Jesus Plus Nothing
Who likes meetings? It depends on what you’re meeting about, right? Good, happy, good news meetings are great! Especially if lunch is provided. But difficult, bad news meetings where there’s disagreement that you have to come to a consensus on…those are no fun, although they’re sometimes necessary. That’s where we find ourselves in the text for today. This is what is called the Jerusalem Council. There was an issue of some Jewish Christians claiming that Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to become Christians. Let’s see how the issue was handled.
In Acts 15, we encounter a pivotal moment in the early church's history – a moment when the theological foundations of the gospel faced a severe challenge. The issue at hand was the equation of "Jesus + the Law." Some contended that salvation required adherence to the Jewish law in addition to faith in Christ. This theological crisis threatened to undermine the core message of the gospel by adding human works to God's grace.
The Problem = Jesus + the Law (1-6)
The early church, only around 18 years old, faced a profound challenge to its identity and mission. The issue was not whether Gentiles could be saved but how they were saved. The deeply rooted Jewish traditions clashed with the transformative message of Christ's redemptive work. The Pharisee Christians sought to uphold the Law, even adding circumcision as a requirement for Gentile believers. This controversy was a matter of fundamental importance, for it questioned the very heart of the Christian faith. “The Pharisee Christians banded together to make sure no one slipped by Mount Sinai on the way to Calvary.”
The backdrop of this controversy stems from the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Many of the first followers of Jesus were devout Jews, steeped in the traditions and customs of the Mosaic Law. They had been brought up to believe that adherence to the Law was the path to righteousness and holiness before God. “Scripture required that foreigners be circumcised to become part of the covenant people (Gen 17:12-13; Ex 12:48).”[1]
Listen to how one person described it, and it perhaps will provide some empathy for you towards the Pharisee Christians:
“Think of the stability of the Pharisee’s training and Hebraism, his immersion in Mosaic Law and tradition, his pride in being part of the chosen people of God. Live in his shoes as we relive the steps of his rigorous education and joyous participation in Israel’s customs. Feel the loving arms of parents and family as he is circumcised on the eighth day; catch the awe and wonder he felt sitting at the feet of the elder Pharisees studying the Scripture; identify with the pride he felt when he became a son of the Law at his bar mitzvah. Become one with him as he grew to full manhood and earned the revered status of a Pharisee, and consider how he must have burst with satisfaction as he put on the dignified robes of a leader of Israel.”[2]
The controversy wasn’t merely theological; it was a matter of fundamental importance for the identity and future of the Christian faith. It defined or redefined how we are saved.
How are we saved? We are saved by grace through faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The Problem = Jesus + anything
Tony Merida says,
“Many adhere, sometimes without even realizing it, to a Jesus-plus-something-else gospel: Jesus plus baptism, Jesus plus church attendance, Jesus plus quiet times. But if we add anything to the gospel, we lose the gospel. Gospel math works likes this: Jesus plus nothing equals everything. The work of Jesus Christ is totally sufficient.”[3]
R. Kent Hughes says it this way:
“As those under grace we are not to make non-Biblical requirements of others—specifically, those that come from secondary cultural traditions. In that day this meant not foisting a Jewish lifestyle on Gentiles. Today this means we are not to make areas of our lifestyle that are not spelled out in Scripture normative for others if they are to be “good” Christians—for example, how we dress, how we run our church, the standards of living we think proper, personal tastes, musical preferences (including in a worship service), etc. If we thrust any of these on others as necessary to a life of grace, we repeat the sin of the Judaizers!
We so easily push our preferences on others. We assume they will either do things our way or they are unspiritual. We too often put others through the paces of our own heritage before we fully accept them as brothers and sisters. Sadly, sometimes a church will radiate more of this than the gospel!”[4]
Church, may we fight for the gospel of Jesus, not our personal preferences. May we be about the grace of God. That’s the case that they made. Peter and Paul and Barnabas and James, they were arguing for the grace of God. They were making a case for grace.
The Case for Grace: Peter, Paul, and Barnabas all make their case, and it is a case from personal experience. Peter gets up first and makes his case. If you remember back, Peter was the first one to lead a Gentile, Cornelius, to faith in Christ. We see him make this case, but there’s another case from personal experience he presents I want us to focus on.
Acts 15:7-11 - In verses 10-11, we see his major case for grace. It’s the personal experience of sin.
We are unable to fulfill the Law.
The Law, as revealed in the Old Testament, was given not as a means of salvation but as a revelation of sin. No one can be justified before God through the law because all have sinned. The Law reveals sin. It doesn’t save. It acts as a mirror, reflecting our fallenness.
Galatians 3:23-25 reminds us that the Law functioned as a guardian, pointing us to our need for a Savior.
“23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian”
Romans 3:19-20 reinforces this truth, emphasizing that the Law doesn’t save but rather brings the knowledge of sin.
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Jesus plus the Law, or Jesus plus anything, is a problem because it misunderstands the primary role of the Law. We aren’t saved by the Law, first and foremost because we can’t live up to the Law. Law isn’t what leads to lives changed. Grace is.
That’s the argument both Peter and Paul and Barnabas make. Not only does every person know by experience that we cannot fully live according to the Law, but they have seen first-hand people’s lives changed by the grace of God apart from the adherence to the Law of Moses and circumcision.
People’s lives are changed by grace. This is the personal experience of salvation.
Peter saw the first gentile convert. Peter's encounter with Cornelius, a Gentile, showed that God bestowed the Holy Spirit upon those who believed in Jesus, irrespective of Jewish observance. (7-9) Paul and Barnabas witnessed many gentile converts. (12) They also witnessed many Gentiles coming to faith in Christ, receiving the same Holy Spirit, and experiencing salvation.
They both got up and testified to seeing the grace of God given firsthand. They saw lives changed by the grace of God. Have you experienced the grace of God?
Again, Law isn’t what leads to lives changed. Grace is. There’s a line in a song by We the Kingdom that I didn’t like at first, but the more I dwelled on it, the more I have come to believe it. It’s in their song “Holy Water.” They repeat this line: “I don't wanna abuse Your grace; God, I need it every day; It's the only thing that ever really makes me wanna change.”
I didn’t like it at first because I know that God has His law, and we should want to obey it. I try that with my kids every day. “Do this. Don’t do that. It doesn’t matter how you feel, you’re supposed to do this.” That’s true with us and God, but as we’ve seen, we don’t live that way. We sin constantly. But it’s His grace and kindness that leads us to repentance.[5] Law doesn’t make us want to obey God. Grace does.
Think of it this way. Suppose you are in a kingdom, and you are hungry, so you steal something to eat. The law of that kingdom is harsh on all lawbreaking, and event theft leads to death. You are caught and the crowd gathers outside the palace to watch your execution. Right before the guillotine drops, you hear a shout, “STOP!” It’s the King seated up high. He then comes down and pardons you. Wouldn’t that make you want to obey the laws of his kingdom from that point forward?! That’s not the gospel though. In reality for us, the king not only came down from his throne, but he placed himself upon the guillotine and took our punishment. How much more does that make you want to live for such a gracious king?! It really is the grace and kindness of God that leads us to repentance.
Now, they didn’t just leave it at experience. There’s danger in that.
Our experiences should be interpreted in light of Scripture. They (James) interpreted their experiences in light of Scripture. (13-17) He quoted Amos 9:11-12, but he also said “the words of the prophets agree.” He could have quoted any of Is 2:2; 45:20-23; Jer 12:15-16; Hos 3:4-5; Zech 2:11; 8:22; Rom 15:7-13.
· The Prophet Isaiah spoke of Gentiles seeking the Lord. (Isaiah 2:2)
· The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed that all nations would bow before the Lord. (Isaiah 45:20-23)
· The Prophet Jeremiah foretold the gathering of Gentiles into God's fold. (Jeremiah 12:15-16)
· The Prophet Hosea anticipated the future inclusion of Gentiles. (Hosea 3:4-5)
· The Prophet Zechariah prophesied that many nations would join the Lord's people. (Zechariah 2:11; 8:22)
· James reaffirmed the truth that God's Word pointed to a day when the Gentiles would be united with Jewish believers in Christ. (Romans 15:7-13)
So, both personal experience and Scripture aligned to make the case for grace. We are saved by grace, and it was always God’s plan to bring the Gentiles in. So, what should they do? How should they proceed, having come to a consensus?
The Answer: Be united around the essentials.
We should uphold the moral law and live in unity with one another. (19-35)
Be sexually pure. (20, 29) Live according to the moral law. The council, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, concluded that Gentile believers should not be burdened with the yoke of the Jewish law but should abstain from idolatry, sexual immorality, and the consumption of blood. (19-20) The moral law, based on God's unchanging character, remains relevant for all believers. It defines righteousness and guides our behavior.
Be socially considerate. Be united in Christ. The council's decision fostered unity between Jewish and Gentile believers. It emphasized the centrality of Christ and His grace in salvation. In unity, we find the fulfillment of Christ's prayer that we may be one as He and the Father are one.[6] The requirements they decided upon aren’t for the purpose of salvation. They’re for the purpose of unity.
It is the grace of God given for us that leads us to humble ourselves before others to show the same grace.
1 Cor 9:19-23 – 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
“The same Spirit that authored and advanced the gentile mission (1:8; 2:4-11; 8:29; 10:19, 44-47) now led the church to confirm this mission.”[7]
The problem of "Jesus + the Law" is not unique to the early church; it continues to challenge us today. We must hold firmly to the truth that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Our experiences and interpretations must be anchored in the authority of God's Word.
Let us live according to God's moral law, recognizing that it is a reflection of His character, and let us embrace unity in Christ, for in Him, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but one body, saved by grace. May we always declare with confidence and joy: "Jesus plus nothing equals everything."
[1] Craig S. Keener, Acts, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 362.
[2] Lloyd John Ogilvie, Drumbeat of Love (Waco, TX: Word, 1976), 190-1.
[3] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Acts, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville: B&H, 2017), 211.
[4] R. Kent Hughes, Acts, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1996), 196.
[7] Craig S. Keener, Acts, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 373.
