Conflict in the Church (part 1)

Acts 15:1-3:
Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

The Argument: You cannot accept Messiah without being Jewish. Circumcision has always been a part of proselization. Jesus is a supplement to Moses, and you cannot put the cart before the horse.

The Response: Completely unacceptable. The Law does not save. It did not save us Jews. It will not save the Gentiles.

The Resolution: Find a third party of believers. People who have known the truth of the gospel for a long time, who because of their tenure of faith and closeness with Jesus can speak with some authority here.

This was an important debate. I'm certainly glad that Paul and Barnabas did not simply agree to disagree. The history of Christianity was at stake and they could sense it.

I'm also grateful for the good sense of the people at Antioch to seek assistance from an outside church and from believers who had a more tenured perspective.

I pray that we could have the wisdom to sense which disputes were worth fighting and which were not, and that we could have the backbone to not back down even in the face of intimidating opposition (see Galatians 2:11-16 for more).

And I pray that we would have wisdom to know how to resolve issues. I pray that we would have the unity and humility to lean on others outside our circle. I pray that we would find creative and loving ways to maintain our unity in truth.