Acts_11

Acts_11
10/12/08

Acts_11
I. Review
A. Salvation came to the household of Cornelius and the door of Salvation was opened to gentiles.
1. Peter in a vision was instructed not to consider what God has cleansed common or unclean.
2. The Holy Spirit came upon the gentiles gathered in the house of Cornelius as Peter preached the gospel to them, the same way it had on the Jewish believers at Pentecost.
a. Seeing this Peter and those who accompanied him realized that there was no distinction between Jew and gentile in Gods eyes and so they also baptized them (a sign or recognition or identity).
II. Words of criticism or accusation travel fast and so the story continues in ch-11.
Acts 11:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,
3 saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”
A. That the gentiles had heard the word of God and responded to the gospel is good news, and as the report of this gets back to Jerusalem the report is received with mixed emotions.
1. The problem is not that the gospel was preached to the gentiles but that Peter and those with him went into the homes of gentiles and ate with them.
a. Peter going into the house of and eating with gentiles was undoubtedly very shocking to his Jewish brethren.
(1) Eating with them was a sign of acceptance and fellowship.
(2) In the thinking of the Jewish mind the world's population was divided into two groups:
(a) Jews and Gentiles.
i) And instead of seeing themselves as a light unto the Gentiles, Jews saw Gentiles as people to be despised and avoided at all costs.
ii) At this time even Jewish Christians were rooted in traditional Judaism no doubt appalled at Peter's contact with the gentiles.
(b) We are to be salt and light in this world, and not an exclusive social club (separate but not exclusive).

Matthew 5:13-16 (NKJV)
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
B. Peter makes his defense.
Acts 11:4-17 (NKJV)
4 But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying:
5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me.
6 When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air.
7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’
8 But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’
9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’
10 Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.
11 At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea.
12 Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.
13 And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter,
14 who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning.
16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
1. In response to the accusation Peter repeated the details of the vision he had seen.
a. That Luke records this completely when it is essentially a repetition of what was recorded in chapter-10 underscores it's significance.
(1) Luke would probably be writing on a scroll
(a) The longest scrolls would be about 35 feet long because anything longer would be too big to handle.
(b) So space was limited and yet this was important enough to use up that much space by repeating what was already recorded in the previous chapter.
(2) It would seem that God wants us to catch this idea that what He makes clean is clean indeed.
Colossians 3:8-11 (NKJV)
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
(a) How wonderful to know that man can be righteous in God's eyes based on what Christ has accomplished for us and not on what race we are.
Romans 8:1 (NKJV)
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Philippians 3:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
(b) Our salvation is an incredible thing and we ought to walk in it and accept His forgiveness.
2. We also see the wisdom Peter exercised in that knowing he was headed to the house of a gentile (though unsure of what awaited him there) he took six men with him to witness what would transpire.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NKJV)
22 Abstain from every form of evil. (could be translated all appearance of evil)

C. His defense is basically this wasn't my idea, I didn't put this together, God did it, God confirmed it, and who am I to argue with God.
1. Their response to his defense:
Acts 11:18 (NKJV)
18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
a. They were reverentially silent, there were no more objections.
b. It would seem that the lights are starting to go on to the Jewish Christians that God had indeed removed the barriers between Jew and Gentile and that the gospel was to be preached to all the world.
III. Barnabas and Saul at Antioch
Acts 11:19-24 (NKJV)
19 Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only.
20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch.
23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
A. Persecution that arose following the stoning of Stephen caused the church to scatter and travel as far as Phoenicia (southern part of present day Israel on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea).
1. Cyprus is an Island off the coast of modern day Syria, and Antioch.
B. The Christians that scattered still spoke only to Jews but all of that would change in Antioch, which would become the base for missionary work in gentile territory.
1. Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire (population ~500k)
2. It was dedicated to the Greek goddess Daphne (the river nymph) who was pursued by Apollo's.
a. And was perhaps the most immoral city in the Roman Empire with the exception perhaps of Corinth.
3. And it was here in Antioch that Christians were first called Christians (as we shall see in vv26).
C. When they heard that that people were being saved in Antioch the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to check it out.
1. And we see that Barnabas lived up to his name "son of consolation or encouragement".
2. He encouraged them to continue in the Lord with purpose or dedication of heart (not merely intellectual knowledge)
D. And we see the testimony of what kind of man Barnabas was.( 24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. )
IV. Barnabas looks around and sees a need for some help.
Acts 11:25-26 (NKJV)
25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul.
26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
A. In the midst of all these gentiles he says I know just the guy and sets off to find Saul whom he left in Tarsus perhaps as many as eight years earler.
1. Someone to teach them(evangelism, exhortation, teaching vv20,23,26).
2. Barnanbas doesn't have to be the main guy, what an attribute.
a. What a difference when we work together, assisting each other, exercising our gifts.
(1) Parenting class was great (The instructor had a gift, what if he didn't use it?)
(2) How many of you believe you have parenting all figured out, how many know you need help? (why were only 9 there, what if babysitters was a problem?)
(a) What a cool thing that there are those that want to assist others, so that the whole body is benefitted.
V. Relief sent to the church in Judea
Acts 11:27-30 (NKJV)
27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch.
28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar.
29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.
30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
A. Prophecy comes from the mind or heart of God and it is given to provoke some sort of action.
1. In this case it is a warning of troubled times ahead.
2. So the church in Antioch went in to action upon hearing the prophecy (let's do something for them- and not looking out for only themselves)
a. This was an act and expression of love, what a difference we can make when we love each other, and it manifests itself through our actions and not merely our words.
b. No doubt this bound these two churches together.
(1) What a blessing to know that churches still do this kind of thing.
(2) We are the beneficiary of other churches blessing us through faithful prayer, encouragement, even financially because they love us and God has put us on their hearts in times of need.
(a) What an awesome God and what an awesome body Jesus has made us part of.
(b) It is sad to me, that so many don't understand what the church is, they don't benefit from it the way God intended, and they seem to be full of criticism as they move from place to place looking for what pleases them, rather than enjoying what God is providing.
(c) Church isn't a spectator sport, and every Christian has a part to play, work to do, help to be received, and help to give...