SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”
TEXT: ACTS 15:1-35
TITLE: WHEN CHRISTIANS DISAGREE – PART ONE”
INTRODUCTION: A. Benjamin Franklin: “Many a long dispute may be thus abridged: ‘It is so; it is not
so.’ ‘It is so; it is not so.’”
--or as my children used to say: “Is too; is not.” Is too; is not”
B. What the Bible says about disagreement:
1. Titus 3:9 – “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and
quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”
2. Jude 3 – “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the
salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that
was once for all entrusted to the saints.”
C. Are those statements contradictory?
1. Basically, the Bible teaches that there are certain times when we disagree that we
should hold our ground and take the fight to the finish
2. Ecc. 3:1-8 – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a
time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to
weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter
stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to
search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear
and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time
to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”
--vs. 11 tells us who decides the right time – it’s God: He has made everything
beautiful in its time…”
3. How do we know the difference?
--“In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; but in all things love.”
D. Disagreements among Christians come in two basic forms:
1. Doctrinal disputes
2. Personal disputes
3. Sometimes these disagreements call for confrontation,
especially if it’s an outright contradiction of Scripture. or if it causes the person to
exhibit behavior that is harmful to the Body of Christ
E. Some guidelines for confrontation:
1. Gal. 6:1 – “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should
restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”
2. Mt. 18:15-17 – “"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just
between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if
he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be
established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to
them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as
you would a pagan or a tax collector."”
F. What was the specific disagreement in this passage?
--a doctrinal dispute
1. vs. 1 – the dispute was over a teaching that was circulating in the church that before
you became a Christian, you first had to become a Jew (circumcision)
2. How did the handle the problem?
a. Tried to deal with in on a on-to-one basis
b. When that approach didn’t work, several leaders of the congregation at
Antioch (including Paul and Barnabas) went to meet with the leadership of the
Jerusalem congregation (since this problem came to Antioch from Jerusalem)
c. Pay particular attention to the fact that it was the leaders of the congregations
that came together to discuss how to handle the matter.
d. It is essential that the leaders lead through a problem or disagreement and not let
the church members set the agenda or tone of how to handle the disagreement
1). The responsibility is on the leaders not the congregation
2). Sometimes, when there is a problem, there are those who will say, “We’ll
just let things work themselves out.”
--A lot of times that’s just an excuse for not doing anything. There are some
who like to have the title of leadership but don’t want to do the job of
leadership.
3). Vs. 6 tells us it was the apostles and the elders who took the responsibility
for handling the problem.
3. There are some clear indications here for procedure in handling a doctrinal dispute
I. The Leaders Said: LET’S LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY
--vs. 7a – “After much discussion…”
A. Too many times we try to suppress what people have to say
1. It tells then that we think they are unimportant
2. It tells them that we think their thoughts and ideas have no merit.
3. It only foster anger and resentment
B. We need to let them express their thoughts and ideas
1. It needs to be done openly and up-front to the leadership
--Not “behind-the-back” to the congregation and community
2. Only after we’ve allowed everyone to have their say will we have been fair
a. As Christians, we’re supposed to “bend over backward” to be fair
--Even if it could be considered unfair to us
b. Will Rogers: “I’d rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the man who sold it.”
II. LET’S LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE
--Acts 15:7b-11 – “Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a
choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God,
who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you
try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been
able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they
are."
A. In these vss., Peter reminds the gathered leaders about the events recorded in Chapt. 10 and the first part
of Chapt. 11 – the conversion of Cornelius and Peter’s report to the Jerusalem congregation.
B. Vs. 12 – Paul and Barnabas relate the events of their missionary journey just completed
--“ The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the
miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.”
C. They presented the facts as they occurred
--not interpretations or opinions concerning facts
III. LET’S LOOK AT WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY
--Acts 15:13-18 – “When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. Simon has described to
us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of
the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: ’After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen
tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the
Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ have been known for ages.’”
A. James, the brother of Jesus, speaks up and quotes from Amos 9:11-12
B. As Christians, we should be “people of the Book” – as Thomas Campbell would have said.
--One of the guiding principles of the Restoration Movement: “Where the Scriptures speak, we speak;
where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent.”
C. The Bible is our all-sufficient guide for all operations of the Christian life and the operations of the
Church
IV. LET’S LOOK AT WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO TO FOSTER COOPERATION AND
UNDERSTANDING
A. Communication
--The leadership has to be able to effectively and lovingly communicate the solution to the
disagreement
1. We’ve heard your side of the issue
2. We’ve prayerfully and thoughtfully considered this situation
3. We’ve come to a decision that is scripturally correct and that is as fair as possible to all involved
4. We want to communicate that decision to you as simply and forthright as we can
5. We expect you to follow our leadership
6.
B. Scriptural principles on how we should behave as Christians:
1. 1 Cor. 8:9 – “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling
block to the weak.”
2. 1 Cor. 8:12-13 – “When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience,
you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat
meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”
3. 1 Cor. 10:31-33 – “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God-- even as I try to please
everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may
be saved.”
4. Phil. 2:3-4 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others
better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the
interests of others.”
C. The over-riding principle in Scripture is to place the other person’s feelings ahead of your own
1. The problem was, some of the things the Gentiles were doing because of no background or
understanding of the Jews were doing that were offensive to their brothers and sister who were
Jewish.
2. Another problem was that other took this opportunity to force something on the Gentile believers
that was not meant for them.
D. The leadership gave some guidelines as suggested by James so that they could keep peace and unity
among the believers in both groups
--Acts 15:19-29 – (James continues) “"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult
for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from
food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on
every Sabbath." Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of
their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas)
and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings. We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you,
troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you
with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul-- men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are
writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the
following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of
strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”
1. We’re also going to do these things to ensure that you know and understand what our course of
action will be:
a. Write it down in the form of a letter
b. We’re sending some leaders from the Jerusalem congregation to explain the meaning of the letter
and the reasons behind the chosen course of action
c. It’s the responsibility of leadership to make sure we do everything we can to shed light on the
chosen course of action instead of keeping people in the dark
2. The guidelines were given for both spiritual and physical health among the believers
3. The guidelines were:
a. abstain from meat sacrificed to idols
1). Paul expands on this particular issue in 1 Cor.
2). Summary: If you know about it, don’t do it – it’s a bad witness to those who might think that
idol worship is all right; if you don’t know, don’t worry about it because you should realize it
all comes from God anyway and should have been blessed before eating.
b. The next two guidelines deal with how the meat was slaughtered and butchered
1). Abstain from meat with blood still in it
2). Abstain from what is strangled
c. The fourth guideline: abstain from sexual immorality
3. Why these four guidelines?
a. They were all behaviors practiced by pagan Gentiles
b. The principle is to show that there is a difference in you life now because of Christ.
c. Don’t fall back into these practices because your testimony and witness are important
V. LET’S LOOK AT WHAT WE’RE GOING TO DO TO ENCOURAGE, ENABLE, AND EMPOWER
THE PEOPLE TO FOLLOW THE COURSE OF ACTION
A. Don’t just tell them about it
--Spend considerable time to show then how they can be part of helping
1. Give them ownership of the solution
--Don’t just give them orders; give them ownership
2. Help them see that they are a vital part of the process
--Everyone is important in the implementation of the planned course of action
B. Lead by example
--Let them see the leadership actively supporting and involved in the process
CONCLUSION: A. What’s the most important issue when dealing with doctrinal differences?
1. Is it a matter of salvation?
2. Does it involve what will happen to that person’s eternal destiny?
B. The big issue of these “Judaizers” that caused the controversy was that before you could
be saved by Christ, you had to be obedient to the Law (which was shown through
circumcision)
1. Rom. 2:28-29 – “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision
merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and
circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such
a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”
2. Col. 2:11-14 – “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful
nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision
done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through
your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead
in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its
regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing
it to the cross.”
C. The Queen of England often visits Bob Morrow Castle. On one occasion when she
was walking by herself, it started to rain. She rushed to the shelter of the nearest cottage.
A lady came to the door who was really ticked off that someone would bother her at that
time in the morning. She opened the door a few inches and barked, "What do you want?"
The queen didn’t introduce herself. She merely asked, "May I borrow an umbrella?
"Just a minute," grumbled the woman. She slammed the door, was gone for a
moment, and returned bringing the rattiest umbrella she could find, one with broken ribs
and small holes. She pushed it through the door and said, "Here." The Queen thanked her
and went on her way with the ragged umbrella.
The next morning, the Queen’s full escort, dressed in full uniform, pulled up in front
of the cottage. One of the escorts knocked on the door and returned the umbrella to the
woman saying, "Madam, the Queen of England thanks you." As he walked away he
heard her mutter, "If I’d only known, I’d have given her my best."
1. Circumcision is the representation that no part of us, no matter how private or
concealed from the rest of the world, no part of us was to be kept from God
2. What have you been holding back?
