This post is written by Andrew Hall as a companion for Unit 34, Session 1 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 12: From This World to the World to Come (Summer 2024).
Ask anyone in ministry about the types of conflict that they have experienced, and they will describe anything from bizarre to serious. People joke about churches that have split because of the color of the carpet or moving furniture. But others can point to the serious difficulties that arose over the relationship between the church and the state during the recent pandemic. While the former problems are laughable, others like the latter are far weightier and reflect deep convictions that people have about how one interprets the Scriptures and how to rightly apply the gospel.
When the early church experienced a serious debate over the relationship of the law and the gospel, the church gathered to search out the Scriptures and debate these issues in Acts 15. Many believers held strong opinions that differed greatly. And what had precipitated these events was the rapid growth of the church with people from pagan backgrounds. These Gentiles had heard the message of the gospel, believed, and obeyed from the heart.
However, other Christians came from a Jewish background. They had followed the Law of Moses closely. They came from the Pharisee party and were serious about their understanding of the Scriptures. They believed that Gentiles should be circumcised and become Jewish in order to follow the Messiah Jesus.
A former Pharisee, Paul, and his traveling partner, Barnabas, had seen the Gentiles receive the Spirit of God upon their profession of faith, not upon obedience to the law. For Paul and Barnabas, what was at stake was the gospel itself. For them, how someone has right standing before God was the key issue. For the Pharisee party, the concern was over obedience to the Law of Moses.
In the end, after examining the Scriptures and considering the mission of the church, the Jerusalem Council agreed that what was at stake was the gospel. In appealing to Gentiles, they asked for sensitivity to Jews but recognized that people are saved not by circumcision and trust in Christ but by trusting in Christ alone.
The church has had to come back to these issues over and over again. Paul would face this issue in Galatia when he would confront Peter’s withdrawing from the Gentiles. Martin Luther would challenge the indulgences of the church in the 1500s and question the church’s teaching on justification. And the church will continue to face these issues over and over until Christ returns.
What’s at stake in some church debates? Hurt feelings, power dynamics, and respect. But in other disagreements, what is at stake is how we interpret the story of the Bible, how we put together the covenants of Scripture, and how our theology affects the mission of the church. What can’t ever be lost is the gospel. In all things, Christians need to be mindful that Christ has prayed that we would be one, just as He and the Father are one, and that the world would know that we are Christ’s disciples by our love for one another. Just as Jerusalem’s decision pulled the church together, so we must seek to persuade one another to pull together in our belief in the gospel and our mission to take this gospel to the ends of the world.
Andrew Hall is the lead pastor of Community Bible Church, located in Ilderton, Ontario, Canada. He is a graduate from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Melanie, have four children.
