Paul and Barnabas helped write the letter that saved Gentile Christianity — then split apart over one man's failure. This is the Bible study on Acts 15:36-41 and the apostle Paul verse "useful to me."

Right after the Jerusalem Council settles the biggest theological question in the early church — grace is enough, full stop — two of its greatest champions have a fight so sharp (the Greek word is paroxysmos) that they part ways for good. Barnabas wants to give John Mark a second chance. Paul refuses. Luke never tells us who was right.

This study walks through Acts 15:36-41, the Paul and Barnabas conflict, and traces the thread all the way to 2 Timothy 4:11, where a much older Paul writes from a Roman prison and asks for the same man he once rejected — calling him "useful to me in my ministry."

What you'll take awa ...