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The Power of the Word of God and the Works of God — Acts 19:8-20
We have been singing the Christmas carols and it sounds like the arrival of the infant is so sweet and tender and gentle. The angels are proclaiming “Peace on earth and good will to men;” yet God is born into a world where the forces of evil battle desperately against the kingdom of God.
God has placed each of us in our own sphere of darkness in order to bring the light of the gospel to those around us. For the Apostle Paul, that sphere of darkness we will study today is the city of Ephesus – a city dominated by satanic and demonic activity; A city known for the temple of Artemis and for all of its magical and occult practices; A city where God is going to demonstrate that the power of His Word and of His Works can be victorious in radically changing lives and rescuing people from the bondage of their life of futility.
Dispensational Progression from John’s Baptism to Christian Baptism — Acts 19:1-7
There are numerous baptisms mentioned in God’s progressive revelation. Ceremonial purifications were common practice in Judaism. These early forms of baptism could involve priests or other believers or even clothing and various utensils (Lev. 8:6; Exod. 19:10-14)
Mark 7:3, 4
“For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.”
Heb. 9:9-10 speaking of the limitations of the OT priestly system in contrast to the New Covenant:
“Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.”
These actions only touched the outer man while Christ came to bring reformation from within under the dispensation of the New Covenant
But the most important types of baptism are discussed in our text this morning and there is much controversy surrounding how this historical narrative should have application to believers today. It should be clear that there is some type of progression in view from
- first, the baptism of John the Baptist which is described as a baptism of repentance, of preparation for faith in Jesus Christ to
- second, what I will call Christian baptism. This is described as believer baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus and bears some association with the reception of the Holy Spirit.
The Ideal Preacher — Acts 18:24-28
In the last 5 verses of Acts 18, we get introduced to a very special preacher. We see the beginning of the ministry of Apollos in Ephesus. His activities are sandwiched between Paul’s two visits to this important city – a short stay and then a more extended stay which we will study later in Acts 19.
Apollos is noteworthy for a couple of reasons:
- He bridges the transition from those who were just familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist (more of an OT saint) to those who are fully indoctrinated in the gospel message of Christianity and what it means to be a disciple of Christ; we always have to keep in mind the transitional nature of the events in Acts
- He also demonstrates for us many of the characteristics of an ideal preacher; in fact he becomes so popular that when we study the first four chapters of 1 Corinthians we are dismayed to see that some immature believers had directed their loyalties to his personality and ministry rather than fully appreciating the balanced ministry of the body of Christ; they had to be reminded to focus on
Cycle of Aggressive Ministry — Acts 18:7-23
I am convinced that one of the primary purposes of the Book of Acts is to motivate us to aggressive ministry as we witness time and again God’s faithfulness throughout the inevitable cycle of crisis and deliverance. Paul keeps entering into new situations, but the outcome is very similar. If we are willing to walk by faith and be pioneers in ministry, we too can experience the same privilege of seeing God’s faithfulness to bring ministry fruit and deliverance from persecution. But if we are willing to sit on the sidelines and leave the evangelism and edification to others, we will have a very lethargic Christian life.
Turf Toe Continues to Trip Up Ravens
Certain injuries seem to become the nemesis for a particular team. Sometimes you experience a rash of hamstring injuries; lately in baseball it seemed like we were seeing a lot of oblique problems. Now with the Ravens the seemingly innocent Turf Toe continues to afflict our major stars. Until it caused the retirement of Jonathan Ogden, I can’t say that I had ever given this injury much consideration. But now with the early season problems of Ben Grubbs (which completely disrupted the chemistry of our offensive line) and the current battle for Ray Lewis, we must recognize Turf Toe as a serious adversary. How could pain in the big toe take down the gladiators of America’s most physical sport? It seems like overkill . . . but the results speak for themselves. Ray Lewis had endured countless hits and physical abuse to all parts of his body, but still maintained an impressive consecutive game streak until the toe sat him down. Maybe we need some special big toe conditioning drills . . . or maybe a little brace that would support the ligaments. Regardless, the Ravens have come up against a formidable foe.
Encouragement in Corinth — Acts 18:1-11
By the time the Apostle Paul arrived in Corinth, he had many reasons to be discouraged and fearful in the ministry.
- Remember his call in Acts 9:15-16 “he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” We have seen that sobering prophecy fulfilled in city after city.
- Acts 13:50-52 – first missionary journey in Pisidia Antioch – persecution instigated by the Jews arose and Paul had to shake the dust off his feet and leave the district and head over to Iconium
- Acts 14:5 – attempt was made to stone the missionary team – they escaped
- Acts 14:19-22 – they fled to Lystra where Paul healed the lame man – here the attempt to stone him was successful and Paul was left for dead … but he was revived by the Lord and went back into the city to finish the job – “encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying ‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’” Paul was an expert when it came to tribulations
- Internal debate among church leaders in Acts 15 over the controversy surrounding circumcision – probably some pretty heated discussions; a lot of stress
- Painful parting of ways with Barnabas over the issue of taking John Mark with them as they set out on the second missionary journey
- Then the pattern kept repeating itself of ministry success and jealous opposition and painful persecution – beaten with rods and imprisoned in Philippi (16:23); hidden by Jason and the brethren in Thessalonica from the angry mob and snuck out of town to Berea; chased there by the same folks so that he had to flee to Athens where he ministered all alone against a bunch of intellectuals who ended up mocking the message of the resurrection for the most part
So by the time he gets to Corinth, he is still lonely and ministering by himself; he is physically exhausted and probably still suffering from earlier beatings; he has new challenges ahead because of the depressing sinful state of this commercial hub and seafaring town; plus he was out of money and would not have much time for ministry because of the need to work to support himself
Tebow Time Must be Explained as a God Moment
When the clock ticks down to under 5 minutes, everybody knows it’s Tebow Time. No matter how poorly he or the Broncos have performed up to that point, it seems that some type of indomitable will comes over the Denver quarterback as he takes charge of a come-from-behind surge. Last night against the heavily favored New York Jets on a national TV platform Tebow did not disappoint as he shut up many of his media critics. Sure you can criticize his unorthodox throwing motion — it looks like it takes him maximum effort to wind up and hurl just a medium length pass. Sure you can criticize his inaccuracy. But there is no denying his intangible leadership ability that wills his team to victory time and again.
No Room for Tolerance about Who God is, Part 3 — Acts 17:30-34
Some commentators have criticized Paul’s approach in Athens based on a couple of factors:
- He was ministering solo – without the support of the other members of his missionary team
- Acts 17 does not seem to stress the message of the crucifixion (although certainly preaching Jesus and the Resurrection presumes the significance of the crucifixion)
- He quotes from a couple of their pagan poets
But I would argue that Paul adjusted his approach to his audience and that Acts 17 is a masterful exhibit of effective communication of the gospel message with its emphasis on the uniqueness of God in contrast to the futility of idol worship. We have already studied Paul’s Approach and his Argument. Today we finish with a look at his Application and the variety of Responses.
No Room for Tolerance About Who God Is, Part 2 — Acts 17:24-29
J I Packer: (Knowing God) What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we set ourselves in life? To know God What is the “eternal life” that Jesus gives? Knowledge of God. “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). What is the best thing in life, bringing more joy, delight, and contentment, than anything else? Knowledge of God. “Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me” (Jer. 9:23 f.).
Paul comes to these sophisticated intellectuals in Athens and brings to them the precious knowledge of God. He presents the gospel argument in a way that exposes the inconsistency and foolishness of worshiping their many idols while focusing on the majesty and glory of the One True God.
PROCLAIMING THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD – HE IS UNIQUE – LEAVES NO ROOM FOR TOLERANCE OF WORTHLESS RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY
Like a yearlong seminary course on the Nature and Attributes of God – true Theology …
Looked last week at Paul’s Approach – picking up on their recognition of an altar to the Unknown God – Next week will be part 3 – the Application (the altar call) – Here we have Paul’s Argument — What does Paul proclaim here about Who God is?
No Room for Tolerance About Who God Is, Part 1 — Acts 17:16-23
The University of Richmond where Jenny attended has a very special contest for its students with a very valuable reward. You can win a free year’s tuition by submitting the best thesis question for the university to debate and discuss from various angles for a couple of years. It’s called the Quest Question. Past winner: “Is Truth in the eye of the beholder?” Doesn’t sound too tough (you have to submit an entire package that expands on your theme and suggests avenues of debate for the different departments)
Jenny and I put our heads together and submitted a surefire winner: “Is Tolerance the new modern virtue?”ccWe’ll be talking about this today …
However, sad to say it must not have been politically correct enough to win the prize …
Winning statement = “When does Discovery Inspire Change? Why Change?”
What about Tolerance in today’s culture?
being patient and fair is one thing; We are not talking about going about like the KKK in a crusade of violence and a lynch mob type mentality; but today tolerance means not speaking against another point of view as being wrong and dangerous … but taking a hands-off approach; different strokes for different folks