Monday – Gospels and Acts

Reading – Acts 15

Highlight Verse:

“Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question.”
‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭15‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The argument Paul and Barnabas were so passionate about was circumcision.

Paul and Barnabas were raised Jewish, so they were arguing on behalf of the Gentile (not of Jewish descent) believers.

Why were they so passionate?

They were called to reach Gentiles.

Circumcision would have caused many to shy away from the Gospel.

More importantly, requiring it would have violated the principle that salvation is by God’s grace, not by religious ceremony.

Paul and Barnabas did not back down so the church decided to defer to the Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem.

The churches then abided by the decision handed down by the Apostles and Elders.

Humans can get stuff wrong.

Pastors and local church elders are human.

I have seen far too many churches get off track in theology and mission.

That is why accountability is important.

Denominations and church associations go a long way toward stopping heretical teaching (though I believe a few denominations have gone way off track by ignoring parts of the Bible).

When we switched to the church we now attend and serve in, I specifically asked who holds them accountable.

The fact that we are still there tells you that they have a good accountability structure in place.

I could go on and on about this issue, but the bottom-line is,

we should each be open to correction from the from the youngest convert to the eldest leader and pastor.

That correction should come about in a respectful manner involving an accountability structure when needed.

All of that accountability should be based on the Word of God and handled with the love of God.

Have you seen accountability in action in your church or denomination? How well was it handled?
Have you been corrected in the church? If so, were they correct? How did you handle it?