Acts 15:30-41. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 29, 2023.
We have just looked at an example of the Church coming to an agreement about a serious issue that involved salvation. This wasn’t something that they could overlook.
Of course, when people disagree, generally at least one of them are wrong, and sometimes, both are wrong. The good news is that the Bible is very clear about things that are necessary for salvation. You don’t have to go to a particular person to learn it, even though God does use people to bring the Gospel to us. Yet, when you believe, you become responsible to learn the word for yourself, and to seek the filling and leading of the Holy Spirit for yourself.
Today, we have an issue that does not involve salvation. Have you ever noticed that we can be very passionate about things that are not essential for salvation? Some issues are trivial, but others are indirectly connected to the Gospel. The Bible may not say that a particular belief about abortion is necessary for salvation. However, to embrace abortion as a good, would demonstrate a misunderstanding of what God’s word is saying to us. At some point, you may be saying the right things, but really serving another Jesus (one that approves of abortion, homosexuality, and transgender surgeries), and following another Gospel (one that doesn’t call for works worthy of repentance).
We are going to look at the issue of unity today. We should never take unity in the Spirit of God for granted. The enemy of our souls plots day and night in order to tear apart any unity in Christ that we may have. Paul warned the elders of the Ephesian church in Acts 20:29-31:
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.”
This is how serious the Gospel is, both for those in the first century and for us all this time later. You could say that it is harder for us to hold the line on right doctrine due to the many teachers over the last 20 centuries.
Let’s look at our passage.
The Jerusalem church had sent a letter to the Gentile churches explaining the decision they had made. It was entrusted into the hands of Barnabas and Paul (who were based in Antioch at the time), and Judas Barsabas and Silas (from the Jerusalem church).
When they arrive in Antioch, the whole church is gathered together in order to hear the letter. Notice that it refers to the church as a “multitude” at this point. In both the Jerusalem Council and in the reading of the letter at Antioch, we see the Church being very open about the dispute and how it was resolved. There is no sense that they are protecting the people from the issue, or making the decision in a backroom with a select few. No, the whole church is involved.
It is sad to see what goes for leadership in our modern churches. Too often, we protect the poor sodden masses of believers from the issues that we are facing, and make decisions that we then attempt to market and advertise back to the members so that they will embrace what we have determined. This is not a healthy thing, nor is it a godly thing.
Now, we should not confuse this process with the one that Jesus gives in Matthew 18, where two people are having issues between them. That would be a reconciliation process between two believers. However, in our text today, we are looking at what is a doctrinal issue. The teaching of doctrine is always a public matter, and everyone should be made aware of false teachings in our midst, and what is the proper doctrine. This has to do with how we define the Gospel and salvation for Gentiles.
In verse 31, we are told that the reading of the letter brought rejoicing to the group. There is a certain joy that should be had when God helps us to have unity around the truth. Please know that when you pick up your Bible, you can be confident that it represents what the apostles and our Lord Jesus taught. This was confirmed by the elders and saints of the first century, establishing a sure foundation.
Unity is not about never having disagreements. We are not unified around never having issues to work through. Rather, we are unified around letting the Holy Spirit and the Word of God show us how to resolve our differences. You may blanch at the fact that church life can be messy, but look at your own family, or even look at your own spiritual walk. Following Jesus is messy for an individual, and it is messy for parents leading a family. Why would we suddenly think that a church family, which is far larger, should somehow not be messy? What I mean by messy is that there are times of disagreements, squabbles, and yet we seek to work them out in the love of Jesus.
We are also told that Judas and Silas, who were prophets, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words. In this situation, it does not appear that they are prophesying about future events. They are speaking by the Spirit of God to their present situation, and encouraging the people in how they can proceed in serving Christ with confidence.
After some time had passed, it was only natural that Judas and Silas would be going back to Jerusalem. It doesn’t say that a letter was made, but I wouldn’t be surprised. At the least, they would take a message back to Jerusalem of the joy and fraternal feelings that the church in Antioch had towards them.
There is an issue with verse 34. Some manuscripts (and thus, some versions) do not have the statement that “it seemed good to Silas to remain there.” Of course, even without this verse, it will be clear by verse 40 that Silas had decided to stay instead of going to Jerusalem with Silas. So, is the verse original, but taken out by later scribes? Or, was it not original and someone inserted it to make better sense of the flow of the story? The second is the most likely of the two. Regardless, It is not the kind of thing that changes the story, or even more important, changes doctrine.
We should not jump to the conclusion that Luke made an error in his story. Luke is describing how it happened and isn’t concerned with making every little fact explicit. The story is understandable without verse 34. Luke says nothing about how Judas and Silas respond to the desire to have them deliver a message. Perhaps, Silas was originally preparing to go back, but something made him stay. Did God change his mind, did the following episode change his mind? We do not know. However, unforeseen circumstances will lead to Silas going with Paul on a missionary trip. In all of this, we know that God was leading them and knew that Paul would need someone like Silas.
In this section, Luke describes a sharp disagreement between Barnabas and Paul, and it centers on John Mark. The dispute happens when it comes to Paul’s heart to revisit the churches they had started earlier. They could find out how the churches were doing and minister to them.
Barnabas clearly agrees. Yet, trouble surfaces when Barnabas determines to take John Mark with them. Remember that John Mark had gone with them on the first missionary journey. When they reached the shores of Pamphylia, he abandoned them and went home.
I would point out to us that Luke is doing more than just telling a story. Notice that the chapter opens with a doctrinal issue that created a strong dispute between some of the believers. Paul and Barnabas had worked together to help that matter be resolved peacefully. Yet, in a smaller matter that did not involve doctrine, they seemed unable to find a peaceful resolution.
We should also recognize that these are two men who are filled with the Holy Spirit, who have prophetic gifts, and have other men around them who are prophets. Yet, the situation becomes so sharp that they decide to “agree to disagree,” and go their own ways. We should recognize that this is not a matter of doctrine, but of opinion about what is the wisest thing to do. There would be no need to convene a council every time two believers have different opinions, neither should we expect that believers will never have different opinions on a matter.
What were their arguments? We are not told, but it isn’t to hard to supply a general sense of what they are. Barnabas as a “son of encouragement” wants to give John Mark a second chance, so that he can learn to persevere in the Lord. Of course, this definitely harmonizes with the fact that the Gospel is all about giving sinners redemption when they don’t deserve it.
Of course, Paul may come back with the reality that they are going into territory where people have tried to kill them. They need people who can be trusted on the journey, and who are full of faith, not fear. He could even remind Barnabas of the words of our Lord that a man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God. John Mark can be a believer who is saved, but Paul probably sees him as a man who has shown himself unfit for ministry.
Both arguments have some biblical wisdom to them. I’m reminded of the classical problem with wisdom in the proverbs. Proverbs 26, verses 4 and 5, first tell a person not to rebuke a fool, and then tell them to rebuke a fool. It seems contradictory, but that is how wisdom is. Sometimes it is wise to rebuke a fool and sometimes it is not. Wisdom is knowing when you do one or the other. The same thing is true in this case with Barnabas and Paul. There is a time to give people a second chance in ministry, and there is a time to pass on letting a person back into ministry (at least with you). Of course, wisdom is knowing when. Let’s not lose sight that we should always pray in situations like this for God’s wisdom.
It is important to see that God was quite capable of giving a direction to both of these men. We might fault them for not seeking God’s answer, but that may not be what the Holy Spirit is showing us. Neither man abused their gift of prophecy by declaring that God was on their side. At least, they had the spiritual maturity to recognize that God was leaving it up to them.
As a matter of wisdom, we might recognize that later Paul will accept John Mark as a faithful minister that is “useful” to him (2 Timothy 4:11). However, he doesn’t say that he was wrong in his earlier decision, only that Mark is now useful to him.
Sometimes it may just be that God uses our differences of personality and opinions to lead us in different directions. Barnabas will take John Mark and go to Cyprus. Clearly, this was instrumental in helping John Mark to become a trustworthy leader. Paul on the other hand will take Silas and go north by land through Syria and into Cilicia where his hometown Tarsus was.
Maybe Paul was too hard, and maybe Barnabas was too soft. We can note, however, that now there are two missionary teams working at the same time, instead of just one. Perhaps, in going separate ways, they could best understand what God was saying to each one of them.
We should be careful about always expecting agreement on what Christ would have us do, and that Christ will always give a word of wisdom to settle every dispute. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is silent in order to see what we will do and how we will handle it. It can be a test, but don’t think of it as pass or fail. God is willing to go down the path with both sides of this disagreement.
We can also second guess our past choices and decisions because of what we experience. Be careful of that. Paul being stoned in Lystra says nothing about whether he heard from God or not to go there. In the end, we will have made a lot of decisions that may or may not have been wise. Yet, the most important point is whether or not we are looking to the Lord Jesus to help us to grow to be more like him. If we keep our eyes upon Jesus, then the Holy Spirit will help us and our overall course will have been wise (trusting Jesus) over the top of any “unwise” decisions along the way.
Dwelling in unity is more about dwelling in The One who is the perfect unity. If we will do that, then he will help us to reconcile with one another, without having to completely agree about every opinion and decision.
May God help us to dwell in unity by the help of his Holy Spirit!