May 1 – Getting Along
By Audrey Bauman
Acts 15 (NLT)
“The Council at Jerusalem
While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted.”
This argument is not surprising. The Old Testament certainly states that Jews must be circumcised, but does that mean Gentiles must be circumcised too? Most Jews believed that Gentiles would come to God in the last times, but that in doing so, they would become Jews. The idea of the Messiah coming to save everyone equally hadn’t been part of their beliefs. So, this argument definitely needed to be resolved, and Paul and Barnabas travelled to Jerusalem to the head church to discuss the issue. When there is disagreement in church doctrine, it is important to resolve it from the leadership down to make sure quarrels don’t hinder the main mission of the church – reaching others for Jesus.
“4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. 5 But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”
6 So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. 7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. 8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
12 Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
13 When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:
16 ‘Afterward I will return
and restore the fallen house of David.
I will rebuild its ruins
and restore it,
17 so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord,
including the Gentiles—
all those I have called to be mine.
The Lord has spoken—
18 he who made these things known so long ago.’(Amos 9: 11 – 12; Isaiah 45: 21 – 22)
19 “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. 21 For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”
The Letter for Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. 23 This is the letter they took with them:
“This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!
24 “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! 25 So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.
28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 The messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the believers and delivered the letter. 31 And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.
32 Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith. 33 They stayed for a while, and then the believers sent them back to the church in Jerusalem with a blessing of peace. (Notice verse 34 is missing. Some manuscripts add, ‘But Silas decided to stay there.’) 35 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch. They and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord there.”
You may have wondered why the final decision about practice included the following guidelines: “You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.” (v. 20 and 29) Aren’t they continuing the laws of Moses that have nothing to do with faith in Jesus? The sexual morality caution was likely included because the Gentile culture of the day was known for its sexual promiscuity. The temples of the Greek and Roman gods often included prostitution. So that is an understandable inclusion.
The instructions about food are definitely from Old Testament laws. Jewish people have been brought up with those food instructions, and it is ingrained in their way of life. I have a Jewish friend who was raised in the orthodox segment of her faith. Even though mentally she has decided many of those laws are not required today, she can’t shake the laws about food. The thought of doing that literally makes her feel nauseous. So, I think the letter written by the head church in Jerusalem was instructing the Gentile believers to respect the Jewish food laws so that they could eat together as a united church. It wouldn’t separate Jewish Christians from Gentile Christians in social situations.
Paul addresses that issue in Romans. Again, people were arguing about which laws should apply to all believers. Read what he said in Romans 14: 13 – 22a: “13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
20 Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. 22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God.”
At many points in history, there have been disagreements over many things. Different Christian denominations have formed because they differ on how things should be done. We all have different personalities and differences on how we like things done. Some like services to be more formal that follow liturgical practices. They prefer quiet in the church. Others like more informal services with clapping or lots of "amens" spoken during the sermon. Some like the deep sound of an organ; others enjoy guitars. Those differences are okay as long as the Bible is central to what is taught. Paul has some good advice for us: “Let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
“Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work.39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.”
Those verses seem strange to come right after a big church conference to keep Christians unified. You'd think they would have learned a lot after figuring out how to keep the church unified over their arguments about Jewish laws and circumcision. When I read those verses, I wonder what in the world divided them so sharply. The words used don’t indicate they parted on friendly terms – “disagreed strongly”, “their disagreement was so sharp that they separated”. The disagreement seemed to be over whether John Mark could be trusted to accompany them – personnel issues. One thing we do know is that later on, Paul and John Mark became good friends. In Philemon 1: 24 Paul calls John Mark a fellow worker. In 2 Timothy 4: 11 Paul asks that John Mark come to help him during his imprisonment in Rome. John Mark is also the author of the Gospel of Mark.
It appears that the disagreement was over whether John Mark could be trusted to stick with them on those difficult missionary journeys. Barnabas decided John Mark needed another chance. Paul decided he needed someone more known for stability. The good thing that came out of this disagreement was that the gospel was shared even further by 2 missionary journeys. And we know that the disagreement didn’t end up in a huge split. Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark remained close in ministry. That is a good example for us to follow today. We may disagree about how something should be done, or what direction we feel God wants us to go, but we don’t let that disagreement shatter the local church or future work together.
Our song for today is Unity Hymn by Mike Donehey.
