I am going to be brief today, but that does not mean that topic de jour is of little consequence. After reflecting over the end of Acts 17, I wanted to present peoples’ reaction to the Resurrection. Some sneered, others wanted to hear again while others became followers of Paul and believed. In Christendom, Resurrection receives a great deal of attention around Easter each year. I don’t hear a lot of sermons, talks or even conversations about Resurrection over the course of the calendar year. Despite that, it is truly essential to the Christian faith. While the desire for resurrection is not unique to the Christian faith, Resurrection to live with God for all eternity is exclusive.

How can I say that? Because that’s what Jesus said. He makes an exclusive claim to the Resurrection unto life. We learn more about the Resurrection in John 11 where Jesus was talking to Martha about her brother, Lazarus, who had died. Martha was telling Jesus that if He had been there her brother would not have died. Jesus tells her you will see him again. She says, I know at the Jesus said to her “ “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; ²⁶ and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

In the spiritual sense, the bible teaches that without Christ as one’s Savior and Lord that person is dead in your transgressions and sins. One who sins is spiritually dead. Since all of us sins, all of us are or were at one point dead spiritually. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” That is the spiritual death – being separated from God. The bible also teaches that it is only Christ who makes you alive. There will be two resurrections – one of the living and one of the dead. Luke 14:14 talks about a Resurrection of the just or righteous. If there will be a resurrection of the just, there will also be a resurrection of the unjust.

Who are the just/righteous? Jesus gave us the answer in speaking with Martha in John 11. The just/righteous are those who believe in Him. Jesus said those who believe in him will live even though they die and whoever lives by believing in Him will never die. Jesus used the paradox of life and death in terms of the physical and spiritual death. Clearly with Lazarus’ death as well as His own, Jesus knew that people would die, but it was the physical. In terms of the spiritual, that is Jesus’ claim – that those who believes in Him would never die – that is would never be separated from God.

I am celebrating my Resurrection today. No matter what happens to me today, God, by my faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the Savior of the world, has assured me that I will not die even though I die. Hallelujah. I can’t lose.

Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse

According to reason.com, Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse is the standard line motorists hear when they say they weren’t aware of the speed limit, or gun owners hear when they say didn’t know about the gun laws in the jurisdiction they happened to get arrested in. Yet that ignorance is pretty understandable in an America where just about everything is being criminalized. At the federal level alone there are now more than 4,500 separate crimes, and that’s not counting the massive regulatory code, violations of which also can sometimes be punished with criminal charges. Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its content. While there are a few exceptions in our country, those exceptions do not exist with God any longer.

Let’s listen to what God had to say to the Athenians through Paul in Acts 17. Remember in this portion of the text, Paul is addressing them about idol worship as opposed to the true worship of the triune God.

²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ At that, Paul left the Council. ³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

In the past when people worshiped graven images, God conveys that He overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands people everywhere to repent. The command or direction according to His authority is for us to repent. What does it mean to repent? Typically in our world, people consider repentance as something for which you feel sorrow. Feeling sorrow has never changed anything. It’s just a feeling which ultimately dissipate. On the other hand, we learn from 2 Corinthians 7 that “¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. ¹¹ See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.” Repentance here is from the word metanoia which means a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done. In Acts 17:30 the word is metanoeō which means to 1) to change one’s mind, i.e. to repent 2) to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.

The essence of what Paul is telling the Athenians is that the true God, Jehovah, is providing man, through Jesus Christ, the opportunity to repent. Man has the opportunity to have a change of mind and purpose. The change of purpose is from serving self to serving Christ who died for you and was raised again. His resurrection is the authenticating evidence or proof that God is calling man to repent of serving idols whether of graven images or not. Anyone or anything other than the triune God is idol worship from which is there is no escape of justice from the one man whom he will judge the world. That man is Jesus. This is the same Jesus who said in John 3

¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God… ³¹ The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. ³² He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. ³³ Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.³⁴ For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. ³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Just as the policeman who pulls you over for breaking the speed limit may say Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse, the one and only judge will tell us the same thing if we fail to repent. Today, you have the choice to change your mind and change your purpose of living. The change can reflect God’s purpose rather than your purposes. The choice is yours just remember Ignorance of the Law is No Excuse.

Paul Presents God’s Autobiography

Okay, I will admit the title is a stretch because those who know God will spend eternity learning about Him. Consequently, the complete story cannot be told. For God, it is more about the portion of the story that God wants to be told. In Acts 17, we see God providing that for the Gentiles just as He had declared to Paul.

Paul is the delivery of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews and the Gentiles; however, Jesus told him he’d share Him with the Gentiles. An autobiography is a history of a person’s life written or told by that person. Since we know that all scripture is God-breathed, this classifies as God’s autobiography. Let’s see read where Paul Presents God’s Autobiography to the Gentiles in Athens. We join Paul as he speaks at the Areopagus which is

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

²⁹ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ At that, Paul left the Council. ³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

In efforts to draw those in Athens to Jehovah, Paul Presents God’s Autobiography. He gives them a historical account of how God has been calling man to himself. He wants them to see that all we have and all we are is rooted in God. This is the basis for the statement ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ As a consequence, it would behoove them to understand that fact and connect with God to experience life and life to the fullest. That is Paul’s message to use as well. Listen to the basis of “For in him we live and move and have our being.”

Deuteronomy 30:20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life,and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Job 12:10 - In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Daniel 5:23 – Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

Acts, as well as all of God’s Word,  Presents God’s Autobiography. As Paul tells those at the areopagus, it would behoove us to listen and take heed to what he whom we live, move and have our being. Then we can recite God’s Word drawing mankind to himself.

A Proclamation of Peace

In the post Distressed Over Idols, I submitted that “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” Why was Paul distressed? He knew the people did not have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He knew that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) He was Distressed Over Idols because he knew the people longed to know God but were lost because of their faith, trust or confidence was in idols not Jesus.

We all experience distress, but the question is what do we do with it. Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” The key for us is to turn to the Lord God. From Psalm 34:7, we see that those who turn to Him are delivered. Paul, being great in the knowledge of the Jewish law or scriptures, is well aware of what King David wrote. Since Paul’s conversion, Paul was coupled what He knew about God from David’s words with what Jesus told him. As a consequence, Paul was committed to telling people about Jesus being the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Let’s see Paul experience distress over the souls of men and do something.

¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. ¹⁹ Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ²⁰ You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

 Paul communicated A Proclamation of Peace to those in Athens. Remember, every issue that we are dealing with should be filtered through whether a person or circumstance has been viewed through the eyes of God. God wants our burdens. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells us “²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Paul is delivering Jesus to them just as he was told by Jesus.

If we call ourselves followers of Jesus, He has told us to deliver A Proclamation of Peace for those who seeking and serving idols.

Distressed Over Idols

Growing up, one of my favorite television shows was Gilligan’s Island. There was an episode  where Gilligan finds a lucky stone, “The Eye of the Idol”, that entitles him to three wishes before the end of the day. Throughout the show, there are always images of tiki idols. Being unchurched as a child, I never thought much about the idols represented by the tiki totem poles.

Now as a believer, I am constantly being assessed by the Holy Spirit as to whom I place my faith, trust or confidence that rivals Jehovah.  There are many definition the bible uses to describe an idol – among a few of them are a 1) horrid thing, horrible thing (4656) or as an 1) image, statue, idol (5566) or as a 1) of nought, good for nothing, worthless a) of physicians, a shepherd, a divination b) of false gods (457), still another is defined as 1) an image, likeness a) i.e. whatever represents the form of an object, either real or imaginary b) used of the shades of the departed, apparitions, spectres, phantoms of the mind, etc. 2) the image of an heathen god 3) a false god (1497). We would typical define an idol as an image of a deity other than God.

We are still in Acts 17 where we have seen Paul, Silas, Timothy and other present the gospel. The Gospel Haters in Berea caused Paul to be sent to Athens to protect him. While there, the Word of God says, “While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.” Why was Paul distressed? He knew the people did not have faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He knew that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) He was Distressed Over Idols because he knew the people longed to know God but were lost because of their faith, trust or confidence was in idols not Jesus.

Are we Distressed Over Idols for the people we are around? Just this week, I became distressed over people’s since of idols. There are adults in the building where I work that want to be accepted and favored by me. They really think that I am somebody to want to feel that they are important to me. Some how, there are some whom have been associated or termed to be “in his circle”. While meeting with a co-worker on Tuesday evening, I replied that the notion of a circle is funny but not funny. It is funny because there is no circle. It is not funny because people are hurt or offended. In some sense, we hold people as idols when we want their acceptance, approval or favor. There is no person who is worth that, not even my wife, not even my kids or my mother. While I love them all dearly, God is the one whom I esteem. He is capable of meeting my need with no limitations. None of those whom I love dearly is capable of fulfilling that need in my life.

When we place people in the place of God in our lives, we, along with God, become Distressed Over Idols. If you find yourself disenchanted with someone, it’s probably because you have given them too much faith, trust or confidence that rivals Jehovah. If you are distressed over a person, take back your faith, trust or confidence that should be directed to Jehovah. If you do, you will not be distressed because you will have your faith appropriately placed in Jesus just as Paul desired for those in Athens.

Gospel Haters

One of the most primal emotions is jealousy. There are many acts that arise from jealousy. Our text (Acts 17:13-15) today evidences one act that springs from jealousy – hate. The word hate has been around for a long time. Dictionary.com defines hater as one who dislikes intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; The Urban Dictionary defines hater as a person that develops a strong dislike for another, solely basing their own opinion on personal judgment rather than objective merit. The formation of a hater’s contempt commonly arises from jealously and/or resentment.

In most cases when someone is a “hater”, the issues are really not that important. The hate arises over trivial matters that are otherwise insignificant in the scope of life. That is not the case in Acts 17:13-15. What we see there are Gospel Haters. Let’s listen to the Word of God

¹⁰ As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. ¹² As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

¹³ But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. ¹⁴ The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. ¹⁵ Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Verses 10-12 offer us a contrast to which we must view the Gospel Haters. In the post The Charge of Hearing Christ Proclaimed, the plaudits for the Bereans were shared. The focus of the post today is how the Gospel Haters responded to the gospel of Jesus Christ. One thing about “haters” is that they don’t let things go. They are sour responders. Earlier in Acts 17, there were some Jews who did not like that people were believing the gospel message. When they learned that Paul and Silas were still preaching the gospel, they came to Berea to cause problems for them. In fact, the text from verse 13 says that they began agitating the crowds and stirring  them up. In essence, they gave cause to a disruption then fueled that flame in efforts to derail Paul and Silas’ efforts to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s a Gospel Haters.

Even in Acts 17:13-15, we do not see a new phenomena in terms of haters. This has been the case for a long time. We see it with Cain and Abel, with Saul and David, with the king of Israel and Micaiah, with John the Baptist and Herod and especially with Jesus. When one proclaims the gospel, you can expect to have someone to hate you. Jesus said in John 15:19 “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” There are many other statements made about Gospels Haters.

The one thing that we need to remember is that the only reward worth being hated for is for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. People will hate us for all kinds of reasons, but the only one that truly matters is if we are taking a stand for Christ and proclaiming His Name as the only Savior and Lord. Who hates you and why?

The Charge of Hearing Christ Proclaimed

Since we began seeing Christ’s promise of power and witness become true in Acts, most of what has been presented has been about presenting Christ to people in efforts to have them center their faith on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In today’s passage, I believe that there is a different tenor to the message. Today, it is about how we should receive a word about the triune God.

During Paul and Silas’ travels, we see them beginning Christ’s call to go to the end of the earth as witnesses. In Acts 17, they first visit Thessalonica. In the verses following, they visits Berea. Let’s examine how Luke writes about the comparison between the Thessalonians and the Bereans.

¹⁰ As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. ¹² As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

It is clear that the character of the Bereans was much more valued than that of the Thessalonians. Beyond how they responded to the message in terms of agitating the crowd of people for acceptance of the gospel, it is the response to the gospel that drives Luke’s testimony about the Bereans. Once more, Luke says, “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” He says their character was more noble. Not that some of the Thessalonians were not noble, but the Bereans were more noble – more distinguished, more admirable, more morally astute.

Why? The received the message with great eagerness and examined the “scriptures” to see if what Paul said was true. God calls for blind faith in Him but not in what men say. For the Word is clear, that there will be false teachers among us. It is our responsibility to handle correctly the Word of truth. When was the last time that you came home after hearing a sermon and examined what the preacher proclaimed as truth as truth? Did you look up one verse? Did you research one claim? When Luke wrote this about the Bereans, he, by the inspiration of God, was writing to challenge us to examine the claims of those who purport that they are proclaiming the gospel.

The Charge of Hearing Christ Proclaimed is our responsibility. Will you receive the Word with great eagerness and examine the Scriptures daily? That is the charge we have received from our God. We can choose. Let’s do so wisely.

The Cost of Proclaiming Christ

There are a lot of causes that people stand for and stand against. Daily, you can see some advocacy or protest in your life. It is rarely over something that is truly significant or life altering. It is almost never over something that is eternal. In our search for meaning and significance, it seems plausible to me that at least the Lord Jesus should be one value we are willing to advocate or protest. That’s not true though. Those who know Jesus as the Christ, Savior and Lord fail too often in The Custom of Proclaiming Christ. We fail Him, His Kingdom and His Father when we don’t proclaim Christ. Perhaps, our fear of The Cost of Proclaiming Christ is the reason we don’t herald Him. Regardless, we know that we will face opposition when we make it known that our actions are because of Jesus Christ.

Let’s face it, people do not like it when they are told what Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Let’s see it in action during Paul’s time in Acts 17.

² As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. ⁴ Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

⁵ But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” ⁸ When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil.⁹ Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

You see the people couldn’t get Paul and Silas, so they got Jason and other believers who associated with them. Since Jason open his home to Paul and Silas, he was accused of the real issue at the heart of us all – that Jesus is King. No one wants to acknowledge that they really want to be kings of their own lives. They want to rule rather than being ruled. The problem is that we all are desperately inept at ruling our own lives. We make horrible messes of our lives because we are not all-knowing, all-powerful, all-wise or all anything except a mess. Our lives are not the old adage of making lemonade out of lemons. We don’t have the ability to do that without God. Jesus tells us that too in John 15:5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

The heart of the matter is our heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” In the Old Testament, the “heart” is more than the seat of emotion. It represents the basis of character, including the mind and the will (4:19; Prov. 4:23; 16:23). There can only be one king and Jesus is it, but again, we do not want to surrender to that. This is the reason we are disobedient in proclaiming Him as well as the reason for those who refute Him. They want to be king. I Corinthians 6:12 says, ““I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.”

In our hearts, the question rings of who is the king? The God answers that in His Word. Psalms 24:7-9

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

We may not believe it now, but upon Jesus’ return, all will see that He is truly the King. The cost for Jason and the believers were that they were thrown in jail. What is God asking you to give as one who is supposed to proclaim Him. We must either demonstrate He is King now, or we will certainly demonstrate that He is King later at a much greater cost.

The Custom of Proclaiming Christ

According to dictionary.com, custom is defined as a habitual practice; the usual way of acting in given circumstances. There are a lot of customs in which we are involved. It is a custom for me to write this blog. It is a custom for us to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. It is a custom, in some cultures, to kiss one whom you greet on both sides of his/her face. What do they really mean? More importantly, what do those customs really accomplish?

The most important custom we can commit is seen in Acts 17. Listen

When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. ⁴ Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.

It was Paul’s custom to go into the synagogue and explain and prove that Jesus was the Messiah who had to suffer and rise from the dead. Why was this his custom? In Acts 9, God told Ananias ““Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.” Verse 20 of this chapter says this about Paul. “ At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.” It was Paul’s custom to proclaim Christ because Paul was obedient to the call God placed on his life.

If we call ourselves Christians, the same call to be witnesses for Jesus has been given to us in Acts 1:8 just as it was given to the first disciples. If  The Custom of Proclaiming Christ is not our custom, we are disobedient. We need to begin The Custom of Proclaiming Christ and watch God do His work through us just as he did with Paul and his companions in the Word of God.

The Mission at Philippi

In the post Spiritual Lottery, I discussed hitting the spiritual jackpot – knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior. As with a physical jackpot of money, we would expect the newly enriched person to share his/her wealth with those whom he/she loved and then with those around where need surfaced.

In Acts 16, God uses the two people we see saved to do just that thing. Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke are proclaiming the gospel in Acts 16. There are two important people who “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” Lydia and the Jailer are central figures in Acts 16. God does not just share with us their conversion for the sake of information. He wants us to know how they fit into what He said He would do. That is important so we will know how He wants to use us as well. Acts 1:8 says “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” We see God fulfilling that in Paul’s life as a testament to what He will do in our lives.

We know that Lydia and the Jailer both believe in Jesus during this chapter. The setting of this chapter is in the city of Philippi. This is the same Philippi to whom Paul pens a letter called the Philippians – a book in our precious bible. Connecting those facts, we see that God essentially used Lydia, a wealthy business woman, and the Jailer, one who had some authority and clout, to establish His church in Philippi. Lydia, the Jailer and all the other believers in Philippi learned what we are told in Acts 4

Jesus is

“‘the stone you builders rejected,

 which has become the cornerstone.’ ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

 

This is the message that Paul shared with them. For the church to continue to exist when Paul wrote the letter, there were many who continued to share that salvation is found in no one else other than the name of Jesus. At the end of Acts 16, we see those two central figures, the Jailer and Lydia, being encouraged by Paul and Silas to carry on the message of Jesus as Lord and Savior after their release from prison.

³⁵ When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” ³⁶ The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

³⁸ The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. ³⁹ They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

If you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, who is God using you to build His church? Are you still proclaiming Jesus as the only means to salvation? Both Lydia and the Jailer’s household served the Lord. I am not how authentic my daughter’s proclamation of faith in Jesus is, but she consistently affirms that she believes that Jesus is the Son of God who saves us from the consequence of our sin. My son has yet to express faith in Christ, but I am hopeful that God will do as He did with the Jailer in saving me first then my household. Where are you and your household? People must see Jesus in us before they can authenticate our proclaimed word about who Jesus is as Savior and Lord. As with Paul and Silas, we can leave after doing God’s work where He has sent us.

Just this past Thursday, a student asked me if I had a church as if I was a preacher. I told him no, but I belonged to a church. He expressed a desire to begin coming with me, so I hope that we can get him there. Even as I sit here now, God just revealed to me that there are a group of believers at my school. We should be working on the belief system of the souls there both young and old.