Disagreements between friends, family, colleagues or even believers are inevitable.
We cannot avoid disagreements with others, but as believers, we can always sort it out through God's word in an amicable way.
In this blog post, we'll take Acts 15, and see what we should/shouldn't do when disagreeing with a fellow believer in Christ.
The Acts 15 begins with a conflict among the believers. Some Jewish believers asked the Gentile believers to follow the law of Moses while also believing in Christ.
However, the Apostles Paul and Barnabas disagreed with these Jewish believers, and argued against their instructions to Gentiles. The matter is then taken to the Apostles in Jerusalem, who, based on God's word, determine whether the Gentiles should follow law of Moses or not.
But in the end of Acts 15, we see Paul and Barnabas arguing over Mark and parting ways from each other with anger.
So, what one thing the believers did right to resolve the conflict in the beginning of Acts 15? And where did Paul and Barnabas were wrong in not resolving their disagreement about Mark amicably?
In the beginning of Acts 15, the question they tried to answer was "What is right?", rather than "Who is right?".
When they asked "What is right?", they rightly referred to the scriptures and resolved the conflict successfully.
In the conflict, the Jewish believers were wrong in their understanding that the Gentiles must follow the law of Moses. However, when the Apostles showed the Jewish believers that their understanding is wrong according to the Word of God, they submitted to God's word and agreed their understanding was wrong.
But, in the end of Acts 15, it looks like Paul and Barnabas focused more on the "Who is right?" part rather than "What is right?", when they disagreed about taking Mark with them for their ministry.
So what do we learn here?
The "Who is right?" question must be avoided by the believers at all times. It's just about "What is right?".
The "What is right?" question is enough for believers to refer to the Scriptures (as we know it has the Truth), and sort out such disagreements and resolve conflicts in an amicable way with fellow believers, and continue the fellowship in Christ.