“6 Then the apostles and the elders assembled to consider this matter. 7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 11 On the contrary, we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”

12 Then the whole assembly fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me! 14 Simeon has reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for His name. 15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

“16 After these things I will return

and rebuild David’s fallen tent.

I will rebuild its ruins

and set it up again,

17 so the rest of humanity

may seek the Lord —

even all the Gentiles

who are called by My name,

declares the Lord who does these things,

18 known from long ago.”

19 Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.”

Acts 15:6-21

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Here we find our example of the first council taken by the church in her early days, and here we find our example for how to handle matters in question. They discussed & debated, listened to the evidence and sought God out in HIs Word. They allowed themselevs to be led by the Holy Spirit rather than by their gut or their own preferences. If it had simply been a matter of appeasing those who were upset, they would have made circumcision a requirement for faith, stepping beyond the bounds that God laid out. If they had been bullied into it by Peter, Paul & Barnabas, forcing their way on everyone, then there would have been a split internally caused by dissention. But instead, they sought council with one another and with God. 

I offended someone last Sunday. Last night we sat down and talked about it. I shared Scripture with them, we discussed what God requires and what seems to be preference, and we parted happy and reconciled. 

If we are honest with ourselves, it’s not a matter of if we have confilct with another believer, it’s simply a matter of when. And people who claim Christ who get into conflict with one another have caused some of the nastiest fights and divisions that I’ve ever seen. They aren’t interested in listening to Matthew 18, in taking the proper stpes to be reconciled. They’re just set on being ‘right’ in their mind when the dust settles, and that is not a God-honoring attitude. That is selfish and sinful, full of pride and self-righteousness. The church is never served well by people who refuse to actually dialogue, to consult the Scriptures and spend time in prayer. When someone just wants to ‘win’ the church and the kingdom loses, and I for one don’t want to have to explain to God why my preference for myself and my own opinion outweighed the grace He had for me and for the person I am having difficulty with…

The church in Jerusalem did things perfectly. The people who were upset had their moment to be heard. They weren’t stifled or shut down. Their feeling weren’t invalidated and their opinions weren’t laughed off or scoffed at publicly. After hearing them, the Apostles & leadership considered testimony, consulted the Scriptures and arrived at their decision in a calm manner.  

As we GoLove others in the Name of Christ, we need to make sure we aren’t just self-justifying decisions because that’s our preference. Instead, seeking out God’s wisdom, we should listen to those who oppose us, respecting their opinion, we should listen to examples and seek out testimony and then consult the Scriptures. We should be willing to do anything and everything that still honors God in order to maintain the unity of the church and do do it all in love with a humble heart.