Church Conflict (part 3) Mercy for the "Losers"

Acts 15:7-21
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16 "'After this I will return and rebuild David's fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things' 18 that have been known for ages.
19 "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

So far, we have learned that some things are worth the conflict. We have learned that we should seek guidance from mature believers outside the situation. And we have learned that we should allow the voices of all our various parts speak.

In these verses we find the apostles and elders discussing all this. It says that there was much discussion. This shows that weighed the opinions expressed. They did not just jump to a conclusion and discuss how to enforce their view.

Interestingly, Peter speaks, but that is not at all the final word. At least three others are mentioned speaking after him. This points us to a collective leadership.

Peter, Paul and Barnabas all spoke from experience. They saw God give his Holy Spirit to Gentiles. They saw God perform miracles among the Gentiles. And then Peter matches their experience with God's word. So the decision is born out of both witnessing the leading of God and hearing the words of God.

They (thankfully) decided that circumcision and Moses were not necessary for Salvation. They decided that they should make it not difficult to turn to God.

However, they also keep in mind those who have already been steeped in Judaism, since they were everywhere (verse 21). They laid out four key abstentions to help foster peace between the newly converted Gentiles and those who were raised in Judaism. 1. Abstain from food polluted by idols, 2. Abstain from sexual immorality, 3. Abstain from the meat of strangled animals and 4. Abstain from blood.

The key lesson here is in how we will treat those who "lose" the conflict. It would have been easy to treat them poorly. They were wrong. They need to adjust their thinking. They had been legalistic Pharisees (quite literally). But it would have been sadly ironic to make a decision in favor of grace and then cram it mercilessly down people's throats. They did just the opposite. After making the decision based on the truth of grace, they set up regulations to help those who "lost" the argument through the transition. Brilliant!

Church in Conflict (part 2) Diversity as both the problem and solution

I realize this is overdue, and I apologize to you who have come and seen the same post for nearly two months. I have some other things to post, but I want to finish this series on conflict first.

Acts 15:3-6
The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them:

I’m big on diversity. I consider it one of the marks of church health. But the blessing of diverse perspectives is also a curse from time to time. This is important to understand, because that means that conflict is not necessarily a sign of sickness. It is a sign of diversity.

In these few verses you have the views of the Phoenician and Samarian Christians represented: they were glad. This is to be expected since they were in a very similar situation as the Gentiles. You also have the views of the Pharisee Christians*. They demand circumcision and submission to the Law. This is also expected as they would represent the most Jewish portion of the church. Seemingly everyone who would want input gets it. All sides get their say. The apostles and elders then discuss the arguments.

So, it was diversity that allowed for such conflict. You bring Samaritans and Pharisees and conflict will arise. But these followers learned that this is not something to be feared. After all, he brought together a Zealot and a tax collector to be among his twelve.

Instead of fearing it, they seemed to embrace it. The decision happened among the leadership, but not without hearing the various arguments first. Everyone got a voice.

The humility to listen is necessary for leading diverse people through conflict.