Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.
So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Infighting can cripple an organization. I have seen this happen over and over again: a non-profit wildlife organization with a power struggle, a church with a false doctrine issue, a family-owned business where personal relationship tensions from outside of work are hashed out on the production floor.

What typically starts it all is envy or pride. Pride in thinking one is better than the other, and envy in wanting the power and position others have. And usually, the best response is a measured and controlled one.

When false doctrine enters Christ’s church, it is very destructive. Why? Because it is a deception of lies masquerading as the truth. And if this is held up by leadership, then the people in the church who have left lives under control of the Prince of Lies, Satan, are confused and tempted to return to their old, sinful ways. Most of these false doctrines center around money, power, or control. After all, if the church is not materially different from the world, then why should people stay?

What we have here is a systematic process for stamping out false doctrine: 1) Paul and Barnabas vehemently opposed it, 2) they appealed to overall church leadership, and 3) they got together with cool minds and made their case.

These attacks from within can feel like a knife stab in the back. But God has a plan for these too. After all, he has been dealing with interpersonal relationship issues for a few thousand years. And his plan is to work through his people in most cases. So, we exhaust every effort available to work out these issues through the church leadership first. Then, if that does not work and they persist in teaching false doctrine, we publicly denounce it. This should be a last resort. We must first try to, with cool minds, allow God’s Spirit to impress upon others the truth.

Lord, thank you for this model on how to strategically and with love snuff out false doctrine in the church. Help me to be alert and question every teaching that holds itself up against the authority of scripture.