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| McDLT Moderator Joined May 14, 2004 1451 posts Location: Toronto |
 Acts 15: Jerusalem council; Paul and Barnabas split |
Posted Dec 13, 2004; 8:59 am |
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Please do NOT feel like you have to answer these questions. You can answer one, all, or none of them. They are just there to help get you thinking. Feel free to share your thoughts and/or ask any questions you may have as you read this chapter.
Was there anything that stood out for you in this chapter?
Two conflicts are shown in this chapter - one between groups of believers and the other between individual believers.
First conflict - How does the church handle this conflict? What principles can we learn from this? Have you seen an example of this working in the church community?
Second conflict - What causes the conflict between Paul and Barnabas? How did they handle their conflict? What can we learn from this?
Last edited by McDLT on Jan 24, 2005; 9:51 am; edited 4 times in total. |
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| vanislandwoman |
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Posted Jan 8, 2005; 3:24 am |
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I'd be interested in some input from people on this.
| Quote: | Two conflicts are shown in this chapter - one between groups of believers and the other between individual believers.
First conflict - How does the church handle this conflict? What principles can we learn from this? Have you seen an example of this working in the church community? |
Well, Paul and Barnabus disagreed with the men from Judea about the issue of circumcision. They argued forcefully and at length, it says in this translation. ( Not passive, but still pacifist?) The church decides to send them back to the 'mother church' to talk with the experienced Christians - the apostles and elders. The church sent other delegates along as well.
Well, I guess the first thing I see in this is that they didn't immediately split into several congregations gathered around one side or the other. They agreed to dig deeper and to get outside help. I guess this was the first 'Study Conference', huh?
The apostles and the elders had long discussions. The different sides were stated. Then Peter gave his opinion, confirming Paul and Barnabus's position, and 'there was no further discussion.' Paul and Barnabus stated their case, and then James stood and gave his judgement, which had consideration for both sides of the case. They followed it up with the letter, with the phrase 'For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us"'.... The letter was taken back to the church in Antioch, and recieved with joy by the congregation.
Now, I've never been to a meeting of the MB Conference, so I only go by what I read in the Herald, on the web, and what I saw of videos from the Gathering last year. But it sounds a lot like the way Mennonites handle issues?
| Quote: | | Second conflict - What causes the conflict between Paul and Barnabas? How did they handle their conflict? What can we learn from this? |
The second conflict was an interpersonal disagreement. So, instead of three going around to the churches, two teams wound up going out. This was obviously for the best, because Paul was not happy with John Mark.
question removed: Edited by me, Jan.12. |
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| Sudsy Member Joined Sep 23, 2003 2833 posts |
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Posted Jan 24, 2005; 12:27 pm |
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Some things that stood out to me in this chapter -
verse 8 - 'God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.'
This, to me, is what we must keep in mind when we get into doctrinal disputes such as that of Armenians and Calvinists. At times, we believe certain things are essential beliefs, yet God has given the Holy Spirit to people in faith groups that we may disagree with on various interpretations. I believe there is a basic belief that God requires of us to be saved and beyond that we have a mixture of truth and opinions.
verse 10 - we should not be adding to the basic requirements to being saved. i.e. water baptism is a command and there are some additional 146 or more other commands of Jesus. It is not a requirement of salvation, nor is it a requirement to be a member of 'the church'. It is one of the first steps of many steps of obedience.
verse 28 - 'It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us' - how important that we do not make decisions outside of the Spirit's leading no matter how reasonable they may sound.
verse 29 - abstain from these things - Why ? Most of these requirements were to allow the Gentiles to live in harmony with the Christian Jews who continued to follow these practises. Likewise, I believe if a Christian brother has a certain belief, such as total abstinence from alcohol, one should be sensitive to this and not say, have a glass of wine in his presence, if it can be avoided. |
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