ACTS 15 A. Prejudice attacks freedom.
1. Only takes a few to cause trouble.
2. Prejudice dies hard.
3. All of us are inclined toward turning our opinions and practices into rules
for everyone else to follow.
4. Biblical principles are universal, but practices are not universal.
5. For personal reasons, we don't speak up (to defend ourselves), but when
the welfare of new converts is involved, we react. a. New believers are the key to success in evangelization. b. Every Christian is a missionary. Every person is in a field. c. New converts weren't cogs in a machine, but individuals are known, loved, and appreciated.
6. A yoke of bondage would shackle them.
7. The Lord told His disciples to baptize, not circumcise.
8. New converts cause great joy in the ranks.
B. Preserving Christian freedom.
1. Deal with problems quickly and openly.
2. Strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
3. Maintain purity by the power of God.
C. Promoting Christian freedom.
1. Men are God's method. a. Salvation is God's plan from the beginning. b. Tested, courageous, proven men who had fought spiritual battles. c. Men whose affections are set on God. d. Men concerned with not what people know, but how they are doing.
2. The missionary heart.
a. The break between Paul and Barnabas.
1. Barnabas' action may have salvaged John Mark.
2. Paul felt too much at stake to risk trusting an individual who behaved like a quitter in the past.
b. Courageous under fire. c. Proven faithful. d. Ready to reach out to one restored.