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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
In Acts 15, unwanted troublesome visitors arrive in Antioch and say things which could have unsettled the Church of Jesus Christ and brought it back under the law.
Paul and Barnabas, with a few other disciples are dispatched to Jerusalem to raise this contentious matter with the leadership. These issues MUST be confronted and dealt with urgently. They are welcomed in Jerusalem, but there arose a fierce furious argument. Some people would want to say today, "Let's keep off doctrine and theology. Let's keep politics out of the pulpit. These divide us. Let's just get on with preaching about Jesus Christ."
But it is when we truly preach about Jesus Christ that these issues arise, and Christians must face up to the serious matters facing our society and world. Sometimes varying views have to be shared with the aim of always desiring to come to some agreement and harmony and unity - without compromising the truth.
Here is the secret of how to do it, and to learn this secret revealed in God's Word is never a waste of time. The Church of Jesus Christ should be the place where arguments and differences are dealt with and resolved - in the love of Jesus - and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we are persecuted from outside, we should become all the bolder. But when the enemy comes and attacks from within - from the inside - causing potential splits and divisions - we have to have the courage to confront the real issues - always seeking the unity and peace of The Church.
Paul could see that this was the thin edge of the wedge, and he realised what the battle was all about. He was a man who would do whatever he could, to maintain the unity of The Church of Jesus Christ. What a challenge to each of us, as we are called to do whatever we can to maintain the unity of the Church and in the process help bring about the answer to Jesus prayer before He was arrested in the Garden.
How many following these studies in the book of Acts are willing to work for the unity of the Church of Jesus Christ wherever they are living and serving?
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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