Stubborn Servants . . . Second Chances

Maybe there's been something done to you that you've just sort of tagged in your memory as unforgettable. Maybe there's a sin that haunts you that you have tagged unforgivable.

Take it from another apostle who knew what second chances were all about and learned something about the Lord. Learn something about His grace, that although the Lord has to deal here and here with stubborn servants, that He is a gracious Lord who is willing to give His children second chances. Have you ever been wronged and found it difficult to forgive? Situations like that can cause long-term resentment and difficult relationships. Disagreements are part of life. The question is not how can we avoid disagreements because we can't. The question is, how do we deal with disagreements when they occur? Today we go to our Vintage Wisdom Archives with a lesson from the Book of Acts where a disagreement took place in the early church. Stephen Davey will examine that account and show you a biblical process for conflict resolution.

This lesson is Stubborn Servants, Second Chances. We recently completed our study of the great decision by the Jerusalem Council in Acts chapter 15 as we continue to make our way through this book of action. That decision of the Jerusalem Council, if you were with us, you remember, defended the true definition of salvation, that it is faith in Christ alone apart from Mosaic ritual or regulation. However, we also discovered that the issue of circumcision of the Gentile believers was a divisive issue, and it was deeply felt throughout the ranks of the early church. It would continue to plague the church. In fact, this issue of circumcision would become a thorn in the side of Paul and sort of stay with him through his ministry. In fact, by the time you arrive at the epistle to the Galatians, you find Paul referring to this issue and to the people that have now sort of formed another denomination.

They are now known as the party of the circumcised. They will continue to try to mix Mosaic law with the gospel of grace in Christ alone. Now, when you come to the end of this chapter, which is where we left off last time we studied together around this book, we were rather surprised, at least I was, to discover that the controversy is no longer controversy in the church. It is now controversy on the personal realm or level of two very deep friends, dear friends, two men who had served together for two years, risking their lives, entering the mission field, being stoned, being rejected, literally fighting the good fight together are now deeply embroiled in this divisive issue. In fact, as I started studying the chapter that we've been in now for several weeks, I almost decided to just entitle the entire series, Locking Horns, because as a church, they locked horns over the issue.

We spent two times or two discussions in that. And now we see two people embroiled in a very personal and emotional disagreement. Whenever dealing with disagreement in the church, the issue is not so much the issue, but how you handle the issue. Let me show you where that's right out of the pages of the New Testament. Would you turn to 1 Corinthians 11?

You can kind of leave Acts for a little bit. We're going to do a long introduction and a short sermon. So just turn there. 1 Corinthians 11. Look at verse 17. Paul is writing a deeply divided church body. They're divided over petty things and significant things. He writes to them, but in giving this instruction, 1 Corinthians 11, 17, I do not praise you because you come together not for the better, but for the worse.

In other words, he says, whenever you guys get together, wow, it's for the worse, not for the better. For in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you. The word for divisions is schisma, which gives us our transliterated word, what? Schism. I hear there are schisms among you, and in part I believe it.

Now, this is where he kind of turns a corner that we don't expect him to turn. He said, for there must also be factions among you. There must also be factions? Now he changes the word from schism or schisma to iracist, which could be rendered differing opinions. No longer things that might deeply divide significant issues. Now these are just differing opinions, but he said there must be differing opinions. Well, why is that, Paul? In order that those who are approved may become evident among you.

Fascinating. In other words, when there's a church disagreement, all of us need to keep our ears open and our eyes open, watch and listen, because somebody is going to emerge, somebody's going to stand and speak, somebody's going to come alongside, somebody's going to do something that will reveal their maturity. They're going to reveal their ability to lead by their perspective. See, different opinions then are necessary, according to Paul, because they expose leadership, and one of the marks of leadership in this family and in your family is the ability to disagree agreeably. The ability to respect someone else's opinion while dealing with different opinions. So it's not just what you disagree about, it's how you disagree that's equally important.

Third, let me give you one other thought. Disagreement in the church doesn't automatically nullify opportunity, it may multiply it. And that's exactly what happens in Acts chapter 15. Let's actually go to Acts chapter 12 and set the stage for what would become a heated argument, an emotional issue between two very close friends, Paul and Barnabas. What is it that brought them to the point where they eventually said, that's it, I'm going this way and you're going this way?

What brought it to that point? Well, let's put some clues together. I think we could start with chapter 12 verse 25 because it introduces a third party that becomes the center of this controversy. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark. John Mark was the cousin of Barnabas, his mother was one of the many women named Mary in the New Testament and it was this particular Mary who opened her home, she was a wealthy woman, she opened her home to the early church in Jerusalem. In fact, it was in her home, and John Mark was there, when they had that prayer meeting for Peter who was in prison, you remember? God let him out of prison miraculously by way of an angel and he comes and he knocks on the door and the servant girl that lived there on the compound went and answered it and remember how she sort of disturbed their prayer meeting by telling them it had been answered and they didn't want to believe it had been answered, so they kept praying. Well, this is the home where John Mark was raised. He had a wonderful opportunity then to meet the apostles.

He had a wonderful opportunity to watch the early church as it grew and developed. And he evidently stood out a little bit taller than many of the other younger men because when it came time for Paul and Barnabas to choose a companion to kind of carry the luggage and help along the way, they chose this man, John Mark. Look across the page at chapter 13 and look at verse 13. Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia and John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

It was a short-lived trip and we just briefly touched on it, but the word returned is a rather kind word. It's a rather polite word written by Luke who now knows the rest of the story of John Mark and he seeks to sort of downplay it a little bit. It's the word that's changed by the Apostle Paul in chapter 15 to become the word apostasy. As far as the Apostle Paul is concerned, John Mark apostasized. That is, he left the faith that he never really had embraced.

It just looked like it. That's how Paul felt about it. So John Mark leaves this missionary team. Paul considers it desertion and, in fact, apostasy.

Now I want you to go to one other clue. Go to Galatians chapter 2. Is there anything else that could be going on in Paul and Barnabas' life, his friends, that could lead to this eruption, this dissolution of friendship, seemingly, something that would have to be patched up later? Well, in Galatians 2, you remember this is the passage where Paul rebukes Peter. Peter's been eating with the Gentiles. He's been enjoying all that good Gentile cooking as he realizes nothing is unclean, as we studied. But then some Jerusalem bigwigs came down and he, not wanting to lose faith and reputation with them, backed away from the Gentiles and he began to act like a hypocrite. He began to ignore the Gentile Christians. And so Paul comes on the scene and he rebukes to the face Peter. You remember that?

We studied it together. Well, Peter's hypocrisy really had full sway in that body and those believers around Antioch, and many people were caught up in this movement of hypocrisy. In fact, if you notice verse 13, it tells us that the rest of the Jews joined Peter in hypocrisy with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

That's enlightening. Now, we know that Barnabas later regained his balance and ultimately stood with Paul as he defended before the Jerusalem Council the inclusion of the Gentiles apart from circumcision. It was faith alone, so we know that that was short-lived. But at this particular moment in history, here's Paul and his teammate confronting hypocrisy, and what happens to his teammate? Where'd Barnabas go?

He joined all the others in their hypocrisy. And for a man like Paul, this was hard to swallow, and I could be wrong, but I happen to believe that there were probably some lingering doubts about Barnabas and certainly some lingering wounds. Okay, with that as introduction, let's go to Acts chapter 15 and pick up where we left off, verse 36. And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaim the word of the Lord.

Let's see how they are. Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with him also. And you kind of go, uh-oh. The word desirous, by the way, comes from the root bullae, which means he had made up his mind. This was his will to take him along. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had apostatized, who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

Now, stop just a moment before you go to the rest of this answer here. You've got to climb back into the first century scene and just try to imagine these two men who've made up their minds. Barnabas, the word is bullae. He has made up his mind. The same word that's used of God choosing you as one of his elect. He made up his mind. He then changed his mind. That tells us that Barnabas was not going to change his mind either. And Paul kept insisting. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another. It wasn't doctrine.

Paul didn't want to take John Mark. Barnabas did. The word translated disagreement is another interesting transliterated word. Paroxysm gives us that word. That word means a burst of emotion, a sharp contention, a strong disagreement. The Bible isn't really hiding anything here. In fact, it's one of the best proofs of divine inspiration that it doesn't sort of cloak the failures of its heroes.

These two men are in each other's face. And I think that with them there was no compromising, no negotiation. It was a matter of principle for Barnabas. It was a matter of principle for Paul.

You know, as you try to evaluate this paragraph, I think that they were both wrong in some ways. And yet in the providence of God, as I'll try to show you, they were both right. Paul believed that Mark was unreliable. He left us in the battle when we needed him. And isn't there a proverb that says in chapter 25 of Proverbs, putting confidence in an unreliable man is like chewing with a sore tooth or running on a broken foot?

John Mark is unreliable. Barnabas longed to give this young man another chance. He saw something in him that nobody else could see, and he was determined to give him a chance to prove himself. So, verse 39, we read Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord, and he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

See, in the ways of God, ladies and gentlemen, you have the creation of two teams now instead of one. Oh, it was two very different teams, different philosophies of ministry, different methods, different styles, different personalities. Barnabas was a world of difference from Paul. And John Mark would be far different than Silas, a Roman citizen who looked for a fight. In fact, he loved the struggle. It would be Paul and Silas in that prison in a chapter or so that are doing what? Singing.

Bring it on. That was Silas. Fit well with Paul. So you have the creation of these two teams, and Barnabas, by the way, with these last few verses, sails off the storyline of the New Testament.

He sails into obscurity. He's mentioned by Paul in a few verses, and it informs you that Paul and Barnabas patched things up. But yet you never read anymore of Barnabas's work or ministry. Legend tells us that Barnabas was killed by an angry mob not long after this as he declared the gospel to them.

But Barnabas's refusal to give up on John Mark finally paid off, long after, evidently, Barnabas had died. How do we know? Well, I want to turn the focus of our spotlight away from the argument of these two men, and let's look at the person who was right in the middle of it for a moment. Can you imagine being that person for just a moment? You're a young man that's been tagged by the great apostle as what?

A failure. And he is so impassioned about his feeling that he was willing to split from his close friend rather than take you along. Did he become angry, resentful? No, he evidently kept the path open toward Paul that would allow Paul to eventually travel back to him.

And I'll show you how. We don't have time to turn, I don't believe, but in Colossians chapter 4, it's in verse 10, and I think I've given you those verses in your notes. In Paul's letter to the Colossian believers, he mentions, as he does, you know, when he comes to the end of an epistle, just starts listing names, say hello to this person and hello to that one, and I need this book and I need that coat, and he does that kind of thing. And right in the middle of it, he says, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings, as does Barnabas's cousin, Mark. Now, as it relates to the instruction I've given you, Paul goes on to say, when he comes to you, welcome him.

Fascinating. This is 18 years after Acts chapter 15. Something happened in that 18-year period so that Paul would now tell the believers at Colossians, hey, by the way, you have somebody coming to you, and I want to give you a reference sheet on him, and I've signed off on it.

Have you ever done that for somebody? He's to be welcomed by you for ministry. Well, there's more. 2 Timothy chapter 4, and I'm doing this sort of chronologically as church history develops. You have Paul writing some of his last words. He told Timothy to come to him. Evidently, he was in Rome. He's about to be executed. And he tells Timothy that when you come to me, I want you to go by, and he doesn't tell us where, but I want you to swing by and pick up, guess who? John Mark. For he is useful to me in service.

Wow, isn't that great? We don't know what happened. We're not told. But something moved Paul to at one point say, John Mark is a failure. He is worthless to ministry, and I'm not going anywhere with him, and even if it means splitting up this team, he's not coming to the point where he is able to see, evidently, the life of John Mark as he had failed. He is now faithful where Paul is able to say, oh, I want you to bring him with me because he's so useful to me.

Did Barnabas' risk in this young man pay off? Well, have you ever thought about the fact that every time you open to the second Gospel in your Bible, it was authored by the cousin of Barnabas, John Mark? The Gospel of Mark. There's one more little clue in 1 Peter chapter 5, the last mention of John Mark's name.

In verse 13, you discover in this passage that Peter refers to John Mark as his, do you know, as his son. That's the same idea that Paul uses toward his son in the faith, Timothy. That is, he adopted someone that was not his biological son but became his spiritual son, and so Paul would mentor Timothy. Paul would disciple Timothy. Paul poured his life into Timothy.

Now we're given a clue of what's happened in all of these years. After Barnabas was killed, Paul looked at this young man and saw in him what Paul saw in Timothy. Barnabas saw in now John Mark, and Barnabas, or excuse me, Peter says, look, son, I want you to come under my wing. The apostle that knew what second chances were all about, Peter, is the one who now mentors this one who was given a second chance. Could there be any better mentor than Peter?

No. So Peter evidently poured his life into John Mark, and John Mark would later become Peter's mouthpiece. And many of the stories that you read in the Gospel by Mark were things that the Spirit guided him to write that he first heard from his mentor, the apostle Peter. In the war years, there was something called triage, I have read. Triage was that medical term that literally translated meant sorting out.

It was the practice of the medical community there in those makeshift tents and stick-built buildings near the front. When all of the wounded soldiers would come in, they would put the soldier through triage, that is, they would sort the soldiers, and they would tag them with one of three different color tags. One color tag meant hopeless. That meant that no matter how much that limited medical staff poured their limited time into that particular soldier, he was going to die. So they tried to make him as comfortable as they could, and they basically allowed that soldier to die. There was another color tag that meant hopeful, and that was the best-case scenario. That was the soldier that would live whether he received much medical attention or not, and so they didn't give him any attention either.

He's made him comfortable, and we'll get you out of here as soon as we can. Then there was that third category. He would be color tagged doubtful. That particular soldier and that color tag meant that without immediate medical assistance, he would die, but with medical assistance, they felt fairly confident that he would live. And so the medical staff would pour all of their time into this third category of people called doubtful. I read a story this past week about a soldier named Lou. He was brought into and through triage in the First World War, and he was tagged hopeless. He had been looked blown apart. He was bleeding internally, and externally one leg had been shattered, and he was a mess, and with a limited staff and supplies, they tagged him hopeless. One of the nurses happened to notice that he was conscious and went over and began talking to him as they sort of put him in an area of the makeshift rooms and basically made him comfortable, waited for him to die.

She went over to talk to him and discovered that he was from Ohio near where she was from, and they had some other similarities, and they knew some of the similar places geographically related to Ohio. And as she got to know him as a person, she just couldn't let him die. So that night she slipped back into the ward and risked her job and broke all the rules, and she changed his color tag from hopeless to doubtful. The next day he was placed with those other soldiers that would require and receive immediate medical attention.

He was taken by a truck to a better facility, and he eventually survived, and even though he did lose one leg, he was restored to good health, all because of a nurse who was willing to change his tag and give him immediate assistance. You know, as I read that story, you couldn't help but think, isn't that what we're supposed to do as a church? Be involved in changing people's tags? Maybe you're here this morning and your tag needs to be changed from unbeliever to believer, someone who has not placed their faith in Christ to someone who has received Christ as personal savior. Maybe you're here and there are areas where you have tags on your heart that need to be changed. You're a believer, but God needs to change some tags from uncommitted believer to committed believer, from prayerless Christian to prayer partner, from stingy self-centered believer to generous giving believer. Maybe you need this morning to ask God to give you the courage and grace to change some tags you've put on others. Maybe you've tagged a marriage hopeless. Maybe you've tagged a child unredeemable. Maybe there's been something done to you that you've just sort of tagged in your memory as unforgettable.

I'll never forget that. Maybe there's a sin that haunts you that you have tagged unforgivable. I want you to take it from a failure that even the great apostle had tagged as hopeless. Take it from another apostle who knew what second chances were all about and learn something about the Lord. Learn something about his grace, that although the Lord has to deal here and here with stubborn servants, that he is a gracious Lord who is willing to give his children second chances and third, fourth. The question is, will you and I be like John Mark, who in the midst and in spite of all of that contention was willing to get on another ship and set sail in ministry?

It's not always easy to follow the example we've seen today. But with God's grace, we know that it's the right and true way to live. I hope this time in God's Word has challenged and encouraged you.

You're listening to Wisdom for the Heart. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International. Today's lesson comes from our Vintage Wisdom Archives, a series from the Book of Acts. We have a companion study guide that goes along with this series. The study guide contains the transcript of Stephen's lesson, along with questions to help you dive deeper into each message. The series is called Acts Volume 2, and you'll find the study guide if you navigate to our online store. That's wisdomonline.org. When you get to the store, you'll be able to search for the study guide and you'll find Acts Volume 2 listed there.

It's available today at half price, so don't miss this opportunity. Our ministry is on social media, and that's a great way to stay informed and interact with us. Be sure and like our Facebook page to get updates. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram. We post our daily Bible messages on our YouTube channel, so be sure and subscribe to Wisdom International on YouTube. We'd love to interact with you on those platforms. Visit our social media pages today and join our online community. In the days ahead, Stephen will continue through this Vintage Wisdom series. He first preached this series back in the mid-1990s, but we're airing it now because the truth of God's word is just as relevant today. Be sure and come back next time to continue with us on Wisdom for the Heart. Thank you for watching!