Thursday, February 17, 2011

Was Barnabas Right? Part 2

One of the ugliest, least popular passages in the Bible talks about the immoral woman. It tells us in Proverbs 2:

18 For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life ---

A Christian who gets involved in immorality can be forgiven, cleansed, and used by God. But this passage teaches that he will never fully recover. There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that John Mark had been involved in immorality, but there is a principle here: certain sins can leave results that repentance does not remove.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Barnabas was Right--or was he?

Acts 15: 37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.
38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;

Today was the third time I have heard a sermon on "Barnabas was Right."

Acts 14:14 tells us that both Barnabas and Paul were apostles. On a previous journey, John Mark (author of the Gospel of Mark) had deserted them. Now, as they prepare for another journey, Barnabas wants to take Mark with them, and Paul refuses. After all they had been through together, and after all the great works that God had done through them, Paul and Barnabas separate in anger.

The Bible later tells us that Paul and Mark got reconciled, and that Mark also helped the Apostle Peter. Outside the Bible, history tells us that Mark brought Christianity to Alexandria, Egypt. So, is it true that Barnabas was right and Paul was wrong?

We'll be dealing with the painful subject of what to do when a Christian goes into major sin and repents. Forgive him, yes. But can you trust him? Should you trust him?