Lesson 31: “And So Were the Churches Established in the Faith”

Acts 15-18
1-2 Thessalonians
1 Corinthians 2

Purpose: To help class members learn from Paul’s teachings about how to share the gospel and how to live as Saints.

Lesson Development

1. Paul, Silas, and Timothy preach throughout Macedonia and Greece.
2. Paul preaches on Mars’ Hill to the Athenian philosophers.
3. Paul writes letters of counsel to the Saints in Thessalonica.

SCRIPTURE DISCUSSION AND APPLICATION

Attention activity

[Sketch illustrative diagram on board during activity: say, two circles to represent Judaism and Christianity, coloring in “lunatic fringe” at appropriate time, a connecting arch at the top to represent shared origins, etc. Write “21st century” somewhere, to be altered to “1st century”.]

The modern world recognizes Christianity and Judaism as two of the great world religions. Even though both religions share some beliefs from the same scripture – we both believe in the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament, for instance, and in one God who is the God of all the world – we seldom have any difficulty distinguishing between “Christian” and “Jewish” when anybody mentions beliefs and practices. Just to demonstrate that, what are two or three rituals or holidays that we can identify as Jewish? as Christian?

We, of course, find ourselves in the Christian sphere. Even if many other Christians would classify Latter-day Saints as the lunatic fringe of Christianity, we see ourselves as the most Christian of Christian churches.

Now let’s go back to the 1st century, and the early years following Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, when the apostles were beginning to establish Churches in the lands around the Mediterranean. As odd as it might seem to us, the people of that day – whether Jews or Gentiles – did not recognize Christianity as a separate religion from Judaism. For them, for decades, Christianity was Jewish – the lunatic fringe of Judaism, perhaps, because Christians believed that their founder was a god who died and came back from the dead, but Jewish, nonetheless. After all, the scriptures of the Jews and the Christians were the same, the leaders and virtually all of the early converts were Jews, Jesus was a Jew who had taught Jewish doctrines and followed Jewish law – in just about everybody’s view, Christians were just Jews with some novel and extreme ideas.

With this worldview in mind, it will be easier to understand one of the first great disputes that arose among the Christians in the days of the apostles. We’ll spend some time on it today, because it will come up over and over again in our lessons on the New Testament epistles.

Acts 15: 1-2

1 And certain men which came down from Judæa taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

Why would Christian teachers tell the people that circumcision under the Law of Moses was a requirement for salvation? Why would some other Christian teachers – Paul and Barnabas – disagree with them about that? How did they decide to resolve their dispute?

Acts 15: 3-6

3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

4 And when they were 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.

5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

6 ¶And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

So Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem and lay the question before the apostles and elders – the elders being other Christians who met with the apostles from time to time. Verse 5 refers to certain men who were Pharisees – what are Pharisees doing in the council? [These are evidently Christian converts who retained their early training and preference for close adherence to law.] And how these Pharisee-Christians answer the question about circumcision? [Note that they also say it is necessary to “keep the law of Moses,” not just circumcision, but to become Jews and keep, presumably, all Jewish laws. Converts must first becomes Jews in order to be Christians.]

Then Peter, the leading apostle, and in our model the President of the Church in that day, stood to speak.

Acts 15: 7-11

7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

10 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?

11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

What is Peter referring to when he says “A good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe”?

According to Peter, did God make any distinction between Jew and Gentile when they began to follow Jesus Christ? What is the evidence that there was no distinction?

Peter refers to the Law of Moses as a yoke; elsewhere (Galations 5:1), Paul refers to the Mosaic Law as a “yoke of slavery.” Why do you suppose they viewed the law this way?

After some further discussion about other aspects of the Law of Moses, particularly dietary laws, the council reaches a decision: They will send teachers to the various churches with this message:

Acts 15: 28-29

28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

What does that mean for new Gentile converts? [They are expected to be chaste and to obey a few key dietary laws, but otherwise they have no obligation to obey the Law of Moses – to become Jews first in order to be Christians.]

How do you feel about that decision? Does it seem wise? Too strict? Too lenient?

Is there any parallel between that question in the 1st century, and questions about becoming Latter-day Saints in the 21st century? Are you sure?

We all live in downtown Salt Lake City now, but I think most of us have lived or served as missionaries in other parts of the world. Have you ever said, or heard someone say, “But that’s not how we do it in Utah”? [Be prepared with two or three brief examples to use if necessary to spark a discussion on what is really gospel and what cultural beliefs or practices we sometimes confuse with gospel.]

Is it necessary for parents in Tahiti and Mongolia to teach their children to sing “Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree”? Can a faithful Latter-day Saint be a socialist or a communist, or refuse to sustain the U.S. Constitution? What about Latter-day Saints who are not Americans? Why do we sometimes find it so hard to allow others to live differently in many respects from the way we live?

How do we know, when we’re dealing with Latter-day Saints who are not exactly likely us, what is essential and what is merely cultural?

This New Testament problem – the reluctance of many Jewish Christians to allow full fellowship to Gentile converts who do not follow the Law of Moses – is going to come up again and again in the next few weeks. If this question of modern application – how much like us do new converts have to become? – nags at you and causes you to think or question, please feel free to return to this discussion whenever the issue of Judaizing comes up in our lesson.

Let’s go on with the New Testament account. Paul, and other teachers, go from Jerusalem to visit the various churches and to preach and teach and establish new churches. One night Paul has a vision:

Acts 16: 9-10

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.

Where is Macedonia? Does Paul ever find the people in Macedonia who are calling for a teacher to help them? [We don’t know – nothing specifically identifies anyone as that prayerful group in the documents surviving as the New Testament.] Whether or not Paul succeeds in finding the Macedonians who pray for him, though, his mission in that direction does result in great good. He tells us the route he followed, and that when they reached Philippi, a city in Greece not far from the Mediterranean. This is the first missionary expedition outside of the Middle East, the first point in Europe where the Christian message is taught. Paul and his companion Silas decide to stay in Philippi for a few days.

Acts 16:13-15

13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

14 ¶And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

That’s a simple story, but there’s more to it than we might see at first reading. First, it is no accident that Paul meets Lydia, or someone like her.

What day does he go to that spot on the river? Why does he go there, and not somewhere else? Who is praying? – Was Paul seeking pagans, who were praying to Greek gods? No, he was seeking – and found – a small group of devout Jews, including the woman named Lydia. How does this passage tell us that she was a devout Jew? Who is with her at the riverside?

A devout Jew from Thyatira who was converted by Paul in the city of Philippi … Lydia was a worshiper of (the one true) God, i.e., she was a practicing Jew. This may have been a lifelong commitment since there was a colony of Jews in Thyatira … That she was meeting beside a stream on the Sabbath for prayer suggests that there were not enough Jewish men in Philippi to make up a quorum and establish a proper synagogue. Here we see a subtle but important point … – while Lydia could not be a founding member of a Jewish synagogue, she can be and is the first European convert to Christendom, and in fact is the founding member of the Christian community which begins to meet in her household.” [Anchor Bible Dictionary; entry for “Lydia”]

Lydia’s home – and it was probably a large one, because she was a businesswoman engaged in a luxury trade – became the church there in Philippi. We’ll see that Church again in a couple of weeks when we talk about the epistle of Paul to the Philippians – the Philippians were the group of converts meeting in the home of Lydia.

I really like this story, small as it is, about Lydia. First, it calls to mind so many other scriptural stories – Abraham’s servant finding Rebekah at the well, the Savior teaching a woman at the well, Paul finding Lydia beside the water, among others. But it also resonates for me when I think of the Restored Church, how often the Church becomes established in a new place by the conversion of one or two people, who then open their homes as meeting places for the missionaries to bring other interested people. And often, when the Church gets a toehold in a new land, it has been women, like Lydia, the first European convert to Christendom, who have accepted the gospel and kept the faith, sometimes for years, before there are enough converts, especially priesthood holders, to establish a formal branch.

Are any of you aware (from your own missionary experience, perhaps) of such places where the Church has been represented by a single member or a very small group who keep the faith alone for long periods? [Be prepared with two or three stories to spark this discussion.]

Paul and Silas have a rough time in Philippi, being arrested and imprisoned. Paul’s Roman citizenship comes in handy, and they are released and told to leave the city.

Acts 16:40

40 And they wet out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren they comforted them, and departed.

Paul and Silas continue their mission and eventually reach the city of Thessalonica. They first seek out Jews, as is their habit, just as they first sought out Jews in Philippi. Thessalonica has a synagogue, and they go to preach there.

Acts 17: 2-4

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

This time, it’s a convert named Jason who opens his home to Paul and the Christian converts. It wasn’t easy, being the one whose home was the center of the Church.

Acts 17: 5-9

5 ¶But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

This again has parallels to the Restored Church, where those who become identified as Mormons suffer from the wrath of unbelievers. [Invite personal stories and mission experiences, or offer one of your own.]

Conclusion

The Church of God, both in the first century and in our own dispensation, was and is a missionary church – those who heard the word first carry it to new places. In the words of Joseph Smith:

The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

From what I know of the background of most of us in this room, it was our ancestors who, like Lydia and Jason of the first century, welcomed the Gospel and went through the worst hardships that go with being converts. Each generation since then has needed to accept the Gospel from their parents, of course, but the difficulties have seldom been as hard as they were for the first generation.

And we must remember that there is a new generation whenever a convert joins the Church. In Elder Maxwell’s wonderful words:

Let us listen lovingly and encouragingly as all newcomers utter their first halting public prayers and give their first tender talks, feeling unready and unworthy – but so glad to belong. … New arrivals are not asked to renounce their country or that which is good in their culture. All must, however, let go of the things which injure the soul. … If with quiet heroism they can make their way across the border into belief, surely we can cross a crowded foyer to extend the hand of fellowship. … The workers who come to the Lord’s vineyard in the last hour will receive the same wages as the “old-timers,” who should, by the way, speak less of the good old days and work to bring about even better days. [Neal A. Maxwell, “The Net Gathers of Every Kind”, October 1980.]

[Thanks to Ben Spackman and his post at Benjamin the Scribe, so much of which made its way into this lesson.]