Monthly Archives: June 2019

THE BOOK OF ACTS – NO BUM

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CHAPTER 18

NO BUM

“After Athens, Paul went to Corinth. That is where he discovered Aquila, a Jew born in Pontus, and his wife, Priscilla. They had just arrived from Italy, part of the general expulsion from Rome ordered by Claudius. Paul moved in with them, and they worked together at their common trade of tent-making. But every Sabbath he was at the meeting place, doing his best to convince both Jews and Greeks about Jesus.” Acts 18:1-4 (The Message).

Paul was a nomad but he certainly was no bum. He had no mission board behind him and no monthly stipend to depend on. He was not ashamed to get his hands dirty to take care of his own needs in the course of his mission. He had not only received a rigorous religious training but he had also learned a skill as a tent-maker, which came in handy to meet his needs and to give him credibility in his ministry.

Having done what he could in Athens to sow the seeds of the gospel, he left behind another small group of believers and moved on to Corinth. God was always one step ahead of him on his journey. Aquila and Priscilla, like-minded fellow-Jews, were already in Corinth and ready to give him a home for as long as he needed to be in the city. They were obviously His provision for Paul during his stay there.

No doubt Paul paid his way during his stay in Corinth and probably used his opportunity to “chat” the gospel to his host and hostess. There is no indication that they were believers when they moved from Rome. To all intents and purposes, the gospel had not yet reached Rome unless through some traveller who had spoken about Jesus in the capital city during a visit there.

At this

point Paul confined his preaching to the Sabbath at the local synagogue. During the week he and his hosts worked together on their tent making, forging close ties of friendship and love that lasted a lifetime.

We have travelled with Paul since his pre-conversion days and walked with him through the shattering experience of a personal encounter with Jesus and the days that followed. He was a man just like us. He made his mistakes, misjudging John Mark, falling out with Barnabas, and had to change his mind in the end, but he was also a man of extraordinary courage and perseverance. Never did he renege on his commitment to follow Jesus and to carry out His commission.

Corinth was a particularly wicked city, as we glean from Luke’s story and from Paul’s letters. The infant church tolerated unacceptable behaviour among its members, probably because it was woven into their culture and they thought nothing of sexual perversion, drunkenness and factions within the church.

No doubt Paul needed to spend an extended period of time with them to teach the church the standards of godliness demanded by their new life. They had no background knowledge of the Scriptures and it fell to Paul to instruct them painstakingly in the ABC’s of the gospel; hence the home of these amicable Jews provided a base for him to operate.

Corinth must have been a learning experience for Paul as well. He learned to be a gracious guest as well as a loving and caring pastor of a church growing in the heart of “Sodom”. He needed patience, tolerance and perseverance to guide the believers away from their old lives of self-indulgence and debauchery to the newness of Christ-indwelt children of God.

We will read Paul’s letters to this church with new understanding when we recognise what he was up against in this city of Satan. God had provided an oasis for him in Aquila and Priscilla’s home and a skill which he shared with his hosts. With that as a jumping off ground, he was able to live out and minister Jesus to the new believers there.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – THE LINE IN THE SAND

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THE LINE IN THE SAND

“God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better — but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and He’s calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And He has already appointed the judge, confirming Him before everyone by raising Him from the dead.

“At the phrase “raising Him from the dead”, the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off, making jokes; others said, ‘Let’s do this again. We want to hear more.’ But that was it for the day, and Paul left. There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, and stuck with Paul — among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.” Acts 17:30-34 (The Message).

Here is an evangelist at his best! First of all, he knew his audience. They were mainly Greeks with a philosophical background and, at the same time, steeped in the traditions of their Greek and Roman idolatry. Paul’s point of contact was the shrine he found to the God nobody knew. At least they acknowledged that there was a God out there somewhere that humans didn’t invent.

He set out to introduce them to this God, first of all as Creator, and then as Judge. That must have been a shock to his hearers. Creator, yes, but Judge? That meant that they were accountable to Him, and some didn’t like that. The implication was twofold — what did He require and when would this happen?

In their religion, life was a haphazard affair. It was their role to appease the gods to avert annoying them, with dire consequences. They needed their protection and their intervention when necessary but there was no guarantee that either would happen. Anything bad was attributed to the wrath of the gods, but they were, unfortunately, unpredictable and capricious. There was no knowing what they would do.

Worst of all, the gods didn’t always see eye to eye. They were selfish and self-centred and acted just like humans. They were powerful in their own portfolios but they didn’t always use their power for the benefit of their devotees, and they often encroached on one another’s territory. That’s a problem when there are too many gods!

To introduce one God who had set a day to judge the world was a new thought altogether. That meant that He had a standard by which He would judge and that there would be some sort of punishment for those who didn’t measure up. Oh and, by the way, He had also chosen the Judge — a guy who died and came back to life again! That put the cat among the pigeons!

Gods could do that because they were gods, but a man! No way! The hearers immediately split into the three typical groups: Those who dismissed his words as a joke, those who were interested and wanted to know more, and those who accepted his words as the truth and embraced them.

As always, it was the resurrection that caused the parting of the ways. Why? It did not fit their world view. Paul understood that the world views of the Jews and Greeks were vastly different.

“For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:20-24 (NIV).

What was it that exposed the attitude of Paul’s hearers? It was the foolishness of the message. A dead man rising — that’s what caught them out. Funny how many people who claim to be believers are happy to talk about God? But Jesus, dying and rising? Yet that is the cornerstone of our faith — and the line in the sand.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – WITHOUT EXCUSE

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WITHOUT EXCUSE 

“‘The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for Him, as if He couldn’t take care of Himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make Him. Starting from scratch, He made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find Him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; He’s near. We live and move in Him, can’t get away from Him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we’re the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we can hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?”‘ Acts 17:24-29 (The Message).

Spot on again, Paul!

Paul was speaking to people who thought they were “intellectuals”, intelligent people who majored on thinking logically. Unfortunately, their logic did not take them any higher than human wisdom. They were unable, through their own reason, to figure out the existence of an unseen God who is Creator of everything. Yet Paul said, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that this is possible.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 (NIV).

How is it possible, for instance, that intelligent, logical-thinking, modern scientists, using all the sophisticated equipment they have to examine created things in minute detail, can come up with the “conviction” that it all just “happened”? Could it be that the issue is not one of the mind but of the will? Is it basic dishonesty that refuses to “see” the work of the Creator, even though it can be clearly seen by the untrained eye?

Even David, a young shepherd, with neither microscope nor telescope, could say:

“The heavens declare the glory of God;

The skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

Night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language

Where their voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out into all the earth,

Their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4 (NIV).

These Athenians at least began with the possibility that a God existed of whom they were vaguely aware, although they knew nothing about Him. They acknowledged Him with a shrine that was placed among all the other shrines, putting Him on a par with their man-made gods. It was up to Paul to set the record straight, which he did in a masterful way without attacking their error or putting them down for their foolishness.

Paul’s modus operandi was to fill in the gaps in their understanding. He exploited their honest mistake by taking them from where they were to where they could be if they moved from logic to faith, from reason to revelation. The God they ignorantly acknowledged was unseen but real, not confined to a shrine but as near to them as their breath. They did not create Him; He created them. That meant that they were subject to Him, not Him at their beck and call. Even their own poets had somehow hit on the truth: ‘We are His offspring.’

Unfortunately, right there is the parting of the ways. Those who refuse to give up their right to be right, deny the truth that God is Creator and that, therefore, the creature is accountable to Him. But that doesn’t change the truth. That makes the stubborn creature doubly accountable — for lying about God and for refusing to submit to Him.

So where do we stand? It all depends on how honest we are. We can side with the scientists who refuse to say, ‘God is Creator,’ or we can side with David who looked up at the night sky and marvelled at the intricate design of the God he had come to know and worship as his Shepherd.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

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ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

“These people got together and asked him to make a public presentation over at the Areopagus, where things were a little quieter. They said, ‘This is a new one on us. We’ve never heard anything quite like it. Where did you come up with this anyway? Explain it so we can understand.’ Downtown Areopagus was a great place for gossip. There were always people hanging around, natives and tourists alike, waiting for the latest tidbit on most anything.

“So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. ’It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, TO THE GOD NOBODY KNOWS. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.'” Acts 17:19-23 (The Message).

Masterful stroke! We can learn a lot from Paul’s approach to people. His evangelistic style was faultless. He was no Bible-basher; he began where people were.

In a letter to one of the churches he explained his method. ‘I have become all things to all people.’ It would have been useless talking to the intelligentsia in Athens about Abraham or the exodus from Egypt. It would have meant nothing to them. But to begin with their shrines and images was right on target. It was something they understood and were into in their everyday lives.

Paul recognised that they were a religious people. There were shrines and idols everywhere. This meant that they acknowledged the need to worship something or someone greater than themselves. They even realised that out there somewhere was a God they did not know. In their ignorance, they added Him to their collection of man-made deities.

Paul was astute enough to realise that this was the gap he needed to get his message across — his point of contact with them. Since they already honoured this UNKOWN GOD in their way by making an altar to Him, he would fill them in on the details of who He was and what He had done to make contact with them and to reveal Himself to them.

Paul did it in such an inoffensive way that he was able to arouse their interest and not their antagonism. Once the door was open, he had carte blanche to share God’s story, to give them their opportunity to believe it or not to believe it.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where the story of Jesus is relatively well known in many places, but so distorted by the additions of religion or the misrepresentation of those who have embraced the theory but don’t practise it that it no longer looks anything like He intended it to be.

What is our role in spreading His story to the world? We need to shed all the religious baggage the church has gathered over the centuries and get back to who Jesus is and what He called us to do. His invitation remains unchanged and is deceptively simple: ‘Follow me.’

Like Paul, we need to live with our ear close to His heart — learning to listen and obey. If we do that, we will also recognise those ‘light bulb’ moments when the Spirit whispers wisdom into our minds to grab the opportunity that will crack open the hardest heart and shine His light into the darkness.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – OCCUPIED TERRITORY

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OCCUPIED TERRITORY

“The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got — all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.

“He discussed it with the Jews and other like-minded people at their meeting place. And every day he went out on the streets and talked with anyone who happened along. He got to know some of the Epicurean and Stoic intellectuals pretty well through these conversations. Some of them dismissed him with sarcasm: ‘What an airhead!’ But others, listening to him go on about Jesus and the resurrection, were intrigued: ‘That’s a new slant on the gods. Tell us more.'” Acts 17:16-18 (The Message).

Angry? Why was Paul angry when he saw the city of Athens dotted with idols? Did it really matter that they used images to decorate their city?

Yes, it did matter to Paul because idols were the evidence of “foreign occupation”. The city of Athens, capital of Greece was announcing, through the visible symbols of their allegiance, that they were part of the devil’s domain. They were “occupied territory” and subject to his rule and, therefore, they would not be rescued without a fight.

Unlike the countries that Germany occupied during WW2, the people of Athens, and the rest of the world, accepted Satanic occupation without resistance. You see, they didn’t know any better. Satan exploited their ignorance and their gullibility to entrench himself in their belief system because they knew of no alternative.

It is the devil’s avowed intention to wrest worship from the rightful King of the universe, Jesus. Long before God prepared the earth to be a suitable home for man, He evicted the devil from His domain for rebelling against Him, and banished him to the earth.

“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:7-9 (NIV).

Why was Paul angry? Was he angry with the Athenians for worshipping idols? No, he was angry with the devil for hoodwinking the people. All they needed to do was to follow the whims of their rebellious hearts and they were suckers for any lying suggestion the devil made to them.

Without supernatural revelation from God, human beings cannot know Him or even conceive of a being like Him. All we can do is create beings in our imagination who are caricatures of human beings, and can never be any greater than we are, and then worship them as though they really exist. And the devil is laughing because he is the inspiration behind our foolishness and gets the glory for it.

Whatever we put our confidence in that is not God is an idol. The tragedy is that we become what we worship. People who put their confidence in money, for example, are most often times greedy, stingy and even dishonest to hold on to what they have and to get more.

God said of His people: “When they came to Baal Peor, they consecrated themselves to that shameful idol and became as vile as the thing they loved.” Hosea 9:10b (NIV).

People are not only held captive to Satan’s lies but also suspicious of the truth. Some Athenians laughed at Paul and walked away. Others waited around a little longer to listen to him. What does it take to convince a person that God is telling the truth? It takes an honest person and a mighty, supernatural act of God’s Holy Spirit to rescue a deceived soul from the clutches of the devil and transfer him into the realm of God’s truth.