Jerusalem: Facing Conflict - Acts 15

Wind is a powerful force and it is also a moving force, usually from South East to North West. The force of moving water and the devastation it can cause is unbelievable; it usually moves down stream or with the direction of the wind. Both of these forces move things like trees, buildings, and land masses. Tradition is also a powerful force that moves people in both directions, but usually sustains them in their present position. The older I get the more comfortable I am with things staying the way they have always been. You see, tradition can be either good or bad—it all depends on you.

I do not trust any candidate that promises a ‘new day’ or a ‘new beginning’ without giving the details about what the ‘new’ direction will be; what it will cost, and how the cost will be paid. I feel much safer with the candidate that acknowledges that we have the most dependable and fairest government ever devised. He admits that it has some flaws; then he identifies them and suggests ways they can be remedied. I know the cost will be less than going totally new; and I also know that the improvements will be paid by the tax payers and not government. Changes that occur in churches are very similar to the ones that take place in government.

Most of the conflicts within the church today are a direct result of ‘traditional’ versus ‘new’ and neither philosophy can be right every time. Just a few that come to mind are such as: the disagreement on music styles that should be used in worship; and should we stick with the ‘old time’ preaching of the gospel or start utilizing some of the new kinds of programs that are available and may draw bigger crowds? Would there be fewer conflicts if committees were abolished and leave the planning and decision making up to the pastor? Do we practice open or closed communion? Should we hold to a traditional Sunday morning service? Or, should we go to two services? When expansion is needed, do we stay on the restricted down town site or should we move to a place with more room? Conflicts like these did not start at Heber Springs. Conflicts started at the home of the very first Christ Ordained Church in Jerusalem. They faced conflict!

In the last verses of chapter 14 we find that Paul and Barnabas sailed back to Antioch where they had been commissioned to do the work which they had now completed. Sea trade was heavy in those days, and many think that they caught a ride on a cargo ship that was hauling freight to Syria and Egypt. Remember, there are two cities named Antioch; one is in Pisidia over three hundred miles north of the first one mentioned. They are now back in the Antioch that is about 500 miles north of Jerusalem in Syria. The last verse tells us that they stayed there a long time. According to bible history, Paul probably wrote his letter to the Galatians during this period of time, and it is thought to be about AD 48 or 49. The Galatians would include the last three or four major cities that he visited on his first Missionary Journey.

Jerusalem is in Judea. The first verse of chapter 15, says that some men came down from Judea to Antioch [where Paul was… at that time]. I think of North as being up, and wonder why the verse did not say they came up to Antioch. [Just trivia]. Anyway, they were Jews who evidently had finally accepted the truth that Gentiles could be saved, but…but they still contended that Gentiles must also be circumcised in order to be saved, because Jewish law demanded circumcision. Paul and Barnabas were in sharp dispute with this teaching and they took it to the church at Antioch. The Church commissioned them to go to Jerusalem and present their grievances to the Apostles and elders who were serving at the mother church.

They made this a short missionary journey as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria telling how the Gentiles were being converted. They were well received all along the way and were welcomed by the Jerusalem church, apostles and elders. They reported the success they had experienced.
BUT—some of the Pharisees stood up and contended that the converted Gentiles still had to be circumcised. It seems that all of our churches have the Billy Goats hanging around—all they do is BUT and BUT every thing that Christians try to do.

The real problem for the Jewish Christians was not whether the gentiles could be saved…but it was as to whether or not they had to abide by the law of Moses—and the test was—do they have to be circumcised? They were afraid of weakening the moral standards among Jewish believers if they did not keep the law. Paul and Barnabas did not dispute the importance of the law...they admitted that circumcision was important under the old covenant, but now salvation is by grace and not law. Their contention was that we are under the new covenant of grace, and the purpose of law is to identify sin but not to save man from sin.

One of the main turning points came when it was pointed out to the Christian Jews that they were asking gentiles to keep laws that Jews had not been able to keep. No one was able to keep all of the Jewish laws and this is what had made it necessary for them to continually offer sacrifices for their failures. We find Peter {as controversial as he had always been} is now one of the stabilizing forces among the Jews. He addressed this august body of church leaders that had assembled to solve a dispute in the church. He reminded them that God had made the choice to accept the gentiles who heard the message and believed; and that those who had believed had received the Holy Spirit—just as the Jews did.—God had made no exception or distinction between the Jews and Gentiles. He was the one that ask the question;—“why should gentiles have to keep laws that Jews could not keep?” Peter announced again that salvation comes through grace; that if accepted by faith, requires nothing more.

By verse 12, it seems that Grace Believers are beginning to get their point across and Jews are beginning to listen. For the first time in this conflict we hear from James, who was the brother of Jesus, and who later became the leader of the Church in Jerusalem. James quoted from the prophet Amos 9: 11-12 where he prophesied that God would restore the kingdom that David had built and that it would be made available to all nations and that includes the Gentiles.

Then James said that it was in his judgment that the church should not make it difficult for Gentiles who were accepting God. He continued by saying that what they should do instead—was to instruct them in the way they should live under grace. This tells me that no church has a right to set up man made rules that must be met, or laws that must be obeyed, in order for a new convert to be a member. The Jerusalem Church Council agreed with doctoring and moved to settle this problem that had arisen at Antioch.

The council at Jerusalem appointed two prophets, Judas and Silas, to go with Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch to inform them of the agreement that had been reached. They remained there some time teaching, and preaching encouraging messages that would help the new Gentile church to grow and prosper. Paul and Barnabas remained and continued to preach even after Judas and Silas had gone back to their home church. Let me call your attention to the fact that mission minded churches still follow this same pattern. Visiting preachers and evangelist are called in from other churches to help local pastors in giving the church a booster shot. They revive and encourage the locals to renew their faith and increase their ministry in their home church and then move on to another field of work. Visiting evangelist or interim preachers can sometimes prevent a dangerous split in a church or at least minimize the lasting damages that a split can cause.


THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY WAS PLANNED AND PROVIDED FOR DURING THE REMAINING DAYS WHILE PAUL AND BARNABAS WERE STILL PREACHING IN ANTIOCH.

Paul was the one who decided to make the second Missionary Journey and suggested the route they should take. Talking to Barnabas he said; “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas agreed and suggested that they take John Mark with them. Another dispute arose! Paul reminded Barnabas that Mark had deserted them before and he did not want to risk the same kind of conflict. Neither would agree with the other and this caused a split. This is one of the times that God used a disagreement to improve and expand His cause.

Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus where they started their own missionary work. Paul chose Silas to go with him on his Second Missionary Journey and revisited many of the churches where he had gone before, and added others to his list. Approximately three years elapsed between the end of the first journey and the beginning of the second. As a result of the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas there are now two teams of missionaries spreading the gospel instead of the one.

Sometime later, as recorded in Colossians 4: 10, Paul recanted and accepted John Mark as a helper who became vital to his success. Christians do not always agree but they should always be willing to solve their problems and work together. God can work with and through us if we are willing to agree that we can disagree and let God work his will through us.

Christ like men can disagree and grow in strength, knowledge and understanding. Ungodly men disagree and fight destroying any good that did exist. “Blessed is the peacemaker!”