Acts 15:22–29 “Stop Justifying Yourself”

I’m pretty good at trying to justify myself. The extra dessert, “Why shouldn’t I have another bowl of Homemade Vanilla to go with these chocolate cookies?” Skipping the gym, “I’m too tired to go to the gym today—that third bowl of ice cream kept me up all night.” Having the rest of the cookies for breakfast so I won’t be tempted to snack on them all day.

We try to justify anything we want to do. We’ll defend the dumbest ideas if anyone tries to call us out on it. See what happens if you try to get between me and a carton of Blue Bell!

Gluttony is such a fun little sin. It’s one of those socially acceptable crimes against heaven. We’re like, “Ha ha, I’m addicted to queso and cinnamon rolls! Pray for me!” But we don’t actually want the prayer. We just want more queso. And sin-namon rolls. Extra sin, please!

Last time we were in the Book of Acts we covered the Council of Jerusalem in chapter 15. The leaders of the church got together to figure out how to deal with all those Pharisee Christians who wanted any new Gentile believers to be circumcised and go full on Jew before they could join the church. After a huge debate, the apostles agreed on what it means to be Christian—and that it has nothing to do with Jewish law. Last week we looked at the Book of Galatians, a letter Paul sent to the churches in Galatia saying the same thing. No one has to become a Jew first to be a Christian. It’s Jesus plus nothing.

So, this week, they’re going to send a letter to all the churches to be read publicly, letting everyone know what they decided. This is probably the first time they’re doing this. All the epistles in the New Testament are the same kind of letters—written by an apostle, sent to the churches, and read in worship.

Here’s our text, Acts 15 starting at…

Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to select men who were among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men among the brothers.  Acts 15:22

James, Peter, and the other leaders of the church in Jerusalem who had presided over the council chose some men to go with Paul and Barnabus back to the church in Antioch (the headquarters of the mission to the Gentiles). A guy named Judas, who for some reason wanted to go by Barsabbas now—I wonder why? Judas is such a nice name. And Silas. We’ll hear a lot more about Silas as we go through Acts—he’s also called Sylvanus sometimes.

They were going to take the letter and read it to all the churches. This is what the letter said:

They wrote: “From the apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers and sisters among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us and troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts… Acts 15:23-24

A bunch of legalistic Pharisee Christians went around stirring up trouble in the churches, so… 

We have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will personally report the same things by word of mouth. Acts 15:25-27

The churches knew Barnabas and Paul already, Judas and Silas were going to go with them to the churches with this message… 

For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—not to place further burdens on you beyond these requirements: that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things. Farewell.” Acts 15:28

I like how they say, “The decision was the Holy Spirit’s—and we agree!” “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!’ Didn’t know that was in the Bible, did you? Ha.

So, what was the verdict? They didn’t have to do all the Jewish things but they did have to do these four—and it seems like a strange list: 

Don’t eat food that’s been offered to idols.

Don’t eat food with the blood still in it.

Don’t eat anything that’s been strangled.

And, oh yeah, abstain from all sexual immorality.

Farewell!

That’s a weird list. At least it looks that way to us. 

One thing that sounds like the 1st commandment.

Two notes from a kosher cookbook.

And everything the entire Bible says about sex.

Let’s see if we can make any sense out of this.

First, the purpose of the letter is to restore unity in the churches that have Jews and Gentiles trying to get along and worship together. The Pharisee Christians, also known as the circumcision party or Judiazers, were trying to bully the Gentiles into all kinds of things that had nothing to do with what it means to be a baptized Christian. 

But if they didn’t have to keep all the rules in the Jewish Law, what were they required to do?

Thus the four things in the list.

But these things weren’t required for salvation, they were required for unity and fellowship in the church. Part of their worship was sharing a meal together, a potluck. And the Jewish Christians were really bothered by food that had been offered to idols, or that wasn’t killed properly—think clean and unclean. They thought any food that was killed or prepared wrong was unsanitary. Gross. So, the letter is basically saying, “Don’t bring gross food to HangTime.”

How do I know this?

Because there are other letters in the New Testament that tell us more about it. Paul explains in 1st Corinthians that it’s okay to eat food that’s been offered to idols unless it causes someone to stumble. See? We let Scripture interpret Scripture. Less clear passages are cleared up by passages that go into more detail. 

This list isn’t about earning salvation, it’s about living in peace and honoring God. It’s about loving your neighbor as yourself.

Imagine how this went down when Judas and Silas read the letter in church just before they sat down to eat. How do you think Miss Gentile felt about that steaming pot of blood sausages she brought that day? It was her grandma’s recipe and everything!

You think she tried to justify herself? She probably took the pot to the end of the table with her family and tried to eat the whole thing. Can’t let food go to waste! Then the Pharisee Christians started mumbling about gluttony. You can’t win with these people!

So, that clears up the first three. What about that fourth one? One of these things is not like the others, you But a lot of our self-justification is more serious than what we eat or how we watch our diet—not to say gluttony isn’t a sin. It is. We’re just all so sensitive when it comes to having our sins pointed out.  

The Gentiles didn’t just offer food to their Roman and Greek gods. There was a lot of sex involved in their temple worship—I know that sounds really strange to us. They had temple prostitutes, male and female. For both men and women to enjoy in their worship. Sex was looked at very differently in Greek and Roman culture.

So, about that fourth thing on the list. That was going to be difficult. How do I know? Because, again, Paul talks about it a lot in his other letters. The Bible makes it very clear that the life of a Christian is to abstain from all kinds of sexual immorality.

It was a problem then, and it’s still a problem now.

Look how our culture tries to justify all their sexual sin.

Everyone’s like, “It’s not bad. Everyone does it. Times have changed. Don’t be so old fashioned.”

We live in a world where everyone tries to justify their behavior—especially about sex.

But it’s a demonic lie.

Why do you think our culture works so hard to normalize all kinds of sexual expressions? Why do people get so upset when Scripture challenges their sexually based identities, desires, or lifestyles? When it’s pointed out that those things are called sin in the Bible. That those lifestyles do not line up with the wisdom of God. It’s not how He says life should be lived. Embracing that false worldview, trying to justify it, will not lead anywhere good. But everybody does this—when something they deeply want is called into question, they get defensive. But if we love people, we have to be willing to say it anyway because God’s Word tells a better story.

And I know, these days it’s cultural suicide to say anything that even hints at the notion of sexual things being wrong. Sinful. Unholy. 

The immediate outcry is, “Judge not!” Right? “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!” Right?

Fair enough. I’m not interested in casting any stones. I’m trying to help people, not hurt anyone. 

This isn’t about singling anyone out. I’m not preaching against “them”—I’m talking to all of us. Every one of us has areas where we try to justify our behavior instead of trusting God’s design. So, it’s not just about all the freaky people out there, we also have our own freaky problems to deal with.

Trying to help people but I can’t help anyone if they insist on trying to justify themselves. 

Like people who try to justify their use of pornography. Anyone who thinks it’s not hurting anything, everyone does it, it’s none of your business, there’s nothing wrong with it—all those self-justifying lies. In spite of how ashamed they feel after. How embarrassed they’d be if they were caught. Nothing can help you if you insist on trying to justify yourself.

Same with sex before marriage. All sex outside of marriage is called fornication. God says, “No.” It’s sin. It’s unwise. Foolish. And yet we think, everyone does it—so why not? We try to justify it because we want to do it. We’re like, “Would you buy a pair of shoes that you hadn’t tried on? A car that you hadn’t test driven?” “It’s only natural.” We try to convince ourselves there’s nothing wrong with it. That we don’t have any choice. We get very defensive when we’re reminded what God says about it. When it’s pointed out the Bible calls it sin. That it goes against the wisdom of God—it’s not how He says life should be lived. Trying to justify it, will not lead anywhere good.

Nothing can help you if you insist on trying to justify yourself.

And maybe this is where it hits a little too close to home.

Maybe you're living with someone right now—sharing a bed, sharing a life—but not married. And maybe you’ve tried to justify it:

“We’re committed.”

“We’re going to get married eventually.”

“It’s just what people do now.”

“It’s the only financial option we have.”

I want you to hear this in love: God has something better for you.

Not because He just wants to shame you, but because He wants to heal you—He has something better in mind.

If that’s you, I want you to know—you’re still welcome here. You’re loved. This is where you need to be. You’re part of this family. But I’m also going to tell you the truth:

God calls us to turn from sin, not make peace with it.

And if you're willing to bring that to Him—not justify it, but confess it—He will meet you with grace, forgiveness, and a path forward.

Stop trying to justify yourself. Admit it—you’re a sinner in need of God’s grace. What you have done, and are doing, is wrong. Sin. Call it what it is. Confess your sin. Instead of trying to justify yourself, ask God to justify you. That’s what the Gospel is all about. To justify means to make right. God wants to make you right, make you good. 

If you stop trying to justify your sin, and confess it to God instead, He will hear your prayer and you will be made good. Justified. Forgiven. This is the whole point of what we’re doing here. The whole reason the church exists. To share the love and grace of God with sinners.

We’re all sinners. We have to admit we’re sinners before the Gospel does us any good.

We like to think we’re not sinners like “those” people—but we are.

Sex before marriage. Living together. Porn. Fantasizing about people we see at the gym—or the grocery store, or on TV. Looking for emotional validation from someone we’re not married to.

And then we try to justify it. 

Do you remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount about looking at someone with lust in our heart? None of us can avoid sin or the need for grace.

And if you're single, and trying to live a faithful life, I know it’s difficult.

I want you to hear this clearly: you are not less than.

Your obedience matters. Your struggle matters.

You’re not alone. This church is for you, too.

We either follow the wisdom of God or we’re fools. He didn’t design us to be careless with sex.

Like George Michael said, “Sex is natural, sex is fun, sex is best when it’s one on one.” And he should have added, “With one person, of the opposite gender, that we are married to and committed for life.” Because God’s design for sex is very specific. It’s for procreation. It’s a spiritual connection. It’s also about bonding—we imprint on the other person when we have sex. It’s a proven psychological fact.

We’re like tape—it sticks best the first time. But the more times you stick and pull it off, the less it holds.

And since it’s a psychological event, fantasizing about multiple people is like ripping off the tape in your mind over and over—it has the same effect. Probably not as detrimental in some ways, but destructive just the same.

And I know, most of us have used up a whole roll of tape by now. This is where the Gospel does what only the Gospel can do.

God can make all things new, you’re not damaged beyond repair, but we have to stop trying to justify the behavior that’s hurting us.

And maybe your story is complicated. Maybe it’s divorce, remarriage, or regret about past relationships. Let me just say—God’s grace is for you, too. You’re not damaged beyond repair. The Gospel is about renewal and healing, and that includes your sexual past.

When we try to justify ourselves, we block the work God wants to do in us.

He wants to justify us—through Jesus.

Stop trying to justify your sin. Call it what it is. Confess, and repent, and receive absolution. Forgiveness. Mercy. Justification. Healing.

God won’t justify you if you insist on trying to justify yourself.

That’s true for you. Me. And all the people out there in our lost and broken culture who are trying to justify themselves.

If you have friends or family members or kids who are caught up in the world’s sexual confusion.

And your heart breaks. You wonder how to love them and stand for truth at the same time.

Don’t give up. Keep praying. Keep loving. And keep showing them what grace and truth look like in real life. They don’t need your condemnation, they need Jesus.

 "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us..." — not just to say what’s wrong and what’s right, but to create a church that lives in unity—and welcomes more strange Gentiles and weird pagans into the family. No one has to get it all together before they’re welcome here. Everyone can come as they are, but none of us get to stay as we are. Earth has no sorrow that heaven can’t heal.

The mission must move forward. We don’t want to make barriers between God and outsiders.

The purpose of the letter in Acts… 

They weren’t just writing rules for how to behave. They were making a loving space for outsiders to come in and be part of the church.

We need to do the same thing. We invite people to join us who don’t know Jesus. A lot of people who walk through our doors are not going to understand Christian sexual ethics. They’re going to seem foreign to them. Maybe even wrong. Puritanical. Homophobic. 

We don’t do them any favors by leading with condemnation and criticism.

We don’t soften the truth, but we also don’t lead with judgment.

We lead with Jesus. We invite them to sit with us. Eat with us. We listen to their stories without acting like we’re shocked that they’re sinners just like we are.

We welcome them into our community, and trust God to work out the details and sanctify them in His good time. Have you got a handle on all your sin? No? You need a constant diet of mercy and forgiveness? Yeah. Me too.

Stop trying to justify yourself. Jesus is the only One who can justify you.

If after you sin, you’re tempted to hide from God, hide from your Christian friends, avoid praying, skip church—that’s the exact wrong thing to do. It’s understandable. Remember Adam and Eve in the garden? That’s what they did. But it’s not helpful. It’s not good. Turn back to God as soon as possible. Call it what it is. “I’m sorry Lord, I sinned again, and that was stupid.”

Stop rationalizing your favorite sins. Try to trust God’s wisdom instead. Trust His mercy when you fail. Stop trying to justify yourself so God, in His mercy, will justify you for real.

Let’s let Jesus do what only He can: justify us, forgive us, and make us new. Let’s be serious about holiness, and just as serious about hospitality and grace. Let’s believe what He tells us about how to treat each other and do whatever we can to love each other in unity and peace. AMEN.