Southern Christian University
Acts Class
Session 08
James A.
Turner
Hello students.
The first thing we want to do this evening is follow the missionary
journeys of Paul as recorded by Luke beginning with the thirteenth chapter of
the book of Acts. In Acts chapters
thirteen and fourteen, we read about the establishment of the churches of Galatia, and I would like for
you to try to get those churches in mind.
And then we will move from that to show that Paul revisited these
churches again on the second journey and again on his third journey. All three journeys went forth from the home
church at Antioch of Syria which was the first Gentile church. In the first
three verses of Acts thirteen, we read that there were certain prophets and teachers
in the church at Antioch, and they were
ministering to the Lord and fasting when the Lord said, "Separate
me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them." And they fasted and prayed and laid their
hands on them and sent them away. They
went down to Seleucia, the seacoast, and from
there they sailed to the isle of Cyprus. Please watch the video
if possible. If not, look at the map of Pauls journeys in your Bible. They
preached the word in the synagogue at Salamis on the east side of the
island, evidently with no real results because Luke does not record any other
than they preached in the synagogue.
Then they went through the island of Cyprus unto Pathos on the west
side of the island. At Pathos there was
a proconsul by the name of Sergius Paulus.
He was a man of understanding, a prudent man, and he wanted to hear the
teaching of Paul and Barnabas, but Bar
Jesus a false prophet tried to prevent Sergius Paulus from hearing the
gospel. And Paul was filled with the
Holy Spirit and said, thou Son of the devil, thou enemy of
all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord, and told him he would
be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.
So Paul was filled with the Spirit, and used miraculous power and struck
the false prophet blind. And when Sergius Paulus saw
what was done, he believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Then they left the island of Cyprus and sailed up to Perga
of Pamphylia, and there John Mark, their helper or attendant, decided that he
did not want to go any further on that journey, and he went back to his home in
Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas went on up from Perga of Pamphylia
to Antioch of Pisidia. Where they went
into the synagogue of the Jews. They
were given an opportunity by the rulers of the synagogue to speak to the
people. Paul beckoned with his hand and got their attention. After a very brief
introduction about the children of Israel, God choosing them, he
said, of this man's seed (Davids)
God had brought a Savior Jesus, and he taught them about the death, the burial and
resurrection of Christ, the primary facts of the gospel. As they were going out of the synagogue,
there were those who sought him to speak to them again the next Sabbath
day, and we read that there were many
Jews and proselytes that followed them.
Paul and Barnabas must have been very busy that whole week. The next Sabbath day, almost the whole city
came out to hear them and remember that this is Gentile territory, and . The Jews were moved with jealousy because so
many Gentiles had turned out to hear them, and they contradicted the things
that were spoken by Paul.
Paul and Barnabas spake out against them, and
said, It was necessary that the word of God should
first be spoken to you. Seeing that you thrust it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of
eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. I want
to remind you that the gospel, even by Paul going to the Gentiles, was first
carried to the Jews. When he went to a
city, and there was a synagogue there, he went to the synagogue first (Acts 17:1-2). And here is the statement that it
was necessary that the word of God should first be spoken to you, the Jewish people. There
were some Jews that believed , but the
Jews, as a whole, in that synagogue rejected the word of the Lord. So Paul and Barnabas said, seeing
you thrust it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we
turn to the Gentiles. When people reject the gospel of Christ
today, they do the same thing that those Jews in the synagogue at Antioch of
Pisidia did; they judge themselves unworthy of eternal
life.
When the Gentiles heard that, they were glad, and
Luke says, as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. I want you to go back and give careful attention
to last week's comments on Acts 13:48, as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed.
So the Jews stirred up trouble against Paul and Barnabas and cast them
out of their borders and they shook off the dust of their feet against them. So Antioch of Pisidia is the first church in
the Roman providence of Galatia. The churches of Galatia that Galatians was
written to were established by Paul and Barnabas on this first journey as
recorded in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Acts. These churches were
Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. From Antioch they went to Iconium, and
there were more good people in the synagogue at Iconium. There were many Jews and Gentiles that
believed. And they were really making
progress and they taught the gospel for many days at Iconium. But then the unbelieving Jews at Antioch of
Pisidia and those unbelieving Jews at Iconium stirred up the rulers of the
Gentiles, and they were ready to stone them, and they left Iconium and went to
Lystra.
At Lystra Paul healed a man who had been
impotent from his mother's womb. And the
priest of Jupiter brought oxen and garlands and was going to worship them as
gods. Paul and Barnabas rent their
garments, which showed their great alarm about their attempt to worship them, and
said, we are of like passion as you are. We want you to know that you are to turn from
these idol gods and worship the true God, and they restrained them from
worshiping them. Then after that the
Jews came from, Antioch and Iconium, and
stirred up trouble for them at Lystra, and they stoned Paul and dragged him out
of the city for dead. And as I
mentioned, I still wonder if this was the time that Paul was caught up into
paradise that he speaks of in II Corinthians 12:1-7, and heard
unspeakable things. He said, whether in
the body or out of the body I know not.
But anyway while the disciples were watching, he
got up and they went from Lystra to Derbe and established a church at
Derbe. And then they turned around and
retraced themselves. They went back to
Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. We read that they were further teaching the
disciples and exhorting them that it would be through many
tribulations that they would enter into the kingdom of God, meaning the eternal kingdom of God. When they obeyed the gospel, they became a
part of the earthly kingdom of God, but it would be through
many tribulations that they would enter into the eternal kingdom of God. At each church they fasted and prayed, and
then they appointed elders in each one of the churches. Then they went down from Antioch to Pamphylia again, and
then they sailed back and went back to the home church at Antioch, Antioch of Syria. So the first missionary journey begins there
in Acts thirteen, about verse three and it goes down to 14:26. We will read, "And
thence they sailed to Antioch
from whence they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which
they had fulfilled. And when they
were come, and had gathered the church together."
It looks like they must have gotten back home sometime during the week
rather than the first day of the week.
So they gathered the church together.
"They rehearsed all things that God had
done with them, and that he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." Now the same way that God opened a door of
faith to the Gentiles on this first missionary journey is the same way that he
opened the heart of Lydia that we will be
studying about tonight. "And
it says and they tarried no little time, verse twenty-eight,
with the disciples." Please mark in your
Bible at chapter thirteen, chapters thirteen and fourteen, the first journey,
and the establishment of the churches of Galatia: Antioch of Pisidia,
Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
Then during that time in between, the first
journey and the second journey, there were certain brethren that went up to
this Gentile church and told them that they would have to be circumcised and
keep the law of Moses in order to be saved.
Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension with them, and the Holy Spirit
guided Paul and Barnabas to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles
and elders about the matter, and they took Titus with them being
brought on their way by the church at Antioch. Keep in mind that Acts
chapter fifteen and Galatians 2:1-10 are parallel
accounts concerning that meeting at Jerusalem. Galatians 2:1-10 shows that Paul and
Barnabas had a private meeting with those who were reputed to be pillars in the
church at Jerusalem: Cephas, James, and John. They did not add anything to them, but they
gave them the right hand of fellowship, that they should go to the Gentiles
like they were going to the Jews, but they did request that they remember the
poor in Jerusalem, which thing Paul said
I was very zealous to do.
Do you remember the conclusion of the conference
at Jerusalem that the apostles and elders were guided by the Holy Spirit wrote a
letter to those brethren in the church at Antioch, telling them that they had
not sent forth those false teachers, and that it was necessary for them to just
refrain from those four things: from the pollution
of idols, and fornication, and things strangled, and from
blood. The church at Jerusalem also sent two of their
members to tell them by word of mouth, Judas and Silas. Paul and Barnabas delivered the letter from
the church at Jerusalem, and Judas and Silas were
prophets, and they also talked to the brethren.
They exhorted these brethren and stayed for sometime, and then they were
dismissed to go back home. Luke does not
tell us why, but, anyway, Silas did not go back home.
It was after the Jerusalem conference, and they
are still at Antioch, that Paul said to
Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the
brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word and see how they fare (Acts 15:45). Barnabas was ready to do that, but he wanted
to take John Mark with them. Paul did not
want to carry him because he turned around and went not with them to the
work. And the contention became so sharp
that they separated. And Barnabas chose
John Mark, and went the same direction as they had gone on the first journey,
they sailed to the isle of Cyprus. Paul chose Silas and went by land back to
these same churches. And we read that as
he went through Syria and Cilicia, he was confirming the brethren
in those churches. Evidently while Paul
was at Tarsus, he must have done a
lot of missionary work in this area. Let
us read from Acts 15:39, "And
there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted asunder one from the other: And Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed
away unto Cyprus;
but Paul chose Silas, and went forth, being commended by the brethren to the
grace of God. And he went through Syria
and Cilicia,
confirming the churches." See, this light
yellow is Syria and this little darker
area is Cilicia. And so there were already churches in this
area. And as they went through, they
were confirming those churches. So you
need to write by verse forty, the beginning of the second journey.
So Paul and Silas go by land back to these churches. The first church, of course, would be
Derbe. And we read in Acts 16:1, "Then
came he also to Derbe and to Lystra."
Which
means that they must have stayed some time at Derbe strengthening that church,
and then they went to Lystra. At Lystra
a young man by the name of Timothy that Paul had converted on that first
journey, was well recommended by the brethren at Lystra and at Iconium. Paul decided to take him as another companion
on this second journey. So it starts out
with Silas, and then at Lystra Timothy is added. Timothys mother was a Jew, but his father
was a Greek, and Timothy had not been circumcised. To avoid trouble over the matter of
circumcision, Paul just saw that it would be a wise thing to have Timothy
circumcised. Of course, it would be
sometime then before they could leave on the journey, but then they go to
Iconium, and then to Antioch of Pisidia.
And then Paul wanted to go into Asia. He probably wanted to go to Ephesus then, but he was
forbidden by the Holy Spirit to go there.
And he wanted to go into Bithynia, and he was forbidden
by the Holy Spirit to go there. And Luke
says passing by Mysia they came to Troas, where Paul received a vision in the
night, a man standing over in Macedonia, saying, come over and help us.
And it is that point that Luke joins the
company, so now there are four in that company.
We know that Luke joins the
company by him saying, We
assuredly gathered that God had called us forth to preach the gospel in Macedonia. Acts 16:10, "When
we had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia,
concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel unto them. Setting sail from Troas, we
made a straight course to Samothrace. From Troas to Samothrace was an island here, and
then they went to Philippi. And at Philippi they went down by the
riverside where they thought that a prayer service was going to be held, and
they talked to the women that had resorted thither. And that is where we will begin with our
lesson tonight. But we will go ahead and
trace briefly the churches that they established in Macedonia and Achaia. The first church established was the church
at Philippi. Luke stayed at Philippi until the end of the
third journey when they were ready to leave Corinth to carry the bounty of
those Gentile churches to Jerusalem. And then he joined the company again. After
establishing the church at Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in
prison at Philippi, and after that they
left the city. And Luke tells us that
they, and by the pronouns, you can tell whether Luke is with them or
whether he is not with them, they passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia. There must not have been a synagogue in
either of those cities, and they came to Thessalonica. And as Paul's custom was, he went into the
synagogue at Thessalonica. There were
only a few Jews that believed in that synagogue, but there were many devout
Gentiles that believed. And again those
unbelieving Jews were stirred up trouble, and the brethren had to send Paul and
Silas away by night.
They went to Berea, and that is the
synagogue where Luke says that, these were
more noble than they in Thessalonica, in that they received the word of God with
all readiness of mind, and they searched the scriptures daily to see whether or
not those things were so, therefore, many of them believed. And anytime people start searching the
scriptures with that good attitude, you can expect conversions. They were doing a great work at Berea when Jews from
Thessalonica came and stirred up trouble against them. Paul went next to Athens, which resulted in the
establishment of a small group of Christian,
and then he went to Corinth. So three churches were
established on the second journey in Macedonia: Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea, and three churches in
Achaia or Greece: Athens, Cenchrea, and Corinth. And on the return part of this second
journey, Paul does go to Ephesus. He went into the synagogue and spoke in the
synagogue of the Jews at Ephesus. They wanted him to stay longer, but it was
not his will to do so, and he told them that, if
it was the Lords will,
that he would return to them. And then
he went back to the home church, at Antioch of Syria. The second journey ends with Acts18:22. Please look at chapter 18:22, "And
when he had landed at Cesarea, and went up, and saluted the church (Jerusalem as usually regarded) and
went down to Antioch." So verse twenty-two of Acts eighteen is the
end of the second journey, and verse twenty-three is the beginning of the third
journey. "And
having spent some time there, he departed, and went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia
in order, establishing all the disciples."
And, of course, this would be the region where they had established
those churches on that first journey, and so Paul revisited them again on the
third journey.
And then it looks like Luke purposely puts in
there about Apollos coming to Ephesus during that time
between the time that Paul had gone there on the return part of the second
journey. He told them then that if it
was the will of the Lord, he would return.
It was and after Paul had revisited those churches established on the
first journey he returned to Ephesus. Acts 18:24-28, Luke must have
put those verses in to show why the disciples needed to be baptized again that
we read about in Acts 19:1-7. They had been
baptized by Apollos with the baptism of John after John's baptism was no
longer valid. John's baptism was
valid until the baptism of the great commission was given by Peter on that
first Pentecost after the ascension of Christ.
Paul stayed at Ephesus, as he speaks of it in
Acts twenty, for three years during which time the people throughout all Asia, both Jews and Greeks,
heard the gospel. Evidently that was the
time when the seven churches of Asia were established that we read about in
chapter two and three of the Revelation..
But I guess that is about as far as we need to go for now. I plan on coming back and reading these verses
at a later date.
So now we begin with the reading as given in
Acts 16:14, "And
a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira,
one that worshipped God, heard us: Whose heart the Lord opened, to give
heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.
And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us,
saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house,
and abide there. And she constrained us."
Now, there are those who believe in baptizing
infants who try to get infants in the households that we read about in the book
of Acts. And some have tried to get
infants in this household of Lydia. But notice that Lydia's household is a
business household. She was from the
city of Thyatira, and she is engaged in
selling very expensive purple garments that only the very rich, or kings and
governors would wear. The purple dye was
obtained from shellfish, and it was a very tedious process in getting enough
dye to do much dyeing, and so they were very expensive garments. Lydia and her household must
have been the ones whose prayers were answered when Paul received that vision
at Troas, a
man standing over in Macedonia,
saying, come over and help us. And
remember that Luke says that they decided a prayer service was going to be held
by the riverside, and they go there, and speak to the women that resort there
for prayer. And it looks like those
women consisted of Lydia and her business
household. Let us read verse fourteen
again, "And a certain woman named Lydia, a
seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us: Whose heart the Lord opened, to give heed to
the things which were spoken by Paul.
And when she was baptized, and her household." Would not her household be the other women
that made up that business household? If
she had had a husband and children, would she not have said to Paul and
company, come into our house and abide?
"And when she was baptized and her
household, she besought us saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the
Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."
Evidently they were a little hesitant about
accepting her invitation, but Luke says, "And
she constrained us." She insisted that they stay in her
house. And so those four men then were
given a place to stay. And I would guess
that she provided meals and other things for them as long as they were
there. And when Paul wrote the letter to
this church at Philippi more than ten years later during that first Roman
imprisonment, he thanked God, for
your fellowship in the furtherance of the gospel from the first day even until
now
(Philippians 1:5). Is he not talking about what Lydia did on that first day when
she invited those four men to stay at her house? And evidently in other ways, she assisted
them as long as they stayed there. And
that must have been considerable help in the furtherance of the gospel. Think
of it, free rent, free meals and etc., and Paul thanks God for their fellowship
in the gospel, from the first day even until now.
But going back to the matter of Lord opening the
heart of Lydia, some would tell you
that the Holy Spirit operated in a miraculous way, that in order for people to
be saved, the Holy Spirit has got to operate in some miraculous way to open the
hearts of the people. Well, this is
during the miraculous period of the church all right, and sometimes the Holy
Spirit did have a part. In fact, it had
a part here in that it guided them to go over there by that vision in the
night. And you remember how Paul had
wanted to go to Asia and wanted to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit forbid
them to do that, and so the Holy Spirit had a part in the conversion of Lydia
and her household in that it got these men there to teach them, and how did the
Lord open her heart? By the teaching of
Paul. Whose
heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by the
Lord. The gospel is Gods power to save (Romans 1:16).
And going back to that statement in chapter
fourteen and verse twenty-eight, Paul and Barnabas rehearsed what God had done
with them, and that he had opened a door of faith
to the Gentiles. God had opened a door of
faith unto the Gentiles by the Holy Spirit saying, Separate me, Barnabas and
Saul for the work whereunto I had called them, by sending them forth and then
by their preaching the gospel of Christ
to the Gentiles. And thus a door of
faith had been opened unto the Gentiles.
The miraculous period is over! All of the New Testament has been given
and confirmed (I Corinthians 13:8-10; James 1:25. The childhood age of
the church is over (I Corinthians 13:11-12; Ephesians 4:7-16)! The only way that
a persons heart is opened is by the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16). If a person will not
hear and obey the instruction of the word of God then he, or she, can not be
saved (Romans 1:6, 2:13, 10:12-14, 16: 19, 16:25-26; James 1:25).
Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke stay at Philippi for sometime. And verse sixteen, "And
it came to pass, as we were going to the place of prayer." So notice the pronoun we. All of them were going to the place of
prayer, it looks like on a regular basis, going every day. "That a
certain maid having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much
gain by soothsaying." She had a demon or a
spirit that was bringing her masters gain.
"And the same followed after Paul and
us, crying out saying, These men are servants of the most high God, who
proclaim unto you the way of salvation.
And this she did many days."
Finally Paul got tired of them being associated with one of the devil's
advocates, and he decided to cast out the evil spirit. "But Paul
being sore troubled, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name
of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And
it came out that very hour. When her
masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone."
When that evil spirit went out of her, their hope of gain was gone. "And they
laid hold on, Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace
before the rulers. And when they had
brought them unto the magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, do
exceedingly trouble our city. And set
forth customs, which it is not lawful to receive, or to observe, being
Romans." And, of course, this is Gentile
territory. They recognized them as Jews,
and so these men are troublemakers. Do you
see why they did that? Because they cast
out the evil spirit of that damsel that was bringing to them probably a lot of
gain. Anyway, they stirred up the
people. "And
the multitude rose up together against them: And the magistrates rent their garments off
them, and commanded to beat them with rods."
In II Corinthians 11:22-23 Paul mentions some
of the things that he had suffered for the cause of Christ prior to the writing
of Acts. Acts was written in about 62-63 A.D. and II Corinthians around 57
AD. In that list he said that he had
been beaten five times of the Jews forty strips, save one, and of the Gentiles,
he had been beaten with rods three times.
So Paul and Silas are beat with the rods on this occasion. Verse twenty-three, "And
when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging
the jailer to keep them safely." Think of it, they
are both Roman citizens, and they are beaten contrary to the law. It was a great crime for law enforcement
officials to beat Roman citizens without a trial, and here they had no
trial. They were severely beaten. and cast into prison charging the jailer to
keep them safely. "And
upon receiving such a charge, he put them in the inner prison. And made
their feet fast in the stocks."
Acts 16:25, "But
about midnight
Paul and Silas were praying, and singing hymns to God: And the prisoners were listening to
them." Think
about such a thing as that. They had
been terribly beaten and that was done unlawfully, and their stripes had not
been treated, and their feet are made fast in the stocks, and they are in a
very uncomfortable position. But at midnight, Paul and Silas were
praying and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to
them. How could they pray and sing after
such treatment as that? They had that peace
of God then, that more than ten years later when Paul wrote to the
church at Philippi, as recorded in Philippians chapter four beginning with
verse four, he said, "Rejoice in the Lord
always: And again I say Rejoice. Let your forbearance be made known
unto all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious; but by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God. And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding shall rule your hearts and minds by Christ
Jesus." So Paul and Silas back here had that peace of
God that passes all understanding. And
as he told the Philippians he is assuring us today that we can have the peace
of God that passeth all understanding.
And here they were at midnight praying and singing
hymns unto God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Wouldn't we like to know how they were
praying in that prayer? Their prayer surely
had something to do with what happened!
And wouldn't we like to know what the prisoners were thinking about,
those men praying and singing hymns at midnight.
And look at verse twenty-six, "And
suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison
house were shaken: And immediately all the doors were opened,
and every one's bands were loosed."
Sometimes it is a little hard to tell the difference between God's
working in a miraculous way and in a providential way. You know earthquakes can come without any of
the natural laws of God being violated, but it looks like the fact that not
only did that earthquake come immediately, but the fact that the prison doors
were opened and every man's bands were loosed, there must have been a
miracle involved in it. "And
so the jailer being roused out of sleep." Did
he go to sleep on the job listening to the praying and singing of Paul and
Silas?. "And
so the jailer being roused out of sleep, seeing the prison doors open, drew his
sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had
escaped." We will stop there for
this portion of this ninth Class Session and begin then with verse
twenty-eight. A brief break was taken.
Let us pick up with 16:27, "And
the jailer being roused out of sleep, seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword,
and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had been
escaped." Of course, he was
reasoning that I will not wait for the authorities to put me to death because
the prisoners are escaped, I will do that myself. If Paul had not cried out with a loud voice,
he would have been dead in a matter of seconds.
"Paul cried with a loud voice, saying,
Do thyself no harm: For we are all here." So the prison doors had been jarred open. Every man's bands are loose, but all the
prisoners are still there, and doesn't that sound unusual too? "And he
called for lights (the jailer) "
and sprang in, and trembling with fear, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Does this not indicate that
he knew that they were servants of God? This makes the third time that we have had
that question asked meaning the same thing, Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?
There is not a more important question that an
unredeemed sinner can ask than, What must
I do to be saved?
That question was asked by some of those Jews on Pentecost when Peter told them
that Christ had been raised to the right hand of God exalted, hath poured forth
this which you hear, and this Jesus whom you
have crucified hath become both Lord and Christ. They recognized they were guilty, and they
said, men and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, repent,
and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you and your
children, to them that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall
call. So the people on Pentecost were told to repent
and be baptized. Then in Acts the
ninth chapter, when Christ appeared to Saul, Saul asked the question, when he
tells about it as recorded in Acts22:10-16, asking what
must I do And
the Lord told Saul of Tarsus to go on into the city, and there it
shall be told thee what thou must do. And
God sent Ananias to him to restore his sight and to tell him what to do to be
saved. And that is recorded in Acts 22:16. Ananias said to him, "Arise,
and be baptized and washing away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord." And here with the Philippian jailer, he is
told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved thou and thy house. So
three different times the question is asked and three different answers are
given.
How do we account for the three different
answers? The answer is given from the standpoint
of where a person is. On Pentecost they
manifested their faith when they said, men and brethren, what shall we do? But they had not repented and they had not
been baptized, so they were told to repent and be baptized. In regard to Saul of Tarsus, he had seen the
Lord in the way. So there was no question
about his believing, and for three days and for three nights, he had not taken
anything to eat and was praying during that period of time. That surely shows his repentance, and so the
only thing that he lacked was to arise and
be baptized and wash away thy sins. Here
with the Philippian jailer, this man is a Gentile person. Evidently he has never even heard about the
facts of the gospel, and he is told to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
And, of course, belief here is used in the same way as used in a number
of passages, meaning to believe with that kind of faith that causes one to do
according to Gods instruction.. But
there are a lot of preachers that will use a reference like this out of
context. Paul just said to the jailer, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house, but most of them would not dare read verses
thirty-two through thirty-four because it shows that there is more to it than
that. He did not know what to believe,
so they had to preach the gospel to him.
They had to preach at least the primary facts of the gospel about the
death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ for him to have proper faith,
and to know what to do to be saved. They
had to further teach that the Lord had commanded to believe the primary facts
of the gospel (I Corinthians 15:1-4; John 8:24; Hebrews 11:6) and that he must believe
and he needed to repent (Acts 2:38, 17:30) and he needed to be
baptized for the remission of his sins (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-7).
In Romans 10:12-14, where Paul quotes
from the prophet Joel, Joel 2:32, about that time when
God would pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, meaning Jews and Gentiles, as
first recorded in Acts 2:17-21. And then verse thirty-two says, "And
it shall be that, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And then he raises the question, how
shall they call on him whom they have not believed? How shall they believe on him whom they have
not heard? And how shall they hear
without a preacher?" This is showing that the facts and commands of
the gospel must be taught a person before he knows what to believe, before he
can call on the name of the Lord in such a way as to be saved. When Ananias told Saul of Tarsus to arise,
and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord, then
he would be doing what the Lord through Annias told him to do. Actually that
calling on the name of the Lord, whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved means then that a
person must learn what to do to be saved, and then he must do it. And so Saul when he was baptized completed
his obedience to the first principles of the gospel and was saved.
But here the Philippian jailer must first be
taught, and verse thirty-two shows that, "And
they spake the word of the Lord unto him, with all that were in his
house." And again there are
those who try to get infants in the jailer's house. But can infants, be rightly spoken of as
having the word spoken unto them? That
infant child cannot believe and obey! "And
they spake the word of the Lord to him, with all that were in his
house." So they were all old
enough to hear and believe the gospel.
Verse thirty-three shows his repentance.
"And he took them the same hour of the
night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his,
immediately." With all the conversions, notice that they
were interested in being baptized like the Philippian jailer here immediately! In the case of the Ethiopian eunuch when they
came to certain water, and the eunuch said, see,
here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? Please remember that Phillip began at Isaiah
53:7 and preached
unto him Jesus.
A preacher or teacher can not preach Jesus to an alien sinner without telling
him that Jesus has commanded water baptism for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-7). The Philippian
jailer here was baptized immediately.
The fact that he carries them and washes their stripes shows
repentance. And, of course, it also
shows that he recognized from the teaching that he needed to be baptized..
Acts 16:33, And
he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their strips, and was baptized
he and all his, immediately. And he brought them up into his house
and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with all of his house,
having believed in God." And so verse
thirty-four implies they had to go out of his house to be baptized, so he brought
them up into his house and set food or a meal before them and rejoiced greatly with
all his house, having believed in God. A
footnote by food in my Bible says, set a table.
Of course, that means that they had a meal together. "And
rejoiced greatly." Why? Again like the Ethiopian eunuch, he knew that
they had done what was necessary to be saved,
he and all in his house, and they had great reason to rejoice. And again
if there were infants in the household, that occurrence took place after midnight, probably one or two
o'clock
in the morning by this time, by the time they spake the word of the Lord to
him, and they are baptized. Do you think
infants would be rejoicing at two o'clock in the morning? Not likely, is it? "And
he brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced
greatly with all in his house, having believed in God. But when it was day, the magistrates sent the
sergeants, saying, Let these men go. And
the jailer reported the words to Paul, saying, The magistrates have sent to let
you go: Now therefore come forth, and go in
peace.
Acts 16:37,
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us publicly uncondemned, men that are
Romans, and have cast us into prison; and, lo, do they now cast us out
privily? Nay verily; but let them come
themselves and bring us out. And the
sergeants reported these words unto the magistrates: And they feared, when they heard that they
were Romans. And they came and
besought them, and when they had brought them out, they asked them to go
away from the city." Notice that it says that when the sergeants
told the magistrates that they were Roman citizens, that those magistrates
feared when they heard they were Romans.
They had committed a crime when
they beat Paul and Silas, Roman citizens
without a trial.. Paul and Silas could
have brought a legal case against these magistrates. But the only thing that they said was, they
have beaten us publicly uncomdemned , and they cast us into prison, and now
they are going to bring us out privily. Nay verily, let them come themselves and
bring us out to show the public that they had not committed any crime, and the
magistrates themselves are releasing them.
We also find Paul on another occasion when he
was about to be beaten, asked the question, is
it lawful to beat a Roman uncondemned? And so
he appealed to his citizenship to some small degree, but never did carry it to
the limit. And surely that shows how
that he was following the way of the Lord.
In Matthew the twelfth chapter, Matthew records the statement from
Isaiah about Jesus, that said, he shall
not strive nor cry aloud, neither shall his voice be heard in the streets, quoting from Isaiah 42:7. I believe that is verse nineteen in Matthew
twelve. Jesus was not a rabble raiser. He did not go out and get the people to rise
up against law enforcement and cause a lot of trouble. He did not lead any sit-down strikes in the
street. And we know that there are those
that claim to be following the Lord today that do such things. That is not the proper thing to do! Christian people can appeal to their
citizenship to avoid certain things and should, but should never carry it to
any extreme. The magistrates did ask
them to leave the city.
Acts 16:40, "And
they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: And when they had seen the brethren, they
comforted them, and departed." Think of what
all has happened to them, and they go to the house of Lydia, which shows that they
are still staying at Lydia's house, and they
comfort the brethren and departed. But
from the standpoint of what Luke has said, the only two cases of conversion
that we read about are the two household conversions. Lydia and her household was a business
household, but the jailer's household was a family household, but there were no
infants in that family household. Reckon
what percentage of houses today do not have any infants or real small children
in the household? So Luke stays behind
at Philippi. We know that to be the case
because he starts using the pronoun they.
"Now when they." That includes at least Paul and Silas, and it
may be that Timothy joined them real soon. But Luke stays behind at the church
at Philippi and stays there until a
number of years later until on the end of that third journey, and they are
carrying that bounty of the Gentile churches to Jerusalem, and he joins the
company again.
Chapter
Seventeen
"Now when they
had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to
Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews."
And as I mentioned awhile ago, I would guess the reason they passed
through Amphipolis and Apollonia, is that there were not synagogue in those
cities, but they probably received news that there was a synagogue in
Thessalonica. If not when they got there,
they found out there was one there.
"Where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his custom was, went in
unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the scriptures." Of course, that would be the Old Testament
scriptures. He would be taking some of
those prophecies concerning Christ and how that he would suffer on the cross,
and use them and show how they had been fulfilled. He could have used from the
book of Psalms and from Isaiah fifty-three and many, many others about Christ
and how he was the chief cornerstone that the builders rejected. There are just numerous Old Testament
references from the prophets that he could have used that would be included in
what he did here when verse three says, opening and alleging for three Sabbath
days and reasoning with them from the
scriptures. "Opening
and alleging that it behooved that Christ must suffer, and rise again from the
dead; and that this Jesus, whom I proclaim unto you, is Christ." Again those are the facts of the gospel that
must be preached to alien sinners.
Acts 17:4, "And
some of them were persuaded." Notice
carefully that statement. That refers to
the Jews in the synagogue at Thessalonica.
Some of them, and that does not give the impression that a big
percentage of them believed. "And
some of them were persuaded and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout
Greeks a great multitude." So see the
difference in the reading there. Some of
the Jews believed, and of the devout Greeks a great multitude. The devout Greeks would be those that were
worshiping with the Jews in the synagogue.
"And of the chief women, not a few." And those again would be Greek women. This is Gentile territory, and they were
probably wives of some of the civil officials.
"And of the chief women, not a
few." And the Jews being moved with
jealousy." Again, note how those unbelieving Jews tried to prevent the
preaching of the gospel. "But
the Jews being moved with jealousy, took unto them certain vile fellows of the
rabble, and gathering a crowd." Now, see
that is the kind of things they do. They
took unto them fellows of rabble. "Gathering
a crowd, and set the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, they
sought to bring them forth to the people.
And when they found them not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren
before the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside
down are come hither also; whom Jason hath received: And these all act contrary to the decrees of
Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus." Well, they are Jews, and they are under Roman
authority. Do you think that they were very
concerned about the decrees of Caesar? They did not want Paul and Silas to be
preaching the gospel. They were not
teaching that Jesus was an earthly king, but a king of an eternal kingdom. "And
they troubled the multitude and the rulers of the city, and when they heard
these things." Of course, those were false charges, and you
can see why the people might be troubled
by such charges.
Acts 17:9, "And
when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them
go." So verse nine, in modern day terms, would
mean they had to put up bond to be released.
But when they had taken the security from them to guarantee that they
would -- that Jason would not have them in his house any longer. And Paul and Silas were in danger as shown by
verse ten. "And
the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea." Does not that strongly indicate that they
recognized that their lives were in danger, that those unbelieving Jews would
kill them if they got a good opportunity?
And so the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea.
Now, let me talk a little bit about that they
stayed there more than three Sabbath days.
If we did not have anything but what is recorded here in these nine
verses, it might be that we would conclude that Paul just stayed at
Thessalonica for three Sabbath days. But
notice that they are staying in the house of Jason, and when they assaulted it,
they are looking for Paul and Silas, and they were not there. That gives time for them to have spent time
in the house of Jason. But the epistles
of Paul to the Thessalonians, I and II Thessalonians, show that Paul had stayed
there long enough to teach them on a number of different subjects, and on such
a wide scale of important subjects of the Bible, that would indicate that they
stayed there longer than that referred to as three Sabbath days in the
synagogue. In Philippians 4:15-16, he speaks of how
the church at Philippi had sent to his needs
once and again while he was at Thessalonica.
It was about a hundred miles from Philippi to Thessalonica, and in
those slow days of travel, that would have taken considerable time, and they had
sent once and again to his needs. I am
reading from Philippians chapter 4:15, "Ye
yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when
I departed from Macedonia, Meaning in the context from Philippi. no church
had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and
again unto my need." So they had sent from Thessalonica once and
again. So that would be at least
twice. A hundred miles from Philippi to Thessalonica would
indicate a longer period of time than three weeks, and so does all of the
teaching that Paul had given them.. And
in the beginning of the gospel at Thessalonica, it was some of the Jews that
believed, Acts 17:4, and of the devout
Greeks, a great multitude, and of the
chief women, not a few.
In the beginning the church at Thessalonica was
made up primarily of devout Greeks.
Greeks that had turned away from idolatry and were worshiping with the
Jewish people in the synagogue. But by
the time Paul wrote I Thessalonians, he speaks of how they had turned to God
from idols to worship the living God, which shows that the church at
Thessalonica had taught Gentiles that were still worshiping idols Gods. So by the time Paul wrote the epistles, I and
II Thessalonians, the church was made up primarily of those who had been idol
worshipers. They had, turned to
God from idols to worship the true and living God.
Back to 17:10, "And
the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: Who when they were come in thither went into
the synagogue of the Jews." Now this synagogue is much like that synagogue
at Iconium. Remember that a multitude of
Jews and Greeks in that synagogue believed.
"Now these were more noble Talking about the people in the
synagogue. Sometimes this is quoted and
referred to as Christians. But verse
eleven is talking about before the gospel is preached to them, the people in
the synagogue. than those in Thessalonica." At Thessalonica just some of the Jews were
persuaded there. "In
that they received. Notice how that they were more noble. In that
they received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the scriptures
daily, whether these things were so." Of
course, they would be examining the Old Testament scriptures, the many
prophecies that Paul would be telling them about and the meaning of them, so
their faith would be properly based.
They searched the scriptures daily or they examined the scriptures
daily. "They
received it with readiness of mind They
wanted to hear. and
they examined the scriptures daily, whether these things were so." When they examined the scriptures they found
out that their teaching was true. And
look at verse twelve, "Many of them therefore
believed; also of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of men, not a few." So many of them, in verse twelve, would refer
to the Jewish people, Many of them therefore believed. "Also
of the Greek women of honorable estate, and of the men, not a few." So there were many Jews and Gentiles in the
synagogue at Berea that believed.
But notice what those unbelieving Jews do. "But when
the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of
Paul at Berea
also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes." The unbelieving Jews from Thessalonica go
over there and stir up trouble against Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Anytime people
start very sincerely examining the scriptures, I think you will find that that
pattern will follow, that many will believe.
But let is read verse thirteen again.
"When the Jews of Thessalonica had
knowledge that the word of God was proclaimed of Paul at Berea
also, they came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the multitudes. And then immediately, the brethren sent forth
Paul to go as far as to the sea: And Silas and Timothy abode there
still." So we see that Timothy is at the church at Berea, left behind with Silas
at first, and he may have been at Thessalonica.
Acts 17:15, "But
they that conducted Paul, brought him as far as Athens: And receiving a commandment unto Silas and
Timothy that they should come to him with all speed, they departed." Now, some have raised the question as to
whether or not Silas and Timothy joined Paul at Athens. And we will take time to turn to I
Thessalonians chapter three when we study about their joining Paul at Corinth. It shows very definitely that they did. Luke had stayed behind at Philippi. Paul sent Timothy back to the church at
Thessalonica, and if he sent Silas to Berea, then all three of those churches
would have had men with real ability to teach and who evidently had gifts of
the Spirit to aid them in that teaching process. So very definitely Timothy joined Paul at Athens.
When Paul went to Athens, he went to one of the
great intellectual centers of that day as would be counted by worldly men. They spent their time hearing
and learning some new thing every day. But like
a lot of university towns today, with a number of people there with doctors'
degrees, but usually they do not know much about the true and the living
God. Athens was counted as a great
intellectual center, but the people at Athens did not know anything
about the true and the living God. They
had statutes to all of the gods that they knew about, and they had even erected
an altar to the unknown god, which gave Paul the opportunity to speak to
them about the true and the living God.
Verse sixteen, "And while Paul waited
for them at Athens
(Silas and
Timothy) his spirit was provoked within him as
he beheld the city full of idols." I guess
everywhere he turned, he saw a statue of an idol god, and it stirred Paul to
see how the city was full of idolaters. "So
he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews, and the devout persons." And that would refer to the Gentiles
again. "And
in the market place every day with them that met him." Those Jews and Gentiles in the synagogue had
been in that environment so long, that evidently they had become a part of that
idolatrous environment, and it looks like that they were indifferent to all of
the idolatry. Paul was trying his best to find people that he could teach, so
he reasoned in the synagogue to the Jews, and devout persons, and in the market
place. You have seen on TV market
places. Many countries of the world
today have them in a similar fashion as they were in the days of Paul. A lot of
people would be at the market places buying food, etc., and Paul was even
trying to teach the people in the market place.
"And the market place, every day
with them that met with him. And certain
also of the Epicureans and Stoick philosophers encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler
say? Others, He seemeth to be a setter
forth of strange gods." They are concerned about
worshiping all of the gods. "Because
he preacheth Jesus and the resurrection.
And they took hold of him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May
we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by thee?" The next verse is going to tell us about
that. They spent their time hearing and
learning some new things. So these
philosophers take hold of Paul and carry him into the Areopagus.
The American Standard Version says Areopagus, and
the King James Version says, Mars' hill. The Areopagus was an amphitheater
arrangement cut out in stone on Mars' hill, and it was a place where they had
the big court cases and other big public events. Evidently the situation was where a voice
would carry in a good way, and they
carried him into it. "And
saying may we know what this new teaching is, which is spoken by thee? For thou bringest certain strange things to
our ears: We would know therefore what these things
mean." Now notice how intellectual they thought they
were. "For
all the Athenians and the strangers sojourning there spent their time in
nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing So very modern, they thought. And Paul
stood up in the midst of Areopagus, and said, Ye men of Athens,
in all things I perceive that ye are very religious." I think the reading in the American Standard
is better than the King James, that you are too
superstitious.
That would not make a very good
introduction. And the American Standard
says you are very religious, "For as I passed
along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found an altar with this
inscription, to an unknown god." They were so zealous,
wanting to give honor to all the idol gods, that they were afraid that they
might leave out one and had one altar to the unknown God.
And so Paul uses that as an opportunity to talk
to them about the God that they did not know about. They did not know about the God that made the
heavens and the earth and all things therein. Think about what Paul does
here. How would you go about teaching
people that do not know anything about the true God, that have worshiped idol
gods all their lives, and do not know anything about the true God? The altar to the unknown God gave Paul a good
beginning place, that you are very religious and you have even erected an altar
to the unknown God. "What
therefore ye worship in ignorance, this I set forth unto you. The God that made the world and all things
therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with
hands." Athens was the intellectual
and cultural center of the Roman Empire, but the people
worshiped in ignorance. Is that not true today?
Paul said, Lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not
in temples made with hands. I guess that every way a person would look there would be a
massive temple with many of them overlaid with gold. Several years ago a military man showed me a
number of pictures that he had taken of temples overlaid with gold. So you can
imagine in Athens, there must have been a
lot of such temples that would shine from afar.
"The God that made the world and all
things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made
with hands." So the true God does not dwell in temples made
with hands. I believe we will stop
there. I would like to talk a little
more about that in the next class period. A brief recess was taken.
We were reading from Act Acts 17:22, where Paul said to
the people of Athens, in this assembly in
the Areopagus at Mars' hill. "The
God that made the world and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth,
dwelleth not in temples made with hands."
That reminds me of a statement that Solomon made at the time that the
temple that he built, was dedicated. He
talked about how God had fulfilled the promise that he had made to his father
David. David wanted to build the temple,
but God said that he had fought so many wars and shed so much blood, that he
would not build the temple, but his son Solomon would build the temple, and Solomon built a fine temple, but he knew that
God does not dwell in a temple made with
hands. I am reading from I Kings chapter
8:27, "But
will God indeed dwell on the earth?
Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how
much less this house that I have builded?
Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his
supplication, O Jehovah my God, to hearken unto the city, and the prayer which
thy servant prayeth before thee this day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house
night and day, even toward the place of where thou hast said, My name shall be
there: To hearken unto the prayer which thy servant
shall pray toward
thee this place." Solomon
went ahead in that prayer of dedication to say that whatever the people of
Israel did that was wrong, if they turned and prayed toward the house that he
had built, the temple in Jerusalem, that God would hear and forgive. And God heard Solomon's prayer and promised
that he would do according to his prayer.
I think that is surely the reason why we read in the sixth chapter of
the book of Daniel that after his enemies had gotten king Nebuchadnezzar to
make the foolish decree that if any man prayed to any person other than the
king would be thrown to the lions. And
then, of course, they knew that they had Daniel framed because they knew that
he prayed on a regular basis. After
Daniel knew that the king had signed that ridiculous decree, he still continued
to pray three times a day with his window opened toward Jerusalem, and that goes back to
Solomon's prayer, I Kings chapter eight.
Some of the idolaters in worship of their Gods
would put out food to their gods as though their gods needed to be fed, and what
he says in verse twenty-five would be a strike to their idolatry. "Neither
is he served with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth
to all life, and breath and all things.
And he hath made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of
the earth, having determined there appointed seasons, and the bounds of their
habitation." I am going to stop there. Verse twenty-six, made of one. That would mean from the one-man Adam, would
it not? God took a rib from Adam's side
and made woman, so she was made of one, so all nations have come from one. All people have come from the one man, Adam, and Eve, the mother of
the living. "And
he made of one every nation to dwell on the face of the earth, having
determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitations." Does the King James read a little differently
there? Made of one blood, and if any
person has got the same type of blood as the person that needs a transfusion,
it does not make any difference what race or what color, and that shows that
God had made one blood all nations of men from Adam. The King James says one blood. The American Standard made of one. "That
they should seek God, if haply they should feel after him, and find him, though
he is not far from each one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our
being; as certain even of your poets have said, For we are his offspring." And that would be kind of uplifting to them,
wouldn't it? We are the offspring of
God. And that gives opportunity to press
the point that since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that
the Godhead is liken to gold or silver or stone graven by the art and device of
man. You see how that is the strong
point there. If we are the offspring of
God, how do we think that we can make a god out of gold or silver or stone,
graven by art and device of man? We are
the offspring of God, and how could we make the true God?
Acts 17:30, "The
time of ignorance God overlooked; but now he commandeth all men that they
should all everywhere repent." So God has commanded all
men everywhere to repent. No man can be
saved unless he repents. And you
remember going back to chapter eleven when Peter told them the whole story
about how that the Holy Spirit fell on those Gentiles like on the apostles on
the day of Pentecost. The Jewish
brethren were ready to contend with
Peter, but he reviewed the story, and then they were glad when they heard the whole story, and they said, that God hath
granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto life.
So God is showing his favor toward men when he gives them opportunity to
repent and obey. In respect to verse
thirty, do you remember from Romans 1:18 ff, how that the
Gentiles, although they knew God, they tried to put God out of their knowledge,
and they served the creature rather than the creator, and they were ready to
exchange the truth of God for a lie. And
three times the writer says in that reference, Romans 1:18-32, that God gave
them up. Does that not fit in there with
verse thirty, the times of ignorance therefore God overlooked? "But now he
commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent." That does not mean that God saved men back there
who did not repent. It was during that
period of time, that God sent Jonah to preach to the Ninevites that short
message, yet forty days and Nineveh
shall be overthrown. They repented from the least to the greatest
of them, and God spared Nineveh for a long period of
time, until they became wicked again.
Verse thirty-one, "In
as much as he hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in
righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained: Whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." So God has appointed a day, a day as judgment
day. Matthew 24:36 Jesus says, of
that day and that hour knoweth no man.
And even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father only. So God has appointed a day. And when that day comes, then the world will
be judged. So God has appointed a day in
which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has
ordained. And, of course, that man
is Christ. John 5:22 reads, that
God has given all judgment unto his Son. Many
references in the gospel accounts show that Jesus will be the judge of all
men. Matthew25:32, "Before
him will be gathered all nations. He
shall separate them one from the other, as the shepherd separated the sheep from
the goats." And so Christ will be the judge. He does not know the day that that judgment
day will come, but God does. And so God
has appointed a day when he will judge the world by Christ whom he has
ordained, whereof he has given assurance unto all
men in that he has raised him from the dead.
The resurrection of Christ from the dead is the crowning miracle of all
miracles. It gives all believers the
assurance that God is going to raise all men from the dead. Christ is spoken of as the firstfruits of
them that slept because he is the first that was raised from the dead to die no
more.
Many were raised from the dead prior to the time
Christ was raised, but he is the firstborn of them that are asleep in that
assurance of that final resurrection of all men. All of the other people who
were raised died again, but Christ arose to die no more, therefore he is the
first fruit of the great resurrection day. Jesus speaks of that great
resurrection in John 5:28-29, "Marvel
not at this: For the hour cometh, when all that are in the
grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good,
unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the
resurrection of damnation." And there is the Old
Testament reference in Daniel that talks about that same resurrection. Daniel 12:2 reads, "And
many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2 is saying essentially
the same thing as John 5:28-29. And so even the Old Testament testifies that
there is going to be the resurrection of all the dead. In Romans 1:4, Paul said that Christ
was declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead." Christ had been declared to be the Son of God
by a voice from heaven on two different occasions. Why then did Paul say that he was declared to be the Son of God with power,
by the resurrection from the dead?
Because the resurrection of Christ from the dead is the crowning miracle
of all miracles. It gives testimony that
all are going to be raised. It gives
that assurance that all men are going to be raised from the dead. "And when
they heard of the resurrection of the dead."
Acts 17:32, "And
when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said Many of those idolaters had probably concluded
that death is just an eternal sleep, and so they did not want to hear about the
resurrection of the dead. Some
mocked, but others said. We will hear
thee concerning this yet again. Thus
Paul went out from among them." It looks like
they just cut him off. They were evidently
listening to him well until he spoke of the resurrection of the dead, and then
some began to mock, and they must have interfered in such a way that he
left. He did not try to reason with them
anymore so far as that situation was concerned.
"But some said we would hear thee
concerning this yet again. Thus Paul
went out from them. But certain men
clave unto him, and believed: Among whom also was Dionysius the Areopagite,
and a woman named Damaris, and others with them."
So at least there were some converts even in this city given over to
idolatry. So a church is established at Athens.
Chapter Eighteen
"After
these things Paul departed from Athens,
and came to Corinth;
and he found a certain Jew named Aquila,
a man of Pontus
by race, lately come from Italy,
with his wife Priscilla; because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart
from Rome: And he came unto them. And because he was of the same trade, he
abode with them." So Paul was of the
same trade as Aquila and Priscilla, and I
guess they invited him to stay in their house and engage in the business of
tentmaking with them. "And
because he was of the same trade, he abode with them, and they wrought: For by their trade they were tentmakers." One good thing about the Jewish people of
that day, and I believe it is pretty well true today, they believe in their
children being trained to do something. They
had a trade by which they could make a living.
And every person today needs to be trained where they can, put up shop
most anywhere they go and make a living.
Preachers need to be included in that number. It is dangerous for preachers not to be
equipped to make a living in a number of different things. Their family may increase with several
children, and the children are in school, and they are depending on what they
get from the church to live on. And some
times for no good reason the church cuts them off and tells them to move
immediately, or else preach what we want to hear, and they be tempted to do
that if they are not well prepared to
make a living at something else. But if
they are prepared to teach school or a number of different things, they can
still say no when they need to say no. A
lot of times they would not even have to move, all they would have to do is
start doing something that they were well-prepared to do and stay right where
they are.
Tentmaking would compare favorably to say being
any kind of good mechanic like auto mechanic, diesel mechanic, plumber, electrician. Any person well-trained might go to almost any
city, and there is plenty of work to do in nearly all of our cities today? Paul fitted into that category, and when he went from Athens to Corinth, he was without funds,
and during the first part of his stay, he has to engage in this trade of
tentmaking, staying with Aquila and Priscilla, and
preached in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
So in the beginning of his work at Corinth, he was a part-time
preacher. I wonder how many big churches
today would be ready to hire a part-time preacher. It is not that he wanted to be a part-time
preachers, but he did not have the funds to be a full time preacher, and he
wanted to preach the gospel to the people at Corinth.
When Paul went to Corinth from Athens he went to a commercial
city. Corinth really had harbors on
two seas. The Aegean
Sea and the Ionian Sea. Please look on the map of Pauls journeys. It
was many years before a canal was dug through that small isthmus between the
seas, but in Pauls day they pulled some of the vessels across that short
distance to save that long journey to go around to the other sea. They had a way that they could pull boats or small
ships from one sea to the other. Corinth was a seaport city, and
any seaport city usually has a lot of what kind of people in it? Corrupt
people, right? You would expect quite a
number of Satans camp to be in any
seaport city, and Corinth was surely a very
corrupt city. There was a temple there
that had thousands prostitutes, and they were ready to give themselves for the
upkeep of their religion, and you can imagine how many sailors were glad to go
to Corinth. The Gentile people were very immoral in
regard to sex, probably more so than the
worst of American cities today. We have
some places today that are very corrupt, but in some of their temples the
idolaters would have homosexual prostitutes and lesbian prostitutes. Adam Clark says that they would even pray to
their gods to give them more prostitutes.
So not only did they not think that it was wrong, but they thought that
that was the right thing for them to engage in, in all kinds of immoral sexual
relationships.
Paul goes there thinking that he could preach the gospel to the Corinthians! And he was very successful in preaching the
gospel to the Corinthians, which shows that the gospel really has power to save
sinners (Romans 1:16). And even though it was
a very corrupt city, Paul was able to establish a great church in the city of Corinth; But his first work was done in the
synagogue. Verse four, "And
he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks." So Greeks, meaning in the synagogue of the
Jews at Corinth. But remember we have already read, as his
custom was, he entered into the synagogue at Thessalonica. So as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue at Corinth, and he has an opportunity to preach in the
synagogue on the Sabbath day until Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia. And verse five in the American Standard 1901
version reads, "But when Silas and Timothy came
down from Macedonia,
Paul was constrained by the words, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the
Christ." The New American Standard and the New
International Version reads a little different than that. Let me read from the New American Standard Version. You need to remember this. Acts 18:5, "But
when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia,
Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying
to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." So
according to the reading from the New American Standard, Paul became a
full-time preacher when Silas and Timothy joined him in the work at Corinth. And the New International Version reads
essentially the same way, "And
devoted himself exclusively to the word."
Well, that says he stopped his tentmaking, right?
Well, at least Silas and Timothy, when they came
to him, they brought support from the churches of Macedonia, and you see that
that would have made it possible for him to become a full-time preacher when
they joined him. Turn to II Corinthians
chapter eleven. In this reference Paul
is rebuking the Corinthians for not standing up for him more than they
had. Verse five he says, "For
I reckon that I am not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles." Verse six shows that they had accused him of
being rude in speech. II Corinthians 11:6, "Though
I be rude in speech, yet I'm not in knowledge; but in every way we are made
manifest among you in all things."
So he had not come short on teaching them. "Or did
I commit a sin in abasing myself?" (doing
without) That
ye might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God for nought (for nothing)
I robbed other churches, taking wages
of them, that I might minister unto you."
Now, in verse seven, I think I can remember the day when I thought that
maybe he had done wrong. But that is not
the case, verse seven is sarcasm, as shown by the following verses. "I
robbed other churches, taking wages of them, that I might minister unto
you. And when I was present with you and
was in want, I was not a burden on any man.
For the brethren when they came from Macedonia (Silas and Timothy) when they
came from Macedonia
supplied; the measure of my wants: And in everything I kept myself from being
burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself." You see that shows very plainly that he did
not actually commit sin when he preached to them for nothing, because he said I
am going to continue to do it. "As the truth of Christ is in me, no man
shall stop me of this glory in the regions of Achaia. Wherefore?"
Or why I am not going to take anything from
you? "Is
it because I love you not? God knoweth." God knows that I love you. Well, why am I doing it? Verse twelve begins and gives the answer, "But
what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them that desire
occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we." They had false teachers at Corinth. And false teachers, usually one of the reasons
why they teach false doctrine for is for pay.
And Paul speaks of them here as false apostles in verse thirteen. He says, "For
such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, (the devil's workers) fashioning
themselves into apostles of Christ. And
no marvel; for even Satan fashioned himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his
ministers also fashioned themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end
shall be according to their works."
So one reason given in that reference is why Paul would not take any pay
from the Corinthians, he wanted to cut off those false teachers, do away with
their gravy train. If anything would
stop them from false teaching, cutting off their pay would stop a lot of them.
By Acts 18:5 you need to write down
I Thessalonians to remind you that while Paul was at Corinth on this second journey,
he began the writing of all of the epistles that he wrote. We know definitely that Paul wrote thirteen of
the New Testament epistles, and if we add Hebrews to that number, and I surely
think that he was the author of that book, then he wrote fourteen of the
twenty-seven New Testament epistles. And
this marks the beginning of his writing of those New Testament epistles. And if you ask how do we know? Then let us turn to I Thessalonians chapter
three, and we will read to get the proof.
Just about as soon as the church was established, as we have read from
Acts 17, persecution broke out against
the church at Thessalonica. And remember
Paul and Silas had to leave by night.
And so they were very concerned about the church at Thessalonica as to
whether that church would endure the great persecution that broke out against
it.
So I Thessalonians chapter three, let us read, "Wherefore
when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left Athens alone; and
sent Timothy our brother, and God's minister in Christ, to establish you,
and to comfort you concerning your faith."
So Timothy we know joined Paul at Athens. And it looks like Timothy would have joined
him when Silas joined him. "And
that no man be moved by these afflictions, for yourselves know that we are
thereunto appointed." So one of the subjects that Paul had taught
them was that just as surely as they remained faithful to the Lord, they would
suffer persecution. "For
verily, when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we are to suffer
affliction; even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, I also when I could no longer
forbear He was very concerned about whether or not
they were remaining faithful to the Lord.
sent that I might know your faith, lest
by any means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor shall be in vain." If they turned away because of persecution,
then all of Paul's labor among the Thessalonians would have been in vain.
Verse six is the clincher. "But
when Timothy came even now unto us from you, and brought us glad tidings
of your faith and love, that ye have good remembrance of us always, longing to
see us, even as we also to see you: For this cause, brethren, we are comforted
over you in all our distress and affliction through your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the
Lord." So verse six shows that Paul wrote the first
letter to the Thessalonians immediately after Silas and Timothy joined Paul in
the work at Corinth. And Timothy
came even now
and he brought the good news. And as we
have already reasoned, Paul probably sent Silas back to Berea so that all three of those churches would have
good teachers. And in the II
Thessalonian letter, written evidently just a few months after the first, in
chapter two of II Thessalonians, he tells that they should not be disturbed
about the second advent of Christ, that they were still disturbed after that
first letter. But they should not be
disturbed about the second advent of Christ, that he would not come until there
had been a great falling away, and men seeing and men believed. So Paul wrote both letters. And Silas and Timothy are included in the
salutation of both I and II Thessalonians which shows that they were with Paul
when he wrote both of those letters.
Both I & II Thessalonians were written from the city of Corinth, and the date would be
around 52 AD when those letters were written.
Acts 18:6, When Paul began his
full-time preaching, verse six, "And when
they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook out his raiment, and said
unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." I can remember the day when I did not begin
to know the meaning of the statement that he makes there, your blood be upon
your own heads, I am clean, from henceforth I will go to the Gentiles. What did Paul mean by that statement? He will not be guilty. Why?
Because he knew he had taught them correctly, and they were rejecting
the Lords instruction, and he was no longer under responsibility. Do you remember where that is taken from in
the Old Testament? Ezekiel. Turn first to the third chapter of
Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter three, picking
up with verse sixteen, "And it came to pass at
the end of the seven days, that the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son
of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: Therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give
them warning from me. When I say unto
the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor
speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine
hand." So do you see why Paul says I am free from
your blood? He had done as God had
instructed him to do. "Yet
if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his
wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." And so Paul had delivered himself because he
had been given them warning from God. "Again
when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commiteth iniquity,
and I lay a stumbling block before him he shall die (die spiritually) because
thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness
deeds which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require
at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn
the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall
surely live." It does not mean that he is going to live on
earth physically forever, but he would have spiritual life. People are separated from God because of sin
as given in Isaiah 59:1-2 when the prophet
said, "Behold, the hand of the Lord is not
shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your sins separated between you and your
God, and your iniquities have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." So sin separates men from God. And all accountable people who have not
obeyed the gospel of Christ are dead in sin, separated from God because of
their sin. And to the Ephesians, chapter
2:1, "And
you did he make alive, when you were dead in your trespasses
and sins." By their obedience to the gospel, they had
been made alive in Christ.
While we are here, turn to chapter eighteen, and
this is a very important reference. Not
only does the New Testament teach that salvation is conditional, turning on the
free moral agency of man all the days of his life, but that was true under the
Old Testament law as well. God raised up
Ezekiel as a prophet among the captives in Babylon, of the southern
kingdom. The tribes of Judah and
Benjamin had been carried into Babylonian captivity because they turned away
from God and served idol Gods. And those
people in captivity were blaming their punishment on their fathers. If you look at verse two, they had this
proverb going; the fathers have eaten sour grapes. They are trying to blame all of their troubles
on their fathers. Okay. Look now at verse nineteen, Ezekiel 18:19, "Yet
say ye, wherefore? Doth not the son bear
the iniquity of the father?" So you
see they were saying that we are bearing the iniquity of our fathers. We are in these circumstances because our
fathers did wrong. "When
the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and kept all my statutes and
done them, he shall surely live. The
soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son
shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son: The righteous of the righteous shall be upon
him, and the iniquity of the wicked shall be upon him." Verse twenty-one, "But
if the wicked turn from all of his sins that he hath committed, and keep
all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely
live, he shall not die." This verse means that he
will have spiritual life, that he will be no longer separated from God because
of his sins I believe we will turn back to this passage to begin our next
lesson with. I would like to talk a
little more about it. And we were down
to verse seven in Acts eighteen.