Acts 11

Beware of the legalistic heart that says after hearing about Gentiles being saved from hell to heaven, how dare you walk into a gentile’s house. It is good that they come around after hearing how clearly God was working and how Peter was being led through the whole thing, but it’s sad that he would have share this in the sense of defending his actions. Not that ends justify the means, but we also don’t want to strain at gnats while we are swallowing camels. And how neat that they had seen the importance/acceptance of sharing the gospel to gentiles in Antioch. And it never hurts to send someone to a place where something new is being done to check it out, but hopefully Barnabas didn’t go with a suspicious eye. From what the rest of Acts says about him, being more of an encourager, it seems he was the best person to send. That he was filled with the Spirit and sensitive to His leading is the most important characteristic. And the Spirit is apparently leading when Barnabas goes and gets Paul and brings him to Antioch. They had met in Jerusalem in chapter 9 and the Spirit knew the powerful ministry they would have together. How important for every church to be operating in evangelism and the gifts of the Spirt. How clear it must have been in the way God was working there and Jesus was being exalted, that they had to call these people something different. Christian, ones of or related to Jesus, sounds really good!