How Disciples Handled Conflict

Introduction

It is time for us to begin our worship to our God. We have a number that are missing, but we also have a number that are visiting, and we appreciate very much your presence. So thank you for being here. As we begin our worship this morning, let us all bow together in prayer before we begin. Let us pray.

We give thanks to you, our God, for you are good, and your steadfast love endures forever. Who can utter the mighty deeds of you, O God, or declare all your praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Father, like the children of Israel, we have your people, we have sinned. We have transgressed your laws, Father. Therefore, O God, at this time, please cleanse our hands and purify our hearts that we can come before you today, pure and holy in your sight. Save us, O Lord, our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory to your praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting and everlasting, who gave us your Son and our Savior, who makes all things possible.

And Lord, all the people say, Amen. Good morning. Scripture reading is John chapter three, verses sixteen through eighteen. I’ll be reading from the ESP. For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Because I soul is saying I seek.

Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we come to you now at the beginning of this Lord’s Day, this opportunity for us to come together as a family, your family, to worship you, to praise you, to thank you for all that you’ve done for us. We pray that you’ll be with us in our hearts, that we will be invested in this worship service, and that we will bring glory to your name. We thank you for all that you’ve done for us. We thank you for creating us and for saving us through your son. We thank you for giving us your word through your spirit, so that we know that you what you have done and what very little that you ask of us so that we can be saved, and so someday we can live with you throughout eternity.

We thank you for this hope that we have this living hope of being with you, reuniting with you. And we just we love you and we thank you for your blessings. Be with us now in thy son’s name, we pray. Amen.

Reach the part of our service where we’ve been commanded to give back portion which we have been blessed with. This is not a solicitation to our visitors. It is for our members to think upon our blessings and to help in some way that we can.

Dear Heavenly Lord Father, as we give back a small portion, help us to do so with a freely giving heart. Help these funds abused in a way that would be pleasing to you so that we may further your word and help those saints who need it the most.

Amen.

Before Bird brings a lesson, we’re gonna sing three songs. none of them are super long, so don’t worry. we’ll begin with number three hundred and four here in the book, before the throne of God above.

I perfect spot this righteousness, but great unchanged glory and the grace.

With Christ my Savior and my God with Christ my Savior and I’m number six hundred and eighty Oh thou fountain of every blessing will sing first, third, and fourth verse.

May be thy mon strength to me let thy goodness like thy dead my to thee never let me wonder from thee never leave my love here’s my heart I sealed sealing for my force of love oh that day free from save me I shall see thy lovely days what was seen my suffering If you are using a book, you should mark number forty-five. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord. That will be the invitation song after Brent’s lesson. And before we’ll sing on Bended Knee, I come. Let’s stand if you can. Don’t bend your knee. Figurative, right? Pardon me. On bended knee I come.

I was given my words of you. Make my life humble beyond with a broken mark by your days. Show your mercy.

Make me fresh and make my life humble side.

Some there in just a few moments. Acts chapter fifteen. I want to start out just talking about some things that happened this weekend in my life. I think it has some application to everyone. We took a little trip to Dallas, Fort Worth area. I spent time in both, actually, driving back and forth multiple times. And everything that we were there for had to do with kids. And so I just want young people for a second, I want you to think about the effort and the time that goes into a lot of the things that you do. We went to a camp meeting yesterday for Texas Junior Camp. Many of our people help with Dry Creek Camp, which is also another camp for young people. And I think when I was going to camp when I was younger, I had no idea the amount of time and effort and planning that actually went in to make this a situation where you can just show up and enjoy multiple days of fun and being with other godly people, doing Bible studies together.

All of these things, you know, when you’re younger, they just happen. But in reality, they’re being planned, and hours and hours are being spent making sure all of these things can happen for you. We also spent time yesterday morning very early. Xander and I went to something called MGM, making great men. It was the father-son thing. They’ve been very supportive of Xander. They send him a video every Saturday morning when they meet, which is most Saturdays. And so since we were there, we were able to go over there. Just a really great occasion. All these fathers supporting their sons, showing them what it’s like to be a man. Just really good time and effort.

And so people have taken them there. So these kids can get together and be encouraged, being together. And there’s all kinds of youth weekends that happen at all the various churches around here, just so many things happening. And so I just wanted to take a second, particularly for our young people. I want you to be grateful and thankful for not just your parents and all the effort they put into this, because they do, but also the effort of so many others to help you in your life and to help ground your faith to point you to the Word of God and all these various activities that are taking place in Houston, in Dallas, and other places around us. This is how much people care about you.

And that’s what I really want you to know. They care about you this much that they will spend hours and hours and hours preparing and working hard to give you these opportunities to open the word of God together, to have fun together, and to get time to build relationships with other godly people and Christians. So I just want to take a minute to mention that and the value of all of that and the gratitude. I’m so thankful for many who are in this congregation who spend time doing things that benefit my children, and there’s many other places to do that as well. So I think it’s worthwhile to take a minute to appreciate all the effort that goes into our young people and what they mean to us, and I hope that they see that.

I want you to read with me in Acts chapter 15. I want to read this text. That’s probably the most important thing that we’ll do this morning, and then I’m gonna offer some thoughts working through Acts 15 about this idea of handling conflict. It’s interesting, Luke. You know, when he writes this history of the early church, he doesn’t just skip all the bad parts. You know, here’s all the good things and all the wonderful things that take place and how the church is growing and all of that, and then just kind of ignores all the stuff that’s a little bit difficult. No, he includes it all the way back in Acts 5. We have Ananias and Sapphira, and then we have in Acts 6 this problem with widows being neglected, and then in Acts 11, Peter’s question about going to a Gentile’s house, and he has to answer for that.

And now here in Acts 15, we have kind of a similar thing popping up. And so I want to read this, and then we’ll work through this, and I think this is why Luke concludes it. It’s helpful for us to understand how they dealt with conflict and difficulties. Acts chapter 15 and verse 1. But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.

When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party, the Pharisees rose up and said, It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that by the mouth, by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul, as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for his name. And with the this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that is fallen.

I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old. Therefore, my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turned to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols and from sexual immorality and for what has been strangled and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he has read every Sabbath in the synagogues. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church to choose five to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.

They sent Judas called Bar Sabbath, and Silas leading men among the brothers, with the following letter. The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth, for it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements, that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and for what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.

If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with many words. And after they had spent some time, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord with many others also. Now the next story in Acts 15, which we may get to here in a little bit, is more of a personal conflict.

But I think I’m going to blend them. Rick’s teaching Galatians in the back, and he’ll probably spend more time on the idea of personal conflict, Galatians 2, Paul confronting Peter and some of those matters. And so I would encourage you to, especially for those of you who are in there, or if you can listen to the recordings, that’ll be a good time to kind of deal more with some of the personal elements of this. Here we see a congregational issue. Actually, it’s multiple congregations, which is something we need to talk about as well, that have this problem. The issue is pretty clear, and they state it. Luke states it very clearly, and it’s stated very clearly in the letter, which we’ll come back to here in just a moment.

But what we have, as we’ve mentioned before, and it’s come up earlier in this document, we have some who are going out and they’re adding to the gospel. We spent some time talking about that idea last week about adding to the gospel or taking away from the gospel. Here, the problem is they are trying to add something to it. You have the gospel message, but we’re going to say you also have to be circumcised and you have to follow the law of Moses. Essentially, what they’re saying is you have to be a Jew. It would be a little bit like, now, this isn’t going to fit perfectly, but at least will give us an idea. It’d be a little bit like if we went out and said, okay, to be a follower of Christ, you also have to be an American citizen.

You know, just become an American citizen, or maybe you just have to do things the way we do them. If you, if you do things our way, then you can be in Christ. It’s probably a little deeper and a little more complex than that, given the religious background of Judaism and all that. That’s essentially what’s going on, though. You have to become a proselyte. You have, if you’re a foreigner, you have to become a Jew to become a Christian. That’s what they’re teaching. So they’re going various places now. They’ve made their way up here into Antioch. They’ve headed north, and as we’ll see later in the New Testament, this continues on, and Paul deals with this problem a number of places, like Galatia later on, where you have some of these people who continue this message even after the time of Acts 15.

Acts 15 is a nice picture that shows a lot of resolution, particularly in this area. And so I want to talk about how they handle this. And while I think it’s important for us to realize this is a direct attack on the gospel, and that deserves some attention. I think the model, the concept, can be used even when it’s just doctrinal teachings or things that might not be specifically the gospel message itself, especially given what we’re gonna see about how they use scripture, which is also a model for us on how we can use scripture to help us in various circumstances. This is an attack on the gospel because they’re adding to the specific message of Jesus Christ and saying that something else is required to be saved.

1. Confront Problems Directly

I mean, that is the direct line in chapter 15 and verse 1. Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. This is what they believe, and it’s what they teach. And they’ll come back and say it again later with when they’re given some time when they have this public meeting with the whole congregation in Jerusalem. The way they deal with this conflict, though, is important for us to see, and it’s much like what we see in places like Acts 6, where the way they handle it is they directly confront the problem. And it’s done actually through a couple different steps. First of all, the problem’s in Antioch. And so they start with it there. Paul and Barnabas, they don’t hear this message and then run to Jerusalem and start talking to the other elders and apostles there and say, we’ve got this problem, these guys come.

They first, it says they debate them. They take the problem on there in the congregation that they’re in, rather than going some other place. It seems fairly apparent in the text that this doesn’t solve the issue. You know, they debate with them. There is, as Luke says, no small dissension. That means there’s lots of dissension. This is a huge problem. And some of these problems are probably bigger than problems we can imagine. Just because of the theological background of Judaism, and I mean, these are things they were told to do. They were expected to do. This was in the law. And now this has changed everything about how they behave as Jewish people. And this is a massive change in how they’re supposed to live their life, or how they’re supposed to allow others to live their lives.

And so you can understand why there would be such a difficult time here when you have sacrificed and everybody you’ve ever known has been circumcised on the eighth day, and now suddenly people are saying, you don’t have to do that anymore. You could understand some resistance. How that would be a little bit of a difficult message to receive for some of these people. And so for us, in our perspective, I think we look back and we think, oh, I can’t believe they would make a big deal about this. But just consider the reality that this has been everything they’ve known. If you are a God-fearing person, first of all, you practice Judaism and you keep the law of Moses to the best of your ability. You circumcise your children, you do all of these things that they’ve done forever.

2. Get the Community Together to Talk Through It

And now Paul and Barnabas and others are saying, don’t have to do it anymore. That’s a big deal. You can imagine this was quite the debate. They start this in Antioch. It doesn’t seem to be working. I think they still have some questions. The congregation there then appoints Paul and Barnabas and some others to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this a little more fully. I think this is an important point here in the text. Sometimes people see Acts 15 as kind of like this is like church councils. You know, you just get churches coming from every all these different places, and we’re going to decide what things are, and all this. And you’ve probably heard of various councils throughout history. You know, the council of Nicaea or the Council of Chalcedon or whatever, these various councils where people come together, the church comes together, and they decide how things are supposed to be.

I want us to take note of the reality that what’s happening here is you have essentially two regions that are having an issue. You have Jerusalem, and then I had the map up there earlier, Jerusalem, and then you have kind of the northern area, which has a lot of Gentile influence, and there’s some problems. There’s somebody going up there speaking a message, and now they’re sending back and saying, hey, some of your people are coming up here and saying this stuff. And so this is not everybody from all churches all over the world convening to make a bunch of decisions about stuff. This is two regions that are having some issues that need to get worked out. And so what’s essentially happening here is the parties are being brought together.

They’re bringing everyone together to work through this as a group. So they can hopefully then go out and have some resolution here, and there’s going to be peace in this area. That’s the goal that’s at hand. And so Paul and Barnabas and some others, a couple times others are mentioned here. We’re not told exactly who they are, but they come up and they have this meeting, and there’s just little phrases all throughout this text that are pretty important to the whole story, and sometimes get overlooked for the bigger speeches. The speeches are important, so I think that’s why. But I’ve I’ve just noticed in verse 7, for example, we kind of maybe jump in our minds right to Peter and to Paul and Barnabas and their testimony and the things that they say.

But notice it says, and after there had been much debate, that’s some good information there. I feel like Peter, probably Paul and Barnabas too, were in kind of a position where they could say, okay, everybody be quiet and we’re gonna talk. they don’t do that. They allow a lot of debate to take place first. everybody gets a voice. Even, and I think in this case, particularly with Peter and Paul and Barnabas, they already know it’s true here. They’ve been through this, they have their own experience, they’ve had God guiding them, they know what the truth is. But even still, they’re allowing this to take place. The debate is happening. People are allowed to voice their opinions. So in verse 5, after there’s been some discussion, they come in, you know, the group comes together.

Some of the believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees, so the Pharisees are really struggling with this. They’re a group that’s focused on holiness and purity, and this is really serious to them. They rise up and they say, It is necessary, so you have to do this, it is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.

And they’re giving their opinion about this, and then there’s much debate that follows. I would have loved to have seen what this debate is like. All these people discussing various things, you know. Peter allows this to go on for a little while. But after it probably had run its course, Peter says, okay, now it’s time to give some evidence and some testimony here. You can have all of your opinions and your ideas and all that, but here’s the reality. I want to remind you of what actually took place and how God made a choice. This is not about your choice. This is about the choice that God made among us. That by me, Peter saying, I went to Cornelius. Remember, we dealt with this in chapter 10 and 11, and you already had a problem with this, and we resolved it back in chapter 11, and you realize that the gospel has come to the Gentiles, and now we’re cycling back to the same viewpoint and opinion.

So I just want to clarify what God already did, and he chose me to do this, and so he clears this up. But they take this head on and they deal with this problem directly. What I think is also interesting that Paul and Barnabas on their way there. They simply taught the truth. Now there’s a time and a place, Rick will talk about this in Galatians 2, to directly confront somebody publicly. I have no problem with that. There’s a time when that needs to happen. And certainly that needed to happen to Peter, someone who should have known better in that situation and a similar circumstance in many ways when he stops eating with the Gentiles and goes over to the Jews, and Paul calls them out for it.

But it’s interesting in this, as they’re moving toward Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas, they’re on their way. And they go through Phoenicia and Samaria, and here’s what it says they did. They’re describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and it brought great joy to all the brothers. They’re focused on teaching people the gospel here. They’re on their way to deal with this problem, but notice it did not say they warned them about those men from Judea and brought great alarm to the church. There’s a time and a place for some of that. But what we mostly need is people teaching truth. And this is what Paul and Barnabas are doing. They’re not trying to create problems. They’re not going to church, you know, hey, remember those guys who came up through here?

3. Fall Silent and Listen to the Testimony

Watch out for them. No, they’re going through and they’re saying, hey, this is the true message. We have experience with this, we’ve gone to the Gentiles, and what happens is great joy is brought to these congregations along the way as they’re speaking truth to them. A lot of this are the decisions that we make, the attitudes that we take in these kinds of scenarios, and the way we choose to handle them amongst others. In Jerusalem, dialogue is encouraged. That’s what we see in all the debating and in the discussion. And then ultimately, Peter and Paul and Barnabas, they’re giving their testimony. And there’s a phrase that comes up in chapter 11 and in chapter 15 that again, it’s just a small phrase, but I think it’s vitally important.

Just after Peter makes a great statement, he says, But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will, right? We’re not saved by the law or circumcision or these kind of things. He’s making clear that it’s by faith in Jesus Christ we’re saved. It says, All the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul. Interesting, James becomes a key figure here, and you may remember James is the one that says, be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath. Because the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. In chapter 11, the same kind of thing happens. They’re criticizing Paul. It’s the same general group. I think it’s the party of the Pharisees.

There, they’re called the party of the circumcision. But I think it’s probably a very similar group of people. They’re criticizing Peter for going to Cornelius and for converting him and all of that. And then Peter gives the whole story, and they fell silent. Silence is such a good thing sometimes. Listening. That’s what’s being said. It’s not that they just stop talking and they don’t listen. No, the point is they stop and they actually listen. And they hear the message that’s being given to them by Peter, the explanation. They’re hearing the message that’s being given by Paul and Barnabas. And it seems to me at least, we’re probably not given all the information, but it seems to me that they’re seeking to understand. That they have some desire for this to kind of be resolved and there to be peace.

They have strong opinions. They hold their views and they voiced those. But when Paul and Barnabas and Peter, they start they start speaking, these people listen. They fall silent and they listen to this message. It’s pretty convincing. You know, when they start talking about all the signs and the miracles and the things they’re they’ve been doing and how the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and his house, pretty hard to argue with that. So it makes sense that they would fall silent here. But I do at least have to give them credit for the fact that they were willing to listen to what Paul and Barnabas and Peter had to say. The other part of this that I think is maybe overlooked at times is the reality that it’s not just discussion and dialogue.

There is that.

4. Look to Scripture for True Guidance

What they do is they consider the circumstances and they use principles from Scripture to wisely deal with this scenario. It’s a little bit hidden below the surface. And so I want to pull this out so you can see what’s happening here. The Amos quote is not really hidden. That’s pretty clear. And that’s what I put on the screen here for you. After Peter says what he says, James stops, and now he’s going to say something. He says, hey, all the stuff that Simeon said to you about how God came to the Gentiles first, that’s also backed up with Scripture. No, it’s not just the signs and the wonders, it’s also right here in the Bible you claim to believe. Look at Amos. It says he’s going to come back, he’s going to restore the tent of David, and there’s going to be the Gentiles that he’s going to pull out.

You’re going to be a light to the Gentiles, Isaiah tells them. So there’s multiple places in the Old Testament that speak to this reality of what is happening right before them. And so it’s not even just the eyewitness testimony or the signs and the wonders. It’s actually that they’re appealing to Scripture itself to confirm this and to then find solutions. James goes on to say in verse 19, this is my judgment. I’ve listened to all of this, I’ve heard the debating, I’ve heard Peter, I’ve heard Paul and Barnabas. We shouldn’t be troubling the Gentiles. Here’s what I want you to do. He says to abstain from things polluted by idols. So probably meet sacrifice to idols and those kind of things. Very common in the ancient world, particularly in pagan cities.

And from sexual immorality and for what has been strangled and from blood. Now you probably already recognize that these are things that come from the Old Testament. But what I want us to understand and what I want us to see is this is not just random passages in the Old Testament. You know, James doesn’t just sort of come up with this idea and say, Yeah, I know some stuff is said about that in the Old Testament. So here’s what I think would be best. All of this actually comes from what’s called, you’ve probably heard it called the holiness code in Leviticus 17 and 18. And in particular, this section of text is dealing with how strangers and sojourners dwell among Jews. This is what the house of Israel and what sojourners should be doing when they are together, when they’re around each other.

This is what they’re dealing with in this region. You have a lot of Jewish concentration in this area and moving up into Antioch. There’s a lot of Jews, there’s a lot of Gentiles, and say, hey, we don’t want to offend each other. We’re not following the law anymore. But let’s let’s keep some things in mind. And here’s some of these things we should never be doing, like sexual immorality, right? That’s pretty clear. But he’s like, be conscious, be aware of your brothers and sisters who have this other background. And let’s think about this. Now, it’s interesting. Paul later on, for example, when he’s in Corinth, he tells them they can’t eat meat sacrificed to idols. Some of this is not a universal command for everybody for all time.

This is dealing with a solution where there’s a conflict in this region, and they’re trying to help them. And James is going to take this circumstance, he’s taking something from Scripture that’s very similar, like Leviticus 17 and 18, where you have foreigners sometimes dwelling among Jews, and there’s things they should be doing and shouldn’t be doing, and they’re expected to do if they’re going to dwell together, if there’s going to be peace. Now, the little fancy chart up here, all that’s showing is that James first, he’s kind of, I think, pulling this from memory. Right? He’s thinking of this, and he says, here’s what I want us to do. But when they actually send the letter, this is kind of neat, it’s all reoriented to match the order in Leviticus 17 and 18.

And then it’s done again later in Acts 21. So we’re not going to spend the time to go back to Leviticus 17 and 18 and read all of that this morning. But you can go look at that, and I’ll give you a little some helps along the way. It talks about, in the first part of that, it’s about not sacrificing in the open field and not sacrificing to goat demons, right? These idols. So don’t get influenced by the world around you. Don’t do the things they’re doing. If you’re going to sacrifice, bring it to the tent of meaning. This is about idolatry. That’s where he starts. And then the next section is don’t eat blood. And then he says, Don’t you have to pour the blood out, kind of a subcategory of that.

So that’s the idea of being strangled. You strangle something, which is how a lot of animals kill other animals. We won’t get too graphic here, but the blood is not poured out. But don’t eat that. You have to pour the blood out. And there’s some reasons he gives in there. And then chapter 18 is all about immorality. So what James, when he talks about it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, I don’t actually think he’s talking about the Holy Spirit like coming into their brain and like giving them these ideas. No, he’s looking back at what the Holy Spirit’s already revealed in Scripture. We’ve seen a situation like this where Israel is dwelling among sojourners, foreigners, and they give instructions about things to not do.

And so we’re going to take that and we’re going to use that for our benefit. We’re going to allow scripture to guide us and making a good decision on how this should work. So not only are they directly hitting this problem head on, they’re not doing it with emotions and passions and all of that. It’s about what scripture says. It’s allowing scripture and discerning scripture to then decide how this is going to work. And then they communicate the results clearly. James’s verdict is not based on human wisdom. I think all of this is pretty important. He doesn’t listen to all this and say, okay, here’s what I think. You know, I’ve I’ve got wisdom. I’ve been doing this a while, and y’all just need to listen to me.

He’s appealing to something bigger than himself. At the same time, this is pretty tough. I particularly think on this issue with James and some of the other apostles. It seems rather important to me that they don’t just dismiss the Pharisees’ concern, which would be very easy to do. You know, you guys don’t know anything. Don’t you know the gospel and how it’s changed? We are not dealing with this. Just stop it. It’s not really how they treat them. They actually take time and they debate this and they work through. People are in different places. And just because you understand something doesn’t mean somebody else already understands all of that. And sometimes it takes time to work through those ideas. And I appreciate the fact that the elders and the leaders here, they don’t just dismiss the things the Pharisees are saying.

Even as we would probably see this as pretty simple, we’re looking back at this. And I think for some of them they would have seen it as pretty simple. Paul and Barnabas, especially and Peter. But they don’t say, hey, we don’t have time for this. You know, just stop what you’re doing. Now they take the time, they look at evidence, they look at scripture, and I hope these Pharisees were convinced. You know, I think most of the people go away happy. That’s what the text tells us. I don’t, I have a hard time believing that everybody was just like, I don’t have my preferences anymore. don’t that’s typically not how humans work. But I do hope the Pharisees were convinced by all the evidence and the facts that were presented to them and the testimony of Peter and Paul and Barnabas, and they realized this is this is not where we need to be spending our time.

5. Communicate All That Carefully and Wisely

I really hope that’s the case. It seems like that’s really what happened. And so they don’t dismiss them. They give time for them to come to an understanding. They also don’t just cave to their demands. You know, they’ve they’ve really done this their whole life. This has been really important to them. Maybe we should just do whatever they say. They don’t do that either. They’re looking for real answers from scripture, from scriptural guidance to bring people together according to what God has asked, not according to what humans think or what humans want. And then they write this letter that explains the problem and the solution. First of all, they admit the problem. This is pretty important. In the letter, they say, some persons have gone out from us and troubled you, although we gave them no instruction.

Yes, it happened. You know, these people from Jerusalem, they came up here, they were teaching you stuff that wasn’t true. They were from us. We didn’t tell them to do that. But we need to admit that they did come from us. So they admit the problem up front. They identify the people impacted. When they’re writing to these, to the brothers who are the Gentiles and Antioch and Syria, and this doesn’t really affect the Jewish brethren that much in these areas. They’re essentially saying, hey, these people went out, this is to you. We’re sorry. We didn’t tell them to do this. But they’re teaching you something that’s not true, that’s actually not part of the gospel, and we want you to know that. And then they give some of these general requirements.

This is all really interesting. You know, James, this is dealt with so well. I mean, this is why Luke includes it for us to see. Problems are not always going to go this well. You know, this is just not how it works in reality. Not everybody’s gonna all be happy at the end all the time, and all of that. But it is, it is strike me as interesting that James doesn’t even talk about the question that they the issue. When he gives his judgment at the end, he doesn’t say anything about circumcision or the law of Moses or any of that. He just says, here are some basic things that we should all just be doing anyway. Let’s stay away from idolatry.

And when they get the letter, when we’ll talk about how they got the letter here in just a minute, when they get the letter, they rejoice. They’re happy about this. They’re encouraged by the judgment that takes place because of how James and the others handle this. They send it with Paul and Barnabas and Judas and Silas. There’s a lot of discernment in how they communicate this message. They could have just sent it with Paul and Barnabas. They’re from Antioch. You know, here’s the letter. Take off. God be with you. No, but they actually wanted to make sure this was handled as properly as it could be. They commend Barnabas and Paul. So they send them back with their commendation, right? So you aren’t kind of on the margins, you aren’t on the outside.

No, when they send this letter, beloved, these are beloved brethren who have risked their own lives. They speak really well of Paul and Barnabas. You can kind of see how that would be beneficial in writing back to this church in Antioch, who’s really concerned about what they’re hearing from these brethren in Jerusalem. But they also send Judas and Silas, who represent Jerusalem. So not just Paul and Barnabas go back, but they also think, you know what, we should take some of our leading people who are trusted, who are good teachers, they’re prophets as well. It tells us in the text. They send them up there because we want you to hear from the mouth of these two people who are from the church in Jerusalem that we are all in agreement.

So they’re very careful about how they do all of this. And the result is positive. The people are encouraged. The church continues to grow in both areas. And it seems to their credit, those in the wrong seem to be humble enough to accept that their claims were not defendable. We don’t see them rising up against Peter or Barnabas or Saul or James or anybody else. It seems like here that the problem for the most part is resolved and good things happen. And so I think there’s a pattern to how this works that we should consider. Confront problems directly. Get the community together to talk through it. Listen to facts, testimony, evidence. Look to Scripture for true guidance and judgments, discernment, and then communicate all that carefully and wisely.

This is how we see, not just in this example, really, but also in Acts 6 earlier. We see the same sort of pattern taking place when there’s a problem, they get the people together and they’re looking for a solution that’s going to actually help the issue, and they communicate to that to them well so that everybody is on board and understands. But I want us to see this last point about Paul and Barnabas, because I think it’s also very important, even in the discussion of congregational conflict.

6. We Can Disagree Greatly and Still Have Positive Results

Personal disagreement is usually what leads to congregational disagreement. Most of the time that’s the anchor of the issues. And what I want us to understand from this story, not just the first part of the story, which we already worked through, but the second part of the story, they both show the same thing, and that is we can actually disagree greatly and still have positive results and still continue solid kingdom work in the midst of that. Not every single issue is something that has to be a divisive issue where we must separate from everyone in some ugly, mean way.

Sometimes we do draw lines of fellowship. You know, I can’t go along with that and I can’t participate in that. And so that’s another issue to be talked about. But this is a pretty serious problem here that they’re dealing with in Jerusalem and Antioch. And yet they’re able to deal with it in a mature way, looking to Scripture, everybody going away, seeming to deal with this in a way that leads to rejoicing. Paul and Barnabas disagree sharply on their visions. And yet they go away and continue their work, even though it’s separate.

But they just have different goals in mind. We’re not giving a whole lot of details about all of that. But through looking through scripture, I think we can give get a little bit of an insight into what’s happening here. We know some things about Barnabas. And we know some things about Paul. Paul is a hard-working, doesn’t have time for things to go wrong, kind of person. Mark, he goes back from the work back in chapter 13, and Paul doesn’t seem interested in dealing with that. And so he has his own idea. He’s going to take Silas at the end of this, and he’s going to continue. They want to go back and encourage these churches they’ve already founded. Barnabas, who is the one who actually brought Saul.

You remember everybody was afraid of Saul. And Barnabas, the son of encouragement, he gets Saul and he brings him to the brethren and says, Hey, you can trust this guy. That’s the nature of who he is. Mark, John Mark, also happens to be his cousin. You know, so there’s always some human elements to how some of these things work as well. And they have different visions of what they want to accomplish. Paul seems more focused on the current need. He wants to go to these churches and get these things done, and he doesn’t want obstacles. He doesn’t want somebody slowing him down. Barnabas seems interested in Mark’s potential, which ends up seeming to be a pretty good call. And in reality, I think they can actually both be right.

They have different visions of how they want their work to go. Paul’s on a mission and he doesn’t want to be slowed down. He takes Silas, someone who is a proven worker, and he goes and he does his work. Barnabas takes Mark, and it seems like he’s gonna sort of guide him along the way. And I want us to understand the things that are said about Mark afterwards, because the story doesn’t just end here. Particularly with Paul. Paul tells the saints in Colossae to welcome Mark, the cousin of Barnabas later on in the prison epistles. Paul calls Mark later on in Philemon, which is to the same group of people, Colossae Philemon is a person in Colossae. He calls Mark a fellow worker at this point.

He tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 to get Mark and bring him with him, for he is very useful to him for his ministry. This is one of the last letters that Paul wrote. Things change over time. One of those things I wish I knew again is what is it that Barnabas did with Mark? Peter talks about Mark being his son. And most likely Mark wrote the gospel that you have read. So this is not some guy who just falls off and never works in the kingdom anymore that Paul’s not interested in. But he just has his own idea of what he wants to accomplish and really his own mission given from God about what he’s supposed to accomplish. And Mark departed from them. And he didn’t want to spend time with that.

Barnabas sees the potential. And my point here is sometimes we can disagree sharply on what is most needed. And we can both be right. And that’s okay.

Conclusion

They resolve these conflicts carefully with discernment, listening to testimony, submitting to scripture, seeking the will of God together. And what I want us to see from all of this is that unity in this church did not come from avoiding debate and discussion and dialogue. It came from humbly seeking truth together, confronting it head on, looking to the Word of God, listening to each other, and making wise judgments based on Scripture. I know this is probably not the most dynamic sermon you’ve ever heard in your life, but it is important. These kinds of lessons from Scripture are important for us to see, particularly because the human condition is we just deal with problems. You know, you see it in the book of Acts. Good things happen and the church is growing, and then all of a sudden this problem pops up, and they got to deal with that.

And then good things are happening, and another problem pops up. That’s just the nature of how things work. And it’s important that we look here for guidance about how to handle these and not just rely on our own human wisdom. That’s a disaster. And so it’s valuable to see Peter and Paul and Barnabas and James and how they work through these sort of matters, not just here, but other parts in the book of Acts as well, to help God’s people stay together. We’re on the same team. We have the same mission, we’re fighting for the same goals, the same results. It’s just inevitable that sometimes we’ll have disagreements along the way about some things. But we are God’s people working and fighting for God’s kingdom. And that should be our humble attitude and the way that we approach things.

Could be this morning that you want to be part of God’s kingdom. If you’re not baptized into Jesus Christ, the book of Acts talks about this frequently, then you are not in Christ. This is the message over and over again. Whether it’s Lydia or the Philippian jailer or the people in Samaria, when they hear the truth, they believe it and they’re baptized and their sins are washed away and they come up a new person. Now they’re they’re working for the Lord, they’re fighting for his kingdom, and they are on a mission together. And we want to help you become part of this mission to work in the kingdom. And we do that. Why don’t you come now as we stand and we sing?

I will sing the mercies of the Lord forever. I will see. I will see. I will see the mercies of the Lord. I will see all the mercies of the Lord. With my mouth, will my name come.

With my mouth, when my name come to all the great sons. I will see how the mercies of the Lord.

I will see.

If you did not, raise your hand. We’ve got some gentlemen who can bring those to you. Anybody?

If you are in a book, number four fifty-one, and can it be? We’ll sing this before we’re led in the observance of the Lord’s Hum.

No rail will ever be known for all be law how can I be that you might for me amazing law can be to my God should I be in Philippians chapter two Paul writes about the importance of unity, of oneness, of being of like mind. And in verse 2 of Philippians 2, Paul says, So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind. For Paul to help the Christians in Philippi to consider the importance of this topic of unity and oneness. Paul goes on in the next few verses to tie this mindset, this perspective to Jesus Himself.

He says in verse 5, of all these things I’ve mentioned, of the importance of unity and being of one mind, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. That unity should be paramount to them, because it was paramount to Jesus. In the Gospels, there are many times where Jesus refers to the idea of unity and being one. For instance, in John 17, beginning in verse 22, Jesus says, The glory that I that you have given me, I have given to them that they may be one, even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me. It’s no surprise that it was of paramount importance for Jesus, considering that he went and he gathered twelve men from different backgrounds, different roles in society, different ethnicities, a group that was sort of a hodgepodge of many different sects, and he wanted them to be unified for the sake of the gospel and spreading his truth.

Back in Philippians 2, Paul goes further and he shows what Jesus did. Not that Jesus simply said to be unified or that Jesus simply preached that message, but that Jesus did something to not only show the importance of unity, but to facilitate unity.

Started by being unified, by being one with God’s plan for salvation. To leave heaven, to come to the earth, to live in human form, to be tested, to be ridiculed. But there is one point in Matthew 26 that perhaps, at least in my mind, is just this the ultimate complete unity and emptying of himself. In Matthew 26, Jesus is in the garden with his disciples, and he goes off by himself. And in verse 39, it says, and going a little further, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.

Back in John 17, a few verses prior from what we read earlier, beginning in verse 20, Jesus prays, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Unity and sacrifice, accomplished by Jesus so that we can be children of His and have access to mercy and forgiveness and hope. So now we, as one body of God’s people, partake of emblems representing the one body that was sacrificed for us on the cross, so that we can be unified together with Him. Let’s pray together.

With our hearts and our minds set on what was done for us on that cross.

Because Jesus was willing to empty Himself. Let us consider most of all, Father, the opportunity to be one with each other and one with you. We pray this prayer in Jesus’ name. Let’s pray once more. Father, again, we come to you, considering the blood that was shed for us. The life that was given for us, so that we could have a relationship with you, so that we could have hope beyond the difficulties and challenges of this life, and we can look forward to something that is unimaginable, something that is unfathomable, an eternity in heaven with you, where we can experience the fullness of unity in our relationship with you. Father, we thank you for the love that was demonstrated on the cross, and that Jesus was willing to empty himself in order to consider us as more important than him, that we may have forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.

Pray in his name, amen. This concludes our observance of the Lord’s Supper.

Good morning. It’s been wonderful to be with you all this morning, both our regular members and any visitors that might be with us. We’re so happy that you’ve chosen to come worship God with us today. If you’re still in the area, we do meet back here again at 5 p.m. for Bible classes for all ages, so we hope to see you then. I also have a note that I’d like to read from Sister Elizabeth Barco. Dear Decker Prairie family, I am requesting prayers on behalf of my brother Frank. An MRI of his liver revealed a seven-centimeter mass. He is scheduled for a biopsy tomorrow. So please keep Elizabeth’s brother Frank in your prayers.

And we have several in the bulletin that have ongoing prayer needs. So please do make sure you pick up a copy of the bulletin to stay aware of that.

After this song, we’ll be led in our closing prayer. Join me in singing when I go home.

Let us bow. Our Father, we thank you for this opportunity we have had. We have not only encouraged and uplifted each other in song and praise and prayer, but we have learned from your word what you would have us do during difficult times of conflict. Let us take these words that we were taught and hold them close, so we may handle situations as you desire, especially when our emotions are at high levels. Help us look to you. Help us look to your word, and help us look to each other often. And in your son’s name we pray. Amen.