Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 8/4/02 Brad Brandt

Acts 13:44-52 "What God’s Word Can Do to a City"**

Many years ago in St. Louis, a lawyer visited a Christian to transact some business. Before the two parted, his client said to him, "I've often wanted to ask you a question, but I've been afraid to do so." "What do you want to know?" asked the lawyer. The man replied, "I've wondered why you're not a Christian."

The man hung his head, "I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard can enter the kingdom of God; and you know my weakness!" "You're avoiding my questions," continued the believer. "Well, truthfully, I can't recall anyone ever explaining how to become a Christian." Picking up a Bible, the client read some passages showing that all are under condemnation, but that Christ came to save the lost by dying on the cross for their sins. "By receiving Him as your Substitute and Redeemer," he said, "you can be forgiven. If you're willing to receive Jesus, let's pray together."

The lawyer agreed, and when it was his turn he exclaimed, "O Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved. O God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life." Right there he was converted. That lawyer was C.I. Scofield, who later edited the reference Bible that bears his name.

Oh, the power of the Word of God! Many people—including me—have benefited from Schofield’s reference Bible. Humanly speaking, the church enjoys the fruit of Mr. Schofield’s Bible teaching because someone was willing to open the Scriptures and introduce him to the Savior. No one is too far gone for God.

When God’s Word is proclaimed we can expect things to happen. God’s Word impacts individual people. God’s Word can even impact an entire city. It sure did in the case of Pisidian Antioch in the first century.

Paul and Barnabas went to Pisidian Antioch on Paul’s first missionary journey. They had to overcome some barriers even to get there, including John Mark’s defection and Paul’s apparent bout with malaria (which we described last week). When they arrived they went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The rulers asked them to share a word of encouragement with the congregation. Paul stood up and delivered a powerful gospel presentation, showing that Jesus Christ is the Savior promised in the Old Testament and that through Him there is forgiveness of sin.

The result of that three minute message was staggering, as we’re about to see. The ministry of the Word produced four effects at Pisidian Antioch according to Acts 13:44-52. Let’s notice these four effects remembering that the Word of God hasn’t changed. If we’ll proclaim it, we can expect significant things to happen in our day, too.

The stage is set in verses 42-43, "As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God."

The preaching of God’s Word created interest in the hearts of the hearers. The synagogue rulers extended an invitation for a follow-up message the next Sabbath. Apparently, some didn’t want to wait seven more days so they pursued Paul and Barnabas, asking for more information about this Messiah, "Jesus," of whom they had spoken. The missionaries urged them to ponder the subject of God’s grace.

Apparently, word spread rapidly the following week. The hearers told everyone they knew about the new preachers in town and invited them to come and hear the good news firsthand on the following Saturday. The publicity had quite an effect. Verse 44 states, "On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord."

That sentence amazes me. I’ve never seen a whole city gather together for an event, especially in our fragmented society. But Luke says that nearly the whole city showed up. That included the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who were present for the first message (16). But it also included pagan Gentiles, people who had never before darkened the door of a Jewish house of worship. They, too, came. The place was literally packed, with a standing room only crowd no doubt.

Yes, the ministry of God’s Word can produce curiosity. In this situation, there are two evidences of it.

A. People wanted to hear more. That’s why they came back. They gathered to hear the word of the Lord. People wanted to hear more. In addition…

B. More people wanted to hear. A lot more people wanted to hear!

I must offer a word of caution. It’s easy to get excited when you see initial interest by people in the Word of God. And we ought to be thrilled when people show a desire to hear more. But remember this. The enemy doesn’t give up quietly nor quickly. He knows that hearing alone saves no one.

What did Jesus say happened to the first type of seed in the parable of the four soils? Matthew 13:3-4 records, "A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up." Notice that. The seed hit the ground but it did no good. Why not? Because the birds came along and ate it.

What does that mean? Jesus made it clear in verse 19, "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path."

If the Evil One can’t prevent a person from hearing God’s Word, he will do all in his power to snatch that word from the person before it has time to take root and bear fruit. Keep that in mind as you listen to God’s Word. Take heed how you hear.

God’s Word produces curiosity. There’s a second effect, as we’ll see in the next part of the story.

Just think of it! It was the biggest thing that had happened at the synagogue in years. A packed house! But not everyone was thrilled.

Howard Hendricks is right. "Where there’s light, there are bugs!" Wherever Paul went, the more he shone the light of the gospel, the hotter his critics (the bugs) became. That happened in Pisidian Antioch. The ministry of the Word which produced curiosity also produced criticism.

A. The missionaries faced a potential setback (45). "When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying."

Remember, in the preceding week news spread all over the city. "You’ve got to hear what this traveling preacher has to say." And so the townspeople assembled, nearly all of them. That would include, as I mentioned earlier, the pagan Gentiles. In fact, I would assume that most of the new people at the second Sabbath service were Gentile. I would also assume, although Luke doesn’t state the location, that the meeting took place once again at the synagogue. That might help explain the not-so-favorable reaction by the Jews.

Picture the scene. A good Jew that had attended this synagogue for thirty-five years—in fact he had been sitting in the same pew for the entire time—came to the service that second Saturday. And what did he find? Someone sitting in his seat! But that wasn’t all. As he scanned the crowd he saw lots of strange faces invading "his" territory.

Yet that wasn’t the worst of it. He looked around and noticed something that caused his religious hairs to bristle. He noticed who was sitting in his seat. It wasn’t another Jew. It wasn’t even a God-fearing Gentile. It was a pagan, wild-living Gentile!

"Outrageous!" he muttered to himself. "What in the name of religion is going on here today? My synagogue is being contaminated by a mass of unclean heathens! Who does this Paul think he is?"

Human nature hasn’t changed much in twenty centuries. New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce offers this practical insight, "Knowing (as we unfortunately do) how pious Christian pewholders can manifest quite un-Christian indignation when they arrive at church on a Sunday morning to find their places occupied by rank outsiders who have come to hear a popular visiting preacher, we can readily appreciate the annoyance of the Jewish community at finding their synagogue practically taken over by a Gentile congregation on this occasion."

Luke says they were filled with "jealousy." It’s not just that they wanted to keep their seats, either. For centuries, they had enjoyed the "corner on the market" with God—or so they thought. But what they heard Paul say was that forgiveness from God was available to anyone, Jew or Gentile alike. They didn’t like that, and they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

They "talked abusively" against Paul and his new-fangled teaching. The KJV says they "spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming."

Why did the Jewish leaders hate Paul so much? They said it was because of what he was teaching. Luke says it was because of their envy. Simply put, they considered Paul a sheep-stealer since he was taking people from their fold. But know this. Taking sheep from wolves is not sheep-stealing. It is sheep-saving.

There’s a lesson here for us. If people are sitting under the teaching of liberal clergy who do not believe and teach the Scriptures, it is not sheep-stealing to urge them to study God’s Word with you. It is evangelism. Nor is it sheep-stealing to urge them to leave that place of apostasy and attend a Bible-teaching church. A minister who doesn’t believe and teach the Word of God isn’t a shepherd anyway, but a dangerous wolf.

Please realize that there are times when the ministry of the Word of God will produce criticism. One of the hottest critics of Word-centered ministry will be people in the religious establishment. We ought not be surprised when the criticism comes.

Theodore Epp, founder of Back to the Bible radio ministry, says he realized something was wrong when he stopped receiving critical mail. Convicted that he was not challenging the flock enough, he changed his preaching. "I'm afraid that when I'm pleasing everybody, I'm not pleasing the Lord," he later said, "and pleasing the Lord is what counts."

How did Paul and Barnabas respond to the potential setback caused by their critics? Did they tone down their message? Did they seek to work out a compromise to keep peace in the house? No. Instead, in straightforward fashion…

B. The missionaries dealt with the setback (46-47). Here’s how: "Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: ‘We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’"

The missionaries didn’t mince their words, did they? Notice that both men spoke this defense. They began by saying, "We had to speak the Word to you first." Remember, they’re talking to the Jews. Why did they have to go the Jews first? It was God’s plan.

Jesus’ instructions were clear. "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)." The mission was to begin with the Jews first, then go beyond. That’s what Paul did wherever he went. He later explained in his letter to the Romans, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Rom 1:16)."

Why did the gospel go to the Jews first? Simply because in the plan of God, they are God’s chosen people. The idea of being a "chosen" people has been greatly misunderstood, then and now. The Jews were not chosen as an end, but as a means to an end. God chose them for a purpose, to reveal His holy character to the onlooking world. God wanted to bless and use Israel so that the nations might come to know and glorify Him. That was the purpose of Israel’s election.

Did Israel cooperate? Sadly, the answer is no. The Jews began to presume upon their most favored status. They failed to see it as a means to and end. They took it for granted. They became hard-hearted to the Word of God.

Paul’s words are sobering. Verse 46—"Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles." Notice Paul’s conclusion. To reject God’s Word is to consider yourself unworthy of eternal life. What does he mean by that? To experience eternal life is to experience life as it will be in eternity. In the eternal age to come, God will be glorified fully in the lives of His people. The age to come is about God, not us. Though heaven will be a wonderful place for us with joy beyond imagination, the focus of heaven isn’t on us but on God. Right now He is giving eternal life to people who will live for His glory and honor in the age to come.

This is serious business. If a person rejects God’s Word now, he is showing himself to be unworthy of eternal life. People who live self-centered lives now reveal that they are not worthy of eternal life. If you think about it, it really makes sense. If all you think about in this life is yourself and doing things your own way, why would you even want to go to heaven, for in heaven what matters is God and doing things God’s way?

Because the Jews refused to accept God’s plan, thus showing themselves to be unworthy of eternal life, Paul made the shocking announcement: "We now turn to the Gentiles."

That’s amazing. For fifteen centuries no one turned to the Gentiles. Granted, God saved a few Gentiles here and there in the years between Moses and Paul, people like Rahab and Ruth. But the Jews certainly didn’t turn to the Gentiles. Jonah exemplifies the typical attitude. God had to twist his arm to go to the Gentiles, and when he finally went, he did so kicking and screaming.

When Paul and Barnabas said, "We’re going to the Gentiles," it was a drastic announcement. By what authority did they justify it? Why did they say they were turning to the Gentiles? Here’s the answer they gave, verse 47, "For this is what the Lord has commanded us." We’re going because God said to. Then they quoted from God’s Word, Isaiah 49:6, "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

That’s what Israel was supposed to be all along, a light for the Gentiles. And that’s what Isaiah predicted the Messiah would be when He came, a light for the Gentiles as well as Jews. That’s why Paul and Barnabas made it clear, "We’re turning to the Gentiles."

Can we learn anything from this about how to deal with opposition when doing evangelism? I believe we can. I see two important principles here for ministering God’s Word.

1. Don’t give up on the resistant. Paul said they were turning to the Gentiles. That didn’t mean they were giving up on the Jews. They weren’t. Nor would they in future cities.

Nor should we ever. God can reach the resistant, so let’s never give up on them.

2. Do give attention to the receptive. That’s why Paul turned to the Gentiles. We need to "keep in step with the Spirit," as Galatians 5:25 puts it. As we do evangelism, let’s look for prepared hearts. Granted, we mustn’t give up on the resistant, but we should pour our attention and energy into the receptive. Work out what God is working in.

Here are two guarantees. If we do evangelism, there will be resistance. But there will also be reception.

We discover a third effect of the ministry of the Word in verse 48. In addition to curiosity and criticism…

"When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed."

What’s involved in conversion? This is one of the most important verses in the Bible for demonstrating two dynamics involved in the conversion of sinners.

A. We see human action. What did the Gentiles do that day? Luke says they heard, were glad, honored God’s Word, and believed. Those are four activities involved in their conversion. How did they become Christians? They heard Paul and Barnabas say this message was for them. They were glad—that indicates emotion was involved. We aren’t anti-emotional. When a condemned criminal finds out the judge will pardon him, there ought to be emotion! He ought to be glad.

But in true conversion, emotion will lead to action and total reorientation of one’s life. Like it did for the Gentiles in verse 48. They were glad and honored the word of the Lord. There’s a good definition of a Christian. A Christian is a person who "honors God’s Word." In every decision he submits to it. Who should I marry? How should I spend my money? What occupation should I choose? When making decisions he submits his life to what God’s Word says in precept and principle.

Ultimately, they believed. "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for everyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists (Heb 11:6)." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31)." In conversion we see human action.

But there’s a wonderful second dynamic that under-girds every conversion…

B. We see divine action. Why did the Gentiles believe? Luke makes it clear, "All who were appointed for eternal life believed." We learn four important things about God’s work in our salvation from this. Each is vital.

1. God’s choice precedes our choice. All who were appointed believed. Which came first, the activity of appointing or the activity of believing? Luke says that God’s action preceded our action. The KJV states it in even stronger language, "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed."

F. F. Bruce comments on the event that occurred that day in Pisidian Antioch, "Many of them believed the gospel—all, in fact, who had been enrolled for eternal life in the records of heaven." That’s what the term "appointed" or "ordained" means. In eternity past God recorded the names of the people He would save in His Book of Life. Before we ever came into existence, God chose a people to be the underserved objects of His favor. He appointed them. He ordained them. He predestined them. He refers to them in His Word as the "elect" (see also Eph 1:3-6; Rom 8:28-30).

2. God’s choice doesn’t remove the need for our choice. "All who were appointed for eternal life believed." No one will be in heaven unless he believes in Jesus Christ. To be saved you must believe in Jesus and in His death as a substitute for you on the cross. You must choose Jesus. Your parents can’t do it for you. You can’t make it on the merit of your spouse’s spiritual condition. You must believe. God’s choice does not nullify our choice. To the contrary…

3. God’s choice is the basis for our choice. Is man responsible to choose? Yes, he is. Is he a free moral agent? Yes, he is—by God’s design. Does that mean man has a free will? Think biblically now.

For sure, Adam had a free will. When created Adam could choose to please God or to displease God. Tragically, he chose the latter. And something horrible happened, not only to Adam, but to all his future descendents after Adam’s sinful choice. He became a slave to sin. His once free will entered moral bondage.

We enter the world in that same condition. As sinners we enter the world not "free," but in bondage. Perhaps it’s semantics. I suppose we could say we are "free" to choose Christ—God certainly doesn’t hold a gun to our heads forbidding us to do so. But the problem is, we don’t want to submit our lives to Christ. We want to go our own way. That’s the condition of our depraved nature. We’re in bondage from birth.

But here’s the good news. In His grace God has chosen to save a people for His glory. His choice is the basis for our choice. And those whom God has chosen God will save. "All who were appointed for eternal life believed."

Some would say, "But if you believe in election you won’t do evangelism." That’s not true. Luke makes it clear that Paul did evangelism because he believed in election. In fact, that’s why Paul preached the gospel in the face of severe opposition. He knew God would save people. Yes…

4. God’s choice motivates us to do evangelism. If I thought that salvation was totally up to man, that God had limited Himself to man’s choice, then I certainly would shy away from hostile places. But Paul went there. Why? He wrote the answer to that question from his dungeon just prior to his execution:

"This is my gospel, ⁹ for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. ¹⁰ Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory (2 Tim 2:8-10)."

When it comes to salvation, there are two dynamics at work. There’s human action and there’s divine action. I may not be able to explain fully—to your satisfaction or to mine—the relationship between these two dynamics. But I know they’re both true because God’s Word teaches both. And I must affirm both. And I must do evangelism in light of both. And so must you. The ministry of the Word produces conversion.

We learn two things about this conflict in the final section of our text.

A. We are in a war (49-51). Beloved, the gospel work is warfare, spiritual warfare. Yes, the outcome is certain. The end of the story has been written. Jesus Christ will establish His kingdom. He will reign eternally with His people. Satan’s doom is fixed.

But the Evil One won’t go down without a fight. He hates God. He hates the people of God. He hates it when we take his turf away from him—and that’s exactly what happens when we do evangelism. Jesus Christ purchased the deed to the souls of men at the Cross. When we preach the gospel we are reclaiming territory from the Evil One for God.

Yes, we are in a war. As in any war, the ministry involves two activites.

1. The ministry involves advance (49). "The word of the Lord spread through the whole region." Wonderful! The Word of God reached not only Pisidian Antioch but the whole region around it. How did it spread? No doubt, by the efforts of the new converts. If just makes sense. If you really appreciate something, you’ll tell others about it.
But when there’s advance, there will soon be something else.

2. The ministry involves attack (50-51). John Wesley used to ask his young men whom he had sent out to preach on probation two questions: "Has any one been converted?" and "Did any one get mad?" If the answer was "No," he told them he did not think the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel, and sent them about their business. When the Holy Ghost convicts of sin, people are either converted or they don't like it, and get mad. 

Newton said, "For every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Note the reaction in Pisidian Antioch (50-51): "But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ⁵¹ So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium."

It’s significant that the Jewish religion had a special attraction for women in the ancient world. William Barclay explains, "Family life was rapidly breaking down. The worst sufferers were women. The Jewish religion preached a purity of ethic and cleanness of life. Round the synagogues gathered many women, often of high social position, who found in this teaching just what they longed for. Many of these women became proselytes; still more were God-fearers."

Paul’s critics couldn’t stop Paul directly so they recruited some help. They enlisted some of the upstanding women of the city. "We’ve treated you well, haven’t we?" they no doubt said behind motive-covering smiles. "We’ve always tried to treat women with respect and honor, and we’ll continue to do so. But if you listen to this renegade, cult-leader, Paul, who knows what will happen to women’s rights in Pisidian Antioch?"

And so they ran Paul and Barnabas out of town. The missionaries failed, right? Wrong. The truth is, not only are we in a battle but…

B. We are on the winning side (52). "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." These new believers may have lost their leaders (when run out of town), but they possessed two things the world can’t take away.

1. We have joy. They were "filled with joy." And…

2. We have the Holy Spirit. They were likewise "filled with the Holy Spirit."

In the ministry of the Word, conflict is inevitable, but be of good cheer. We are on the winning side!

While D.L. Moody was attending a convention in Indianapolis on mass evangelism, he asked his song leader Ira Sankey to meet him at 6 o'clock one evening at a certain street corner. When Sankey arrived, Mr. Moody asked him to stand on a box and sing. Once a crowd had gathered, Moody spoke briefly and then invited the people to follow him to the nearby convention hall. Soon the auditorium was filled with spiritually hungry people, and the great evangelist preached the gospel to them. Then the convention delegates began to arrive. Moody stopped preaching and said, "Now we must close, as the brethren of the convention wish to come and discuss the topic, 'How to reach the masses.'" Moody graphically illustrated the difference between talking about doing something and going out and doing it.

Friends, I’m not sure we realize just how powerful God’s Word is. When God’s Word is preached we can expect things to happen. That being the case I urge you to make two responses today regarding the Word of God.

1. We must believe it with conviction. Do you believe it? Do you believe it with conviction? If so, affirm it right now.

2. We must proclaim it with confidence. Let’s resolve to tell the world!

Acts  Sermon Series