Watershed #5 | Pastor Bill Meiter | September 22, 2024 | Arizona Community Church | https://az.church | Online giving: https://az.church/give
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JERUSALEM COUNCIL… IS CIRCUMCISION NECESSARY
BEING CLEAR ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS

TODAY’S PASSAGE
Acts 15:6-11 ESV… The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And
after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, 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 believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just
as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that
neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the
grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

BEING CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT REALLY MATTERS
1. God is not a God of confusion… 1 Corinthians 14:31
2. Being confused can be dangerous… Judges 7:19-22
3. God used confusion as a form of divine judgment… Genesis 11:5-7
4. The first-ever church council cleared up a lot of confusion… Acts 15:6-11

HOW THE 1ST EVER CHURCH COUNCIL BROUGHT GREAT CLARITY
1. The Judiaizers were creating confusion in the early church… Galatians 1:6-7
2. Paul stood strong regarding those creating the confusion… Acts 15:1-2
3. The Jerusalem council got it 100% right!
4. We are justified by faith apart from works… Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16

CIRCUMCISION AND THE SABBATH
1. Physical circumcision pointed forward to spiritual circumcision… Colossians 2:11-12; Romans 2:28-29
2. The Sabbath finds its fulfillment in Christ… Colossians 2:16-17
3. Jesus offered spiritual rest from tirelessly trying to obey the law for salvation… Matthew 11:28-30
4. Paul warns of the danger of returning the law… Galatians 5:2-4
5. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ… Galatians 5:2-4
6. The thief on the cross was justified by faith alone… Luke 23:39-42

THE TAKE AWAY FROM THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL
1. The Jerusalem Council did ask the gentiles for a couple of things… Acts 15:19-21
2. Christ tore down the dividing wall between Jew and gentile… Ephesians 2:14-16
3. Paul says it’s not good to do anything that causes your brother to stumble.. Romans 14:21
4. The call of the gospel is to die to self… Luke 9:23-24

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why is the Jerusalem council so important?
2. What do church creeds, confessions, & councils protect against?
3. What is the Protestant understanding of justification?
4. How might you die to self this week?

TN: Does This Really Matter To God?