Bible Study - October 6, 2021

Okay, so you will recall a month ago that we finished Acts 14, and as we've been going through the book of Acts, we've been seeing a number of things. I'm not going to take a lot of time to review the first 14 chapters. You've been with us on the Bible studies. I'm sure you've looked through some of the chapters today to kind of bring yourself up to speed to where we are.

We've seen the New Testament search start with the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD, as recorded back there in Acts 2. We've seen Peter give a tremendous sermon and tell people if they want, if they believe in Jesus Christ, they must repent, they must be baptized, and they must receive the Holy Spirit. And then we see the church grow. And in Acts 2, we see and remember that the church was in one accord in one place as they all formed the community as the church began there, and they continued the apostles' doctrine. They didn't stray from the truth. They learned it. They were part of the fellowship, the Noun Fellowship, you remember that we spoke of, that put them all in one body, just like God puts us in a body today in a fellowship with Him. They broke bread with one another. They got to know each other. They became bonded with one another. And of course, they were bonded with God through the prayers that they offered to Him. So we saw the church grow there. We saw that God blessed their efforts by the miracles that He allowed the apostles to perform. Peter performed miracles of healing. He performed in Acts 9 the healing of Tathothah. We see God wherever the apostles went, and the church was growing up, and He was pleased with what was going on in the Jewish areas, as well as when it spread to Samaria and Antioch and places beyond that. God blessed the church, and it was attended with miracles, miracles that showed His pleasure in them. So as we come to Acts 15, the church has spread into Gentile areas. Paul and Barnabas were separated to go out and preach the gospel to Gentiles. They have been received well, in some cases. In other cases, they've been ushered out. But the church has begun to spread throughout the Gentile areas. As you recall, the map that we had on last time, Paul has completed his first missionary journey that started in Antioch, made the complete circle back to Antioch at the end of chapter 14. So we come to chapter 15, where we are tonight. Chapter 15 is an important chapter. Many, many other Christian or so-called Christian religions will use Acts 15 to come to conclusions that you can't support from the Bible, so we'll talk about some of those. But before we get into chapter 15, are there any questions, any comments, anything that you would like to talk about before we begin? Okay, then let's start. Let's, of course, begin with verse 1 here. It says, certain men, certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you can't be saved. So we have, you know, if we stop right there, we can look at that verse, and we're going to take it fairly slowly through Acts 15, because there's a lot in this chapter, too, that we need to pull apart so we understand what is in there, so that we can each effectively answer any questions that we have regarding this chapter and what went on. But here in the first verse, you know, we have people coming from Judea up to the Gentile churches, and they're bringing with them a message. You know, they're coming in, and they're saying, unless you're circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you can't be saved. That is not true.

You know, what they're saying is, and what these Jews who are coming up from Judea were saying was, circumcision, physical circumcision, is necessary for salvation. That's basically what they were saying. Now, it is not surprising at all that the Jews would come up, and they would start creating this controversy, if you will, because in their mind, circumcision was certainly a covenant between them and God. Back in Genesis 17, you will remember God gave circumcision to Abraham and told Abraham, you know, you need to be circumcised. All the children born in your house need to be circumcised. All the men need to be circumcised. It'll be a covenant between me and you forever. So, it was a physical sign between God and His people. The Jews counted that as very important. We're going to learn in this chapter, though, as the New Testament church would learn, that physical circumcision was for the old covenant, but it wasn't, it isn't for the new covenant. But it's not surprising that, it's not surprising that they would come up and start raising this question, but they were doing it the wrong way. Nowhere in the first 14 chapters of Acts have we seen physical circumcision been brought up at all. It's never been, never come out of Peter's mouth, as he was there with Cornelius, never come out of Paul's mouth, as he's been working with the Gentile churches, never came out of Philip's mouth, never came out of Barnard's mouth. It's like no one even thought of it. They were preaching the gospel. People received, people believed in Jesus Christ. They were baptized. They received the Holy Spirit. But here are the Jews then coming up and saying, uh-uh, in order for salvation, you have to be physically circumcised.

That is not true, we're going to see, but it's another thing, and we'll get to that in a minute.

But the other thing they say here is, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses. Now, it's interesting that they would say the custom of Moses, because the ritual of circumcision was actually given to Abraham. So you think they'd almost say, according to, you know, the custom of Abraham, you would be circumcised. But they say, according to the custom of Moses, you should be circumcised. So keep that in mind. When we get to another chapter five, or verse five here, we'll talk about that little phrase of Moses, that little prepositional phrase a little bit more.

But here they talk about the custom of Moses. You cannot be saved unless you've been physically circumcised. So there's an issue. You can kind of see that this would be a lightning rod issue. Some of the Jews there in the Gentile areas that say, absolutely, they're right. Circumcision is necessary. The Gentiles and other Jews would say, no, not necessary.

So you've got this controversy that can't be resolved easily. Therefore, verse two, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them. So there was a lot of talking going on there. It wasn't like, you know, they weren't listening. Paul and Barnabas, a lot of dissension, a lot of dispute. This thing was, this was a major issue that confronted them. When they determined that the church determined there that Barnabas and Paul and certain others of them should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. A big issue, a big issue. And so they're doing what they should do.

They are going to Jerusalem so that the elders, the apostles, can work together, come to resolve on this issue that's big. Apparently none of them had foreseen it until the Jews had come up here to raise the issue. One thing I didn't mention about chapter, about verse one. The people from Judea who came up and started preaching this to the churches up there that unless you're circumcised you can't be saved. They did it the wrong way. That was divisive. That should never have been done.

They should have come to the apostles. They should have talked to the people in Jerusalem. Or they should have come to Paul and Barnabas and said, hey, we have an issue. You're not preaching. That circumcision has to be done. They should have worked it that way, but instead they created controversy by going out to the membership instead of going to the leaders and seeking resolution in it because they thought they knew more. They knew more than what it was, a violation of one of Christ's principles that when you have an issue, talk about it, don't hide it, don't get mad about it, but take it to the proper, take it through the proper authorities, and follow the principles that God said, and don't have this problem developed that there's division.

It could have been handled a different way. So I'm going to get resolved at the end, but they did it the wrong way. We can learn. Do it the way Matthew 18 and 15 says. Do it the way through the process that God says when we have an issue with anyone or anything. All these things can get resolved. We need to talk about them. The answers are in the Bible, as we'll see here in Acts 15 as well. So Paul, yes, sir? Oh, just a comment. When you were saying that about that, it made me think that still happens today.

People have ideas, and instead of going to the pastor, or going to where they are, they'll come into our services. They'll come into the church, and they'll think they know everything. So they'll start talking to people saying, oh, you should be reading this. You should be doing this. You should be doing that. And instead of taking the proper channels, even today's people still do that. They'll start coming in, spreading division, because they have either some pet idea or something they think is great. And I remember even in Orlando, remember, we had one person who came in and said, well, the reason I'm here at your church is because to straighten you guys out on this.

And so that happens even today still. So it's interesting to see that pattern happen then, and it happens now still. Yep. I'll say that. Exactly. Everything we see happen here could happen today as well, and those happen today. So it's lessons for all of us and how we operate today as well. So Paul and Barnabas, I mean, here they are. They can see they're not coming to any accord with the people that are there. Everyone's got their ideas. They've got this problem on their hands. So they say, we need to go to Jerusalem.

We need to talk with the other apostles. We need to come to accord on that. And they know that God will lead them. God will lead them to what the answer is. You just have to take the time to be patient with God and seek Him. So verse 3, so they were sent on their way by the church, and as they went, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren, as it would be.

You know, we're very happy when we see God's gospel being preached. We're very happy when we see people coming into the church, receiving the truth, embracing the truth, being baptized, beginning to live the way of life that God wants it. It does bring joy. Verse 4, when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them. So Paul, you know, Paul and Barnabas come back. Remember, they had been sent to the Gentile areas to begin the churches, so they come back, and of course they're reporting to them everything that had happened.

There was a lot to report. There was a lot of good that had gone on with the preaching that they had done. People had received it. Some places they had been told, we don't want you. Other places they embraced it wholeheartedly, but the gospel was getting preached in the way that God wants it to.

Now Paul talks about this in Galatians as well. Let's go put your finger there in Acts 15. We'll go to Galatians 2. And he'll talk about this, and as we go through Acts 15 and see what has happened here, in Paul's writings you can see how he later explains more thoroughly some of the conclusions that were made there in Acts 15 as he writes to the Romans and to the Ephesians, the Galatians, and everyone. In chapter 2 of Galatians in verse 1, Paul writes, after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and I took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run or have run in vain. So I went up to Jerusalem, and that's what they were doing when it says he sat and talked with the apostles and told them, reported to them what was going on with them. They were having an opportunity here to compare notes. What are you teaching exactly, Paul? And Paul would tell them, and Peter and the other apostles that were there would, you know, yes, what you're preaching is exactly right. And they would see that what they were going to see that they were in total one accord. The apostles, remember, in Jerusalem, Peter and the others, they had been walking with Jesus Christ for three and a half years. They were with him 40 days after he was resurrected. They do very well what Jesus Christ had preached, what he stood for, and what he wanted them to do. Paul, on the other hand, was called to be an apostle later, and his entire training was through Jesus Christ, but through the Holy Spirit. So they were comparing notes here. They were comparing notes here, as Paul did, to make sure that they were on one accord before they took up this issue that brought them to Jerusalem.

So he says, you know, I went up there, I communicated to the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles, and then he infers, you know, talks about what the reason they went to Jerusalem for, yet not even Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. Now he would throw that in there, because they're going to talk about circumcision. Paul, you know, Paul was certainly a circumcised. Titus, though, was a Greek, and he was baptized, and yet he never felt the urge or the encouragement or the, you know, his conscience never bothered him to say, you need to be physically circumcised. Paul is saying that for a reason that we'll get to when we get into Acts 15. It didn't bother Paul, and it didn't bother Titus that he wasn't physically circumcised as they went out there. And this occurred, verse 4, because the false brethren secretly brought in, who came in by stealth, to spy it out, spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. So here's people that have come up into the Gentile churches. They're bringing these things in and saying, hey, hey, hey, these Gentiles need to be circumcised. That's going to be, that's going to be some burdens put on them. That's a heavy, that's a heavy yoke to bear, right? And they, they did create the controversy that they set out to stir up, to whom we did not yield submission, even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But from those who seemed to be something, whatever they were, it makes no difference to me. God chose personal favoritism to no man, for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. Now, it's interesting, you know, what Paul says, or what he's saying is, you know, I spoke with the people in Jerusalem. We compared notes. Here's the gospel that I'm preaching. They said, yes, that's the gospel we're preaching. Here's what we're preaching. Paul would say, yes, that's exactly what I'm preaching. What he's saying, we went to there to Jerusalem was, I didn't, there was nothing new that we had missed out in preaching the gospel. There was nothing. Jesus Christ, who trained them, also trained Paul through the through the Holy Spirit. They didn't add anything to me. There was nothing that I didn't know. It's like, oh, oh, I never learned that. I didn't know that. They had the same message is exactly what you would expect with the Holy Spirit leading the apostles in Jerusalem. And Paul and Baranovus is there. They are the Holy Spirit is united in its truth, united in its preaching, united in what it will, what it will teach us. But on the contrary, verse seven, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised, that would be for the Gentiles, had been committed to me as the gospel for the circumcised, that's to the Jews, as God's gospel was committed to Peter.

And verse, stop down to verse nine, and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. We're part of the same body. We believe the same thing. We teach the same things. We are of Jesus Christ. This is the church. So before they got to the discussion on circumcision, they had this opportunity, a very important opportunity for them to be able to get together and compare what they're preaching. And they learned, I don't think to their surprise, but I think to their satisfaction and their satisfaction, wow, look how God works. Look how God works. Even though we haven't been together for 14 years, he's preaching the same gospel we are. Look how God works, and that's exactly and you know at that point, it's the Holy Spirit working through them. So, okay, let's go back to Acts 15 then with that background that kind of fills in, you know, verse 4 there of Acts 15.

So Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas, the people with them, they come to Jerusalem. They're received by the apostles. They talk about what they've been doing. And in verse 5, it says, some, not all of them, right? Here's people who are believers, some of the sect of the Pharisees, who believed. So these are Christians, these are Jewish of the Pharisaical background, who believe they've converted to Christianity, but and only some of them who believed rose up, saying, it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. It is necessary, wasn't all of them, but some of them felt very much compelled. Those Gentiles need to be circumcised. It is a part of salvation. So let's pause there for a moment because twice here in the first five verses, we've seen this prepositional phrase of Moses, the custom of Moses, according, you know, in verse 1 on circumcision, the law of Moses in verse 5.

And some people, you know, will use this of Moses, and they will rightly go back to the first five books of the Bible. And some will say, because of Acts 15, you can throw out those first five books of the Bible and you don't have to pay any attention to what is going on in those books that Acts 15 does away with them. Let's spend a few moments on of Moses because it is something that, you know, I think, I guess everyone knows that Moses, you know, it is believed that he wrote the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In the last century, there seems to be people who want to challenge that and say how possibly could Moses have written those five books. Of course, that's the skepticism of the doubt that Satan would lead people to. But for all up until the last century is common knowledge. We could go back to Exodus. In fact, let's go just look at a couple verses in Exodus. You will remember, even as you read through the book of Deuteronomy, that God kept telling Moses, write these things down. Write these things down. And so in Exodus 24, we'll see one of the places after God gave Israel the Ten Commandments and in chapter 20 of Exodus, and then in 21, 22, and 23, he gave them many of the statutes and ordinances, you know, things that they should live by. He tells Moses in Exodus 24, and verse 7. I'm sorry, verse 4. 24 verse 4. It says that Moses wrote all the words of the eternal. Then he rose early in the morning, he wrote down everything God said. Well, God said it. Someone had to write it. God wanted it recorded so that you and I would have records of this today. Moses is the one who read it or who wrote it. Verse 7, it says he took the book of the covenant, and he read in the hearing of the people. You know what he had written? They said, all that the Lord has done, we will do. If we go just up to chapter 34 of Exodus, just remember that it was Moses who wrote the physical words.

But it was never the law of Moses. It was always the law of God.

It wasn't the law of Moses. It was the law of God in chapter 34.

Let me get my notes out here. Let's see what scripture that is.

Exodus 34 and verse 1 through the first few verses there.

This is where Moses is going up to the Mount Sinai for the second time after he broke the first set of tablets that God personally wrote the Ten Commandments on. In verse 1 of chapter 34, it says, the Lord said to Moses, cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. Be ready in the morning. Come up to Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on the top of the mountain. Don't bring anyone with you. Don't have any of the flocks feeding on that mountain at that time. So Moses did what God said. He cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. He rose up early in the morning. He went up to Mount Sinai as the Lord who commanded him, and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone. We drop down to verse 27. It says, the Lord said to Moses, and God says all these things to Moses. Remember, Moses wrote them down so that we had record of what God said. All the things that are intervening here between the first few verses of chapter 34, and we get down to verse 27. The eternal said to Moses, write these words, for according to the tenor of these words, I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. So Moses was there with the eternal 40 days and 40 nights. He didn't drink bread, didn't eat bread, didn't drink water.

And he, capital H, God wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

God wrote those words on the tablets. Moses repeats this again in Deuteronomy 9.

Deuteronomy 9, you know, where he's recounting, where he's encouraging Israel, remember everything God has done for you. Remember the laws that he said to do when you cross over the Jordan, when you get into the Promised Land. Obey God, follow God, remember everything he said. Keep these words in your mind, in your heart. Do them. In chapter 9, chapter 9 and verse 10, he says, as Moses recounted, he said, As Moses recounted, he said, And then the eternal delivered to me two tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. And on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire and the day of the assembly. He repeats the same thing in chapter 10. So we see Moses, God continually telling Moses, write these things down. That's the writings that we have today, the same words that were given to Moses when God brought Israel out of Egypt are written there. God inspired it all. They aren't the words of Moses. He was the one written. So people will say, oh, those are Moses' words. Yes. By command of God and by inspiration of God, he wrote them. When we get to the New Testament, we see the apostles, we see the gospel writers referring to the first five books of the Bible as Moses. That's just kind of what they called them. Rather than saying Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, they called it Moses. Let's go to Mark, the book of Mark. And in chapter 7, Mark 7. I'm not giving you all the places here, but you can look up some more as well. But Mark 7 and verse 9, now we're going to pick it up in verse 6. You may as well read the whole thing here. It's always instructional and a good reminder. This is the occasion where the Pharisees are chiding Jesus because they didn't wash in the proper manner that the Jews thought they should wash before they eat. And so he had violated in their minds one of their customs and whatever. So in verse 6, Christ answered and said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They say the right things, they say they follow me, but their heart isn't where it needs to be. In vain they worship me, teaching his doctrines the commandments of men. Well, the Jews kept the Sabbath, the Jews kept the Holy Days. They believed in the Pentateuch, but they had added an awful lot of things to it. They had their own way of keeping the Sabbath, they had added all those 600-some items. You know, you can't do this on the Sabbath day, can't walk more than this, can't lift anything more than this. They had to add all those things. And those were things that were more important to them over time than the actual commandments of God. God never added those things. They were something added by the Jews.

Verse 8, Christ says, for laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. And he said to them, all too well, you reject the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition. That's the thing that's most important to you now. And look what he said in verse 9. He said to them, oh, verse 10, for Moses said, Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. Did Moses say that, or did God say that? That's one of the Ten Commandments, Honor your father and mother. God said it. It's written in the book of Moses, the books of Moses and Exodus and in Deuteronomy. So even Jesus Christ, when he would speak of those writings, the scriptures that they had at that time, he referred to those that was book of the law as Moses. For Moses said, well, he knew that it was God the Father who gave that commandment and all the Ten Commandments, but they're written in the books of Moses. That's what he's referring to. Let's look at that law, he said, okay? For Moses said, do this. If we look at Luke, Luke chapter 16.

Luke 16. Luke, of course, also wrote the book of Acts, as we know. Luke 16 and verse 29. This is the parable of Lazarus. Lazarus and the rich man in the place of torment, but the tail end of that parable there, in verse 29, it says, Abraham. Abraham said, you know, to him who's being tormented, you, you or they, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. What's he talking about? Well, Jesus Christ in Matthew 5 calls it the law and the prophets. Don't think that I've come to destroy the law or the prophets. I haven't come to destroy them, but I've come to complete them. No longer do you keep the commandments in just the physical manner, but also in the in a spiritual manner. But here, as Christ is speaking, he says, you know, they have Moses in the prophets. What's he referring to? He's referring to those first five books of the Bible. They have Moses in the prophets. Let them hear them. Verse 30 said, No, Father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. That's what he was interested in doing, is having people repent and turn back to God. 31, but he said to him, if they don't hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded through one, though one rise from the dead.

So here we have again, Jesus Christ saying, Listen to the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, understand what's in them. That's God's Word to you that was written and inspired by him. And preserved for us today in John 5. John 5, again, Jesus Christ makes it pretty clear when we read of Moses what it means because Moses is long dead and buried at this time. In John 5, 45, Christ says, Don't think. Don't think that I shall accuse you to the Father.

There is one who accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust. Well, is it going to be Moses? Is he equating himself to Moses? Is he saying Moses is going to be the judge? Jesus Christ, we know is the judge. God appointed him to be the judge of all mankind. But he's saying, you know, in the judgment, I'm not going to be the one what's written in the law. That will be the thing. That's what you look at. That's the mirror you go to. What am I doing? Am I living my life by the standards that are in Moses, in the books of Moses?

That's what you do. So Christ is saying, Don't think I'm going to be the one to accuse you. Moses, in whom you trust, you believe those books of the Bible. You believe they're inspired by God. In the New Testament, 2 Timothy 3, 16, Paul writes, All scripture is given by inspiration of God. The scripture they had at that point was the Old Testament. And they're profitable for what? For instruction, he said, and all the other things he lists there as well. He said, It'll be Moses. Those books, those books of the law, that's what will accuse you.

Whether you've lived that way or not. For if you believe Moses, he says, you would believe me. For he wrote about me. And indeed, we know in Deuteronomy 18, it said, I'm going to raise up Moses, a prophet like you. Later on, if you believe Moses, you would believe me. Jesus Christ is the one who gave those words. He's the one who gave that law. Moses wrote them down faithfully, and Jesus Christ is validating what was written in there.

Those are the words of God in those books, for he wrote about me. But if you don't believe his writings, how would you believe my words? I'm the one who inspired them.

I'm the one who inspired them. If you don't believe me, if you don't believe what I say, then if you don't believe Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, why are you believing me? They are my words. So when we go back to Acts 15, we know what is being said here by this little sect of Pharisees that come, and they know that the issue, the reason part of us and Paul have come to Jerusalem is simply the matter of circumcision.

That's why they came. It was a controversial subject. It had to be decided. It was a huge issue that they could not come according to in the Gentile areas. And we're going to see. But here, the Pharisees say, tell them they have to be circumcised and tell them they need to keep all the law of Moses. That means they need to be following Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

So we're all in accord on that, and they have thrown this issue in there. And the Jerusalem Council is going to address. They will address that issue, we'll see here in a little bit. Now, verse 6, if we go on, the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter, as well as well they should. That's why they're there. We've got this issue behind us. Now what happens? Verse 7, we see that it doesn't happen instantaneously. They don't just get together and say, hey, let's figure out what to do with this question of circumcision.

There's a lot of discussion that goes on. And there's nothing wrong with the discussion. God doesn't condemn the fact that, as it says in verse 7, when there had been much dispute, there were ideas and there were emotion in the room. As one group said, yeah, no, they absolutely need to be circumcised. That is something that God said needed to happen. And another group said, absolutely not. They don't need to be circumcised.

That hasn't been. They had their reasons for it. They would probably throw out the scriptures that would support themselves. But there was no resolution through this much dispute, whether it went on for hours, whether it went on for days. We don't know. And I didn't look up in the commentaries or Josephus to see if there's any record of how long it took. But you can see this is healthy. And I would say respectful discussion that went on, much like what would happen to some of us. You know, if we have ideas about something and we look at a scripture and we bring it to us, we might search from the scriptures.

What is it? We might have the dispute. It doesn't mean that we're not of one accord. The goal is to become one accord. And God's Spirit will lead us to that one accord that we need. So in verse 7, we see this is a big issue. It wasn't an instantaneous decision that happened there. When there was much dispute after there had been much dispute, Peter, Peter stands up and he makes a very salient comment that begins to show what is God's will in this matter.

After there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago, God chose among us that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. What he's referring to is back in Acts 10 and 11, which you remember when Cornelius was being called by God and Peter had the vision three times of the sheets coming down from heaven with unclean animals and God saying, Rise Peter, kill and eat.

And Peter came to understand that he was not calling, that God was letting him know there are no such things as unclean men. But if God calls them and God cleanses them to go to them. So when Peter realizes that as he goes to see and follows God's command, follows the Cornelius, and then sees it, we're going to turn back there in a minute. So he says, Men and brethren, you know, God told me to go to Cornelius, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. And he made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

So Peter said, you know, I went to Cornelius and we preached the gospel to them, and they understood the gospel. Let's go back there. Just a few chapters back.

And remember, you know, the events that were there. In Acts 10, we'll go all the way down here to verse 44. Peter comes to Cornelius's house. Cornelius has gathered his servants together, his household together. They're all there ready to hear Peter, and they are eager to hear the word of God. They aren't there just because Cornelius is their boss. They are all eager to hear the word of God. Verse 44, as Peter is giving his sermon and talking about these things, it says, while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision, that's Peter, and the people who came from Jerusalem with him, those of the circumcision, who believed were astonished. As many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

Well, here's Gentiles. None of them had been circumcised. None of them had been, you know, gone through that physical rite that someone from Judea had come up to the churches where Paul and Barnabas were and said, well, you've got to be circumcised for salvation.

But we know that the way that salvation is through Jesus Christ, believing in him, repenting when we believe in him. And as I mentioned, and they tell them, I'm going to mention it again, and probably so many more times in your lives, you will get tired of hearing it. When we read the word believe in the New Testament, there's many things that are attached to it. The New Testament is the knowledge that is the truth. If you accept Jesus Christ and believe that he is God, it requires a surrender to him that will come in your heart, and it requires or it results in conduct based on that surrender to God. If you don't have that happen when you believe Jesus Christ, then you don't believe him because you don't believe all the words he said.

And you look at all of his words and you believe in him and claim his sacrifice, your conduct will change. Jesus Christ said, if you love me, keep my commandments. And other times he asks people, you say my name, but do you do what I have to say? Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things I say? He says in Luke 646. So it is conduct. It inspires conduct. Belief in Jesus Christ requires a change in conduct to go back to the way that God says.

So anyway, you have to have the Holy Spirit in order for salvation. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. We know that. The Bible is clear on that. That's what Paul was preaching. That's what Peter and the apostles in Jerusalem were preaching. And here, as Peter is talking to this group of uncircumcised Gentiles, God gives them the Holy Spirit. It didn't occur to any of them to think, oh, what about the circumstances? They're not circumcised. How could that possibly be that they're receiving the Holy Spirit? It teaches us something. It teaches us something. They're astonished when they see that these Gentiles have received the Holy Spirit. Because in verse 46, they knew it. God inspired them to speak with tongues and magnify God. So it was clear to them. God has just put the Holy Spirit in these people who are listening. And their hearts are with God. He sees their hearts. He's given them the Holy Spirit. So Paul, or Peter, says, can anyone forbid water that these should not be baptized to have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and then they asked them to stay a few days. So God, what Peter is saying in these verses is, God gave them the Holy Spirit, and they weren't circumcised.

We know the repentance is necessary for salvation. We know that baptism and burying our own cells is required for salvation. We know laying on the hands and received to the Holy Spirit is required for salvation. God's given that to those Gentiles, but physical circumcision wasn't required for God to do that.

So as they're discussing, and as Peter is there in chapter 15, and they're going through this process of this and that, one has one word, someone counters, point, counterpoint, point, counterpoint, Peter rises up and says this. And they have to stop and think, well, you know, you're right. All these Gentiles have repented. All these Gentiles who have been baptized, all these Gentiles, God has put His Holy Spirit in. As we've been preaching in Gentile areas, God has been with us.

He's been blessing our efforts. He's been providing. He's been doing the miracles. He's been there with us. We've been healing people. We've been raising people from the dead. He's been delivering us from prison. He's been opening doors. We never thought that would be opened. God is with us, and they don't. None of them are circumcised, and it hasn't even entered our minds that they should be circumcised. But now, this has been brought to us. So it's interesting, you know, when you watch God work, and this is the, you know, Peter, you'll remember back in Acts 1 when they were deciding what to do as they waited for the Holy Spirit.

As they waited for the day of Pentecost to come and the receipt to the Holy Spirit, they didn't know exactly what they were waiting for, but they were waiting in Jerusalem. You remember it was Peter who put together some scriptures that God led him to that we do need to replace that 12th Apostle. We do need that other witness. And here Peter is again, as God has worked him and put him in that situation with Cornelius, God lets him see this is what needs to happen.

This is what needs to happen here. And so, you know, he says in verse nine, God made no distinction between us and them. Just like he gave Peter and the Jews the Holy Spirit, they were circumcised. He gave the Holy Spirit to them and they weren't circumcised, purifying their hearts by faith. Now, I won't take a lot of time. We know in Romans 2.28, you know, Paul, you know, he talks about this to the Romans and of course to us in the verses.

God is not looking for physical circumcision, right? It's nothing wrong with being physically circumcised. It has certain health benefits and everything. God is saying don't be circumcised, but it isn't a requirement for salvation. It's circumcision of the heart that he's looking for.

We know that in Romans 2.28. That means that we yield ourselves to him, give our lives to him. You know, in Deuteronomy twice, you'll recall as you've been reading through there, twice in Deuteronomy, God uses that very same term. He's looking for circumcision of the heart. Let your hearts be circumcised. You know, as Moses said those words to Israel, they probably just went right over their heads and thought, I don't know what that means, but he talks about circumcision of the heart.

That's what God is looking for. That's what he's looking for in us. And if we stop and think about circumcision for a moment, all of physical Israel was circumcised. Remember in the wilderness as they wandered there, for some reason those who were born in the wilderness, you know, weren't circumcised.

And when they came into the Promised Land, before they could take the Passover, they had to circumcise all the males who hadn't been circumcised. God required that because it was requirements of the Old Testament. But what about Israel? Did physical circumcision ever make a difference in the way Israel obeyed God or yielded to Him? Did Israel ever become the people that God wanted them to be? Did physical circumcision give them the strength? Did it give them the desire?

Did it give them the ability to obey God, to overcome self, to overcome their own desires? Physical circumcision was a physical sign for a physical people, but it didn't give them what they needed in order to become the people that God wanted them to be.

So it is not necessary for salvation. Circumcision of the heart, repentance, baptism, receipt of the Holy Spirit, that's what's necessary. That's what's necessary for salvation. Hey, Rick? Yes, sir.

I've just been thinking, you know, we've been going through this and Christ said, you know, the same thing what you're saying. Be baptized, and all of a sudden the Holy Spirit is laying on our hands. It's the same thing about circumcision there. But as you're talking about this, look at who when you're baptized, you turn away from your old ways, right? Right. The Jews did not want to turn away from their traditions or old ways. So they still had one foot backwards and not going forward.

And they did not want to turn loosely. So I can see, you know, Peter and some of these people getting a little bit frustrated here. You know, like we know what we were told, and you keep bringing this up from our past.

So that's just some of the ideas of us starting to kind of come to the surface here. Yeah, it's, you know, I hope when we're done with the Bible study, you know, we'll go back and look at 15 again, because there's a lot. There's a lot in here if we look at it that it is so important. But you're absolutely right. The Jews never want to let go of their own ways.

And that is part of our calling, right? We got to let go and bury the old Bloomberg. We're called. You make a very good point there. So going on then in verse 10, Peter, you know, makes this comment. Brings to mind all these things that, you know, as he brought it back to Jerusalem, they were all amazed in Acts 11 that, yes, indeed, God has called the Gentiles the salvation, just like he has called us.

So in verse 10, Peter says, Well, why do you test God? Why do you test God? Now, that's one of the things that Jesus Christ said. Don't tempt the Lord your God. That's in Deuteronomy as well, right? Don't tempt the Lord your God. Don't add more to it. Why are we testing God and saying, you know, it's got to be it's got to be this, it's got to be this. Why would we test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

And I think at that point, it's like what they were looking for is let's throw all the traditions on them. We need to just we just need to load them up and everything we did, all our little rituals of washing up to the elbows and everything else we do, they should be keeping all of them. The sect of the Pharisees who were believers, who still had some things to learn, just like when we come from another church that says they follow Jesus Christ and we learn, well, they didn't really follow Jesus Christ.

So we have to unlearn and put away some of those things, well, all those things that we were taught and start doing things the way that Jesus Christ said to do it and the Word of God says to do it. They were still having to learn that as well. So the sect of the Pharisees, they would be getting an education here as well. What they wanted was let's let's keep doing all these traditions and all this law of Moses that they had confused the doctrines of God with with their traditions, I guess, as well. And Peter says, well, we weren't able to bear it. We weren't able, you know, we weren't able to do that.

We couldn't do it without God's Holy Spirit. None of those things we did, none of those things we did brought salvation. It was Jesus Christ who brought salvation. Look at my time. You can you can mark down Hebrews 9 verses 9 through 14 and maybe turn back there later. You remember even the author of Hebrews made it made that comment. And you just recently have gone through the Day of Atonement and that physical ritual that was beautiful what they did back there in in Old Testament times.

And he said all those washings, all those rituals, all those sacrifices, none of them brought salvation. Jesus Christ fulfilled all those sacrifices. He's the sacrificial lamb. And so all those ritual sacrifices, all those things back then, they're done. Not one jot or one tittle of the law will be will pass away until all is fulfilled. Jesus Christ fulfilled all those sacrificial things.

So those aren't done anymore. Not everything is fulfilled. The rest of the things won't be fulfilled until Jesus Christ returns until the purpose for mankind is revealed and completed and this earth, the purpose for this earth is done. And all those things disappear. And then the time beyond this physical earth and physical mankind and God's plan is complete. So the rest of God's law remains in fact intact. Jesus Christ fulfilled part, but not all has been fulfilled yet. We continue to keep the part, you know, looking forward to his return and then the rest of the plan of God as demonstrated by His holy days.

Okay, verse 11. Peter answers the question. It wasn't by physical circumcision. That's not what brings salvation. But we believe, there's that Greek word, pistoio, again, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved in the same manner as they. One way of salvation for the Jews and Gentiles, the same way of salvation for all of mankind, all will have to come and bow to Jesus Christ. All will have to accept Him if they're going to receive eternal life. And that's what God's will is, is that they will receive eternal life.

That they will repent, as it says in 2 Peter 3.9, and as a result, you know, living the way of life they should receive eternal life. That's a momentous moment. You know, there in verse 12, you can kind of see that God's Holy Spirit has spoken. The answer has been given. What Peter has said there has brought all the dispute and all the clamor and all the discourse that was going on there. Everyone is silent. And sometimes when we come to understand God's will, we just realize, wow, wow, that's it. That's the answer.

We all agree. We're all of one accord. God's way. When we're doing it God's way and we're really seeking Him, He will always bring us to one accord. If He doesn't bring us to one accord, some or one of us are not being led by God's Holy Spirit. It may take some time. It may take some reasoning. I always go back to Isaiah 1, 18, and I remember God says, you know, come and reason. Let's reason together.

I'll talk with you. I'll talk with you. Your scarlet will be turned to white. There's the time to talk. No one should ever not refrain from asking a question. If you don't understand, God will bring us to understanding. We just talk it out until God leads us to where we need to be. The multitude here is silent. And so Barnabas and Paul talk about, look what God did among the Gentiles. Look at the miracles that He performed. Look at the wonders that has gone on. How can you deny that God wasn't working with all these people?

He's the one who did all this. He never led any of it. We read in Galatians 2, the Spirit didn't compel Titus to say, oh wow, I've got to be circumcised. You know, we're doing what God's will is here. It's circumcision of the heart. The physical did nothing. The physical does nothing for salvation is what's in the heart. Even today, even today, we can get ourselves involved and think, man, if we do this and if we do that and we go there and we do this and we serve in that way, and it's all activity, activity, activity.

God is all pleased with the activity we do, but if we forget what's the heart that He's looking for, yes, we should serve. Yes, we should be active. Yes, we should do all those things. But doing, it's great, we need to do it, but if our heart isn't where God wants us to be, then we've missed the thing. Israel and the people, they did some things, but they didn't have the heart. We all need to watch that and make sure it's the heart first, and then we're doing the things aside. It's not confusing actions and service with yielding to God completely, your heart, mind, and soul.

So here they are, you know, Barnabas and Paul look at everything that they have done, and after they have become silent, here it is again. The crowd has just stopped. They realize God has given us the answer. You know, it's interesting. I have written them the most that I have here, James 1.18. We talked about that when we were going through the book of James and something that we all do well to remember myself, you know, included.

It says there in James 1.18, be swift to hear, swift to hear, and slow to speak. You know, up until this time, there were a lot of people who were very swift to speaking. There was a lot of dispute going on. How many people were really hearing what the other side had to say? Sometimes when we get involved with disputes among people, or there's problems here and whatever, you can watch.

It's like sometimes I find myself saying, let the other person talk, or I have to be reminded, okay, let them finish what they're saying, but finish what they're saying before you talk, because if we're not being swift to hear, we're never going to come to a Ford. We've got to be swift to hear and slow to speak. Listen to one another.

Yeah, Pastor Shaby, I remember when Stephen was giving his dissertation, I remember they all stopped their ears. And they ran out and they just didn't want to hear us. Exactly. Yeah. So, got to listen. And that's what the people did. When Peter spoke, they listened. It's like, that's it. Then we come down here to verse 13. And James, many of the commentaries say that this James, we know the Apostle James has already been martyred back in Acts 12.

This James may well be the brother of Jesus Christ. It might be the other Apostle James that was there. We don't know for absolute sure. Most of the commentary seems to think it's the brother of Christ, but it doesn't make any difference. He's there and he appears to be the lead, lead person of the Jerusalem Council here. James, after they become silent, James answered. And he said, men and brethren, listen to me. Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. Now with this, the words of the prophets agree as it is written.

So as James is sitting there listening, you know, he probably was involved in some of the dispute, but I think he spent most of his time listening. Listening and seeing what direction God wants this to. Asking God to bring it to the conclusion. Probably realized he was going to be the one who had to bring things together and he was waiting for the accord to appear. It's appeared, so he speaks. And he's got a biblical verse that he's tied it to. When we're coming to conclusions and when we're making our decisions on things and we may be talking to each other, it should always be backed by the Bible. The Bible is a 21st century book as much as it was a first century book.

The attitudes, human nature is the same now as it was then. The wiles of Satan are the same now as they were back then. We can use the Bible as our guide. God says, our Holy Spirit will lead us into understanding. It will bring us remembrance.

It will comfort us. It will direct us. It will teach us. There will be biblical examples that we can follow and then we know we're following God's way. And this is what James does. He actually quotes from Acts 9, verses 11 and 13 here. And those verses can also have a future fulfillment as well. But he applies them here in this case as God has now brought the church in the New Testament times and the Gentiles are being called, the rest of the people.

God is calling and not just the Jews. Verse 16, he says, After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. I'll rebuild its ruins and I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord. Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does all these things. So he uses that verse and in verse 18, he says, Known to God from eternity all his works. You know, we know God from the foundation of the earth God's plan has been has been extended, has been written, it is being fulfilled exactly as God said it would.

He knows the intense and hearts of man. He knows the intense and hearts of Satan. I mean, he created all of us. He's watched for, well, for so long. He knows exactly what's going on, right? Known to God from eternity are all his works.

Therefore, James says, I, he says judge, maybe a better word for that is conclude, but it is it is judging as well. It means the same thing. Therefore, I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God. That is, let's not put any burden on them that really seems that that does not have any spiritual benefit for them at all.

Physical circumcision, we cannot show anywhere in the Bible that it had any kind of spiritual effect on people have physical effect. It was a good mark for the ancient, the ancient nation of Israel, but it has no spiritual value. So why do that? Why do that? Therefore, let's not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them for things abstained from things polluted by idols abstained from sexual immorality abstained from things strangled and abstained from some things and abstained from blood.

Many churches in the world will say, see, that's all that you need to do. If you just refrain from those things, that's all God wants you to do. You don't have to be circumcised. Just don't do those four things. But that isn't at all what the Bible is saying. Remember, the conference is about circumcision. And then when we read verse 21, we'll say, no, James is not saying, forget the law of Moses. He's going to be saying, no, you pay attention to the law of Moses. We just don't need to recount it all here. It's already written. But why would James say, well, let's have specifically mentioned to the Gentiles these four things they can't do.

Certainly sexual immorality would be part of the Seventh Commandments already. But he doesn't say anything about the Sabbath. He doesn't say anything about lying, stealing, murdering. Certainly he's not saying those things are okay. Why would he specifically say those four things to the Gentiles, might you think? Mr. Shaby, I think those four things have to do with idolatry. And they also have to do with some of the pagan rituals and things that those Gentiles were coming out of.

So that could be one reason why he was mentioning those four things. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly right. You know, the pagan religion, we don't have any appreciation for how deprived that religion was and what they were doing in those Gentile areas. And the people that were being called to the church at that point into the truth and to the way of life that Jesus would have us live, it was so diametrically opposed to the way that they lived.

I don't think we can absolutely, even at all, appreciate the difference in life for these Gentiles when they left their old pagan ways to adopt and to be converted and become part of the Church of God. I pulled through some of the commentaries. You know, just pulled up some of these things on these four things. And maybe these help us understand a little bit about what the Gentiles were coming out of.

It also helps us understand why the Jews would look at the Gentiles and say, wow, they are so far apart from God. How could they ever worship God? How could they ever live that way of life? Because it is so, so, so different than what they did. So here I've got a combination of three different commentaries here. I didn't mark them all. I think this first part is from Adam Clark. And then later there's Jameson, Fawcett, and Brown, and Barnes as well. But here, you know, by the first one, it says pollution of idols.

And Acts 15-25, we won't get that far. And in other parts, 1 Corinthians 8 talks about meats that are sacrificed to idols. That apparently was a very big part of the festivals of the pagans. I'll just read what he says here. You know, meats offered to idols, not only all idolatry was forbidden when they were talked about this, but eating things offered and sacrificed to idols, knowing that they were thus offered. Part of their festivals and part of their celebrations was sacrificing these meats to idols and then eating that and joining with idolaters and their sacred feasts.

So these were what have been, you know, when you read about the pagan festivals, I mean, if you're a carnal human nature person that doesn't have the Spirit of God, I'd be like, wow, that's really fun. This is what they did all the time. It's all sorts of, you know, evil things that went on in there that they justified by their religion. But notice it says there, you know, I thought it was interesting that knowing that they were thus offered and joining with idolaters and their sacred feasts were always an incentive either to idolatry itself or to the impure acts generally attendant on such festivals.

Well, today we don't have those festivals around us. The United States is generally considered a Christian nation, if you will. But when we come out of the world, when we come out of our other religions that we're in, there are pagan rituals that we were part of and that we were steeped in. We all know what they are. There's Christmas, there's Easter, there's Valentine's Day, there's Halloween, which is right ahead of us, none of which are in the Bible, none of which God would say celebrate. They're all based in pagan rituals and festivals. People consider them fun, people consider them, you know, wow, this is great and da da da da da. When we come out of those other religions, we have to leave all those things behind. It can be difficult. It can be difficult, right? It's like, you know, Christmas is a big draw.

People with kids, you know, I've heard it say, I can't let not let my kids have Christmas, right? And they use that. I've got to stick here with this pagan ritual. I can't come to the church because I can't do that. It can be tough. Notice he says, and joining with idolaters in their sacred feast. I think that's something that we need to pay attention to. You know, sometimes we're lured into it and say, ah, it's okay to go to this dinner and that dinner and that dinner. You know, it's all okay as long as you know. I don't know. I don't know. You know, I think that we all have to make those decisions. Remember what God says here when God says, you know, abstain from things polluted, polluted by idols. And certainly there are celebrations in the world around us that have been polluted by idol worship. That would be one. The second is sexual immorality. You know, sexual immorality. Again, our minds can't even conceive of what this is because we've grown up in a nation that did have, you know, some morals and still does have some morals compared to what the pagan world apparently had. That a second sexual immorality, uncleanness of every kind, I mean, we're talking every kind was prohibited under God's word, but in the pagan world, it was all okay. Not only fornication, but adultery and sexual mixtures, especially the prostitution, which was so common at the idol temples. It was all associated with, and he mentions, three of the festivals, Pachanilia, Lupercalia, several others. Notice he says the vice. Those, those, those, that sexual immorality that was okay with their religion. As long as you were there at the temple, as long as you were doing with the prostitutes that were there, the vice was so connected, the vice was connected with no small part of the pagan worship. And the images, the emblems, and the customs of idolatry everywhere tended to sanction and promote it. This is what those Gentiles grew up with. This was just part of their life. They thought it was okay. Can imagine the huge change in their lives when they came to Christianity and understand that, that adultery, thou shalt not commit adultery, means sex only with your husband and wife. That's what God sanctioned, and that's what he said. That would have been a far, far departure from what they always thought was okay. As this vice, notice, it says, was almost universal. It was practiced without shame or disgrace. There were no laws among the pagan to prevent it, as it was connected with all their views of idol worship and of religion. It was the sin to which, of all others, they were the most exposed, which was most likely to bring scandal onto Christian religion.

It is for this cause that it was so often and so poignantly forbidden in the New Testament. You can imagine. Again, you can imagine. So when James is saying, stay away from these pagan festivals, anything polluted by idols, stay away from sexual immorality, these are huge issues with them in their conversion.

Third, regarding things strangled. You remember in the Old Testament, God said this is the matter of killing animals so that all the blood was drained from them. But in the Gentile world, they were strangled. Third, regarding things strangled. We are to understand the flesh of those animals which were strangled for the purpose of keeping the blood in the body as such animals were staying to greater delicacy. God says, drain the blood. There's life in the blood. You shouldn't be eating it. In the Gentile world, they did just the opposite. So they had to learn even the meats that they were going to eat and if they're going to slaughter their animals, how to do it and to refrain from meats that would have been strangled where the meat stayed in it. And then finally, from blood. Again, blood was a delicacy there in the pagan world. The use of blood was common among the Gentiles. They drank it often at their sacrifices in making covenants or compacts. The primary reason of the prohibition was that it was thus used in the feasts and compacts of idolaters. But the prohibition specifies a higher reason that life is in the blood and therefore it should not be eaten.

And then he says, look at Romans 3.25, this reason existed. And I like the way that this commentator brings it into modern day and takes this away from just Israel with so many people confused that the law was first given to Israel. It was in place from the time of creation. We can show that for the Bible. Israel had to be reminded of the law, but he reminds us of this with the law of eating blood. He says this reason existed before any ceremonial law is found in the nature of things. It has no particular reference to any custom of the Jews. It was proper, therefore, to forbid it to the early Christian converts and for the same reason its use should be abstained everywhere. It adds to the force of these remarks when we remember that the same principle was settled before the laws of Moses were given and that God regarded the fact that the life was in the blood of so much importance as to make the shedding of it worthy of death. So, you know, because the Gentile world was so, so depraved, if you will, so opposite, as you would expect from people who had never lived by the ways of God, who were led by Satan, and doing so much the exact opposite of what God would have them do, that they had to point out some things that Gentiles, these are going to be very... These... You have to pay close attention to these things. As you turn from your old life, these are huge issues you have to do. They have to turn to God's way. Any questions on any of that or any comments? Yeah, pass your share. Go ahead. I don't know who it is, but... I had a question. There used to be, in certain churches, a certain sort of taboo about blood transfusions and, you know, giving blood and all that. I'm wondering, how does that... Does that still have any credence or as far as like the spilling or letting of blood or...? God talks about the eating of blood, right? So that's what he's talking about here, that we don't eat the blood. Giving blood is not a problem. We don't... The church doesn't say that blood transfusions are a problem. Some churches do say that. We don't say that, so... How is this changing? Yeah, Winoma.

You know, they think that the scripture that we just discussed referred to humans and not animals. However, I was talking to my niece several months ago, and she says, now, let your conscience be your guide as far as taking the blood transfusion. All the people that have died because they couldn't take blood, to me, is a very serious thing. And people, you know, they just went along with what they were told. Yeah, and I'm familiar with that because years ago, I was an administrator of a hospital, and we had a group of Jehovah Witnesses in another state. And they came because they wanted a bloodless program. And they explained what their beliefs were. And we can't support them from revival, right? But I thought that's what they believe. So we did put together a program for them. And we did have people die. And I know exactly what your medium is like. And the hospital staff didn't like it. They didn't like it. We were doing a service and doing everything we can. But it was like a simple little blood transfusion would have saved the life of this person. And I'm glad that they make it a matter of conscience now because they say that you cannot support that from the Bible. It talks about animals. Very good. So.

Mr. Shaby. Yes, sir. Yeah. The commentator who mentioned the fact that the law was not part of the Mosaic law, right, but had been in effect even prior to that, really points back to when God told Noah in Genesis 9-4 not to eat the blood of an animal. So this had really nothing to do with the law of Moses. Right. And it was the comment that he made on this pretty much right up.

Exactly. I thought he did a very good job of that. And I really wouldn't. If we were alive at that time and knew what the Gentile world were, it was.

We would recognize that James, you know, when he highlighted these things, those were issues. Again, you know, we might think we come into the church and, you know, if we really like pork chops and lobster and all that, we have to give that up.

That's so easy compared to what the Gentiles who were having to go from their entire lifestyle was changing. And yet they were willing to do that because they believed God and chose what Belize was back in those days. They so believed Jesus Christ, they were willing to give up literally their entire life because they realized that was wrong. And the Holy Spirit in them led them to do exactly what the Bible said and learned that.

And they were, you know, there were others who came in, as we read in the other epistles, that tried to lure them away from things. But, you know, it's a big change. It was a big change for them. And Stephen, not Stephen, James highlights those things. For that reason, though, because they were such major factors in the Gentile and the pagan world.

Okay.

For the Shavie, certainly. Yes, they do.

If you will, can you read Colossians 2, verse 8-13? Could we say that's a good definition for what our circumcision of the heart is?

Okay, I missed the verse. What was it? Elijah 2.

Elijah 2-13?

Elijah 2-13.

Elijah 2-13.

Elijah 2-13.

Elijah 2, verse 8.

Beware. Elijah 2, verse 8. Beware. Elijah 2, verse 8. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

For in Him, in Christ dwells all the fullness of Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him, and you are the head of all principality and power.

In Him, you are also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body and sins of flesh by the circumcision of Christ. For in Him, in Christ dwells all the fullness of Godhead bodily, according to the Mr. Sherry, comment. We know that the essence of the law is that circumcision is of the heart.

We also know that God doesn't respect males more than he respects females. He expects them both the same. The beauty of it, circumcision of the heart, includes females, not just males. Absolutely. I think that's the beauty of it. That's the beauty of it. That's a very good point. Salvation is earned by a work out your own salvation, right? Not, not, yeah, every single person. Very good. So.

Mr. Sherry, you want to know the comment? You mentioned before about looking into Josephus and what he would have to say about circumcision. I did a quick, a quick scan of the book of the Antichrist of the Jews, and he doesn't even mention it. He doesn't even speak of it. As a matter of fact, he only speaks of a New Testament in Christianity three times in the entire book. Wow. Okay. Just shows how unimportant it was. When they came to the conclusion, it was just like, okay, yep, absolutely can't justify the necessity of it. So, okay.

Captain Shaby. Yes, tail. Yeah. I think in Romans 15 where Paul is, doesn't want to put a stumbling block in front of anybody if meat was offered to idols. And I wonder if some of the Jews that converted people, they weren't always sure if the meat that they got, you know, was strangled or something like that. So maybe that's kind of why they, Paul was saying, be careful, you know, make sure you don't get to, don't be too picky or, you know, be careful and tactful in dealing with the Gentiles. Yeah. I think that's exactly what goes on in 1 Corinthians 8. Some people just didn't think about it. It's clean meat, it didn't bother them or whatever. Others were like, wait a minute, where was this meat before this? Who, what was it being used for? And yeah, that created a little bit of controversy as well. So I think you're right on that. So. Okay. Let's, two more verses, and then we'll end for the night. Right? Okay. Remember that, you know, a lot of people will say, okay, since James didn't conclude with, and recount all the law, hey, you got to keep the Ten Commandments and that, well, he does in verse 21, right? He says, for Moses, you know, talks about circumcision isn't necessary. We're not going to trouble a Gentiles, you got to pay attention to these things. This is a huge lifestyle. Come out of that completely. Verse 21, he says, for Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. So he doesn't say, don't go to those synagogues. He says, you can hear the reading of the law. Remember, they didn't have a Bible in their homes like you and I have today. They had to hear the word of the law someplace. The Gentiles, this was all new to them. Where were they going to hear it? They couldn't go down to the local bookstore and pick up a Bible.

They had to go someplace to read it. And so James is saying, Moses, those laws, those five books, the law, the prophets, they're being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. There was no issue with the words of the law. It was what the Jews were teaching in addition to the law. But when they had gathered together in the synagogues, and you'll remember in Acts 13 and 14, so many times Paul would go to the synagogues. They would read the scriptures. He would get up and explain them. Jesus Christ did the same thing in the temples. The Gentiles would come to the synagogue. Some cases half of the city would come there. Some cases the whole city wanted to get together and hear the words the next Sabbath. So they had to hear the words of God. And so he's saying, you can hear the words of God. There's preached in every synagogue in every city. Basically what he's saying is, go there. Go there and you will listen and you will hear the word of God. So he wasn't doing away with anything in this. He was saying, abstain from these Gentiles, and go where the word is read every week. Pay attention. Pay attention to it and learn it and live by it.

And so everyone was in accord. It's a beautiful thing when God's Spirit leads. When everyone there is with God's Spirit, it brings people together. God's Spirit will always unite. It may start off a little acrimonious. It may be disputes, but in the end where God's Spirit is, people will be united. That's true in the church. That's true in friendships. That's true in marriages. When the Holy Spirit is there, it will result in unity because there are meetings of the minds and the submission to God and the recognition of what we need to do and how we need to yield to Him to become the people He wants us to be and the people we need to be for each other as well.

Verse 22, they all come to accord. It pleased the apostles and elders with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, whose surname was Bar-Savis, and Silas, leading men of the brethren. So let's stop there for tonight and we'll pick it up then in verse 23 next week.

And I might ask, since we've covered a lot, and this is an important chapter, you might go back through it again, think about some of the things that we've talked about, and write down any of the questions that you might have. Something, you know, tell, well that wasn't really clear. Can we go over that again or can we look at it in a different way? That's fine. That's what these Bible studies should be. If we have any questions or conversation on that, you know, write that down and we can do that at the beginning of next week.

And then we'll just go forward from there. But we got four minutes left, four minutes left until it's 8 30. If there's any questions or comments now, we can take those as well. So okay, you are all tired. We have talked about a lot tonight. So I want to thank you all. Thank you all for being here. It's good to be back together with you. I actually, every single Wednesday night are the ones we've missed. I thought about Bible studies and I thought, well, we have other things going on, but it's so good to be back together with you. So I'm glad you're with us tonight. And, you know, we'll look forward to seeing many of you this Sabbath in Jacksonville and Orlando. The rest, we will look forward to seeing you next Wednesday. Okay.

Thank you very much.

Everybody. Thank you.