The First Reformation, Part 1

There are those who say you must add acts of grace and love to faith in Christ. There are others who would say you must adhere to a certain particular church in order to be apart. There are those who would say, you must believe in Christ but worship on a particular day. They've done nothing more than what these utilizers were attempting to do, and that was adding to the free gift of God through Christ. God, in effect, said my son, die on the cross and offers you Athenians to eat. Not a free gift by faith in him. God's question to you and to me is what have you done with my son?

If you've talked with believers who attend a different church from or perhaps even in the church that you attend, you know that there are differences of opinion regarding doctrine and theology.

Here's a key question to keep in mind. What do the scriptures say? If we could just agree that we're going to read and study God's word and allow it to be the final authority, most debates that Christians engage in would be settled.

We need to make a clear distinction between God's truth and man's opinion. That was one of the rallying cries of the Reformation, which is why Stephen is calling the lesson you're about to hear the first reformation.

Here's Stephen Davy with today's Bible lesson.

On October thirty first 15 17, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 theses on the door of the Catholic Church in Wittenberg, challenging the church, the practices of selling forgiveness through indulgences, papal infallibility. Most importantly, questioning the definition of justification by faith alone. There has been a lot of others before him. If you've studied church history that ask the same question. But this was different. This was a clergy men from within. Who was pointing his finger and raising these kinds of questions about the church's established definition of what is a Christian look like? How can you tell a person as a Christian? The church was saying you might be a Christian if you do penance, you might be a Christian. If you go to mass, you might be a Christian if you confess your sins to the priest.

But Martin Luther was coming up with a list that was totally different than the list of his church. So in fifteen seventeen, you had the rumblings of what would become the Reformation a year after he nailed those theses to the door, which was the current popular way of making announcements. It was typical. They held debates in Östberg where you first heard that cry that would become the cry of the Reformation. The cry was sold off script Torah or the Scriptures alone. It would be there in Ogg's Berg where that would be developed and and in fact put into writing one of the close friends of Martin Luther. In fact, his closest friend was named Philip Mélenchon, gentlemen. And our church gave me his biography that is now out of print. And I just finished reading that a few weeks ago. Philip Melanson was the brilliant Greek professor who was also the colleague of Martin Luther, as they both taught in the university Whittenberg. Now, the issues at stake were not trivial. They weren't debating the wallpaper in the lobby or what side of the platform the piano sat on. They were they were debating the very definitions of salivation, the authority of church councils and leaders, the forgiveness of sins. They were debating what is it look like to be a Christian?

What do you have to do to become a Christian?

That would be the underlying question to all that they did.

Frankly, I think we're living in exciting days. We're living in exciting days because that is again becoming the primary question. All you have to do is read the newspapers, read the magazines, and just listen to leaders in our movement and other movements as they again begin debating that I am excited about because the lines are much clearer when you start debating theological propositions. But ultimately it is. What do you have to do to become a Christian? This week's copy of Newsweek came across my my desk. The cover is a painting of one rendering of Mary.

And underneath is the title The Meaning of Mary. The subtitle is A Struggle Over Her Role Grows Within the Church. Fascinating article. As they're struggling over what to do and I want to read just a little bit of this. There's an incredible surge going on within the Catholic community to have a new dogma made. I'll explain what that means in a minute. More than one hundred thousand signatures a month are arriving in Rome from people around the world who want to see Mary take the next step in a progression of promotions that began in 431 when she was given the title Mother of God to 1854, when she was declared sinless to 1950s papal declaration, when she was declared to have been taken up bodily into heaven. Instead of dying, now, the movement is gaining ground to have her formally declared co redeemer. The article goes on to explain how Pope John Paul II you have to do is read him and you'll know that he has he has been favorable to this move. In fact, five times in public addresses. He's referred to her as the code media tricks I've given you and your notes, a quote dated April nineteen ninety seven where he says, and I'm reading from this article, Having created man, male and female, that is Adam and Eve, the Lord also wants to place the new Eve beside the new Adam. You read the Book of Romans and you learned that that Jesus Christ is the new Adam creating a new race. Well, he says we need to place the new eve beside the new Adam in the redemption Mary. The new Eve thus becomes a perfect icon of the church. We can therefore turn to the Blessed Virgin Trust, fully employing her aide in the singular role entrusted to her by God. The role of cooperator in the redemption. Well, you see what is at the heart of the issue, men and women. The core of the issue, the singular point which. Settle the debate. Is that reformation cry, solar script, Torah? What do the scriptures say about justification by faith in Christ? What do you have to do to become a Christian? What must I do to be save the church in the first century had a reformation within. In fact, I call it the first reformation. If you take your Bibles and turn to X Chapter 15, you're you're given the whole story of this first divisive moment in the church's history. And you need to remember that church is only about 20, 25 years old, just 25 years earlier. Jesus Christ was with them. It only took that long before they muddied the picture and began to add their system to pure doctrine and simple scripture. By the way, you're turning I want to make sure that you don't misunderstand my introduction to this study. We'll spend two or three weeks on it.

I'm not against or on a campaign against Catholics. I've Catholic friends. I'm not against Roman Catholics.

But I am opposed to Roman Catholic theology and any system of theology that would be at odds with evangelicalism. And that is a system that adds to pure, simple justification by faith.

Period. And I want to address that issue as we work through this study.

Now, at fifteen, a storm is brewing and it's spilled over into Antioch. And you need to understand that the church is taking on a new look. It's a gentile look. The Jews are no longer the majority stockholders in this New Testament. Now it's becoming a gentile church and they're struggling with the vast issues that that that obviously would would bring up. And so the church in Antioch is the first to feel the full pressure of this divisive issue of what does it mean to be saved. Paul is right in the middle of it. Well, that's the context behind the very first verse of X 15. One noticed that and some men came down from Judea and began teaching the Brethren, quote, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

There you have it, pure and simple.

You cannot be saved unless you believe in Jesus Christ. Plus circumcision.

Now, you might say all they needed to do was make a few phone calls and they could have settled this whole issue. This is not that deep of a problem. We know it's obvious you don't have to be circumcised to become a Christian. Well, it wasn't simple to them.

In fact, I want to show you how deeply it affected the church. You can hold your finger and turn to Galatians. Would you? Galatians, Chapter two. It recounts what happened just prior to acts. Fifteen. We set the chronology of these events just prior to act. Fifteen Jewish leaders come to Antioch and this sort of gives you a behind the scenes look at what happened. As a result, the CFS had already been there or Peter called CFS in this paragraph. But when CFS came to Antioch, I Paul Civs opposed him to his face because he stood condemned Paul the ever never Texel one, as he addresses this issue for prior to the coming of certain men from James. That is the leaders who came from Jerusalem that we just looked at. Here's what happened before. He used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision and the rest of the Jews join him in this hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter the presence of all, if you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews. How is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews or Jews by nature centers from among the Gentiles? Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the losses, by the works of the law. Shall no flesh be justified? You get the point. He makes it pretty clear, Dutney repeating about five or six times the point of justification.

Now, did you notice, as I read through that was caught up in this controversy? First 12. Peter used to eat with the Gentiles. His buddies with the Gentiles. He'd had the vision. He knew nothing was unclean. So he was he was over there having dinner with the Gentiles, enjoying his pork sausage and barbecue and all of that stuff. And then Jewish leaders come down to the church and he immediately think, oh, maybe I shouldn't have this.

And he wipes the sauce from his mouth and he hopes nobody saw because they've come from his home church and he didn't want to tarnish his Jewish image. And so he begins to play the part of the hypocrite. Notice who else gets caught up in this racial divide. Verse 13. The raise.

The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy. That's a that's a tragic statement that lets you know is that this church in Antioch, which has had an experience, this incredible movement of the spirit of God, is now deeply divided. Jew against Gentile. The Jews are sitting on this side of the auditorium and the Gentiles are sitting over here. There are longer fellowshipping, certainly no longer any dinner on the grounds. Little Isaac can't go over to play with Alexander because Alex's mother doesn't kosher the kitchen.

This was a deeply divisive issue in the church for the most part. Ground to a halt. But did you notice the latter part of her 13 and even Barnabus was carried away by their hypocrisy. And that's set Paul's UN companion, the man who had earlier declared that the Gentiles were indeed both standing Christian.

He got swept away in the movement.

The controversy, the passive voice of the verb carried away, indicates that while Barnabas didn't get actively involved in speaking related to this controversy, he was momentarily could translate it swept off his balance.

And you can understand because he was that loving man who encouraged people you remember as we studied him. So he looks at the Jewish community. He says, I understand how you feel. I know I'm there. And you look at the Gentiles, he does. Oh, I have trouble. And I know you want to be in. And I feel so badly. And here's poor Barnabas. He's caught in the middle. And momentarily he is swept off his balance now.

And I say momentarily, because by the time we get to X Chapter fifteen, Barnabas is again speaking for the sake of the Gentile inclusion in the church, regardless of circumcision. So we're not talking, ladies and gentlemen, about a disagreement over wallpaper or food or clothing. We're talking about a division over the nature and definition of salvation. How do you get in to the body of Christ? What do you do to be saved? How do we know that? Well, because what happened in verse 14.

When I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of barbecue. No. What does it say? The truth of what? Tell me the gospel. They're not straightforward about the truth of the gospel. I said the CFS in the presence of them all. This is a big issue. So when they had another public assembly, maybe the following Sabbath, they still worship on Saturday there in these villages, including Antioch, until acts Chapter 20, when they switch to the to the Lords. They are Sunday.

They meet in a public arena. And Paul kind of grabs Peter by the nap of the neck and stands them and says in the presence of them all. And you can certainly apply today in light of this, Peter, there will be many of the people who say you're infallible. But I want to set the record straight. You blew it. You made a big mistake. You stub your theological toe real bad.

You've been a hypocrite, he says.

Have you forgotten, Peter, verse 16, that a man is not justified by the words of the law, but to faith in Christ Jesus? Even we believe in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the worst of the law. Come on, Peter. As if he said, get it straight.

By the way, I think this public rebuke had an impact on Peter because by the time we get back to active teen, Peter's arrived and he will become a spokesman also for the sake of the Gentiles inclusion into the church without circumcision. Now, that's the introduction. Let's return back to Chapter 15.

Let's read verse one again. And so men came down from juday and began teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised, according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had great descension status, you could translate that word when they created a great uprising. This is a bruhaha. This is a this is a major happening here. A great dissension and debate with them.

The brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders concerning the issue. Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samarrah, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles. And we're bringing great joy to all the brethren. And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with him, but did kind of get this abrupt ending.

Enough of that. Now, let's get to the point. But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees would believe stood up, saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the law of Moses. And at that moment, everything kind of stopped. You need to understand it. For centuries, gentiles who became what was called proselyte to Judaism, the gentile male, would be circumcised. The synagogue for centuries had practiced this. It would be a symbolic way of this man and his family coming under the tutelage of the law of Moses, without which he would still be considered a pagan.

And outside the nation or people of God. So this was bigger than circumcision. The debate was what must I do to be safe? They wanted to add circumcision.

The landscape of the 20th century is very little different than the first century. Is that a different thing? Her movements say you must believe in Christ plus water baptism in order to be safe. You've just added a work to a free gift. It can't be both. It has to be one or the other. There are those who would say you must add acts of grace and love to faith in Christ. There are others that would say you must adhere to a certain particular church in order to be apart. There are those who would say you must believe in Christ but worship on a particular day. They've done nothing more than what these utilizers were attempting to do, and that was adding to the free gift of God through Christ alone. God, in effect, says my son died on the cross. And offers you Athenians to hate not a free gift by faith in him. God's question to you and to me is, what have you done with my son?

Well, the Apostles and Elders, verse six, came together to look into the matter.

And after there'd been much debate, you just. That's a nice, polite word, by the way, debate. But let me tell you something. These people were going after it. Here's Paul. He is defending the free gospel of Jesus Christ and he is not going to back down one inch.

And you have the Legalists who believe that these Gentiles need to become Jews before they get into the family of God. They are not backing down one inch. And this debate carries on for some time. We don't know how long. But after there had been much debate, verse seven says Peter stood up and said to them, Now stop me in awe of Peter for just a moment.

You need to understand that when Peter starts to speak, I believe all the Judaize are said, Oh, boy, here's our champion. All of a circumcised party. Wednesday is all great. Peter's. He's. He's here. He's. He's going to speak for us.

They had none of his actions. They'd known of a struggle. We've studied his struggle. The vision that God gave him this had. Peter, nothing's unclean that I declare clean. Gentiles are equal to Jews in the church.

They thought he was going to speak in favor of the law. Instead, Peter will make several points in favor of Paul's argument and he will shock his audience. I've divided his argument into three points. I know you're not surprised, but there are three.

The first relates to the presence of the Holy Spirit within the gentile community of believers. Look at the last part of her seven brethren. You know that in the early days, God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and belief in God. Who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us.

As we've been studying the Book of Acts, we came to those passages where the Gentile community received the gift, the signed gift of glossolalia tongues, which evidence what that sign gift was, too, evidence that this spirit was equally manifesting himself through the Gentile as the Jew. That would be an irrefutable argument to this. Gospel was one gentile and Jew were one. And Peter goes back in his mind that day at Cornelius, his home where Cornelius, that first leading gentile representing the nation, believed, and the spirit fell. And we read that it fell, as it did in Acts Chapter two. We don't have tons of fire. There were certain differences, but they had the audible signal or sign of speaking in tongues. Now, Peter addresses this critical moment in church history, which will define justification by faith alone or by faith, plus some act of of legalism, some act of the law. And he says, remember what happened back there at that home?

That proves to us the Holy Spirit does not consider the Gentile a second class citizen in the family of God. They are equal standing with the Jew.

That's point number one. The presence of the Holy Spirit. The second point is the forgiveness of sin. Verse nine. And he made no distinction between us and them cleansing their hearts by works. Circumcision? No. Cleansing their hearts by what? Ladies and gentlemen, faith. Point number three is the inability to save. Of the law to say that is first 10 other four. Why do you put God to the test? By placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke, which is neither our fathers, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear. In other words, you keep pointing to obedience to the law. The works of the flesh as a means to salvation. Well, who among us has ever kept the law?

You Jews are wanting to impose on the Gentiles the law. Well, OK, step forward.

Those of you that kept the law, why would you impose on something, something upon them that you have been able to keep a circle the word yoke and write in the margin your Bibles?

The reference, Matthew, chapter 11, verse twenty eight. The the yoke of the law was an unbearable burden. Rabbi Shamai had already by this time developed his extensive legalism as he was teaching in Pharisee ism all the regulations related to the Sabbath, all the regulations related to the law. They had sub points of sub points of sub points. They had prohibition upon prohibition on the Sabbath day, for instance, you could you can not carry a cheerful from one room to the next. You would be bearing a burden, therefore breaking the law. A woman would not be allowed to look in the mirror lest you be tempted to pluck a brow. The rabbis taught that would be work on the Sabbath. You couldn't lift a spoon to your mouth, weighing more than a fig that would be bearing a burden on the Sabbath.

They even debated at long length. Could a man wear a false leg or a or a set of false teeth on the Sabbath? Would he be guilty of bearing a burden?

This is what the law had become.

He's saying you want to put on the gentiles that yoke. Who among us has kept that?

The law, ladies and gentlemen, according to Paul in Romans, was a schoolmaster to reveal our inability to keep the law and to reveal our need for a sinless savior who would take our place as a guilty lawbreakers before the wrath of God.

That's why Jesus Christ said those powerful words in Matthew Chapter 11.

All you who are weary and heavy laden come to me and I will give you if you rest.

What was he talking about?

All you who are weary of working, all you are weary under the bondage of the law.

Keeping all these prohibitions, you're worn out. If you realize that, come to me and I will give you rest.

And then he says, take my yoke upon you and learn of me for my joke, he said, is easy and my burden is light.

See, that means now you have the burden of regulation and legalism and works and self effort and self preservation or all of that.

And that's hard and it's heavy. And Jesus Christ, as you come to me, let me slip my yoke upon you, my yoke so easy.

My burden is light.

He meant his salvation was easy. Why? Because he'd done all the work. All you had to do is receive it. It's free only because of we've as we've just saying.

Because he paid it all the religions of the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, we'll make salvation hard to this. Don't do that. Kneel here. Pray this. Don't go there. Say that.

And on and on. And on and on.

So do you have the yoke of religion this morning or do you have the yoke of Jesus Christ about your neck? Have you been set free as he declared he would set you free by the truth of his word? The word we are studying that clearly declares that man is justified by faith. Lord Twelvers twelve. All the multitude kept silent.

I can imagine Peter gets finished. He sits down and nobody's speaking. Were shocked. Amazed. Maybe troubled.

But then they were listening to Barnabus and Paul as they were relating with signs and wonders. Got it done. Peter provided the content of the proposition with the Gospel. Now Paul Barnabas is going to give a few illustrations, just kind of lighten everything up. And there are two. Number one, personal testimony and number, to prove three signs and wonders to James, the leading elder of the church.

We're going to have to stop and deal with him in detail later. But for now, for the sake of your notes, he stands to deliver the verdict.

And this is an incredible moment in church history. By the way, God has used the lame and not an apostle to become the leader in the Jerusalem church. He will stand and he will deliver the verdict based on what has been heard, obviously guided by the Holy Spirit. Let me give you at least two things he will say. First of all, God is moving among the gentiles. And second of all, the word of God is validating the movement. Ladies and gentlemen, don't be caught up with a movement to be swept away because there's a movement. Make sure the word of God validates the movement. James will point their attention to the scriptures as we'll look in detail next time. But you can almost hear from his words. The battle cry of the coming reformations, even to our day Soula script Torah. We see the moving of God. Now, what is the word of God's day? When Martin Luther was eventually tried by the church as a heretic in April of 15 20? One question by the brilliant Roman Catholic theologian John Eck. He was being told to recant his teachings related to justification and others. And he stood there in this trial and he said these words, listen, quote, Unless I am convicted by scripture or right reason for I trust neither the popes nor in council since they have often aired and contradicted themselves. So something coming from a guy from the inside. Unless I am thus convinced I am bound by the texts of the Bible, my conscience is captive to the word of God. I neither can nor will recant anything.

God help me. Hey, man. Wow.

Would to God that we had such courage and resolution today that you and I would live lives moved bound by the scriptures that we could say in our lives and in our church.

We are captivated by the word of God. Solar script. Torah a day.

Solar script, Torah.

The word of God must be central in our lives, in our churches and in our teaching. That's our commitment. Here at Wisdom International and with this daily broadcast called Wisdom for the Heart. Our Bible teacher, Stephen Davie, opens God's word and seeks to faithfully show you what it says and teach you how it applies to your life. I hope these daily Bible lessons are part of your routine.

If you ever miss a broadcast, you can go back and listen later at our Web site, which is Wisdom Online. Dot org. You can also install the Wisdom International app to your smartphone and take the teaching you enjoy on this broadcast wherever you go. Stephen Davie will be continuing through this vintage wisdom series from the Book of Acts on tomorrow's broadcast. So be sure and join us for that here on Wisdom for the Heart.