Senior Pastor Mark Stafford

James – A Strong Man of Faith

An Overview of James Through the lens of Acts 15

Some people think that Jesus paid for most of our sins on the cross, but He still left something up to us.  They will say, “Well, of course you need God’s grace to be saved.  No one can save themselves, but you still have to DO something to win God’s approval.”

• Some claim that this extra thing is Baptism.
• Some teach that once you receive Jesus, you then need to attend a certain type of church.
• Other people think that you need to add good works to your life before God will extend salvation to you.
• Still others believe that salvation does not happen apart from an emotional, mystical experience.

The belief that our actions somehow play a part in earning our salvation is nothing less than pure heresy.  One theologian said, “If a person is trying to add anything to the work of Christ for salvation, that person is not saved and is operating under a fatal misunderstanding.[1]” God helps us because we are (and were) totally and utterly unable to contribute anything at all to our salvation.  Romans 5:6 says, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.  One of the hardest things for people to grasp is that they don’t need to add anything to salvation.  Jesus did it all.  He paid the whole debt for our sins on the cross.  We were not left with even a fraction of a percent to pay.  When He cried out on the cross “Tetelesti” or “It is Finished,” Jesus was indicating that the entire price for sin had been completely covered by His blood.  Romans 10:9 says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

In the early years of the New Testament church, the controversy was slightly different from the controversies that the church faces today, but the issue itself was the same.  The issue is simply this:  Is Jesus enough or do I need to contribute to my salvation?  There was a huge divide between those who had come to belief in Jesus out of Judaism and those who came to faith in Christ out of pagan belief systems.

Those who grew up as Jews were attached to their religious traditions.  They were under the impression that there were certain things you had to add to Jesus’s work on the cross in order to be saved.

• These converted Jews were excited about Jesus.
• They believed He was the Messiah.
• They had been waiting for Him for a very long time.
• They fully understood that Jesus died for their sins and paid a price for their salvation that they were utterly unable to pay.

At the same time, they felt bound to Judaism.  They struggled to understand how a person could receive the Jewish Messiah without becoming a Jew first.  More specifically, they believed that circumcision was a requirement before anyone could enter into a saving relationship with Jesus.  Circumcision was viewed as the doorway to becoming a Jew.

The issue wasn’t simply circumcision.  The bigger question was: Is Jesus Enough?  The issue was whether or not a person needed to add anything to God’s grace in order to be saved.

The Issue: Is Christ Alone Enough for Salvation? Acts 15:1

Is Christ alone enough for salvation or are there also some “and-you-have-to’s”?

• You receive Jesus as Savior “and-you-have-to” do something else as well
• Salvation is a gift of God’s grace “and-you-have-to” be circumcised, “and-you-have-to” become a Jew “and-you-have-to” do some good deeds and so on

The Jewish believers pressured the leaders in the early church to instruct these new Gentile converts that salvation was by God’s grace and through circumcision.  They were arguing for some “and-you-have-to’s,” insisting that new believers must become Jews first, then Christians.  This belief was an early heresy of epic proportions.

In the midst of this disagreement, we observe the character of a man named James as he relates to Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and some newly converted Pharisees.  This morning, lets introduce the Book of James by looking at James’ influence and leadership as it is recalled in Acts 15.

The issue of salvation through circumcision had developed into such a huge problem that it took the Apostle Paul off the mission field so that he could personally return to Jerusalem and participate in a council between the Jewish and Gentile converts.  It was called “The Jerusalem Council.” James was the presiding officer over this council.  Let’s read verses 1-21 together:

15 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. ³ So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ¹⁴ Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶ “‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
¹⁷ that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things ¹⁸ known from of old.’

¹⁹ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

Luke is the author of Acts.  He begins chapter 15 by stating the issue at hand.  Acts 15:1 says, “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’”  There were “some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees” in this meeting. Apparently these Pharisees had recently converted to Christianity.  A “Christian Pharisee” might seem like a contradiction of terms until you consider that Paul himself had also been a Pharisee before he realized that Jesus was the Messiah.  These Pharisees even more clearly defined the issue at hand in verse 5.  Referring to Gentile converts, they clearly stated that, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the Law of Moses.”

Pharisees claimed that circumcision was a requirement for salvation – Acts 15:1-2, 5-7, Gal. 1-2

They didn’t doubt that a Gentile could be saved, but they were insisting that a Gentile needed keep the Law of Moses.  There is still some question about this issue still today.  Many Christians wonder if they need to still obey Old Testament law.  The issue created a huge rift in the early church.  Look at verse 2, “And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.”

The word translated as “dissention” in verse 2, is the Greek word stasis (stä’-sēs).  Stasis is translated other places in scripture as “Insurrection,” “Sedition,” and “Uproar.”  It’s a strong word.  Dissention, as it appears here in God’s word, is the kind of situation where two sides of an issue have very strong opinions that cannot be easily resolved.

The Pharisees were part of what is sometimes called the “circumcision party.”  They were serious students of the scriptures and had likely memorized huge portions of the Torah.  These men were honest, moralistic, and sincere.

If you had asked them, “Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that He died for your sins?”  They would have said “YES!  Of Course!  That is why Jesus came!”  But then they would have asked you this question in return:

“Don’t you believe that God gave us the Law and that it is essential for everyone to keep it?”  Then they would explain that God gave a special revelation through Moses and whatever God says in the law is true and eternally binding.  Part of God’s revelation included circumcision.  They concluded that being a Christian must begin with obeying God’s command to be circumcised.   They would ask, “If a person, claiming to be a Christian disobeys God at this fundamental level, how can they possibly claim to be saved?”

When you consider the argument from the Pharisee’s point of view, it begins to carry some serious weight.  Their position was not ridiculous, but founded upon both scripture and years of Jewish tradition.

However, when Paul spoke of those in the “circumcision party” in Galatians, he was not complimentary at all.  Despite their learnedness and sincerity, he considered them threats to the church. Here’s why: If they were right, there were serious repercussions:

• If they were right, then Gentiles are not really saved and they won’t be saved until they begin trying to obey the demands of the law in addition to receiving God’s grace.
• If they were right then salvation comes by way of God’s grace and through a whole long list of “and-you-have-to’s.”
• If they were right, Paul and Barnabas are heretics and should be disregarded as false teachers. After all, Paul had been travelling all over the known world claiming that Gentiles did not need to keep the law of Moses to be saved but that salvation came by the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
• If they were right, then all Gentile believers today (including you and me) aren’t saved, but a false religion, masquerading as truth, is advancing all over the world, while driving people to an eternity in hell.

Are you beginning to how serious this issue really is?  Can you understand the tricky position that James was in as he stands between Paul and the Pharisees?  As a Jew, he needed to bring perfect clarity to the issue of salvation and the role of the law in the life of a Christian.  Is Jesus enough for salvation?

The Book of James was most likely written before this council met and it was probably the very first book written in the New Testament.  As we seek to understand the issues of his day, Acts 15 gives us a greater insight into why James was addressing the issue of faith and works when he wrote his Epistle.  It was a hot topic.

Verse 6 says that “⁶ The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.”  We don’t have many details about what was exchanged in the next few moments, However, in the next section of the passage Peter emerges with a testimony that brings great clarity to the issue at hand.

If you’ve ever been in leadership before, you know that complicated issues are seldom resolved with flippant answers or short meetings.  Luke reports that three speeches were given during the council.  First, Peter stands up to address the council.  We can read His words beginning in verse 7b,

“^7b …Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

Peter’s Speech: Both Jew and Gentile and Saved by Grace Alone – Acts 15:7-11, Gal. 2:12, Eph. 2:8-9

Paul had criticized Peter in Galatians for “fearing the circumcision party.”[2]  None of that fear was evident during his speech at the Jerusalem council.  When Peter was given the opportunity, he simplified the gospel and stripped it down to the basics.  There are no “and-you-have-to’s” here.

• He makes it clear that nobody is saved by the law.
• The law existed only to condemn us and show us our need for a Savior.

Peter could have added to salvation some “and-you-have-to’s” like circumcision, regeneration by baptism, attending daily services, giving lots of money, and pompous ceremonies with priests, altars, robes and cathedrals.  Instead, he leaves them out and asks, “why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” He kept it simple.

• He makes nothing of ceremonies surrounding salvation.
• He does not demand obedience to the law as a prerequisite.
• He does not promote salvation through circumcision or by the observation of the ordinances.

He points to grace, and to grace alone.  It reminds me of Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8-9 when He says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Peter was a Jew, so he may have been tempted to lean toward the Pharisees view that salvation was connected with the observation of the Law of Moses.  Instead of law, Peter offered a message of grace.  The law was never intended to be a means of salvation.

In verse 11, He said, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

• The Pharisees were asking, “Can the Gentiles be saved without acting just like us?”
• Peter turns the issue around and offers the explanation that the Jews will be saved by grace through faith, just like the Gentiles”
• The law does not save Gentiles and the Law does not save Jews either! Only Jesus saves!

Nobody could boast that they did enough good works to earn salvation because everyone enters God’s kingdom on the basis of grace.

Application: Are you convinced that you are not saved by your own righteousness?

People in our country overwhelmingly believe that they gain access to heaven on the basis of their merits.  Most people in America believe that God will grant them eternal life because they are “good people.”  To question this belief is treason against the pride of human nature.

Every person is born over-confident in their own righteousness.  Self-righteousness is part of our fallen human nature.  By nature, we are all Pharisaic.  In our flesh, we want to work our way to heaven.

Peter does not say here that if we believe that we are doing our best, that we will be saved. Peter plainly states here, “we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus.”  It’s not based on our works.

We are saved by a gracious act from a loving God, not by our own merits.  Those who preach mere morality or set up any other way of salvation other than the grace of God through Jesus, preach another gospel.  The Bible calls them accursed – even if they preach it with the eloquence of an angel.  Galatians 1:8 says:

“…even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

Application: The Apostles believed in Salvation by Grace ALONE – Gal. 1:8

Peter takes the credit for salvation away from mankind in all respects and attributes it to the grace of God.  Paul is up next.  We only have one verse indicating what Paul said.  Verse 12 says, “¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

Paul’s Speech: God is at Work – Acts 15:12, 1 Corinthians 9:21-22

Paul was a wise man who once said in 1 Corinthians 9:21-22, “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.”

When he was with Gentiles, he spoke as a Gentile, but here he is speaking with Jews.  Paul was a brilliant theologian, but he does not argue theology here.  Since he was working with Jews, he changed his approach.

He tells about all the miraculous signs that the Lord has done among the Gentiles through their ministry.  If God was working in Antioch, Athens, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe and Gentiles in those places were receiving the Holy Spirit and turning to faith in Jesus without becoming Jews first, then who are we to stand against what God is doing?

Finally, it is James’ turn to address the council.  James did not think like Paul.  He was possibly the most Jewish of all the Jewish leaders in the Christian church at the time.  Let’s take a detour and explore what we know about James from God’s Word.

Who Was James?

#1 James was the half-brother of Jesus – Mark 6:3

Mark 6:3 lists the names of Jesus’ four half-brothers.  (Jesus has some sisters too)  James is the first listed meaning that he is probably the oldest of Jesus’ younger brothers.  James and Jesus would have spent a great deal of time with one another, considering that the average first century house was roughly the size of a garage, Jesus’ sinless, perfect life would have been hard to miss.

I wonder if they shared a room?  Certainly they worked and went to synagogue and played with neighborhood kids and attended school together.  However, in spite of knowing Jesus so well, James did not believe his brothers claims at first. 

#2 James doubted at first – John 7:2-5, Mark 6:4, 3:21

In John 7:2-5 it says, “² Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. ³ So his brothers said to him [Jesus], “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.⁴ For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” ⁵ For not even his brothers believed in him.”

Their unbelief bore a sad witness to what Jesus said in Mark 6:4.  Mark reports that Jesus said that “…A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”  In those early days, James and his brothers where so strong in their doubt that it says in Mark 3:21 that they thought Jesus was “out of his mind.”

Let’s fast forward to the end of Jesus’ ministry.  Their unbelief came to a halt when their brother who was publicly, mercilessly and brutally crucified came back from the dead.  After they watched Jesus ascend to heaven, a group of His disciples entered the upper room.  It is noted that with this group of Jesus’ followers, which included eleven of the twelve disciples, Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers are among those listed.

So what had happened to change James from being the skeptical younger brother to being a leader in the church?  Paul gives us an answer in 1 Corinthians 15:7 where he says that when Jesus rose from the grave, “he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

#3 James saw the risen Christ and believed – 1 Cor. 15:7

Jesus went out of his way to make a personal, post-resurrection appearance to his brother.  James was convinced, beyond a shadow of doubt, that his brother really was the Messiah.

The church was born on the day at Pentecost and James, though not an Apostle, was one of the key leaders within the church.  In Galatians 2:9, Paul calls James, along with Peter and John, pillar of the church.

#4 James became a pillar of the New Testament church – Gal 2:9, Acts 12:17

Since the Apostles were often travelling and engaging in evangelistic work, James eventually became the dominant leader of the Jerusalem church.  To borrow a contemporary term, he was, in essence, the “senior pastor.”  He was so prominent that after Peter was miraculously released from jail in Acts 12, he asked the astonished believers to “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.”

James was a man who had spent years with Jesus.  Jesus personally appeared to James after His resurrection.  As we study James, we’ll see dozens of references to the Sermon on the Mount.  James obviously knew his brother’s teachings very well.  He was also well acquainted with both Peter and John.  He was considered a pillar of the church by Paul.

James’ Speech: God is Acting on His Promises – Acts 15:14-19

James was a wise man who understood that those who needed to be persuaded here were not the Gentiles, but his own countrymen, the Jews.  So, instead of referring to Paul, who was seen as the Apostle to the Gentiles, he turns to Peter.  He refers to him not by his Greek name (Peter) but by the most Jewish form of his Jewish name, Simeon.  Perhaps that was to remind his listeners exactly how Jewish Peter was.  Acts 15:14 says,“ ¹⁴ Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name.”

At this point, James turns to the Bible.  Not only did he know Jesus’ teachings, but he also was well versed in the Old Testament.  He recalled some of the promises that God made in Amos regarding salvation extending to gentiles.  Verses 15-17 says,

” ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶ “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it,
¹⁷ that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things ¹⁸ known from of old.’”

James says, in effect, that God has spoken on this matter in the Old Testament.  God said the He would extend salvation to the Gentiles.  Now, He has done everything He promised to do.

In James’ wise judgement, Jewish believers should not make it more difficult for Gentile believers to turn to God by making them become Jews first.  Verse 19 proclaims, “Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.”

Gentiles are invited to come to Jesus just the way they are and their resulting faith will not bring about Jewish rituals and customs and traditions.  Instead, real saving faith brings about a new desire for Jesus and His righteousness.

As we head into a study on the book of James, it is important to understand that James’ exhortation that “faith without works is dead” does not at all mean that works are a means to gain salvation.

Application: We enter the kingdom of God by trusting Christ alone.

So what about obeying God’s rules?  Obeying God rules results in our blessing and growth, but rule-following and good behavior does not earn our salvation.

Salvation does not come from Jesus plus religious observances, Jesus plus good works, or Jesus plus sacraments.  All these things are fine things, but the foundation of our faith is in Christ and in Christ alone.

The problem with any supplement is that it implies that Christ’s work is insufficient and if we are dependent on our good deeds instead of upon Jesus’ finished work, we can never be sure if we have completed the added requirements perfectly.

God is not the author of confusion.  He didn’t do a partial work on the cross.  Jesus paid it all and offers salvation as a complete free gift to anyone who is willing to receive Jesus as Lord.

Salvation is by faith in Christ alone!

[1] Boice, James Montgomery “Acts” page 259

[2] Gal. 2:12