In the sermon this past Sunday we looked at a major dispute that divided Paul and Barnabas on their second missionary journey. We used this as an opportunity to talk about Christian disputes, where they arise from and how to pursue reconciliation. In Acts 15, Luke tells us a story of what happened and not necessarily what should havehappened. Through the counsel of scripture, we see a consistent and reoccurring theme of the Biblical mandate for Christians to pursue reconciliation in the midst of offense and division. Because Christ died to put our sins to death, there is now no justification for Christian division. We don’t have to agree on personal preferences or even personalconvictions, but unity in our Biblical convictions and our love for one another should always supersede our differences and draw us toward reconciliation and unity.
