Areopagus ignorance

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.
Acts 17:30-31

Paul knew his culture. That much is clear in his ability to astutely argue with the Athenian philosophers on Mar's Hill. He was there by the invitation of the philosophers assembled there (Acts 17:19) and immediately he answered their request to know more of his teaching. He starts with a cultural observance, moving from the known about the people of Athens into the unknown teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of these men had already heard his preaching (Acts 17:17-18) as he reasoned with them in the public marketplace (agora) at Athens.

This is both a defense of the gospel and a sermon that prepares the way for the gospel to have maximum meaning in the culture of philosophy at Athens. There are several things I notice. First, Paul was not afraid to argue the reasonable points of the gospel. And in doing so, he entered into the rarified intellectual atmosphere of his day. Secondly, Paul knew his culture. He was acquainted with pagan philosophies and poets and could use his understanding to build a platform for the gospel message. He is a strong apologist for the faith because he knows how to present the faith. Thirdly, Paul was not afraid to make bold assertions. Basically, at this point in his argument, Paul is telling the philosophers of Athens, the wise men and faculty of his world, that they are ignorant and unlearned of the most important truth in the world. God could overlook that ignorance in the past, but now they would be held to knowing God's truth because God had commanded the preaching of the gospel in the world. These were serious assertions.

I grew up in an atmosphere where fundamentalism tended to have a negative view of scholarship and intellectual exercise. We were told to just believe because God said to believe. And although that is one reason to believe, it is not the only one. The result was that there were some theological insecurities and ignorances that I swallowed because of this negative view toward the mind. But I do think better of academic vigor these days. It is one way in which the presentation and purpose of the gospel can be more clearly refined. And I am all for the gospel taking the minds of the world's greatest thinkers captive toward righteousness! Minds ultimately shape culture. And when the gospel shapes the philosophy of one who shapes the culture, Christian virtues and values can thrive in a way that builds this world in true knowledge, and not the spiritual ignorance that human pride can foster.


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the power of praise

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the


prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.
Acts 16:25-26

This was the reaction of Paul and Silas to their first major opposition in Asia Minor. At Philippi they had great opportunity with the gospel. So much so that demonic powers have fallen (16:16-18). But when people who had made a living from occultism find their trade shutting down by their work, a mob soon turns against their work with the result that the missionaries are imprisoned in the Philippian jail (16:19-24).

But this does not stop the advance of the gospel in the least. Paul and Silas are holding a prayer meeting in their dungeon cell. There, in the middle of the dark night they were praying and singing hymns to God. They turned their worst hour into an hour of worship. They would not turn from their love for the God Who saved them, even when proclaiming His greatness landed them in their present predicament.

And God heard their prayers. At the moment of prayer and praise, God shook the walls of the prison with a mighty earthquake, and although everyone was released from their chains, no one made a break for it. The jailer is amazed. And he had heard the singing just moments before. He needed no more convincing. He ran to Paul and Silas to find out what they knew about this God who saved them, and the jailer was convinced God could save him as well.

The next round of new converts came from the jailer and his household. By the time Paul and Silas left Philippi, they had seen God work in the darkest hearts, through the darkest circumstances, and in the darkest of places to bring the light of the gospel to lives. They left a church there that was born in difficulty, but quickly nurtured in the transforming power of God.

Praise should accompany the gospel. Worship should follow the message of hope in Jesus. And even when circumstances mean that the gospel may not be well received, we should labor on with joy, knowing that God will be glorified in our worship and work. And that alone may be enough for people to see the difference and want to know the God who can be praised in prison walls!


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legalism does not preach the gospel

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.
Acts 15:10-11

Peter's summary of the situation that the Jerusalem church council was considering is masterful. He knew that the gospel existed as a totally new message. His generation was the last one that ever had to wrestle with the burden of keeping the Law. Jesus, by His saving work on the cross, had changed all of that. Peter saw legalism (the system of religion that insists that those who call themselves Christians must keep the standards of the Old Testament Jewish legal code) as dangerous for several reasons.

The first reason it was dangerous was that it was ultimately working against God's plan. Peter calls this "putting God to the test". The leaders of the charge to make the Gentiles into Jews were those from Pharisaical backgrounds. They had created much of the confusion by adding to the Old Testament their own tedious interpretations of it. They had been masters of making man the center of the relationship. And Jesus had no kind words to say about their selfish pursuit of legalism. It really hurt and angered the heart of God.

The second reason it was dangerous was that it had already been proven a failure by history. Jesus brought a better way. All throughout Jewish history God's people had struggled to keep every demand of the Law. And Peter admits that right up to his own generation none had been able to bear the burden of legalism added to the Law. And they shouldn't have been able to do so because it had become something that God never intended it to be.

The third reason had to do with the nature of the gospel. It comes through the grace of the Lord Jesus, and not by the works of the Law dutifully followed. Peter's words are telling. He puts the Gentiles first, showing that he clearly had a learning moment by watching salvation come to the Gentiles. He says the Jews will be saved this way, just like the Gentiles. By the gospel reaching the whole world, the ineffective nature of Pharisaical legalism is glaringly obvious. It is clearly all about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There have been times when I have run across those within the present church who insist that there is some reason to keep the Old Testament Law. They shortchange the gospel just like Peter charges here. Most recently, it was watching a YouTube video of Joel Osteen (try not to snicker) delivering a "sermon" on the dangers of eating pork. And you could see he was passionate on the subject. Here is a guy who can barely talk about sin as an offense to God, and he wants to preach the dietary restrictions of the Law as having some healthy value. Odd... Pharisaical... and a clear indicator that he does not preach the gospel. That is ultimately what legalism does: it does not preach the gospel.


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a pattern for healthy church structure

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Acts 14:23

Paul and Barnabus were a ministry team. And they practiced team ministry in their first missionary endeavor. The commitment to this shows up in the way in which they considered their church planting works complete: they structured young churches with team leadership in accordance with the pattern they practiced. The language of the text indicates that a plurality of elders served in each church. When the body of believers matured to this structure, then the missionary apostles could commit that work to the Lord.

I have been privileged in my ministry to have always worked in churches where team ministry has been a driving value. I searched for this because I firmly believe it is what the Lord wants the church to be. And there is no room for grandstanding or idol-making of the leaders of the church. Turning a pastor into a rock star is always a bad idea. When a church is healthy, any of its elders should be speaking into the life of the church with giftedness and strength. That does not mean that some are not more gifted than others. Paul soon became the ranking member of any ministry team he was a part of. But that team still had the impact that he never would have alone. The same is true in the church. No one man should ever draw the media circus. Ever. Never. I don't care how many sports arenas he can fill with warm bodies.

It would seem that by the term "appoint" Paul and Barnabus were involved in the selection, training, development, and evaluation of these elders. Nothing is said about the time frame involved. I am assuming that it was a natural result of the discipleship and teaching that took place. By the time their work in a given church was finished, elders were appointed.

The way in which Paul and Barnabus "let go" of the responsibility of leading the young body is telling. It is the same pattern for their own call into mission work. They appointed them, and then with "prayer and fasting" committed them. Paul and Barnabus were sent out by the leaders of the church of Antioch in a similar fashion (Acts 13:3). Spiritual disciplines and worship were a part of the process in which these leaders were recognized and commissioned to the work that God had called and gifted them to build up the church.

There was no investiture ceremony with pomp and circumstance described here. It is simply the church seeking God's confirmation and assurance. It is the development of disciples and leaders among them for the building up of the body. The key was at the end they were committed to the Lord. Even church planters and leadership development experts are no match for Jesus. After all, it is His church and He is building it!


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How does the gospel grow?

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region.
Acts 13:48-49

In Pisidian Antioch, Paul and Barnabus encounter a hearty response to the gospel among the Gentiles. This is the second major stopping point on their first "missionary" journey. In about two weeks time, nearly the entire city shows up to hear Paul preach the gospel (Acts 13:44). They had been preaching in the synagogue, and the Jewish leaders who had not accepted the gospel began to argue against them, concerned at all the Gentiles who wanted to know more. That is when the crucial decision to address these crowds of Gentiles exclusively was made. And the gospel poured out to them.

The result was that many believed, as described in this passage. But the other result was that persecution against the gospel also increased, this time led by the Jewish authorities (Acts 13:50). But that was the sort of thing that Paul and Barnabus had seen happen before. They knew they had been true to the gospel because it had been both warmly received, and violently opposed!

Those are the facts of what occurred, but there is an interesting underlying set of truths that show us just how the gospel advances. It does so under the direction of a sovereign God and in the efforts of His obedient disciples. Both are necessary. God does the drawing and the saving. But He has ordained that men do the preaching. There is no other way for people to know the truth and come to believe it. Without a doubt, God is sovereign in salvation. Acts is one of the clearest places to see this, in fact, it is evidenced throughout the book (see the chart from the ESV Study Bible on top of this post). Even this passage gives clear statements to this with the firm conviction that "as many as were appointed to eternal life believed". The conclusion is that God sovereignly worked in their call and conviction. But Paul and Barnabus still preached, the people still listened and responded. And the fact that some chose to actively persecute the gospel shows that human choice was still valid.

Here is where I see this going in terms of application for me. I certainly must believe the scriptures when they teach that God is sovereign in the process of salvation. But that in no way removes from me the responsibility to preach the gospel at every opportune moment. In fact, I would argue that it increases my responsibility. I have no idea to whom God has been urging and calling. I assume it is everyone since His desire is that none perish. I don't see Paul or Barnabus being selective about trying to ascertain who God was sovereignly calling. They did know that obviously those who opposed the gospel were not at the moment being responsive to any work of God. But those people sure knew the gospel even if they did not believe it! There you go: let's make sure people know the gospel, even if they do not believe it! So the gospel grows through God's sovereign work AND through the preaching of it by people in the world. Both are essential and still are the process in effect today.


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the reason persecution fails

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
Acts 12:5

In the story of Peter's capture by Herod and eventual miraculous release by the hand of God we see how God is sovereign even over the attempts of those who hate the gospel to silence it. Peter was still God's chosen instrument. God was not done with him. God would use even his capture, persecution, and eventual release as a means to grow the church (the result of this episode in Acts 12:24).

But if we back up and take a look at the response of the church to these events, we see the reason that persecution never succeeds in stamping out the church. While Herod exerted every bit of political and governmental power at his disposal to stop Peter, the church just carefully and with fervor prayed. The text says this was earnest prayer. In fact, the very night of his release, when Peter makes his way back to the house church headquarters in Jerusalem, there is a prayer meeting going on interceding for him! We laugh at the way in which Peter interrupts it, and how those assembled there struggled to accept that it was Peter at the door, but nonetheless, Christ honored the fervent prayers of his sincere, but still faith-challenged, followers.

So a strong church ought to be defined by its fervent commitment to prayer in the midst of challenges. They may still need commendation to faith. But no church that is a truly praying church is a failing church! That much can be known from the pattern in Acts. Every challenge brought them to prayer, and God moved to answer their prayers. This earnest prayer of the early church is the reason persecution could not stand against the advance of the gospel.

Herod's rage at Peter's escape is understandable. He cannot seem to get his hands on the apex of the Christian movement in order to stop it. He orders the prison guards executed and moves to his Caesarean retreat to sulk. There, in the midst of political duties his pride becomes his eventual undoing. The chapter ends with his prideful end and miserable death. God strikes him down with a painful death and the gospel advances despite the cruelest efforts of tyrants to oppress the truth and dictate what people will believe.

To get updated on the state of the persecuted Christian church worldwide and how you can pray and work to end it, visit: www.persecution.com and support the ministry of Voice of the Martyrs.

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