Acts 21. This evening we're going to deal
with a passage of Scripture that if the Spirit of God blesses
that passage to our heart, we'll learn much about our walk as
saints. The Apostle Paul had come to
Jerusalem, and what he did was, remember, he had purposed by,
led by the Spirit of God to go to Jerusalem. He had been taught
by God's Spirit that he was going. The Lord's Spirit put it upon
different ones to tell Paul. If you go to Jerusalem, you're
going to suffer. Paul knew that he was going to
Jerusalem. He was going to obey God. God
tries and proves His people. Well, there had been some questions
raised about Paul, and Paul wanted to make sure that the report of
his success that was wrought by the Spirit of God gave the
Lord God all the ministry. You know, we're proud people.
We'd love to kind of give ourselves a little credit and pat ourselves
on the back, want somebody to pat us on the back. And it's
by the grace of God. that a man or a woman would truly
desire for God to have the glory. The Scripture says that after
Paul had declared in verse 19, particularly, that is, one by
one, he named what the Lord had done. Call names, isn't it? Lord blessed this one, He blessed
here, He blessed there. He declared in particular. what things God had wrought among
the Gentiles by His ministry. And verse 20 says, And when they
heard it, they glorified the Lord. That is, they had a good
opinion about God's opinion to bless Paul. Now, you think about
this. Whenever you can look And you
see what God has wrought through someone else. Let me tell you
what we are. And I'm talking about believers
now. Let me tell you something about our nature. We're jealous
people. You know, and if the Lord is
blessing over someplace else, another church or something,
you know, they've got 75 new people, or this one right here
is doing this, or he's everybody's asking Him to go preach or something. We're jealous people. That's
right, ain't it, Brother Scott? We're jealous. What's wrong with
us? Why aren't we seeing more baptisms? To be able to settle down and
just say, you know what? God's blessing on a place is
not dictated by numbers. It's dictated by seeing believers
growing in the grace of God and worshiping and hearing and blessing
the Lord and thankful. That's a blessing of God that
we're still here. That we're here tonight. That's
a blessing, I'm telling you. I told you before, there's a
lot of places it's not. When they heard what the Lord
had done through the apostle Paul, they glorified the Lord. They had a good opinion. That's
a wonderful thing to say about this group of people. And they
said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there
are which believe. And they're all zealous of the
law. Now, though truly converted, and based on the opinion, the
words of James, James said, I believe the Lord saved these people.
They give a good confession. Obviously, there was some fruit
by which James and these others Looked at them, they heard, they
watched, they saw, as Peter at that time was talking about. I mean, Barnabas, he saw the
grace of God. He saw the evidence. I've said
before, I see the grace of God. I see it. It's so obvious. The Lord has blessed some folks.
And they told Paul, they said, there's thousands. God is called
out. a bunch of Jews, and they believed. They are believers, and they
are zealous for the law. Though truly converted and quickened
by God's Spirit, obviously there was some weakness and some ignorance
concerning the traditions of the past. This is what Paul had
been dealing with for quite a bit. They grew up taught. of things that were forbidden.
You don't don't eat pork. You don't do this and you don't
do that. And you observe this day and
and you've got to be circumcised to be converted. And you got
to you know, I mean, just they grew up. In that ceremonial law,
the observance of those days and the absence of things and
they and they were struggling. Which how with how much liberty
do I have? The Apostle Paul said in Romans
14, 14, I know, and I'm persuaded by the Lord Jesus. Now you think
about this. Paul is saying here, I'm persuaded,
but who persuaded me? The Lord Jesus Christ persuaded
me. That's what he said. He said, I'm persuaded by the
Lord Jesus that there's nothing unclean of itself. but to him
that esteemeth any to be unclean." To him it is unclean. Paul had
been taught some things by the Lord Himself, and Paul knew there
was nothing wrong with eating pork. But now here is a converted
Jew coming out of Judaism, coming out of tradition, coming out
of out from under those rules and regulations, you know. And
he struggled. He was struggling with some things.
You know, I wish that we could say that we all know everything
just as soon as the Lord calls us out of darkness. That we're
just grounded and we're aged and we're wise and we're taught. And I'm telling you, that's just
not the way it is. The Lord calls men and women
out of darkness. But I'm telling you, there are
some things we struggle with, some old habits. And I know that
in time, thanks be unto God, He delivers us from some of those
things. But then, you know, while we're
learning, be patient. Paul said, receive those. Paul
knew. Paul was convinced about some
things that just don't matter. It just don't matter. But they
were struggling with it. And James told him in verse 21,
They are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which
are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought
not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. James would say, Paul, listen
here. We've got some problems here.
Now, we've got some converted Jews. Raised up. Taught. Strict, strict, strict. And then the Lord, they heard
the gospel of free grace and they come out and they've just
got some old baggage. And they said, now they're hearing,
Paul, that you're saying that you're telling the Gentiles to
just forsake Moses, that they shouldn't be circumcised. And
you know what? These accusations, they weren't
true. There's no Scripture that backs up what was being said
right here. You know, they were falsely accusing
Paul. Now, the Apostle Paul did teach. that neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision availeth anything." That is towards salvation. Has
no power. When it says availeth anything,
has no power whatsoever. Circumcision, uncircumcision. You know, if the Apostle Paul,
you remember there was two men. Circumcision was a big deal.
Timothy was one. that Paul circumcised. Now, Timothy
was a Gentile. And this Gentile, God had called
out of darkness, and this Gentile was going to be traveling with
Paul, and he was going to be going into places, into the tabernacle. And there were some Jews in here.
Now, some converted Jews. Paul wasn't trying to please
unconverted Jews. He wasn't trying to cater to
them. As I said before, you're not
going to cater to a goat. I mean, they're not going to
put up with you anyway, so what difference does it make? But
there were some converted Jews that Timothy was going to be
preaching to, a Gentile. Now, these Jews, converted Jews,
had come up in Judaism, and they're struggling, you know. And here's going to come a Gentile,
an uncircumcised Gentile, into the synagogues, you know. so that there wouldn't be an
unnecessary obstacle. Timothy wasn't trying to establish
a righteousness before God by being circumcised. He was a Gentile.
It wasn't a big deal with Timothy. Paul circumcised him. Why? To remove any obstacles, any
unnecessary. Was it really going to matter?
Whether or not Timothy was circumcised or not, no, no. But it might be just in the back
of their mind a hindrance to these Jews that the Lord hadn't
settled on some things. And Paul was not going to let
there be an issue over something that wasn't an issue. Now, when
Titus came to some Jews, Said, unless this man right here is
circumcised, he can't be saved. And Paul says, no way. I ain't
going to do it. You try to make this an issue
of salvation or justification before God, and I'm not going
to do it. No, sir. Now, let me tell you, if you
want to, you want something that, you know, you do or don't do
or something like that, and it's just something. that to you,
out of a conscience, you don't feel right about it, or you do
feel right about it, and it's not trying to establish any righteousness
before God, that's fine. That's fine. But if you tell
me, well, now I'll tell you this, I'm saved because I don't go
to the picture show on Sunday. I'm going to say, well, I'm going
to tell you something. If you think that's your righteousness before God,
there's none. If you tell me, I don't want to go to the picture
show because I just don't care to. Don't do it. If you're going to make it an
issue of salvation or justification before God, that's the difference.
These fellows said, Paul, they're saying that you teach the Gentiles
to forsake Moses and don't circumcise your kids. Paul said in Romans 3.28, therefore,
we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law. The law. When we say the law,
you know we use that word a lot. The law. What do we mean? Well,
it means a principle, a custom. The Lord gave the law, the command,
the demand for action. That's what it is. A law. The
law. And this law that was given to
Moses concerning sacrifices and all the rules to be observed
by the nation of Israel, these laws were never given by God
to Moses to establish a righteousness before God by being kept. God
never gave those laws. God set forth the law of God
to show them. That they fell short. To show
them the law pointed a believer to Christ. The law was our schoolmaster. To show us this is God's demand. And also this is what you can't
keep. This is the exhibition. of God's demand for perfection,
thou shalt not. You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart." Who's ever done that save Christ? Nobody. Nobody. This is the law. Paul, they're saying that you
told the Gentiles, you forsake Moses, don't circumcise your
kids, don't walk after the customs. The law was set forth. to show us our need of a substitute,
our need of a head, a federal head, one who would walk and
act and obey for us. So when they accused Paul of
telling these Gentiles that they should apostatize or forsake
Moses the law, Paul was being misquoted. He never told them
that. Listen, there was nothing wrong
with the law. Paul never said just, you know,
forsake it. No, what he said was by the deeds
of it, you're not going to be justified. That's what he told
him. Turn over to Romans 7.7. Romans 7.7. You know, what they do is these
fellows, they'll take what somebody says and they twist it around.
And, you know, they change it up. You preach sovereign, distinguishing,
electing grace. And what man will hear? They
hear that. They hear that God chooses and
God selects and God predestinates. And then somebody will surmise
and they'll say, well, wait a minute. What you're saying is God's not
fair. I said, no, I didn't say that. God said, I'm a just God. That means I'm fair. But He said
that I choose whomsoever I will. You know, men hear what they
hear and they say what they thought they heard or what they wanted
you to say to use it against you. That's what they did. Paul
said in Romans 7, 7, what shall we say? Is the law sin? These
fellows had said, Paul was telling the Gentiles You just apostatized. Just the law is no good. God forbid now. I had not known
sin, but by the law, for I had not known lust, except the law
had said, Thou shalt not covet. Look at verse 12. Wherefore,
the law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good. Let me ask you this. Is the law
the cause of sin? is the law, you know. The law is not at fault because
it uncovers my evil thoughts and deeds. The law is not at
fault. I'm telling you, if I go past
a stop sign at 40 miles an hour, it's not that stop sign's fault.
I could say, well, now, I wouldn't have broke the law if the stop
sign hadn't have been there. Well, now, that's just your You
know, trying to justify it? No. The law is not at fault. I'm at fault. The problem is
not the law. The problem is sin. That sinful
nature that deceives me into thinking that I can keep the
law. The law is holy and just and
good. The problem is my inability to
keep the law. Look at verse 11 of Romans 7. taken occasion by the commandment,
deceived me, and by it slew me." Well, these elders back in Acts
21, they said, Paul, we've got a problem here. We've got some
folks that are called out of darkness. They're zealous of
the law. And they're struggling with some
things, Paul. You know, we've got some folks
that's telling them That you're telling the Gentiles to forsake
Moses and saying that you shouldn't circumcise your children and
neither don't walk after the custom. And then verse 22 says,
do therefore. No, I'm sorry. Verse 22. What
is it therefore? The multitude must needs come
together, for they will hear that thou art come. The elders
telling Paul, Paul, what do we need to do? That's what they're
asking. What is it there for? Paul, we've
got a problem here. We've got some confusion. There's
going to be a great number. They're going to come together.
They're going to want to know what you have to say. You know, this
is the true heart of a believer. What do we need to do? These elders knew that Paul was
a man taught of God. They knew that the Lord had spoken
to and through this man. Jeremiah 3.15, we quote this,
I will give you pastors according to my heart which will feed you
with knowledge and understanding. It's comforting to be able, it's
comforting for a believer to be able to speak to a believer
that they've got some confidence in and to ask them. I've told
you before, do you have any idea how comforting it is for a younger
pastor to be able to talk to an elder pastor and ask him,
what do you think? I wonder how many times I've
asked Brother Scott. Brother Scott, what's your opinion
on this thing? And I'm telling you, I'm listening. I want to
hear. This man, I said before, he didn't,
you know, he didn't come off of a watermelon truck last night.
He'd been around the block. That's what James is saying.
We've got thousands of believers, Jewish believers, and out of
a conscience, not trying to establish a righteousness, but out of a
consciousness and a conscience for wanting to be obedient to
the Lord. They don't want to offend the
Lord. And they're struggling with this stuff. And now they've
got fellows coming here telling them that you told the Gentiles
Don't be fooled with the law of God. Don't circumcise your
kids. Don't do this. Paul, what are we going to do? Ministers of the Word are a blessing
from God. Immeasurable worth because if they're called of God, they're
going to point you to Christ. And whenever you have something
in your mind and you're struggling with it and you're wondering
where the lines are, they point you to Him. Boy, how many times
have I found myself with current events in the world. This is happening and that's
happening. And I'm trying to, you know, in my flesh, you know,
I let my emotions get this way and that way. And then I, first
of all, have a good talk to myself. And just say, wait a minute.
Wait a minute. Marvin, you're the pastor that
stands up and quotes Romans 8.28, almost every message. All things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
called according to His purpose. You know, that preaches real
easily until I have to be reminded of it. And then I talk to myself. I say, wait a minute. Is God
in control or is He not? Does the Lord rule and reign
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
or does he not? Is all authority of God, or is it not? Paul, what
are we going to do? The multitude, Jews and Gentiles,
believers, Jewish and Gentile believers, are going to come
together. And the Gentiles, they think the Gentiles are being
told one thing. The Jews are struggling over here. Paul, what
are we going to do? These pastors, they looked at
Paul. He was a man chosen, called,
taught by God's Spirit to be a teacher. These pastors, they feed the
sheep according to God's good purpose with that which is absolutely
profitable to their soul. It's the knowledge of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He points you to Christ. What
are we going to do? Point a man to Christ. What's going on? Point him to Christ. What do
I do now? Point him to Christ. Three things in closing that
I learned from this passage. Three things that I learned from
this passage. Let me share them with you. And I mean to tell you this is
something that I need to learn. I need to learn it. I need to
relearn it. I need to be taught it again. And I need to learn
it and learn it and learn it. Number one, though regenerated
by the grace of God, by God's Spirit, the plague of my old
sinful prejudices are still there. Though called out of darkness,
doubts are still there. Fears are still there. Thousands
believed in their zealous of the law. These believers had the light
of Christ. They saw Christ. They believed Christ. That's
a believer. They believed God. That's what the Scripture says
about Abraham. Abraham believed God. Not believed
in God. The devils believe that there's
a God. But a believer believes that
God Almighty is ruling in the army of heaven among the inhabitants
of the earth for His glory and for the good of His people, because
He has everlastingly loved them. They believed God. They saw Christ, but they were
weak in the faith, and they failed to perceive the fullness that
all of these former ceremonies that they had been going through
were fulfilled and they ended with Christ. They struggled to know where
the lines were is what I'm saying. And until the Spirit of God frees
a man in his heart from these former thoughts, he, because
of his desire to not be offensive to the Lord, is going to wrestle
with some things. Be patient with him. That's all
I'm saying. You know whether or not he's setting forth that
he's trying. If a man comes to me and tells me that he knows
that he's a believer because he has exercised his free will
and has accepted Jesus as his personal Savior, and he's a Christian
now because he has exercised his free will, I'm going to tell
you something. That man is telling me that he
has established his own righteousness before God. I know the difference. between hearing a man trying
to establish a righteousness before God and a man telling
me, well, to be honest with you, I just think that it's better
if I don't mow my grass on Sunday. I just don't think it's respectful.
I know the difference. We're called out of darkness
by the grace of God, but God teaches us along the way And
along the way, you're going to find that our liberty in Christ
becomes more obvious. But it's got to be obvious to
me. Paul was taught by the Lord Jesus Christ, and He'll teach
all of us. The second thing I need to learn is this. Satan, the
world, and especially and obviously to me, unsaved religionists,
hate the gospel of free grace. Verse 21 says, They are informed
of thee that thou teachest all the Jews that are among the Gentiles
to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise
their children, neither to walk after the customs. Men are going
to go about to establish their own righteousness, and they are
opposed to the imputed righteousness of Christ. These unbelievers
were trying to start trouble by saying, You don't love God
because you don't keep the law of Moses anymore. All they're
saying is we do. That's all in the world they
were saying. We do and you don't. They consider faithful preachers
of the gospel to be their enemies, and they're going to do everything
in the world they can to discredit them. And the way that one is revealed
to be a hater of the gospel is by his attitude toward the gospel,
I'll tell you that. Thirdly and lastly, This is the
third thing I need to learn. The believer in Christ desires
for the peace of God to reign among the brethren. I want that. Verse 22, What is it therefore,
Paul? What are we going to do? The
multitude must needs come together, for they will hear that thou
art come. What needs to be done, Paul,
to remove these obstacles? We've got some things that just
are not, they're not issues. It's not the gospel. And Paul,
they've got little, they've got this, that, and the other, and
they just, you know. The multitude must needs come together, you
know. Jew and Gentiles called out of
spiritual darkness. And these old prejudices, Paul,
They hang on the best of men, and they've got to be dealt with.
Turn to James 3. James chapter 3. James 3. Now, James, let me tell
you something. While you're turning to James
3, let me just read you who James wrote this to. James 1.1. James,
the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve
tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. God Almighty has a spiritual
Israel. And James is writing to God's
people. James 3.13. James 3.13 says this, Who is a wise man and endued
with knowledge among you? Who is wise? Let him show out
of a good conversation his works with meekness and wisdom." Okay,
if you want to see the exhibition of some wisdom of a wise man. But if you have bitter envying
and strife in your hearts, glory not, lie not against the truth. The wisdom, this wisdom, descendeth
not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where
envying and strife is, there's confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy, good works, without
partiality, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace of them that make peace." Paul, we've got
some problems. There's just some folks that
are just unsure. What do we do? Paul, tell us
what we do. Well, I can tell you this, there's
only one thing that's going to be blessed to the settling of
the heart. I can tell you this, and that's
to set forth the glory of God in the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let your focus be on Him. He
is our life. He's our message. Only the Spirit
of God is going to be able to teach a man that which is profitable. The bottom line is this. What
is important? That's the bottom line. If you
left this world tonight, if this is the last time you ever heard
a message, last breath, you're getting ready to take your last
breath, let me ask you this. What matters? What matters? what you think of Christ. God's
glory. God's honor. Only the Gospel
is going to be blessed to the glory of God. Only the Gospel.
The glorious Gospel of free grace. That's the message that all believers
agree on. And therein you find peace. Psalm 133. Behold how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Paul, we've got some problems. What are we going to do? You
preach Christ, and that Word is not going to return void.
It's going to accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.
What's it going to do? It's going to settle the heart
of God's people, because that's all they want to hear. Worrying
about contentions and strifes and stuff. You preach Christ.
You hear Christ. And I'm telling you, the Spirit
of God will settle your heart.