Lesson by Pastor John Skaggs

Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

P. O. Box 1173

Claypool, Arizona 85532

520-425-8345

Date: 07-09-00

Sermon Number: 019

Text: Acts 11:1-26

Topics Addressed in this Lesson

(Inclusion of the Gentiles, Clinging to Christ)

Our last study in the book of Acts was titled, "Seeking More Light." It had to do with Peter, a vision, a man named Cornelius, and his family. Cornelius was a non-Jew, a God-fearer, one who had been introduced to Israel’s God and to Judaism in a limited way. He had not, however, been fully converted which means he had not given himself to circumcision. Therefore, in the world of Judaism he was a second-class citizen and had to stay on the outskirts of the faith. Cornelius was a spiritually hungry man and was not content with this arrangement. He wanted to know the whole truth about God. So, he prayed constantly for enlightenment. He knocked and, as promised, God opened the door to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter would bring this knowledge to him. However, he was a Jew from the old school who would not normally associate with Gentiles. So, God prepared him for his meeting with Cornelius. He did this by sending Peter a vision revealing that the Gentiles must be treated with the same respect and concern as a Jew might be. They were not to be considered unclean; Jews and Gentiles could mingle together in close fellowship without concern. Both groups were to be taken into the church on the same basis, faith in Christ as Lord and Savior. Based upon this revelation Peter gladly preached the truth to Cornelius and others present at the time, they were saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, baptized, and added to the church.

The text we deal with today deals with the continuing problem the Jews had accepting Gentiles as equals in the church. It was still hard for them to understand how they could become full members of the Christian church without first being circumcised or becoming Jews. Our work this morning takes us into the heart of this debate.

(Acts 11:1-4 NASB) "Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. (To receive the word means they heard, understood, believed, and responded to the Gospel by trusting in Christ as Savior.) {2} And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised (Christian Jews) took issue with him, {3} saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." {4} But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying . . . ."

At this point Peter recounts the vision of the sheet and animals as well as his ministry to Cornelius and his family. He tells how they were all saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and how there were six Christian Jews who witnessed the whole thing with him. He concludes in Acts 11:17. "If God therefore gave to them the same gift (The gift of the Holy Spirit) as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" {18} And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, GOD HAS GRANTED TO THE GENTILES ALSO THE REPENTANCE THAT LEADS TO LIFE."

This last phrase is full of instruction. It tells us how men are saved, whether Jew or Gentile. Notice, Peter does not speak about the actions of men but of Divine gifts, the grace and mercy of God, bestowed upon sinners. He speaks of God giving these Gentiles the gift of repentance that leads to life. These saved Jews who, at first opposed the inclusion of the Gentiles understood what few Christians today understand, that no sinner will or can turn from his sin without God’s intervention. The unbeliever must be given the "gift" of repentance and faith toward Jesus for salvation. Let’s look at some scriptures that make it very clear that "the repentance that leads to life" does not come from men but from God as an unmerited, unearned, gift. Consider the following texts.

Acts 3:26 "For you first, (Jews) God raised up His Servant, (Jesus) and sent Him to bless you BY TURNING EVERY ONE OF YOU FROM YOUR WICKED WAYS." It is true that men are called to repentance; in fact, all men are commanded to turn from their wicked ways. But, it is equally true they will not and cannot turn on their own. God, Christ, and God the Holy Spirit, must turn the elect from their sins to Jesus or none would ever be saved. The repentance that leads to faith in Christ and, therefore, to life, is a gift from God to the sinner.

Acts 5:31 "He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Jesus came to "give" His people the gift of repentance that leads to life otherwise none would ever repent.

Look with me at the promise found in Zechariah 12:10. "And I WILL POUR OUT on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AND OF SUPPLICATION, so that they will (This gift will cause them to . . .) look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born." It is only after God "pours out the Spirit of grace and of supplication" on the sinner that he "looks" to Christ, mourns over his sin, and cries out to Him for mercy. This is the repentance that leads to life and it is a gift from God.

Finally look with me at 2 Timothy 2:25. ". . .with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps GOD MAY GRANT THEM REPENTANCE LEADING TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will." This is a text I refer to often when I am trying to prove the necessity of divine intervention in the salvation of men. It tells us that if God just sat back waiting for men to come to Him none would ever be saved. This is true for the reasons sited in the text. One, sinful man is not in his right mind. He is spiritually insane, that is, he does not think rightly about himself or God; he must be brought to his senses. Only God can do that. Second, sinful man is a slave of the devil and does his will, not God’s. Therefore, it is only when God frees the sinner from devilish bondage and enlightens his mind that he comes to his senses. Thus enlightened, he sees his sin, the judgment to come, and his need for a Savior. He has come to the knowledge the truth. And where does one go when he or she has been granted the knowledge of the truth? They repent of their sin, of course, and they go to Christ. They go to Christ because they know the truth about themselves, God, and the judgment to come. They know there is no hope for them outside of faith in Jesus. They have been given, as a gift, the repentance that leads to Him who is the way, the truth, and the life! The formerly prejudiced Jews, spoken of in our text, understood that if God had given the gift of repentance to the Gentiles they would now have to accept them as brothers and sisters in Christ. (Acts 11:18 NASB) "And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, GOD HAS GRANTED TO THE GENTILES ALSO THE REPENTANCE THAT LEADS TO LIFE."

The inclusion of the Gentiles was a really big deal in the early church. It was a big deal because of the long-standing division between the Jews and the Gentiles. It was a big deal because the Jews had always thought of themselves as the only people on earth to whom God would bestow His favors and salvation. Therefore, it was essential that the barrier between Jew and Gentile be broken down early in the history of the New Testament church. It was essential because God intended that His church be populated with people from every nation under the sun. He had determined that the gospel would be preached in the utter most parts of the world. Our text continues telling us about the process by which these barriers were finally broken down.

19} "So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, SPEAKING THE WORD TO NO ONE EXCEPT TO JEWS ALONE. {20} BUT there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the GREEKS ALSO, (uncircumcised Gentiles) preaching the Lord Jesus. {21} And the hand of the Lord was with them, (This is the only way a ministry will prosper. If the hand of the Lord does not bestow the gift of repentance that leads to life, the preaching of the Lord Jesus will not change one soul. But God did bless the preaching of the Gospel in this instance,) and a large number who believed TURNED TO THE LORD."

Verse nineteen picks up where Luke left off, in chapter eight and verse four. There he was discussing the effect of the persecution that began after Stephen was stoned to death. Saul of Tarsus was at the center of that reign of terror. (This was before his conversion of course.) The result was that Christians were scattered in every direction. Some went to Samaria (8:5, 25) and Caesarea (8:40; 10:24ff.), Damascus (9:10), Lydda, Joppa, and Sharon (9:35–36). Some of these displaced Christian Jews made their way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.

Wherever they went, these people were speaking of Christ. However, they would only share the gospel with fellow Jews! They did this because they thought it was the right thing to do. They had no way of knowing that the gospel was now being preached to and received by the Gentiles. This restricted evangelism went on for a long time. However, our text reveals that some finally began sharing the gospel with Gentiles as well. It was through the preaching of the gospel by converted Jews that the first Gentile church was born, the city was Antioch.

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Antioch was a major city, the third largest in the Empire, behind Rome and Alexandria. The Roman author Cicero described it as a place of learned men and liberal studies. But it was also a vile place, full of pagan worship and sexual immorality. It was here, in the heart of the modern world, the center of paganism, that these saved, Greek speaking Jews began preaching the "the Lord Jesus." To preach the Lord Jesus is to present the facts about His life, death and resurrection. Surely "preaching the Lord Jesus" included a discussion about the sinfulness of man and his need to trust in Jesus for forgiveness. To preach the Lord Jesus was to reveal the reason for His coming. Jesus came to save His people from their sin.

As indicated earlier this good news had been restricted to the Jews for along time. Consider these Old Testament texts. Psalms 130:7 "O Israel, hope in the LORD; For with the LORD there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities." Initially there was little said about the Gentiles, the truth came first to Israel.

Ezekiel 36:25 ¶ "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 "Moreover, I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; AND I WILL REMOVE THE HEART OF STONE FROM YOUR FLESH AND GIVE YOU A HEART OF FLESH. 27 "And I will put My Spirit within you and CAUSE you to walk in My statutes, and YOU WILL BE CAREFUL TO OBSERVE MY ORDINANCES. 28 "And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God. 29 "Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you." These words were spoken exclusively to Israel. The Jews took them to mean that God would have nothing to do with the Gentiles. But that was not true.

Now for the New Testament scriptures. John 1:29 "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" The first two references had to do with the Jews only. But here we have the inclusion of the rest of humanity. Men from every nation under the sun, sinners from all over the world, could be saved by faith in Jesus.

Acts 3:26 "For you first, (the Jew) God raised up His Servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways. 12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." God sent His truth to the Jew first but then to the Gentile as well. He did this because the people He intends to save are found in every nation on earth.

1 John 2:1 "My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; (Saved Jews) and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Once again the word world is not a reference to every man who ever existed. Rather, the statement is made for the benefit of the prejudiced Jew. Jesus blood was not shed for the Jew alone but for men and women of every nationality, people from every nation under the sun. That is the meaning of the last phrase in the reference, "not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." This is the message that was finally preached to these Gentiles. For this is the message of the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with those who preached in Antioch to the extent many were saved and a church established.

The phrase, the "hand of the Lord", is used in two different ways. It is often used to speak of God’s power in the judgment of sinful man.

(1 Samuel 12:15 NASB) ""And if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers." No man in his right mind wants the hand of the Lord to be laid upon him in judgment. For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. However, all clear thinking men do want God’s blessing and that is the second way this phrase is used in scripture.

(1 Chronicles 21:13 NASB) "And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, (Only a Christian can speak like this.) for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man."

Once again our text, (Acts 11:21 NASB) "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord." Our great and merciful God withheld His hand of judgment from these hell-deserving sinners and, instead, blessed them with a gift, the gift of repentance that leads to life. This gift only comes from the hand of God. Look with me at verse twenty-two of Acts eleven as we continue our study.

How does one witness the grace of God in a person’s life? The Bible, in John chapter three, tells us that the moving of the Spirit who brings God’s grace to sinners is like the wind. You can’t tell when it is coming or where it has come from or where it may go next. Man must be born again but the when and where of salvation is mysterious and under the Sovereign, secret, control of God. So how can one witness the grace of God if it cannot be seen? We cannot, but we can witness the effects of it in a person’s life. When one has been blessed by the hand of God with gifts of repentance and faith toward Jesus Christ there are visible changes that take place. The person who has been born again turns from his sin to Christ. He or she loves the scriptures, hates sin, loves holiness, leaves old friends and haunts behind for the fellowship of other Christians. This is how Barnabas witnessed the grace of God. These Gentiles were changed, visibly changed into Christians who began to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

When Barnabas saw that these Gentiles were born again he could do nothing but rejoice. He did not lament the fact that God was sharing His grace with people who weren’t Jewish, rather, he rejoiced and set about trying to help them. The text says he encouraged them all to, with resolute heart, remain true to the Lord. A resolute heart is one consecrated or set apart to God. It is a heart that moves with a specific, determined, purpose in a specific direction. Therefore, Barnabas was telling these people to determine with all their heart that they would remain true to the Lord. The word true is not in the original text. It was added to help explain what the author meant and it does that nicely. Barnabas encouraged these new Christians to remain true to Jesus. There was no better advice he could have given them. May I offer the same advice to you? Determine in your heart, right now, today, to continue with the Lord Jesus without deviation. Stay in the way, follow Jesus, serve Him faithfully, devote your lives to Him. Do not stray away, do not go back, do not go "a whoring after other gods." Stay true to Jesus! Such counsel is must be offered the people of God by every minister of the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be STEADFAST, IMMOVABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." Living for the Lord is a struggle, it is hard never ending work, but it won’t be wasted. The result in this life will be peace and joy in our hearts, and in the next we shall have a reward! Remain true to Jesus beloved!

Mark 10:21 "And looking at him, (The rich young ruler.) Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." Sadly the man could not follow Jesus. His wealth was in the way. Therefore, he went away sad and unsaved because he loved this world more than he loved Christ. He could not and he would not with "resolute heart remain true to Jesus." He had other gods that were dearer to him and he was, therefore, lost. May it never be so with you my friends. Determine now, determine finally, that whatever the cost, whatever the hardship, you will, by God’s grace, remain true to Christ.

Luke 9:23 "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 "For whoever wishes to save his life (to keep his life like it was before coming to Christ he) shall lose it, but whoever loses his life (gives up everything) for My sake, he is the one who will save it. 25 "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? (His never dying soul) 26 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

When Barnabas told these people to remain true to Christ he was in effect telling them to maintain and cultivate the attitude and faith of Moses. Hebrews 11:24 "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin; 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward." With resolute heart Moses remained true to Jesus. He turned his back on all that the world had to offer in order to live a life that was pleasing to God.

On this subject John McArthur wrote; "The only way to remain true to the Lord is to continue in His Word, where He reveals Himself to the believer. The apostle John wrote, "Let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father" (1 John 2:24). "If you abide in My word," Jesus said, "then you are truly disciples of Mine" (John 8:31). It is through the Word that the Holy Spirit, the resident truth teacher (1 John 2:27), instructs believers." (End Quote) The only way to remain true to the Lord is to continue in His word!

Barnabas rejoiced and encouraged these people because . . {24} ". . . he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. (The Holy Spirit within is what made him a good man.) And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord."

When people are saved they need to be discipled or educated in the ways of the Lord. One cannot stay true to the Lord if he does not know what that means. So Barnabas set about finding the one man he knew had been called specifically to minister to the Gentiles so that he could help him teach these new converts the word of God.

{25} "And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; {26} and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR THEY (Barnabas and Saul) MET WITH THE CHURCH, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called CHRISTIANS in Antioch."

Finding Saul was no easy task. Several years had passed since he fled Jerusalem for his home in Tarsus (Acts 9:30). It is likely he had been disinherited for his Christian beliefs (Phil. 3:8) and, therefore, forced to move from his home. Eventually, Barnabas found Saul, convinced him of the need in Antioch and brought him back. Together they took on the task of shepherding this large number of new believers, ignorant of truth and in a hostile, idolatrous, environment. These people had heard and responded to the gospel, now, they needed to be grounded in the rest of God’s word. Sadly this is often neglected in the modern church. People are saved only to sit for years listening to the same gospel message as the minister seeks the lost Sunday after Sunday. The saved are neglected and left to fend for themselves. They are hungry but there is no food on the table, only the milk of the Gospel, which is beautiful, but it cannot keep the Christian in a state of health, he must eat the meat of the word of God. These two men gave themselves to this great number of Christians and they, in turn, gave themselves to be taught. On Sunday morning they were present and accounted for listening carefully and therefore changing day by day. Likewise, if they had Sunday evening and Wednesday evening services, they were in attendance. They were men and women who knew they needed God’s truth which would equip them with the tools necessary to remain faithful and true to Christ. May God help the leaders of Christ’s church today to give themselves to the people of God like these two men did. And may the people who make up today’s church give themselves to their God appointed teachers for the glory of God and their own, eternal, good. Let us all with resolute hearts remain true to the Lord!