ACTS 16. THE MISSION CONTINUES THROUGH AN OPEN DOOR. The second missionary journey of Paul, who now had Silas with him, was in the reverse direction of the previous one, so Derbe is mentioned in this account before Lystra. They would have passed through Tarsus, Paul’s hometown, on the way to Galatia. He wanted to visit the new assemblies in those cities of Galatia and sought to strengthen them in “the faith.” When God begins a work of salvation in a community, we should expect the work to grow and be strengthened as time passes. We learn and apply God’s word to the lives of believers and help them understand who they are as children of God and what that means. We should be expecting our own children to learn God’s truth from us, and hopefully, they will be saved and go on for the Lord in their lives. What they do with what they learn will not only determine their future destiny if they trust the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior but will also affect their daily lives if they become part of the fellowship of an assembly of believers.
Timothy is the first recorded second-generation believer mentioned in the New Testament. The influence of the “unfeigned faith” of his mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, had made him a strong Christian while he was still in his youth. The teaching and example of believing parents has a far-reaching effect on other family members. When a young child is taught the way of salvation and, in faith, has accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and come to love Him, the Holy Spirit indwells young believers. How they learn God’s truth in their early years is usually more by observation than by personal study of the Bible. They need to hear the word of God explained in ways they can understand. Then they need to be guided on how they can apply it to themselves in everyday living. Never underestimate the value of time spent guiding a child who has been saved young, into the truth of God in small amounts of the “sincere milk of the word.”
Without circumcision, Timothy would have had some barriers in his service and ministry in places where there were Jews, so Paul circumcised him even though he had a Greek father. Eunice was Jewish, and the whole ritual experience opened a greater door in his service for the Lord. Titus, whose ministry was to the Gentiles almost entirely, was not circumcised, which created a change against Paul later. When we encourage young people to commit themselves to the service of the Lord, we need to consider not only their personal talents and divine gifts but also their capabilities and limitations. It is only fair to help them be realistic about who they are and what they can expect on the road ahead of them that God has called them to travel.
Any young person “well reported of by the brethren” in two assemblies is one whose reputation as a believer should be considered as having leadership qualities. When a young person like that is among the saints in an assembly, it is important for those who are mature to take them aside privately and seek to help, guide, and mentor them because of spiritual maturity and Christian service. Help them get the most out of their spiritual abilities, and be honest enough to tell them what they are incapable of. The human ego can be a great deceiver to young believers, the same as with anyone.
Training and mentoring are most effective when the younger person is with the older one day after day. A hit-and-miss type of involvement is better than none, but working and living together every day opens opportunities for teaching and learning in a more “pressurized environment.” That is missing when one meets once a week or so to study and work in a special setting.
In each place, Paul and Silas, and now Timothy, went as they moved across Phrygia; they made sure the fundamentals of the faith and practice of believers were understood and were to be obeyed. Those men took seriously their mission, and consequently, the various assemblies would also. The result was the truth they believed and practiced strengthened them and affected the unsaved people who knew them; so many others were saved by God’s grace.
A living, vital practicing faith is contagious. That kind of Christianity in believers is very different from that of those who practice the world's social, religious, and business ways and promote a “social gospel.” The differences, not the “sameness,” will attract people to accept the Gospel because they already know what a worldly life is like. To try to be as much like the world as possible and still claim to be a child of God and a citizen of the kingdom of heaven is counter-productive and deceptive. Believers travel on the narrow road, not the broad road. “Life-style evangelism” is normal for all believers, but it is not a substitute for the public preaching of the Gospel. What we preach and how we live should be consistent with each other. We are to walk in the light, and our light will expose the “deeds which are evil.”
There is a need for the Gospel everywhere in the world. A need is not what constitutes a call. When making plans to further the work of the Lord, we need to be sure we are seeking God’s will first. When it is made plain to us, we must hasten to “trust and obey.” Our plans must follow God’s word and not be contrary to the wisdom and insight we can receive from other wise believers who have experience in divine things. Our interests and motives must be scrutinized to ensure, even to ourselves, that we have no hidden agendas behind our actions. When we are confident after taking the word of God and applying it to our exercise, taking the counsel of mature leaders, and praying for God to open the way before us.; then, we will have the peace of God in our hearts and minds to guide us. Then we can make intelligent and spiritual decisions and step forward in faith to address the work before us.
The addition of Luke, “the beloved physician” and writer of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, must have happened at Troas. It was there the missionaries came to get passage to Macedonia. The “confluence of circumstances” guided Paul to lead them all to Europe with the Gospel. When the Spirit of God closes one door, it is vain for us to try to go back and open it on our own. Doors were closed twice for Paul before God made plain to His servant that he should look in a different direction. We need to know what God does not want us to do as much as what He does want us to do. In the same way, we need to know where not to go as much as where to go with the Gospel.
Not long after the brethren arrived in Philippi, a chief city and a Roman colony, that evidence of the Holy Spirit working there was obvious. Lydia worshipped God, and she and other women prayed in a specific location. It is no surprise that she was the first one saved. A seeking sinner and a seeking Savior always meet. She had been a worshipper of the God of Israel, but after hearing the Gospel, she and her family came to know the God of Israel personally and the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. She did not hesitate to testify that she was a “believer in the Lord” and committed to be faithful to Him. Her hospitality gave evidence of her interest in the work of the Lord and her desire to participate in the work.
The Holy Spirit has many ways of testifying to a believer's reality of new life. Love for the believers is one. Showing hospitality is another. Supporting the work of the Lord in any way we can is evidence of the grace of God at work in a person. That becomes obvious when one is born again by the Spirit of God.
ACTS 16. The Gospel is for all classes of people, 1-15 Paul and Silas had been “forbidden of the Holy Ghost” to preach the word in Asia, and “the Spirit suffered them not” to go into Bithynia. The Spirit controls the lives of believers who are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who guides us into all truth guides us to carry the word of the Lord to places where He believes we should be at any given time. There are those living at that time and place He intends to save. In this case, with this particular team of at least four men, the call to Macedonia was clear.
The New Call, v.9. “Come over to Macedonia, and help us.” After previous attempts on Paul’s part and doors being closed, he realized there was a call from another direction he had not thought of. Rather than his desire to take action, what came from his passionate soul was clear guidance from the Master. Those who can help others are those who experienced the grace of God themselves and know His saving power in their own lives because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Those who have been saved from sin and want to live for God have a liberating message of hope, victory, and holiness to tell to others who call for help. When God reveals His will to us, we dare not go our own way or do our own thing but follow where He leads us.
The Immediate Response, v.10. “Assuredly gathering that the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel unto them.” An open door for one who serves the Lord is an open door for the Gospel of Christ to go forth in its life-giving power. There is no reason to hesitate or have a “let me first” attitude or excuse. To disobey a clear call or command of God to new service and respond to a call to a new place is to disobey our Lord personally. Those who know the grace of God and the power of our Lord Jesus in our lives can help those who are in darkness, despair, and danger of perishing in their sins.
The Blessed Results, v.13-15. “The place of prayer,” where earnest souls who want to find God meet, is the perfect place to start presenting the Gospel. Lydia was a worshipper of God who did not know God. She was ready to hear and receive the message of salvation, and the Lord opened her heart to believe what she heard Paul and Silas preach. One whose heart is opened to the truth of God will easily discern its truth when they hear it because the Holy Spirit is there to personally apply the word of God to the searching soul. That kind of person is willing to confess Christ openly and will show a desire for fellowship with God’s people.
ACTS 16. God’s Saving Work, v.16-40 The message of the Gospel is without respect of persons. In all areas of society, the life-changing power of God unto salvation is evident and without partiality. An upper-class businesswoman showed evidence of the grace of God in salvation by simply having her heart opened by the Lord Jesus Christ and believing what she heard. The real outward evidence of her salvation came after she had been baptized. Then she insisted that those who brought the Gospel to Philippi would come to stay at her home, and she would care for them by showing her heart of hospitality.
A demon-possessed slave girl who her human masters were exploiting had a “serpent (python) spirit” and was considered to be able to predict the future. Likely, she interpreted omens, tea leaves, and the like and allegedly consulted with the spirits of dead people. The fascination people have with the occult continues today, as the master deceiver uses the blind to lead the blind into the ditch. For many days, she had openly identified Paul and Silas as servants (slaves) of the Most High God. Paul did not want any free advertising from the devil that came through the young woman's evil spirit. Demonic power has no place in any work of God, even though the words may be right. By the highest authority in the universe, “the name of Jesus Christ,” that young woman was freed from “human trafficking.” That is another thing that is still going on today, as evil men make slaves out of young people and others who are less fortunate than they are.
The jailer would have been from a class of people lower than Lydia. He was a civil servant in a Roman colony and would have a low government position in many people's view. His responsibility would be to make sure that prisoners delivered to him by judges would not be able to escape. To do that, he would have stooped to cruelty as a means of intimidating and subjugating prisoners so they could be controlled by fear.
In this diverse group of people, the Spirit of God worked in salvation at the beginning of the work of the Lord in Philippi. Evidence of the scope and power of the Gospel message would have been unmistakable to the people of that city when they gathered together to hear the word of God and to begin functioning as a New Testament church gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was to those people from at least two households, one high class, and one low-class, and a liberated slave girl, and others whom God saved there, that Paul wrote: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine requesting you all with joy, for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now.”
ACTS 16. Different Examples. Example of demon possession, v.16. “A damsel possessed with a spirit of divination.” It is a sad example of what evil men with evil intent and an evil spirit can do to a young person when they are given over to sin. Such a person is easily taken advantage of and used as mere property by those motivated by money and material gain. The profiteers claimed her wild rantings to be words from their gods. When her words about the preachers were true and often repeated, her testimony would have been considered the same as anything else she said – mere divination. The authority of the Gospel is not advantaged by demonic activity, and the divine authority of the Gospel was declared by the “name of Jesus Christ.” No pretense was allowed, even though the words were true.
The powers of darkness are powerless before the power of His name. Those words from satanic sources were trying to lay claim to some recognition for evil. Paul was grieved at what was happening and knew he had to stop it, even though he likely knew what would happen when he cast out the evil spirit. Evil men and an evil spirit that promotes evil practices will not take the invasion of the light of the Gospel into Satan’s territory without opposition.
For people without hope, the Gospel has a special impact. It gives hope to the hopeless. In this world, the purposelessness of many people leaves them with a sense of being adrift on the sea of life without any hope for the future. With so many billions of people on the earth today, many feel like they are no more than nonentity without real roots and have no sense of significance. Many people wonder why they are alive and what can give some purpose to their existence. People victimized by society, culture, or sometimes others find hope when they learn through the preaching of the Gospel that being alive is no mistake. They are important to God and are loved by Him. He wants to give them eternal life freely and the abundant life that brings with it.
One can only imagine what that young woman, who was once enslaved by sin and evil men, would have felt, enjoyed, and experienced in her soul when sitting at the Lord’s supper with the assembly that likely met in Lydia’s house. What a completely new life she would have had! She would have heard the words of Paul’s letter that came to the assembly later when he wrote: “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.”
Example of selfishness and cruelty, v.19-24. “When her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone.” The young woman had been cruelly used by those who only saw her life as a way to make money. Those who live with that motive are not people to be trusted, admired, or associated with. The god of this world blinds the minds of such people and will seek to ruin the lives of those who live for God. Those new believers will do what they can to fulfill the commission to get the Gospel out to as many people as possible. Greed of gain can blind the minds of anyone who focuses their life on themselves and their successes.
We must remember that phrase, “Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” All believers should not forget that the love of money is the root of all evil and that craving for it and material success affects Christians as well as unbelievers. The eternal welfare of precious souls is of far more importance than any pleasurable experience we may have or seek in life or any worldly success that gives us the approval and admiration of sinful people.
Example of grace-given happiness, v.24. “Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God.” Prisoners in that jail would all likely be held in an inner cell. With the most hardened sinners around them, it would have been startling for them to hear the prayers of Paul and Silas in the darkness. Then, to hear them join their voices in singing praises to God in their hymns would have been so unusual; it is likely they would have been sitting in silence in the dark, listening with rapt attention. In that miserable place with their feet clamped tight in stocks and chains around their hands, what a light of glory and hope would have changed the attitude of all of the hearers, as two saved men gloried in “their tribulation!”
Of greater importance and impact would have been the evidence of God’s grace that made those preachers willing and able to sing in such circumstances. The Gospel was proclaimed in the darkness of the inner prison. The spiritual light in those who have been made “the light of the world” resulted in spiritual victory. One wonders if when everyone’s “bands were loosed,” that may have included the bands of sin in some prisoners. God sometimes permits bad things to happen to good people so that good things can happen to bad people.
Example of divine intervention, v.26. “Suddenly there was a great earthquake.” Servants of God who live in the consciousness of the presence of God with them can often rise above what would normally be cause for discouragement and defeat. Paul and Silas had experienced seeing the Lord open Lydia's heart. They had heard the words the young woman spoke when she was under demon control and had resisted that by casting the evil spirit out of her. They were in prison, likely praying for those who had despitefully used them and persecuted them, just like our Lord had instructed.
If we experience God at work in different ways and at different times, it is natural to trust God to do His will at the present time. We know God is working, whether difficult, normal, or easy. Therefore, we can be calm in our spirits and express our joy in spiritual songs and hymns of praise in situations that would not usually allow that.
The wonder-working God we trust can make happen what He wants, and we watch in amazement as He brings deliverance or comfort as He chooses. God can “break the arm of the wicked and evil man” when He chooses to shake the whole place.
Example of sudden conversion, v.27-31. “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” When God intervenes in the affairs of a man, a nation, or the whole world, it doesn’t take long for everyone’s attitude toward life and death to change. Instead of a sound sleep after beating innocent men, the jailer came within a short time of killing himself. A calm but loud voice from a servant of God spoken at the right time, in simple, understandable words, can give hope instead of despair. “We are all here” would be four welcome words to the jailer. He had sense enough to know that the whole event, the earthquake, the opened prison doors, and the freed prisoners still sitting there even though they could have run from the prison was an obvious work of God.
He had heard enough of the Gospel to know that he was a sinner, and sinners had to be saved from their sins or be lost forever. The answer to his question was not complicated, nor could his responsibility to it be avoided. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house” was plain and was all a soul needs to hear and truly believe to be saved. Belief is not merely assenting to a statement of truth with the mind. Trust, depend upon, and submit to Jesus Christ as Lord without reservations.
Being saved means to be delivered from sin and its consequences, from Satan and hell, and brought into the kingdom of God by faith in Christ. One must believe Jesus died for my sins. His death was in my place. He paid the price of my guilt, and His payment is fully acceptable to God on my behalf. These facts become personal when I deliberately put my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved from divine wrath and the demands of justice against us because of our sins when we trust Him alone to save us. That personal choice on my part is likely to have a positive effect on others who know me.
Example of joyful fellowship, v.32-34. “He rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” The changes in one family in Philippi took place on one memorable day. A tough jailer who beat innocent men was now carefully washing the injuries he had caused. A self-centered man who was so egocentric that he was about to take his own life became concerned with the needs and welfare of those he had tormented and persecuted. Where there had been idolatry and worldly focus in a family, now there was joy and rejoicing at night because of God’s forgiveness. The joy of God follows faith in Christ and fills a home. That night in Philippi was spent in happy fellowship with new believers.
To preserve the new believers in Philippi from the same persecution, Paul and Silas refused to leave until hearing from those who were responsible for them being imprisoned in the first place. They had to admit to their illegal wrongdoing by coming and letting those men go free in a public way. Because of the future safety of the believers, Paul insisted they undo the wrong they had done. Some privileges and rights we have, we will have to forego for the sake of the Gospel. The people of God and the whole city needed to know their freedom was granted because God intervened, not just because Paul took advantage of his Roman citizenship.
REACTIONS TO THE GOSPEL