Sermon Video: Paul in the midst of a partisan feud - Acts 22:30-23:11

Following his near-death encounter with the mob at the temple, the Apostle Paul was brought before the Sanhedrin by the local Roman commander who hoped to ascertain the cause of the turmoil and thus know if Paul ought to be charged with any crime.  Standing before the Sanhedrin, Paul first declared his innocence, "I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day."  The High Priest, Ananias, ordered Paul struck in the mouth for that claim.  At this point, Paul switched his strategy and instead declared himself to be on the side of the Pharisees in their long-running feud with the Sadducees regarding the resurrection of the dead.  While the Pharisees did not believe that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead, they were perfectly willing to defend the idea of the resurrection of the dead, and while they did not believe that Paul had been given a vision from God, they were willing to defend the idea of God speaking to his people through visions and angels.  In the end, the Sanhedrin's bitter divisions not only prevented them from taking action against Paul, but convinced the Roman commander that for Paul's safety he needed to be taken back to the barracks.

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How do we know which things are disputable?

The Greek term, ἀδιάφορα (adiaphora, meaning "not differentiable") refers to those issues of faith and practice, as well as ethics and morality, which are not essential to the Christian faith, and are thus a matter of conscience for individual Christians (and by extension local churches and denominations).  In other words, when we're not talking about the essentials of our faith, (a typical definition of which might be the Nicene Creed and the authority of Scripture, plus salvation by grace through faith) we as Christians are free to agree to disagree without straining the bonds of Christian fellowship.  This is of course in theory, in practice things can get real messy and even violent {see: The Thirty Years War for a brutal example}.

Which leads to a fundamental question that should concern all Christians: How do we define what is disputable/debatable and what is not?  Striving for agreement on what is "essential" to our faith is helpful, but not nearly enough as we might disagree strongly about what ought to be on that list, an outside arbiter is necessary to help Christians keep their disputes in perspective.  The primary answer is rather simple in the abstract although often difficult in practice: The adiaphora are those things which are "neither commanded nor forbidden in the Word of God" (as the 1577 Formula of Concord puts it).  If the Word of God commands that we do something, it cannot be a matter of conscience for a Christian to choose to obey, we must do so.  If the Word of God forbids an action/attitude, it also cannot be a matter of conscience for a Christian to fail to obey, we must do so.  For example, does the Bible teach about marriage, divorce, extra-marital sex, or homosexual behavior?  It does indeed, in many places.  Therefore it is not for the Church, nor for individual Christians to choose whether or not they wish to obey in these areas, it is a matter of faithfulness to God, a requirement of discipleship.  Does the Bible teach about voting, Bible translations, music choices in worship, art/statues in our worship spaces, the viewing of movies/TV, or social media?  It does not, not directly.  Therefore it is incumbent upon the Church, and individual Christians, to apply Biblical principles (i.e among others: respect for Truth, the pursuit of purity, the Fruit of the Spirit) in these areas, following the example of Jesus and seeking the will of God as best we can in accordance with our God-given wisdom, our conscience, and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  

In the end, our list of essential ought to be shorter than our list of that which is disputable/debatable.  The core of Christianity we ought to be able to list on one piece of paper, and is not open to debate (although many have tried, historically and today as well).  At the same time, we ought to view each other with love and charity regarding those things about which we disagree which are not essential to our faith.

Treat fellow Christians with whom you disagree with love and charity?  Won't that shock the world.  What an amazing opportunity to show the Lost the transforming power of the Holy Spirit at work among the people of God.

Sermon Video: We must settle our own disputes - 1 Corinthians 6:1-8

How can you tell if a church has significant problems?  One sure example of trouble would be the presence of lawsuits between members.  Paul addresses this issue within the church at Corinth where evidently multiple lawsuits had been filed between those who were a part of the church.  These lawsuits upset Paul in multiple ways, for they were both a poor witness to non-believers and evidence of an absence of love and humility (and conversely the presence of animosity, pride, greed, etc.).
What should the response of a Christian be to a brother or sister in Christ who has wronged him/her?  In the realm of non-violent wrongs, our goal should be forgiveness and reconciliation, something others in the church who are not directly involved can help facilitate.  What if that process fails?  As a Christian, I must decide that my rights are of less consequence to me than a fellow human being for whom Christ also died.  A selfless perspective will put aside pride, thoughts of vengeance, and will seek to end disputes, not escalate them.

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Sermon Video: Paul and Barnabas part company - Acts 15:30-41

Paul and Barnabas were an amazing team, the work they accomplished for the sake of the Gospel was groundbreaking, but they didn't last.  The friendship and teamwork that they had built together over years of working for the Lord was put to the test not by a difference of opinion about what God wanted them to do, but by the question of who they should bring along to help do it.  When Paul proposed a second missionary trip to visit again the churches from the first, Barnabas was in agreement that this was a task that needed to be done.  The disagreement arose when Barnabas wanted to take along his cousin John Mark and Paul refused to consider including him.  Mark had been a member of the first trip but had for an unknown reason abandoned them mid-way through it.  Whatever that reason was, it left a bad taste in Paul's mouth and he was unwilling to use this mission as a reclamation project.
Well meaning Christian who are trying to serve God can still disagree on how to do it.  We may even agree on the larger goals, see a common path to take to get there, and then still fail to see eye to eye on the details.  It happens, sometimes through our own failures and hang-ups and sometimes simply through seeing things differently.  Barnabas believed in people, he was willing to risk the mission to save one man, much as he had done years before when he stood up for Paul when nobody else would.  Barnabas is trying to win the battle, he's looking at an individual tree.  Paul is looking at the grand vision, the massive task that Jesus has commanded his disciples to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth, he's trying to win the war, looking at the whole forest.  This isn't a question of who is right or who is wrong, they just disagree.
Paul and Barnabas went there separate ways, Barnabas taking Mark along and Paul finding a new partner in Silas.  The question for us today is not how can we prevent disagreements from happening, they're inevitable in an organization full of reformed sinners with limited wisdom, the question is how can we deal with them without destroying that which we all love, Christ's Church, in the process.
There is a positive note to the end of this story, Barnabas was right about Mark.  Later on Paul will write about Mark being a valuable partner in his ministry, someone he can count on.  We serve the God of second chances, and evidently Paul eventually gave Mark one too.

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