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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea, God's Word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.

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Hello and thank you for listening to this period of Bible study. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to share with you for a little while in a consideration of God's Word. And we hope as always that you are benefited by the time that you spend listening to this program. And we believe that the only way to give you true benefit is to go back to the Bible. That is to depend on what God has revealed to us in order to know his will so that we can serve him better. So we want to look at God's Word and we want to make proper application from it. And if we do that, we believe that it will be a benefit and I hope that it is helpful and that we are able to be clear in our teaching. Even today, if you are in the Jasper area, you might make note that today I will be with the North Jasper congregation. They meet there on Highway 5 just to the north of town. Get off 78 and head up Highway 5 just for a short piece and there is the meeting place of the congregation. I have been there for Friday and Saturday evening and have had just a really pleasant time there. I'm very thankful for the group. Been able to spend some time with Brother Sammy Bynum who works with the group regularly and I've been able to meet and re meet people that have been able to come. We've had folks from all over the area and many congregations in Walker county and Jefferson County, Winston county have come and been with us and perhaps from other places as well that I am not thinking of. But it has been a real joy to be with them and to be able to talk about God's Word. They've been very complimentary of the work we've been trying to do and of course even there we're trying to go back to the Bible as we always do. But if you're in the Jasper area today, they will be meeting at 10 o', clock, 11 o' clock and 3 o' clock and of course you may have responsibilities or places you need to be, especially at the 10 and 11 o' clock hour. But it may be that at 11 o' clock or at 3 o', clock, excuse me, that you are not obligated to go somewhere and we would be happy to see you and if you only know us through the radio station radio program, then we would be happy to meet you in person and would Be there and available. So North Jasper 10, 11 and 3 today, and feel free to come and worship with us and to study from God's word there. Well, during this period of time, I want to focus on Acts chapter 16. And we have come to the text, through the text to about verse 24. And if you will remember, Paul and Silas have come to Philippi and they have just had a. A meeting with Lydia and the ones who met there by the riverside. And she was obedient to the Gospel. And so Paul and Silas were headed back to that place of prayer, and there was a young girl who had a. The text tells us, a spirit of divination. She was doing fortune telling. Well, Paul casts out the spirit, the demon that was in her, and she was not able to do this fortune telling anymore. Now, the people who owned her, the men who owned this slave girl, were very upset because he had taken away their means of profit. So they go to the court and they challenge Paul and Silas with bringing teaching to Philippi that was not lawful for them, for the Philippians to believe. Now, the idea there, I think would be they come preaching that there's just one God, that they would come denying the idols. And so the. Also I would say that these men are doing whatever they can in order to bring charges against Paul and Silas, because I don't know to what extent a Roman citizen would be made a worse Roman citizen by their commitment to the Lord. But that's the challenge that they bring. Now the crowd joins together. They bring them. They are ordered to be beaten with rods. They have many wounds. The text tells us in verse 23, they're thrown in jail. The jailer is given a command to guard them securely. And then verse 24, he fastens them in the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stock. So think about what's happening here. The crowd is ripping their garments off of them. They are beaten with rods so that they have many wounds. They are thrown in the inner prison, feet in the stocks. And then just consider that this is the way that they are being treated. Now, in verse 25, the text tells us that about midnight notice, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God. And the prisoners were listening to them. Think about that. Is this what it looks like to be a servant of God? Remember that we already know From Acts chapter 9, the story of Paul's conversion, that Paul was going to have to suffer for the cause of Jesus. But what I want you to see here is that even in this great suffering, Paul and Silas Were not broken men. They were praying, they were singing hymns, and the other prisoners were listening to them. It does not take very much pain or suffering or inconvenience to make me very sour. But even in this great suffering, Paul and Silas were not broken. They were not sour. They were not distracted by the suffering to keep from focusing on what was important. So what are they doing? They. They are praying. They are singing hymns of praise to God. I think often when things like this happen to us, we turn away from the Lord. Maybe we don't quit believing, but we are not focused when bad things happen to us. We are not praising God so often. And we might be saying, why would God let this happen to me? Why would God do this? Or something like that. But. But what we see here is that they are driven to praise God. And the other prisoners are listening. Now, in the night, I want you to notice verse 26, and we'll read a bit here. And suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken. And immediately all the doors were open and everyone's chains were unfastened. And when the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, and he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried out with a loud voice saying, do not harm yourself, for we are all here. And he called for lights and rushed in. And trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. And after he brought them out, he said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, and you and your house. And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all those who were in his household. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds. And immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. And he brought them into his house and set food before them and rejoiced greatly with his whole household because he had believed in God. Now, in the night, this earthquake loosened the prisoners shackles and opened the doors. Now, because he would be executed anyway for letting all the prisoners escape, the jailer was going to take his own life. I don't know how to verify this, or I have not verified this, But I have heard that what would happen in a situation like this if the authorities executed a man, whatever he had to leave behind his family would be confiscated and they would not be able to get it. But if he died by suicide, even if it was a case of his own failure, he would be able to leave behind the inheritance to his family, the home or possessions or whatever it might be. Now, the jailer was just going to take his own life, but Paul calls out and stops him, saying that we are all still here. It's interesting to me that not only are Paul and Silas still there, but all the other prisoners are still there. I don't know how Paul is convincing them to stay, but. But they are staying nonetheless. And perhaps it's in the prayers and the songs that they're singing. Now, the jailer, perhaps not even knowing all that was involved in the question, comes to Paul and Silas and says, what must I do to be saved? What a good question. That is the great question of our lives. What must we do to save, to be saved? We see that question throughout the book of Acts and before that in the book of Luke about what we need to do to inherit eternal life, what we need to do to be saved. And the Philippian jailer comes and he asks Paul and Silas, what must I do to be saved? Now, why would he come asking them that? I imagine that he heard their prayers and their songs and knew that. That they would know something about what it took to be right with God. Now, verse 32 says that they told him to believe in the Lord Jesus. Now, we must be careful that we don't let the translation there as believe throw us off. Paul is calling the jailer to something more than intellectual agreement or even trust. He is calling him to loyalty to a new master. I want you to notice when it is finally said that he had believed in God. When does it say that he had believed? Notice it says they taught him so. The question there in verse 30 that what must I do to be saved? Verse 31, believe. In that case, I don't think the jailer even knows all that he's supposed to believe, all that he is supposed to understand. And they speak the word of the Lord to him, to him and all in his house. Now notice what he does. He washes their wounds. And that's a sign of brokenhearted repentance, isn't it? And he was baptized at once. Right away, I want you to notice verse 33. He took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds. And immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. Now he was baptized along with his family or along with his household. That's an important word for us to see there. Your household would include your family, but if he was in a position to have any slaves or servants, they would probably have been included in this household. I don't know what degree he had slaves, but they. They would be included in the household, though it very well could have just been his family. Now, with this turn and with his immersion, he was able to rejoice. It was that whole response that showed that the jailer believed that is had given his allegiance to God. Now it seems that the jailer is the first example we see of a Gentile with no connection to a synagogue or no demonstration of belief in God of Abraham to be converted. That is, for example, Cornelius was already familiar with the God of the Old Testament. He was already familiar with the God of Abraham. Others were connected to the synagogue or whatever. Of course, we have the church at Antioch and we don't know all the details about the Gentiles there that are being converted, nor do we have all the details about those in Lystra and Derbe, because some of them are worshiping as idols. But here we have this specific example of the Philippian jailer being converted. Now, in verse 35, notice this. When the day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen saying, release those men. And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, the chief magistrates have sent to release you, therefore come out now and go in peace. But Paul said to them, having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison and now they are sending us away secretly. No, indeed, let them come themselves and bring us out. And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans and they came and appealed to them. And when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city. And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia. And when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and left. Now, the Philippian chief magistrates, the rulers of the city, were just going to send Paul and Silas out. But Paul wanted them to know he was a Roman citizen. He was beaten without fair trial and imprisoned. Now, it seems like to me that they wanted the release to kind of be under the radar. Just let them go. But hearing that Paul was a citizen changed the way they treated them. They apologized, they brought them out of the prison, they asked them to leave, and they visited Lydia and the other disciples to encourage them. And then they left. Now, I want you to notice as we come into chapter 17, look at verses one through nine. But we'll hold that for just a moment. I want you to think about. This is the beginning of the church at Philippi, Lydia and the Philippian jailer and each of their households. That seems to be the beginning of the church there at Philippi. Now we don't know all of the other ones who obey the Gospel there in Philippi, but these are the beginnings of it. And you can read the book of Philippians and see Paul's appreciation for the group. And he will indicate from the very beginning that they were united behind him in serving the Lord. Now in Acts, chapter 17, now beginning in verse one. Now, when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul's custom, he went to them and for three sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the that Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas along with a great multitude of God fearing Greeks and not a few of the leading women, but the Jews becoming jealous, taking along some wicked men from the marketplace and forming a mob, set the city in an uproar and attacking the house of Jason. They were seeking to bring them out to the assembly. And when they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brothers before the city authorities, shouting, these men who have upset the world have come here also and Jason has welcomed them. And they act contrary to the decree of Caesar, saying that there is another King Jesus. And they disturbed the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things. And when they had received the bond from Jason and the others, they released them. Now it seems as if Luke stays back in Philippi. Notice verse one. Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis, it seems as though Luke is staying in Philippi. Maybe he had not been a part of the group that had endured the prison and things like that. And so he was maybe able to stay to encourage the folks there. But they go, this is Paul and Silas. They go to Thessalonica and there Paul goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath for three weeks in a row. Now he declared to them that the Old Testament scriptures were pointing to the death and the resurrection of the Messiah. How wonderful it would be to be able to sit in on those lessons and hear the case for the Old Testament presentation of the death and resurrection of the Messiah. I think we have an idea of it from Paul's synagogue sermon in Acts chapter 13. But of course he would have been delving into more detail and answering questions and that sort of thing. But what Paul is saying is that Jesus, in order to be the promised king, had to it was necessary for him to suffer and be raised. Now some of them were persuaded that Jesus was indeed the promised king. Now there were Jewish leaders who in their jealousy riled up the crowds and attacked a disciple Jason's house, hoping to find Paul and his partners. Now they couldn't, so they just dragged Jason to court and they accused the disciples of turning the world upside down or upsetting the world. My text says by preaching that there is another King Jesus. I think that's a good summary of the message, though it doesn't seem to be that they understood it. And the thing is, as I made mention a little while ago, yes, they are preaching that there is another King Jesus. And yes, they would say that King Jesus authority superseded that of any Roman king. But the idea that Jesus is somehow going to make people disloyal to the commitments that they have as citizens shows a misunderstanding of the nature of Jesus kingship and his kingdom. Now that does not mean, I imagine, that there would come a day for Roman citizens, there may come a day for American citizens where our devotion to the Lord will mean disobedience to the rulers of this age, to the rulers of our country. But at this time it would seem that the disciples of Jesus would be more faithful disciples of Caesar, because of Jesus instruction to be devoted in all of the limited ways, but in the appropriate ways to the rulers of the of the empire. Now notice verse 10. The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. And when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with not a few prominent Greek women and men. But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul and Beroea also, they came there as well, shaking up and disturbing the crowds. Then immediately the brothers sent Paul out to go as far as the sea. And Silas and Timothy remained there. Now those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens. And after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left. Now notice the intensity of the opposition. And given that the disciples say we need to send Paul and Silas away, so they send them down to Berea. Now, in that Jewish synagogue, this is verse 11. They found more noble minded Jews. Now he's not talking about all of the ones in Thessalonica. What I mean by that is there were noble minded folks back up in Thessalonica, but I think he's saying in Berea as a whole, the Jewish people were more diligent students, were more noble minded students. Now they received the word, notice the text, they received the word eagerly and they were looking at the scriptures to see if Paul and Silas were right. And what do they say? So what are Paul and Silas saying? I take it to be that they're saying exactly what they were saying back up in Thessalonica. In Thessalonica they were showing that the Messiah had to suffer, had to die, had to be raised and that Jesus was in fact the Messiah, fulfilling those promises. Now though there was a lot of positive reception in Berea, the Thessalonica Jews, still in jealousy, come down to Berea and they stir up the crowds there. Now Silas and Timothy stay, but Paul is going to go on to Athens and he told the men who helped him there to tell Silas and Timothy to come as soon as they could. So there's a lot of interesting things that we could point out about Berea. But I want you to see that the Bereans were noble minded in that they compared what Paul was saying to the scriptures to see whether or not what they were saying was, was so. And it being so, they, many of them it says, believed along with some of the prominent Greek men and women. Now let's come to verse 16. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols, so he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God fearing Gentiles and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, what would this idol babbler wish to say? Others he seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities because he was proclaiming the good news of Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus saying may we know what this new teaching is which you are speaking for? You are bringing some strange things to our ears. So we want to know what these things mean. Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing the something new or some new thing. Now Paul's in the famous city of Athens, probably of the cities that we talk about on the journeys of Paul, probably the most famous perhaps aside from Rome, that he will eventually visit. But here he is in the famous city of Athens and he's waiting on Silas and Timothy. But he saw idols everywhere and it prodded his spirit. He saw the devotion that the Athenians had to so many false gods. And so he is being poked, he is being prodded, he is being provoked. So he starts preaching Jesus. Jesus raised from the dead. Of course he goes to the synagogue. Interesting that there is a synagogue in the city of Athens where the Jewish men were meeting and they are able to have conversations. He is talking to the God fearing Gentiles and he's in the marketplace. He's in this area where there is a large gathering of folks and there were philosophers around who had never heard such talk and wanted to hear more. Perhaps the Epicureans and the Stoics. Stoic philosophers were very committed to disengagement with the world and things like that. And what they want to hear is notice what they say. What does this babbler wish to say? This guy's just talking. But Luke previews their response by saying they just liked hearing new things. And I think there are a lot of people who in their consideration of God's word, they just do it out of curiosity, not out of commitment. They do it just because they want to hear new things. Now our time is used. But next time when we look at the book of Acts, I want to consider Paul's sermon in Acts 17. It is a powerful description of God's purposes in the world and a warning about coming judgment. And so we'll look at that at our next opportunity. Until then, we bid you a pleasant good day.