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. Acts 6:1
Some sources indicate that there are as many as 43,000 different so-called Christian denominations in the world. Even if we consider that that number includes listings of independent church groups as denominations, that number is astounding! For example, many thousands of that number include the various types of Baptists, who are undoubtedly the most fractured denomination in the world. Other denominations have various sub-groups, offshoots, break-aways, and dissidents of all kinds. It is obvious to any right-thinking person that God never intended His people to be so divided up and fractured. The state of Christendom today cannot possibly be the will of the Lord Jesus, who commanded His followers to love one another and to serve one another. What could possibly have caused such a diverse listing of so-called Christians? I believe it all started, and continued, with the problem that is identified in today’s text.
The biggest problem in our text is not the neglecting of the widows, although that was surely a grave issue. Once these women were saved, they were cut off from the support they could normally expect from the Jewish society, which provided very well for widows and others in need. The Assembly had taken over the duty of providing for the widows’ needs, but if any were neglected, they went hungry. Such an oversight was well worth making a complaint about. Filing a complaint about such an oversight is not a sin. But grumbling about it is, and that is what the Grecian Christians were doing. The word for murmuring is the word for grumbling, and wherever it is used in Scripture, it is always identified as a sin. For example, the Israelites murmured, or grumbled, against Moses in the wilderness, and God dealt severely with them. Now we see grumbling cropping up in the very early days of the Jerusalem Assembly. If it was a sin in the Old Testament days, it is also a sin in the New Testament days. If these people had a complaint, they should have taken constructive action rather than grumble. Grumbling is the natural thing to do, not the spiritual thing to do. It could have caused great havoc in the Jerusalem Assembly. And it is surely causing great havoc among the Lord’s people today.
Grumbling, or murmuring, involves hard feelings against others, and hard words to express those feelings. Instead of taking constructive action to resolve an issue, grumblers tear down others and build up walls of separation. Most divisions among Christians are a result of personality clashes – undergirded by grumbling – than they are a result of doctrinal issues. The doctrinal issues come later. Cliques develop among our Assemblies as some view others as getting unfair advantage, and grumble about it. Assemblies have divided over such things. Can we ever say that is right?
Every grumble is a sin. And every grumble has a better alternative. -Jim MacIntosh