In Acts 15, we read about one of the most important meetings in the history of the church, one in which the essentials of a gospel-centered church were clarified so that churches faithful to God's Word might be established among all people groups in the world. I mentioned that some people might be surprised at how deeply godly people who were experiencing guidance and blessing from God would still experience times that the Bible describes as including "sharp dispute and debate" (15:2) and "much discussion" (15:6). The uniting issues that came to the fore as essential were these:
• Salvation is by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone (15:9, 11).
• Those who trust Jesus share the experience of the indwelling presence of God's Holy Spirit (15:8).
• The Bible is the final authority for both faith and life for God's people (15:14–18).
James, the main leader of the first early church, the Church of Jerusalem, also included two requests for all the churches being formed among the many people groups: 1) to stay away from associations with the worship of other gods and 2) to make a renewed commitment to living sexually moral lives (15:19–20, 29). These two specific calls came about for many reasons, but primary among them were 1) demonstrating that God alone is God, 2) living lives of faithfulness distinctive from the world's ways, and 3) maintaining the unity of the church.
This weekend, we see in a very powerful and practical series of testimonies how this Acts 15 decision made it possible for the good news of Jesus to break forth into the Roman city of Philippi and transform the lives of three extremely different people:
• a wealthy business woman already interested in God but not yet knowing God as her Father (16:11–15).
• a young slave girl who made her owners money through her soothsaying. According to Homer and others, such girls were often very beautiful and were sometimes forced to be involved in prostitution (16:16–21).
• an older jailor who almost certainly was once a soldier (16:22-40). He was probably a blue-collar guy approaching the end of his career.
I doubt that we could imagine three more-different people. But, each of their lives was changed because of Jesus. And, almost certainly, they became a part of the foundation of one of the most generous and effective churches in the first century. My prayer is that we will see the gospel doing similar things in the future in and through LAC. Indeed, I already see it happening.
To God's glory alone,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
