Antioch, a Faithful Church (Rev. Erik Veerman)
Antioch – A Faithful Church
A couple of you have asked what are studying next.
Well, I have answers.
The next few weeks will be a little out of the ordinary. Since we just celebrated the 5th anniversary of our launch, we’re going to take some time to focus on who we are. We’ll cover the foundations of what we believe as well as how we work that out in ministry. This morning is kind of like our ministry heart.
So that will take us through September.
Then after that, we’re going to go back to the Old Testament. We do a short series through Malachi. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. And we’re going to do that as a lead in to the Gospel of John. We haven’t gone chapter by chapter through a Gospel yet, so we are going to tackle John.
So, that is the plan. Tucker Pres, Malachi, and John’s Gospel. As you know, sometimes plans change. I don’t anticipate that they will, but will let you know.
As far as who we are as a church, we’ll be basing each of these sermons on a Scripture text or two or three.
This morning, we’re going to be looking at the church in Antioch as a case study.
If you look in your bulletin, you will see that we are covering selections from the book of Acts – several passages from Acts 11-15. We’re going to begin with chapter 11 verses 19-26, then as we go, I will direct you to the next passage. Acts 11 is found on page 1093
Stand.
Reading of Acts 11:19-26; 13:1-3; 14:24-28; 15:1-2, 22, 30-35
Prayer
Let me ask, what would you say if someone asked you about Tucker Pres? What are the things that define who we are at Tucker Pres?
Would you say that we are a church that loves one another? Would you say that we are a church that loves God and the Gospel? Would you say that our primary thing is pursuing the truth of God’s Word? Or are we a church that emphasizes mercy and outreach? Or is the most important thing for us knowing God intimately and praying? Is our number 1 thing Gospel centered worship? I could ask more, but I simply want to stir your minds with those questions.
The reason I ask is because every church has an identity. Every church has things that are important to them. Churches have vibes and churches emphasize different things.
Well, what defines us Tucker Pres?
There is a word that comes to my mind. It’s a word that I believe defines us well. It’s also a word that is aspirational. So what is it?
Well, the word that comes to my mind is the word “faithful.” I believe we are stiving to be faithful.
Now, I know what some of you are thinking. The word faithful is not that helpful because what church doesn’t want to be faithful. And that’s true. What I mean by faithful is faithful to God’s mission for his church. Faithful to what God has called his church to be and to do.
Faithful in our worship. Faithful in our ministry and our mission. Faithful to be a light of the Gospel. Faithful to care for one another. Faithful to grow in our faith. Faithful to the Gospel and to God’s Word.
Faithful.
This morning, I want us to consider what it means for a church to be faithful. A church that has a heart to be faithful.
There’s a reason I picked Antioch as an example. I think of all the churches mentioned in the New Testament, Antioch stands out as a model of a faithful church.
The other day, I was driving home from a day trip out to the Covington area – taking the back roads. And I passed by a church named Corinth. It kind of made me laugh. Given all the internal struggles that the church in Corith had, some of what we just studied, I’m not sure why a church would want that name. But nonetheless there are churches named Corinth.
On the other hand, there are hundreds of churches in the United States named Antioch. There are many many Antioch Baptist churches. There are several named Antioch Methodist. A few named Antioch Christian Church, and even a couple of them are named Antioch Presbyterian. I think it’s a good name because Antioch modelled what it means to be a faithful church.
By the way, the city of Antioch was located on the Mediterranean Sea about 200 miles north of Israel. It was right in the corner of the Mediterranean where the coast of modern-day Turkey turns south and Syria begins.
As we read, the church was started when the Christians were scattered because of the persecution and martyrdom of Stephen. In Acts 7, Stephen, one of the early church leaders was preaching and he was stoned to death by the Jews. Well, several Christians ended up in Antioch and they formed a church, there.
Flip back to Acts 11. Look down at verse 23. Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to survey the situation. And look what he found. Verse 23 says, “When he [Barnabas] came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.”
And that is exactly what Antioch did. They remained faithful! …faithful to the Lord with the purpose to which God had called them. They modelled faithfulness.
But what does that mean? How were they faithful?
Well, I want to highlight three ways that the church in Antioch displayed faithfulness.
And these are three ways that we, as a church, are seeking to be faithful.
1. Faithful to the master. 2. Faithful to the message and 3. Faithful to the mission. Master, message, mission.
Maybe that is too many “m”s. There are several similar words that capture the same idea.
If you’ve been in our Discovering Tucker Presbyterian class, you’ve heard me talk about piety, doctrine, and mission. That is…
(1) a heart commitment to the Lord and to honoring him. Faithfulness to the master…That is what piety is …a lived out devotion to the Lord.
(2) doctrine. Faithfulness to the message. Being intentional to pursue what God has revealed in his Word as true and right.
(3) mission. Faithful to the great commission. Faithful to be a herald of the Gospel to those around us and bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
And let me say that the church throughout history has flourished when it has sought to be faithful in these three ways. A heart devotion to the Lord, a commitment to the truth revealed in God’s Word, and an obedience to the great commission.
It’s kind of like a well-balanced 3-legged stool. Each leg supports the stool. You can’t take one away.
Let’s take those in order and consider Antioch.
1.) Faithfulness to the Master
#1 Faithfulness to the Master - A heart devotion to love the Lord and honor him. That is the very first thing that Barnabas noticed about Antioch. The grace of God was in them. The reason he could call them to “remain” faithful to the Lord is because they had been living faithfully to the Lord.
Turn to the beginning of chapter 13. Verse 1 has a beautiful list of those who were leading the church. They were from different places – the island of Cyprus, Cyrene in north Africa, and Galilee in Israel. By the way, it mentions that Manaen was a lifelong friend of Herod Antipas – that’s fascinating, so he was from the ruling class. Despite this diversity, we’re given no sense that there was disunity. Isn’t that quite different from the church in Corinth? Rather, they worshipped and prayed and fasted together. That is right there in verses 2 and 3.
As you have probably heard me say, a church that prays together, stays together.
And, I think particularly their fasting testified to their heart devotion to the Lord. Twice it mentions they fasted. What is fasting? Well, fasting is depriving oneself of food for a period of time to seek the Lord and be reminded of him and his sustaining grace.
When we fast, we are humbling ourselves before God. We are seeking him and his guidance or we are interceding in a particular situation. In other words, we are depriving ourselves so that our hearts and minds can turn our attention to the Lord. The church in Antioch fasted together to seek the Lord and his will. It’s a beautiful display of faithfulness to the Master – to the Lord.
Our endeavor to be a faithful church needs to include pursuing the Lord. We need to be seeking him, worshipping him, desiring to reflect his righteousness in our lives. That is one of the three legs that a faithful church should pursue.
But, it’s not the only leg.
A couple of years ago, I was at a church planting network meeting. It’s a gathering that supports the work of church planting in the metro Atlanta area. The speaker that day was talking about his church. His church modelled piety. It was very compelling. He spoke of their deep commitment to grow in their relationship with the Lord. He described their love of God and their pursuit of him. They take time individually and together to meditate on who God is in all his wonder and his love and mercy. Their ministries and their worship focused on this – they focused on drawing one another into the presence of the living Lord. It was who they were. It was their identity. I was very moved by it.
But I was thinking later that day. This pastor never mentioned witnessing to their neighbors and he never mentioned studying God’s Word. It was all about piety – you know, their vertical relationship with the Lord as believers and as a church.
So, what I want to say, is yes, our devotion to the Lord is critical. Antioch fasted and prayed. However, a faithful church should not exclusively focus on those things. No, the message and mission are just as important.
2.) Faithfulness to the Message
That brings us to the second aspect of a faithful church. Faithful to the Message. In other words, faithfulness to central doctrines as taught to us in God’s Word.
Back in chapter 11, when Barnabas and Paul arrived in Antioch, it says they spent a full year there teaching the church. One of the responsibilities of the church is teaching. It’s teaching the doctrines of God and the Gospel. As the apostle Peter says in his letter, we are to “grow in the grace and the knowledge of God.” We’re to grow in God’s grace, meaning realizing more and more the depth of God’s love for us in Christ. And we are to grow in the knowledge of God. We’re to get deeper into his Word and understand more and more the truths that he has revealed.
Now, turn to Acts 15. At the beginning of the chapter, we read that a group of teachers had arrived in Antioch. However, they were teaching that circumcision was necessary in order to be saved. Well, that was a problem. It caused a rift. Paul and Barnabas debated with them. So what did the church in Antioch do? They didn’t initially choose sides. They didn’t allow the debate to divide the church. No, rather, they wanted to know what was true and right. So, they sought wisdom from the other apostles and elders.
That’s when Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go to Jerusalem to discuss the matter. There they met with the apostle James and Peter and other apostles and elders from the churches that were scattered around. And by God’s grace, unity was achieved. As the Gospel had gone to the Gentiles, God had made it clear that circumcision was not necessary for salvation. Not at all. Other similar matters were discussed. God worked through that council.
And then Paul and Barnabas and others were appointed to go back to Antioch and report. Now, look down at chapter 15 verses 30 and 31. These brothers arrived back. They gathered the church together. They then read the summary letter from the counsel, and it says in verse 31, “they rejoiced because of its encouragement.”
This is an amazing thing. Instead of allowing the theological disagreement to divide them, the church in Antioch was the catalyst for theological truth. They were the ones that asked for a counsel to determine what was true and right, and they then rejoiced at how God had answered. And down in chapter 15, verse 35, we learn that Paul and Barnabas continued to preach and teach the Word of the Lord… verse 35 ends with this phrase “with many others also.” God’s truth was being established and was spreading. More teachers were being raised up. You see, Antioch model a church faithful to the message. They loved and taught the holy doctrines of God.
But, let me say this. Just like piety should not be our sole focus. So also, doctrine should not be our sole focus. A church that only cares about knowing truth and being right in doctrine is often inward focused and does not seek to be a Gospel light to their community.
And sometimes those overly theological congregations do not display lives devoted to Christ, but rather sometimes their words and actions betray their beliefs. Again, sometimes.
To be absolutely clear, I’m not dismissing theological passion and love for doctrine. I think you know that. No, Antioch displayed a fervor for truth. What I am saying is that faithfulness to the message cannot suppress faithfulness to the Master or faithfulness to the mission.
3.) Faithfulness to the mission
Which brings us to just that - the third leg of the stool - faithfulness to the mission.
God’s mission call for his church is clear. We are called to go forth to all nations making disciples. As Jesus said, we are the light of the world. We’re not to be hiding our lamp under a basket, but rather displaying that light for all to see.
That faithfulness to the mission involves two things. Number 1, faithfulness to be a Gospel witness to the community around us, to our neighbors, friends, and family. And number 2, faithfulness to send and support in the work of Gospel missions to the ends of the earth.
Antioch modelled both. In chapter 11 verse 24, we’re told that a great many people were added to the Lord there in Antioch. That’s because they were intentional to witness the love of God in Christ to those in the city. And the Lord turned many hearts to him through their faithful witness.
But second, Antioch modelled faithfulness to the global work of missions. The church in Antioch were the ones that sent Paul and Barnabas out on their first missionary journey. Turn to chapter 13 again. In verse 3 it says that after fasting and praying they “laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off.”
And so, Paul and Barnabas went forth. They planted several church in Asia Minor, you know, modern day Turkey, and then in the middle of chapter 14, they returned to Antioch.
I love chapter 14 verses 26 and 27. It says, “they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. [so, Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch.. then it says] when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them.” Antioch held the very first missions conference. They rejoiced at what God was doing, as the Gospel went forth.
You see, they were faithful to both of those aspects of missions. And it’s our desire as well to be a light to our neighbors and a light to the world.
We’re not to be hunkered down in a theological hole and we’re not to be hovering in the clouds in our pietistic pursuit of God and holiness. No, we are to be present where the Lord has placed us, witnessing to his Gospel work in our lives and testifying to the hope that is found in Christ alone. And we are to be sending and supporting those who take the Gospel to every tribe, tongue, and nation.
But similar to the prior two points, that does not mean that we pursue faithfulness in the work of mission to the detriment of studying and growing in the truth or to the detriment of loving the Lord and seeking to honor him in our lives.
In some churches, it’s all about ministry and mercy to the community around them. Yes, we are called to be a light, but an exclusive focus like that often leads to a watered down message. At times it has even led to a social Gospel devoid of the call to repentance and faith.
Conclusion
What I am saying is that a faithful church is a church that seeks to be faithful in all three areas. Faithful to the Lord, faithful to his truth, and faithful to his mission for us.
Have you ever tried to sit on a 1 legged or 2 legged stool? It doesn’t work…
I believe we, as a church, are on this path. I’m calling it a path because we always need to be reminding ourselves of these three aspects of faithfulness. We need to be renewing our hearts to pursue God and build one another up in him. We need to be renewing our minds to the glorious doctrines that God has revealed to us in his Word – who he is and what he has done. And we need to be renewing our pursuit of his mission - here in the Tucker area and to the ends of the earth.
If you go to our website, at the very top… you will see the first line of our motto. It really captures our desire to be faithful in these ways. It reads this: “Living and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.”
We desire to be a people who are living the good news of Jesus Christ. That means being faithful to our Master – living out the Gospel in our lives – walking in a manner worthy to the calling to which we have been called.
We furthermore want to also be proclaiming the good news of Jesus. That is faithfulness to the great commission – “proclaiming”.
And underlying both of those is knowing the good news of Jesus Christ. Faithful to the message.
In fact, it is that good news which is the foundation to all of it. Out our sin and misery, God has redeemed us in Christ Jesus. He took on our sin and all the eternal consequences of judgment that we deserved, and he gave us his righteousness and life. That good news, that Gospel, is the foundation to our pursuit in all these areas
Let me say that in another way. Our pursuit of faithfulness as a church begins with God’s faithfulness to us. God is the one, as Jesus said in Matthew 16, who will build his church. He is the one, as the great commission says, who will always be with us to the end of the age. God’s faithfulness, centered on the Gospel, is the foundation to our faithfulness.
Back to the opening question, if someone asked you about Tucker Pres, what would you say? My hope and prayer is that you would be able to say that we as a church are seeking to be a faithful… faithful to the Lord, faithful to the truth found in his Word, and faithful to his mission.
May we, Tucker Presbyterian Church, always be known as a faithful church in these ways.
As you know, we have more distinctives as a church, and we’ll get to them in the coming weeks, but this pursuit of Gospel faithfulness is our heart.