It’s not just what we believe that matters, it’s what we do in light of what we believe that counts.
Picture This
Have you ever seen a picture like this?
If you grew up in church, you’ve probably seen a picture like this. It’s a picture of a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders. I asked my daughter to color this picture for you.
But this picture isn’t just of a shepherd carrying a sheep, if you’re a Christian then when you see this picture, what you see is a picture of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, carrying a lost sheep home.
That’s because over and over throughout scripture we have this imagery of shepherds and sheep. And especially in the Christian Bible, the New Testament, we see this imagery applied to Jesus. At one point, He even called himself the Good Shepherd.
Pictures of Jesus Throughout Time
What’s interesting is that this isn’t a recent development… this idea of seeing Jesus as the Good Shepherd, as picturing Jesus as the one who carries lost sheep home, goes back to the beginning of Christianity.
Here’s another picture.
You may or may not have seen this one. It’s from the 17th century and is currently in a museum in France. It’s a beautiful picture of Jesus carrying a sheep on his shoulders.
This is a statue that dates back to the 4th century. It’s called, “Christ the Good Shepherd.” Today it’s at the Vatican and it’s been restored but as you can see, this idea of seeing Jesus as the Good Shepherd is not a new idea.
We also have these three paintings that have been found in the catacombs in Rome, dating back to the 3rd and 2nd centuries when it was illegal to display Christian art. All of these depict Jesus as a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders.
When I look at these pictures, I see the tender love, compassion, care, and the willingness of the shepherd to do whatever it takes to bring the lost sheep home.
Jesus is a Good Shepherd
And I think all of us could agree that this is what we believe is true about Jesus, that we believe Jesus is a Good Shepherd who wants to carry lost sheep home.
But it’s not just what we believe that matters, it’s what we do in light of what we believe that counts.
Sometimes, especially those of us who have been Christians for a long time, including me, we get stuck on focusing on what we believe. AND that’s important. It’s important to know what we believe and to know why we believe what we believe.
But if we stop there, if we spend all our days learning, studying, but never practicing our theology, never putting into practice what we believe is true… then you might wonder if we really do believe what we say we believe.
What may be just as important if not more important than what we believe is what we DO in light of what we believe.
What should we do?
This is precisely where the rubber meets the road for the early church.
If you can imagine living in the days right after the resurrection of Jesus when the early church began, there’s so much they were trying to understand and put into practice in real time as they were becoming the church.
That’s because Jesus didn’t give them a 12 point plan on how to do church, what church should be like, what the rules were about what you could do and what you couldn’t do. Instead, Jesus gave his disciples a vision of how the world should be and invited those who chose to follow Him to live into that vision.
And that all sounds amazing until… until new and difficult real life questions come along and those who were a part of the early church had to figure out…
In light of what we believe about Jesus, what should we do?
Many of them were there that day when Jesus told this story about about a man who had a hundred sheep and one went missing. What does the shepherd do? What happens when something or someone of great value is suddenly gone?
Well, everyone in the audience that day when Jesus told this story knew what the man would do… he would do the same thing they would do, he would leave the 99 to go find the one who was lost. And then Jesus says this as he brings this short little story to a close…
“And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.” – Luke 15.5
There’s the image of Jesus that so many people dating back to at least the 2nd century had of Jesus. Jesus is the Good Shepherd that carries lost sheep home. That’s what Jesus taught. That’s the way Jesus lived. That’s why Jesus died and rose again. But that left a question for those who were a part of the early church…
In light of what we believe about Jesus, what should WE DO?
3 Short Stories:
Luke, who is the author of the gospel of Luke where we find this story about the Lost Sheep, wrote a second letter that we call Acts. The gospel is Luke’s story about Jesus. Acts is Luke’s story of the early church.
So today I want us to look at 3 stories from the life of the early church where they had to make difficult decisions about the future of the church in light of what matters most to God.
STORY 1: Philip and an Ethiopian Eunuch
In Acts 8, Luke tells us the story of Philip. Philip was a leader in the church in Jerusalem and he made his way from Jerusalem through Samaria preaching and teaching about Jesus. But then something happened that Philip didn’t expect.
26 As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
33 He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?”
At this point, Philip has to be thinking…
Can an Ethiopian Eunuch come to faith in Jesus and be a part of what God is doing in the world? Is his identity a barrier to faith? What does he have to do in order to please God? What would Jesus do? What should Philip do? What decision should Philip make in light of what matters most to God?
STORY 2: Peter and a Gentile named Cornelius
Now turn a couple of pages over to Acts 10. Here Luke gives us the story of Peter, one of Jesus’ most well-known disciples. This is the same Peter who walked on water with Jesus. The same Peter who preached the first gospel sermon and saw more than 3000 people baptized in Jerusalem. But then, something happened that Peter didn’t expect…
1 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. 3 One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.
4 Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.
And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! 5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.
Now this is going to create quite a problem for Peter.
Can a Gentile Roman army officer come to faith in Jesus and be a part of what God is doing in the world? Remember, it was Gentile Roman army officers who literally crucified Jesus! Is his identity a barrier to faith? What does he have to do in order to please God? What would Jesus do? What should Peter do?
Peter knows first hand what Jesus did on the cross, he heard Jesus pray from the cross… “Father, forgive them…,” but up to this point Peter hasn’t seen anyone who isn’t like him, who isn’t Jewish, come to faith in Jesus. What decision should Peter make in light of what matters most to God?
STORY 3: Paul, Barnabas, and the Jerusalem Council
Now turn a few more pages in your scripture to Acts 15. Here Luke gives us the story of two men named Paul and Barnabas who had been traveling throughout the known world sharing the message of Jesus with anyone who would listen. At this point, they are in Antioch of Syria.
And here’s the problem, there are people who are not like them… meaning that they are not Jewish, they are gentiles, who are coming to faith in Jesus. And then, something happened that Paul and Barnabas didn’t expect…
1 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. 5 But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”
This is creating a HUGE problem for the early church.
Can Gentiles come to faith in Jesus and be a part of what God is doing in the world? Do they have to become like them before they can become like Christ? Is their identity a barrier to faith? What do they have to do in order to please God? What would Jesus do? What should Paul and Barnabas do? What decision should they make in light of what matters most to God?
The Big Meeting in Jerusalem
After this, Peter, as well as Paul and Barnabas, began sharing story after story of how they had seen people come to faith in Jesus with a council of church leaders that had gathered in Jerusalem. And do you know HOW they knew that people had come to faith in Jesus? Listen to what Peter says in v8:
8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.
In each story, in each encounter, Philip, Peter, Paul and Barnabas, they ALL knew what Jesus had taught. They knew the teaching of Jesus, that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. That Jesus came so that WHOEVER believes in Him would not perish but would have eternal life. They knew that Jesus came not to call those who thought they were righteous, but those who knew they were sinners and needed a Savior.
They KNEW the teaching of Jesus. They knew what mattered most to God. But HOW they made their decision wasn’t JUST based on what they KNEW, it was based on WHERE they saw the HOLY SPIRIT moving.
The teaching of Jesus instructed them…
the Holy Spirit of Jesus directed them!
Philip Removes the Barrier
So after the Ethiopian Eunuch asks Philip who the prophet Isaiah was talking about, because Philip knew the teaching of Jesus, that what matters most to God are Lost Sheep, that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and because the Holy Spirit had led him to this man who was far from God,
Philip told him that Isaiah was talking about Jesus. That it was Jesus who was “led like a sheep to the slaughter.” It was Jesus who was “pierced for our transgressions” and it is “by the wounds of Jesus that we are healed.” And Philip baptized that man into the name of Jesus that day!
Peter Removes the Barrier
And after the men that Cornelius sent found Peter, Peter went to his home. He entered the house of a Gentile, something he would have never done before as a devout Jew. And not only that, he taught Cornelius and his entire household about Jesus. And as he did, Peter saw the Holy Spirit fall upon all those in the house who heard the message of Jesus! And Cornelius and his entire household were baptized!
Church Leaders Remove the Barrier
And after the church leaders in Jerusalem heard Peter’s stories, and heard the stories of Paul and Barnabas, James, who was one of the leaders in the church in Jerusalem, who was also the brother of Jesus… so just think about that… if you ever doubted that Jesus is who He says He is, this might convince you. Jesus’ own brother came to believe that he really was the Son of God! And not only that, but he became a leader in the early church. And listen to what he says at this incredible moment in the life of the early church.
In fact, this moment is so critical, this question is so important that it has the potential to SPLIT the church. But listen to what James says…
13 When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted…
19 “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
In each situation the decision was made to REMOVE the BARRIER and make a way for anyone who wanted to come to God to come to God.
Just like in the story Jesus once told about finding a lost sheep and joyfully carrying it home… this is what the church of Jesus should be all about in the world. Joyfully finding lost sheep and carrying them home to God. Because this is what matters most to God.
What Barriers Can we Remove?
But it’s not just what you believe that matters, it’s what you do in light of what you believe that counts.
So what barriers do you and I need to remove so we can be about the work of finding lost sheep and bringing lost sheep home? What would happen if we became a people that took down barriers that made it easier for lost sheep to come to God? What decision should you and I make in light of what matters most to God?
I recently came across this painting by Liz Lemon Swindle. She entitled this painting, “The Lost Sheep (Modern).”
In her mind’s eye, this is who she envisioned when she thought about the lost sheep. Someone’s daughter, someone’s granddaughter, someone’s sister, someone’s friend, someone who had at some point lost her way but now was found in the loving embrace of Jesus.
It was in 1772 that John Newton wrote those beautiful words we so often sing.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I’m found.
Was blind but now I see.
My guess is that John Newton, a former slave trader who would in his own words think of himself as someone who once was lost but now was found, would identify with the sheep who was so lost but whom Jesus joyfully carried home. So much so that after coming to Christ he spent the rest of his days fighting to abolish slavery and serving the church.
Lost Sheep = Lost People
So when Jesus tells this story in Luke 15, about a man who loses a sheep, who leaves the 99, finds the lost sheep and then joyfully carries it home… Jesus isn’t really talking about lost sheep he’s talking about lost people. And this story is a reminder to his audience then and to you and me now that it’s not just what you believe, but what you do in light of what you believe that matters.
So what do you think about when you think about lost sheep? Or maybe better, WHO do you think about? These lost sheep we’re talking about… we’re talking about our friends and neighbors. We’re talking about our sons and daughters. We’re talking about our brothers and sisters. We’re talking about our moms and dads. We’re talking about people who have walked away from the church, walked away from faith, walked away from God.
We’re talking about real people.
It’s not just what we believe that matters, it’s what we do in light of what we believe that counts.
Will we be the kind of people that take down barriers that makes it easier for people to come to God?
Will we create space and place for people who are far from God for whatever reason to come home to God?
Will we be the kind of people who help joyfully carry lost sheep home?
What has Jesus taught us? Where do we see the Holy Spirit moving?
Will we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in our lives to share the love of Jesus with the people in our our lives?
NYou might think… No one wants to hear about my faith in Jesus and I might get rejected if I shared about my faith. But what if the Spirit of God is putting people in your life who are searching for hope, for community, for God? And what if you share your faith in everyday ordinary ways and trust God to position you to be used by him to find those who are lost and help carry them home?
You might think… But I don’t know how to share the gospel. I don’t know what to say. Just ask Peter, ask Philip, ask Paul and Barnabas. They didn’t have a five finger plan of salvation or a strategic plan to save the lost. They just followed the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives and with every opportunity shared the good news about Jesus.
Not everyone listened and received the good news they shared, but many did. And whenever they did, you better believe there was joy for the ones who were lost who were now found.
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