He Was Carried Away
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I. Introduction:
A. We are warned, in various ways, of the possibility of falling away from the faith (Luke 8:9-15, Galatians 5:4, and Revelation 2:1-7).
- The purpose of lessons, such as these, is for us to be mindful that none of us are above the possibility of apostasy (I Corinthians 10:1-13).
- We’d all do well to be as hardworking and careful as men such as the Apostle Paul were (I Corinthians 9:24-27).
- There is a point of no return (Hebrews 10:26-31) and that point is not up to us to determine (James 4:11-12).
- There are errors that brethren will attempt to aid with (Galatians 6:1-2) and those wherein we won’t (Titus 3:9-11).
- At the end of the day, if one falls from the faith they should not pull a Judas (Matthew 27:3-5).
- For more on those thoughts see: https://www.wordsoftruth.net/january122020article.html; https://www.wordsoftruth.net/january052020article.html; https://www.wordsoftruth.net/december292019article.html
II. Body: Galatians 2:11-14
A. Barnabas was, on several occasions, a chosen laborer in the kingdom (Acts 11:19-30, Acts 13:1-1-4, and Acts 15:22; Acts 15:35).
- He was there from the beginning and was self-less in giving to the saints (Acts 4:32-37).
- He was influential in Saul’s [aka Apostle Paul; Acts 13:9] being accepted by the saints (Acts 9:26-31).
- He wasn’t afraid to uphold the truth, even in the face of certain persecution (Acts 13:46-50).
- He was unwilling to be exalted (Acts 14:8-18).
- He once stood against the errors that carried him away (Acts 15:1-6).
- The word translated “dissembled”: “To act hypocritically in concert with: — dissemble with; To dissemble with; to act hypocritically with (Strong’s # 4942). This word only appears in this passage.
- The word translated “dissimulation”: “acting under a feigned part, i.e. (figuratively) deceit (“hypocrisy”): — condemnation, dissimulation, hypocrisy. An answering; an answer the acting of a stage player; dissimulation, hypocrisy” (Strong’s # 5272). Cf. Matthew 23:28, Mark 12:15, Luke 12:1, I Timothy 4:2, and James 5:12 [condemnation].
- We know hypocrisy is sinful and crippling for one attempting to do the Lord’s work (Romans 2:1-29 and Romans 12:9).
- … By others (Hebrews 13:9).
- … By ourselves (II Peter 3:15-17).
III. Conclusion: Keep GROWING to avoid falling away (II Peter 1:3-11).
© 1999-2020 Brian A. Yeager