The New Holy, pt 2
Fully Devoted: A Study in Acts • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsThrough Jesus we all share in the power and the privilege of the Holy Spirit.
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Introduction
Introduction
(Scripture Reading?)
Two Incredibly important things happen in this passage:
There is a seismic theological shift.
Gentiles are granted full inclusion into the church, the body of Christ, without limitation.
This is the onramp which will lead to the church’s missionary efforts to fulfill Jesus’ call in to take the gospel not only to Jerusalem and Samaria, but now to the ends of the earth.
People get saved.
We can never lose the forest for the trees.
Never forget the grand narrative of human history - God has a redemptive plan for all of humanity and creation.
2
Recap:
God, through Jesus, makes the unclean clean.
Rules were changed.
There is a power that changed the rules.
Only God has the power to change the rules
God’s Word is the final word on holiness.
You cannot make a difference IN the world if you are not different FROM the world.
What we will see today:
**Through Jesus we all share in the power and the privilege of the Holy Spirit. **
3) The gospel prevents racism and promotes reconciliation.
3) The gospel prevents racism and promotes reconciliation.
1) Gospel prevents racismGospel reminds us of our humanity - we are not separated from God because of our culture, our race, our skin color. We are separated from God because we are sinful humans. There is a beauty and beast in that statement:We are ALL made in God’s image - human. Problem is, when you picture God you probably picture a God like you. God is no more Asian than he is African-American. There is no race that has a claim on an image of God because EVERY race is made in his image. Every race and culture is just as valuable as the other. The beast is we all share commonality in our sinfulness - no one race is better than another. - Tower of Babel - people were one culture, one language, with one problem - Pride. God confuses the languageCultures and races splitGod always intended to bring the cultures and races back together. - God chooses Abraham and tells him he will be a blessing to all the cultures that are now scatteredRevelation 5 - Around God’s throne there will be people from every tribe, tongue, and nation - praising God for his salvation through the gospel.
Since sin separated the races, it is the gospel which unites the races.
— God will accept anyone of any race or ethnicity that calls on him in faith — this is not new - Egyptians, Ruth, Samaritan?, Roman Centurion, etc — despite what some believed, Jews were not considered righteous before God simply because they were born ethnically a Jew or even because they followed Jewish dietary or other laws, Every Jew - and every person for that matter - is declared righteous based on their faith and belief in a God and on this side of the cross, Jesus. (Ex - Abraham)
2) Not only does the gospel prevent racism, it promotes reconciliation.This section is not only about the ecclesiological shift of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the New Testament church (if that were the case, the angel would have evangelized Cornelius); it is about a personal shift of those inside the church to publicly recognize and display gospel reconciliation.God didn’t have Cornelius come to Peter, he had Peter GO to CorneliusThis wasn’t a passive acceptance of racial integration in the church, it was an active pursuit to share one faith, one Lord, one baptism with people outside of our culture and comfort zone. ILLUST - Many of us would not have a problem moving over in our pew to allow someone of a different race or culture sit next to us, but have you ever thought of how you might befriend someone of a different race or culture so that you might invite them to that open seat next to you? Who are the people you shy away from? Look down on? (they deserve what they get?)
Maybe you need to go to Devon Oasis Vision Trip.
If we truly believe the gospel then the church should be at the forefront of all societal problems as a shining example of what works.standing for all life (born and unborn)addiction recoveryadoption / fostercarehelping the disabledhelping disadvantagedracial reconciliation(stay tuned for upcoming sermon series)**Only Jesus can fully cure racismA truly gospel people will not only avoid racism but seek out reconciliation of all people groups regardless of color, culture, or economic status for the gospel of Jesus. Social structures tend shuffle people from one location to another and call it integration. Only the gospel can truly accomplish that which needs to be integrated - the human heart with its Creator.
ILLUST - In 1947, William Levitt of Levitt & Sons began building mass-produced, affordable housing for veterans returning from World War II. - first suburban community - stipulation was ‘only whites.’ Several years later, Morris Milgrom developed a mirror suburban community about ten miles away with the intended purpose to create a racially integrated community. Sounded good, and started well; however, even then racial quotas were established to ‘force’ integration and African-Americans were often vetted to make sure they would not make the white people uncomfortable. Moving people of different races into closer proximity does not complete integration, because the problem is not a location issue, it is a heart issue.
(Piggot, W. Benjamin, and W. Benjamin Pigott. "The "Problem" of the Black Middle Class: Morris Milgram's Concord Park and Residential Integration in Philadelphia's Postwar Suburbs." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 132, no. 2 (2008): 173-90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20093996.)
Only the gospel can truly cure racism (and will!) and gospel people should be examples of promoting that now!
-4544 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
4) The internal work of the Spirit replaces the external rules of the Law.
4) The internal work of the Spirit replaces the external rules of the Law.
The confirmation that the Gentiles would now be included as a part of the church was the fact that they had received the Holy Spirit, not that they had begun to follow the laws and regulations of the Mosaic Covenant.Without Jesus, the Old Covenant would never have become new and we would never have been able to fully become the people of God.
God has broken down the physical distinctions that separated the people of God from the rest of the world. The physical separation of the people of God for the advancement of Gods redemptive plan was no longer necessary. That which unites the people of God is no longer the external law but the internal spirit
Conclusion
Conclusion
Being Fully Devoted means we are to live separate lives - not based on race, but based on holiness. How is God calling you to separate from the world today? To become holy in an unholy world?How is God calling you to promote racial reconciliation?
The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
• Jews view of Gentiles:
Gentiles were considered pagans
If a Jewish man married a Gentile woman, the Jewish family held a funeral for the young man.
Some Jews even stated that God had created Gentiles as fuel for hell.
Judah ben Ilai suggests that the recital "Blessed be thou ... Who has not made me a gentile" should be performed daily.
2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai: “The best of the Gentiles should be killed.”
Judah ben Ilai suggests that the recital "Blessed be thou ... Who has not made me a gentile" should be performed daily.
Likewise, the Gentiles hated the Jews and saw them as only good for slave material.
God needed to prepare Peter to bridge the centuries-old gap between the Jew and the Gentile, and the vision on the rooftop and a long walk was just the thing.
The nation of Israel had been chosen by God to be exclusive in holiness and witness
We must never let the fact that we have been chosen by God, chosen before the foundation of the world, to elicit in us any sort of pride or elitism. To do so is to negate our spiritual purpose as a witness for Christ.
ILLUST - imagine a premier golf coach was planning to showcase his unique method of turning any level of golfer into that of a professional level.
Suppose he chose me. How silly would it be for me to boast that this coach has chosen me (therefore I must be special) when the criteria for choosing me was the fact that I was NOT special so that he might display his greatness as a coach.
Peter filled in the blanks and saw that God was doing a new thing. God wasn’t just redrawing the lines around the Law he was redrawing the lines around the people of God.
>> Cornelius describes his vision
,
34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), (not just of the Jews) 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea . . . 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
How many of you are 100% Jewish?
• If not, then you are here because of what happened here.
The gospel has been shared with non-Jews before, but here is where we find that Gentiles are included as a part o the church - the people of God - without needing to be circumcised and follow all the Jewish law and traditions.
3) The gospel prevents racism and promotes reconciliation.
3) The gospel prevents racism and promotes reconciliation.
1) Gospel prevents racism
• Gospel reminds us of our humanity - we are not separated from God because of our culture, our race, our skin color. We are separated from God because we are sinful humans.
• There is a beauty and beast in that statement:
• We are ALL made in God’s image - human. Problem is, when you picture God you probably picture a God like you. God is no more Asian than he is African-American. There is no race that has a claim on an image of God because EVERY race is made in his image. Every race and culture is just as valuable as the other.
The reason racism is so sinfully disgusting is because it attacks the very image of God in man.
• The beast is we all share commonality in our sinfulness - no one race is better than another.
- Tower of Babel - people were one culture, one language, with one problem - Pride.
• God confuses the language
• Cultures and races split
• God always intended to bring the cultures and races back together.
- God chooses Abraham and tells him he will be a blessing to all the cultures that are now scattered
- Around God’s throne there will be people from every tribe, tongue, and nation - praising God for his salvation through the gospel.
God is the Creator of all
God shows no partiality,
Jesus is the Lord of all
Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all),
The Gospel is the same for all.
everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Since sin separated the races, it is the gospel which unites the races.
Ephesians 2:11-16
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
For the Jew, this language of Paul was not simply far-fetched metaphor when he says Jesus has broken down the dividing wall of hostility:
Temple was made of a series of courts which became smaller and smaller.
Only certain people were allowed into certain courts.
More exclusive as you moved in.
Court of the Gentiles - outermost court
Court for women
Court for Israelite men
Court for Priests
Holy of Holies - Reserved for the high priest once a year
**Only Jesus can truly heal racism
Social structures tend shuffle people from one location to another and call it integration. Only the gospel can truly accomplish that which needs to be integrated - the human heart with its Creator.
ILLUST - In 1947, William Levitt of Levitt & Sons began building mass-produced, affordable housing for veterans returning from World War II. - first suburban community - stipulation was ‘only whites.’ Several years later, Morris Milgrom developed a mirror suburban community about ten miles away with the intended purpose to create a racially integrated community. Sounded good, and started well; however, even then racial quotas were established to ‘force’ integration and African-Americans were often vetted to make sure they would not make the white people uncomfortable. Moving people of different races into closer proximity does not complete integration, because the problem is not a location issue, it is a heart issue.
(Piggot, W. Benjamin, and W. Benjamin Pigott. "The "Problem" of the Black Middle Class: Morris Milgram's Concord Park and Residential Integration in Philadelphia's Postwar Suburbs." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 132, no. 2 (2008): 173-90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20093996.)
Only the gospel can truly cure racism (and will!) and gospel people should be examples of promoting that now!
We must never let the fact that we have been chosen by God, chosen before the foundation of the world, to elicit in us any sort of pride or elitism. To do so is to negate our spiritual purpose as a witness for Christ.
ILLUST - imagine a premier golf coach was planning to showcase his unique method of turning any level of golfer into that of a professional level.
Suppose he chose me. How silly would it be for me to boast that this coach has chosen me (therefore I must be special) when the criteria for choosing me was the fact that I was NOT special so that he might display his greatness as a coach.
— God will accept anyone of any race or ethnicity that calls on him in faith
— this is not new - Egyptians, Ruth, Samaritan?, Roman Centurion, etc
— despite what some believed, Jews were not considered righteous before God simply because they were born ethnically a Jew or even because they followed Jewish dietary or other laws, Every Jew - and every person for that matter - is declared righteous based on their faith and belief in a God and on this side of the cross, Jesus. (Ex - Abraham)
2) Not only does the gospel prevent racism, it promotes reconciliation.
• This section is not only about the ecclesiological shift of the inclusion of the Gentiles into the New Testament church (if that were the case, the angel would have evangelized Cornelius); it is about a personal shift of those inside the church to publicly recognize and display gospel reconciliation.
• God didn’t have Cornelius come to Peter, he had Peter GO to Cornelius
• This wasn’t a passive acceptance of racial integration in the church, it was an active pursuit to share one faith, one Lord, one baptism with people outside of our culture and comfort zone.
ILLUST - Many of us would not have a problem moving over in our pew to allow someone of a different race or culture sit next to us, but have you ever thought of how you might befriend someone of a different race or culture so that you might invite them to that open seat next to you?
Who are the people you shy away from? Look down on? (they deserve what they get?)
The nation of Israel had been chosen by God to be exclusive in holiness and witness
We must never let the fact that we have been chosen by God, chosen before the foundation of the world, to elicit in us any sort of pride or elitism. To do so is to negate our spiritual purpose as a witness for Christ.
ILLUST - imagine a premier golf coach was planning to showcase his unique method of turning any level of golfer into that of a professional level.
Suppose he chose me. How silly would it be for me to boast that this coach has chosen me (therefore I must be special) when the criteria for choosing me was the fact that I was NOT special so that he might display his greatness as a coach.
Maybe you need to go to Devon Oasis Vision Trip.
If we truly believe the gospel then the church should be at the forefront of all societal problems as a shining example of what works.
• standing for all life (born and unborn)
• addiction recovery
• adoption / fostercare
• helping the disabled
• helping disadvantaged
• racial reconciliation
(stay tuned for upcoming sermon series)
**Only Jesus can fully cure racism
• A truly gospel people will not only avoid racism but seek out reconciliation of all people groups regardless of color, culture, or economic status for the gospel of Jesus.
•
ILLUST - In 1947, William Levitt of Levitt & Sons began building mass-produced, affordable housing for veterans returning from World War II. - first suburban community - stipulation was ‘only whites.’ Several years later, Morris Milgrom developed a mirror suburban community about ten miles away with the intended purpose to create a racially integrated community. Sounded good, and started well; however, even then racial quotas were established to ‘force’ integration and African-Americans were often vetted to make sure they would not make the white people uncomfortable. Moving people of different races into closer proximity does not complete integration, because the problem is not a location issue, it is a heart issue.
(Piggot, W. Benjamin, and W. Benjamin Pigott. "The "Problem" of the Black Middle Class: Morris Milgram's Concord Park and Residential Integration in Philadelphia's Postwar Suburbs." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 132, no. 2 (2008): 173-90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20093996.)
Only the gospel can truly cure racism (and will!) and gospel people should be examples of promoting that now!
8
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
4) The gospel replaces the external rules of the Law the internal work of the Spirit
4) The gospel replaces the external rules of the Law the internal work of the Spirit
Two things happening:
Work of the Holy Spirit is the entrance to the church.
Work of the Holy Spirit is the entrance to the church.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
“By their fruits you shall know them”
This does not mean that if anyone displays ANY fruit of the Spirit at ANY ONE time that it is evidence of their salvation.
It does mean that someone who is saved WILL display an increasing measure of the fruit of the Spirit in their life.
ILLUST - An unhealthy tree may have a good fruit or two on it. But a healthy tree will be characterized by its good fruit.
• The confirmation that the Gentiles would now be included as a part of the church was the fact that they had received the Holy Spirit, not that they had begun to follow the laws and regulations of the Mosaic Covenant.
Without Jesus, the Old Covenant would never have become new and we would never have been able to fully become the people of God.
God has broken down the physical distinctions that separated the people of God from the rest of the world. The physical separation of the people of God for the advancement of Gods redemptive plan was no longer necessary. That which unites the people of God is no longer the external law but the internal spirit
Work of the Holy Spirit is the privilege of the church.
Work of the Holy Spirit is the privilege of the church.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Holy living is no longer hemmed in by external rules; it is now motivated by the internal Holy Spirit.
What a joy, privilege, and freedom!
Work of the Holy Spirit is the example of a healthy church.
Work of the Holy Spirit is the example of a healthy church.
The external display of religion through the Law was replaced with evidences of the Spirit’s work in its members.
In an instant the church was diverse.
No longer was ethnicity or religious acts the identifying mark of the church, it was the work of the Holy Spirit among its members.
What is our church known for?
We have articles of faith, but do we have evidence of faith?
We are not here to preserve a religion as much as we are here to advance a gospel!!
**Through Jesus we all share in the power and the privilege of the Holy Spirit. **
Conclusion
Conclusion
Being Fully Devoted means:
We come to Jesus to be made clean
We are to live separate lives - not based on race, but based on holiness.
We display the gospel in diversity
We promote reconciliation
We are identified with Christ less by our display of religion and more by the Spirit’s fruit in our lives.
**Through Jesus we all share in the power and the privilege of the Holy Spirit. **
How is God calling you to promote racial reconciliation?