Calming Dangerous Drama in Church

Acts 6:1-7

The church is made up of many different kinds of people. We’re all sinners. And when you bring sinners together, they’ll sin against one another. This is why, those who have attended church for any amount of time, have seen church splits, soured friendships, conflicts. There’s drama in church. And it’s no surprise. But when the drama turns dangerous - and it can - it should also be shocking to us. When the gospel of Christ is preached, shouldn’t everything be smooth? Aren’t we made saints? Yes, we’ve been counted righteous and are being transformed; but the transformation’s not complete yet. Lingering sins affect us when we yield to them. This is why church is messy. And that’s why ministry is messy. There’s drama.

But when there’s drama, are people calm? Most are hotheaded and quick to react. We rub each other the wrong way even when we try to do the right things. We are driven not by the fuel of love, but the fuel of indignation - maybe because we think it’s more spiritual. But indignation only leads to greater indignation. Now, to be clear, indignation is the right response at times. But when wrongly expressed, it leads to greater drama. But who would calm such dangerous drama? The church needs wise, spirit-filled, unflustered, and calm men. Men who won’t compound the drama, but calm the drama.

Today we’re talking about the role of deacons in the church. But it’s not just deacons specifically, but also the need for such mature men in the church. I speak to us men - do we contribute to the problems of the church, adding more oil to the fire, or do we calm the drama? Because as we’ll see in this passage, when there are such men in the church, the church grows. There are 3 observations from this passage. Firstly, indignation can lead to dangerous drama that can hurt the church. Secondly, qualified men are needed to calm that drama. Thirdly, when dangerous drama is calmed, the church will grow.

Firstly, indignation can lead to dangerous drama that can hurt the church. Verse 1 - “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.” There was unhappiness in the early church. There was murmuring. But wait! They were doing so well! How can there be unhappiness? And especially when it happened? Verse 1 says - in those days. This is in the context of Acts 5:42 - in the days when the apostles were daily in the temple, in every house, teaching and preaching Jesus Christ. And as a result of their teaching, the number of Christians multiplied - as verse 1 says. They were preaching, coming together, facing persecution, people were added to the church! But how can this problem happen during such growth? Let’s not forget - when God works, so can the devil. When the church was growing he sent persecution and when that didn’t work, he tried jealousy in the church with Ananias and Sapphira which led to scandal. But the church still grew. So he intensified the persecution with public imprisonment. And when that didn't work, he tried dissatisfaction.

And dissatisfaction led to indignant feelings and words. We learn there was a murmuring - a complaint. We all feel certain things, but for the feelings to emerge as expression, they must be rather strong feelings. And so here, there was indignation. The Grecians or Greek-speaking Jewish Christians complained against the Hebrew-speaking Jewish Christians. Or if it was in our context, the English-speaking congregation complained against the Chinese-speaking congregation. And it had to do with provision. Luke says clearly that the Greek-speaking widows were neglected in the distribution of food and money. They grumbled like the Israelites, who had just been freed from slavery in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea in incredible fashion, been provided water from a rock and food from heaven. Where was the victory they once had? Didn’t they believe that God would take care of them?

Now, was the cause of this indignation perceived or actual?Did the Greek speaking widows only perceive this racism, or was there actual preferential treatment? This is my take. They suspected overworked human administrators of discrimination.

What do we see in the text? We see Luke describing what happened - that when the number of disciples multiplied, some of the widows were being neglected. They were not receiving their daily bread or stipend. They were not cared for. And this was what the early church did do - they cared for needy believers. And so well did they do it, that no one lacked anything. And chief of those for whom they cared were the widows. Even in the Old Testament, God had worked the care of these most vulnerable people into the national taxation welfare system of the nation of Israel. And in the New Testament, there’s the collection of alms for the needy. James said, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction.” Because the early church obeyed, no one was in need. But when more became Christians, there was an oversight when it came to the distribution of the money and food. Some of the widows were neglected. As wonderfully spiritual and brave the apostles were, they were merely human. And this was an incredible number of people. There were now more than 10,000 believers, and therefore, there would’ve been more widows. Some were neglected because the 12 apostles couldn’t handle the number. And this happens in the best of churches with the best of intentions. When there are changes, even the best will struggle. And these were the Apostles! They had the Spirit! They were brave! They were human. Now, this wouldn’t have been an issue except for lingering sin in the people - who suspected these Apostles of discrimination. So clearly, there was indignation by the Greek speaking Christians against the Hebrew speaking Christians - “their widows are not neglected, but ours are.”

Such an indignation would lead to a dangerous drama in the church. This kind of talk is Satanic. It splits the church. It casts doubts on the genuineness of the Apostles. How good can they be if they neglect the widows! Widows you know! The Greek speaking ones! But perhaps they were drawing from their past experiences. For it is true that when the Greek speaking Jews, who had lived many years outside of Israel, adopting Greek culture, language, and attended Greek-speaking synagogues - when they returned to Israel, many did face discrimination. They were despised. But when both groups came under the preaching of the gospel, that language divide was healed when the Apostles were given the gifts of tongues. And everyone shared their possessions. But when administration lagged behind, these grouses came to the forefront again. With bad feeling, suspicion, past history - it came to the forefront in indignant murmurings. “They must’ve missed me out because I’m not important like their own people.” Now, we know the Apostles were human. Peter himself years later, refused to associate with the Gentiles, because of the Jews. But I highly doubt there was actual discrimination here. But when we give in to suspicions and sinful thoughts, being quick to allow grievances, and unwilling to subdue sinful thoughts - this would lead to dangerous drama in the church.

To address this, the Apostles called the church to nominate and elect deacons. Why? Because such qualified men are needed to calm that drama. That’s the second observation from this passage. Now, what did the Apostles do to solve this drama? They called for a meeting to discuss the division of labor. Verse 2 - “Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.” Imagine that ACM - over 10,000 people present. And in that meeting, the Apostles addressed their main role in the church, by stating it negatively first - “it is not reasonable or right to leave the word to serve tables - literally to deacon.” In other words, they had neglected the word by their waitering and administration. And interestingly, their neglect of the Word, also caused the neglect of the Greek-speaking widows. Just a moment ago, I said that the devil tried persecution, then dissatisfaction, but he also used diversion. The gospel was being preached, the church was growing - suddenly, the apostles found themselves swamped with work that while spiritual, was not their priority. And yet they were swamped by it. It wasn’t something sinful - it was spiritual. But they were so mired in the administration of a legitimate need that they were distracted from their main work of preaching.

Rather than improve their waitering and administration, they would reduce that work, in order, as verse 4 says, “to give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.” Now, to be sure, waiting tables and such distribution of money was not beneath them. The Lord Jesus fed the poor. He was the chief shepherd of the sheep, and they were his under-shepherds. So providing, caring, tending to the poor are all high and exalted work after their master. After all, they had been doing it and the church was growing. But their priority was to teach - which they had also been doing daily in the temple and house to house. Their priority was also to pray. But doing all 4 - teaching, praying, administration, and distributing food - had taken a toll on their primary calling and also in their administration. They were not Jesus Christ. They couldn’t do all. And if they tried to do all, they’d have an imbalanced and misdirected ministry. So that’s why they said it would not be reason or right for them to leave the Word. There was a moral component to it. Again, it was the same thought - we should obey God more than men. This is why they needed help to do the work of mercy and calm the drama in church.

Their solution was to select reputed spiritual and wise men. Verse 3 - “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” These would be the deacons - the table waiters of the church. They are the ones who would exemplify what Jesus did - to tie a loin cloth around his waist, to wash the feet, to serve the disciples as host and as servant, to look into how the fishes and loaves would be multiplied because he cared for the people. So the apostles told the believers to choose, meaning, the apostles didn’t select, but the people did. They turned the responsibility over to the church. Although the church produced the drama, they would be the ones who would pray and solve it by selecting spiritual men. The church had to care about these issues - for the preaching to be strengthened and for the needy to be filled. So this means that the people had to know who was spiritual, they had to pray, they had to nominate, they had to care. And this work was forced upon a disunited people, that in doing this work, they would pursue after unity. That’s what the gospel is.

And qualifications were given. These are to be men of honest report - good reputation. They should be men that you know and speak well of - that you can vouch for. Then he lists which qualifications to vouch for. They are to be full of the Spirit. While every believer is indwelled by the Spirit, being full of the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit - and not by the flesh. Such control would be seen in their wisdom. They wouldn’t be worldly but spiritual. And how do we know they’re wise? In their character. James 3:17 is specific - “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

This was important because you didn’t want easily indignant men who would add to the drama. Given how volatile the situation was already, the men needed to handle it - not by imploding or by exploding. It would require great sensitivity, mercy, and also love. Imagine if they were easily swayed to be on the side of the Greeks or Hebrews. Imagine if they were easily angry with the suspicious nature. Imagine if they didn’t get the whole story. But while others were thinking unvirtuous thoughts, they would give the benefit of the doubt. When others were quick to give into grievances because of suspicion, they would be slow to anger to calm things down. While others would be eager to unleash indignation as a mark of spirituality, they would calm down because they were truly spiritual. These were men who would not add to the dangerous drama going on. They would also distribute the money given at the apostle’s feet, and free the apostles to preach and pray.

And this instruction pleased the whole group, verse 5. All 10,000 of them were happy to do this work. And what we discover is that there was much wisdom demonstrated by the church. They chose 7 men to be the deacons, and what’s interesting is that all 7 men had Greek names - Stephanus, Philippos, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaos - who was not Jewish at all, but Gentile. This showed the wisdom of the believers in calming the anxiety of the Greek-speaking Jewish Christians. They didn’t say - we can’t do that, we must force everyone to accept the Hebrew speaking Christians as well. If you’re only choosing Greek-speaking ones, this would divide the church even further. No, no, we must force this through to make sure everyone knows what the church stands for. And in verse 6, the congregation presented them to the apostles as instructed and they were ordained with hands.

Now, what was the result of this spiritual exercise? The third observation we make - when dangerous drama is calmed, the church will grow. Verse 7 - “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.” When the administrative and financial work was rightly taken from them, the Word of God increased - it spread. The word “word” is used 3 times in this passage. In verse 2, they said they should not leave the Word to deacon. In verse 4, they said they’d give themselves over to the ministry of the Word. And in verse 7, after all was done, the Word spread. Since the deacons came onboard to do a spiritual work to distribute and to calm the drama, the apostles were able to concentrate on the teaching and praying for souls. The dangerous drama was calmed down, the gospel was also demonstrated by mercy, giving, counseling. The Greek speaking deacons would’ve said - and this was not affirmative action - there’s no discrimination in Christ’s body. The Word was demonstrated.

And the result of this was two fold. You had not only the multiplication of the Gospel, you had the multiplication of souls - the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly. It was not just a multiplication, but a great multiplication - by the gospel preached and modeled. When people heard the gospel and saw the care of the church for the people, when people knew there was really no discrimination, or that it had been repented of, they saw the gospel in action. And with more believers, there would’ve been more widows. And the apostles would’ve been busier in their preaching. The church was growing.

But what was incredible is the last part of verse 7 - a great company of priests were obedient to the faith. Their enemies were won over. These were among those who had just threatened the apostles, beat them, charged them not to preach. These were among those who were angry and split open in anger when the apostles commanded them to believe. But what happened now? They believed. Not just a few, but a great company. They were not obedient to the Word preached before; but when they saw the Word demonstrated, they became obedient. Remember one of the roles of the priests and Levites in the Old Testament was to keep and dispense money. They kept the trespass offering (Leviticus 5). They were given charge over the treasuries of the temple - the Corban (1 Chronicles 26:25-28), from which they would distribute money as alms and meat to the poor in Israel (1 Chronicles 31:11-19). But here, their work was being superseded by the deacons of the New Testament church - and even a Gentile convert doing this work. They obeyed the gospel because they saw the gospel lived out.

Dearly beloved, in what way can we apply this message? I think firstly, we have to be people who are far less indignant. There’s drama in the world already. Why do you want to add to the drama in the church? Are you suspicious, easily angered, and quick to read into situations? Wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality or hypocrisy. But often in church conflicts, others are not spiritual enough, not faithful enough, discriminatory, but we by our actions and words, demonstrate the very thing we are against. This is dangerous drama. And men of the church, this is what we are not supposed to be. Not just men, but especially men.

Secondly, perhaps this is timely, as we have been praying for officers to be nominated. As we pray, let’s pray for Spirit-filled, calm, wise, and reputable men to do the work of elders and deacons. We’ve mentioned several times; we don’t know how the Lord will lead us - but we have a ministerial student, one being attested, several others studying - and the Lord is adding to our number. There’s greater growth. Perhaps the Lord is calling one of you. If you’re nominated or approached, pray seriously and avail yourself. Or God is leading you to nominate a brother for office. Remember, it was the church that chose - they cared enough to unite to choose.

Thirdly, pray for your officers, yourselves, and the church. There’s a lot of drama nowadays - with COVID. Lots of things to adapt to. We can be very much distracted, diverted from the work of the ministry, and dealing with legitimate concerns and difficult knots to untie. This is also a call for you to serve God. In what way can you be serving the church that the ministry may be growing? How are you praying for the church? It is such an exciting thing to see - that God is growing the church and blessing the ministry of the Word - that through the work of the diaconate and people, we were amongst the first churches - as far as I can tell - to bring back people to physical worship, the only church to have an ART facility, etc. But these things are not to pat ourselves on our backs. These are the ways God has graciously worked through us. But as we know, when the church progresses, so will the attacks of Satan. Let us be aware of this. And let us watch and pray.

1. Indignation Can Lead to Dangerous Drama that Can Hurt the Church

A. When dangerous drama happened

B. Dissatisfaction led to indignant feelings and words

C. They suspected overworked human administrators of discrimination

2. Qualified Men Are Needed to Calm that Drama

A. The division of labor

B. The selection of reputed spiritual and wise men

C. The wisdom demonstrated by the church

3. When Dangerous Drama Is Calmed, the Church Will Grow

A. The Word of God spread

B. Souls multiplied greatly

C. Enemies were saved