We received an email communication from a man named Joe. He is a member of the First Christian Church. He has been using the Internet to search for “people of like-minded faith.”<\/p>\n
In his letter, Joe explains what he sees as the necessary conditions before he can call someone his “brother.”<\/p>\n
“If you have obeyed the plan of salvation (and still are) you are a Christian. That doesn’t mean that I must agree with everything <\/b>you believe or vice-versa… Didn’t Paul and Barn\u00adabas disagree?” As a specific, he mentions music in worship: “I do not believe that it is an issue which should be a test of fellowship. Our congregation uses instruments…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Is it fair to use the case of Paul and Barnabas to justify our present disagreements over instrumental music and other such doctrinal issues? You’ll recall that their argument centered on the question of including John Mark on their second missionary trip. Barnabas, who was a near relative to John Mark, wanted to include him but Paul objected. This was due to the fact that John Mark had deserted them on their first trip (Acts 15:36-41).<\/p>\n
Please note that this disagreement did not<\/strong>\u00a0involve a single issue of doctrine. There was nothing <\/b>mentioned concerning what had been taught in the past or what would be taught in the future. And, even though they discontinued their working partnership, there is no indication that their teaching or practice ever <\/b>differed on even one single item.<\/p>\n
We hear more and more people who want to justify a ‘glossing over’ of religious differences by referencing the case of Paul and Barnabas. A simple examination of the text shows that to do so is a clear misuse of the Scriptures.<\/p>\n
Joe says that he is not interested in “constantly debating issues which I believe are matters of opinion.” The problem, of course, is that it is his opinion that something like instrumental music is a ‘matter of opinion.’ Who gave Joe (or anyone else) the right to determine such things? The only solution is to carefully follow the Word of God as our complete and only authority (Colossians 3:17).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Greg Gwin We received an email communication from a man named Joe. He is a member of the First Christian Church. He has been using the Internet to search for “people of like-minded faith.” In his letter, Joe explains what he sees as the necessary conditions before he can call someone his “brother.” “If…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[78,329,817,1200,253,292,118],"class_list":["post-58603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-authority","tag-barnabas","tag-christian-church","tag-disagreements","tag-fellowship","tag-instrumental-music","tag-paul"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42291,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/be-a-barnabas\/","url_meta":{"origin":58603,"position":0},"title":"Be a Barnabas","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant We are familiar with Paul's companion in some of his travels. He is first mentioned in Acts 4:36: \"Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement).\" What a great description of Paul's brother\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84199,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-men-hold-a-monopoly-on-the-business-meeting\/","url_meta":{"origin":58603,"position":1},"title":"Do Men Hold a Monopoly on the Business Meeting?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dale Smelser via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 13, No. 4, December 21, 1987 Several articles by me recently on elders, deacons, and business meetings have led to numerous questions about women attending business meetings. I have noted that the business meeting does not have oversight. We cannot substitute another system\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68146,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-barnabas-encouraged-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":58603,"position":2},"title":"How Barnabas Encouraged Others","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59949,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/letters-of-commendation\/","url_meta":{"origin":58603,"position":3},"title":"Letters of Commendation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The question is not about coming to Christ and being added to His one universal body. The Lord adds to that church (Acts 2:47). But, the Lord does not add us to a particular local congregation. We have to \"join\" those local disciples (Acts 9:26). There\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/son-of-encouragement\/","url_meta":{"origin":58603,"position":4},"title":"Son of Encouragement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Hebrews :7-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Scriptures tell us of an interesting man \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His name was Joseph and he was from the island of Cyprus, though he was a Jew -- a Levite in particular. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0No one remembers him by his true name, everyone calls him by his nickname. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBar\u201d =\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7215,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-i-do-about-a-person-who-harmed-me-but-hasnt-asked-for-forgiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":58603,"position":5},"title":"What should I do about a person who harmed me but hasn’t asked for forgiveness?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A brother had some time ago committed sin indirectly and has yet to apologize or ask for forgiveness. I had expected him to help with our youth program and he was very instrumental in it. We had a special night and he reneged. 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