This morning we begin a new series of messages titledThe Heart and Soul of the Church. In this series I am selecting passages from the book of Acts that tell us about the foundational qualities of the early church; the heart and soul of the early church, so to speak. I really love the book of Acts because it is, among many other things, a manual of church identity. The book of Acts, as we read of the very beginnings of the church and its growth and development, lays out a template for not only the identity of the church, but offers us a glimpse into the very heart and soul of the church – the very core of who we are to be.
The first priority of the early church that we will talk about is that of welcoming. Churches, obviously, should be welcoming. While this seems like a basic, no-brainer aspect of church life, it is not something that churches always do very well. When I was on sabbatical in May, June, and July of 2015, I visited a lot of churches. I mean, a lot of churches; sometimes multiple churches not only over the course of a weekend, but in a single day. Each time I visited, I signed everything they offered to visitors. I signed guest books, visitor cards, and anything else I could find. I left my name, address, phone number, email address, and sometimes, social media addresses. I wanted to see the ways in which churches followed up on visitors, and I was shocked at the lack of response I received. Out of the dozens of churches I visited, only two responded. Two! Now, I assume many of them understood I was visiting from out of town and probably wouldn’t be back, but it would not have taken much effort to send a brief card or an email.
Welcoming, however, goes beyond the seemingly simple act of greeting someone when they walk in the door or sending an email or letter; welcoming, on a deeper level, means to receive people into fellowship regardless of who they are. That is far easier said than done, because we are not always comfortable with the differences between ourselves and others. That is simply a fact of human nature, even among people who claim to be very open to others. In fact, several years ago I attended a meeting in Lexington that was sponsored by one of our Disciples agencies. At that meeting, I was stunned when I heard someone say, with an air of pride, that a family had been asked to leave his church because of their politics. What was ironic about the comment was the person had just finished speaking about the necessity of welcoming all people, and the catchphrase he used was a common one in Disciples churches – all means all. Well, I guess it really doesn’t, at least not if you ask a family to leave the church because they are different from the others who attend that church.
Follow along with me as I read our Scripture text for the morning – Acts 15:5-11.
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?
11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Our text for this morning tells the story of a very significant event in the history of the early church. That event was called The Council at Jerusalem, which was a gathering to determine who was welcome in the church, and what newcomers would have to do in order to be accepted. The Council at Jerusalem took place during the very infancy of the church, when many Gentiles were coming into the church. The large number of Gentiles – who were coming into what was largely a Jewish church, at that time – was disconcerting to those in the church. It was disconcerting because the newcomers were different from those who were already a part of church. The newcomers talked differently, thought differently, believed differently, ate differently (which was a big deal to those who grew up with a strict code that regulated what a person could or could not eat), and acted differently. And, as we all know, differences can be very difficult to navigate. Some of those in the church wanted to place requirements upon the newcomers before they would be accepted, while others believed they should be welcomed as they were.
This was a very critical moment in the life of the church, and the outcome at that Council would determine the future of the church. The Council was convened after a group traveled from Judea to Antioch, where they began to teach that circumcision was necessary to salvation. Paul and Barnabas greatly objected to this, as they saw it as adding an unnecessary burden to new believers. The conflict was serious enough that the apostles and leaders of the church agreed to meet together to consider the questions. It was an incredibly important moment in the life of the church, as some wanted believed it was up to them to determine whether or not the newcomers to the church were “acceptable.” Placing requirements upon people before they could become a part of the church or to consider them saved was a really big deal. The questions brought up in this passage are ones that must be carefully considered, because they still lurk in the background of many churches – who can be a part of the church? Will the church be for all people or only some people? Will the church welcome all without distinction or will the church pick and choose who is welcome?
I told you a story several years ago about a day when I drove up to an intersection in Louisville. As I sat at the intersection several bikers pulled alongside me. I used to ride a motorcycle, but as you might guess, I was never what you would call a biker. No one, in fact, would ever mistake me for a biker. Bikers are a very different culture, and I’m obviously not of that culture. As I looked at those bikers a lot of stereotypes began running through my mind. I couldn’t help but notice, however, as they roared past me, the insignias on the back of their vests – Bikers for Jesus. My first instinct was to look at those bikers and form a negative opinion about them just because they were different from me. I should have learned from that experience, but I didn’t, because I did the same exact thing last May, when I accompanied Tanya on one of her work trips. We were in Myrtle Beach, during Biker Week, and the exact same thing happened, as a group of bikers surrounded me at an intersection, prompting the same judgmental reaction on my part. As they bikers pulled out ahead of me, once again I saw the insignias on the backs of their vests, declaring their membership in a Christian bikers club!
The question before the early church was the question of who can be a part of the church, and who can be a follower of Jesus. One group of people decided to be the gatekeepers for the kingdom of God. It’s a very tall order when someone is a self-appointed gatekeeper to the kingdom of God and takes on the responsibility of saying who can be in and who is out. It’s not only a tall order, it’s also arrogant, unscriptural, and wrong. We are never gatekeepers for the kingdom of God; we are witnessestoand servantsofthe kingdom of God. It is not our job to police and control entrance to the kingdom of God; it is our job to witness to the kingdom and to serve the kingdom.
Even Peter, at one time, was wrong on this point. In Acts chapter 10 we find the story of Peter and his vision of a sheet being lowered down from heaven. The sheet is full of all kinds of animals and God tells Peter to eat any of the animals, but Peter was resistant, saying he had never eaten anything unclean. Three times God lowers this sheet before Peter and finally tells Peter Do not call anything impure that God has made clean (9:15). That is a very dramatic moment as Peter’s personal prejudices cause him to resist what God is telling him to do! Peter was creating a rule where God was telling him there was no rule!
Peter was also slow to understand God’s real message here, which was do not call [anyone] unclean that God has made, do not reject anyone. This is Peter – arguably the closest of all the disciples to Jesus – who struggled with accepting people into the church. It is a warning that people in churches can arrive at this same point of being unable to be open and accepting of people. There is a great temptation to start laying down conditions that people must meet before they are considered acceptable, and there are plenty of churches out there who operate in this manner, unfortunately. Love does not truly exist, however, if openness to people does not exist.
Peter, thankfully, did have a change of heart. In verse Acts 9:10 he says they should not place a yokeof requirement upon others. I imagine he was thinking of the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The burden he was referring to was the burden placed on people by groups such as the Pharisees, who wanted to add all kinds of requirements to what made people acceptable before God.
This event was such a watershed moment in the history of the church. The church was beginning to spread into new territory, and it was making some people very nervous. The gospel was going to unfamiliar territory and to unfamiliar people, and as it did it some people were resistant to welcoming these new people into the life and fellowship of the church. But Peter stood up to those fears and to those who wanted to start placing requirements and qualifications upon people by saying people do not have to be just like us to be part of God’s kingdom. It seems like such a simple point, but it is one that is lost on a lot of churches. It was fear of different people that threatened the early church.
In the first year of my ministry here I told you a story of when our younger son Tyler and I traveled down to Wilmore for the Ichthus music festival. We went to one of the smaller stages to listen to a band called The Psalters. It’s hard to describe that band, as they were so different in music and how they dressed. It was like Braveheart the Musical. While we were listening to this band a guy wanders in and stands next to us. He was a very unique looking person. He was very tall and had a mohawk haircut that was dyed multiple colors. The rest of his head, as well as his arms, were covered with tattoos. He had piercings in his ears, nose, lip – this guy could never get within a mile of metal detector without setting off alarms. He stands there watching this band for a bit and then finally mutters out loud this is way too weird for me. What a moment! I am the epitome of white bread, boring, suburbanism, and I liked it. It was a reminder that even those who are different and unique can find it hard to embrace those who are different and unique!
Listen again to what Peter says in verses 9-11. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. Listen again to verse 9. He made no distinction between us and them...There is a man who understood the heart and soul of the church. Peter understood that the heart and soul of the church is to reach out to all people and to shatter manmade barriers and to tear down manmade requirements and stand away from the gates to the kingdom and allow God to do his work with not just some people, but all people, and to welcome them.
There was a lot at stake in this issue, and history shows us a tragedy that took place after this meeting. We know from history that the church was born in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, in the infancy of the church, was the center of the church and the heart of the church. But Jerusalem was also home to those who resisted the idea of the church reaching out to the larger, Gentile world. Read through the book of Acts and you will note something interesting. The center of the church, as the book of Acts progresses, shifts very noticeably. The center of the church shifts from the city of Jerusalem to areas outside of Jerusalem and into the Gentile world. The church at Jerusalem saw its influence wane and it was never again at the center of the church.
The heart and soul of the church is the love of God for people, and not just people who are already in the church. One of the greatest idolatries of the modern church is when the church creates exclusionary practices that limit who can be a part of the body of Christ. The church is never about or confined to those of us already in the church. It’s easier in some ways to do church in that way, but that’s not a church; that is a religious club. The heart and soul of the church is in the affirmation that all are called and invited to be a part of the body of Christ.
There are many important things we do as the church, but welcoming people as brothers and sisters in Christ is of absolute importance. It is a calling we cannot forsake, and it is something we must work hard to always practice. Let us welcome everyone!
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