Acts chapter 15 verses 24-28 (NIV)
“We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:”
There seems to be a recurrent theme jumping out at me over the last few days.
In this current climate, churches including mine, are seeing people come in, either as new Christians seeking to find a relationship with God, or as prodigal returning to the fold – some after a significant time. Surely a cause for joy, and great gratitude unto the Lord. We want these lives to grow and flourish in their faith, don’t we? So those of us who have been Christians for some time would, in my opinion be wise to heed the lessons we can learn from this portion of scripture.
We read that the new Gentile Christians had been disturbed by what they had been taught by some people who had come into their midst without the authority of the leadership of the fledgling church. The leadership therefore sought to write down their guidance, and send it the new followers with Barnabas, Paul, Judas and Silas to explain it to them if needed. Their guidance was very simple, and most importantly directed by the Holy Spirit.
So what do we learn from this? Firstly, however well intentioned our advice may be, any attempt to mentor and encourage new Christians should be done with the knowledge and approval of church leadership. Secondly, and just as important as it was then, is that we must be guided by the Holy Spirit. We need to exercise the wisdom and discernment that only comes from Him. We never want our opinions to get in God’s way, or to distress or disturb new followers, and certainly never cause them to turn away. Thirdly, the best thing we can do to encourage new Christians is to remember the old saying that it’s not what we say but what we do that counts. If we are living as we should, and Christ is seen in us, then hopefully others will be inspired to follow our example.
Dear Lord,
I pray for wisdom and discernment, especially when offering advice and encouragement. May my words or actions never be the cause of turning someone away from You. I pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.