Dealing With Conflict For Unity’s Sake
Read the Text: Acts 15
Memorize the Text: After they had preached the gospel in that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith by telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:21-22)
Consider the Text: Acts 15
The early church flourished under the threat of persecution as the message of the gospel expanded to new areas. This successful ministry did not come without moments of tense conflict that might have derailed the movement of the gospel had godly men not stepped in and confronted the issue. In Acts 15, some early believers attempted to aid needed requirements for salvation. These individuals argued that Gentiles must undergo circumcision if they were to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior authentically. In Acts 15, Luke shared how the early church leaders dealt with the issue and provided truth for the church today to deal with moments of conflict.
The early church demonstrated the need to DEAL WITH CONFLICT directly. The church in the first century did not exist exempt from conflict. Moments of tension and disagreement occurred and threatened the unity of the church. In the New Testament, we find several events where various leaders engaged with conflict directly to maintain unity in the church. The leaders attempted to engage the tense moment with love and truth while seeking to bring unity around the core of an individual’s relationship with Christ. The early church knew to ignore the conflict would open the opportunity for more significant conflict to occur and for the church to become divided. The church today needs to recognize the reality of conflicts and prepare to deal with them for the sake of and preservation of unity.
The early church modeled how to STAND IN TRUTH when dealing with conflict. The early church leaders confronted the conflict by returning to the truth found in the non-negotiable of salvation in Christ alone through faith alone. The use of truth allowed the early church to establish unity around the non-negotiables found in the Word of God. When the truth sets the foundation for unity, extending grace promotes unity even in the differences found in the negotiables. Thus, we agree upon the statements “the Bible says” and extend grace in the statements “I think.”
The early church exemplified how to DEAL WITH THE ISSUE AT HAND. The conflict in Acts 15 dealt with salvation and circumcision. The leaders dealt with this issue alone and did not allow this conflict to spiral into a list of disagreements that people held. They focused on the issue at hand and did not open the door for a further division to occur. When dealing with an issue, we must not add to the issue at hand by introducing more issues or over-emphasizing the negotiables over the non-negotiables. The ability to deal with the issues centers around staying on topic and dealing with the leading cause of division and disagreement while seeking to find unity through truth concerning the matter at hand.
Moments of conflict will be present in the church today. These uneasy moments occur because of the constant battle with sin by the saints that compose the church. When conflict remains unsettled and ignored, an opportunity for the enemy to cause chaos and division occur. As a result, the church today needs to follow the example set forth by the early church and seek to confront conflict in the pursuit of unity.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
