I've said justice is when we get what we do deserve. Mercy is when we do not get what we do deserve. And grace is getting what we don't deserve. And God's been good in all three areas, has he not? Thank God for that. Stand with me, if you will, as we read Acts chapter 11. Turn your Bibles with me, please, to Acts chapter 11. And this morning, Lord willing, we will close out this chapter through our study of the book of Acts and much to cover because things are shifting gears, if you will, at the point we're at in the text. We've been looking at Acts chapter 10 up through Acts chapter 11, verse 18, concerning Cornelius, concerning Peter, concerning Peter going to Cornelius, concerning the gospel being open to the Gentiles. that God has really opened that door of the gospel of grace to the Gentiles. And that is continuing to take place, but now there's a shift. And when we come to verse 19, the focus is turned somewhat. And so there's some things we need to look at this morning. We're going to read the text and then I will spend a little bit of time bringing us back to the point we are, connecting us back to, if you will, the passage that has that we left to come to chapter 10 with Cornelius and following. So, we're going to catch up, if you will, back in verse 19 and then we'll read and continue through the text this morning. So, Acts chapter 11 and beginning in verse 19. Now, they which were scattered abroad. Now remember, this goes back to those Jews out of Jerusalem and such after the persecution and the murder, martyrdom of Stephen. So, this is now going right back to that, back in Acts chapter 9. And so he said now that they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Athenus and Cyprus and Antioch preaching the word to none but unto but none unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene which when they were come to Antioch spake unto the Grecians preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was up with them, and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem. And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, that's the church at Antioch, and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Now that's an important statement that's made, and we're going to look at that this morning quite extensively, so keep that in mind. You might want to even underline that as we go through this text this morning. Verse 27, And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch, and there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas. Let's pray. Father, again, we approach You this morning thanking You for the great privilege to stand and to read, proclaim the truth of Your Word. And we ask this morning, Lord, that Your Spirit might take Your truth and may it permeate our very hearts. May Your Spirit use the Word today to penetrate the heart of every individual here this morning. May those, Lord, if there are those that are here that know not Christ, I pray that Your Spirit may draw them to the Lord Jesus. And as well, for we who are believers, Lord, may we be strengthened in the Word of God. May we be strengthened in the truth of the living God. And we pray that all this may be done to Your glory, to Your honour. Lord, as well, may we examine ourselves this morning as You've commanded us to in Your Word. And Lord, may every individual here examine their own hearts to see that they be in the faith. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you and be seated. Verse 26 of this chapter, as I emphasized a moment ago, makes a statement, a significant statement in verse 26 when it says, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. There are only two other verses in the whole of Scripture, you might find this interesting, that use this word. And that is in Acts chapter 26 and verse 28, it says, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And then in 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 16, Peter writes some years later and says, If a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. And here's what you find. In both Acts and in Acts chapter 11 and in Acts chapter 26, as we'll look at in a moment, this title or this name Christian is placed upon believers, is tagged to believers by those without or those outside of the faith. By the time Peter writes his epistle, Peter now says, if a man suffer as a Christian. So by that time that Peter wrote his epistle, the title Christian, the name Christian had become one that the believers had embraced as being called a Christian as they would a disciple or a believer, a follower of Christ, which is what it means. And so they had embraced it by the time that Peter writes his epistle. But in Acts, That was not a name that was self-professed, and that's very important. It's important for you to understand that and we'll see the significance of that more so through this text this morning. It's also imperative for us to note that believers did not come up with this title and they did not ask others to call them by this title. Neither did they, as we mentioned, self-profess it, but it was applied to them by those without Christ, those who were not followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this was a title that would have most likely been given to believers by Gentiles. One of the reasons is when you look at there at Antioch and the church at Antioch. And of course, this is where they are first called Christians. And the title Christian means literally a follower of Christ. And so that's what they tagged them as. The term would have been given to those who were viewing believers, as we mentioned, from an outside perspective. So they were looking in upon the church going, that's a Christian. And they marked them because they were followers of Christ. This passage provides us, this text this morning provides us vital information concerning the church and the events that transpired prior to this title being given to those who were the followers of Christ. Our text begins by focusing our attention back to the persecuted church. Now that's important because remember chapter 10 transitioned to Peter with Cornelius and all this taking place up to chapter 11, 18. So now in verse 19 we find another transition back to Acts chapter 9, if you will, in that area with what had all taken place with Paul being saved or Saul being saved on the road to Damascus, how he was persecuted in the church prior to that, Peter had been stoned, I mean Stephen had been stoned, had been martyred, and so all this has transpired and now we come back to that, back to those that were spoken of prior to Cornelius and the gospel being introduced to the Gentiles, or at least the door of grace being opened to the Gentiles through Peter and Cornelius as we've seen over the last several weeks. And so now we come to the text and it focuses our attention back to the persecuted church. Look at verse 19 again. Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Theban traveled as far as Phenis and Cyprus and Antioch preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. Now, there are three things for us to consider from this verse. Now, some of this is going to help catch us back up to the text this morning, to what we really are going to be looking at. So, just bear with me and follow along, if you will, with me, because it's going to help you have a better understanding once we get to the real meat of the message, if you will. We find that the persecuted believers first, out of verse 19, three things to notice. The first is that the persecuted believers were scattered abroad. That's what the Scripture says. They which were scattered abroad. Now, As we previously discovered, the first chapters of Acts that the scattering abroad, although due to the persecution of enemies of the gospel, was nothing less than the means the Lord used to propagate the gospel. If you go back to chapter eight, chapter nine, you found when the church came under persecution that the church was scattered. And the statement that they were scattered abroad, being scattered abroad, scattered is a verb. And so that's action. But it's interesting because it's used in the passive tense. And you say, what significance is that? Here's what it means. that they, which were scattered abroad, they were being acted upon by another. It's not that they scattered, but they were being scattered abroad. And if you remember, the term scattered abroad literally means to disperse. And abroad means foreign lands. And so the scripture is saying that they were dispersed in foreign lands. But they did not do this. It was done unto them. But it's not the persecution that did it. It's God who did it. God scattered them abroad through means of persecution. He scattered them abroad, or if you will, He sowed them, literally, in other lands. And that's what the Scripture is saying here. So, this specific incident, it is God who is scattering abroad. It is God who is dispersing abroad into foreign lands the believers, the disciples. Not the apostles, but the disciples, those who were following Christ. Secondly, in verse 19, it's interesting to note that not only were they scattered abroad, it says that they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenix, Cyprus and Antioch. But then the next phrase is this preaching the word. So not only were these disciples scattered abroad, but they were preaching the word, as indicated in the previous chapters of Acts. The church was not scattered due to fear, but they were scattered out of necessity. that the word of God reach into Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. In Acts chapter 8, verse 4, the scripture says, therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Now this is interesting because the very, now the enemy has one thing in mind, that's always the case, but remember God is overall, he's king of kings, he is lord of lords, he is the creator of all things. And so though the enemy has one thing in mind, We see the true power of God displayed in that His plan and His purpose and His authority overrules all the efforts and attempts of the enemy, though it may not appear to at the moment, it does. He always does. And what we find in this text is that while the enemy meant to kill the believers, that's what Saul wanted to do. Remember, he wanted to put an end to this Christianity. In the name of God, they wanted to do it. Because Judaism, this is anti-Judaism. Christianity and Judaism do not mix. And so it's as though they want to silence Christianity. They've already killed Christ. Now they want to silence all believers. And the effort of the enemy is to do that. But notice what happens. It says that they were scattered, wrought in Acts 8-4, went everywhere preaching the Word. So the very attacks of the enemy simply were used by God to further His work through the spreading of the Word. Now, it's always interesting how the Lord will use the very thing that the enemy intended to use to hinder or to bring to an end his work to further his work. And this is true throughout the scriptures. We find just a couple of examples or a few here for you. First of all, the temptation of Eve in the garden. When Eve fell to sin and Adam fell to sin, we would say, oh, look what Satan did, the enemy did. But do we not remember that all this was in the redemptive plan of God, and He allowed them to sin? God's not the tempter, and He tempts no man, and He is not tempted, and God is not the author of sin. But God did allow man to sin for this purpose, that he might be glorified through his redemptive purposes in Jesus Christ. So what the enemy meant as bad as harm to hinder the work and plan of God was simply fulfilling the plan of God. Ultimately, present day persecution upon the church. There are those not only there's always some form of persecution upon the church, but specifically in foreign lands today, there are believers in other parts of the world that are literally being slain for the faith. They're being put to death or in prison for the faith. And the enemy continues to attempt to stop the work of God. Yet the Lord providentially works above all the attacks to fulfill his purpose concerning the persecution of the present day church. What the enemy uses to destroy the Lord uses to purge his church. Persecution often is a means whereby the church is purged. Not only is it purified from those who would simply profess Christ, who do not know him, but it's also purified in those that do know Christ are cleansed from a multitude of distractions, often through persecution. So see what the enemy would use to detour the work of God and to hinder the work of God, God uses to complete his work, to perfect his work, to fulfill his work. And then the greatest example of all, of course, is the cross of Christ. This is the supreme example of this truth. While Satan thought he had gained a victory at the death of Christ, it was his death that perfected the redemptive plan of God. And so in Christ, here Satan is attacking the Son of God and slaying the Son of God through the wicked hands of men. And yet all this was according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, as Peter said in Acts chapter 2. And so all this was according to the purpose and plan of God. And yet the enemy says, we're going to stop this. We're going to put an end to this, Jesus. We're going to put an end to truth. And yet what Satan did not and could not understand is the very attacks against Christ were the fulfillment of all the prophecy of the Old Testament. And through the death and burial and resurrection and ascension of Christ, we are redeemed. So God's plan is being fulfilled. Then thirdly, in verse 19, the Word was preached only to the Jews. So the preaching of the Word took place, but notice the emphasis, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only. Now, in the previous 18 verses and chapter 10, what's the focus been? It's been placed on the Gentiles. The grace of God is being opened to the Gentiles. The Gentiles are becoming a part of the Church, a part of the body of Christ. But now, in verse 19, we transition back to the Jews, and we see that the Jews are that the disciples of Christ are still preaching, but they're preaching only to the Jews. Now, this is important in that it helps us to better understand that the majority of the church had yet to have heard and understand that God had given grace to the Gentiles. They weren't aware of this yet. So they're still focusing on the Jews. And this, of course, would really begin to take root and blossom through the ministry of Paul, who is called to be the apostle to the Gentiles. So although the Gentiles received the word, the outreach to the Gentiles by the church in large was really very limited at this point in time. Yet as chapter 10 of Acts tells us, the Lord had already been working among the Gentiles. He's already opened the door of grace unto the Gentiles. And this chapter continues explaining how God was extending His grace to the Gentiles. Now there were two churches the Lord was using in fulfillment of His Gentile mission at this point in time. And, of course, the first is that of the church of Jerusalem. The church of Jerusalem was the birthplace of the church. And we're looking back to Jerusalem because this is where all this has taken place. The threatenings of Saul, the persecution that came upon Stephen, the death of Stephen, all this took place as a result of the church in Jerusalem. And so now the focus is going back towards those that came from Jerusalem who are even still in Jerusalem. And so we find that it was from the church of Jerusalem that the gospel went out to Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. Remember, if you will, Acts chapter 8 verse 1. Acts chapter 8 verse 1, if you've not been with us and heard this, is really the outline for the book of Acts. The Bible itself gives us an outline for the entire book. In Acts chapter 8 verse 1, I'm sorry, chapter 1, verse 8, it says this, So in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, you find the actual outline for the entire book. First of all, I'm going to propagate the gospel in Jerusalem, Jesus says. You're going to do that. I'm going to work through you. Then we're going to go into Judea, and then we're going to go into Samaria, and then we're going to go into the uttermost parts of the earth. The gospel will continue. That's the outline. And we've seen that thus far, because of the first few chapters of Acts, the gospel, even by testimony of the religious Pharisees and Jews, if you remember, they said, your doctrine has filled Jerusalem. Well, there's the fulfillment. The gospel has been preached all in Jerusalem. And what happened? As soon as that happened, then persecution comes, real persecution comes, and the church begins to spread. And where does it go? Into Judea and into Samaria. And then in Acts chapter 13, you'll see where Paul goes into the uttermost parts of the earth. So there's your outline for the book of Acts. But in Acts 8, 1, you find the beginning of the fulfillment of Acts 1, verse 8. So if you look at Acts 8, verse 1, it says, And Saul was consenting unto his death, and at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem. Now look at what it says, And they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of where? Judea and Samaria. He said in Acts 1-8, you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, of me in Jerusalem, unto Judea, unto Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Well, the and doesn't come until chapter 13. But in chapter 13, the and becomes a reality because Paul then goes out of the church of Antioch into the Gentile world, carrying the gospel, preaching the gospel. While the church was scattered, the Lord providentially kept the majority of the apostles centered in Jerusalem. Now why would the Lord do that? Because it says, notice with me in Acts 8.1, I'm sorry, yes, Acts 8.1, it says that they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. So that's saying that the apostles remained in Jerusalem. But the disciples, those followers of Christ, they were spread, they were scattered abroad all throughout the regions. Now this would be beneficial for at least two reasons. First of all, it left a very strong gospel witness in Jerusalem, because the apostles were still proclaiming the gospel. Because all Jerusalem had been filled with the doctrine of Christ, but all Jerusalem had not been saved by the grace of God. And so there's still a gospel witness that was present in Jerusalem that God providentially kept there, and it was the apostles. And by the way, What a wonderful thing that God allowed the apostles to stay in Jerusalem because these are the ones who were eyewitnesses of Christ. They had been taught personally by Christ. They were grounded in the truth of Christ. And so they would not be swayed by the convincing of those without trying to convince them or persuade them otherwise. And then secondly, it's important that the disciples or apostles were left in Jerusalem because it provided a location in which the other churches, as they began to become a reality in other regions, they had a central location they could seek spiritual wisdom and truth from the apostles. And there's really, I don't think, a better example of that than in Acts chapter 15, and I won't take time to read that, but Acts chapter 15, verses 1 through 4, you'll find that there was a council in Jerusalem when the church is sent to Jerusalem, Paul, Barnabas, and also you'll find that Peter, of course, was there as one of the apostles, and there was a council and a discussion that went on, but it had to hash out some spiritual truth. And so it gave them a location where that could be done, where they could get to the truth of the matter and the truth would be proclaimed and maintained. People would continue in the truth. But then you find the second church, which is significant in the propagating of the gospel to the Gentiles, is the church at Antioch. The church at Antioch would become the church primarily used by the Lord in reaching the Gentiles, because it was out of Antioch that Paul and Barnabas were sent as missionaries. In Acts chapter 13, Verses 1 through 3, it tells us, now they were in the church that was at Antioch, certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas and Simeon, that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manian, which had been brought up with Herod, the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereinto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away. And so what we see here is that Saul and Barnabas were sent out as missionaries from the church of Antioch, which the church of Antioch is only a reality because of the church of Jerusalem. So God has used the church of Jerusalem and sent those from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, which then they go into Antioch. And in Antioch, then the gospel goes from Antioch into all the world. And so do you see the progression here of what is taking place throughout the Book of Acts? From this viewpoint, the Scriptures, of the Scriptures, we discover that both the church at Jerusalem and the church at Antioch had their place in God's plan of the Gospel reaching the Gentiles. And the Scripture tells us, and now we'll get to the message this morning, the Scripture tells us in verse 26, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. Now what is it about these disciples in Antioch that earned them the title Christian. When I say earned them, I don't mean merited grace. I'm talking about that the outsiders would look on them and tag them. What is it about the Christians in Antioch? What is it about these believers in Antioch? What is it about these disciples in Antioch? What is it about this church in Antioch that would cause the unbelieving world to look at them and categorize them as the followers of Christ? Because that's what they're really doing. Let me begin by saying this and hopefully this will sink in a little bit. And I've already mentioned this. The title name Christian was not a self-professed name. It's not that they rose up and said, hey, we want you to call us Christians. Well, who are you? I'm a Christian. No, they were named Christian. But why? I am convinced. Well, here's the bottom line. You can say today, I'm a Christian, and that can mean a multitude of things. But it's a whole other meaning when someone else says, that's a Christian. So why were they called Christians? It's not because they self promoted the name. It's the world who tagged them. It's the unbelievers who looked at them and said, these are followers of Christ. But what does that mean? Because how many people stand up today and say, well, I'm a father of Christ. And yet their life bears no fruit or witness of the Spirit of God living within them. So what is it about these people? I'm so glad God doesn't leave us wondering, aren't you? He tells us what it is in the text. Let's look through this text this morning. First of all, verses 19 and 20. This is what we're told. The disciples were called Christians because they preached the word. Listen. You cannot devalue the Word of God. You can claim to be Christian and you can talk about all kinds of spiritual stuff, but listen, the thing that marks the believer outside concerning truth, the thing that marks the believer is not how spiritual they talk, but it's the Word of God being lived through their lives and proclaimed. Verses 19 and 20, look with me. Now they were scattered and brought upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Phoenix, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching what? The Lord Jesus. So here these disciples are preaching the word to the Jews only. No Gentiles. But then it says that they also preach unto the Grecians the Lord Jesus. Same thing being said here. By the way, Grecians are not Greeks. Do not forget that. These are not Greeks. The scripture talks about Greeks. Greeks were Gentiles. Grecians were Jews who spoke Greek and were influenced by a Greek culture. But they were still Jews. Their nationality was still that of Israel. They were not Gentiles. And so Grecians and Greeks are not the same. And so when it says that they preached only to the Jews, and then it says they preached to the Grecians, the Lord Jesus, it's saying the same thing, that the Jews, those Jews as Judaism would have it from Jerusalem, that those Jews were preached the Word, but then also The Grecians, the Jews that were Greek speaking and Greek cultured, were preached to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was preaching to them. So this still has nothing to do with Gentiles. So we're still looking at all Jews in the text. So what we find is that the two verses clearly, verses 19 and 20, emphasize that the preaching was done by these disciples who had been scattered abroad. They preached only to the Jews and preached to the Grecians the word and the Lord Jesus. Verse 19 says that the disciples were preaching the word. This means that they preached the gospel or the message. And then verse 20 clarifies or defines what message they preached. What did they preach when it says they preached the Word? Listen, you've got to hear this. Please hear me. Preaching is never biblical preaching if its foundation is not the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is always the focus. He is always the emphasis. He is always the message without exception. And when it says they preached the Word, they weren't preaching things about the Word, they were preaching Christ. Is that not what it says? So they proclaim the Gospel of Christ. Secondly, why were they called disciples or Christians? Why were these followers of Christ? Why were these disciples, why were these believers at Antioch called Christians? Well, it's because the Lord worked through them. Notice this, and you have to understand me. It's not that they were working on the behalf of God. It's that God was working in and through them. Does that mean that they were active? Of course, they were the ones preaching. They didn't lay in bed. They didn't just meet at church, if you will. And they didn't just shake hands with other fellow believers. They were on the streets. They were in the places of business. They were out proclaiming the gospel. They were out proclaiming Christ. They were preaching Christ. So this is not a license to say, well, I don't have to do anything. But here's the key. It wasn't that they were doing something. It's that they were submitted to that which God would do through them. I've said to you so many times and it still stands. My desire is not that we be a busy church doing a lot of things for God. It's simply that we be submitted and and we are submissive to the will of God and the purpose of God and that we be that we have some discernment concerning that which God would do and is doing and that we are just a part and and began to get on with that which God is doing that we get on board with what he is already doing. And so that's what's taking place here. The disciples were called Christians because the Lord worked through them. Look at verse 21. And the hand of the Lord was with them. And a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. The statement, the hand of the Lord was with them. And the result, see here's what's being proclaimed. The hand of God was with them. But there are results to that truth. How many people would claim, oh, you know, God is with me, God is with me, and what I'm doing is because God wants me to do it. But listen, it doesn't mean there's a flood of people. It doesn't mean the altars are full. It doesn't mean that the response will be as you may want or desire it to be. But here's what will happen. When God is working through us, there will be results. And even if it's not in our results that we see, guess what results takes place. God sure has changed us when He works in us, doesn't He? There's always fruit of the work that God is doing without exception. And it may not be numbers of people, that's not the issue, but there will be results. It says a great number believed and turned to the Lord. There's the results of God's hand being with them. This implies that the Lord was working in and through these disciples. It was not some work or something that they were doing in their own strength or by their own design or their own plan or their own methods or saying, well, let's see how we can reach everybody the best way we can. Let's make this plan. No, it's just simply that God was working with them and through them because his hand was upon them and his work that he was doing through them produced results. I'm always reminded of John 15 5, I just always am. where Jesus says concerning the vine and the branches, for without me ye can do nothing. Now we must remember this verse, verse 21, the hand of the Lord was with them and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. That this is not a Monday morning report of a church service where some preacher reports hundreds being saved due to the manipulation of emotions, fears, guilt of people. But this is the very Word of God giving testimony to the fact that as His messengers proclaim the truth of the Word of God, as they proclaim the Gospel, as they proclaim and preach Jesus, there was results. But it wasn't their results. Many believed and turned to the Lord not because of the disciples, but because of what God was doing through the disciples. He turned the hearts of the unbelieving to hearts of belief through faith in Christ. Why were these believers called Christian? The disciples, thirdly, were called Christians because they were full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. Look at what it says concerning Barnabas. Now where does Barnabas go? Barnabas is from Cyprus, which is an island off the coast there. So Cyprus, Antioch is not Barnabas' home. But Barnabas is from Cyprus, but yet Barnabas is sent where? to Antioch. He goes to find Saul. He goes to Antioch. Saul goes to Antioch. And Scripture says, how long were they there? At least a year. Did you read that? So now Barnabas is stationed, if you will, in Antioch. He's become a part of that church. And Saul is there with them as a part of that church. Look at what it says in verse 22. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas. Barnabas was in Jerusalem from Cyprus that he should go as far as Antioch. who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart..." Now, look at what he says here. With purpose of heart, they would what? "...cleave unto the Lord." Let's read on. We'll come back to that. "...For he was a good man, Barnabas, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith. And much people was added unto the Lord." then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year through they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." So being full of the Holy Ghost and faith was not something of which Barnabas or other believers boasted. Do you notice it's not Barnabas that said, well, I have the Holy Spirit, I'm full of the Holy Spirit. It was evident that Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Scriptures, their testimony that this is a good man, not that he's good in and of himself, not in his own righteousness, but he is a follower of Christ and that the works that are done in his life are good works. By the way, good in Scripture, in this context, you might as well say godly. Because there is none good, so it's not Barnabas is good, and there's none that doeth good, so it's not Barnabas is doing good. But it's that he is a godly man, and there are godly works which are good works, which make him a good man, but not because of himself. You understand? Don't be confused here. So Barnabas is a good man, and there's good work being done through his life. The evidence of God's Spirit and the faith of and in Christ is clearly evident through their lives. This evidence was manifested in the word they preached and the work God was doing through them. Barnabas, seeing God's grace in the lives of the believers in Antioch, exhorted them, the Scripture says, to cleave to the Lord. Now look, this is important, because what are they preaching? They are preaching the Word. They are preaching the Lord Jesus. Is that not what the Scripture says? Now Barnabas goes to Antioch and he exhorts them and he sees the grace of God. He has seen that God has worked here and he rejoices in that and he exhorts them. And then what does he tell them? He exhorts them to live cleaving to the Lord. Here's the bottom line. Barnabas was not preaching or teaching them three steps to living a Christian life. He's not telling them, well, if you want to be more spiritual, then this is what you need to do. And you need to follow this and follow that. What did Barnabas say? He says, look, here the grace of God has been ministered. Here the grace of God has been manifested. Here God is evidently at work. And now he tells them one thing, cleave to the Lord. Might I say to you, if there's one thing I can say to you this morning that has any value or benefit to it whatsoever, here it is. Cleave to the Lord. And the word cleave here, it means to abide or to continue. And so as Jesus said in John 15, Abide in me, I in you. He that abides in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. Remember John 15, the whole discourse there, the vine and the branch. This word cleave is that which means abide or to continue or to stay or to remain. And so what Barnabas is preaching is not, hey, try to become a better Christian. He is saying live in the sufficiency of Christ. Continue in that. He says continue. Remain in the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus. The Lord used the preaching of His Word, the proclaiming of the sufficiency of Christ for salvation and sanctification to add much people to the Lord. Being filled with faith, Being filled with the Holy Ghost is not something men achieve by their own works or their words, but rather the Word that is proclaimed and the work that is accomplished within a life is the evidence of faith and the evidence of the Holy Spirit. Again, look, men always put the cart before the horse, so to speak. We just do that. And here's what we think. We think, well, if we're speaking the right words, then that's evidence that I'm living in faith. And if I do the right works, then that's evidence that I have the Holy Spirit. But that's backwards. The fact that I am full of faith as a believer in Christ and the fact that I am full of the Spirit of God as a believer in Christ will produce proclaiming of Christ. It will result in the proclamation of Christ, and it will result in a life submitted to God that His work might be done through that life. So why were they called Christians? It's not because they said, Jesus is Lord. It's not because they said, you need to believe on Christ. It's not because they did good things. They were called Christians because they were full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit, which resulted in a life submitted to the working of God and committed to the proclaiming of the gospel of Christ. Fourthly, the disciples were called Christians because they loved one another. Remember what Jesus said? He said, By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, that ye love one another." Verse 27-30, And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem and the Antioch, and there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Notice verse 29. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. Those who followed Christ had a desire to meet each other's needs. The church wanted to care for one another. In time of need, they each did what they could to eat to their ability, meaning they didn't do what they couldn't do, they did what they could do. But it wasn't that they said all we need to do is because it's just the right thing to do. They had a desire to minister to other believers because they have been made a part of a larger community than that of themselves. And that is that they were now made a part of the body of Christ. And so they felt the hurt. They saw the need. And they said we are determined to do what we can to minister grace to them. Those who followed Christ had a desire to meet each other's needs. Verse 26 of this. Go back to this. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. See, that's just, that's a simple statement, but a significant statement. But if we don't look at the whole text, we just kind of pass it over and go, okay, well this is where the name Christian came from. This is not giving us this truth in the text just to inform us of the fact that the Christian name began in Antioch. But it's showing us the reason they were called Christians. The title was one that was given to the disciples due to the fact that first of all, they preached or proclaimed Christ. Secondly, the hand of the Lord was with them. God was clearly working in them and through them. And thirdly, they were full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. And then last, they loved one another. And it was evident. And you say, well, I love people too. Listen. Their proclamation of the gospel and their preaching of Christ and the fact that God was with them and His Spirit was working in them and through them and the fact that they were full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith and the love that was demonstrated as a result of being full of God's Spirit and full of faith, meaning they were submitted to the will of God, to the Word of God, to the purpose of God. It was so significant in their lives that it required that the world look at them and separate themselves from them and say, these are Christians and we're not. Are you hearing this? Listen, we are in a day in so-called American Christianity in which there is absolutely no difference. An unbeliever can call themselves a Christian and you can compare a life of one who claims to be a Christian who does not know Christ with those who appear to have some semblance of godliness in their lives, but you never find really hardly ever enough to differentiate the two. I'm not telling you, you need to change your lifestyle. That's not the point here. The point is, these believers, these disciples were called followers of Christ because the evidence weighed in so heavily against them. And it did so in the days that it was not easy to identify with Christ. It was in the time of persecution. It was in the time of suffering. And yet the world looks and says, These people are not like us. These are followers of Christ. I guess the question to be asked is simply this. Do we really, in a day in which so many people self-profess Christianity? And that's what it is. The world's not calling people Christians today. Unbelievers are calling themselves Christians. And even believers are calling themselves Christians. But it's not that the world is marking the church. It's not. It's not. And so my question is simply this this morning. Think about this. Let's pause for just a moment. Now I'm finished. But ponder this. Paul said, examine yourselves to see that you be in the faith. Paul's not saying, is there a moment where you came to an altar? Is there a moment that you prayed a prayer? That's not what Paul's saying. Paul is saying this. There are evidences of faith within a life of one who possesses faith. And when he says examine yourselves to see that you be in the faith, he's saying search your own heart out and see if the truth of the Scriptures is true in your life. And if it's not, then you're not a faith. So here's my question this morning. Examine yourself to see that you be in the faith. But here's my question. Do we deserve the honor of the title Christian? I don't mean can we merit Christianity. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying we call ourselves Christians. But is it because we want to say we are something or is it because we are so marked by the world that that's just what we're known to be? Because the evidence is overwhelming in our lives.