Spirit-Empowered Priorities that Protect Unity Acts 6:1-7

Discord in the Church

On July 31, 2016, Johnathan Greer was terminated as the senior pastor of Mt. Sterling Baptist Church in Butler, Alabama according to the SBC online magazine Baptist Press. The reason he was voted out by a vote of 31-0 is because, according to Greer, the deacons opposed of him inviting black children to VBS.

The Baptist Press writes, “ Greer, who pastored Mt. Sterling a year and a half, told BP one of the church's deacons informed him approximately two weeks ago the congregation "was in an uproar" over his plan to invite black children to VBS and suggested the pastor might need to resign. According to Greer's account, he would not compromise and deacons told him the "core" of the church believed he should leave. They did not specify a number of people who allegedly held that belief or name them.”

Greer went on to preach sermon on racism in the church that was not well received. One member Mt. Sterling Baptist church said, “"If you heard Jonathan's sermon the Sunday before his dismissal," Wimberley said, "it was not a sermon of love. It was a sermon of anger and hate."

Terry Long, the Direcotr of Missions for the churches assocaiiton said, after hearing the sermon, that it "was biblically truthful and accurate" but added the pastor "came out swinging...At the beginning of his sermon, it seemed a little overbearing to me and a little harsh," Long said, "but he softened midway through the sermon and just got into the Scripture and basically told them what the Scripture said. And then he called them to repentance."

Though the church adamantly denies racism played a factor in Pastor Greer’s departure from the church, Terry Long (DOM) told BP that racism "probably" played "the most significant role" of any factor in Greer's termination.

There are two sides to every story. I am not a member that congregation, nor do I have any connection to their community. That being said, the whole situation is very believable. I’m not shocked by it. Actually, I am prone to believe the story as it is told by Pastor Greer. Why? Because the church has been plagued by the discord of all kinds for as long as it has existed.

As far as discrimination goes, Peter is confronted by Paul because of his discrimination towards gentile Christians. As long as Peter was with only gentile Christians, he was cool. The moment other Jewish Christians show up, Peter separates himself from his Gentile brothers in Christ not wanting to be seen with them (Galatians 2:11-14).

Its not surprising the deacons were smack dab in the middle of it. Too many of our churches are plagued with horror stories of pastors being visited by deacons late at night after a secret meeting asking for his resignation. So many of these deacons unqualified themselves of the office sitting in the living room with a pastor and his wife telling him he is fired simply because they are not a “good fit.” the office of deacon and the word discord should not marry well together. It should be an oxymoron. In all truth, according to the bible, deacons are a remedy to discord.

Luke shows us in Acts 6:1, that the discord of discrimination was a threat at the very beginning of the church. The church was growing in number. The gospel was reaching all kinds of people who have nothing in common with each other but Jesus Christ. In verse 1b, a complaint arises about the church. The word complaint conveys the idea of grumbling or a low negative murmur. It’s also describes as “behind the scenes talk.” Many of you have been in church long enough to hear the “behind the scenes talk.” This kind of talk is not usually edifying or encouraging for the church.

What is the complaint?

The Hellenistic widows felt like they were not receiving as much support as the Hebrew widows. They were being neglected. How were they being neglected? They were not receiving a fare share of the daily support. The daily support could have been food, or money for needs, or both. Hellenist felt like the Hebrew widows were being favored. There is good reason for this assumption.

The term ‘Hellenists’ refers to Greek-speaking Jews who also followed Greek customs who were living in Jerusalem. The Hebrews were Jewish believers who spoke Hebrew and followed their traditions. There was an ethnic rift between these two cultures. Ethnic Jews viewed Gentiles as unclean and lower than dogs.

John MacArthur makes this point about how Jews viewed gentiles,

“So what you had was the Jews holding to their own dietary laws and a kind of developing racism toward Gentiles. We saw the racism even in the day of Jonah, where he didn’t want to see Gentiles repent. Jews resented, hated Gentiles; and they kept separate.”

Because of their prior relationship, the Hellenist may have been struggling to get their needs met because the Jewish Christians still held onto wrong beliefs about God’s kingdom. The discord of discrimination of the Hellenist widows was threatening the unity of the church.

Anytime the church draws the line at loving people and caring for their needs based on unbiblical beliefs, the unity of the church is threatened. Anytime the church unjustly discriminates against God’s image bearers based on race, age, sex, ability, poverty, or any other sin conceived segregation, we neglect the both their physical and spiritual needs. This creates discord in the body that simmers through behind the scenes talking that leads to eruptions of hate at business meetings that eventually split the church.

Aside from Ananias and Sapphira, this the first internal struggle of the church. How was the Holy Spirit going to ensure that the church did not allow discord to ruin the mission of the kingdom of God.

How does Christ empower the church to dismantle discord and protect its unity? Acts 6:1-7 shows us there are three things Jesus uses to unify his people in the church.

Jesus unifies His people by Prioritizing Preaching and Prayer (Acts 6:2b, 4)

When the apostles are confronted with the neglect of the Hellenist widows they immediately spot a dilemma. They recognize that in order to satisfy the needs of the neglected widows, they would have to turn their attention away from the ministry of preaching and teaching toward meeting the widows physical needs.

If I were to take a survey of the church today and ask them if a pastor must choose between preaching and teaching and praying for the church or meeting the physical needs of the widows of the church, most of the people would side with meeting the physical needs of the widows. And yet, they would be in disagreement with the apostles.

In Acts 6:2b, without bating an eye, the apostles prioritize the preaching and teaching of God’s word and prayer over them meeting the needs of the widow. The phrase “its not right” in verse 2, literally means “its not pleasing in God’s eyes.” To be distracted from preaching and teaching God’s word and praying to serve tables would “not be pleasing in God’s eyes.” In verse 4, they reiterate their priority is to preach and teach God’s word and to pray for the church.

Why would most of the church be at odds with the apostles when it comes to prioritizing the ministry of God’s word and prayer over the physical needs of the widows? They would be at odds for two reasons.

First, the church today has a low view of the necessity of preaching and teaching and the power and necessity of prayer for the body of Christ. I remember a time when I was about to preach a funeral and someone came up to me and asked, “Are you going to keep this short?” And then he said, “Just read the text and give us a few highlights and let us on our way.” Too many in the church enter Sunday morning with this expectation of the sermon and the service.

Preacher, just get up there and tell us a good story and send us on our way. Preach like a rock that is thrown over a lake, skipping over still waters reaching the other side as dry as a kite on a windy day. Nothing with any depth, please. To bring depth is to go right over our heads. Don’t challenge us to think or ponder the awesomeness of an infinite God, His incomprehensible grace, or his commitment to uphold his justice like sending His Son to a cross or unrepentant sinners to hell. No, just tell me ten ways I can be a better person, or five ways I can self help my marriage or my parenting. Preacher, I want you to be more like my therapist than my shepherd. Can you dig it?

And we wonder why the state of the western church is shallow and foolish. We cannot discern ourselves out of paper bag because we have neglected God’s truth, the power of his word and the Holy Spirit. The same power that raised jesus to life and give s you life now. When you trade in God’s word for self-help theology or cliche one lines you have not rock to stand on Christian. Do you know why Jesus said, “Build your house on the rocK?” Because he knew that rarely are the waters of life are calm enough to skip a rock dry all the way to the other side. He knows that life rages like a sea that batters you almost to hell itself, and that the only foundation that will keep your house alive and standing is the rock of his truth, God’s Almighty, inerrant, and fully sufficient word.

God’s word is living and active never returning void, always accomplishing what he sets it out to do. It was God’s word that created the heavens and the earth (Psalm 33:6). It is God’s word that governs and maintains the created order as you live in it (Hebrews 1:3). It gives life to all who nourish their souls with it (Deuteronomy 8:3). God’s word restrains evil (Psalm 17:4; 119:11), and it rescues and heals the broken hearted (Psalm 107:20). James tells us that God’s word has the power to save you from His wrath (James 1:21). Jesus taught that his Word is what will grow the kingdom of God as his sowers sow the word in the hearts of men, women, and children (Matthew 13:23). And Luke reminds us that it is God’s word that builds up the saints (Acts 20:32). Woe to the churches that do not prioritize God’s holy, inerrant and fully sufficient word!

I agree wholeheartedly with Albert Mohler when he says,

“The church is built and sustained by God’s word and God’s Spirit. Only as the church faithfully preaches and teaches Scripture, and then pleads with God’s Spirit to bless their efforts, can they expect to see true conversions and true growth in godliness among God’s people. The church is created by God’s word and sustained by God’s word. Indeed, without the word of God a church ceases to be a church.”

That is why the apostles prioritized the word of God even above the physical needs of the congregation. If the church looses the word of God, it looses the congregation entirely. And that loss is not merely a hungry stomach. It is an eternity in hell.

Oh God help us. How many people have sat in our sanctuaries and listened to the preacher give gospel platitudes and therapeutic advice offering no picture of the depth of your sin and the highlight of god’s mercy in Christ, and find themselves in the pits of hell upon their death? How many people have walked through our fellowship halls eating our food and wearing clothes we have given but find themselves starving, naked and ashamed in their sin upon their death and find themselves in the pits of hell? And how many congregations put them there because they did not prioritize God’s word and prayer as the supreme priority of the church?

The word of God prioritized in the church with prayer unifies the body of Christ with the mission of Christ which is to gather all the elect and bring them safely home (John 6). Christ empowers his people with His Spirit to testify His word, his gospel, that gives life to all who will receive it. We do that best when preaching and prayer is our supreme priority.

The second reason the people are at odds with the apostles prioritizing God’s word and prayer above the physical needs of the congregation is because they do not understand proper leadership roles in the church.

Jesus Unifies His People by Prioritizing Proper Leadership Responsibilities (Acts 6:3-6)

Its not that the apostles were aloof to the needs of the widows. They recognize the neglect of the widows is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. I like the way John Barry puts it, “The apostles do not denigrate the practice of meeting the practical needs of other believers, but delegate responsibilities based on calling and suitability.” Inverses 3-6, the apostles create an orderliness or leadership infrastructure to the church. Knowing that they are called to preach and teach the word of God and pray for the Spirit to make their ministry effective, they delegate necessary responsibilities of meeting the physical needs of the church to other faithful leaders in t congregation.

Who are these new leaders?

They are servant leaders.

In Acts 6:2c, the apostles say that they are not to give up preaching and teaching the word and prayer in order to serve tables. Is also used as an idiom meaning ‘to handle finances. Its referring to the daily support’ in v. 1, so it should be broadened to mean something like ‘to see that the widows’ needs are properly cared for.’ These men were to care for the financial and physical needs of the widows.

They are wise leaders full of the Spirit.

In Acts 6:3, the apostles list several qualifications for these servant leaders. They must be of good repute, full of the Spirit, and of wisdom. A servant leader who is filled with the Spirit allows the Spirit to rule their mind and heart making them spiritually sensitive to peoples needs, and able to make good judgments. A servant leader ruled by the Holy Spirit is a spiritually mature person. Such servants allow the Spirit to work in them, and they manifest the Spirit’s presence in their lives; like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

They are chosen leaders.

Servant leaders who are full of the Spirit are chosen by both the congregation and the elders. I say elders because when the apostles ministry phases out, elders were appointed in every church community. The first reference of elders is in Acts 11:30. The disciples of Antioch had decided to send relief funds to the church in Jerusalem “and they did so, sending the elders by the hand of Paul and Barnabas.” We know from previous studies that elders are shepherds who oversee the church. The church is governed by a plurality of elders, meaning that there is no senior pastor but a group of wise ordained men who lead the church much like the apostles. Elders are, as Paul describes them in

1 Timothy 3:2–7 HCSB

An overseer, therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, an able teacher, not addicted to wine, not a bully but gentle, not quarrelsome, not greedy — one who manages his own household competently, having his children under control with all dignity. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a new convert, or he might become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil. Furthermore, he must have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he does not fall into disgrace and the Devil’s trap.

Elders are the spiritual teachers who are responsible for teaching and preaching the word of God and praying for the church. They oversee the spiritual care and vision of the body of Christ. Part of their care for the church is to appoint servant leaders to the duty of serving the church, as you see in Acts 6:3b. In verse 6b, it is noted that the servant leaders are prayed over by the apostles. They are ordained, commissioned for ministry to the church.

There is a lot of discussion around if these seven men were the churches first deacons. They are never referred to as deacons in the text bu their ministry takes the form of a deacon. What is the task of a deacon.

Albert Mohler says the primary function of a deacon is to be the chief servants of the church. Deacons are qualified members (1 Timothy 3:8-13) of the church who serve the physical and administrative needs of the body. They are not the theological teachers of the church, nor are they the board of directors that keeps the fire lit under the pastor. Neither are they lynching mob that goes after pastors or unruly sheep. The New Testament is clear. Deacons serve the body.

How do deacons serve?

They serve the elders by freeing them up to focus on the supreme priority of the church; to teach and preach the gospel and to pray. This keeps the church spiritually on track and relevant to the kingdom of God.

They serve the physically and spiritually malnourished in the church. The apostles recognized that the needs of the widows were important and must be met. Neglect should never be characteristic of the church. That is why segregation and discrimination have no place in the church. Christ did not neglect you in your salvation when he emptied himself out on a cross for your sin. The son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many. Deacons ensure the church never neglects the physically and spiritually malnourished.

The deacons serve to protect the unity of the church.

Division was rising in the church because the Hellenist felt like they were being neglected. The deacons were appointed to remedy the growing discord in the church. They protect the unity by caring for the needs of their brothers and sisters.

God protects the unity of His church by putting it in order. Jesus gifted the church the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God (Ephesians 4:11-13). Elders are oversees who shepherd the church. Deacons are the hands and feet of the church. Both work in unity to protect the unity of the church. That is, they both serve in their proper roles being responsible for the work God has gifted them to fulfill.

It is absolutely disastrous when churches are not rightly ordered. Whenever the pastor is nothing more than a CEO and the deacons are a board of trustees, the congregation becomes a dysfunctional family heading for a divorce.

What happened at Mt. Sterling Baptist Church should not have happened for many reasons. Race was just one issue. Pastor Greer should not have been pastoring alone. The church is meant to be shepherded by a plurality of elders. The deacons should not have had the authority to cause him to resign. Deacons are not meant to keep the elders accountable. That is the elders and the congregations responsibility. If some of those deacons were in fact racist, they should not have been deacons. Racism disqualifies someone from serving as a deacon. Not knowing proper leadership responsibilities left the unity of the church unprotected and the fallout is good pastors loose their jobs and churches eventually close their doors.

Jesus has empowered His people to serve the church. Some of the men in the church are called to serve as an elder. Others will be called to serve as deacons. Jesus unifies his church by providing both elders and deacons to serve in their proper leadership role. When this happens the unity of the church is protected.

Jesus Unifies His People By Prioritizing Joyful Submission (Acts 6:5)

After the apostles explain what the church must do, they joyful submit to the decision. In verse 5, the church was pleased by what the apostles said to do. Notice the relationship between the apostles and the church that makes submission natural. The apostles are wise men. They discern the the problem and provide a thoughtful, biblical, and productive solution. They are mindful of both the physical and spiritual needs of the church. They are not power hungry strong-willed tyrants, Lording their authority over the church. They were willing to delegate responsibility and authority. The apostles lead, guide, and guard the church with a great deal of maturity.

Michael Koen wrote an excellent piece on Christian Maturity in FBCL”s “About The Kingdom” newsletter. Commenting on Hebrews 5:14, which says Michael wisely says, “Mature Christian men strive to move beyond the basics of the faith to discern the truth and teach others just as Jesus did. A mature man in the faith constantly practices his understanding of truth so that he can discern right from wrong. God uses his discernment to help guide and guard his family and the church.” Mature Christian men become elders because they constantly practice understanding God’s truth that is submitting their will to the authority of God’s word) learning to discern right from wrong in order to guard and guard the church. That is exactly what the apostles did and it made it easy for the church to trust them and submit t their decision.

Joyful submission is the proper response of the congregation to the shepherding of the elders. Immediately after being pleased with the apostles decision, the church moved in obedience. They searched for qualified men and chose seven of them. Once they were chosen, the church brought them before the apostles and the apostles laid hands on them and prayed. There is nothing but unity between the apostles authority and the churches submission.

The writer of Hebrews commands

Hebrews 13:17 HCSB

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

One commentator says in light o Hebrews 13:17, “ we are not to rebel against the leaders of the church and cause division within the church. Even though there may be times we do not agree with them completely, we still must learn to trust their judgment and decisions.” There lies the key to joyful submission; trust.

When the church exercises proper leadership roles between elders and deacons, and the elders and deacons exercise their God given gift to serve the church, the church learns to trust and joyfully submit to their leadership.

Spirit-Empowered Priority Brings Blessing (Acts 6:7)

Verse seven is the fruit of keeping our priorities straight. God blesses the church with growth.

Acts 6:7 HCSB

So the preaching about God flourished, the number of the disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

Look how God grew the church. The church joyfully submitted to the apostles leadership and chose seven men to serve the body. The seven servants served the church by taking care of the Hellenist widows. Their servant leadership dismantled the discord and protected the unity of the church. In turn, their service freed up the apostles to flourish in preaching, which is the supreme priority of the church. Because of this, the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly. As a matter of fact, the preaching and teaching and prayer was so effective that even a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.

You may look at the Acts church and say, “Pastor, that church is pie in the sky. meaning, there is no way we can look like that.” I would say, “This is the blueprint for every church.”Jesus gifted the church His Word, His saving testimony. That testimony cost him his life and gives life to all who repent and put their trust in Him. Jesus unifies our church when we prioritize His perfect and fully sufficient word.

Jesus unifies our church when we prioritize proper leadership roles. He has gifted the church elders who shepherd the church ensuring that Jesus’s rightful testimony never stops being utter to the ends of the earth. Elders also ensure that the church keeps orthodoxy, battling any ideology that draws the line at loving people and caring for their needs based on unbiblical beliefs. Elders make sure the bible is rightly taught, understood, and applied to life.

Jesus gifts the church deacons who are recognized as chief servants of the church. Joyfully serving the elders by freeing them up to flourish in their preaching and praying ministry. Joyfully serving as the hands and feet of the body of Christ. Deacons do not sow discord in the church. Deacons give their lives as a ransom protecting the unity of the church by putting others interest above their own.

Jesus unifies our church when we prioritize joyful submission. Everyone who comes to Christ must submit. Submission is the watermark of the christian faith. It shows up everywhere. Husbands and wives are called to submit to on another. Children are called to submit to their parents. Salves were called to submit to their masters. Christians as a whole are called to submit to their governmental authority within reason. And the church is called to submit to its leadership. When the church joyfully submits to the leadership of the church, and the leadership of the church values and cherishes the trust of the church, unity, sweet unity, is the fruit. Christ empowers the church to dismantle discord and protect its unity by prioritizing His word, proper leadership responsibilities between elders and deacons, and joyful submission.