Welcoming Others as Christ Welcomed Us

Watch the service and sermon from Acts 9:26–30: Welcoming Others As Christ Welcomed You. See how Barnabas welcomed Saul into the fellowship, and be encouraged to receive, disciple, and strengthen others as Christ has welcomed us.

There is something deeply human about hesitation. When someone walks through our doors carrying a reputation we recognize, a past we remember, or a story that makes us uncomfortable, our instinct is often to take a step back rather than a step forward. We size people up. We weigh their history. We protect ourselves and the communities we love. And while that caution may feel reasonable, the New Testament consistently challenges us to examine whether our hesitation is rooted in wisdom or in a failure to see people the way Christ sees them.

The ninth chapter of Acts gives us one of the most striking examples of this tension in all of Scripture. Saul of Tarsus, the man who had made it his mission to hunt down and destroy the early church, arrives in Jerusalem as a new believer. He has been transformed on the road to Damascus. He has preached boldly. He has faced death for the name of Jesus. And yet, when he tries to join the disciples in Jerusalem, they want nothing to do with him. Acts 9:26 tells us that they were all afraid of him, not yet believing that he was truly a disciple.

Can you blame them? This was the man who had watched Stephen be stoned to death and approved of it. This was the man who had dragged believers from their homes. The fear of the Jerusalem church was not irrational. It was deeply human. But it was also, at that moment, a barrier to something God was doing.

What the Jerusalem church almost missed is staggering to consider. Saul would go on to write nearly half of the New Testament. He would carry the gospel to the Gentile world. He would stand before kings. His letters have shaped Christian theology for two thousand years. And in that moment in Jerusalem, the church was too afraid to let him in.

This is not a story about being naive or abandoning discernment. It is a story about what happens when we allow fear and past reputation to override the evidence of what God has clearly done in someone's life. The church in Jerusalem was looking at who Saul had been rather than who Christ had made him.

Every church, every community of believers, faces this same temptation. We gravitate toward people who look like us, sound like us, and carry a story we find easy to receive. We hesitate around those whose past feels too complicated, whose background feels too foreign, or whose transformation seems too dramatic to be real. In doing so, we risk closing the door on the very people God is sending to us.

Into this moment of collective hesitation steps a man named Barnabas. His given name was Joseph, but the apostles had called him Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, and he lived up to it completely. Acts 9:27 tells us that Barnabas took Saul, brought him to the apostles, and carefully explained what had happened on the road to Damascus. He told them that Saul had seen the Lord, that the Lord had spoken to him, and that Saul had already been preaching boldly in the name of Jesus.

Barnabas did not try to erase Saul's past. He did not pretend it had not happened. Instead, he pointed to what Christ had done. He told the story of transformation and let that story do its work.

This is the ministry of encouragement in its truest form. It is not flattery. It is not ignoring reality. It is the willingness to stand beside someone and say, "Let me tell you what God has done here." It is putting your own name and credibility on the line for the sake of another person's belonging. Barnabas essentially said, "I vouch for him." And because the apostles trusted Barnabas, they opened the door to Saul.

Every church needs people like this. People who are attentive enough to notice when someone is trying to get in and compassionate enough to walk them through the door. People who look at the person others are avoiding and say, "Come with me. I will introduce you."

The theological foundation for all of this is not simply kindness or good manners. It is the gospel itself. We welcome others because Christ welcomed us. Romans 15:7 calls believers to accept one another just as Christ accepted us, for the glory of God. That acceptance was not based on our record. It was not extended because we had cleaned ourselves up or proven ourselves worthy. Christ welcomed us while we were still sinners, still enemies, still far from God. The same grace that brought us in is the grace that compels us to bring others in.

This is also why the fellowship of the church is not optional for the Christian life. Saul understood it. He kept trying to join the disciples again and again. He knew that he could not grow in isolation, that the body of Christ was not a luxury but a necessity. The word of God, prayer, and the fellowship of believers are the three disciplines that sustain and develop a growing Christian. Remove any one of them and growth becomes stunted.

The story does not end with Saul finding a comfortable seat in the Jerusalem church. Once he was welcomed in, he got to work. Acts 9:28 tells us he was coming and going with them, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He engaged, debated, and proclaimed. And when opposition arose and his life was threatened, the brothers acted. They protected him and sent him on to Tarsus, understanding that God would use even persecution to advance the gospel.

This is the full picture of what it means to welcome someone into the body of Christ. We receive them, invest in them, walk alongside them, and ultimately help send them out as witnesses. The goal was never simply to fill seats. The goal has always been to make disciples who speak the name of Jesus Christ with boldness in whatever world they inhabit.

The question worth sitting with is this: who is trying to get in, and will you be the one to open the door?

Through this message, God reminds us that because Christ graciously welcomed us into His body, we must welcome, encourage, disciple, and stand with others so they can grow as bold witnesses for Him; how should we respond by drawing people in rather than holding them at a distance?

Who was the person who first welcomed you into a church community or helped you take your first steps as a believer? What did that welcome mean to you?

The sermon emphasized that instead of pushing people away, we should draw Christ's people near to the fellowship, just as Jesus drew us near.

1. In Acts 9:26, Saul repeatedly tried to join the disciples, but they were afraid of him. Have you ever felt hesitant to welcome someone into your church community because of their past or reputation? What made you hesitant?
2. The pastor said, "We sometimes distance ourselves from certain people because of their past reputation, maybe because of their appearance. That's human nature." How do we honestly confront that tendency in ourselves without excusing it?
3. The sermon pointed out that Saul belonged in the church not because he had earned his place, but because he belonged to Christ. How does this truth challenge the way we think about who deserves a place in our fellowship?

Barnabas stepped forward when no one else would. He put his name on the line and personally walked Saul into the fellowship.

1. The pastor described Barnabas as someone who was "living up to his name," which means son of encouragement. Who in your life has been a Barnabas to you? What specific things did they do that made a difference?
2. Barnabas did not try to erase Saul's past or defend him by arguing with the apostles. Instead, he told the story of what Christ had done for Saul. Why is that approach more powerful than simply vouching for someone's character?
3. The sermon asked, "Is your first reaction towards people to discourage them or to find fault?" Honestly reflecting on your own habits, how would you answer that question? What would it look like to be more intentional about encouragement?

The sermon made clear that believers are brought into the fellowship not to sit passively, but to speak boldly and grow as witnesses.

1. The pastor identified three disciplines necessary for Christian growth: the Word of God, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. Which of these three do you find most difficult to maintain consistently, and why?
2. Acts 9:28 says that Saul was coming and going with the disciples in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. The sermon challenged the idea of "warming the chair." In what practical ways can your church move from passive attendance to active participation in the life of the church?
3. The pastor said, "Christians were not saved to be silent." What are some specific situations in your daily life, at work, at home, or in your neighborhood, where you have the opportunity to speak the name of Jesus Christ but often hold back? What holds you back?

When Saul faced opposition, the brothers acted. They protected him and sent him forward on mission.

1. Acts 9:30 says that when the brothers found out Saul's life was in danger, they took action to protect him and send him to Tarsus. What does this tell us about what genuine fellowship looks like in a crisis?
2. The pastor reminded the church that opposition and persecution are realities for anyone who desires to live publicly and boldly for Christ. Have you ever experienced ridicule, rejection, or opposition because of your faith? How did your church community respond?
3. The sermon closed with the reminder that God uses all situations, including persecution and hardship, for the advancement of the gospel. Can you think of a time in your own life when a difficult circumstance was used by God to move His purposes forward?

Choose one or more of the following to put into practice this week.

1. Identify someone in your church or community who may be on the outside looking in, perhaps a new believer, someone with a difficult past, or someone who simply seems disconnected. Take one intentional step this week to welcome them in.
2. Reflect on the three disciplines of growth: God's Word, prayer, and fellowship. Write down one concrete commitment for each area and share it with an accountability partner in your church.
3. Think of one person in your life who does not yet know Christ. Pray for them by name every day this week and ask God for one natural opportunity to speak the name of Jesus in conversation with them.
4. Reach out this week to someone who has been a Barnabas in your life. Thank them specifically for what they did and how it shaped your walk with Christ.
5. In your next interaction with someone who has a difficult reputation or a complicated past, make a conscious effort to see them as Christ sees them, as someone He died for and desires to bring near.

The sermon asked a simple but searching question: Who was the person who brought you into the fellowship? Someone was attentive enough, courageous enough, and loving enough to be a Barnabas for you. As you close your time together, consider this:

For whom are you being a Barnabas right now?