I love this phrase in Acts 15 verse 2 "no small dissension and disputation." We talk a lot about how modern day writers phrase things but Luke is so diplomatic here! This was a huge issue that could make or break the early church. It proves again how you have to read things in context and know the background to what is written. Gentiles were coming to faith and the Jewish Pharisees wanted them to observe the Jewish cleansing ritual of circumcision. Peter realised the problem stemmed from his visit with Cornelius and showed that circumcision was pointing to a greater cleansing which came on them in the form of the Holy Spirit. No physical cleansing was required, these people had been cleansed from the inside out. Chapter 15 is an amazing chapter because we see the leadership of the church being rocked and yet also standing firm united in their decision that the conversion of the Gentiles was exactly what the prophets of the Old Testament had said would happen in the future. James, the half brother of Jesus comes to the fore and ensures how things should be for the future. If only every church leadership could be like this today!
I love the affirmation Peter makes in verse 11 "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved even as they." Yet again for me personally that word " grace" appears reminding me that nothing I do can ever give me salvation, it is all of Jesus. We cannot work our way to heaven, it is God's free gift offered to everyone who repents and believes in what he has offered.
Today's bible reading in my quiet time was Acts 16.
There is a lot of reference in this chapter to prayer ...
At a prayer meeting a religious woman, Lydia was converted
On the way to a prayer meeting a rebellious woman, a certain damsel was converted
During a prayer meeting a jailer was converted
Following a serious division between Paul and Barnabas they parted company. Paul took Silas returned to Derbe and Lystra where they met Timothy who joined them on their travels.
Then the Holy Ghost stopped Paul going further. God wanted to give Paul a continent to win them for Jesus not just a few cities. What this meant in effect was that Europe opened up to the gospel.
David Livingstone wanted to go to China but God sent him to Africa. William Carey wanted to go to Polynesia but God sent him to India. God guides us along the way to just the right place.
There is a lot of reference in this chapter to prayer ...
At a prayer meeting a religious woman, Lydia was converted
On the way to a prayer meeting a rebellious woman, a certain damsel was converted
During a prayer meeting a jailer was converted
Following a serious division between Paul and Barnabas they parted company. Paul took Silas returned to Derbe and Lystra where they met Timothy who joined them on their travels.
Then the Holy Ghost stopped Paul going further. God wanted to give Paul a continent to win them for Jesus not just a few cities. What this meant in effect was that Europe opened up to the gospel.
David Livingstone wanted to go to China but God sent him to Africa. William Carey wanted to go to Polynesia but God sent him to India. God guides us along the way to just the right place.
1 chapter 3 conversions and each unique in their own way.
Previously we saw Paul heading straight for the local synagogue when he arrived in a new city but in Philippi there was none, only an outside meeting by the river which was only attended by women.
Lydia is a seller of purple cloth which was expensive in those days. Later we read she invited Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke to stay in her home so she was wealthy. She came from Thyatira, the city where Paul had been forbidden to travel to - is that not amazing? God was going to answer his prayers in an unusual way. Instead of going there God was bringing someone from there to him. She was also a woman which worshipped God. This means she was a God fearing Gentile. When Lydia attended the prayer meeting by the city she didn't know something supernatural was about to happen to her. The Lord opened her heart. This is what happens when Jesus speaks to us and calls us to follow him. She received the truth she heard from Paul that day. She made a decision and wanted all her family to do the same. The Lord brought an individual to Christ but also established a church in a Roman colony.
Previously we saw Paul heading straight for the local synagogue when he arrived in a new city but in Philippi there was none, only an outside meeting by the river which was only attended by women.
Lydia is a seller of purple cloth which was expensive in those days. Later we read she invited Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke to stay in her home so she was wealthy. She came from Thyatira, the city where Paul had been forbidden to travel to - is that not amazing? God was going to answer his prayers in an unusual way. Instead of going there God was bringing someone from there to him. She was also a woman which worshipped God. This means she was a God fearing Gentile. When Lydia attended the prayer meeting by the city she didn't know something supernatural was about to happen to her. The Lord opened her heart. This is what happens when Jesus speaks to us and calls us to follow him. She received the truth she heard from Paul that day. She made a decision and wanted all her family to do the same. The Lord brought an individual to Christ but also established a church in a Roman colony.
The second person who responded to Christ in the city of Philippi was also a woman but this time around a young woman. She was filled with a spirit of divination. In other words Satan controlled her and gave her specific information about people. In this case she actually proclaimed the gospel for Paul but Paul got fed up with her preaching. Paul commanded the spirit in this young woman to come out in the name of Jesus Christ. Immediately the spirit did come out. That left a problem - the people who profited from her work were suddenly left without an income. It was not in fact this reason that they mentioned to the magistrates - simply their message was troubling the city. They whipped up the people of the city so much that the magistrates had to act. They ordered them to be beaten and then put in prison.
The third person to be converted in Philippi in Acts 16 was the jailer, probably the person who beat Paul and Silas earlier in the city square. He was instructed to escort them to prison with their feet put in stocks. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and started to sing praises to God.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake. The result was all the doors of the prison were opened and all the stocks were loosed.
The jailer immediately realised that if the prisoners had left the prison by this stage he would be responsible and could lose his own life. He decided there was no other choice but to kill himself. Paul knew that he would think to do this so shouted to tell him to not even think about it. Immediately he came in to the cell where Paul and Silas where. He was trembling and fell down before them asking what he had to do to have his sins forgiven. Paul and Silas responded "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
And that is the best question anyone could ask. It is simply a matter of believing in Jesus, what he has done on the cross of Calvary, to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven for now and all eternity.
The jailer did that and he took the men to his own house, washed their wounds and provided them with a meal.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake. The result was all the doors of the prison were opened and all the stocks were loosed.
The jailer immediately realised that if the prisoners had left the prison by this stage he would be responsible and could lose his own life. He decided there was no other choice but to kill himself. Paul knew that he would think to do this so shouted to tell him to not even think about it. Immediately he came in to the cell where Paul and Silas where. He was trembling and fell down before them asking what he had to do to have his sins forgiven. Paul and Silas responded "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
And that is the best question anyone could ask. It is simply a matter of believing in Jesus, what he has done on the cross of Calvary, to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven for now and all eternity.
The jailer did that and he took the men to his own house, washed their wounds and provided them with a meal.
Yesterday I was reading Acts 16 and there is so much you could mine from this chapter! I searched my own blogger posts and this sermon really refreshed me as I read it again. We meet 3 people in this chapter and see 3 people come to faith in Christ but these 3 people could represent so many we meet today - there is the religious who have been to church all their lives and yet have no heart knowledge of God, then there is the person who is determined never to come to faith in Christ, they give themselves over to the devil and all his power over them. These people know the truth and will do everything they can to run from the truth of God. Whenever someone comes to faith in Christ they will do all they can to oppose God in their subtle persecution of the Christian. Finally there is the person who is fed up with life, mentally unstable, running from God and not realising it. When life hurts for them they try to end it all but they do not realise they are but a step from God. If they were to look back on their lives they might see God working to bring them to this moment in time. Suddenly a person who knows the truth could be right there to help them - I wonder would you be that Christian today who could help someone at rock bottom today.
Having read Alistair Begg's book earlier today and the chapter titled No Other Gods, I turned to the next chapter in Acts.
Part of Acts 17 is about Paul's visit to Athens and as he took a trip around the city he found various altars and in particular one to the Unknown God. These people were supposedly highly intelligent, they thought they had heard of all the gods. But they had never heard of Jesus. All the religions they were used to hearing about had a kind of sameness because of their human origins. But Paul was telling them of a God who became human and rose from the dead to save sinners. It was unlike anything they had ever heard.
This altar was erected just in case - just in case there was a god that hadn't been acknowledged in their vast array of gods. Paul used this idea of a god they didn't know to present to them the one true God.
Part of Acts 17 is about Paul's visit to Athens and as he took a trip around the city he found various altars and in particular one to the Unknown God. These people were supposedly highly intelligent, they thought they had heard of all the gods. But they had never heard of Jesus. All the religions they were used to hearing about had a kind of sameness because of their human origins. But Paul was telling them of a God who became human and rose from the dead to save sinners. It was unlike anything they had ever heard.
This altar was erected just in case - just in case there was a god that hadn't been acknowledged in their vast array of gods. Paul used this idea of a god they didn't know to present to them the one true God.
I opened my bible today and went back to Acts chapter 18. Paul has moved from Athens to Corinth, 46 miles east. He finds a married couple Aquila and Priscilla. They had been expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius - why because they believed in Jesus. They were tentmakers just like Paul and they welcomed him to stay as their guest in their home. Hospitality at its best - Paul would stay here for 18 months. As usual Paul went into the Jewish synagogue, persuading and reasoning with both Jews and Greeks. But he was not welcomed there so he left and went to a house owned by Justus. According to the bible this house was literally next door to the synagogue. This became the meeting place for Christians. 2 homes opened to Paul in the city. But what happened next is amazing.
The leader of the Jewish synagogue Crispus came to faith in Christ along with many of his own family. His salvation was the means of others in Corinth coming to faith too.
I just think this is a wonderful story of how God works in people's lives. For Paul I am sure it was disappointing that he had to leave the synagogue but to have that leader decide for Christ - it was the beginning of a new church in this city. Sometimes God opens people to the gospel we never would imagine. All those years Crispus had been attending the synagogue and one day he hears Paul and God opened his heart. It made me think that even today the same could happen again. Such a reminder that we need to pray for the ministers, elders and deacons of our churches. Who knows maybe God could use us as his believers to show such people the way of true salvation. Sad to realise there may be some in our churches, in leadership positions who have never accepted Christ as their own and personal Saviour.
The leader of the Jewish synagogue Crispus came to faith in Christ along with many of his own family. His salvation was the means of others in Corinth coming to faith too.
I just think this is a wonderful story of how God works in people's lives. For Paul I am sure it was disappointing that he had to leave the synagogue but to have that leader decide for Christ - it was the beginning of a new church in this city. Sometimes God opens people to the gospel we never would imagine. All those years Crispus had been attending the synagogue and one day he hears Paul and God opened his heart. It made me think that even today the same could happen again. Such a reminder that we need to pray for the ministers, elders and deacons of our churches. Who knows maybe God could use us as his believers to show such people the way of true salvation. Sad to realise there may be some in our churches, in leadership positions who have never accepted Christ as their own and personal Saviour.
Nancy Guthrie in her book Saved commenting on Acts chapters 21 to 23 talks about the idol of safety.
I have often heard this prayer "Lord plant a hedge of protection around them." We all like to ensure we are safe but do we take that idea too far? What if God should ask us to speak about him to people who openly oppose Christ? Those who are openly mocking and blaspheming his name? Or what if God asks us to go somewhere we have never been before? It may mean leaving our comfortable lives behind, uprooting to new people and places. Maybe we realise some of what we hear in our churches in Sunday morning is contrary to the truth we know in our hearts and in God's word and we are being challenged by God to stand up for what we believe in. Or what would happen if what we ourselves teach in our churches is being challenged and we are asked to compromise, to water it down so that people feel more comfortable? Perhaps the word of God is not being taught and our church leadership is turning from that to a more pleasing "easy" faith.
Has personal safety become an idol for me?
I have often heard this prayer "Lord plant a hedge of protection around them." We all like to ensure we are safe but do we take that idea too far? What if God should ask us to speak about him to people who openly oppose Christ? Those who are openly mocking and blaspheming his name? Or what if God asks us to go somewhere we have never been before? It may mean leaving our comfortable lives behind, uprooting to new people and places. Maybe we realise some of what we hear in our churches in Sunday morning is contrary to the truth we know in our hearts and in God's word and we are being challenged by God to stand up for what we believe in. Or what would happen if what we ourselves teach in our churches is being challenged and we are asked to compromise, to water it down so that people feel more comfortable? Perhaps the word of God is not being taught and our church leadership is turning from that to a more pleasing "easy" faith.
Has personal safety become an idol for me?
Sometimes in my bible I insert pages which are literally lifted from The Enduring Word Commentary - here is an example.
As I read these chapters last night I came to the realisation that I had never read or heard a sermon on how and why Paul was arrested and put in prison. And more importantly how similar it was to Jesus' arrest. The difference was Paul got to defend himself. This incident took place 25 years after Jesus' death and honestly not much had changed in the Jews attitude to the Christian gospel. These people would have killed Paul in the temple if the Roman guard hadn't stepped in. The Jews did not like the fact that Gentiles were being accepted into faith- they didn't like the fact that Paul a Jew himself was reaching Gentiles with the gospel and they were turning to this in thousands.
We are called to follow Jesus and shouldn't be surprised when events in our lives are like events in Jesus' life. There may be a time of temptation in the wilderness, a time when people come to us with needs only God can meet, a time when we seem to be at the mercy of a storm, a time when we must cry out to God as in the Garden of Gethsemane, a time when we must simply lay down our lives and trust God will gloriously raise us up. We like Paul are predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son - Romans 8 verse 29.
As I read these chapters last night I came to the realisation that I had never read or heard a sermon on how and why Paul was arrested and put in prison. And more importantly how similar it was to Jesus' arrest. The difference was Paul got to defend himself. This incident took place 25 years after Jesus' death and honestly not much had changed in the Jews attitude to the Christian gospel. These people would have killed Paul in the temple if the Roman guard hadn't stepped in. The Jews did not like the fact that Gentiles were being accepted into faith- they didn't like the fact that Paul a Jew himself was reaching Gentiles with the gospel and they were turning to this in thousands.
We are called to follow Jesus and shouldn't be surprised when events in our lives are like events in Jesus' life. There may be a time of temptation in the wilderness, a time when people come to us with needs only God can meet, a time when we seem to be at the mercy of a storm, a time when we must cry out to God as in the Garden of Gethsemane, a time when we must simply lay down our lives and trust God will gloriously raise us up. We like Paul are predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son - Romans 8 verse 29.
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