Study in the Acts of the Apostles

1. Study in the Acts of the Apostles Presentation 34

2. Three Examples Chapter 17v1-9 Presentation 34

3. Introduction Can you remember your school maths lessons and being handed out a sheet of ‘worked examples’. The teacher would say, "follow the examples and learn from them." We can learn by example, not just in formal educational situations but in every area of life. Some children closely observe their parents and constantly imitate them, sometimes to their great embarrassment! If you sing in the bathroom your children may consider the bathroom the recognised auditorium for their musical endeavours! Example is a powerful educational tool. The scripture passage before us today contains three different examples. Presentation 34

4. Example Of Apostolic Evangelism After Paul arrived in Thessalonica we read, “As his custom was... V2”. Paul had a pattern for evangelism. His was a reasoning and not a manipulative approach. Evangelism is associated in the thinking of many with slick preachers using psychological pressure bordering on mass hysteria to produce decisions. Evangelism is often seen as a battle of the will between the evangelist and the unconverted in his audience. He browbeats and berates in order to achieve his purpose and whatever else he has done he has not brought folk to faith in Christ. We read in v2 that Paul ‘reasoned’ with his hearers. He engaged their thinking process. He neither bludgeoned their wills nor played upon their emotions! Presentation 34

5. Example Of Apostolic Evangelism Secondly, Paul’s approach was Word-centred and not experience-centred. He does not substitute stories of personal experience for the plain teaching of God's word. He did not draw attention to himself and his rich experiences of God. His focus was the Word of God. A world famous evangelist employed the recurrent phrase, "the Bible says". Why? In order to stress that his message was Bible-centred. Evangelism which displaces the scriptures is suspect. A noted theologian wrote, "The way to tell whether a particular service was evangelistic is not to ask whether an appeal for decision was made but whether the truth was taught." Presentation 34

6. Example Of Apostolic Evangelism Thirdly, Paul made an orderly presentation. Two important words describe Paul's ministry, ‘explaining and proving’ v3. A more literal translation is ‘opening up and setting forth’. The glorious gospel truths were unpacked and spread out so that Paul's hearers might be exposed to a whole range of biblical doctrine. Paul stayed in Thessalonica for no more than 3 weeks, yet his hearers became acquainted with a broad range of biblical truth. Read the Thessalonian epistles. Clearly Paul preached the whole counsel of God and not simply those bits he felt would appeal to his unconverted hearers. Presentation 34

7. Example Of Apostolic Evangelism It is the whole vision of God which breaks and remakes people. If we communicate only the so called 'nice bits' people get the wrong idea about God and think of him as a cuddly teddy bear, who wouldn't say ,‘boo’ to a fly. How many times have you heard an evangelist preach on the text, "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God"? Too often our evangelism presents Jesus is a spiritual aspirin for any type of spiritual or emotional headache. It’s no surprise that such an effeminate gospel has failed to build a manly church. The God of the Bible is tough, holy and desperately dangerous as well as loving and compassionate. Presentation 34

8. The Model Church In 1Thes. 1v7 Paul tells the church that they had become a model for all the churches in Macedonia and Achaia. How? By turning their back on the past. We read in 1Thes. 1v9 that they had ‘turned from their idols’. Those things which had formerly secured their hearts’ allegiance are now left behind. They'd turned away from them. This is what the N.T. word ‘repentance’ means, "to turn around". When we think of repentance we seldom think biblically, or radically enough. We often consider that all that God wants is for us to be sorry for our sin. A schoolboy was once asked what repentance meant. He replied, "being sorry enough to stop." Presentation 34

9. The Model Church The apostles’ evangelism involved them in teaching the necessity of breaking with all that was wrong and sinful, no longer wanting to take pleasure in these things. Today, in many circles, the question is not so much calling the prodigal home but making him comfortable in his pigsty, where he remains far from home and cut off from the only One who loves him. Repentance is a missing note in much evangelism. We can be more concerned with filling a meeting place than with seeing men and women truly reconciled with God. The Thessalonians were morally transformed and it showed! Presentation 34

10. The Model Church Secondly, these people were presently engaged in enthusiastic service. Their consuming passion was to serve God. When people truly encounter God, and taste the wonder of his grace there's no need for conscription they are willing volunteers eager to expand the boundaries of his kingdom. After Isaiah’s encounter with God he said, "Here am I. Send me“ Isa.6v8. In what way did the Thessalonians expand the boundaries of the kingdom? “The Lord's message rang out”v8. Evangelism was automatic, spontaneous, continuous and contagious. Their approach was simple: If you are thrilled about God show it. If we see the need others have of God should we not also reach out to them? Presentation 34

11. The Model Church Thirdly, the Thessalonians looked eagerly for Christ's coming v10. They expectantly awaited the second coming of Jesus. You could say that they lived for the world to come. Excitement with the world to come was a reality that was constantly pressing in upon the life of the church. Have we lost that? Listen to these words of Samuel Rutherford; “Oh that Christ would make long strides! Oh that he would fold up the heavens as a cloak and shovel time and days out of the way”. Presentation 34

12. The Model Church Rutherford was not advocating that we become stargazers at the expense of working to advance Christ's kingdom. One of the great incentives for Christian service is the persuasion that Christ could return at any moment. Campbell Morgan the famous London preacher put it this way, "I never begin my work in the morning without thinking perhaps he may interrupt my work and begin his own." Do we live in expectancy of Christ's coming. This glorious fact should stimulate us in our service. Presentation 34

13. The Pattern Of Rejection The final pattern we are provided with is that of rejection of the apostolic message. In Acts 17v5ff some of the Jews contacted the equivalent of ‘rent a mob’ in order to do the apostles harm. Failure to find the apostles resulted in them dragging his host before the magistrates. It is almost predictable that there is violent opposition to apostolic evangelism. Why? The Jews were jealous of the apostles’ success v5. They couldn't stand to see the gospel win over men’s minds and hearts and transform their lives. They'd have been happy if the preaching had no effect, if it changed nothing, disturbed nothing and meant nothing. But its success they could not handle. Presentation 34

14. The Pattern Of Rejection What lay behind their jealousy? Unbelieving hearts! They didn’t merely decline Paul’s invitation in the way that you might decline to buy a newspaper! Unbelief is not a neutral quality. It is not a lack of faith but an active opposition to the cutting edge of God's Word. Paul didn’t view himself as a public relations officer sent to establish goodwill between Christ and the world. He did not tailor his message to make it acceptable to resistant hearts. His message had within it the seed of ultimatum: ‘If you want to experience the forgiveness and acceptance of God then you must repent of your sin and place your trust in Christ for salvation’. Presentation 34

15. The Pattern Of Rejection Thirdly, the apostles’ opponents were content with the status quo. They argue in v6 that the apostles had ‘turned the world upside down’. What a back-handed compliment! The truth of the matter of course is that the gospel turns men’s lives the right way up. It reconciles them with God by bringing them into a right and harmonious relation with him. It restores to man the relationship with God that was his before the fall. Indeed, it was the fall and its consequences that turned the world upside down and not the gospel. Presentation 34

16. The Pattern Of Rejection There is a type of evangelism about today which doesn’t require change. The preacher no longer teaches that his hearers must turn their backs on the old life before the new life is received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He courts public interest by suggesting that Christianity makes no unpleasant demands but in fact offers the same thing as the world only at a higher level. Whatever the world is clamouring after is shown to be the very thing the gospel provides in a deluxe format. Such preaching creates no violent opposition, it disturbs nothing it creates nothing, it changes nothing. But when men are confronted with change, and the world's values are challenged, then sparks begin to fly! Presentation 34

17. The Pattern Of Rejection Finally, Paul’s opponents had an ingrained independence against the Lordship of Christ. Verse 7 shows that whatever else the Jews understood of Paul’s preaching they saw that it required the acceptance of Christ’s right to rule in every aspect of their lives. Something they were not prepared to accept. They were determined to run their own lives and be masters of their own destiny. The irony of the situation is that they were not ‘freemen’ as they thought. They were what the Bible describes as “slaves to sin” [Rom 6v6ff] and as such were obliged to follow along the groove of their sinful human natures. Presentation 34

18. Conclusion We have looked at the pattern of evangelism, the pattern of the church and a pattern of response. All of these examples impinge, one way or another’ on our lives. They challenge the gospel that we proclaim and ask is it effeminate and diluted or a robust apostolic gospel. They challenge the allegiance and commitment of our church fellowship to form of service that is geared for growth. They challenge the quality of response from our hearts as we are exposed to God’s authoritative Word. As we respond to God’s Word might we too be seen as those who turned the world upside down? Presentation 34