The 'What If' Question
Pastor Tan Thai · Oct 28, 2017
This sermon commemorates the fifth anniversary of a church split, drawing from Acts 15:36-41 about the sharp dispute between the apostles Paul and Barnabas. The pastor reminds the congregation that no one makes perfect decisions, everyone has 'what if' regrets, and the key lesson is not to let the past imprison the present.
This sermon was preached on the fifth anniversary of a painful church split, returning to the same passage — Acts 15:36-41 — that was preached on the very Sunday the split occurred. The text records the sharp dispute between Paul and Barnabas over whether to bring John Mark on their second missionary journey. The pastor's aim is to remind the congregation of God's mercy and faithfulness, and to express heartfelt gratitude to those who remained and served faithfully through the most difficult season.
The sermon develops three main points. First, no one makes perfectly righteous decisions — from Adam and Eve to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Saul, David, and Solomon, every major biblical figure had moments of failure and regret. Second, everyone carries 'what if' questions about their past choices. The sermon imaginatively reconstructs the argument between Paul and Barnabas: Barnabas emphasized grace and the need to give Mark a second chance, while Paul emphasized responsibility, the seriousness of the missionary task, and the risk of repeating past failure. Scripture does not declare either man right or wrong, but records that God used both diverging paths to spread the gospel further.
Third, and most importantly, believers must not allow the past to imprison the present. The pastor draws on Philippians 3:12-14, where Paul urges believers to forget what lies behind and press forward toward the goal. The sermon also invokes the classic maxim: 'In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity,' calling the congregation to distinguish between matters of core importance and secondary preferences in church life.
The pastor further warns that disharmony among believers can damage the witness of the church to those who have not yet come to faith. Therefore, every believer bears personal responsibility before God to pursue peace, as Paul wrote in Romans 12:18. The sermon closes with a doxology of thanksgiving — that God, in His grace, still chooses to use imperfect, failing people to build His church, and all glory belongs to Him alone.