Acts 11:22-24 (ESV Strong's)
The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
Truth: Faith in Christ demands faith with a steadfast purpose.
This chapter (11) begins with the Jewish Christians in the church questioning Peter going to the Gentiles to eat with them. In reality, Peter was sent by God to present the Gospel message to the Gentiles. As a result of Peter's work, the Spirit of God fell on the Gentiles and they were added to the church. The Jewish believers came to a better understanding of God's purpose: To save the world. In the above passages we are told that Barnabas goes to the believers in Antioch and begins to build them up in the faith. He does so by exhorting them all to remain faithful to the Lord and do so with steadfast purpose. Having a purpose driven life is a key to remaining faith. The world has many types of purpose they pursue. They often, foolishly, pursue the purpose of wealth, power and influence. God wants our purpose to be what His purpose is about. His purpose is about reaching the world with the message of His love and sacrifice. Our purpose is often winning, obtaining, gaining and/or conquering. When we are in faith to Christ we are aligned with His purpose. We are to, like Barnabas, exhort the believers in our midst to follow hard after God's purpose.
No comments:
Post a Comment