“Can brethren disagree sharply and still be in fellowship?”

Sunday, January 22, 2017

For the sake of their souls and the effectiveness of the church, unity must prevail among brothers and sisters in Christ (Psa. 133:1; I Cor. 1:10). Even so, we know that Christians will inevitably face differences of opinion on non-doctrinal matters. So what are brethren to do when there seems to be an impasse about a judgment call?

Let’s first establish that there is nothing wrong with having different opinions – it is not a sin (Rom. 14:1-3). We are not talking about doctrinal matters because everyone who follows Jesus MUST abide in His doctrine (II John 9). Therefore, Christians can “agree to disagree” in areas of opinion but not regarding the teachings of the gospel of Christ.

To understand this difference, let’s look to the Bible. Acts 15:36-41 shows Paul and Barnabas disagreeing about whether John Mark should be brought on another journey. The contention between Paul and Barnabas was “sharp” (verse 39), with Barnabas wanting to take him and Paul not wanting to. In the end, Paul and Barnabas could not agree and separated to continue preaching the gospel (verse 39-40).

Let us not read more into this than we should. To think that Paul and Barnabas hated each other is incorrect. Likewise, thinking that Paul hated John Mark is also incorrect. As we read in II Timothy 4:11, the apostle Paul sent for John Mark, saying that “he is useful to me for the ministry.” This does not sound like someone who held a grudge, was full of hate or wanted to avoid him.

The same can be said about Paul and Barnabas. Paul mentions him in I Corinthians 9:6. This was well after the conflict between them in Acts 15. How do we know that? Because Paul first went to Corinth without Barnabas in Acts 18.

Brethren need to be mature enough to accept that there will be differences of opinion. These disagreements should never cause them to act sinfully or say that a brother is no longer faithful. That usually happens when one starts treating their opinion as law. A faithful brother is then accused of sin. Sin has taken place, but the guilty party is actually the person binding their opinion as law!

Let us consider the question of fellowship. Can brethren be in fellowship with God and each other if there are sharp contentions over an opinion? Yes! Both Barnabas and Paul accepted what the other said without sinning. The silver lining in this whole matter was that four people went out to twice as many places as would have originally happened if Paul took John Mark with them. (Paul tool Silas, and Barnabas took John Mark).

The hearts of brethren should always be filled with love and compassion (Rom. 12:10). There is no need for character attacks or to generate strife and division within the local church. Like a marriage, a local church requires a lot of give and take. Everybody recognizes how silly it would be for a husband and wife to divorce over paint colors or some other minor decision - it would be similarly silly for Paul and Barnabas to commit sin because they disagreed about the best way to spread the gospel. Someone might have a strong opinion that the church should meet on Sundays at 10 am and not 9 am. If the majority of the brethren like the 9 am time, that one brother or sister ought to consider giving in for the sake of peace. If the disagreement is very strong, they might also choose to attend at a faithful church that meets at 10 to avoid stirring up trouble.

Ultimately, God’s people need to be recognizing that the devil will use opinions to destroy relationships. Let us be aware of that.      

Chuck                                                     

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