AUG 4 2013PM When Christians Disagree
Acts 15:36-41
Do people ever disagree? Do Christians ever disagree? Silly question! Of course, they do. All people disagree at times. We live in a world of discontent, and I really believe that most of it is the devil’s fault. He is a liar, a deceiver, and a troublemaker. He is out to cause trouble for people anyway he can. And if he can get people to quarrel and fight with one another, then he will. He will use every dirty tool he can think of to cause wars, fighting and discontent. Disagreement and discontent are everywhere in the world.
Do parents and their children ever disagree? What I want to know is: DO THEY EVER AGREE ON ANYTHING? Is there ever disagreement in the workplace? Between the boss and the employees? Between the employees and the employees? Of course. All the time. Not only is there disagreement in the home and in the work place, but also, in almost every place you can think of! Disagreements even happen in the church!
Do Christian people ever disagree about ministers and other matters in the church? That’s a touchy one.
I Cor. 1:10-11 “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.”
QUARRELING. I would say that is definitely a sign of disagreement. In every church I’ve served or known about there have been disagreements among church members and leaders and ministers. And disagreements aren’t so bad. It’s when people become disagreeable that things get bad! I’ve always heard it said that there is nothing wrong with disagreeing with someone, but when we become disagreeable in our attitude and speech, it’s then that we have a real problem!
In our text of Acts 15, we read that even the apostle Paul experienced some disagreements with others. One disagreement had to do with a principle and the second had to do with an opinion.
1st - A disagreement over a principle. In verses 1-2 we have talked about the disagreement over a principle—some Pharisee believers were telling the new Gentile believers that they had to be circumcised to be saved. This wasn’t correct.
No church has all the right answers. We don’t know everything. We don’t have all the answers. To say that we’re right and others are wrong and are going to hell is wrong. That’s legalism!
People ask me questions all the time about various things in the church. And if the Word of God is not clear-cut about it, I would have to say, “I don’t run the show. God does.” None of us have all the answers. No one person is right about everything and every issue and this is why we must not become legalistic about things.
2nd - A second disagreement that Paul had with Barnabas was over an opinion. READ Acts 15:36-40. And this disagreement is where our story takes place tonight.
Paul and Barnabas disagreed over whether or not to take Mark with them on their missionary journey. Barnabas wanted to take Mark and Paul didn’t want to because he had deserted them on another trip. READ v. 39. What do you think of that?
It’s almost hard to believe that Paul had such a disagreement that he and Barnabas had to part company. And it was all over a matter of opinion. Disagreements over matters of opinion are a major problem in many churches, but it shouldn’t be that way.
ILL.- Here’s an example of two Christians who disagreed over the music in their church. One said, “You know, I think when we worship on Sunday morning, we shouldn’t clap because Sunday morning ought to be a time of reverence.” The other Christian said, “No, I think Sunday morning ought to be a time of joy and rejoicing in the Lord.” “Well,” the first man said, “The Bible says God’s house is to be a house of prayer.” “Yes,” said the other man, “But the Bible also says that Sunday is a time of celebrating the resurrection of Christ.” “Yes,” the first man said, “The Bible also says ‘be still and know that I am God.’” The other man said, “It also says, ‘make a joyful noise unto the Lord.’”
Who was right and who was wrong? They were both right, but to become disagreeable over their opinion was wrong. Your opinion is no more important than mine. And opinions are just opinions, but some people see their opinion as being gospel truth. And that opinion is bound to cause disagreement in any church.
It has been mentioned this year that I need help in covering the ministry of this church because we have grown so much. SABA said we should have already added one full time minister, 8 years ago, and should be working on another. Some opinions in the church have been that I don’t need any help. And that’s fine for that to be your opinion. I disagree. But until my lack of time to get to everyone affects you personally, you will never agree that I need help.
I suggested Linda Willeford to be a prospect for the position because I believe she is the most qualified to handle it with me spending the least amount of time to train her. And people left the church because their opinion differed. I guess that’s why they left. They still to this day haven’t specifically stated why they left.
What can be done about disagreements in the church? Or what about disagreements among Christians? There are few things to look at.
I. DISAGREEMENTS ARE INEVITABLE. Disagreements are going to happen. It’s human nature to disagree with one another at times because we are different people! We are made out of the same stuff, dirt, but we are different people in spirit, attitude, thinking, etc.
ILL.- Someone said, “Herein lies the difference between the sexes: When a couple is supposed to go somewhere, the woman’s first thought is: WHAT SHALL I WEAR? “And the man’s first thought is: HOW CAN I GET OUT OF THIS?”
ILL.- A naive Christian married couple both believed that because they loved each other and they loved the Lord, they were going to live in peace and never have a disagreement or an argument. And they soon discovered, it didn’t work that way! The longer they were married, the more they disagreed and the more they argued.
The wife was really disturbed. She didn’t believe in divorce, so finally one day she said to her husband, “Honey, let’s just pray to the Lord that He will take one of us home and then I’ll go live with my mother!”
DISAGREEMENT IS INEVITABLE! We are different people. And just as there is a difference in male and female, there is also a difference in all of us. We have different backgrounds. Different upbringing. Different ages. Different parents. Different interests (except for the Lord and His church). Different abilities and talents. This means we will not see eye-to-eye on everything in life! We will disagree!
Another way to look at it is this: We will disagree because we are either “right” or “unright.” Huh? Jesus had a disagreement with the money changers in the temple. BUT JESUS WAS RIGHT AND THEY WERE “UNRIGHT.” Jesus was “righteous” and they were “unrighteous.” Jesus was thinking about pleasing His Father and they were thinking about pleasing themselves.
Generally, disagreements come for these two reasons: Either because we are “right” or because we are “unright.” Either because we are doing what is right in God’s eyes or else we are doing what is wrong in God’s eyes. WE ARE EITHER RIGHTEOUS OR SELFISH. Both will cause disagreements among people.
Most of the time, I think we disagree with other people because we are selfish, because we want our way, not particularly because we are right. Disagreements are inevitable. We are human. We are different. And many times, we are selfish.
II. DISAGREEMENTS ARE DANGEROUS. Disagreements are dangerous or can be dangerous. Why? Because they can often lead to some other things which are not good. When we disagree with people, if we are not careful and cautious, this disagreement can lead to anger. And disagreement can lead to uncontrolled anger, which opens the door to the devil.
The devil can use almost anything in our lives as a tool, AND ANGER IS ONE OF HIS BETTER TOOLS! Man’s anger is often or most of the time, not pleasing to God. In anger, we often sin. In anger, we often hurt. In anger, we often do things we would not normally do. And they are not good things. And disagreements can lead to anger, which is just one letter short of “danger.” Disagreements are dangerous. They can be dangerous.
III. DISAGREEMENTS ARE SOLVABLE. Disagreements can be solved. There is a solution to them. There is a way to overcome them.
ILL.- "Here’s the scenario," the instructor announced to his class of novice truck drivers. "You’re in an 18-wheeler with a heavy load, barreling down a mountainous two-lane highway. Ed, your co-driver, is asleep. There are six trucks behind you, and as you come over the top of a hill, they pull out beside you to pass. Suddenly, you see several trucks coming in the opposite direction, pulling into your lane to pass. What do you do?"
"That’s simple," a student called out. "I’d wake up Ed."
"Why would you do that?" asked the instructor.
"Because," replied the student, "Ed ain’t never seen a truck wreck like this before!"
Most things are solvable if we use our heads and look to the right source for help. Most disagreements can be solved if we do what is right, that is, work at making peace, not war. Work at being patient, not intolerant. One of the solutions is simply to learn to compromise. Compromise or making concessions is not a matter of weakness. It is a strength in people.
I Cor. 13:5 LB “Loves does not always demand its own way.”
We of all people need to learn to compromise with one another, get along with one another, work at this peace-business, and be less judgmental toward one another.
II Tim. 2:24 “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone....” Disagreements are solvable through practicing patience.
ILL.- There are times when people come to me as a minister and want to talk. They need someone to talk to, to listen to them, to perhaps help their burdens. And the first thing I generally tell them is this: “I am not here to judge or criticize you because whatever you have done in life, I’ve done worse!” AND NO, I WON’T TELL YOU WHAT I’VE DONE THAT’S WORSE!
But guess what? We’ve all done worse than others! Yes, you have! Don’t tell me you haven’t.
Matt.15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
So you are better than other people! DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU’VE NEVER HAD ANY EVIL THOUGHTS OF ANY KIND?! If you haven’t done it, you’ve probably thought it!
Jesus said that we are essentially, basically, generally evil people! Do we dare question our Creator?! Because we are basically evil, have done evil, have thought evil, we have no right to be judgmental toward one another. RATHER WE SHOULD BE PATIENT WITH ONE ANOTHER IN DISAGREEMENTS.
Disagreements are solvable. And we must work hard at finding just the right solution in order not to explode and hurt and kill.
What did Paul and Barnabas do when they didn’t agree? Read 39-41. The good result of honest conflict is that God overrules. God was able to overrule in the conflict between Paul and Barnabas. Both men had honest differences of opinion. They weren’t selfish. They didn’t have ulterior motives. They both loved God with all their hearts and were called according to God’s purpose. What were the good results?
1. A deserter was reclaimed and set aflame: Mark.
2. A new disciple and a great minister was born: Silas.
3. Two mission teams were now sent forth. Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus, the native country of Barnabas. Paul and Silas went in to Syria and Cilicia, the native country of Paul.
Paul was hurting in his heart. He and Barnabas, his dearest friend and companion in the ministry, had split up. And they had separated because of a sharp difference. They just couldn’t agree on how to proceed, whether Mark should be taken or not. Nothing could be done about it. The difference was an honest difference, but it still hurt. The men loved and respected each other and had served together for so many years. The pain must have been almost unbearable for both men.
But Paul continued on, just as Barnabas did. As difficult as it was, they continued on. They weren’t sitting around wondering why the difference had happened to them. Discouragement and depression could have easily set in. But Paul fought such feelings off and marched forth, faithful and true to his Lord and His call.
From this point on, Luke, the author of Acts, concentrated on the ministry of Paul. Nothing else is said about Barnabas or the apostles. So Paul continues on 2nd missionary journey—this time by land. Paul went to Syria and Cilicia, his home town area.
God knew that being in his home area among the very first churches of his ministry would help heal Paul’s heart, a heart that had suffered so much and was yet to suffer. Paul STILL did what he felt God leading him to do. And the ministry prospered.
