He Was a Good Man

He Was a Good Man 2021 08 08

Acts 11:19 – 26

If there has ever been an outstanding cliché at funerals, it is the statement, “He was a good man.”  He might have been the worst criminal, or the most besotted drunk, or the meanest husband, but at his funeral, “He was a good man.”

What a great testimony your life would be if this could be said of you when the history books are written!  Yet the Bible makes it clear that such a statement cannot be true, except on one very narrow, defined condition.

Acts 11:19 – 26

Here, in this passage, we see this very statement: “He was a good man,” applied to one of the early believers, a man named Barnabas.  Barnabas was the man, whose first name was Joses, who sold his land and brought all the money to the apostles, as we read in Acts 4.  But for that he cannot be called a good man.

 

Jesus said only God is good.  Look at Luke 18:18,19. “And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.”

What else can we see in this passage that may give us a clue then, as to why the writer of Acts was told by the Holy Ghost to write down in this record that Barnabas was a good man?  Let’s examine the passage.

I  The Believers of Jerusalem had Scattered

  1. After the stoning of Stephen, recorded in the book of Acts back in Chapter 7, a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and they were scattered throughout all the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles, who stayed put.
    1. These believers, as they spread out from Jerusalem, also preached the gospel everywhere they went.
    2. They preached the gospel only to the Jews, but they evidently preached the word as far away as Phenice (a harbour in SW Crete), Cyprus and Antioch.
    3. God was very much at work with these believers as they preached, blessing their ministry, and many people were saved. Our passage says a great number of people turned to the Lord.
    4. Was it because of this that Barnabas is called a good man? No!  In fact, he wasn’t even there when this was going on.

II  The Church Sent Barnabas

  1. The church that was in Jerusalem sent Barnabas up to Antioch to personally check on the things that were being heard in Jerusalem, about all the people being saved up in that area.
    1. When Barnabas arrived in Antioch, and when he had seen the grace of God at work there, was glad. Was it this, this gladness at seeing the hand of God at work that made Dr. Luke write, “He was a good man?”
    2. When Barnabas saw God’s grace, he exhorted them all, preaching powerful messages that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord.   The whole area was loaded with paganism and idolatry, but Barnabas strongly preached faith in God alone.  Did this make him a good man?  NO!

III  He Was a Good Man

  1. The Bible does clearly say here that he was a good man. The word translated “good,” is the Greek word, “agathos.”
    1. The Greek word means “of a good constitution or nature, useful, salutary, good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, excellent, distinguished, upright, honourable.” Strong defined it as “a primary word; “good” (in any sense, often as noun)…”
    2. In other words, the translators chose the correct word when they translated it, “good.”
  2. This, then, is an astonishing statement, especially after the way Jesus answered the ruler in Luke 18.
    1. Yet here is where we find the answer, right in this very verse, fully in keeping with what Jesus said in Luke 18.
    2. Barnabas was full of the Holy Ghost.
      1. Who is the Holy Ghost?
      2. God! So, the reason that it could be said that Barnabas was a good man was because he was full of God!
    3. By God’s grace through faith he had on the righteousness of Christ and was full of God the Holy Ghost. “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”  Romans 13:14
      1. Jesus said, “…none is good, save one, that is, God.” But thanks to our Saviour’s great sacrifice for us in his cruel death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, we can be clothed in the goodness of God by faith in Jesus Christ.

IV Results of Goodness

  1. When a man (or a woman) is full of God the Holy Ghost, there are great results! Good things happen!  People come to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
    1. Barnabas was filled with the Holy Ghost; when he was there, many people was added unto the Lord.
    2. When Barnabas brought Saul down to Antioch from Tarsus, and they, both filled with the Holy Ghost, assembled with the church and taught, many people were evidently saved and showed Christ in their lives, so much so that the people of Antioch began for the first time to call the disciples Christians.
      1. These were not nominal Christians! These were not Christians in name only!  These were people who stood out and were clearly seen as different, so much so that the citizens of Antioch coined the term “Christian” to describe these people who were so much different from everyone around them.

 

V  Are You a Good Man or Woman?

  1. If you have truly turned by faith to Christ as your Saviour, you have been sealed and indwelt by the Holy Ghost. You have on the righteousness of Christ, put on you by God, Himself.  That makes you good, not by your own power, nor your own works, but by the working of God in and through you.
    1. So, are the results of goodness being seen around you? Would the people of 1st century Antioch identify you as Christian, a Christ Follower?
    2. Are you living a life of holy goodness by faith? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”  Romans 12:1,2
      1. Just last week, we talked about the first rider on a white horse of the Revelation. He is about to appear on the scene as a saviour of the world, conquering a desperate world as a false messiah, bringing a false peace and a false sense of order.
      2. He is not good. He is the Antichrist.  Yet many who consider themselves Christian will be fooled by this great evil.  So many have put their faith in faith, rather than Jesus Christ, and are trying to good, focused on the evils of this world and how to end it.  But their focus is not on Jesus Christ, they are judging good and evil by their own wisdom, and they are greatly deceived.  Do not be deceived!
    3. There is only one way to be good, the same way Barnabas was good. You must repent and believe.
      1. Going to church will not save you. You must turn completely away from believing and trusting in yourself and your own goodness to believing and trusting in Jesus Christ.
      2. Without Christ, you cannot be good, no matter how hard you try. Without Christ, you can’t even see with clarity the difference between good and evil.
      3. But with Christ, you have on His righteousness, a gift He freely gives you when you put your faith in Him. The Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

Conclusion

If you are truly saved, you are a child of God, indwelt by God the Holy Ghost, and therefore a good man or woman, declared righteous by God by the atoning, cleansing blood of Jesus, fully freed from the penalty of sin by His death.  He put His righteousness on you when you put your faith in Him. Therefore, be the good man or woman that you really are and reckon the filthy old man of sin fully dead.  In Christ, like Barnabas, you have the power, because it is the power of God working in you.