Resolving Conflict

INTRODUCTION

Somewhere in our church culture, we have gotten the idea that churches should never have arguments or disagreements about anything. This has led to more problems and even sometimes church splits rather than healthy heated debates about important issues surrounding the church’s doctrine and practices.

There are some things that are worth fighting for when it comes to the church's practices regarding its core doctrines and teachings. Unfortunately, the church often does not have good discernment regarding the issues worth fighting for and those that are secondary.

As a church, we will find that there are times to take a stand regarding faith and practice and times to avoid quarreling for the sake of unity.

Many Christians want to fight about anything from worship styles to church decor, programs, and practices. However, we have also seen a church culture of tolerance produce another type of Christian who thinks Christ's followers should never have a heated debate over even the most important theological issues.

One group fights over everything, while the others won’t stand up for anything.

We read at the end Acts 14 shows how, at the end of Paul’s first missionary journey, the door to the gospel has now been opened for the Gentiles.

Acts 15 shows us that there are times when serious theological debates are necessary.

How a person is saved must be at the top of the list of things that we must stand on when it comes to debates in the church.

Acts 15:1–5 ESV

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.” 2 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 the elders about this question. 3 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. 4 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. 5 But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

The Jews and Gentiles in Antioch appeared to living in relative harmony until a group of Jews came down from Judea and were teaching that circumcision was a requirement for salvation. They were telling Gentile converts that Faith in Jesus alone was not enough. They needed to add to faith, circumcision, and to circumcision the law. Therefore, they must let Moses complete what Jesus had begun letting the law supplement the gospel of Grace.

The way of salvation was at stake. The very foundation of the church and its Christian faith was being torn away.

1. We Must be Ready to Contend for the Faith.

Paul obviously understood the importance of contending for the faith.

Jude 3 ESV

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Many scholars see a subsequent correlation between the events in Acts 15 and Galatians 2.  Paul first addresses this by turning to a different gospel other than the one they have received in Galatians 1:6-7

Galatians 1:6–7 ESV

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

THE MODEL FOR RESOLVING CONFLICT

#1 We See the Place for the Debate

Instead of sweeping it under the rug or making a judgment on His own, Paul knew this needed to be brought to those who God had set apart to discern such matters in the church.

Paul goes up to meet with the Jerusalem counsel to confirm the gospel that he had been called to preach among the Gentiles. However, in the beginning of verse 11, we read that Paul opposes Peter to his face for being two-faced in handling the controversy over the men who came down from Jerusalem.

The men are called the circumcision party. It appears that Peter withdrew himself from the Gentiles when this group of zealous men showed up to dispute the association of Jews with uncircumcised Gentiles.

NOTE: We must note that Paul has taken Titus with him, who is an uncircumcised Gentile believer. Some could say this was his test case on purpose.

This doctrinal issue also posed a practical problem: how could Jewish Christians enjoy table fellowship with Gentile Christians if the Gentiles failed to adhere to the same ritual laws the Jews did?

a). Grace Alone is on Trial

The History of Grace on Trial

Not everyone rejoiced over the Gentile mission gaining momentum. Some Jewish believers didn’t like the idea that the Gentiles were retaining their own identity as they joined the community of faith. In other words, they thought a Gentile needed to become a Jew in order to become a Christian.

As Christian we have every need to rejoice that we live in the age of Grace. In Acts 13:48 when the Gentiles heard that the Gospel was now available to them they all began rejoicing.

Here is the controversy. One person says Salvation is by grace alone, while another person might argue that such an idea leads to lawlessness. God’s righteous standard must be upheld. And someone else chimes in with, “Salvation is by grace, and grace only comes to those who abide by God’s law.”

At the root of the debate are different views on the basis of Salvation. The importance of the issue fuels the intensity of the discussion. When the Bible speaks of the law it speaks of the Standard given to Moses beginning in Exodus 20 with the ten commandments. God’s law expanded His requirements to people in three categories 1) civil; 2) Ceremonial; and 3) Moral Laws.

Here is the problem at hand, the law by itself is weak. It lacked the power to truly provide lasting change to the sinful heart. Keeping the law as interpreted by Pharisees had become a heave burden around their necks.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION Grace and Works on a Train Ride

A ride on a commuter train illustrates the difference between righteousness by works and righteousness by grace.

A train rumbles into the station with a warning bell clanging. The doors open, the uniformed conductor steps out, and you climb on board and find your way to a seat. When you look around the car, you see tickets clipped on the top of occupied seats, paid for with hard-earned money. Those tickets displayed at each seat are the special concern of the conductor, who walks through the car to punch tickets and confirm that you paid for the right to take this ride. If the conductor finds you without a ticket, you will either pay on the spot or be escorted off the train at the next stop. To ride this train, what matters is the paid ticket. This is righteousness by works.

Righteousness by grace, on the other hand, works very differently. God's train pulls into the station, a warning bell clanging. The doors open, and the conductor steps out. Many people crowd on board and find their seats, for almost everyone wants to ride this train to the city where people never die.

Eventually, the conductor walks through the train to see if everyone belongs on board. But on this train, the conductor is not looking for tickets clipped to the top of seats. In fact, anyone who tries to pay for the right to be on the train will be escorted promptly from the train at the very next stop. That's right; no one can earn the right to be on this train. What the conductor looks for as he walks seat by seat through the car is the penniless people he knows by name, the people who are his friends and who completely lack the means to pay. These poverty-stricken people climb on board with only one hope: they believe in the generosity of their conductor friend.

This is righteousness by grace. A ride on God's train is a gift. By our standards, it's unfair. It's scandalous. But, like it or not, it's heaven's way.

Conflict Between Faith and the Law

The conflict is alive and well today in the hearts and minds of people. Here is where people fall into error.

1). Misunderstand the Purpose of the Law. (The law was intended to point us toward Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the law)

2). Redefining grace as something other than God’s undeserved favor. (we like to add grace plus something else i.e. baptism, communion, religious rituals)

3). The person who tries to earn his own Salvation or “supplement” Christ’s sacrifice. (Jesus sacrifice is not enough we must somehow help him out)

4). The person who follows the errors of the Pharisees by taking man-made traditions and rituals as doctrine. (worship styles, my Hymnal is my Bible)

5). The person who fails to focus on the whole counsel of God’s word. (Acts 20:27) “For I did not shrink from sharing with you the whole counsel of God’s word.

Acts 15:6–21 (ESV)

6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 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 my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 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? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

12 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. 13 After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 “ ‘After this I will return,

and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;

I will rebuild its ruins,

and I will restore it,

17 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 18 known from of old.’

19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

2. We Must be Ready to Contend for the Heart.

The key to Peter’s defense is directed towards the God who knows the heart and has given them the same Holy Spirit to testify that they are His children.

Surprise that Peter was the first to speak up in the debate. Notice that he waited until much debate existed before he spoke up.

THOUGHT: What is the best way for Christians to handle disagreement? Have you ever experienced disagreement among God’s people? Was it resolved positively or not? What is the difference between disagreement and disunity?

An excellent way of discovering what God would do in a given situation is to consider what he has done.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT GOD KNOWS OUR HEART?

In the gospels when Jesus said, “God knows your heart” in Luke 16:15, He was speaking to the Pharisees - men who lived double lives. Outwardly, they sought public approval. They mad a point of following all the religious rule and worked hard to impress people so that they would appear to be godly and wise. But God saw through their phony, pious displays to what was on the inside.

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is desperately sick above all others...”

Have you ever come to church on Sunday morning, sat through worship, and felt like a fraud, a phony.

The Pharisees proved that appearances can be deceiving. In the Bible the heart refers to a person’s inner moral and spiritual life. The most significant problem with trying to require circumcision of the Gentile converts was the fact that the kind of circumcision that Jesus now requires was the circumcision of the heart.

NOTE: Is it not the same for us today to be jealous of someone who is a hardened criminal on death row? They pray to receive Christ just moments before their death. We may cry out. That is not fair. They did not have to go through all the struggles of living a Christian life. They are just as saved as any Christian who has ever lived without the struggles and persecution that go with it.

What is your motivation for sharing the gospel. It is not to get more tithers into your Church, or more nursery workers in Journey Kids on Sunday morning.

It should be the reality that the God of the Universe who is roaming back and forth throughout the earth looking for those whose heart is completely His circumcise and transform the Heart of Stone into a Heart of Flesh.

THOUGHT: Consider how here and elsewhere in Acts, it is shown that the deepest sense of an Old Testament promise could not be understood until Christ fulfilled it.

#2 We see the Order of the Debate.

(there was a moderator, and people respectfully listened to the debate, it was not a free-for-all)

In verse 12, James, who appears to be the moderator of this meeting, begins with “Listen to Me.”  Fyi, the command to listen to me occurs nowhere else in the N.T. It reveals the respect and authority that James must have had in the early church. Notice that James calls Peter Simeon, which was his typical Jewish name and would have shown their close relationship with one another.

a). When in Doubt, Go to Scripture.

(The word of God should always be the playbook we go back to when in doubt about how to apply our understanding on any matter, especially those regarding our Salvation)

James knew where to go to settle any matters regarding faith and doctrine. We should go to the word of God daily. Bath ourselves in its instructions. Scripture is what transforms the heart and mind of God’s chosen.

James references Amos 9:11-12 God promises to restore David’s fallen tent and rebuild its ruins (which Christian eyes see as a prophecy of the resurrection and exaltation of Christ.)

The second thing this text tells us is that a Gentile remnant will seek the Lord. In other words, Gentiles will be included or grafted into this new community through the Davidic Christ. James, whom the circumcision party had claimed as their champion, now fully agrees with Peter, Paul, and Barnabas. The inclusion of the Gentiles was not a divine afterthought but already foretold by the prophets.

Note: We see a clear picture between what scripture says and how the missionaries experience it.

#3 We See the Judgement of the debate.

A Judgement is Given

The Greek verb krino could mean to express merely an opinion. But the context demands something far stronger than that. ‘I rule, then, on the other hand, is too strong, as is Kirsopp. It is however, a direct definite sentence of a judge and implies that he is acting by an authority which is personal.

So, here, we have something that is stronger than an ‘opinion’ and weaker that a ‘decree.’ Perhaps the word ‘conviction’ best describes James sentiment since James is making a firm proposal, which in fact the other leaders endorse, so that the decision may be unanimous and the letter would be sent out in the name of ‘the apostles and elders, with the whole church on board with the decision.

b). Grace on Display

Having now clearly established the doctrine of Salvation by grace alone, through Christ alone, apart from the works of the law. James suggests an appeal to the Gentiles to avoid certain practices that would be offensive to Jewish believers. (His Goal is to encourage Healthy fellowship in the Church)

James wants the Gentiles to know that where Moses is read and respected, Jewish believers might be understandably sensitive about certain things; therefore, out of love for their brothers and sisters, the Gentiles should avoid certain practices. Here, James highlights how one should display grace toward other Christians who may be offended by particular practices.

4 Requirements

1). Pollution that comes from idols.

2). Immorality (probably the kind associated with pagan rites and temple prostitution; however, he may have also been referring to inter-familial relations. Lev. 17-18).

3). Strangled things (probably referring to what happens to animals consumed among Gentiles).

4). Blood (Leviticus prohibits eating mean with blood that has not been properly drained.; cf. Lev. 17:10-14; Acts 15:29; 21:25).

Cultural Application Today

We must learn at least two lessons from the Jerusalem Council, one regarding Christian.

1) Christian Truth (no circumcision required)

2) Christian Love (bearing with the weaker brother or sister)

1). We Must Never Abandon the Gospel of Grace

Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It comes apart from works of the law (cf. Phil 3:1–11). We must never bend on this truth. Jesus’s work is sufficient. We need to rest in his grace and proclaim it to the world.

2). We Must Lovingly Preserve the Unity of the Body

There are certain times when we must abstain from certain liberties to maintain peaceful social interaction with one another. Those with strong consciences should never violate the consciences of weaker brothers and sisters.

Romans 15:1 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

For example if you choose to drink socially with someone who is weaker in their faith you could be leading them to sin because their conscience is not where your conscience might be.

What if the person has struggled with Alcohol in the past. I have heard people say before that it is their problem and not yours.

We should always do what will be most beneficial to people watching our lives. This will not only benefit other believers, but it will also serve as a compelling witness to the unbeliever.

Romans 14:16–17 ESV

16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

I have seen more professing Christians attempt to life on the edge of their freedoms, causing a life which looks much more like those whom you are trying to reach. The question we must ask then is why should they take notice of your life.

The restrictions of our freedoms shows people in a visual way the distinctiveness of Christ’s work in our hearts and lives. We must live our lives further away from the edge than we think. ( it its arrogant and prideful for us to write this off as living under the freedom of Grace)

We must pull back into the zone where we are manifestly different from our culture.

How is the Old Testament related to the New?

How is the Law of Moses related to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

How should a Christian exercise freedom in Christ?

The Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15, sought to answer such practical questions faced by the early Christians as they wrestled with how to enjoy freedom from the Mosaic administration without becoming stumbling blocks to Jewish people.

Sinclair Furgeson (Theologian and Ligonier Ministry Contributor)

4 Principles for exercising Christian Liberty

Principle 1: Christian liberty must never be flaunted. “Whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.”

The subtle truth is that the Christian who has to exercise his or her liberty is in bondage to the very thing he or she insists on doing. Says Paul, if the kingdom consists of food, drink, and the like, you have missed the point of the gospel and the freedom of the Spirit (Rom. 14:17).

Principle 2: Christian liberty does not mean that you welcome fellow Christians only when you have sorted out their views on X, Y or Z (or with a view to doing that). God welcomes us in Christ where we are true, and the Lord will not leave us where we are. But He does not make their pattern of conduct the basis of His welcome. Neither should we.

Romans 14:1 ESV

1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

Romans 14:3 ESV

3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

Principle 3: Christian liberty ought never to be used in such a way that you become a stumbling block to another Christian.

Romans 14:13 ESV

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Principle 4: Christian liberty requires grasping the principle that will produce this true biblical balance: “We ... ought ... not to please ourselves.... For even Christ did not please himself” (Rom. 15:1-3).

Romans 15:1–3 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Was it wrong for a first-century believer to eat meat sacrificed to idols? Not at all! Paul said as much earlier in his letter (1 Corinthians 8:4).

Idols had no power, so sacrificing meat to it did nothing to change the meat. But even still, some early Christians who had been saved out of idolatry had sensitive consciences about this meat. They didn’t feel free to eat it.

And Paul says that if you are with a believer who has a stricter conscience, you limit your freedom for their sake. If you are doing something in a group and someone says, “I don’t think I should do that,” then you should honor that person completely in his or her conviction.

Part of spiritual maturity is being free to limit your freedom for the sake of others. It is mature to be so concerned about setting an example for others that you restrict yourself to avoid making them stumble.

This is why you will not see pastor Mark drink alcohol in a public setting. It’s wrong to be drunk, but it isn’t wrong to drink alcohol—but even though I have freedom to drink in moderation, I have chosen not to.

Why? Because if I did, someone would say, “Well, pastor Mark drinks, so it must be fine,” and they might go on to get drunk. Their sin wouldn’t be my fault, but I still don’t want to be the excuse that causes someone to stumble into sin.

CLOSING

Living a life that does not abuse your freedoms will make the outside world sit up and take notice.

However, if you call yourself a Christian and consistently live on the edge of your freedom, then the world will see little difference in how you live your life than how they live their lives.

The Jerusalem counsel taught us some significant lessons about how we are to contend for the faith and the heart that God pursues and knows.

In the day, let’s be an iron pillar on the gospel, and let us bear with others' weaknesses for the good of the church and the advancement of the gospel among all people for the glory of Jesus Christ.

I want to leave you with 1 Corinthians 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The question we must ask is about whatever freedoms we choose to exercise. Can I truly bring Glory to God in this or that Freedom?

WRITE THIS DOWN!

DOES IT GLORIFY GOD?

On the day of judgment, we will all be held accountable for how we contended for the faith and how we contended for the hearts of our fellow believers who are weaker than we are in certain areas of their lives.

We must never forget as Paul writes in Romans 6:17-18 that having been set free from sin and death we have now become slaves to Righteousness.

ARE YOU LIVING AS A SLAVE TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?