Acts 6:1-7
What’s the Problem?

I. Finding the Problem Helps Solving It
1. Finding out what the problem is goes a long way to solving it. A mechanic needs to find the problem.
2. In health care find the “diagnosis” can lead to a cure or at least alleviate the problem.
3. What’s the problem with the church? Not “relevant”, too worldly? Or not Biblical?
4. The virus that is the source of all the symptoms is individualism and consumerism.
5. It makes many church-going people numb to idea that this passage assumes — the idea of the church.
II. The Problem: Division (6:1)
1. Here believers are “disciples”, people disciplined to follow Jesus in their daily lives.
2. There’s a division. The Hellenists complain against the Hebrews. It wasn’t race. It was culture.
3. Race is only a divider if our culture makes it one. But culture is a major divider.
4. Luke is saying that Hellenistic widows really were being neglected. It was a fact, not just a perception.
5. “Neglected” implies that it wasn’t deliberate, because of purposeful discrimination or hostility.
6. They don’t talk to them much since their most comfortable with different languages.
7. When they distributed food, they couldn’t think of the Greeks. They forgot about their widows.
8. When we don’t relate, we don’t think about each other. And so it’s out of mind, out of sight.
III. The Proposal: Distraction (6:2)
1. It appears some were proposing that the Apostles take over the distribution of the food themselves.
2. The Apostles calling is to preach the Word of God and so they don’t have time for this problem.
3. It’s an important ministry. It’s just not theirs. “It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word”.
4. Some people today think that the pastor should do it. Obstinate, unreasonable demand the pastor do it.
5. Here, they understand that they are a church; a body. They stay together and work things out.
6. The ministry of the Word takes time. If you want it done well, consistently, it will take time to study, etc.
IV. The Solution: Diaconate (6:3-6)
1. The solution is the diaconate, the office of deacon. Forms of “deacon” are used in verses 1, 2, and 4.
2. “Team work makes the dream work. We are a team on a mission.
3. In this culture, many want to be the guy talking in the spot light; few want to be a “deacon.”
4. We need people who are part of the team, who want to help others do the ministry of the Word.
5. A real deacon should be (1) “of good repute”; (2) “full of the Spirit”; and (3) also full of “wisdom”.
6. The diaconate would be the solution to the problem of division without giving them a distraction.
7. They appoint seven men to this new office. All the names are Greek. One of them, is even a proselyte.
8. They decided that to ensure that minorities aren’t being overlooked, choose people from the minority.
9. They knew that preserving unity is more important than my entertainment.
V. The Result: Development (6:7)
1. The result of the solution was the development of the Word of God growing.
2. We usually talk about numbers. Here, it’s “the Word of God” that is increasing.
3. Before, disciples were being added. Now they are being multiplied.
4. Even, a “great many of the priests became obedient to the faith”. They were “jealous” before (Acts 5.)
5. Priests have the most to lose by believing in Jesus because Jesus has now put them out of business.
6. Jesus offered Himself as the final, sufficient sacrifice. He’s the high priest, so we don’t need priests.
7. Why did many priests chose to believe what wasn’t in their selfish interests to believe?
8. Now the church proved, by including people who weren’t in their orbit, that they weren’t selfish.
VI. Invitation: The church decided that even if they aren’t my kind of people, they’re of a different culture they’re part of the family of God, the Body the Christ; that it’s not about me and my interests. It’s about Jesus, about those He bought with His own blood. Maybe the priests saw that and realized that if they can put Jesus ahead of their self-interests so can I. Do you see that?