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Sunday School
Gratitude For Grace (Acts 15:1-12)
that consisted of Jesus “plus.” In their case the ad- dition was circumcision (a sign of the covenant for Is- rael). The threat to grace was real. Acts 15:1, 2, 5
The missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, ended up in a sharp dispute with these be- lievers. The debate was so significant that the mission- aries and others were sent to the mother church to receive help on this important doc- trinal topic.
This potential threat did not deter Paul and Barnabas from spreading the message that people are saved by grace. The result of this re- port was joy. Acts 15:3, 4
The people who were told en route as well as the people in the Jerusalem church took great joy that it was just Jesus, not “Jesus plus,” who saved them. No doubt as these reports on grace were given, the Pharisees which accompanied Paul and Barn- abas on this trip south felt
chided. This gave rise to their strong plea in verse 5. Three groups were in- volved in this special meet- ing—apostles, elders, and the whole church. Watching how these three groups in- teracted in this meeting is a crash course on effective leadership. James, the brother of Jesus and author of the epistle that bears his name, presided at the meet-
ing (Acts 15:13).
In church meetings it
might be important for peo- ple to have their say. But not all testimonies are equal. Peter gave the first testi- mony. His voice was signifi- cant—he could point to God’s activity at Cornelius’s house. Acts 15:6-12
He reminded the audi- ence of the content of Acts 10:1–11:18. He reminded the audience that God shows no favoritism and desires to save all people by faith.
Next Peter challenged the audience that the yoke of the
law did not do the Jews any favor. They could not keep it, so why would they impose it on the new Gentile believ- ers? Peter’s last words in the book of Acts are, “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’’
Barnabas and Paul had the second testimony. They told the crowd about the miracles that happened on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:11; 14:3, 9, 10, 19, 20). James then sum- marized the meeting, told the crowd that the testi- monies matched the teach- ing in the Word of God (Acts 15:16-18; Amos 9:11, 12).
The Bible is clear. We are saved by grace. Grace is not opposed to the imperatives of salvation. Grace is not op- posed to human effort— though it is the opposite of earning. At the end of the day Christian living is grati- tude for grace.
Church growth is often painful. It demands more space, time, effort, and per- sonnel. For some people it’s a real threat, but most be- lievers know that it’s worth it. What is typically called the first missionary journey (Acts 13, 14) was incredibly successful.
More than one church has had to call a meeting as a result of church growth. The stakes were high regard- ing this special council meet- ing in Acts 15. So many Gentiles were responding to the gospel that the church
had to decide how it would deal with this growth.
The Antioch Church began to overshadow the mother church in Jerusalem with regard to evangelistic zeal (Acts 11:19-30). When this growth became well- known in Jerusalem, certain people came down (went north) to Antioch. These people belonged to the party of the Pharisees. The Phar- isees were closer to the gospel because they believed in resurrection (Acts 6:7).
But their problem was that they wanted a gospel
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