Acts 15:1-5

Politicians have huge egos, they must have to believe they are the most qualified to lead.  This is true from people wanting to be national leaders all the way down the town councils.  However, just because someone has a large ego does not mean they are not the best qualified.  I am not a politician, but I do believe that in a free society politicians are a necessity.  Where we do not expect to see politics and politicians at work is in the governing and leadership of the church.

At first glance, the situation Paul found at Antioch involved a theological issue.  The people from Judea were teaching that Christians must submit to circumcision before God would grant them salvation.  Theologically, God proved their claims were false when He gave the Holy Spirit to the gentiles and did not require them to undergo circumcision first.  There was no theological basis for their claims and the leadership council in Jerusalem quickly discounted them.

I believe the debate was not about theology but rather it was about church politics.  Before Christ, the Jews followed religious leaders from two primary religious parties, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They shared political and religious power.  The Sadducees did not believe in life after death but the Pharisees did.  The Pharisees were naturally the first to believe in Christ and the resurrection.  In the early church there was a leadership vacuum.   Would converted Pharisees or the original disciples and untrained followers fill the leadership vacuum?  The converted Pharisees were making a move to position themselves as the leaders of the new church.  If the gentiles had to keep the laws of Moses then they would need the Pharisees to continue interpreting the law.  If the Law of Moses was not required then the Pharisees held no special place in the church.

If the Pharisee’s ego had won, the church would have become stuck where the Jews were before Christ came.  Egos and church politics will kill growth and petrify the church.