controversy strikes again

Good morning all,
It was such a joy to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with many of you yesterday. Fortunately, in the church Easter is a season, not just a day. So the next six weeks we try to be especially intentional about seeing life in the light of Christ's resurrection. In our daily readings we return to the Book of Acts, which follows naturally from the resurrection. In our Sunday readings we'll see some selections from Acts as well, so having read them in context before in the daily readings will give them even more meaning for us.

Today brings us the first church council, and it was called to decide perhaps the first controversy in the church. That controversy was the place of gentile believers in the church. Some people believed that, since Christianity was a movement within Judaism, new converts had to observe Jewish Law. There were some good reasons for this opinion. The Law helped preserve identity and faith for Jews in a difficult situation where they were in the minority. The Law also came from God and had been an important part of the faith since God first led Israel out of Egypt. On the other side were those like Peter and Paul who had seen God calling Gentiles without any regard to the Law or tradition.

It seems like the church approached the question with prayer and then listened to people stating both sides of the argument before making a decision. That's always a good model for handling controversy, and we do well to remember that the controversies in the church now are neither the first nor the last we will face.
Blessings on your new week,
Sam

Acts 15:1-11
Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders. 3So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.

4When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. 5But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”6The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.

7After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers. 8And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; 9and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us. 10Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 11On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”