Apr 7, 2024
GRAND PARKWAY BAPTIST CHURCH
Neil McClendon, Lead Pastor
How to Disagree to the Glory of God
Acts 15:36-41
1. Be aware of your assumptions
Positive assumptions to shape how we disagree…
a) not everybody has to think or act the way I do or would
b) disagreeing with me does not deserve punishment
c) them being wrong or doing wrong doesn’t give me permission
d) it’s not different with family
2. Be clear about the principles you are standing on
A principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning.
“I will never compromise Truth for the sake of getting along with people who can only get along when we agree.” ― D.R. Silva
“Now Paul and his companion set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and return to Jerusalem…” -Acts 13:13
3. Engage all avenues of reconciliation
To shape your theology of disagreement ask questions like...
How is God represented by my behavior?
What does the Gospel make me capable of?
What can I do to demonstrate this capacity?
Two reasons we don’t reconcile..
a) uncertainty- I don’ know what to do
b) effort- I don’t want to exert that much effort.
“A brother/sister offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”
-Proverbs 18:19
“Friends become wiser together through a healthy clash of viewpoints.”
- Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage
4. You engage in the disagreement in a way that makes reconciliation possible down he road
“Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.”
-2 Timothy 4:9-11
Mental worship...
1. Is there anybody in your life that you have categorized? If so, what does the Gospel make you capable of and responsible for in relation to this person?
2. As an outworking of what you heard this morning, is there a conversation you need to initiate?
3. What is your theology of disagreement?
4. Which is the source of more disagreement in your relationships: your beliefs or your preferences?
5. Are there any friendships/relationships where you have given yourself permission the Gospel does not?