In a previous blog, I wrote about the great benefit for new believers to have a man like Barnabas in their lives – a man who will not only encourage but exhort and inspire believers to live purposeful and intentional lives for the Lord.
In this blog, I’d like to point out another exemplary character trait of this godly man.
Detailing the account of Barnabas ministering to new believers at Antioch, Luke says of Barnabas that “… he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord” (Acts 11:24).
It’s interesting how Barnabas is described.
Here is a man who has no official title or official capacity within the church. He was not a deacon. There were only a handful of them who had been carefully chosen in Acts 6. Nor was he an apostle, those men who were looked to as the leaders in the early church.
Yet, he is described as a “good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.”
With this description, Luke puts Barnabas in the company of the likes of godly and courageous Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Stephen was described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 6:5).
We meet Barnabas in Acts 4, where we learn he sold off some of his personal property to meet the needs of his fellow believers (Acts 4:37).
He appears again in Acts 9 where he interceded between the Jerusalem church and the formerly murderous, but newly converted Paul.
Paul wanted desperately to meet with the disciples, but “they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). Evidently, Barnabas was the only one with enough foresight and courage to speak on Paul’s behalf and bring the two together (Acts 9:27).
The name Barnabas means, “son of consolation,” “son of comfort,” or “son of encouragement,” and certainly his character lived up to his name.
I believe that Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recorded the description of Barnabas in vs 24 because his character is inseparably linked to the closing words of the same verse where we read “and much people was added to the Lord.”
In other words, because of his life, because of his encouragement, because of his honesty with them, because of his exhortation, many more decided to trust Jesus.
People saw in Barnabas a man whose actions substantiated the faith he claimed in words. They saw in him something real – not mere rhetoric, but a reality.
Great harm is brought to the church, and great detriment to evangelism, because there are so many professing believers who claim one thing in words but demonstrate something completely contrary in action.
But that was not Barnabas. The people could see that this man was real. They saw that his walk matched his words.
As John Phillips put it: “We can all take exhortation from a man whose whole life exhibits the principles he expounds.”
We all know what it’s like to receive criticism, guidance, or instruction from someone who neglects to display the very standards they propose. It’s hypocrisy and it’s very difficult for the recipient to take it seriously. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual matters.
As a pastor, I often remind our congregation, and myself, that people are watching those of us who claim the name of Christ.
We may not know they are watching, but they are watching, and they want to see if what we claim we believe really influences the way we live. They want to know if it’s real.
Folks are watching us to see if our actions match our words. They want to see how we react in the good times, how we react in the bad times, and all the time in between.
They saw with Barnabas that he was a man they could trust and get behind, and thus many more were added to the Lord.
Later on, Barnabas would travel to Tarsus to find the Apostle Paul to assist him with ministry in Antioch. Those two men, living out before their hearers what they expressed and taught with their mouths, so transformed that pagan city that believers were given a new name: “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26).
What a testimony!
Please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t mean to suggest that we are going to have to be perfect.
However, it should be abundantly clear that, despite our fallen nature, we are striving daily to be more like our Lord. Our lives should substantiate the faith we claim.
Christians can, and should, live a life before a lost world that makes people point to them and say, “Whatever they have is real, and whatever they have, I want to learn more about.”
