By the grace of Jesus.
Acts 15:1-11.
Pastor Shim Han-seop
You all know that Paul sent a letter to the church of Ephesus which he loved so much.
I would like to say hello to our church which I loved so much by quoting the greeting from the letter.
'In Gods will, I, the apostle of Christ Jesus, write to the members in our church and the faithful in Christ Jesus, and I hope that grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are to all the members in our church.'
I left our church in 2014 due to an application of the book of Job and come to our church to preach after 7 years.
Todays word tells us that we still need to be trained though we nurtured our faith and shared the traces of beautiful services and the testimonies of life.
Ive already experienced the grace of salvation, but theres still a way for the sanctification to need to walk.
Why should I be trained unceasingly, even though I realized many things and had faith through the grace of salvation?
With todays word, the Lord explains why.
1. Its because Im still thinking of commandments and deeds.
Arguments took place in the Church of Antioch.
Paul and Barnabas argued with those who spoke other salvation.
The point of their argument is, 'Circumcision is the sign of salvation, if you are not circumcised, you will not be saved.'
As such, we are often bound by commandments and deeds unconsciously.
So, Im going to explain the subtle relationship between deeds and grace.
1) Sequence is very important when understanding actions and grace.
In other words, deeds should follow grace.
We should overcome fixed idea about deeds and grace.
We should not say Youll not be saved unless youre circumcised.
People say that if you listen to your mother and do your homework well, you are a good child.
This world is governed by the law of good or bad
Righteous deeds are important, but when it comes to salvation, grace comes first.
It is not that you will be saved because youre circumcised.
You wish to live the life of the circumcised because youre saved.
2) Commandments claim give and take
In other words, this is the idea that if you are circumcised, you will be saved, if you do something, you will be blessed, if you dont do something, you will be cursed.
We call this faith for blessing while the world calls this rationality.
Commandments can be explained by reasonable logic, but such human logic and rationality are far from explaining the grace.
The grace we received from Jesus is not reasonable at all.
If I should do something for Jesus to be blessed, nobody in this service deserves to be blessed.
But even we, who have experienced grace, continue to treat our children with commandments and faith for blessing, saying that it is logical and rational.
2. It is because we cant participate in joy.
Paul and Barnabas were heading for Jerusalem.
On their way to Jerusalem, they stopped by Benigne and Samaria to tell people the testimony so that those unbelievers became to believe.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were greeted by apostles and elders.
They preached the grace and things which the LORD has done.
They didnt say about human deeds.
But there are people who cannot participate in this joy while all the communities share the work of Gods grace with joy.
Those people only claim right and wrong, saying, 'This is right and that is wrong.'
Those who can not go beyond commandments and deeds, cannot go beyond the right and wrong until the end.
Those people can not participate in joy because they always argue what is good and what is wrong.
Pharisees may ask this question. 'How can people live without Right or Wrong?
people might live carelessly at their own will without Right or Wrong.'
Only Jesus can judge Right or Wrong while we cant.
3. It is because we constantly discriminate.
In todays word, the apostles and elders of the Jerusalem Church gathered to discuss the issue of salvation, but these people are also unsure of salvation.
This is the reason why we must continue to walk on the path of salvation and be trained.
In Galatia 2:11 Peter is rebuked by Paul for not seeing Jesus in person.
His pride may have been hurt, but today he is on Pauls side.
Because Peter knew there was no discrimination in salvation.
But we discriminate small group members, thinking Im a leader of the group.
The key to Peters explanation today is, 'the LORD has chosen us for so long ago, the LORD has given us the Holy Spirit to testify, and the LORD has cleared our minds and did not discriminate.'
By the grace of Jesus Christ, we have become the leader or the vice leader of small group.
So, we should not discriminate against the weak or sick members.
When you think you have faith, that is the most dangerous moment.
You must remember that you have come to believe through the grace of the Lord when you were in the most difficult and painful moments.
If you think you are a better person because you have faith, you might never understand the meaning of 'no discrimination in salvation.'
The moment you think 'What cant I be like God?' or 'What am I worse than that member?', the relationship ends.
However, the relationship can be restored to those who have experienced salvation without discrimination.
Peter would have been able to experience the restoration of the relationship by saying people 'Brothers!' because he had confidence in indiscriminate love for his brothers and in indiscriminate salvation of the LORD.
We must be constantly trained and sanctified.
Now, beyond commandments and deeds we must pay attention to the work of the Holy Spirit, not our body, and participate in the joy of the community, believing that Right and Wrong are all in Jesus.
We should ask for forgiveness saying that 'I was a sicker person.' and should offer our hands to restore the relationship first.
I sincerely hope that our church will continue to be strengthened by the grace of the Lord Jesus.
