The world has recently been rocked again by issues of racism following the murder of George Floyd, a man of African-American heritage, by a white policeman, and racial discrimination continues to be a huge problem for many people throughout the world. Because our world is tainted by sin, we (people in general) seem to find it easy to find all kinds of reasons why we can exclude people and discriminate against them, and this has sadly been the case throughout history. The Jews found it easy to believe they were superior to all other races because of their position as God’s chosen people and looked down on the Gentiles (every other race) as a result; Christians have been similarly guilty of racial discrimination at times. This kind of wrong thinking and wrong behaviour is not limited to any one type of person; it’s everywhere in some form, because of sin. The Christian message is that all human life matters because we are all made in the image of God.

One of the revolutionary messages of the gospel is that there are no outsiders to God’s love, and no one can be excluded from salvation. Acts 15 and Romans 3:22-25 make it plain that the way of salvation is the same for everyone on earth: we have to call on the name of the Lord by faith and accept His way of reconciliation if we are to be saved. Peter tells us ‘God… accepts people from every nation who fear Him’ (Acts 10:35) and makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, purifying hearts by faith. (Acts 15:9) This is the basis of our hope that God will bless all nations through Jesus and that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Acts 2:21) This is the basis of our belief that racism (prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group) has no place in the church, for there should be no barriers to salvation.

In Acts 15, we see another occasion when the church faced disagreements which could easily have led to division. People had very different views about the fact that Gentiles were turning to Christ; a group of Jewish believers felt that ‘unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved’ (Acts 15:1), and some even went so far as to say the whole law of Moses had to be obeyed. (Acts 15:5) This brought them into ‘sharp dispute and debate’ with Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:2), and the church at Antioch sought to resolve this dispute by sending Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to discuss this matter with the apostles and elders there. (Acts 15:2, 6)

It’s easy for us to look at this dispute with some confusion or even indifference, but what was at heart here was something fundamental to the gospel: is salvation by grace through faith, or do we have to do something (i.e. become circumcised and obey the law) in order to be saved? The conclusion reached by the apostles was that both Gentiles and Jews received salvation in the same way: ‘We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’ (Acts 15:11) It might surprise us, therefore, to see that whilst emphatically supporting the view there was no need for circumcision, the apostles also wrote a letter asking Gentiles not to cause needless offence.

This was clearly a compromise solution, and one which we may well feel blurs the issues. So often, we see things in black and white, right and wrong, but here we see that even in a case where there was a definite ‘right’ (no need for circumcision; Jews and Gentiles are justified in exactly the same way, as Paul was to expound in Romans 3:22-25), the solution proposed involved shades of grey. Tom Wright speaks of the ‘brittle absolutism’ that so many prefer, and it’s definitely easier to become entrenched on either side of an argument in ways where we can defend our viewpoint to the death…but show little love or forgiveness to those who disagree with us. The early church avoided this difficulty through compromise; the letter was sent to Antioch and everyone seems to have coped with the proposals (which were that the Gentiles should avoid needless offence through their everyday behaviour.) Paul would go on to discuss these ideas in greater depth in 1 Cor 8 and 10 and Romans 14, and in every case spoke of the need to avoid passing judgment on others and to act with love. When we do this, disputes don’t have to lead to division and the unity of the Spirit can be maintained, even when we disagree profoundly.

As we study Acts 15, we see that the moral high ground becomes the servant low ground, and the challenge for us is how to adopt this servant spirit in all we do.

The theological argument of salvation by grace through faith alone (summarised in Eph 2:8-9) was decisively settled at the Council of Jerusalem, yet Gentiles were asked to agree to a compromise which prevented them from causing needless offence to Jews by abstaining from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. (Acts 15:29)

They could have argued it was up to the Jew to ‘get over themselves’ (in modern parlance) and simply let go of the issues. The dietary laws no longer had to be obeyed. Circumcision no longer had to be practised. ‘Get over it!’

But acting in love – the new moral high ground, so to speak – meant considering the needs of others and not using their freedom to indulge the flesh. (Gal 5:13-14, Phil 2:3-11) There is always a paradox at the heart of the Christian message, always a potential stumbling-block to our rational way of thinking.

It was hard for Jews to let go of centuries of rule-keeping to enter into the new covenant made by Jesus. It was hard for Gentiles to learn to embrace a faith built on centuries of revelation and tradition. Both sides had to compromise, and the principle behind the compromise, strangely enough, was not ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but servant love.

Jesus repeatedly taught that ‘whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant’ (Matt 20:26, Mark 10:43), demonstrating this visually by taking the basin and towel and washing His disciples’ feet, even though He was their Lord and Teacher. (John 13:1-17) If we stand arrogantly proud of our theological stance, we risk missing the point entirely. The early church navigated the storms of disagreement and dispute not through division and disunity but by mutual respect and servant love. Can we do the same?

Our thanks to DW Painter for their efficient decoration of the church worship room and foyer. It’s looking a lot cleaner and brighter now – got to start thinking about where to put the chairs now, so that we can be socially distant!

Getting things back to normal:

We may feel weary and on the point of giving up, but God wants us to keep on keeping on at all times. Troubles will always be present, but Jesus reminded His disciples that He has overcome the world. (John 16:33)

To keep on keeping on, we have to:

1. Keep trusting. It’s so important to remind ourselves of who God is and what He has done. ‘Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God; You, who have done great things. Who, O God, is like You?’ (Ps 71:19)

2. Keep hoping. ‘You will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth You will again bring me up. You will increase my honour and comfort me once again.’ (Ps 71:20-21)

3. Keep worshipping. We choose to worship, no matter what the circumstgances. Praise and worship, singing and playing music all help to focus our attention on God. (Ps 71:22)

4. Keep loving. Love is how we show we are God’s followers. (John 13:34-35)

5. Keep forgiving. Forgiveness is not an optional extra, nor is it a one-off! (Matt 18:21-35)

6. Keep giving. God loves a cheerful giver and generosity is always the response He looks for. (Mark 12:41-44)

7. Keep going! Perseverance must finish its work so we can be mature and complete. (James 1:3-4)

We are grateful to DW Painter for decorating the worship room and foyer while we cannot use the building for our usual services. Here are some photos after their first day of decorating.