How the Early Church Dealt with Conflict

…..The Conflict......How they handled it ….What we can learn

Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphire Lying, deceit. Lying, deceit. I Cor. 5: Incest

How did they deal with these serious problems?

Principle: The more serious the conflict, the more severely it must be dealt with. The more serious the conflict, the more severely it must be dealt with.

Acts 15: Theological differences about the Gentiles. (How did they handle it?)

Principle: Sometimes we need to ask for help outside of the congregation from those more objective than we are.

Acts 6: Complaints about the distribution of food to the widows. (How did they handle it?)

Principle: Train people how to discover and use their spiritual gifts in ministry.

Acts 6: Whether to accept Paul into their fellowship (How did they handle it?)

Principle: Be willing to listen to other believers who are more knowledgeable about the situation.

Galatians 2: Differences of opinion on eating with Gentiles (Peter and Paul); hypocrisy.

Principle: Confrontation between leaders is sometimes necessary, but did not involve the entire church.

Acts 15: Paul and Barnabas disagree about John Mark. (How did they handle it?)

Principle: Sometimes going our separate ways allows for the gospel to expand.

Acts 8: Differences of opinion over eating meat offered to idols, celebrating special days, etc.

Principle: Be concerned about how differences can hurt the faith of others and avoid doing it when possible.

3 John 9: Some leaders who loved to be pre- eminent (How was it dealt with?)

Principle: Don’t sweep things under the rug and pretend they do not matter.

Other conflicts: Jealousy, cliques, quarreling, taking believers to court, the Lord’s supper, spiritual gifts, tongue speaking, false teachers…..

confusion about the second coming of Jesus, grumbling, stewardship issues. confusion about the second coming of Jesus, grumbling, stewardship issues. (How did they handle them?)

Principle: Be direct in teaching about these problems and holding people accountable.

Basic Principles to keep in mind: 1. There will always be conflicts in a church because it is made up of sinful, selfish human beings like us!

2. In as much as possible and wise, keep things out in the light, involving those who need to know and who are part of the solution.

3. Deal with issues as soon as possible before they get out of hand.

4. Have a basic plan in place as to how conflict will be addressed.

5. Conflicts are best dealt with by spiritually and emotionally mature people. Determine to be maturing Christians and teach others how to be the same.

6. Make prayer a top priority in preventing and solving conflicts.

The church is the body of our Lord. Let’s do all we can do to help her be healthy!