Acts 11:1-18 Conflict and Resolution
Good morning! Turn with me to Acts chapter 11, page 919 in the pew Bibles.
We are going to be doing a bit of a rehash this morning as our text is a report of the events of our text from last week. Don’t worry I’m not going to reproach last week’s sermon, although a little repetition wouldn’t kill us. We’ve had breakfast, yes, but what about second breakfast?
I’d like to, instead, focus mainly on the purpose of the recording of this incident in the early church because it is not a record of a good thing done, a good report given, and a celebration of what the Lord did. Instead, it’s actually a record of conflict within the body of believers and how that conflict got resolved.
Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Let’s pray.
So what we have recorded for us in Acts 10 and these first verses of Acts 11 is the Gentile version of Pentecost. The first Pentecost recorded in Acts 2 was when the Holy Spirit came on the believers in Jerusalem after Jesus ascended into heaven.
What was different about that event and this one is that in Acts 2, at Pentecost, all the believers were Jewish. Now, here in Acts 10 and 11, the Holy Spirit came upon Gentiles after hearing the gospel and believing in Jesus.
That may not seem like a big deal to you but it should, most, if not all of us gathered here today are Gentiles! If the Gospel was only available to the Jews we’d all be lost for good! So this event was and is a really big deal.
I’ve tried to find a modern-day comparison to help grab ahold of the magnitude of this event but I can’t come up with anything that even comes close.
Word of this event, of the Word of God, the gospel, being received by Gentiles got around quickly. The news was received favorably by most of the church at that time except for a group referred to in our text as “the circumcision party.”
These were believers that thought that in order for someone to become a Christian they must first become Jewish. They thought that the Levitical, ceremonial, Law was still in effect. They stuck to the traditions of their fathers instead of the freedom that was available to them in Christ. They were legalists, elsewhere in the New Testament they are referred to as “Judaizers.”
Paul spent a great deal of effort addressing them in his letters. Romans 10:1-13 says,
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
It's not my goal to go on and on about this group, other than to give some background on their line of thinking that, unfortunately, was not snuffed out that day when Peter gave his report. The conflict continued to plague the church, and in some ways still does.
So Peter went in and visited with the Gentile Cornelius and his family and friends and shared the gospel with them, they believed in Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and then were baptized.
As JJ VanOosterzee wrote, “Not because we were Israelites, nor because we had obtained circumcision, but because we believed in Jesus as the Lord and Messiah, God has granted to us the gift of the Holy Spirit, and indeed as a gift, as a free gift of grace, to which we had no rightful claim, and to which God did not owe us.”
The report should have been a cause for celebration, and for some it was, but for others it was a cause for conflict.
But here’s why:
This division was put on display for us for a purpose, not just to understand the theology of the gospel to the Gentiles, but for the purpose of humbling us, comforting us, and instructing us on how to deal with division and conflict in the church.
The early church was not perfect, and this conflict should be a humbling reminder that we aren’t either. The enemy is always at work trying tear down the church and discredit the Lord Jesus. We can see here on full display his work of sowing tares among the wheat.
Far too often people have allowed differences in opinion on theological matters and even matters of church traditions to create conflict and divide the family of God. There was once a committee formed to deal with my opinions on candles in church. Which version of the Bibles do we use, how are we supposed to dress, do we sing from a hymn book or off a screen, pre, mid, or post-trib rapture… The list goes on and on.
And though this is a humbling reminder that we are not above having to deal with conflicts and division, this account also serves the purpose of comforting us by demonstrating that there is nothing new under the sun. This account shows us that nothing new or strange is happening in the church when conflict and division arise in our own day. The church has been dealing with it from the beginning and we are no different.
While we might be humbled and comforted by this account, we are primarily to be instructed on how to deal with conflict in a godly way and how divisions might be healed through the power of truth and love.
Peter was called to account by the circumcision party to defend visiting and eating with uncircumcised men, Gentiles. And he gently and lovingly stated his case before them.
He would later write instructions on the proper response to these types of challenges in 1 Peter 3:13-17,
13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
Peter gently and respectfully stated the truth: this is what God said, this is what God did.
17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
It’s been said that to err is human, to forgive divine, but to adhere resolutely to an error of which we are convinced is devilish. How much damage has been done in the church in stubborn defense of erroneous views?
Those folks that day stopped arguing, they fell silent, they listened, and together they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
There is no secret to conflict resolution, it’s probably too simple for us. They laid aside their pride, their firm grip on traditions that were not based on what the Word of God actually said, and they listened to each other. They came together and glorified God.
May we learn from this example of peaceful conflict resolution within the church and may we be humbled and comforted by this example.
And may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing in Jesus, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may abound in hope. Amen.
