Acts 15
Disagreements are bound to happen, even
between the best of friends, also in the church, and definitely about ministry. Some of those disagreements are major, some
are minor, but all of them are an opportunity to glorify God.
Paul and Barnabas had been preaching and
teaching in Antioch when some people came from Judea and began teaching that
without circumcision a person could not be saved. They wanted non-Jewish believers to obey all
the laws and customs of the Old Testament.
Paul and Barnabas said that people can only be saved by God’s grace, through
faith, apart from laws or customs that we might observe. Who was right? How do you handle disagreement over such a
great matter?
This was an opportunity to glorify God, as
they gathered in Christian love with the leaders of the Church and they prayed
and searched the Scriptures. They
remembered what Jesus had said and done.
Then they agreed to conform themselves to what God says. Their unity flowed from God’s Word and His
authority and was displayed in love.
Later we read that Paul and Barnabas had
a disagreement about who to take on their second missionary journey. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, but Paul
was not keen on taking someone who had deserted them earlier. They argued.
They debated. They couldn’t agree.
There was no clear Word from the Lord to
tell them what to do, so they decided to go in peace in separate directions.
God was glorified in this situation,
too, because, although they disagreed and argued, both Paul and Barnabas still
went about the work of sharing the Gospel and building up the Church. They were still partners in ministry, even as
they followed different paths. And in
the end Barnabas included John Mark and later Paul himself recognized John Mark
as a partner in the Gospel. And Paul
brought Silas, and he was added to the list of great missionaries of the early
church.
God is all about grace and overcoming
our sin. Our disagreements are strategic
moments for that grace and reconciliation to shine.
Lord, use the disagreements in my life to
show Your love and grace. Let me see
them as opportunities to serve you. Amen.
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