Acts 18 -- It's Always Too Soon To Quit!

Paul left Athens alone, headed for Corinth, which had a reputation for wickedness.  My commentary said, "When God opens doors, the enemy tries to close them, and there are times when we close doors on ourselves because we get discouraged and quit ... In Corinth, the Lord gave him just the encouragement he needed to keep him going, and these same encouragements are available to us today."

Paul soon met Aquila and Priscilla, who he lived and worked with until Silas and Timothy arrived with financial aid from the Christians in Macedonia.  He then began to teach and preach full-time.  

"Whenever God is blessing a ministry, you can expect increased opposition as well as increased opportunities ... The enemy gets angry when we invade his territory and liberate his slaves."  Again, unbelieving Jews stirred up trouble.  "Such opposition is usually proof that God is at work .... as Spurgeon said, 'The devil never kicks a dead horse.'"

My commentary mentioned two Old Testament images here:

1)  Paul shook out his garments -- an act of judgment that said, "You have had your opportunity, but now it's over."

2)  Paul said they had blood on their head -- meaning they were to blame for their own judgment.  They had the opportunity to be saved, but they turned it down.

"At just the right time, God brought another friend into Paul's life -- Titus Justus ... Paul departed from the synagogue and began using the house of Titus as his preaching station, right next to the synagogue ... even the chief ruler of the synagogue was converted!"

Jesus spoke to Paul in a vision and assured him that no one would hurt him and that Paul would bring many sinners to the Savior.  He even said, "I have many people in this city."  My commentary said this implied the doctrine of divine election, for "the Lord knows those who are His."  But "divine sovereignty in election is not a deterrent to human responsibility in evangelism," it said.  "Quite the opposite is true!  Divine election is one of the greatest encouragements to the preaching of the gospel.  Because Paul knew that God already had people set apart for salvation, he stayed where he was and preached the gospel with faith and courage.  Paul's responsibility was to obey the commission; God's responsibility was to save sinners."

Father, thank You for encouraging me this morning!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 17 -- Three Cities, Three Responses

As Paul ministered in three different cities, he received three different responses.  In Thessalonica, he first went to the synagogue, reasoning, explaining, proving, and announcing what Scriptures said about Christ.  After 3 weeks, a large number of people had believed.  But the unbelieving Jews manufactured a riot (how very religious of them!)  so that the city magistrates would have Paul removed.  Paul and Silas couldn't be found, so they obtained a peace bond which Jason paid, guaranteeing they would leave and not return.

Paul and Silas headed to Berea, where people were meeting daily to discuss Scripture.  Many people believed, but again Satan brought unbelieving Jews from Thessalonica to stir things up.  Paul was slipped away by sea to Athens.

Paul faced ridicule in Athens regarding the resurrection doctrine.  "To a Greek, the body was only a prison, and the sooner a person left his body, the happier he would be ... They believed in immortality, but not in resurrection ..." my commentary said.  "Some laughed and mocked and did not take Paul's message seriously.  Others were interested but wanted to hear more.  A small group accepted what Paul preached, believed on Jesus Christ, and were saved."

Warren Wiersbe said in his commentary, "We still need witnesses who will invade the halls of academe and present Christ to people who are wise in this world but ignorant of the true wisdom of the world to come ...   God may use you to call them.  Take the gospel to your Athens."

Father, I agree.  Those who appear wisest to the world are often those who do not know You, and I'd like to make the introduction.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 16 -- God Does More Openings

On the return trip heading back west, Paul and Silas came to Derbe and then Lystra, where Paul enlisted Timothy as his special assistant.  Timothy's mother was Jewish and his father was Greek, so he hadn't been circumcised.  In a way, he represented the new makeup of the church.  He'd be working with both Jews and Gentiles in the years to come.  Paul made a decision based not on the truth of the gospel, which he had already addressed to the legalists who insisted on circumcision, but on Timothy's fitness to serve, by having him circumcised.  Timothy must have looked Jewish, and as he would speak with Jewish men, Paul wanted to eliminate any stumbling blocks to his ministry, my commentary said.  An obviously Jewish man who had not had the procedure could be ineffective in speaking with other Jewish men about the Scriptures.  

This chapter had three "openings", my commentary said.  "Paul had tried to enter new territory for the Lord by traveling east into Asia Minor and Bythinia, but the Lord closed the door ... In His sovereign grace, God led Paul west into Europe," instead.  In addition to this new territory being opened, God opened Lydia's heart, then He opened the prison doors so that Paul and Silas could get back on their journey.  Of course, that also led to the opening of the jailer's heart as well, along with those of his family, who were all saved.  "Different people with different experiences, and yet all of them changed by the grace of God," my commentary said.

Father, help me to see all of the ways You are at work around me today.  Help me also to know the best way to introduce each person to You.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 15 -- Don't Close The Doors!

My commentary begins this chapter with the true statement:  "The progress of the gospel has often been hindered by people with closed minds who stand in front of open doors and block the way for others."

"Paul and his associates faced this same challenge at the Jerusalem conference about 20 years after Pentecost.  Courageously, they defended both the truth of the gospel and the missionary outreach of the church."

Legalistic Jewish teachers were causing disputes by coming to Gentile churches and insisting that the weight of the Jewish law (which the Jews had never been able to keep themselves) be thrust on the backs of Gentiles if they were to be saved.  "They were stitching up the rent veil and blocking the new and living way to God that Jesus had opened when He died on the cross," my commentary said.

In defense, Peter reviewed the past, reminding them that God had told Peter to preach to the Gentiles, that He'd given the Holy Spirit to them to bear witness that they truly were born again, that He'd erased the difference between Jews and gentiles, and that the yoke of the law had been taken away by Jesus Christ.  "The law cannot purify the sinner's heart, impart the gift of the Holy Spirit, or give eternal life.  What the law could not do, God did through His own Son."

The church leaders in Jerusalem, directed by the Holy Spirit, led the church to make a twofold decision.  They concluded that Jews and Gentiles are all sinners before God and can be saved only by faith in Jesus Christ.

Two commands were also given to Gentiles -- to avoid idolatry and immorality (sins that were especially prevalent among the Gentiles); and two concessions -- that they would willingly abstain from eating blood and meat from animals that had died by strangulation.  "The early church did a great deal of eating together and practicing of hospitality.  If the Gentile believers ate food that the Jewish believers considered unclean, this would cause a division in the church.  The prohibition against eating blood was actually given by God before the time of the law (Gen. 9:4) ... It was a living compromise that did not in any way affect the truth of the gospel."

For us today, my commentary added, "As we deal with our differences, we must ask, 'How will our decisions affect the united witness of the church to the lost?' ... Unity is not uniformity -- it's based on love and not law.  There is a great need in the church for diversity in unity, for that is the only way the body can mature and do its work in the world."

Father, continue to grow unity in our church and repair the unity we once had.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 14:21-28 The Wasted Wealth of American Believers

As missionaries, Paul and Barnabas engaged in several important ministries, my commentary said.  Of course, first, the preached the gospel and made disciples.  Second, "They strengthened the believers in the things of Christ and encouraged them."  Third, "They organized the churches."  Finally, "They reported to their sending church on the work God had done."

I liked the review of Paul's operating principles that I read:

1)  He worked primarily in the key cities and challenged the believers to take the message to the outlying areas.

2)  He used the Old Testament when preaching to Jews, but emphasized the God of creation and His goodness to the nations when preaching to Gentiles.

3)  He established and organized local churches.

4)  He grounded believers in the Word of God.

My commentary also noted that they "did all of this without the modern means of transportation and communication that we possess today.  'Others have done so much with so little, while we have done so little with so much,' according to one pastor.  The wasted wealth of American believers alone, if invested in world evangelization, might lead to the salvation of millions of lost souls."

Father, continue to lead me to seek Your will for my life and to go where You want me to go.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 14:1-20 Sinning To Help God?

It's unfathomable just how ultra-protective the Jews were of their religion -- to the point that they would actively work to cause people to sin to defend their religion!  They wanted to mistreat Paul and Barnabas and even stone them to death!  They traveled miles to persuade people to turn against Paul.  They stoned him and dragged him out of town, believing they'd killed him, and in doing so, they had to believe they'd defiled themselves by touching what they supposed was a dead body!

How shocked they must have been when he walked back into town!  They allowed raw hate to build in their hearts.  It seems to me that in doing all of this, they were no different than radical Muslims today!

Still, Paul and Barnabas continued to preach the Gospel and spread it all across the territories.  Their devotion to God and to Christ was incredible.  Jesus had given the apostles instructions regarding these situation in Matthew 10:23 -- "When you are treated badly in one city, run to another city."  He was telling them the time was short and there were many more people ready to hear the message.

Father, show me how to love those who strike out against me.  Change their hearts and show them that I am doing what You direct me to do.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 13:14-52 The Divine and The Human Side of Evangelism

Paul and Barnabas traveled to Antioch in Pisidia and first made contact with Jews in the local synagogue.  Being asked to speak, Paul first reviewed Jewish history up through the ministry of John the Baptist.  "He made it clear that it was God who was at work in and for Israel, preparing the way for the coming of the promised Messiah.  He also reminded his hearers that the nation had not always been faithful to the Lord and the covenant, but had often rebelled...He explained to them why their leaders in Jerusalem rejected and crucified the nation's Messiah.  It was not because they had not read or heard the message of the prophets, but because they did not understand it ... It was the resurrection of Jesus Christ that was the crucial event:  'But God raised Him from the dead' ".  Psalm 2:7 is quoted, as was Isaiah 55:3 and Psalm 16:10 which should have led them to seek faith in Christ because of what their own Scriptures said.  Many Jews and Gentile proselytes believed.  The presence of many Gentiles likely made the Jews envious and angry, though, my commentary said.

One thing I particularly liked was verses 48 & 49, which my commentary said "gives us the divine side of evangelism (v. 48), for God has His elect people and indicates that God's people have their names written in God's book.  But v. 49 is the human side of evangelism:  if we do not preach the Word, then nobody can believe and be saved.  It takes both." 

Father, thank You for including us as a part of Your salvation.  Help us to never miss an opportunity You present to us! 

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford