without adhering to the ritual of Judaism, and proselytizing, and all the rest of it. But oh no, here they are. They believe, the Holy Spirit manifested their faith, and then Peter had to hurry up and try to get the horse back up in front of the cart. So what does he say? We've got to baptize them. Well that sounds familiar too, doesn't it? And so he says, can any man forbid water? That these should be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit? Now let's go back. We've got to compare Scripture with Scripture. You won't know what I'm driving at. Come back to chapter 2. I'm kind of doing this backwards too, but hopefully it'll work. Now you come back to Acts chapter 2, verse 38. And it's obvious what it says. I mean you don't have to be a theologian, anybody can understand what this verse says. It says, "...repent, and be baptized every one of you." And then the next step would be what? The remission of sins, and then the next step would be the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now you don't have to be a seminary professor to understand that. That was the criteria. They were to repent, they were to be baptized, that is in water, they would receive forgiveness of sin, and then the Holy Spirit would come upon them. The fourth step. Now come back to chapter 10, and see how that's been totally reversed when you get into the Gentile economy. Now remember this is just the first step of opening the door to Gentiles. Verse 44 again of chapter 10. Repetition, I know, but it's the only way people learn. "...while Peter yet spake." Like I said a moment ago, he hasn't said a word about repentance, he hasn't said a word about baptism, and while he spoke merely concerning who Jesus was, what had happened to Him, how He had risen from the dead, they believed it, and the Holy Spirit came upon them as evidence of their faith. Without baptism, without repentance, what did they do? They believed. And that's Paul's Gospel, but this is merely the beginning of it. Now come back to Acts chapter 15, and this is what Peter is making reference to. We may have to hurry in, I don't know how much time we have left, but anyway let's get back to Acts chapter 15. Now Peter rose up and said a good while ago, I'm in verse 7. How long ago? Twelve years according to my reckoning. Twelve years have elapsed. Now normally you would think that when Peter and those six Jews saw what could happen if you would just approach Gentiles with the Gospel, they would have just gone out across the Roman Empire, but they didn't. Where did they go? Back to Jerusalem, and when they got there they got called on the carpet for going to Gentiles. You went into men uncircumcised, Peter you know better than that, and then Peter had to calm them down. Now wait a minute, God showed us that He was in it, but then they all forgot about it. For twelve years there wasn't another mention of these Gentiles in the house of Cornelius being saved until now. Now here's where I like the sovereign working of a sovereign God. I maintain that yes, God wanted the house of Cornelius absolutely, but what was the bigger purpose? To come to Paul's defense in this council in Jerusalem. If Peter would not have remembered what happened at the house of Cornelius, they never would have let Paul go back to Antioch with freedom to preach his Gospel. They would have chased him as they even did anyway, but they would have plagued him every inch of the way. But they did not because Peter realized, hey twelve years ago God showed me that He could save Gentiles without going through all of what we demand. Now look at it again in the text. Verse 7 of Acts 15. And men and brethren, you know that a good while ago, and in that interval not a word has been spoken to Gentiles, God made choice among us, that is Peter himself, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel, and believe. It doesn't say repent and be baptized, it says that they should believe. Verse 8. And God, who knoweth the hearts, bare them witness to show Peter that God had done it, purifying their hearts by faith. Now then Peter says in recollection, in realizing what God tried to show me, Now therefore why tempt, or test God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, or the believers, these followers up in Antioch as we were dealing with. Why put a yoke upon those people which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear. It was a burden. Now then in verse 11 Peter says, We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they. Now I'm going to make a comment as we go back to Galatians. We've only got a minute left. I'm sure that Peter forgot 90% of what he said in that verse in the years to come, because he still could not give in to the fact that Paul's Gospel had now superseded his position. That's why he writes in his little epistle of II Peter, that even as our beloved brother Paul hath written in all his epistles, in which are some things hard to be understood. So now then we've only got a matter of seconds left, and so now then you come down to verse 9. 15 seconds. I'm going to read it fast. They gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles and they Peter, James and John would go to the Jew. So now then we've got a minute left, and so now then we've got a minute and a half left. 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