Devotional Acts 13:1–12: Beware of Who Turns You Away from God Discover in Acts 13:1–12 the importance of spreading the gospel, turning away from negative influences, and avoiding being a stumbling block to others' faith. Topics: Devotional, New Testament.

Devotional Acts 13:1–12: Beware of Who Turns You Away from God

Today’s devotional is found in the book of Acts, chapter 13, verses 1–12, and this is what happened.

Synopsis: In these verses, Barnabas and Saul—who were part of the church at Antioch along with Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen—were sent by the Holy Spirit on their first missionary journey. On this journey from Seleucia to Cyprus, accompanied by John Mark, while spreading the gospel, they encountered Bar-Jesus (also known as Elymas the sorcerer), who practiced sorcery and was an attendant of the proconsul Sergius Paulus, who was interested in hearing the word of God. However, while Barnabas and Saul were teaching the gospel to Sergius Paulus, Elymas opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit and angered by Elymas’s deceit and malice, rebuked him for perverting the right ways of the Lord and teaching false doctrine. At that very moment, God punished Bar-Jesus by taking away his sight, and when the proconsul saw this, he believed, amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Observations

These were my observations.

1. The importance of spreading the gospel as Christians. Barnabas and Saul were teaching the gospel of God in the church at Antioch. This might seem like enough: they were helping to convert several people in that region and the surrounding area. But even though their work was very good, the Holy Spirit was not satisfied. For there were many more people who needed to hear the gospel for two reasons (repentance of their sins and salvation): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV). Furthermore, Jesus Christ gave His disciples the commandment to spread the gospel to all nations of the world: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15–16 NIV). Finally, it is necessary for all people in the world to hear the gospel before the end comes: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14 NIV).
2. The importance of turning away from people who lead you away from God’s path. We also see in these verses an excellent example of a person who was thirsty to hear the gospel of the Kingdom of God, but because of his companions, almost did not hear it: “They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.” (Acts 13:6–8 NIV). This is something that often happens in our lives every day: whether through relatives, friends, social media, celebrities, etc. Therefore, we must be very careful about who we spend time with and the content we consume. For both can lead us away from God if we do not persevere in faith by praying to God and seeking to follow His ways.
3. The importance of not being responsible for turning someone away from God’s path. We must also be very careful not to be guilty of leading someone away from the path of God. For Jesus Christ has already warned us about what will happen to those who pervert the word of God or lead others astray: “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!” (Matthew 18:7 NIV). We see an example in verses 10–11 of the possible consequences that can fall upon someone who turns others away from the Will of God: “«You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you; you are going to be blind for a time, unable to see the light of the sun.» Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.” (Acts 13:10–11 NIV). This was just one of the minor consequences. In reality, there are even greater consequences in this life, and even worse in the life to come: “If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6 NIV).