Now, I love the book of Galatians, and I love this chapter in the book of Galatians, but
what I want to talk about tonight, and I'm going to use this Galatians chapter 2 as my
primary example, and I'm going to compare it with Acts chapter 15, which is a parallel
story, and what I want to show you tonight is an important lesson on how to interpret
the Bible.
Okay?
Now, a lot of people don't understand how to interpret the Bible, and they, you know,
and you say, oh, the Bible has to be interpreted.
Well, it's in English, you don't need to interpret it.
But people do need to understand what the Bible means when they read it, and here's
a mistake that people make.
They read sometimes what people do in the Bible, and they say, oh, God's telling me
to do that.
Now look, the Bible has two types of things in it, okay?
This is what I want to teach you tonight, and I want to show you something between Galatians
2 and Acts 15.
The Bible has two kinds of items in it.
Number one, it has statements made by God.
Number two, it has stories told by God.
Now you have to be able to differentiate between the statement and the story, because sometimes
people in the story are doing things that are wrong, and sometimes people in the story
are saying things that are wrong.
But when God makes a statement, you better know you can take that to the bank, that is
the way it is.
God states something in the Bible, but if you're reading a story in the Bible, not everything
that was done in that story may be right, and not everything that everybody says in
that story is right.
Do you follow what I'm saying?
Let me give you an example.
You say to people that a man should have one wife only, right, agree?
One wife, and they'll say, well, Jacob had four wives, or, well, didn't David have several
wives, and look at all these other men in the Bible had all these wives, and so, see,
it's okay for men to have one wife.
Wait a minute, did God say that it's okay to have more than one wife ever anywhere in
the Bible?
No.
Just because God tells us, here's a guy, and he married two wives, that doesn't make
it right.
I mean, the Bible tells of people who lie, people who murdered, people who stole, people
who commit adultery, but that doesn't mean that God wants us to do it.
But many times people will look at something that a great man did, like Moses, or David,
and say, well, David did it, so I can actually do it, or Moses did it, so it must be okay.
Well, look here at what this person did.
Let me, you know, we can go on and on, example after example after example, where people
take a story, and they use the story to justify what they're doing in their life.
When in reality, they should be taking the statements that God made, and using the statement
to interpret the story.
Okay, so here's what we have.
We have a story all throughout Genesis, Exodus, we have a story in the book of Numbers, we
have stories in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st, 2nd Samuel, 1st, 2nd, these are stories, but
in the New Testament, and even places in the Old Testament, God refers back to those stories
and explains them how we should interpret them.
For example, Psalm 105 and Psalm 106 go back and explain some of the stories about the
children of Israel, and sheds some light on them.
Acts chapter 7 goes back and Stephen explains stories in the Old Testament.
You think of Hebrews chapter 11, explaining the moral behind some of the stories in the
book of Genesis, but you can't just take the story and interpret it however you want.
You gotta take God's statement of what He said is right and wrong, take the statement
out of the mouth of Jesus Christ that said,
And therefore saw a man leave his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife, and
they too shall he one flesh, he said, wherefore what God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder.
And you can say, well here's a guy who had two wives, God said from the beginning it
was not so.
God made them male and female, created them, and he said that a man should leave his father
and mother, cleave unto the, well that's not how so and so did it, that's the way God wants
to be done, that's what He said.
Doesn't matter what the story was.
Every word of the Bible is true, but the Bible records people telling lies.
What they said wasn't true, it's true that they said.
Does that make sense?
You gotta be able to tell the difference between those two different things.
For example, Luke chapter 2, where the King James Bible says, his father, no, Joseph and
his mother, in Luke 2 33, Joseph and his mother marveled at the things that were said about
Jesus.
Wow, they were surprised, Joseph and his mother.
The Bible is very careful to make that distinction, not his father and mother, Joseph and his
mother.
Now, you got an NIB, you have an RSV, you have an HIV, you got an NAS, an NLTB, and
whatever, these different acronyms, they'll say his father and mother marveled about them.
Now that's a lie, because Jesus' father was not Joseph.
And nowhere in the Bible you find it saying that Jesus' father was Joseph and his father
was God, and it was Joseph and his mother.
But, here's the thing, if you're reading Luke chapter 2, you can go down 10 verses, Mary
comes to Jesus and says, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
And I've shown people in the NIB, I was trying to show them the NIB was wrong, I said look,
the NIB is calling Joseph Jesus' father, saying his father and mother, my Bible says Joseph
and his mother.
And they said, well right down here, 10 verses down, it calls him his father.
No it didn't.
Mary said, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
Jesus then turns around and rebukes her and says, what?
How is it that she sought me?
Why ye not that I must be about my father's business, and he wasn't building a chair,
he wasn't building a table, he wasn't making a banister for a staircase, he was preaching
the Bible!
And he said, I must be about my father's business.
So you've got to be able to interpret the Bible.
Everything that Mary said in the Bible is not necessarily true.
There's a lie out of Mary's mouth saying thy father and I have sought thee, and he corrected
her for it.
No, I'm about my father's business.
My father wasn't seeking me, he knows where I am.
Joseph was seeking me.
Do you see the difference here?
And so all throughout the Bible you'll find these type of things.
Look, the Bible quotes the devil.
Is what the devil is saying true?
It's a lie.
And so you've got to be able to interpret the Bible here.
Now, in Acts chapter 15, we have a story.
Now, we're going to go back and forth between the two, but you can keep a bookmark or something
in Galatians 2.
Let's go back to Acts 15.
We're going to take the story, okay, but we're going to let the statement that God's making
in Galatians 2, where every word is just purely spoken by the mouth of God, this is the word
of God, we're going to take the statement of Galatians 2, and we're going to have it
help us interpret the story in Acts chapter 15.
So we always let the statement interpret the story.
We don't take the story and just whatever we want it to say, we just make it say that.
Well, here's a guy who had two wives, I think I'm going to add one.
I think I'll add a wife or two, because if David did it, God blessed him.
Now, that's not the way to live your life.
We're going to have the statement that Jesus made, or that Moses made not the story, okay.
But let's look at this story, this is an interesting story, and we'll interpret it with Galatians
chapter 2.
Look at Acts 15, 1, the Bible reads,
And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said,
Now notice here, certain men taught the brethren.
The brethren are those that are saved, you know, believers.
These are just men that are teaching this, okay.
It doesn't say necessarily whether they're saved or not saved.
It says certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said,
Except ye be circumcised, that for the manner of Moses ye cannot be saved.
Now is that true or false?
It's a lie.
The Bible says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's what we say.
Now these men came down and they say, if you're not circumcised, the way Moses said to be circumcised,
you cannot be saved, okay.
Look at verse 2,
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them,
they determined that Paul and Barnabas, so Paul and Barnabas, they didn't say,
Oh well, you know, we just disagree.
They got mad and they said, we're going to have some disputation.
We're going to have a great big dissension.
We are saying no, wrong, false.
Now did Paul and Barnabas hesitate and say, oh man, I'm not sure.
Is that true?
They're like, no, wrong.
Okay, so let's keep reading.
It says, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, so are Paul and Barnabas the ones determining this?
No.
Who are they?
These men who came down and brought in this teaching.
They determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem
and the apostles and elders about this question.
So these false teachers come in teaching this lie.
Paul and Barnabas flip out.
No, wrong, false.
Well, you need to go ask Peter, James, and John.
You know, Paul's like, I don't need to ask anybody.
This is what the Bible says.
This is the truth that God has brought free for the last 14 years.
Okay, and so look, it says in verse 3, you know, they're going up to Jerusalem about this question.
Now to them it's not a question, right?
It's only a question to the people who are trying to bring it in and create a question in people's mind.
Paul and Barnabas had no question about this.
And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenice and Samaria
declaring the conversion of the Gentiles.
And they caused great joy unto all their brothers.
So just along the way, they're telling everybody in Phoenice and Samaria, hey,
these are all the people we're having saved among the Gentiles and these are the churches they're rebuilding,
all the great things that the brethren are excited about.
So it says in verse 4, when they would come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church
and of the apostles and elders and they declared all things that God had done with them.
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed.
Now wait a minute, are these people saved or unsaved?
Saved, right? Because it says them of the sect of the Pharisees which believed.
And if they're believers, they're saved.
Now look, and we're going to use Galatians chapter 2 to help us interpret this story even more.
But he says, of them which believed saying that it was needful to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Now are these people that arise from Jerusalem saying that they must be circumcised to keep the law of Moses in order to be saved?
No.
They're just commanding them in general that the people who've already been won to Christ by Paul and Barnabas, this is a different group.
Now they're saying, well, they should get circumcised though.
Not that they must to be saved, but hey, they should be circumcised and they should keep the law of Moses.
Now is that true? No.
Because they don't need to be circumcised and we're going to see that in Galatians 2 even more clearly.
These guys are wrong, but they're not teaching heresy and false doctrine like these unsaved people from before in the chapter.
But let's keep reading.
It says, and the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
And when there had been much disputing.
So what are they disputing about?
Not whether circumcision is part of salvation.
They're disputing about whether these guys even need to get circumcised in general, period.
Whether they even should be circumcised, whether it's even something they need to do.
Well, look what it says.
It says, when there had been much disputing, so people are arguing about it and trying to figure this out.
Peter rose up and said to them,
Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us,
that the Gentiles by my mouth, Peter's mouth he's saying,
should hear the word of the Gospel and believe.
And God which knoweth the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us,
and put no difference between us and them.
You see that?
No difference between the Jew and the Greek.
He says, purifying their hearts by faith.
Now therefore, why tempt ye God?
Now is Peter unsure about what he believes?
No, he's very clear.
Now therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples,
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
You see, why are we trying to put them in bondage again under the law?
Why are we trying to put this yoke upon them?
But we believe, verse 11, that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Our fathers, the Gentiles, us, everybody's always been and always will be saved by grace through faith.
This is what Peter's preaching.
He says, you already heard from me before about how in Acts chapter 10, he went to...
Look back there, keep your finger there.
Look back at Acts chapter 10.
He went to the house of Cornelius.
And Peter preached to Cornelius, an Italian man, a Gentile.
And he preached the Gospel to him, and let me find the verse.
This wasn't my notes, but it's the perfect example.
Okay, look at this.
Verse number 42 of Acts chapter 10.
And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead,
to him give all the prophets witness that through his name...
Remember, the Old Testament teaches this.
All the prophets give witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then answered Peter, can any man forbid water that these should not be baptized which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Then prayed they him to tear a certain day.
So what's Peter preaching?
He's preaching a message of whosoever believeth.
Right?
That whosoever believeth in him might receive remission of sins.
And when he preached that to them, when he got to that part of the sermon, when they comprehended that, they believed that in their heart.
And immediately the Bible says that they were saved and the Holy Ghost entwilled them and also came upon them.
Now when it says they spake with tongues, or did they start going, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh.
Now listen, these people were what? Nationalities, Italians.
The man who's preaching to them is what? A Jew.
And they began to speak in the language of Peter that he understood them speaking back to him in his language.
He said, I heard the guy tell me that he was saved in my own language.
And that was surprising to him.
And he said, hey, can any man forbid water?
The thief should not be baptized, but to receive the Holy Ghost was weak.
And he told them in verse 48, that if they wanted to, they could give baptize.
That's not what it says.
It says, he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Oh, your eyes pressure people to get baptized.
We tell people, God said to get baptized, get baptized.
If you're saved and you haven't been baptized, get baptized.
We don't force anybody to do it, but we say command of God.
And that's when I take, baptism is not optional.
Isn't this something that God commands you to do?
I mean, it's not part of salvation.
You're still going to heaven if you're not baptized, but God does command you to be baptized.
I mean, He does command you not to steal.
I mean, you might steal, but it's still in command of God not to steal.
Hey, it's still in command of God to be baptized.
And by the way, this is not baptism.
That's not baptism.
Hey, baptism is by immersion.
Baptism.
Jesus, when He was baptized, hey, you want to know how to be baptized?
He baptized like Jesus was baptized.
It says, and Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water and a
little of the heavens were over in Him.
And a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved son, whom I am well pleased.
Hey, Jesus, when He was baptized, He came up out of the water.
He didn't get showered under the water.
He came up out of the water.
Hey, we're buried with Him by baptism into His death, that life as Christ was raised
up from the dead, even so we should walk in units of life.
And so we should walk in units of life.
We're not necessarily always going to, unfortunately, but we should walk in units of life, and baptism
is under the water and back out of the water.
And Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and the eunuch was baptized.
Why did John baptize an anon near the Salem?
Because there was much water there, and it wasn't a birdbath.
It wasn't a five-gallon jug, okay?
It was much water.
He went to a river and baptized people.
Now, turn back to Acts 15, if you would.
What we see here that Peter is referring back to that story with Cornelius, saying, look,
the Gentiles believed they got saved.
They received the Holy Ghost.
He said, we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 11, we shall
be saved, even as they.
Now, look at verse 12.
Let's move on to the story here.
Then all the multitude kept silence and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what
miracles and wonders God had brought among the Gentiles by them.
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, harken
to me.
Simeon had declared how God the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them the
people first name.
And to this agreed the words of the prophet says it is written, After this I will return
and will build again a tabernacle of David which is thaw and doubt, and I will build
again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up, that the residue of men might seek out
for the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, save the Lord, and doeth
all these things.
No one unto God always works from the beginning of the world.
Wherefore my sentence is that we trouble not them which for among the Gentiles return to
God, but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols and from
evocations, and from being strangled and from blood.
For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in his synagogues
every Sabbath day.
Then pleased at the apostles and elders, and the whole church, to send chosen men of their
own company, to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas, Sirhane, Barnabas, and Silas,
chief men among the brethren.
And they wrote letters by the Methodist man, of the apostles and elders and brethren,
saying, Greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles, of Antioch, and Syria, and
Cilicia.
Forasmuch as we have heard that certain which were went out from us, have troubled you with
words, subverting your souls.
See how bad they are painting these people?
Subverting your souls, saying ye must be circumcised and keep the law, to whom we gave no such commandment,
it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with
our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have half of their lives from the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
For we have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by
mouth.
For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost unto us, to lay upon me no greater burden than
these necessary things, that ye have staying from me, to meet off with the idols, and from
blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, for which if ye keep yourselves,
ye shall do well, fare you well.
So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch, and when they had gathered them all
together, they delivered the epistle, which when they had bread, they rejoiced for the
consolation.
And Judas and Silas, being prophets, also themselves exhorted the brethren with many
words, and confirmed them.
And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren
and the apostles.
Okay, that's a part of the chapter that concerns us.
Look at Galatians 2 now.
Now, we didn't really have any trouble understanding that, but did you notice how I made a distinction
right away?
I said, I said, and the passage in Acts 15 didn't really say this.
But we're going to see this in Galatians 2, which is why I said it.
I said that those guys who came in that were teaching that you had to be circumcised, I
said those guys were not saved.
Because I said they just said certain men, and then it said brethren.
But is that really conclusive proof, if it just calls them men, that they're not saved?
No.
I said those guys were not saved, because they were teaching this, but the Pharisees
which believed, and they wanted to circumcise them, but it's not part of salvation, they
were saved.
But see, I just said that they weren't saved.
But look, we're going to see in Galatians chapter 2, God's going to say that they weren't
saved.
Let's read Galatians chapter 2.
The Bible reads, then 14 years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and took
Titus with me also.
This is when he went up there.
It's the same story.
And I went up by revelation and communicated unto them that gospel, which I preached among
Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputations, lest by any means I should
run and had run and made.
But neither Titus, who was with me being with Reap, was compelled to be circumcised.
You know, Titus is like, do I need to be circumcised?
And Paul's like, no, you don't need to be circumcised, Titus.
And Titus is like, whew, man, that's good.
That's the best news I've heard all day.
And so, it says, and I went up by revelation, and look at verse 4.
Why did he go up there?
And that, because of false brethren.
You see that?
Here's where God is unequivocally saying these guys were not saved.
False brethren, unawares, brought in, so that they just happened to come in by accident
and just happened to be a little bit wrong doctrinally, they were a little mixed up,
about circumcision.
No.
These guys were false brethren, brought in, who came in privily.
That means like secretly they're sneaking in.
To spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.
Watch this verse 5, this agrees with Acts 15.
To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour.
He said, I wouldn't even sit there for one hour and listen to these guys.
He said, I could just stand up.
He said, I wasn't going to sit down and listen to these guys preach.
He said, in the middle of the sermon, I mean, these guys were preaching, right?
And they're saying, you've got to be certain.
Paul stood up and said, no, I'm not even going to let you finish the sermon.
I didn't want to hear it.
He stood up and said, no, you are wrong.
He said, I'm not even going to give place to this.
I'm not even going to let you speak to these people.
You're a liar.
Not even for one hour am I going to listen to this.
He says, to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour.
That the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
Now you have to understand here that God in the statement here is interpreting the story.
We have the story in Acts 15.
It might leave a few question marks in our mind until we get to Galatians 2 where God interprets it.
Paul really explained it to us and says, look, you guys who were teaching that in Acts 15,
they were false brethren.
They were brought in by who?
The devil.
Brought in.
Privilely.
Sneaking in.
Bringing in their false doctrine.
Trying to subvert us.
And that's the exact same word that James used.
You remember in Acts 15?
He said, these men have subverted you.
Okay.
Same thing in Galatians 2.
They came in, subverting you.
Privilely.
Sneaking in to spy out.
Look at these negative words.
Our liberty and their intention was to bring you into bondage.
These are evil men.
They're liars and deceivers and they're false brethren.
They're men who were pretending to be saved.
Pretending to be Christians.
Pretending to be believers.
But were they brethren?
No, they were false brethren.
They were deceivers.
They're like the Judas Iscariot who is snuck in privately and was a false brethren.
You see how clear this is when we compare the two right here?
It's pretty clear anyway, but when you compare the two it gets very clear that these men
were not saved because anybody who believes that you have to add some kind of works to
salvation, they're not saved.
That's what the Bible says.
They're false brethren.
Anybody who says, we have to be saved and be circumcised, false brethren.
Anybody who says you have to be saved plus baptism, false brethren.
Anybody who says you have to be saved and keep the commandments, false brethren.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Let's keep reading.
But of these who seem to be somewhat whatsoever they were.
You know, man, these guys are really somewhat.
He's saying, I don't know what that means.
He's like, you know, whatsoever they were, maybe it don't matter to me.
God accepted no man's person.
Oh, man, these are some really important guys, you know, who believe this stuff.
And some real big name preachers, right?
I mean, these are the famous preachers and these are the big names and the powerful people.
He says, you know what?
It doesn't matter to me.
I don't care who you are.
I don't care what your name is.
I don't care if you had your picture in this Christian paper or magazine.
If you've been on TBN or TBS or if you've been on CBS or wherever.
I don't care who you are.
You're preaching a lot.
I don't care who you are, the big name.
He said, God accepts no man's person.
God is not oppressed for who you are.
God treats everybody on an equal playing field.
Right's right.
Wrong's wrong.
It doesn't matter whose mouth is coming out.
For they, which seemed to be somewhat, in conference they had nothing to me.
And contrary wise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed
unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter,
preach the rod effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision,
the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles.
And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that was given unto me,
they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship,
that we should go into the heathen, and they into the circumcision.
Only they would that we should remember the poor, the same which I also was for to do.
Now we've just read the whole story in Acts 15,
and we read the whole story in Galatians 2.
Now think about this.
In all that story, was Paul ever confused about the gospel?
Was Barnabas ever confused?
Okay, was Peter ever confused?
Did he ever express a doubt?
Was James ever confused?
And of course, this is not the disciple James.
This is James, the brother of Jesus.
The other James is already dead.
The other James is killed by Herod.
John's brother, the son of Zebedee.
This is Jesus' half-brother, James.
James was never confused about it.
Paul was never confused about it.
Barnabas was never confused about it.
The only question that some of the believers were mixed up about
was about circumcision, just being, should they even be circumcised in general?
But even Paul and Barnabas and Peter and James,
they never had a doubt about that.
They knew what the truth was about that.
But I've heard people preach this where it's almost like,
oh man, the early church was really struggling with this.
They were really struggling with this debate, you know?
Is it just faith, or is it faith plus works?
Do you see any kind of struggle here?
The only struggle was some liar came in to teach heresy,
and they had to convince the multitude.
In Acts 15, the only people who were wavering was the multitude, okay?
The people, the lead, the preachers, the pack of men
who walked and talked with Jesus Christ, they had no doubt about it.
And never one time in any day, we would spread the whole thing.
No doubt expressed by any of them.
Now let's keep reading, it gets even more interesting.
Verse 11.
But when Peter was come to Antioch,
here's where there is a little bit of his view.
But when Peter was come to Antioch,
I was stood into the face, because he was to be blamed.
For before the church came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles.
But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself,
fearing them which were of the circumcision.
And the other Jews dissembled likewise with them,
insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
Now what does the word dissimulation mean?
Well do you know what simulation means?
Like a flight simulator?
Are you really flying?
No.
Do you feel like you're flying?
Yes.
That's what a simulator is.
Dissimulation is when you're being a phony.
You're being a fake.
This is what dissimulation means.
It's a word that used to be a part of it.
I was reading a book and it quoted George Washington.
He was talking about dissimulation.
That it's a word that used to be a part of the language frequently.
It's a word that means somebody's being fake.
Somebody being a phony.
They're simulating something that's not real.
Like the Bible says, love be without dissimulation.
He's saying you need to have real love for people,
not just put on a show about them.
And so this dissimulation was where Barnabas and Peter
were pretending that they did not eat with the Gentiles
because there were people there that they felt like would be offended
if they saw the Jews eating with the Gentiles.
So when Peter saw that there were brethren from James and from Jerusalem,
they said, oh man, we better pretend like we don't eat with them.
And Paul said, I think we can just eat with them.
And then these guys show up, all of a sudden you're afraid,
and all of a sudden you're eating at a separate table.
Okay?
So what's the issue here?
Is this about salvation?
No.
The issue here is about fellowship.
The issue here is about segregation.
You know, churches that would be segregated on lines of race
or on lines of nationality, right?
And you know, it exists.
It has existed.
You know, churches where no blacks are allowed.
Or churches where only whites are allowed.
Or even there are some churches that are like a Native American church.
You know, like a Navajo church, and no white people go there.
And they say, oh, I'm not going to go there.
It's a Navajo church.
I know that Pastor Chitty, where my sister used to go to church in Waterflow,
he had a sign on his church that said,
the church where everyone is welcome.
Because he wanted people to know, this isn't just a Navajo church.
You know, this is a church where all of a sudden,
and then you know what?
It's not right for people to be segregated in church along lines of race.
The Bible says that God's house should be a house of prayer for all nations.
Okay?
And so Paul is saying that it's not right for you to sit there
and call somebody common or unclean,
because they're from a different nationality other than being a Jew.
You know, they're a Greek.
They're a barbarian.
He said, you need to sit down and just eat bread with the disciples.
No matter what color they are, it doesn't matter, is what he's saying.
But these people got nervous and they said,
oh man, we don't want to be seen eating with these kind of people.
And it's not just race.
It could be financial state.
You know, poor people.
Some people just don't want to be around poor people.
Oh man, I don't want to be seen with these derelicts.
You know?
But that's not right.
The Bible says that if a man come into your assembly,
it's talking about your church,
well, you know, in goodly apparel,
and they're coming also a poor man with vile raiment,
and you have respect in the word of the gay clothing.
It's not talking about being,
it's not talking about Abercrombie Fitch.
It's talking about having, you know, just nice clothing.
It says, if you have respect in the word of the gay clothing
and say to him,
sit down here in a good place and say to the poor ace,
stand out there or sit here under my footstool.
Are you not then partial in yourselves and become judges of evil thoughts?
Hearken, my beloved brethren,
hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith
and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised them that love him,
but you have despised the poor?
Do not many rich men oppress you and draw you before the judgment seats?
Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which you are called?
If ye fulfill the royal law according to scripture,
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,
ye do well,
but if ye have respect to persons,
he commits sin,
and are convinced of the law as transgressors,
for whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend,
at one point he is guilty of all.
Look, the Bible says if somebody's poor,
sit down next to them.
Don't make them sit in the back.
Don't make them sit, you know,
in my view, these TV preachers, you know,
and they literally,
I've talked to people who've gone to some of these services
that are on TV and conferences,
and they put the homely people,
put them in the back,
where they're out on the side of the camera,
and all the people that are nice looking and nice clothing,
they put them seats up in the front.
Because I talked to this lady,
she said, you go to this church,
this was in Illinois,
it was a big church, it was on TV,
and she said, they give you a ticket
that has assigned seating.
I said, why do they have assigned seating?
She said, because they put all the pretty, beautiful,
handsome, well-dressed people right in front,
where the cameras can look like everybody's really well-to-do,
and this is a really upscale, uptown type of church.
And if you're kind of ugly, you're a little homely,
you know, it's like, okay,
here you're going to be in P, P, Q, 3, you know,
like the nice thing for us is like A1, A5, A7, you know,
you're going to be in like Z, Z, Z, Z, H, I, okay?
In fact, you're across the street in a different building.
Hey, if I were preaching on TV,
and by the way, I'm never going to be preaching on TV,
as long as the devil's controlling the TV station,
which is probably going to be till doomsday,
till the millennium at least, you know?
I'm never going to be preaching on TV,
but if I would, man, I'd take the ugliest people in this church,
put them in the front row, and just be real.
No, I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding.
I don't have anybody like that.
I'd put them in the front row.
This is who we are.
No, but you see what I'm saying, though?
They're telling people where to sit,
and they're saying,
I don't want to eat with somebody who's this race,
or I don't want to be with these poor people,
or I don't want to be with these ghetto people,
or I don't want to be with this kind of person,
they're ugly, or they don't have money,
or they're not the right race.
It's like, you know what?
God's saying, look, don't let love be without dissimulation.
Don't be a phony.
Don't be a hypocrite.
Hey, sit down next to God's people
and embrace them as your brethren.
Don't sit there and differentiate between people
based on money, or intelligence,
or their appearance, or how good they look,
or their race.
He's saying, that's wrong.
And he said, Peter, he got mixed up in this
because he was embarrassed to be seen with these Gentiles.
And even Barnabas got caught up in the whole thing.
Even Barnabas, who was the one who, with Paul,
was preaching the hardest to these people in Acts 15.
Well, let's read.
It says in verse number 13, you see that word dissimulation
at the end of the verse.
Verse 14, when I saw Paul saying that they walked not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel,
I said unto Peter before them all.
Now look, Peter didn't want to be embarrassed.
He's about to be embarrassed.
Because Peter, remember, what was the reason why
he got up from the table and said,
I'm going to take my little lunch tray.
It's like a cafeteria at school.
He got his little carton of milk in his lunch tray.
He's like, I'm going to a different table.
He had his orange lunch tray.
He takes it to a different table
because he doesn't want to be seen with these kids over here.
So he takes his lunch tray.
Why?
Because he didn't want to be embarrassed.
He didn't want to be embarrassed.
He's about to be embarrassed.
This is what happens when you disobey God.
You know, whosoever humbleth himself shall be exalted.
And the Bible says whosoever exalted himself
shall be abased.
So this is what happens.
He says, I said unto Peter before them all,
in the middle of verse 14,
if thou being a Jew liveth stacked with a man
over the Gentiles, he said,
you're just like these Gentiles.
You just ate with them five minutes ago.
Thou being a Jew liveth stacked with a man
over the Gentiles, and not of this do the Jews.
Why compelest thou the Gentiles to liveth to the Jews?
Say that five times faster.
We who are Jews by nature,
and not sinners of the Gentiles,
knowing!
Oh, I think so.
No, he says, knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law,
but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Even we don't believe in Jesus Christ,
that we might be justified by the faith of Christ,
and not by the works of the law.
For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
But if while we seek to be justified by Christ,
we ourselves also are found sinners,
is therefore Christ the minister of sin?
God forbid.
Say, look, I've been saved.
I'm still going to sin.
It doesn't mean God's the minister of sin.
He says, if I build again the things which I destroy,
I make myself a friend's gesture.
It's about building old habits again.
You know, some of the things that he used to be involved in,
that he destroyed.
The strongholds of sin and iniquity in his life.
He said, if I build those again,
he said, I make myself a friend's gesture.
He said, it's not God's fault.
I'm just fine by faith.
I'm saved. I'm going to heaven.
And if I choose to go back into sin,
that's my fault.
I'm a friend's gesture.
I can't blame anybody else except me.
But he's still saved.
He's still going to heaven.
He says, for I through the law am dead through the law,
that I might live unto God.
Verse 20, I am crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless I live, yet not I, the Christ liveth in me.
And the like which I now live in the flesh,
he's saying, the reason that I'm living right,
the reason I live for God,
he's saying, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.
I do not frustrate the grace of God.
For if righteousness come by the law,
then Christ is dead in pain.
He's saying, if you can get saved by the works of the law,
why did Jesus have to die on the cross?
He said, if righteousness come by the law,
Christ is dead in pain.
I mean, if being a good person gets you to heaven,
where does Jesus die on the cross come into picture?
Right?
I mean, if it's like, well, if it's good to go to heaven,
bad to go to hell.
That sounds like something that doesn't need Jesus at all.
That's what the world believes, by the way.
Good people go to heaven, bad people go to hell.
You don't need Jesus then.
Good to go to heaven, bad to go to hell.
No, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We all come up short.
There's none righteous, no, not one.
They're all gone out of the way,
they're together, become unprofitable.
He says, there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
There's not a righteous man,
there's not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sitteth not,
the Bible says.
There is none righteous, no, not one.
Nobody's good enough to go to heaven.
He says, it's not by the works of the law,
it's by faith, by grace through faith,
and the blood of Jesus Christ is shed on the cross
and if you believe it's by works, you don't need Jesus.
If you believe it's by works, you don't need Jesus.
You can just try to get to heaven on works
and it'll be like Brother Jimenez preached last Sunday night.
You'll get there and God's gonna judge you by your works
in Revelation chapter 20.
He's gonna judge the unsaved by their works.
They want to be justified by works.
God's gonna pull out the books
and another book is the Land of the Book of Life.
He's gonna judge them by their works
and they're gonna come short.
They're gonna be weighed in the balances
as Bill Shazzar was and found wanting
as it says in Daniel chapter 5.
They're gonna be weighed in the balances one day
and they're gonna be found wanting.
Sorry, you came short.
Sorry, your good works weren't good enough.
But the Bible says that those of us who were saved
that the righteousness of Jesus Christ
will be imputed unto us.
That righteousness might be imputed unto us also,
it says in Romans chapter 4.
And so we're gonna go in on the good works of Jesus.
We're going into heaven on the blood of Jesus.
These other people, they're trying to get in on their own way
and they're gonna come up wanting.
They're gonna come up short.
We were talking to, remember that crazy guy?
You know what I'm talking about.
We're out soloing and we knock on this guy's door
and I said, hey, I just wanted to invite you to church.
And he said, oh, I already went to church today.
I'm Roman Catholic.
And I said, well, I said to him, I said,
well, if you die today, do you know for sure if you go to heaven?
He said, do you want to bet?
And I was like, okay.
So I said, well, do you know for sure?
And he said, well, he's like, well, I don't know.
Do you know for sure?
I said, yeah, I know for sure.
He's like, well, let me see your ticket.
How do you know you're going to heaven?
You got a ticket or something?
Show me your ticket.
I think I was a little bit weird, but he's like,
show me your ticket.
And I said, my ticket's right here.
And he said, well, how much did you pay for it?
How much did it cost?
I said, it didn't cost me anything.
Jesus paid for it.
And he just kind of said something weird.
I don't know what he said, but he said something weird
and walked in and shut the door.
But hey, I didn't pay for it.
It's free.
Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3.24.
That's what the Gospel is.
Paul knew it.
Barnabas knew it.
Peter knew it.
James knew it.
I know it.
You know it.
Somebody needs to tell the world about it.
Somebody needs to go up and down the street and
in the highways and hedges and to tell people the
truth about the Gospel.
And I'm going to tell you something.
Someday, there will be false brotherhood that will
even come into this church.
Turn, if you would, and I'm going to close this.
Turn to 2 Peter chapter 2.
Look at 2 Peter chapter 2, verse 1.
You'll see the promise of God.
2 Peter chapter 2, verse 1.
You say, oh, man, it would never happen in this church.
There's no way anybody would ever come to faith
board back to church and bring false doctrine.
Never could happen.
God, there's no way.
You know, I'd be tempted to say something like that.
But look at verse number 1.
2 Peter chapter 2 says, but there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you.
It's the same thing.
Those false brethren, from Acts chapter 15, those
false brethren from Galatians chapter 2, OK, who
primally, same word, shall bring in damnable heresies
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring
upon themselves with this church.
Now, are they saved?
No.
Then how did the Lord buy them?
Hey, the Lord bought everybody.
He died on the cross for everybody.
OK, I'm not a Calvinist.
You say, are you a hyper-Calvinist?
I'm not even a medium-Calvinist.
I'm not even a hypo-Calvinist.
I'm not even a pseudo-quasi-Calvinist.
I'm not even a closet-Calvinist.
I'm not even a mini-Calvinist.
I'm not a Calvinist at all.
And by the way, let me just tell you something.
Put this in your pipe and smoke it.
Doug Calvin burning in hell right now.
But he says here that they're bought by the Lord, but
they're still not saved.
They're paid for.
I mean, Jesus paid their sins.
You say, well, how do you know Jesus died for everybody?
You know, the Calvinists believe in the Tulip.
T-U-L-I-P, total depravity, unconditional election,
limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance
of the saints.
I don't believe in any of them.
I don't believe in one of those.
All five of those things are wrong.
False doctrine.
Total depravity.
Many are so depraved, you can't even choose to do right.
That's a lie.
There are people that aren't even saved that have done
something right in their life.
OK.
Oh, you can't even believe.
Yes, you can believe.
That's why God said, you will not come to me that you
might have life.
You can believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I
shall be saved.
Whosoever will, whosoever wants to, let him come and take
to the water's life freely.
Unconditional election.
There is a condition to your election.
It's believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and I shall be
saved.
Even an English teacher can tell you that that sentence
has a conditional clause.
If.
It's saying, if thou believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
then thou shalt be saved.
Even a computer programmer knows that if then.
Am I right about this by the name?
If then is conditional.
Can I get a witness?
If then.
Condition.
The L in two little sense of limited atonement.
Jesus' atonement is not limited to certain people.
He died not for our sins only.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for us only,
but also for the sins of the whole world.
The Bible says, he is the savior of all men, especially
of those that believe.
He's still the savior of those who don't believe.
Doesn't do them any good though, if they don't receive.
See, the Bible says, for unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them.
But the word preached did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
It's not doing them any good because they didn't have
the faith to believe on Jesus Christ.
But he's the savior of all men.
He died to purchase all men.
He bled and suffered for all men.
He's the savior of all men.
He died not for our sins only, but also
for the sins of the whole world.
The Presbyterians and Calvinists and John Calvinists
are wrong.
They're wrong.
Calvinists are Armenians.
I'm not a Calvinist.
I'm not a Dexter.
I'm not an Armenian.
I'd rather be a Calvinist than an Armenian.
You know what Armenians believe?
You lose your salvation.
So I have to choose between God controlling everybody
and only dying for certain people,
and then I have to choose between that and now I'm
saved.
Now I'm not.
Now I'm saved.
Now I'm not.
The Church of
God, the Methodist and Church of
God in Christ, the
ocked, and the assemblies of God and the
first of Phoenix queer assembly, a beard
Phoenix with the 10, 10 Haggard, the convicted
sodomite that went to jail for, uh, or whatever,
ICar and didn't go to jail.
I mean, you know, it's not like they punish
anybody who really deserves to be punished,
but you know, the drug addict, gay sodomite
pastor from Colorado Springs who now lives office
there so let me explain something if you ever have a problem in your life cuz I
don't need counseling somebody called yesterday and said I need marriage
counseling my wife said the pastor doesn't do counseling I don't do counseling so if you need
counseling okay go off to Phoenix First Assembly and this is this is convicted
and arrested by the police pastor who was a gay having a gay prostitute and
buying drugs from him Ted Hagger who moved from Colorado Springs to Phoenix he's on
staff at Phoenix First Assembly he can counsel you so don't come to me for
counseling go to that have that sodomite pervert counsel you if you need counseling in your life
is that unbelievable or what if you need look the first time I said that from the
pulpit I have a newspaper in my hand with the article from the Arizona
Republic saying he's on staff at Phoenix First Assembly with Pastor Tommy Barnett
giving not giving counseling giving counseling and so the point is I'm not
an Arminian you know Phoenix First Assembly lose your salvation depart for
me I used to know you that's what they're gonna have to be Arminian God
says depart for me I used to know you but then you lost your salvation no
depart for me I never knew what he's gonna say to those who are not leaders
and so he Jesus said I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish
and no man shall pluck them out of my head my father is greater than all and no
man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand I am my father or one
Jesus said as he can't lose your salvation and Jesus didn't only die for
certain people asking me whether I'm Calvinist or Arminian it's like asking me
whether I'm Jehovah's Witness or Mormon I need so let's finish reading here
quickly it says there shall be false teachers among you who privilege shall
bring in damnable heresy even denying the Lord the bottom and bringing upon
themselves with destruction and many shall follow their pernicious ways by a
reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of and through covetousness
shall they with fain words make merchandise of whose judgment now of a
life long time linger if not and their damnation slumber not for God spared
not the angels that sin but cast them down to hell and delivered them into
chains of darkness to be reserved under judgment and spared not the old world
but saved Noah the eighth person a preacher of righteousness bringing in
the blood from the world of the ungodly and turning the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah and and Tommy Barnett and Ted Haggard and all these queers in the
ashes condemned them with an overthrow making them an unsample unto those that
after should live on Godly and delivered just cloth vexed with the filthy
conversation of the wicked for that righteous man dwelling among them at sea
and hearing their wicked deeds vexed his righteous soul from day to day with
their unlawful deeds it says for the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out
of temptations and to reserve the unjust under the day of judgment be
punished particularly then that walk after the flesh in the lust of
uncleanness in the spines of government presumptuous are they self-willed they
are not afraid to speak evil of dignities and on and on and on he teaches
look down at verse 15 and which are forsaken the right way and are gone
astray following the way of Balaam the son of Hosua who loved the wages of
unrighteousness it's all about money making money being a counselor make the
money but was reviewed for his iniquity the dumbass speaking with man's voice
for bad the madness of the prophet these are wells without water clouds that are
carried by the tempest to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever for when
they speak great swelling words of vanity they have it's in they have great
speaking ability they can make a great speech and a great sermon when they tell
you that it's by works and and then you have to repent of all your sins to be
saved and you got to at least be willing to live a good life and you got to turn
from drugs and turn from alcohol and turn from this turn from that when they
try to add works to salvation with great swelling words they allure through the
lust of the flesh it tickles your ears to hear their eloquence and their smooth
voice and their their great oratory ability not like pastor Anderson's
ranting and raving these guys are silver-tongued while they promised them
liberty here's the connection they themselves are the servants of
corruption for of whom a man is overcome of the same as he brought in bondage you
see God's gospel is not the gospel of God is not the gospel of bondage it's
the gospel of Liberty stand fast therefore the Liberty where with Christ
has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage that's
what these people who bring it in that's what they'll try to do what's bondage
according to Bible he said that those guys that were adding works to
salvation were bringing into bodies that's how he described God says no it's
Liberty you have the choice to choose whether you're gonna live for God or not
you're saved by grace through faith sealed saved sealed to the day of
redemption but he says you're having liberty to decide whether you want to
live for God or not you're not in bondage to man's rules and man's laws
and man's way to heaven Jesus paid it all as far as having work prayer father
thank you so much for the Bible and thank you for this great story in the
Bible and not only do I thank you for the story but I thank you for the
statements in Galatians 2 that help us interpret the story and the statements
in second Peter chapter 2 they helped us to interpret the story in acts 15 God
thank you so much for the Bible's clarity and clear teaching and and we
love you and thank you so much for saving us by grace and we don't have to
be under bondage we can be free at Liberty and we love you and thank you
for Jesus name I pray man all right let's go in