This is Connect with Skip Heitzig, and we're so glad you've joined us for today's program. Connecting you to the never-changing truth of God's Word through verse-by-verse teaching is what Connect with Skip Heitzig is all about.
That's why we make messages like this one today available to you and others. Before we begin the program, we want to let you know that you can find full message series and libraries of content from Skip Heitzig on YouTube. Simply visit the Connect with Skip Heitzig channel on YouTube to watch or rewatch your favorite teachings, or find new ones to dive into more solid biblical teaching to help deepen your walk.
And be sure to subscribe to the channel so you never miss any new content. That's Connect with Skip Heitzig on YouTube. Now, let's get into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. You know, there are speeches in the Bible that just tell you that they said something, but they don't tell you what they said.
And I always go, man, I hate that. I wish this was recorded. Just like Matthew 24, the road to Emmaus speech that Jesus gave, the first post-resurrection teaching, and it was a prophetic sermon. Not recorded.
This one, not recorded. But I'm sure he started in Cyprus and talked about Sergius Paulus, the intelligent man who was interested in the gospel. But Elamas, the sorcerer, came and withstood him. And so Paul said, you're going to be blind, and he was. That was a miracle. Then he gets to Iconium, and we read that many signs and wonders were done at the hands of the apostles. And they said, then we got to Lystra. And there was a guy who had been blind from birth, but he had faith to be healed, and I knew it. And I, by the power of God, stretched out my hand, and the man was healed. But then it got really weird.
Because they thought that we were their gods come down from heaven, Zeus and Hermes, and they started to worship us. And so I told them not to, and they didn't do it, and they took me out and threw stones at me instead. And they thought I was dead, but then when I got back up again, I went back into the city and I started talking again. What a great, great, great message this must have been. Sorry it's not recorded. Though it's not recorded, I ended something.
I ended our time last week saying something that I just want to flesh out a little bit. Some believe that when he was stoned, and you know when I say that what I mean by that, right? I don't have to go through the modern idea of being stoned versus the ancient biblical term of being stoned. He had stones pelting his head, they thought he was dead. And some believe that it was at this point in that state while he was on the ground that God did something to him and for him that changed his whole ministry. And gave him a focus and an impetus like nothing else, and that is something that is recorded in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. Where he says it is doubtless not profitable for me to boast, but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows such a one was caught up into the third heaven.
The word is harpazo, same word as rapture. He was immediately taken up into heaven, the third heaven. And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know. God knows how he was caught into the paradise and he heard inexpressible words which is not lawful for a man to utter.
Of such a one I will boast. In other words, Paul is saying, I'm the guy that I know. I've been speaking about me all along in the third person, but now I'm just saying, I'm the guy. I had an experience, I couldn't tell you if I was in the body or if I had actually died and gone to heaven. But I was caught up into the third heaven. That's the abode of God. The first heaven is the atmosphere, birds and clouds. Second heaven is the celestial realm of interplanetary stars, et cetera. Beyond that somewhere is the heaven of heavens where God is. He was caught up there and he saw paradise. He saw a vision of heaven. And it could be from that stoning experience that he developed what he calls a thorn in the flesh also in this chapter. An impairment could have been an eye disease, could have been an epileptic seizures of some kind after that experience. We don't know.
But it could be that he was taken up into heaven. He had this vision, but then he says, and it was just so amazing, you know, it's not even lawful. It'd be like a crime for me to even try to describe it, so I won't. And there's again, there's another, it's like, really? You got to see that and you won't like give me a taste of how utterly cool that must have been? Because now I just, words wouldn't do it justice. I've always found that fascinating because I've heard of people who claim to have left earth and gone to heaven and they write very extensive books about it.
And they'll, 25 bucks, they'll tell you what it was like. But it's interesting, the biblical descriptions of heaven are very sparse. Now we can examine them and get some information, but it's very little information. So it could be that during this time is when he was caught up into the third heaven, couldn't be sure, but many believe so. He goes through his speech in Jerusalem about what happened on that first trip, how God worked among the Gentiles. Verse 13, and after they had become silent, James answered, saying. You go, what do you mean, James? I thought he was killed.
He was. This is another James. The James that was murdered, killed, beheaded was James, the brother of John. This is James, the half brother of Jesus.
After Jesus was born by a virgin birth, Joseph and Mary had normal husband and wife relations, had many children. One of them was James. So James is the half brother of Jesus. Also James, this James is the author of the book of James. He is known as in history James, the just, or James, the righteous. If you've ever read the book of James, it's very fitting because it's a very righteous oriented book. And he was also, because of his prayer life, known as James, the camel need.
Because the stories say he spent so much time physically on his knees in prayer that he developed these gnarly looking calluses like camels do. This is that James. Now, James stands up after hearing the testimony of Peter and Barnabas and Saul, and he's going to make the final deliberation.
Why is this important? Because it shows you that historically, biblically, Peter was not the first leader of the church, James was. So if you try to say, well, we have a papacy that is based on historical evidence that goes all the way back to the first pope named Peter, you have a real problem with Acts chapter 15. Because Peter is not calling the shots, Peter is being sent out and dispatched by James, the half brother of Jesus, who is the first leader in charge of the church of Jerusalem. So James stands up, not Peter, and he speaks. And notice what he says in verse 14. Simon has declared how God at first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name.
When he says Simon, who's he referring to? Peter. But why didn't he say Peter? Now, I'm asking you the question because I want you to start asking those kind of questions when you read your Bible.
And you'll look and you'll find the answer, but let me just tell you so you don't have to do a whole lot of digging. The issue he's dealing with is a Jewish issue, a Hebrew-oriented issue, so he uses his Jewish name. Not Peter, not the new name Jesus gave him, but the birth name, Hebrew birth name, Simon, Shimon.
So he uses that name because it's a Jewish issue. And verse 15, with this, what he just said, what Peter said, what Simon said, and with this, the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written. Now, he's going to quote Amos chapter 9. After this, I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. Tabernacle of David refers to the house of David. The house of David has been busted up because of the sins of the nation.
You remember that? Because of the sins of the nation, they were taken into captivity. The bloodline, the royal bloodline, stopped at Jeconiah. The bloodline was cursed after that.
There is absolutely no hope for the Messiah to come since the royal bloodline of David has been cursed. The only fix to that bloodline curse could be a virgin birth, which is why Jesus was born of a virgin, and why one genealogical record traces the ancestry of Jesus back to David through Solomon, the line that was cursed. That's Joseph's genealogy. And traces Jesus' bloodline back to David through another son of David named Nathan, not Solomon. So the bloodline is cursed on Joseph's side, but it gives Jesus the legal right to reign. But the bloodline is cursed.
That's okay. God got around his curse by having Jesus born of a virgin in Mary's womb. So the tabernacle has been broken down. The house of David is the promise of the Messiah through the lineage of David. That's fulfilled in Christ.
That's why he's quoting this. I will rebuild its ruins and set it up. So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord.
Now watch this. So that the rest of mankind, not just Jewish people, may seek the Lord. Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name says the Lord who does all these things. No, he's rooting his decision in Scripture. He's quoting Amos chapter 9. And he's showing them, oh, by the way, Amos says nothing about them first becoming Jewish proselytes, and then they're admitted into the kingdom. It's so that all the Gentiles may come to this knowledge. Verse 18, known to God, verse 18, known to God from eternity are all his works.
That's a verse you may want to memorize. Because from time to time you're going to run into people who believe in what is called open theism. Open theism says that though God is omniscient, knows everything, that because God has given volition to mankind, free will, you have the will to choose this or that, that God doesn't know what you're going to choose. So that God is learning by the choices that you are making. You're teaching God.
Isn't that a fabulous thing? You're God's instructor. Open theism teaches that though God may be omniscient, there are certain things where that is limited, so then he's not omniscient. And that is, will a person choose or not choose to believe? This verse flatly says known to God from eternity are all, all his works, including salvation works, the work of salvation. Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city being read in the synagogues every Sabbath. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we return to Skip's teaching, in his Jesus Loves booklets, Pastor Skip Heitzig shows you God's radical love for all people and challenges you to love all people like Jesus did. And when you give a gift of $50 or more today, we'll send you four of these booklets in our Jesus Loves them bundle. Our thanks for your support to reach more people with God's love through Connect with Skip Heitzig. You'll fall more in love with your living Savior as you see just how much he loves all people and calls you to do the same.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your bundle when you give. Let's get back to today's message from Pastor Skip. Then it pleased the apostles and the elders, probably not some of those Pharisees, with the whole church to send chosen men of their own company, excuse me, to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, who is also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men of the brethren. So a two-fold decision is formulated by James. For the legalists, he's saying be inclusive. Be inclusive, you legalists. Don't add man-made rules and man-made regulations to the faith of non-Jewish people. Don't make them become Jews first, that's what they're saying. You have to become a Jew before you can be a Christian. So to the legalists, he's saying be inclusive, lighten up.
Don't add your own man-made regulations. To the converts, he's saying be sensitive. You need to realize that these people with this background, this baggage of religious law, have certain sensitivities that's going to drive them up a wall if you do certain things. So when he says, and he gives three restrictions, one of them is moral, two of them are sensitive, just kind of conscious-sensitive, Jewish-sensitive, that you abstain from, verse 20, things polluted by idols. In those days, they would take animals and sacrifice them in the altars, the pagan altars, and sell the meat in the butcher shop of the pagan temple. So it had been sacrificed to idols, and then purchased in the butcher shop, taken home and eaten. That's why Paul later on, when he writes his letters, he goes, don't even ask where they bought it. Just eat it.
If you don't want to eat it, don't eat it, but don't tell the other people not to. So when he says, things polluted by idols, that's what he's referring to. From sexual immorality doesn't just mean laying around or sleeping around together. That wasn't as big of an issue as it is in our day. The idea is associated with worship.
The pagan worship was very centrally oriented, and sexual acts were often undertaken during pagan worship. So it's avoiding a pagan worship system altogether, buying meat that has been sacrificed to an idol in a temple butcher shop, and from blood. Now, you can go today to the UK and you can go to Scotland and get what they call blood pudding. I don't recommend it. So I have no problem at all with this restriction. I don't say, wait a minute, I have freedom in Christ. I can eat blood.
Okay, never been interested in that. I'm not like, ooh, I can't wait to get a blood pudding. Now, some like it, but I wouldn't recommend that with your Jewish friends. Because of the restriction in Leviticus that says the life of the flesh is in the blood. So everything had to be bled according to kosher law for it to be suitable to eat. So he's saying you need to be sensitive.
Things that have been sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality, refrain from that, and from blood. It pleased the whole multitude, and then he's going to write a letter to them. And the letter says as much. So I love this. He's saying, look, we believe you're saved by faith. Just be careful morally and sensitivity issues with Jewish believers.
It's the law of love. Now, I like this because it's not like, okay, what are those things again? There's like 613 things I have to memorize. No, just remember these three. Just do that. You're saved by faith. Now, in your practice, do these three things, or stay away from these three things.
These are the restrictions. Now, I love this because Jesus said, my yoke is easy, man. My burden is light. He didn't say, my yoke is very hard, and my burden, it'll crush you.
It's light. And they all agreed. So they wrote a letter. The apostles, the elders, the brethren, to the brethren, who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words. Now you know what troubled means from Galatians 1.
Unsettling your soul, saying, you must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we gave no such commandment. It seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. Men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have therefore sent Judas and Silas. This is a different Judas, not as scary.
Of course, he's long dead. Who will also report the same things by word of mouth. Report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things that you abstained from things offered to idols from blood, from things strangled from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you do well, farewell. So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch. When they had gathered the multitude together and delivered the letter, when they read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement. Man, the burden was lifted. Peter said, you're trying to lay on them a burden, a yoke, which neither we nor our fathers have ever been able to bear. They're hearing these Judaizers come from Jerusalem into their church saying, no, no, no, no, you have to do these things. And so they've been weighed under that. Now comes the letter saying, you don't have to do those things. Just refrain from these things, farewell.
So it's like, whew, sigh of relief, heavy sigh. Now Judas and Silas themselves, being prophets, also exhorted and strengthened their brethren with many words. And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. Conflict resolved. But now there's another conflict that goes unresolved. In fact, whereas the first conflict is reconciled, the second one makes them part company with each other. It's a conflict between two men, two ministers, two brothers, two friends, who don't see eye to eye on something that's not even substantive. It's not a doctrinal issue. They all agree on that. It's not a biblical issue. They all agree on the Scriptures. It's a methodological issue of how we're going to go on the next missionary journey.
Who's going to be on that team? Verse 36, then after some days, Paul said to Barney, let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord. Let's see how they're doing.
Now, why would they need to do this? Well, you know, they were gone from Antioch, and everything was going good when they left Antioch, but they came back, and it was already divided. It didn't take long. The cat's away.
The mice will play. Now, Paul and Barnabas founded those churches, but he's probably thinking, man, by now, who knows what they're into? Let's go back and see how they're doing. Now, Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark, but Mark insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed. The word departed is a very strong word. It means deserted, failed them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. Then the contention, a very strong word again, became so sharp that they parted from one another, and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.
But Paul chose Silas, and departed, being commended by their brethren to the grace of God, and he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. Now, we're about to enter the second missionary journey. When we pick up next time, we're gonna pick up here, but we're gonna pick up with this dispute, and here's the question as we close. Who was right and who was wrong?
I know the easy answer for us. We go, well, Paul was right, because Paul, like, wasn't he always right? And so to determine and discover who was right in this, we're gonna have to wait for next time, and we will pick it up as we go into chapter 16 into the second missionary journey, but I wanna save time for the distribution of the elements and for us to focus on our unity, because the truth is, not all of us agree on everything, and we have to declare and agree on this that that's okay. We have to understand and agree, I believe, that God reserves the right to use people who disagree with you, and I've noticed that God uses people who disagree with me. I don't understand that he would do that, but because he does, whenever I have a dispute over an issue with somebody, I'm able to walk away and give them the freedom to be wrong and to live in inaccuracy, while all the while loving them and having communion, as long as we agree on the historic pillars of the Christian faith, there's a lot of stuff in between that really is irrelevant, like who should go on the missionary journey on the second one or not.
We can agree on what's important and throw the rest to the wind. Thanks so much for being with us today. Before you go, remember that when you give $50 or more to help reach more people with the gospel through Connect with Skip Heitzig, we'll send you a copy of the Jesus Loves Them bundle to help you understand God's abounding love for all people. Request your copy when you call and give, 800-922-1888. That's 800-922-1888, or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection Make a connection At the foot of the crossing Cast your burdens on His word Make a connection Connection Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
