“For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region. Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. [Acts 13:47-50 (NLT)]
I think Satan chuckles every time he sees another division in Christ’s church. He probably shouted with glee when the Southern Baptist Convention recently expelled five congregations (including the mega Saddleback church) and when the no-longer-united United Methodists lost 1,800 congregations and found themselves embroiled in lawsuits with many of those congregations. Although Methodist Bishop Tom Berlin sadly noted that, “The path of anger and hostility is not the Christian way,” it seems to have become the way of Christ’s church in the 21st century! While today’s issues are different, they are no less divisive than an issue that threatened the very existence of the early church.
The book of Acts opens with the apostles witnessing “throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (or at least as far as Galatia). Philip preached in Samaria as did Peter and John. After converting an Ethiopian and sending the gospel message south beyond Egypt, Philip brought the gospel north to the mixed population of Caesarea. Peter brought the Good News to the Gentile household of Cornelius in Caesarea and believers who fled Judea after Stephen’s death brought the word of God as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. While some preached only to the Jews, Paul and Barnabas preached the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles in Antioch of Pisidia and throughout Pamphylia before returning to Antioch of Syria.
Although the new church accepted the conversion of the Gentiles, not everyone was happy about it. Some Jewish believers saw the inclusion of Gentiles as a dilution of Judaism rather than an expansion of Christ’s church. While Paul and Barnabas were in Antioch, a group of legalists arrived. Sometimes called Judaizers, they taught that Mosaic law must be followed by Gentiles and insisted upon circumcision as a requirement for the Gentiles’ salvation. Paul and Barnabas vehemently disagreed. This wasn’t a simple matter of life-style or manner or worship in which the two sides could agree to disagree. It was a matter of doctrine! Setting adherence to Mosaic law and circumcision as prerequisites for salvation was a denial of God’s grace! This issue threatened to divide and possibly defeat the new church.
Paul and Barnabas came to Jerusalem to settle the matter around 49 or 50 AD and the Apostles and church leaders held the Jerusalem Council. Peter got down to basics by pointing out where they all agreed—all are saved by “the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” After Paul and Barnabas confirmed the presence of the Spirit in the new Gentile believers, James reminded the Council of the words of Amos and his prophecy of a Messianic kingdom that would include Gentiles. Understanding that God’s plan of redemption included all nations, the Council agreed that unnecessary burdens should not be laid on the Gentiles.
While the Council rejected the view of the legalists, they also understood that some of the Gentiles’ practices were particularly offensive to their Jewish brethren. James suggested a letter to the Gentile believers asking them to refrain from previous pagan practices such as eating food sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality, drinking blood, and eating the meat of strangled animals. Those requests, however, had nothing to do with doctrine or the Gentiles’ salvation; they were about refraining from customs that kept the Gentiles and Jews from eating together. Although Gentiles were not bound by the law of Moses, all believers are bound by Christ’s law of love for one another and for Him.
Two simple lessons are found in Acts 15. The first is that while there are many opinions, there is only one truth. Concession is never right when it compromises the essential truth of God’s Word! Refusing to bend to the opinion of the legalists, the new church held firmly to the truth that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Second, when it is a matter of opinion or preference, there is plenty of room among believers for concession and compromise. A small concession on the part of the Gentiles kept the church united as both Jewish and Gentile believers broke bread together.
Today’s church continues to be bound by Christ’s law of love. Let us remember that tolerance of one another’s preferences and opinions, as long as they don’t compromise doctrine, is as essential in today’s church as it was in the 1st century.
In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity. [Rupertus Meldenius]
Devotions of the Heart 