May 15, 2023 | Be On Mission
Settled Debates & New Conflicts
Scripture: Acts 15:22-41 (NIV)
22 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, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 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.
30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Devotional
We return to the chronological narrative in Acts right where we left off, in the middle of the Jerusalem Council. James, the brother of Jesus, had just declared that Gentiles did not have to become Jews in order to be considered Christians. So they sent Paul and Barnabas, along with Judas Barsabbas and Silas, to go back to Antioch in Syria where the whole issue had erupted.
When the believers in Antioch saw the church leaders and heard the letter written by the apostles and elders, they were thrilled. Gentiles could become Christians without becoming Jews. Men could convert to the faith without being forced to be circumcised. Judas Barsabbas and Silas spent some time in Antioch, encouraging and strengthening the believers. After they went back to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord. The church was conflict-free.
Not. When it came time to head out for the second missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas got into a huge argument. The disagreement was so sharp that they parted company and headed in separate directions. Barnabas sailed for his home island of Cyprus along with Mark (who wrote the Gospel of Mark). Paul headed out to visit the same cities he had visited on the first journey, taking along Silas (and later joined by Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke).
People often complain that it is hard to be part of a church, since not everybody gets along all of the time. But didn’t Jesus say something like, where two or three are gathered, there will be a disagreement? Well, not exactly. But Jesus did say, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20). He said this right after He talked about dealing with unrepentant sin in the church. You get the point.
Already in the book of Acts, the biographical history of the beginning of the Christian church, we have seen division over which poor widows should receive distributions of food, debate over whether Gentiles should be required to be circumcised in order to claim Jesus as their Messiah, and this disagreement over whether to take a ministry partner along on a missionary journey.
People aren’t perfect, neither before nor after becoming followers of Jesus. Conflicts are inevitable. But God can work through the issues. In the end, all of the widows received food, Gentiles were allowed to become Christians without barriers, and both Barnabas and Mark were restored to Paul later in life (see Colossians 4:10).
Are there any areas of conflict in your life? Are any of those with believers? How is God calling you to work through the issues toward reconciliation and unity?
Poem
Choose To Encourage
You’ve been chosen to encourage
Those who’ve been beat down with canes
Wooden blows that oft discourage,
Words of trouble, rules inane
Give them bread which now will feed them
Put to rest unsettled minds
As the Holy Spirit leads you
Strengthen each by labors kind
We now send you with this mission
You’re beloved, honest, wise
Bring the peace past understanding
Help the stumbling to arise
Will you hasten to this mission?
Will you answer, “This I’ll do?”
Let us lay our hands upon you
Let us hope for life anew
