Schism

Leaders don't always agree on the right path to take.

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you. And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)those leaders contributed nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter making him an apostle to the circumcised also worked through me in sending me to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do. - Galatians 2:1-10

Paul was at odds with Peter and James over his ministry to the Gentiles.  Paul was teaching that the Gentiles do not need to be circumcised first to become Jews in order to follow Christ.

This was a major turning point in the church and it may have had an influence on the schism that  grew between the Christians and Jews later on, but it was necessary for the survival of the church.

Paul's ministry reached far and wide, laying the foundation for the world-wide following we have today. 

So, I wonder.  If the traditionalists couldn't see the potential of spreading the Word to others, what does that tell us about our views of salvation?

Could we accept the possibility that all are to be saved, even though only some follow the traditions and doctrines?

When Jesus encountered the Syrophoenician woman, at first he told her he had nothing to offer her, but then he changed his mind.  And at the well, he offered living water to the Samaritan woman.

So, perhaps the lesson for all of us is to be open to everyone.

The schisms and chasms between us are our own creations, not God's.

If that is true, then what are we doing to break down the barriers?

More to come...