Engaging Scripture

How should Christians respond when our world falls apart? – Acts 16, Part 1

It’s been quite a year already, hasn’t it? And we’re not even halfway through!

We started the year in political turmoil with a presidential impeachment hearing and the normal increased intensity of election year debates. Then Covid-19 hit, and we were in quarantine, including a near total shutdown of the country, for months. Then multiple incidents of injustice and crime toward people of color led to nationwide protests and the call for sweeping change.

Any one of these situation in any other year would have been major news for a long time. But this year, so far we’ve all three, and all three are still ongoing: political upheaval, worldwide pandemic, and mass protests. Every day the news is chock full! Have you been feeling the discouragement and frustration of it all?

That is not to mention the very real personal pain that many of us have encountered. From the loss of sports seasons, loss of income, health concerns, and the loss of loved ones. Or the intensity and anguish of trying to figure how to do school online, how to go grocery shopping with masks, or how to handle our businesses or churches during a quarantine. Consider the many difficult conversations that seem to happen incessantly about whether or not our leaders are making good choices or not. It can be very easy to just get angry, complaining and bitter.

How are Christians to respond when our world falls apart? Turn to Acts 16, as we follow the second missionary journey of Paul, because he tended to be a magnet for trouble, and his world is about to fall apart.

Chapter 16 picks up where chapter 15 left off. Paul and Silas have already headed out on a missionary trip. In this post we’re focusing on verses 1-5.

The apostles end up visiting Derbe and Lystra. Do those city names sound familiar? In Acts 14 we read that these were towns where Paul and Barnabas had previously started churches. In Derbe, their ministry went really well. But Lystra was the town where Jews from other cities showed up in opposition to Paul and Barnabas, inciting the crowd to stone Paul, to the point where they thought he was dead. Imagine. Paul is going back there again!

Good thing, though, because a guy named Timothy lives there. We just read that Timothy is a disciple who was spoken well of. Except for one detail. Look at verse 3. Paul wanted to bring Timothy on the mission trip, so he circumcised him because of the Jews in that area. What? Paul circumcises a grown man? That is a crazy sentence to read. Is this a contradiction of everything we heard last week in Acts 15 when the Jerusalem Council said Gentile Christians do not need to be circumcised? Is Paul going rogue?

No. Actually, what Paul intends is likely to set Timothy up for success in ministry, knowing Timothy will be ministering to Jewish Christians, and thus, if he is circumcised, he wouldn’t have to deal with Jews for whom that was an issue.

Still, imagine that conversation between Paul and Timothy. “So, pal, we need to talk. I have an idea for you…” I wonder how Timothy responded to the ensuing conversation when Paul says that Timothy should be circumcised. Did he argue? Did he bring up the fact that circumcision is precisely the issue in Acts 15 that the church leaders in Jerusalem said was not necessary?

The fact that Timothy goes through with the idea says as much about Timothy’s humility and teachability, as it does Paul’s persuasiveness and his passion for the mission.

After Timothy’s surgery, the apostles travel through more towns they had previously ministered in, and they continue to inform the Christians in those towns about the letter from the leaders in Jerusalem. The churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily! Notice the connection between chapters 15 and 16, then. In 15 the leaders in Jerusalem provide direction, and it leads to gladness and growth of the church. God is at work, and things are going so well. What do the apostles do once they have visited most of the churches where they had previously started churches? In the next post we’ll continue reading Acts 16 to find out.

If you’re feeling discouragement or frustration about 2020, keep following this series of posts on Acts 16. It is an amazing chapter, with string of fairly wild events. The first one, which we read in verses 1-5, is the circumcision of a grown man. It’s about to get even crazier. But in the end, we’ll learn a very important and practical approach to responding to life when it is thrown into upheaval.

A testy parting of ways – Acts 15, Part 4

Editor’s Note: This series of posts on Acts 15 is written by guest teacher David Hundert. Thanks, David! The series of five posts begins here.

Saying “goodbye” is rarely easy, especially when it comes on the heels of brokenness. Maybe you’ve experienced one of those goodbyes. As we continue the story of Acts 15, the Apostle Paul has a goodbye like that.

Let’s take a moment to review what have we seen so far in Acts 15. Men tried to cause division within the church at Antioch. The church responded by asking for help from church leadership in Jerusalem. There the apostles and elders called a council to respond to the dispute. At the council, both sides said their piece, and a biblical answer, acceptable to both parties, was reached. The council then issued their findings in the form of a letter, and they sent the original committee from Antioch back, with two additional members from the leadership council, to present its decision to the Church in Antioch as well as to the Christians in that part of the world.

I have been so blessed to be a part of the EC Church, because like the interaction between Jerusalem and Antioch, the EC Church is firmly rooted in following biblical standards and tries to apply Scripture to every situation that may arise. Like the early Church, our denomination’s leadership will send delegates to a congregation and to our annual National Conference to help sort out the tough issues and find a biblical solution.

In the process of finding their resolution, and as a good example for all of us, when the disagreement arose in Antioch, the Jerusalem council’s solution was delivered with, and was evidently full of grace. They council could have issued an edict and it would have driven the church apart. Instead they found a solution that worked for everyone.

So how does the chapter end? With another disagreement! Read Acts 15, verses 36-41, and we learn that, “Sometime later,” Paul suggests to Barnabas that they revisit all of the towns where the Word of the Lord was preached. However, John Mark winds up as the center of a conflict between the two.

First off, it is possible that Mark is Barnabas’ relative (see Colossians 4:10, although ancient sources dispute if the Mark mentioned in Acts 15 is the same Mark mentioned in Colossians 4:10). Barnabas wanted to take him along with them, but Paul didn’t want him to come, because Paul felt as though John had abandoned them in Pamphylia during their first missionary tour (see Acts 13:13).

Second, it is possible that there was an additional source of tension between Paul and Barnabas. Paul would go on to write in Galatians 2:11–13 of an incident that took place in Antioch. Evidently, after the Jerusalem Conference, Peter and Barnabas gave in to pressure from “certain men from James”, and they withdrew from the table of fellowship with the Gentiles. Paul sharply confronted Peter on that occasion for his “hypocrisy” and was none too happy with Barnabas for following Peter’s example. Even though Paul had now been sufficiently reconciled to Barnabas to request his companionship on this mission, there may have been a lingering wound.

Regardless, Paul did eventually become reconciled to John, and mentioned him as a coworker in several of his letters referring to him as “Mark”. And standing in the background was Barnabas, always the encourager, showing faith in Mark, when the others had lost theirs, and ironically for Paul, eventually redeemed him. Barnabas and Mark then departed for further work on Cyprus.

Though disagreements are regrettable, at least in this instance there was a fortunate outcome. Now there were two missions instead of one. Paul needed a suitable replacement for a traveling companion, so he chose Silas.

For this journey, Paul had pretty much made the decision to go, on his own. However, just like the first mission, he had the support of the Antiochan church and was commended by the brothers and sisters there to the grace of the Lord, for his new journey. Paul and Silas headed north from Antioch by foot and visited the churches of Syria and Cilicia along the way. Since the “apostolic decrees” were originally addressed to all the churches in Syria and Cilicia, one would assume that Paul and Silas shared these with them. This is all the more likely, since Silas, was one of the two originally appointed by the church in Jerusalem, to deliver the decrees.

What we see in this story is that God can always redeem even the most difficult situations. Is this a case of Paul or Barnabas being stubborn? Unwilling to forgive? Possibly? Should they have handled their disagreement better? Possibly. Disagreements can be complex and conflicted. What will it look like for us to be people who choose humility and forgiveness?

A letter for unity – Acts 15, Part 3

Editor’s Note: This series of posts on Acts 15 is written by guest teacher David Hundert. Thanks, David! The series of five posts begins here.

Are you experiencing a disagreement with someone? Brokenness in a relationship? What will it take to reconcile or pursue unity? As we have been seeing in this series of posts about Acts 15, the earliest Christians faced a major disagreement in their church: should non-Jewish Christians adhere to Jewish customs and practices? The Christians formed a church council to discuss this question. In the previous post, we learned how the Apostle Peter spoke up to tell the story of his interaction with Cornelius.

So now, the next thing that we see in verse 12, that Paul and Barnabas spoke up as witnesses of what God was doing in Gentile lands. They weren’t specifically members of the council; they were there to plead their case to the council, which they did. Verse 12 reads,“The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.”

Then, in verses 13 through 21 the eyes of all turned to James, the brother of Jesus, a man who enjoyed widespread respect and confidence. If the elders of the Jerusalem church were organized as a kind of Nazarene Sanhedrin, James would be considered their president. The church’s readiness to recognize his leadership was due more to his personal character and record than to his blood relationship to the Lord. One thing I find interesting, is that James uses the word laos, “people,” to describe the Gentiles, a term used to describe Israel in the ancient Greek translation of Old Testament, the Septuagint. What James is saying there is that the term used to describe the returning exiles of Judah, or “the people who I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise” as it’s written in Isaiah 43:21, also applies to the Gentile converts to Christianity. He agrees, that there should be no differentiation.

So now, the council makes its decision, which we read in verses 22 through 35, including writing the following letter to be read to Christians in non-Jewish lands:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.

We have heard that some went out from us, without our authorization, and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men, and send them to you, with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—men who have risked their lives, for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth, what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

James had provided a suitable solution that didn’t jeopardize the mission to the Gentiles or the fellowship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. All parties seem to have been satisfied and to have agreed to James’s suggestion. They not only wrote the letter above, but also sent two delegates from the Jerusalem church to Antioch, along with Paul and Barnabas. The two delegates, Judas and Silas, would be able to give their personal interpretation of the letter’s contents and of the conference in Jerusalem. This way, if any questions arose, they would be there to answer them. They were there to lend credence to the truthfulness of letter’s contents.

I find it interesting, that Judas and Silas were referred to as church leaders in verse 22, however in verse 32, they’re referred to as prophets. What is a prophet? In 1 Corinthians 14 verse 3, Paul write, “But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” Verse 32 of Acts 15 makes it clear that this is exactly what Judas and Silas did. The letter and visit brought relief to the Gentile Christians, by relieving them of the burden of having to be circumcised, but at the same time, in order to maintain the ability of fellowship between Jewish and Gentile converts, the letter asks them to follow four proscribed rules, not as “Apostolic law or decree”, but as a basis for fellowship.

Do you need to write a letter like this? Notice the heart for unity in the letter. Notice the desire of the church leaders in Jerusalem to keep the focus on Jesus, rather than on following Jewish law. Sometimes in disagreements we can have tunnel-vision, missing the larger important truth of love for one another and unity.

What do we have to do to become followers of Jesus? – Acts 15, Part 2

Editor’s Note: This series of posts on Acts 15 is written by guest teacher David Hundert. Thanks, David! The series of five posts begins here.

How do people become disciples of Jesus? What do they need to do? This was a hotly debated question in the early church, as the good news about Jesus expanded beyond the borders of Israel. As non-Jews began to accept the message of good news in Jesus, did they need to adhere to the Jewish law?

Jews had always demanded of all Gentile converts the requirements of circumcision and rituals of the Torah. Why should any of this change for the followers of Jesus? Remember the story of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10? To summarize, Cornelius was a Roman centurion; possibly a Gentile, but certainly according to Acts 10, he was not a Jew. Peter shared the story of Jesus to Cornelius and his family, and they believed and became followers of Jesus, but they weren’t required to undergo circumcision. Also, as we have seen in recent chapters in Acts, Paul, even though he was a Pharisee trained by the famous Pharisee, Gamaliel, had led many Gentiles to follow the way of Jesus, and they weren’t circumcised, so why the concern about circumcision or socializing with Gentiles?

Also in Acts chapter 10, Peter tells Cornelius in verse 28, “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile.” This requirement isn’t specifically mentioned in the Old Testament, but it is spoken of in the Jewish “Talmud” or the collection of laws that expound upon the Old Testament Laws. They are just as sacred and binding on a Jew as the Old Testament itself. So if Jews then, were forbidden to associate with Gentiles, then how could Christians of both backgrounds fellowship?

In Acts 15, as we learned in the previous post, Jewish Christians from Jerusalem traveled to Antioch saying that Gentile Christians there needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas argued with these men, because they were trying to impose the act of circumcision on Gentile believers. These false teachers even went so far as to claim that if you weren’t circumcised, you’re not saved. The church in Antioch then sends Paul and Barnabas, along with some others, to travel to Jerusalem to bring this dispute to the apostles and church elders.

In Jerusalem, Acts 15, verse 5 tells us, “Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses’.”

Their answer was simple. Since so many Jews had failed to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, they would have conceded the necessity of admitting Gentiles into the messianic community in order to make up the full complement, and they would be forced to concede the work of God and the Holy Spirit in the work that has been done so far by Paul and Barnabas. But their stance, was that those Gentiles should be admitted on terms similar to those required of new converts to Judaism: they must be circumcised and assume the obligation to observe the Mosaic law. Those that were “saved Pharisees” believed that requiring conversion to Judaism was the way to go.

At this point, verse 6 states, “The apostles and elders met to consider this question.” So, they heard the issue, and met separately to discuss it, and then they addressed the rest of the council. Then Peter speaks up. In verses 7-11, we read that Peter, reminded the assembly of his own experience in the household of Cornelius. Even though his visit to Cornelius was “some time ago” (vs. 7), possibly as many as ten years before, the experience had made a real impression on Peter. God had chosen him to witness to the Gentiles. Peter could expect the Jerusalem Christians, including the circumcisers, to remember this account, because he had given them an account after he returned from Cornelius’ house, as we read in Acts 11:1-18. At that time, Christians in Jerusalem had aired their concerns about Peter and Cornelius eating together. Peter explained how God had directed him through a vision, how he had shared the story of Jesus with Cornelius, and how the Holy Spirit had come and filled Cornelius and those in his house, clearly showing that they had become true disciples of Jesus. Upon hearing this amazing news, the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem said, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). But now, “sometime later”, they seem to have forgotten, and are sharing the same concerns again.

What Peter had learned on that occasion, was that God looks on the heart, not on external things. God is no respecter of persons. Perhaps Peter had in mind, the distinction made by the prophet Jeremiah, that God does not look to the external circumcision of the flesh but the internal circumcision of the heart. God had convicted Cornelius, looked to the inner circumcision of his heart, and accepted him on that basis. God had proved his acceptance of Cornelius, and the rest of the Gentiles at his home by granting them the gift of his Spirit. God only grants his Spirit to those he has accepted. The fact that they had received the Spirit just as Peter and the Jewish Christians had, was proof that God had accepted Cornelius and his fellow Gentiles on an equal footing. He “purified their hearts” by faith. Peter undoubtedly was thinking of the vision he had on that rooftop, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

For the Jew, circumcision was a mark of sanctity and purity, of belonging to God’s people and being acceptable to him. But in Cornelius, God had shown Peter that true purity comes not by an external mark, but by faith. In the account of Cornelius in Acts 10, his faith is never specifically mentioned, but is certainly evidenced in his following, without question, every instruction God had given him. Here Peter made explicit what was implicit: Cornelius had been accepted by God on the basis of his faith.

And that is what true disciples of Jesus embrace. We become his disciples by faith, not by following rituals.

What disagreement led to the first church council? – Acts 15, Part 1

Editor’s Note: This series of posts on Acts 15 is written by guest teacher David Hundert. Thanks, David!

What is doctrine? Is it a hard and fast rule? Is it something that has to be written in Scripture? Did it come off the mountain, written by the finger of God? I’d like to answer all that by saying “yes and no.” I would hope that doctrine is grounded in Scripture, however, what did the disciples use for their doctrine? The New Testament wasn’t written yet. Does this mean, that the disciples didn’t have or follow doctrine? No. They had the Old Testament to go by and the teachings of the Lord. They lived in the time-frame when there were many still alive when Jesus walked the earth, so they still had those that heard the Word of the Lord directly.

Last week we talked about the need for people to speak up in our society about injustice. But what if a dispute arises within the Church regarding doctrine? What if that doctrinal dispute is because someone was trying to impose rules on members of the church, rules that can’t be found in Scripture? What if it has to do with the way a person can be saved? What if someone was to say that in order to be saved, all men must shave their heads and a woman can no longer cut their hair? What about racial or religious bias within the body of Christ? What if they said that the rule regarding the shaving of heads, or the no longer cutting of hair for men and women, only applied to those that accepted Christ that weren’t born in the United States? Can that kind of dispute be resolved biblically?

I’m proud to say, that the EC church, has a process in its discipline statement, that lays out a very thoughtful and biblical way to resolve conflict. However, this week we’re going to take a look at a similar situation that arose in the early church, and what they did to resolve it.

The issue that we are going to start with led to the first church council ever held. As Luke reports it in Acts 15, the council was a meeting of the apostles and elders of the church in Jerusalem, convened to consider two issues. The first issue addressed the terms on which Gentile believers might be admitted into church membership. The second addressed the means by which Jewish and Gentile believers could fellowship with one another. So now, let’s take a look at the situation that led to the council. Turn to Acts 15, and read verses 1 through 4.

To summarize, some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem travel to the church in Antioch, teaching the Antiochan Christians that they needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas disagreed sharply with these men from Jerusalem. The argument, with what has been referred to as “Judaizers,” gets to the point, where Paul, Barnabas and some other believers from the church, are appointed by church leadership in Antioch to go to back to Jerusalem and meet with the Apostles and elders regarding this. So we started out with a group of people, who Luke doesn’t really identify, who come into the church in Antioch and start to stir things up. Who are these people? I believe Paul sheds some light on them later on.

In Galatians, chapter 2, Paul says,

¹ Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. ²I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. ³Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. ⁴This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

These “false believers” took it upon themselves to tell the Gentile believers that they would need to be circumcised in order to be saved. Why would they do that?

It’s possible that a new situation confronted them. Soon there would be more Gentile Christians than Jewish Christians in the world. Many Jewish Christians were no doubt worried that the arrival of so many converts from paganism would bring about a weakening of the church’s moral standards, and Paul’s later letters show evidence that their concerns were justified.

It’s also possible the more conservative Jewish Christians felt that the Gentile converts should be received on the same basis that Jews had always accepted Gentiles into the community—through new convert or “proselyte” initiation. This involved circumcision of the males and then, taking upon themselves the total provisions of Mosaic law. For all intents and purposes, a Gentile convert to Judaism became a Jew, not only in religious conviction but in lifestyle as well.

My own mother had to go through a conversion process where she was bathed in a ritual mikvah in order for her to convert to Judaism. This allowed all of us, my brother, sister, and I to be born Jewish. She was also required to raise us in the Jewish faith after her conversion. It was this question, that the conservative group of Jewish Christians raised: Should not Gentiles, be required to become Jews, in order to share in the Christian community?

It seemed to be a natural question. After all:

The first Christians were all Jews.
Jesus was a Jew and the Jewish Messiah.
God had only one covenant people—the Jews.
Christianity was a messianic movement within Judaism.

Jews had always demanded of all Gentile converts the requirements of circumcision and rituals of the Torah. Why should any of this change? Check back in to the next post, as we seek to answer that question.

An experiment for Christians who are iffy about speaking up – Acts 14, Part 5

I was watching news reports this week as they filmed protests against racial injustice in the days following the murder of George Floyd. One protestor was holding a sign that said, “Silence is violence.” I wonder how you feel about that. I agree with the message on that sign. Yet I know that I have been silent too often. Speaking up can be hard for me. As we learned this week in our study of Acts 14 (starting here), though, we Christians are called to speak up. Paul and Barnabas gave us an excellent example to follow. We should not be silent.

So I am wondering if you might try an experiment with me. Try bringing Jesus into as many of your conversations as possible for the next few weeks, and watch what happens. See how people respond.

Seriously. I invite you to try speaking up. First because we should be people who speak up for the ways of Jesus. We Christians believe that Jesus’ way is absolutely the best possible life, right? Jesus himself called it abundant life. And on top of that we believe that true disciples of Jesus also have the hope of eternal life in heaven with him. So shouldn’t we be speaking up all the time anyway? We speak up because we believe that He brings good news!

But also, it is important that we speak up about Jesus so we can learn how people might respond. Of course, when you talk about Jesus, do so with words, tone and body language consistent with the fruit of the Spirit: lovingly, joyously, graciously, with patience, kindness and gentleness. It’s like what communication scientists have been telling us for ages. How you say something is far more important than what you say.

As you consider your practice of speaking up, I also want to ask you to evaluate how you have been communicating already. For example, how have you handled quarantine? Yes, it has been long and difficult in many ways. But given how you have handled it, based on your public statements, whether in person or social media, would people think that the fruit of Spirit is flowing from you? Would they think, “Wow, that Christian stuff is the real deal. Look at the difference it makes to be a Jesus-follower during a difficult time”? Or has something negative and dispiriting been flowing from you? Hear me on this, we should be honest about our struggles, but even in that struggle we can choose to be thankful and look for good.

Christians, let us be people who speak up.

Tell your story. Talk about the beautiful way that Jesus has impacted you and changed you. Talk about the love Jesus has for all. When you see injustice and evil, then, too, speak up, confronting it, but with love and kindness.

Show the world around you who Jesus is, what his heart cares about, and then give him credit for why you care about that too. Are you bothered by what you are seeing in the news, the way other human beings (people who loved by God and fellow bearers of the image of God) are being treated? Why does it bother you? Is it because you know it is wrong and that it also hurts God’s heart? Speak up! Say it is wrong and say you know it also hurts God’s heart. Bring God into the conversations about why you believe what you do. When you speak up against injustice, talk about how Jesus is opposed to injustice.

Ask God to show you what breaks his heart, and be willing to effectively, persistent and boldly share God and his heart with others. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the words to say and to fill you more and more with the fruit of the Spirit. Knowing that even that act of working to see the world the way God does, and of doing the work to be filled more and more with the fruit of the Spirit, could bring hardships along with it. But keep speaking up. He is good and his ways are so good. They are the best ways and bring joy and abundant living along with them.

“Christians must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” (Really?) – Acts 14, Part 4

How do you like the quote in the title? Agree? Disagree? Let’s talk about it.

In the previous post we looked at the question of whether or not Jesus is okay with various levels of commitment to him. As we study Acts, it seems that a guy like the Apostle Paul was radically committed to Jesus. Paul was nearly stoned to death one day, and the next day he is back out there preaching. But is that radical? Or is it normal? Today we continue studying Acts 14, as Paul and Barnabas address this very question. Let’s take a close look at this loaded sentence in Acts 14, verse 22, which is in the title of this post: “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” What does it mean?

First the apostles say, “We MUST go through many hardships.” Really? Does this statement come with a guarantee? Must Christians go through hardship? Isn’t it at least theoretically possible that a Christian could go through their whole life without being persecuted for Christ? Or are Paul and Barnabas saying that if we don’t face persecution, then we’re not true Christians? Did the apostles mean that if Christians had true faith, bold faith, like Paul and Barnabas, we would be persecuted in some way or another? How are we American Christians to understand this, as we live in relative wealth and peace? Hang on, as we look at the rest of the sentence, we’ll try to answer this.

Next they say that the Christians will “go through MANY hardships.” Not just a few, but many. Is this just Paul and Barnabas speaking from their experience? If Paul and Barnabas could have seen American Christianity in the last couple hundred years would they say, “Oh…okay…you live in a wealthy country where there is freedom of religion, so you won’t suffer, and you’ll be able to experience a wonderful, peaceful life and still enter the kingdom of heaven”? Would they say that? Would they affirm the ease of what many of us see as American Christianity? Don’t you wish you could ask them? Let’s keep looking at this phrase.

It concludes with, “to enter the kingdom of God”. Wait…I thought that entering the kingdom of God was about believing in Jesus. So how do we enter the Kingdom of God? By believing in Jesus? OR as Paul & Barnabas say here, by going “through many hardships”?

It is both. Becoming and living as a disciple of Jesus includes both the simplicity of believing him, and the complexity of giving up our lives to follow his ways, to chase after the things that are important to him, as we see Paul and Barnabas doing in this passage.

Therefore Acts 14 is an example of how faithfully following the way of Jesus might bring you into conflict with people who disagree with you. Following the way of Jesus is not always a popular or desirable pattern of life to everyone in the world. Truth be told, following the way of Jesus might not be agreeable to all Christians, considering what Jesus meant when he talked about what it means to be his disciple, which he described as taking up your cross daily, dying to yourself and following him. Speaking up for the way of Jesus can get you in trouble in the community and in the church.

What I am getting at is that Paul and Barnabas’ statement in verse 22, that we must go through hardships to enter the kingdom of God, is a true statement. Our good news is not good news to everyone. But that doesn’t mean we should keep quiet about it The opposite is true. I am concerned that the statement in verse 22 is so true, and that we implicitly know it is true, that we might not share the story of Jesus as frequently as we could, because we don’t want to face hardships.

Sometimes those hardships might come from others who don’t know Jesus, and sometimes those hardships might come from those who claim to know Jesus but don’t have the same understanding of what Jesus stood for. Because of that, speaking up for the mission of Jesus (in a way that is flowing with the fruit of the Spirit) can cause hardship here in America. We do not at this point in time face persecution, and we should not characterize the hardships we face here the same as persecution that so many around the world do face.

But still I ask you to evaluate your interaction with people. How close are you to level of Paul and Barnabas in how they spoke up? Do you need to speak up more about the story of Jesus and who He is and what he stood for?

If you’d like, read how the story finishes in Acts 14, verses 23-28. To summarize, Paul and Barnabas travel back to each city they’ve visited, where they establish leaders in each of the churches, and then they finally return to their home base in Antioch. They gather the church together, reporting all God has done through them. Hear that? All God did through them. It was a work of co-creative partnership between both God and them. God opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, and Paul and Barnabas also spoke up!

This means the speaking up we do is not something that God expects us to do all alone. Instead when we speak up and tell the story of Jesus and who he is and what his heart cares about, it is a speaking up that is in partnership with him. Jesus once said that the Spirit would give us words to say. We can pray for the Spirit to give us those words, to help us be creatively, lovingly, graciously bold.

And let’s remember, we can be passionate about telling the story, because the story of Jesus is the one true story. That means it is a better story than any other story out there. It is the true story of hope and healing and restoration with God and humanity. In saying this, I recognize the exclusivity of these claims, and that may cause some to wince. I mean no disrespect to adherents of other stories or religions, and I recognize that those other stories or religions have many wonderful doctrines and followers of those doctrines. So how can I say that the story of Jesus, otherwise known as the Christian gospel, is the one true story or the best story? To answer that, I would like to defer to a talk by Ravi Zacharias who passed away recently. You can listen here. I would be glad to talk further.

For Christians reading my blog post, I conclude by asking you to check back in to the next post, as I’ll talk further about how we can implement the principles we’ve learned from Acts 14.

Is it okay to be a mediocre follower of Jesus? (or is there something more) – Acts 14, Part 3

Is it okay to be a mediocre follower of Jesus? What does Jesus really want from his followers? Have you ever wondered if you are following Jesus in a way that is in line with his desires for his followers? Is it enough to believe in him, and attend church sometimes? Or is there something more? Today we try to begin to answer that.

In the previous post in our study through Acts 14, Paul had just been stoned to the point where the crowd thinks he is dead. They drag him outside the city and leave him there. Eventually some Christians show up, gather around him, and Paul gets up. What? Is this a miracle? We don’t know. Does he need medical attention? What does he do?

Paul goes right back into the city where the crowd was from, the crowd that just stoned him! Is he out of his mind? Or was he doing this in hiding, under cover of night? Likely. He was probably trying to find Barnabas. We read that Paul did not preach that next day in Lystra. Instead he and Barnabas leave Lystra, and they head to the city of Derbe. There they do speak up about the good news and as a result, a large number of people became disciples of Jesus.

Wait. Did you hear that? One day Paul is stoned nearly to death. The next day he is out there preaching again, as if the stoning never happened! As if he didn’t just lose his life the day before. What? We should pause and think about that for a minute, and it should raise a question in the hearts and minds of every Christian reading this story.

Here’s the question: Is Paul a Christian superhero, or is he normal? Should we consider what Paul did as radical and over-the-top? To get stoned one day, and then keep preaching the next? Is Paul in a different category that we shouldn’t think is attainable for the common Christian? Is it okay if we aren’t as passionate or dedicated as he was? I’m not saying that we get stoned, abused or persecuted, our faith isn’t genuine. But what am I saying? Hang in there, as the apostles are going to comment on this in just a few verses.

What we see next is another astounding choice by the apostles. After a great response in Derbe, in verses 21b-26, Paul and Barnabas retrace their journey, including visiting places like Lystra where Paul had just been stoned, Iconium where the Jews threatened to stone them, and Antioch (Pisidian Antioch, not their home base of Syrian Antioch) where the Jews also gave them big trouble.

Again, we need to stop and notice this. They go back to places where they had serious trouble. It seems to me the apostles could easily make an argument that they needed to preach the Gospel in new places, and thus avoid those towns where they nearly lost their lives.

But what did they do, in spite of the danger to their lives? They went back to those very towns! Why?

We learn why in verse 22a. They strengthened the disciples, encouraging them to remain true to the faith. Paul and Barnabas cared about the people enough to risk their lives and visit the new disciples again, to see how they are doing, to strengthen them in the faith. The apostles were the real deal. They came back. Such amazing care for people and for the mission of Jesus! But again I ask, is this amazing? Or should it be considered normal? Are Paul and Barnabas a standard all Christians should aspire to, or are they radical, meaning that we can consider them anomalies we don’t need to compare ourselves to?

I mentioned above that Paul was going to talk about this. He and Barnabas do so next in verse 22b where we read that the apostles teach the disciples that, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”

What does that mean? I don’t want to hear that. Do you? We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom? No, not what I want to hear. And yet, this was Paul and Barnabas’ experience on that mission trip. They had been through many hardships. I suspect that the apostles feared the new disciples in those towns might suffer too. Because of that, Paul and Barnabas didn’t want the Christians to have a false expectation about a life of ease.

So we’ll need to take a close look at this loaded sentence in verse 22. What does it mean? Check back in to the next post as we’ll try to understand what the apostles were thinking.

Christians, are we seeing the needs? Are we listening? – Acts 14, Part 2

Christian people, I have a question for you: when people think of you do they think, “there is a person who listens, who sees, who has empathy, who cares”? Or do they think, “there is a person who won’t stop talking, who is so focused on themselves”? What kind of Christian should we be?

We’ve been following the missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas through Acts chapters 13 and 14. Their next stop, in Acts 14, verses 8-13, is the city of Lystra, and there Paul notices that a crippled man “had faith to be healed.” How did Paul notice this? What did he notice? Just an eager look on the man’s face? Or perhaps the Holy Spirit gave Paul insight? We don’t know. Paul is clearly paying attention to needs, which is very instructive for us. Paul is not just concerned about getting content out to the crowsd. The story of good news is not just words or ideas to be believed. The story of good news makes a difference in the real lives of people. This is exactly the same way that Jesus ministered! He preached good news and healed to demonstrate the good news. Paul is doing the same. Speaking good news in both word and deed. Paul’s eyes are open to the needs around him.

Paul heals the man, and the crowds in this Greco-Roman city of Lystra are shell-shocked. Paul and Barnabas were not preaching in a synagogue to Jews. Instead they are out in the regular streets of the city, where Paul heals the man, and the Gentile crowds love it, declaring that the apostles must be the Greco-Roman gods Zeus and Hermes having come to earth as humans! Even the priest of Zeus from a nearby temple comes with gifts and sacrifices for them.

In what is shaping up to be a somewhat comical situation, for Paul and Barnabas, this is no laughing matter. In verses 14-18 we read that they tear their clothes (and ancient custom of grief) and rush into right into the crowd, and guess what Paul does? Paul speaks up!

He says that he and Barnabas are regular men, just like them. But he and Barnabas have a message of good news of the living God, and the people should turn away from “worthless things,” which are the false gods and idols of their society. Notice that while Paul is not afraid to speak up to confront their false religion, this time he doesn’t mention Jesus or repentance at all. Is Paul having a moment of fear?

No. Paul is wisely pointing the people to see God’s provision for them, which Paul says should be obvious to see in the food they eat and the joy of life. In other words, Paul’s method of communication here is very appropriate for the people in that Greco-Roman town. When Paul is with Jews, he speaks in a way Jews would understand, talking about Jesus as the promised Jewish Messiah. But here in Lystra, he speaks about God in a way these Greco-Roman people could understand.

We can learn much this. We should not assume that the people we are talking to know the Bible, or that they know about Jesus. Instead, our speaking up about Jesus can start with getting to know people, with caring about them. This is communication that looks outward, that has the other person in mind. It means we practice listening. Only then should we introduce the treasure we have found in Jesus, inviting others to consider that his way of life is the best way to live.

Back in Lystra, even after Paul tried to bring the crowd’s attention to the one true and livign God, the people still wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. They were convinced that the apostles were gods who had come down in human form. At that moment, as we read in verses 19-21a, Jews show up from two towns Paul and Barnabas had recently visited: Pisidian Antioch (which we read about in chapter 13 and different from Syrian Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas’ sending church was located) and Iconium. In each of those two towns, there were Jews that were very unreceptive to the apostles’ message.

Apparently those Jews had been conspiring together, and they traveled to Lystra, where they argue so strongly against Paul and Barnabas that they win the crowd over. They likely told the crowd that the apostles were liars or false teachers, or something like that. In a swift and dramatic turnaround, the crowd responds by stoning Paul to the point where they think he is dead!

Did he play dead? Was he so badly beaten that he barely had a pulse? Knocked unconscious? They drag him outside the city. Then disciples show up, gather around him, and Paul gets up. What? Is this a miracle? We don’t know. Does he need medical attention? What does he do? Check back in to the next post to learn the surprising move Paul makes next.

Until then, I encourage you to ask yourself if your eyes are open to the needs of people. Are you listening to them? Let’s not allow eager to share the content of the story of good news in Jesus blind us to the needs of people around us. Instead, let us follow the example of Jesus and the apostles, with eyes open, ears at the ready to listen, so that our story of good news might be matched with deeds of good news. Both are vital.

Christians need to speak up – Acts 14, Part 1

Did you see the recent video of the white woman in New York City’s Central Park, yelling at an African-American man who had requested that she leash her dog, as they were in an area of the park that required dogs be on leashes? He started recording her because she became so belligerent, while he remained calm and composed. She retaliated by calling 911, lying to 911 that the man was threatening her. She later apologized, but eventually lost her job.

Then in Minneapolis, there was black man, George Floyd, arrested by white police officers who restrained him on the ground by placing a knee on his neck, despite his repeated attempts to tell them he couldn’t breathe. He died later that day. Just a few weeks ago the killing of Ahmad Arbury was in the news.

There has been a renewed public outcry for people to speak about not only these injustices, but also specifically for whites to speak up about injustice toward minorities. Should we speak up? Many are concerned about drawing attention to ourselves, or we don’t like public speaking, or we don’t want to be in the spotlight and face the examination it might bring. Maybe we hate conflict and we are concerned that speaking up might bring us in conflict with people. It probably will. So we stay silent.

And yet, Christians are called to be people who speak up. Have we been silent? And isn’t silence a form of communication? Silence communicates, doesn’t it? What does silence communicate? Apathy? When we are silent about something, what are we saying about it?

Last week in Acts 13 and again in Acts 14, we have been following Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey, and they have not been silent. In fact, their speaking up got them into conflict. In the previous series of posts on Acts 13 we learned that Paul and Barnabas spread the word of God on the island of Cyprus, confronting the false prophet and sorcerer, Bar-Jesus. Then they preached in Pisidian Antioch, and the Jews were not happy with them. Now their story continues.

Their next stop is the city of Iconium. In verse 1 we read that they went, as usual, into the Jewish synagogue, and they “spoke effectively.” A great number of Jews and Gentiles became followers of Jesus because Paul & Barnabas spoke up. Unfortunately, in verse 2 we read that some Jews refused to believe, and worse, those Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. Keep note of this. There is trouble brewing for Paul and Barnabas.

How do Paul and Barnabas respond to the opposition? Leave? Head to a new town, hoping for a more positive reception? In verse 3 we read that Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time in Iconium, even after the Jews were so negative! They are not deterred, and in fact they just keeping speak up boldly for the Lord.

It is important that we take notice of how Paul & Barnabas’ communication has been described so far? First, we read that their speaking was effective (verse 1). Second, it was persistent (beginning of verse 3) and, thirdly, it was bold (end of verse 3). Their pattern of speaking up for the Lord is an example for us: when they speak up, it is effective, persistent and bold.

Then God confirms the message by enabling the apostles to do miracles. Sadly even the miracles do not convince the Jews, who remain opposed to the message of Jesus. In verses 4-7, we read that the people of the city are divided, some siding with the Jews, some for the apostles. Those opposed to Paul and Barnabas start a plot to mistreat and stone the apostles. If you were threatened with your life, how would you feel? The apostles find out about the plot and leave, but as we will see in the next post, they are undeterred from their mission to preach the good news. Their speaking up was effective, persistent and bold, and it got them in trouble, but they kept at it anyway!

What will it look like for you to speak up effectively, persistently and boldly? Each of the remaining posts in this series will examine this further as the apostles continue their journey.