Friday

John Mark: Overcoming Failure

Introduction

Failure can happen to any person, and to one degree or another will be the experience of all (I Kings 19:4; John 21:3). How we respond to it is the key to what we will accomplish for God.

History is replete with people who have risen from failure to world-recognized success.

*Abraham Lincoln is acknowledged by all to be one of the greatest presidents in American history. Mr. Lincoln had to rise above personal and professional failures including debt and political defeat to achieve the highest office. What if he had not overcome failure?
*Thomas Edison was granted 1,098 patents by the U.S. Patent Office. The invention of the incandescent light came only after thousands of failures. What if he had not overcome failure?
*Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player ever, was cut from his high school team. What if had not overcome failure?

The biography of John Mark is covered in 12 verses in the New Testament (Acts 12:12,25; 13:5,13; 15:37-39; Colossians 4:10-11; Philemon 24; II Timothy 4:11; I Peter 5:13). His life is a study in how to overcome failure.

Privilege

John Mark was privileged in his ancestry. Though nothing is said of his father, his mother was a spiritual woman of means. Her home was used as a vehicle for service (Acts 12:5,12). Here John heard and saw vibrant New Testament Christianity.

John Mark had a cousin who was a model Christian. Barnabas was a man of sterling character (Acts 11:24), a selfless giver (Acts 4:34-37), a fruitful discipler and servant of God (Acts 11:23, 25-26; Acts 13:1-2).

John Mark was also privileged in his associations. He worked alongside of Barnabas and the Apostle Paul (Acts 12:25; 13:5). He observed and participated in growing, dynamic ministries.

Though we are not told the extent, he also had a special relationship with the Apostle Peter. This is substantiated by Peter's reference to him as "Marcus my son" (I Peter 5:13).

Problem

Either by request or invitation, John Mark joined Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:5). The opportunities were abundant (Acts 13:5). The missionaries were fruitful (Acts 13:6-12), but for some unstated reason, John Mark decided to return home long before the journey was complete (Acts 13:13).

Though we do not know his reason for quitting, it was unacceptable to Paul (Acts 15:37-39). Was it the lack of a call (Acts 13:2)? Paul and Barnabas were unmistakably called. John Mark's name is conspicuously absent in that verse. Was it a lack of courage? The Taurus mountains had to be crossed. Similar to our Rockies and inhabited by bandits who preyed on travelers, they presented both a physical and emotional challenge. Was it a lack of commitment? Was he attracted by curiosity more than anything else? Without a call and courage and commitment, the likelihood of failure increases significantly.

Priority

Though the text does not specifically state when and where, it is safe to assume that John Mark made it a priority to get back to God. Somewhere, he confessed his failure and renewed his commitment to God.

If we have failed in any God-given responsibility, here are four suggestions in how to return to fruitful living and service:

  • Be honest with yourself and God. It is easy to make excuses and rationalize, but these will only confirm your self-pity and failure. Confess your sin and forsake it (Proverbs 28:13; I John 1:9).
  • Don't dwell on the past (Philippians 3:13). Christians need to have a good forgeter. Learn from the failure, but don't dwell on it. When God forgives, He forgets (Psalm 103:12; I John 1:9).
  • Look at the opportunities before you (John 4:35). In this great harvest field of the world, there are places and ministries where God wants to use you. There is much that God can accomplish in and through you for His glory.
  • Associate with those who are doing something for God (Acts 15:37-39; I Peter 5:13; II Timothy 4:11). The vision and ministry of Barnabas, Peter and Paul opened great avenues of fruitful service to John Mark. Initially, your association should begin in a local church and through it to other ministries.

Prosperity

The story of John Mark has a happy ending. He overcame his failure. In Philemon 24, Paul speaks of John Mark's restoration to service by calling him his "fellow laborer."

Not only was John Mark restored, but he was respected. Again Paul says, "he is profitable to me for the ministry" (II Timothy 4:11). Though at one time Paul could not serve with him (Acts 15:36-40), now the soon-to-die apostle joyfully acknowledges God's hand upon John Mark.

John Mark was productive. Did you ever wonder why there was no gospel according to Peter? It is because he wrote it through John Mark. Nearly all scholars agree that Peter's reminiscences of Jesus were gathered by John Mark to form the basis of the earliest gospel account. A book of the Bible is quite a legacy to leave behind for one who failed so visibly (Acts 13:13; 15:37-39).

Conclusion

There are many reasons why it is wrong for a believer to quit in any God-given responsibility:
  • God hasn't quit. When He does, we should. When God stops blessing His Word, quit! When He stops hearing and answering prayer, quit! When He stops saving souls, quit! Christ said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). We would do well to emulate that spirit.
  • There's too much at stake. It is one thing when a student drops a class, a politician withdraws from an election, an athlete quits on his team, or a marriage partner dissolves the union. As serious as these may be, they are only in the realm of the temporal. But a believer deals with the eternal. The consequences of quitting are infinitely more serious.
  • If we don't do the job, who will? Could it be that one reason the harvest is plenteous and the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37; Luke 10:2) is because too many have quit prematurely? If so, don't join their ranks.
  • The influence upon others (Joshua 14:7-8). Ten myopic spies influenced a nation to quit on God. Unfortunately, they felt their God was unable to defeat giants. How big is your God? Can He do the impossible? If not, read Luke 1:37.
  • It so easily becomes a habit. When we quit, it becomes easier to do so again. All too soon, we have established a pattern. For some, the only thing you can depend on them for is that you can't depend on them for anything.
  • The example of Christ (John 17:4b; 19:30). Christ-likeness is the essence of Christianity (Ephesians 4:13; II Corinthians 10:12). As difficult as the Father's will was, Christ finished the task. We are unlike Christ when we quit prematurely.
  • The Judgment Seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10). Someday each believer will have to give an account of life and service to Christ. Will the excuses that sound so acceptable to us today, be valid on that day? When we see Him who persevered for us, how will we feel if we have quit on Him. Today we can change this disposition. Sadly, on that day it will be irreversible.
  • The promises of God. When we have the promise of His presence (Matthew 28:20), power (Acts 1:8), provision (Philippians 4:19), and prosperity (I Corinthians 15:58), quitting should be unthinkable. The cure for discouragement is not quitting, but sowing more seed, for there can never be a harvest without it (Galatians 6:9).

posted by Unknown @ 7:31 PM   0 comments

Tuesday

Baptism Saves: An answer to those who believe it does


Baptism has been a subject of debate and division for centuries. Those who believe it is only a picture of death and resurrection have their verses. Those who believe it has partial or total saving value have their texts. I believe the Bible clearly teaches that baptism is for believers (Acts 2:41; 8:36-37) and that it is by immersion (Acts 8:38-39; Colossians 2:12).

Those who believe baptism is a part of salvation use five basic texts to substantiate their position. The purpose of this post is to identify and answer those texts.


"He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." IF you stop reading in the middle, you would conclude that baptism is a part of salvation. However, when you read the entire verse, you immediately become aware that it teaches the opposite. The fact that baptism is omitted from the second part of the verse indicates that the determining factor of salvation is belief, not baptism. People are condemned not because of their lack of baptism, but because of their lack of belief (Revelation 21:8).

See here five timeless truths about baptism.
  • It does not save.
  • It is important because Christ commanded it.
  • It is by immersion (meaning of baptize in original).
  • It is for believers (word order "believeth and baptized").
  • God doesn't want secret disciples. He wants those who will take a public stand for Him.


"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." There are several possible interpretations of water here, any of which may be the true meaning, but certainly not baptism.

The water here may have reference to physical birth. The context would support this view (v. 6). That is, as you were born into your earthly family by a physical birth, you must be born into God's family by a spiritual birth through the work of the Holy Spirit. The water may be a symbol of the Word of God (John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26). Through the instrumentality of God's Word (James 1:18; I Peter 1:23) and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, a person
is born again (from above) into God's family.

Water cannot refer to baptism (thus making it a necessary part of salvation), because the verse would then contradict John 1:12, John 14:6, Acts 16:30-31, and Romans 10:13, all of which state that salvation is through Christ alone.


"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." The preposition "for" is the key to a proper understanding. It cannot mean "in order to" as demanded by baptismal regenerationists for two reasons:
  1. Greek grammar: The preposition
    2. hina (in order to), used some 500 times in the New Testament, is not here. Eis, an indefinite preposition of reference, used some 1,800 times is. Though it can be translated in various ways, it can never mean "in order to." Greek scholar A. T. Robertson feels the best translation here is "because." Believers are to be baptized because they are already in possession of the remission of sins, not in order to obtain them.

    3. Peter's theology: Compare his messages in Acts 2:38 with 3:19 and 10:43. Acts 2:38 and 3:19 each mention repentance, but the latter omits baptism. If baptism is a part of salvation, why is it conspicuously absent in 3:19? Acts 2:38 and 10:43 both speak of the remission of sin, but the latter omits baptism. Why? Either Peter had a change of theology between chapters two and three and two and ten, or he had a fatal lapse in memory, or baptism does not save or help to save. I opt for the latter.


"And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Paul's conversion is detailed in three chapters of the Acts. Chapter 9 is the historical account. Chapters 22 and 26 are his personal account of this life-changing event. Paul was clearly a believer (v. 13) before he was commanded to be baptized (v. 16). Likewise in chapter 9, he is Spirit-filled (v. 17) before he is baptized (v. 18). In his Expanded Translation of the New Testament, Greek scholar Kenneth S. Wuest translates v. 16, "Having arisen, be baptized and wash away your sins, having previously called upon His name." As the arising precedes the baptism, so calling on the name of the Lord precedes forgiveness. The Amplified New Testament gives, "Rise and be baptized, and by calling upon His name wash away your sins." We are saved by calling upon the name of the Lord (Acts 2:21; 9:14; Romans 10:13). The washing away of sins is to be connected with the calling on the name of the Lord and not baptism.


"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water, the like figure whereunto even baptism doeth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Noah and his family were saved by the ark, not water. The water was the righteous judgment of God upon sinful mankind. Noah's story is a scene of safety in the midst of judgment.

"Figure" in v. 21 is the Greek word antitupon, from which we get the word "antitype." An antitype is that which corresponds to or is foreshadowed in the type. As the Flood separated Noah from his sinful world, so baptism is a figure (a picture) of one's break from his old sinful life and entrance into new life in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).

"Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh" indicates what baptism does not do. It has no effect in improving the outward man. It does not save from sin.

"The answer (the requirement) of a good conscience toward God" tells what baptism does accomplish. It saves a believer from a bad conscience. It is something which a conscience made sensitive and pure relative to God's will requires.


Conclusion

There are six reasons why I reject the concept that baptism saves or helps to save.


    2. The thief on the cross was saved without baptism or any other external means (Luke 23:39-43).

    3. The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is through Christ alone (Acts 16:30-31; I Corinthians 15:1-4).

    4. The Bible clearly identifies the cleansing agent for sin is the blood of Christ and not water (Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Hebrews 9:22; 10:10-19; I Peter 1:18-19; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5; 5:9).

    5. If baptism saves, then why did Christ die?

    6. A proper understanding of the place and meaning of baptism in the New Testament negates its sacramental value.

    7. The texts used to support baptismal regeneration (Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; I Peter 3:20-21) can be answered.




© STelloyan



posted by Unknown @ 7:19 PM   0 comments