Christians In Conflict Series

Dr. Biederwolf tells a true story about two Christian women that illustrates how Christians can

be foolishly divided through controversy. These two women were both active in the church. They

planned socials together, and shopped together. Finally, they even planned a trip to Europe

together. When they reached Paris and went to the hotel one of the women told the porter to bring

la baggage up to the room. "Oh my dear," said the other, "It is not la baggage but le baggage."

"No it isn't," said the first," it is la baggage." "Not in my book," snapped the second, "It's le

baggage." They were tired from the trip and irritable, and so they quarreled. The result was they

slept in separate rooms; went back to America on different vessels, and divided their church by

getting people to take sides. Paul had this same problem in the church of Philippi where he wrote

in 4:2, "I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord."

Quarrels like this would be funny if they were not so tragic. Nothing is funnier than the

human tendency to swallow a camel and strain at a gnat. Even Christians are plague with this

tendency to get tripped up on trivia, and to clash over mere words. Paul warned Timothy in I Tim.

6:4 to beware of the man who was always ready to start an argument. He writes of him, "He has a

morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words, which produce envy, dissension,

slander, base suspicions." Paul knew from personal experience the folly of angry debate with a

fellow believer. He got to angry at Barnabas when they had a dispute over Mark that they split

up. Paul, however, had the spiritual strength to swallow his pride and admit he was wrong about

Mark, and welcome him back into fellowship as his friend.

Paul knew that strive and quarreling was one of Satan's effective weapons against the church,

and, therefore, he did all he could to prevent it. In his letters he is constantly urging Christians to

avoid strife. He is seeking always to help them settle their disputes. He wrote to the Corinthians

and said they were men of the flesh and not spiritual because there was jealousy and strife among

them. In II Cor. 12:20 he tells them he is afraid to come to them for fear of what he will find.

"For I fear that perhaps I may come and find you not what I wish....That perhaps there may be

quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit and disorder."

He had to warn the Galatians, and even the Philippians, the most loving church of all,

to avoid strife.

Now Paul was not a man to set back and let error run wild without any effort to stop it, and

when the Jewish Christians began to impose Jewish laws and customs on his Gentile converts, he

withstood them to their face, and through powerful debate made them back down and let Gentile

Christians remain free in Christ from the burden of the law. Paul was not opposed to controversy

when the issue was a vital one, but he was opposed to strife over trivialities, and even when it was

an legitimate issue he expected a Christian to be a gentleman in controversy. Listen to his advice

to Timothy in II Tim. 2:23-25. "Have nothing to do with stupid, senseless controversies; you

know that they breed quarrels and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to

everyone. And apt teacher, forbearing, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may

perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth.

We are going to study an illustration of how Paul follows his own advice on being a gentleman

in controversy. The Roman Christians were divided on several issues that led to strife in the

church. Paul, as an Apostle of the Master Peacemaker, is going to do his best to reconcile them so

their conflict does not hurt their witness for Christ. This passage is of extreme value because it

establishes for all time some basic principles for dealing with Christians in conflict. It covers

conflicts between conservatives and liberals, legalists and those who stress freedom, and

traditionalists and non-traditionalists. These conflicts can all be settled by the principles laid down

in this chapter. A good understanding of it will enable a Christian to be an effective peacemaker

within the church.

The first thing we need to do is to establish who the contending parties are. Paul speaks of two

kinds of Christians: Those who are weak, and those who are strong. It is clear that the majority

are the strong, and the minority or the weak, for Paul begins by urging that the weak be accepted.