Unsound Doctrine

Those who embrace and propagate false teaching must be confronted, their teachings denounced, and their errors exposed by the undiluted message of Jesus Christ. The answer to every false teaching is the gospel of Christ’s grace. It is only in Him we find life and peace—through faith—altogether apart from meritorious works of any kind.

KEY VERSES

ACTS 15:22-29 (NASB)

The Letter for Gentile Believers

22 Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. 

23 This is the letter they took with them: “This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!

24 “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! 25 So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.

28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”

UNDERSTANDING

• Who made the decision that was handed down in this letter? What does that tell you about the decision?

• Why would a letter and representatives from the Jerusalem church be a good way to communicate the apostles’ decision? Why wasn’t simply sending a letter sufficient?

• What was the tone of the letter? What were its main points?The letter was from the apostles, elders, and the whole church. The church in Jerusalem had worked together to ensure clarity and a better and healthier church for their Gentile brothers and sisters. The goal of the letter was to encourage them and free them from the burden of following unnecessary laws and practices.

• We have become adept at confronting others through the written word. What problems arise when we do not confront false teaching face to face but choose to send emails or express ourselves via social media or blogging, instead?

• What expectations should we have as a church body about the means by which we address issues with one another?

• Why should we protect the church from things that are not essential to the gospel? What do you think the apostles meant when they called these things a “burden” (v. 28)?

• How do you know if an issue is essential to the gospel or not?

• Why did the church in Jerusalem send out Saul and Barnabas?

• How did the believers hear from the Holy Spirit in verse 28?

Saul and Barnabas were well-respected leaders who ministered among the Gentiles. The letter’s writers stressed that the council’s decision was the Holy Spirit’s decision and theirs, and the Antioch believers were relieved. The Jerusalem council’s decision freed the Christians to include all people who would make a faith commitment to Christ. The goal in asking them to exclude sexual immorality and certain foods comes from them not wanting the Gentiles to fall back into idolatry.

• If, as we learned in this week’s message, the Holy Spirit always has His way in the end, then why didn’t the apostles just let the matter go instead of calling out these false teachers?

• Reread verse 24. When Christians, or people claiming to be Christians, speak and teach wrongly, why do you think so many believers today choose to let it go rather than to correct it?

• Why do we feel uncomfortable confronting false teaching? What will happen if we don’t?

• In this week’s message, we learned that love does not embrace error; love does not embrace that which God abhors. Rather, there comes a time when those who embrace and propagate false teaching must be confronted, their teachings denounced, and their errors exposed. These are clearly unpopular statements in today’s culture. What questions or hangups, if any, do they elicit in your own heart and mind?

• How does the fact that God is always in control encourage you in confronting issues of unsound doctrine?

If the Christian life is something like a marathon, as Paul suggested, we need to show people the path, give them water for the journey, and have checkpoints along the way where we can celebrate their progress, and at times, lovingly correct their course. Encountering Christ should be an unburdening experience—an alleviation. It should feel like a profound, joyful relief. Throughout our lives of faith, we Christians should have a deep, abiding sense of freedom because of Christ. As Paul said, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).

APPLICATION

• In this week’s message, we looked at Universalism, the prosperity gospel, New Age Movement, legalism, hyper-grace, and the emergent church as examples of false ideologies that infiltrate the church. Do you know how to recognize these kinds of false beliefs? Why or
  why not?

• How can we better prepare ourselves to recognize and confront false ideologies in the
  church?

• What about in our group? How can we balance our call to include everyone and at the same time uphold the belief that Scripture as infallible and truth doesn’t simply change with the times?

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