Snatching Division from the Jaws of Multiplication

Getting down to the root of the problem

The disciples were sure Jesus was about to declare Himself as the Messiah and deliver the nation of Israel from the combined oppression of Rome and the Sanhedrin. But as the moment of victory approached, Jesus allowed Himself - there's no other way to say it, but He allowed Himself to be arrested, tortured, and crucified, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

But then, on the morning of Jesus' third day in the grave, God snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Jesus came back to life and left the tomb empty. The woman who arrive first at the empty tomb were overjoyed, as were the other disciples who learned of this victory from them.

The Sanhedrin, learning what happened, paid off the guards to peddle fake news. The news of the disciples stealing the body of Jesus went viral throughout the Jewish diaspora. The Jewish leaders had turned the tables, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

"Or did they?" That's the question Trent Schake, the preacher at Blue Ridge Christian Church, asked at this point in his Easter sermon this morning. "Did the Jewish leaders really snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?"

No, of course not, was his answer.  He went on to describe the events fifty days later, at the feast of Pentecost. Thousands of Jews and proselyted were in Jerusalem that day to hear Peter's polyglot sermon.

Luke reports in Acts 2:41 that about 3,000 souls were baptized and added to the church on that day. Certainly a successful sermon, that one.

Trent then pointed out that by Acts chapter 6, Luke switched from talking about addition to counting the numbers by multiplication.

Acts 6:7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem

That doesn't look like snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, Trent said. No, they were snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, he crowed.

It was a good sermon.

However, being who I am, and considering how my mind works, my thoughts took a detour at that point of the sermon.

Yes, Christ's Church did indeed snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, in spite of the opposition of the powers that be. The added thousands on the first day. They multiplied their numbers within the coming weeks and months.

But quite soon thereafter, the church went from addition and multiplication and moved on to division.

By Acts 7 there was division in the ranks about equitable treatment of the needy, especially the widows. The apostles solved that problem by getting better organized.

By Acts 15 the growing division over whether to require adherence to Old Testament Law led to a conference where the leaders of the church made a ruling. It doesn't take a deep reading of the epistles to know the decision at that conference didn't settle that division once and for all.

In fact, many of the epistles were prompted by the apostles and prophets addressing an ever-increasing number of disputes and divisions.

Church history is interwoven with a continuum of division, with denominations branching out like a tangled grape vine.

In the church where I was raised, and in the Bible College I attended, a large percentage of the teaching seemed to be focused on describing and dismissing the various factions of the church's division.

I hear less of that from today's church.

And yet still there are many in the church, from the preachers and leaders to the common Facebook and Twitter-wielding members, who seem to think the church's mission is no longer addition or multiplication, but division.

In the twenty-first century we no longer rail as much against the splintered teachings of other denominations. Instead we sound off against people who disagree with our politics.

We don't seem to care much if a prominent Christian verified Tweeter expresses a doctrinal distinction, but watch the tweets fly if their political opinions seem to fall on the wrong side. Or even just on the not-enough-right said.

A majority of Christians seem to have their own version of political correctness, even if they deny any connection with such correctness. It's a political correctness tied to what they see as a theological correctness.

It really is nothing more than loving rightness more than loving righteousness. And snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

It's the non-believers who are hurt most by this. They see the church obsessed with their modern Inquisition, seeking out and discrediting people with the wrong political view. That constant noise tends to drown out any and all attempts at seeking and saving the lost.

What the church needs is to focus on Purposeful Correctness. We need to remember our purpose and stay on message. If our missional purpose is written on our hearts, we can get back to snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.