"Cold Water Committee" September 18 Readings: Acts 11

 

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles.  The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New. 

Bible Readings: Acts 11

Background:  

God did something amazing in Caesarea, but there was still some difficult work to do back in Jerusalem. Already there had formed what would become the greatest rift in the early church - how Jewish was the church going to be? Did people have to be Jews to become Christians? The "circumcision party" had already formed in Jerusalem, Christians who put Jewish law ahead of God's grace. They did not rejoice that Gentiles had been redeemed and saved from hell unless they also conformed to their ways. This conflict would become the driving force in Paul's ministry, the subject of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15, and the cause of Paul's arrest and imprisonment in the later chapters of this book.

The second half of this chapter is devoted to the establishment of the church of Antioch, which would replace the Jerusalem church as the key church in God's kingdom and would be the church from which world missions would go forward.

There is a sad verse that shows the failure of the Jewish church, verse 19. When the Jews left Jerusalem because of the persecution, they spread the gospel, as they should have, but unfortunately, they only spoke to Jews. They did not understand God's heart for the whole world. That is why there was so much conflict over this issue. The Jewish Christians were slow to understand and accept that God was not just THEIR God but that he was for all. It was the multicultural Antioch church that caught this vision, grasped the heart of God, and began to take the gospel to the world.

Daily Devotional: Cold Water Committee

I've met them more times than I can count, the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem. We used to call them the Cold Water Committee. Oh, the ones I mean weren't actually Jewish, nor were they from Jerusalem. But the similarity in behavior is unmistakable. In Acts 11, Peter returned to Jerusalem to regale the believers with the glories of God displayed in the salvation and Spirit-filling of the Gentiles in Caesarea. He was overjoyed with what God had done and reported that to the church.

And most of the church rejoiced with him. But not everyone. There were Jewish believers who put a high priority on Christianity remaining Jewish. They emphasized circumcision and the continued observance of all aspects of the Jewish Law. And Gentile believers who were uncircumcised and inobservant of the Law did not fit into their plan. They were not happy at all when Peter reported the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles.

Did you get that? The Spirit of God was poured out on a whole new segment of humanity and many people were saved. It was a gospel breakthrough and these people were pouting. They were angry. God did something wonderful and they were angry because it did not fit their perception of how things ought to be.

I have met them everywhere.

God does something wonderful, but it is not through people who share their theological, ideological or strategic perspectives and they are upset. A great thing happens, but it doesn't happen under the strictures of their control and doesn't follow their rules, so they reject it, criticize it and disdain it. If it doesn't happen their way, under their control, under their guidelines, they get out the cold water and go around trying to extinguish the flames of the Spirit's work.

We have to remember that we serve the Kingdom of God and not the other way around. It is God who is in control and not me.

It is interesting how Peter responded to the Cold Water committee - much better than I ever have. He did two things. He proclaimed the truth of God to them, showing how God revealed the truth of his heart for the nations. He also shared his testimony of God's work in and through him. The Word of God displayed in the daily experience of a believer is a powerful thing.

Peter patiently but firmly instructed them about what God was doing and God's Spirit convinced the people, even those who initially resisted, that it was truly God at work.

When the Spirit of God goes to work in us, there will unfortunately often be a backlash from the Cold Water Committee. We must, like Peter, gently instruct them as to the Word of God and the work of the Spirit in us, continue to do the work of God, and trust the Spirit to empower and protect us.

Father, may I burn with a fire that no amount of cold water can extinguish. 

Consider God's Word:

Have you allowed yourself to be discouraged from the work of God by the "cold water committee?"
Have you (gulp) participated in the cold water committee by criticizing others?