Acts 15:1-41

If I were to ask how many people here this morning have been hurt, of disillusioned, or otherwise damaged by conflict between Christians in churches my guess would be that it is the majority.

Am I right?

People are wonderful and have many good qualities, but I do not believe that any of us are naturally good. Each of us has a capacity for selfishness, one-sidedness and stubbornness that puts relationships under strain. Any kind of community life is a struggle, and the church is a community like any other. Christians should be different, but why?

  • Jesus tells us that conflict damages our friendship with him (Matthew 5:21-24)
  • Jesus blesses those whose skill is in repairing relationships (Matthew 5:9)

These are good reasons. When there is conflict in the church we should move in and resolve it. But there is another, deeper reason why Christians should be different: at the heart of our faith is the greatest act of conflict resolution in history: the cross of Christ. [Read Philippians 2:5-11]

The heart of our faith is restored relationships: love god, love your neighbour. Christians should be passionate about reconciliation, we should be experts at achieving it!

 

Religion: the divider

We have seen the great gulf between Jew and Gentile in the ancient world. This was a barrier reinforced by hatred, mutual suspicion and incomprehension. It seemed an insurmountable problem. Yet when Gentiles started becoming Christians there was a hope – in Acts 10 you see Jews and Gentile worshipping God together. The church in Antioch grew with the blessing of the Jerusalem church and all was well. Then this happened:

Acts 15:1-2a

As you can imagine, this was a tense moment. But the very Jewish Christians of Jerusalem were serious (5) wars have been fought over less. The Christians response was impressive and we are going to trace the story...

 

The gospel: the reconciler

We all need skills in conflict resolution, at work, in the home, and in a marriage. Here we can identify some of the very practical things that enabled these two factions to resolve their differences:

Mutual respect – Paul and Barnabas could have stomped out or started a new church, instead they engaged. Here’s a great motto: ‘Encourage the good wherever you find it, and if you can’t find it look harder’

Talking and listening (2, 7a) – Christians often pray, “Oh lord, please give us the right words to say...” It is worth reflecting on Jesus’ behaviour, (Luke 2:46) this great speaker was a wonderful listener. No doubt this process got heated and difficult – but there was dialogue.

Outside help (2b, 7b) – Sometimes a conflict is so sharp that those involved need help to see the wood for the trees. A mutually agreed person who skilfully clarifies the issues and gets an agreement. We are not alone! Here the apostles are the architects of an agreement:

  • Peter clarifies the theological issue (10-11)
  • James suggests a solution (19-21)

Integrity (30-31) – James’ solution was an awkward compromise for the Antioch Christians, and even Paul would not have agreed with all of it (such as the bit about meat offered to idols – see 1 Corinthians 8) but they were glad because the church had been held together. They had the integrity to stick with the solution requested by the apostles. Resolution is not possible if you agree to a solution and then ignore the deal.

This is how it is done! And this is how it can work for you ... in the workplace... in the home... wherever people fall out with each other.

 

Reality: the challenge

Paul and Barnabas must have been pleased with themselves. It’s good to have people like that around.

Have you ever watched an expert batsman hitting ball after ball to the boundary and suddenly being bowled out by giving away a silly catch? You get the impression that has just happened to Paul and Barnabas.

Acts 15:36-41

So what is going on?

The Devil is subtle and hits us when we least expect him.

The issues, though important, were not great (a matter of opinion) in the end, division was a means of increasing the spread of the gospel. And both parties were ‘right’ in their own way.