SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 16 January 22, 2006

Accepting Gentiles
Theme: Living by Faith in Christ Alone
Theme Verse: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 NIV
Readings: Acts 15:1-30
Optional Readings: Acts 15:31-35
Memory Verse: "No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." Acts 15:11

      The early church had a big problem they had never faced before. Lots of Gentiles in Antioch were believing in Jesus and following him. God had done lots of signs and wonders in their midst. But some men came down from Judea and were telling the new believers "unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." Paul and Barnabas of course strongly disagreed. A word received: Bad teaching in the church is not a new problem. Turning to Me and seeing what I AM doing is the way through. That is what they did. They looked at what I did as the model.

      This argument is a "salvation issue". Up until Jesus death, resurrection, ascension and giving of the Spirit, God's covenant with Abraham had only included the Jewish people. So these teachers were saying, you have to become a Jew to be saved and be a part of God's people. Their attention was on the customs/traditions taught by Moses. This position was held by some Pharisees who had become believers in Jesus. They insisted not only on circumcision but that the Gentile believers keep the whole law of Moses (see Acts 15:1,5) So a delegation from Antioch was appointed to go to Jerusalem and discuss this with the apostles and elders of the original church. The Church has gathered in councils a number of times to decide important issues in the life of the Church believers. This meeting is sometimes called the first Church council.

      Notice the focus of the delegation from Antioch. As they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria they reported the conversion of the Gentiles (which gave great joy to all the believers) and when they came to the Church in Jerusalem they reported "all that God had done with them. A word received: Sharing what I have done brings joy.

      Notice what turns the discussion. After a lot of debate Peter gets up and tells what God has done, something they all knew about, how God had overridden Peter's scrupples and sent him to the Gentile soldier Cornelius to preach the word of the Good News and how God, who knows the heart, poured out the Holy Spirit on these Gentiles, "just as he did us," making no distinction, between Jewish and Gentile believers. God himself "cleansed their hearts by faith." A word received: What do you have that you have that is your own? All that you have from me is a gift from me. You did not earn, you can only receive it with thanksgiving. As Peter said earlier (Acts 10), "who was I to withstand God?" On the basis of what God has done, Peter argued, we are tempting God by trying to require what God has not. "But we believe that we shall be saved thought the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."

      The reason they were able to come to a quiet, common mind is that they took the witness of Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit seriously. Prayer: Lord, show us what you are doing in your church today! Help your church return to the witness of Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit.

      Being reminded of what God had done silenced everyone. It changed the focus of the believers. Then they were able to really listen to what God had been doing through Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles. God had confirmed his message with singes and wonders. Then James, Jesus' brother, who presided over the meeting pulled together what Peter had reminded them of, how God first visited the Gentiles to "take out of them a people for his name," and the words of the prophets (Amos 9:11-12 and other related passages, Isaiah 45:22-23, Isaiah 42:6b, and Isaiah 49:6). So on the basis of what God was doing in their own time and the prophesies given centuries earlier James announces a decision to only require three things of these new believers. 1) They must not get involved in idol worship (abstain from pollutions of idols. 2) They must not get involved with sexual immorality (the Greek word porneia -- from which we get the word pornography.) This was spelled out in the Scriptures (Old Testament). 3) They must avoid eating meat with blood in it (that included strangled animals; this was included because they believed that life was in the blood.) This last one is part of God's covenant with Noah. Blood was very important. People had known about these things for many generations. Then the council appointed a delegation from Jerusalem to carry the letter back to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The council said that people who upset them were not sent by the church in Jerusalem.

      Notice that the letter is addressed to the Brothers (included women) who are of the Gentiles. How amazing. These Jewish believers who had thought Gentiles unclean and outside of God's grace, are calling them "Brothers." -- This is just as amazing as Ananias calling Saul, fresh from persecuting the church before he was converted, "brother Saul."

      Now notice what they say about their decision. First they came together, with one accord. [The Greek says both, so it is important though it is smoothed over in English.] Their joint decision was made under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us." The Holy Spirit brought them to a unity, "a common, quiet mind." It seems that the Pharisees involved in the meeting were able to change their minds because of looking at what God had done and because of the work of the Holy Spirit. This council's decision did not end the problem however. For many, many years others (called Judiazers) went around troubling new believers with the teaching that Gentiles had to become Jews first. However the Church had clearly spoken.

      The clear message is proclaimed and preserved: we are all saved from our sins and brought into fellowship through the grace (the un-earned favor, mercy) of Jesus, who is Lord. (Lord here means not only Ruler but also God.)

      When the delegation returned to Antioch, they called the people together and read the letter. They all rejoiced. A word received: Good teaching brings joy and encouragement. A word received: I want you to receive me by grace, so that you understand that it is your heart I want.


How to teach word for teachers: The way through any disagreement in the church is to keep your eyes on Me. (All of the words focus on God.)

NOTE: An idol is anything that is more important to you than God.

Teaching Ideas for Lesson 16
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children understand it and then if they have memorized it.

      Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.

      Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.

Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
      1.All Christians everywhere are our brothers and sisters, no matter where they live, what they look like or how much money they have. We are God's family. (Do we welcome Christian children who visit us like family??)
      2. Jesus offers us a free gift of his friendship and forgiveness. It is free, so all we can do is say Thank You, and give him the gift of our hearts.
      3. When we do this we can know Jesus as our friend and want to please & obey him.
      4. The people in this story had a problem. They found God's answer by coming together and reading the Bible, praying and listening to what God was doing in people's lives. We can do that too. We can ask, what would Jesus do?