Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.
Heavenly Father, we confess that sometimes just a day-to-day grind
and the realities of this world push aside ultimate concerns
of eternity to the periphery.
And so we return again with a posture of humble submission
before you and your word that you might address us,
call us back to your purposes and priorities.
We pray this morning that you would comfort those who are fearful,
humble, embolden those who have been afraid or ashamed of the gospel.
Exalt the name of your son, Jesus.
Show us how precious he is.
Amaze us anew with the sacrifice he made for us on the cross
and his resurrection.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Acts chapter 18, verses 1 to 23.
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth,
and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus,
recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla,
because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.
And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade,
he stayed with them and worked, for they were tent makers by trade.
And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath
and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia,
Paul was occupied with the word,
testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
And when they opposed and reviled him,
he shook out his garments and said to them,
Your blood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on I will go to the Gentiles.
And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justice,
a worshiper of God.
His house was next door to the synagogue.
Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue,
believed in the Lord together with his entire household.
And many of the Corinthians, hearing Paul,
believed and were baptized.
And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision,
Do not be afraid,
but go on speaking and do not be silent.
For I am with you,
and no one will attack you to harm you.
For I have many in this city who are my people.
And he stayed a year and six months,
teaching the word of God among them.
But when Galileo was proconsul of Achaia,
the Jews made a united attack on Paul
and brought him before the tribunal,
saying,
This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.
But when Paul was about to open his mouth,
Galileo said to the Jews,
If it were a matter of wrongdoing or a vicious crime,
O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint.
But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law,
see to it yourselves.
I refuse to be a judge of these things.
And he drove them from the tribunal.
And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue,
and beat him in front of the tribunal.
But Galileo paid no attention to any of this.
After this, Paul stayed many days longer
and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria
and with him Priscilla and Aquila.
At Santrea, he had cut his hair for he was under a vow.
And they came to Ephesus and he left them there,
but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined.
But on taking leave of them, he said,
I will return to you if God wills.
And he set sail from Ephesus.
When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church
and then went down to Antioch.
After spending some time there,
he departed and went from one place to the next
through the region of Galatia and Phrygia,
strengthening all the disciples.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Since chapter 13,
we've been following the missionary efforts of Apostle Paul.
And it's easy as we're following his missionary journeys
to think that he was an untiring missionary,
unfazed by persecutions,
gladly enduring slander,
beating and stoning for the sake of Jesus Christ.
However, we also should remember that,
you know, even though that was true to an extent,
that Paul was still just another mortal man,
like the rest of us.
He did gladly endure persecution for the sake of Christ,
but that doesn't mean that the persecutions that he endured
in and of himself was pleasant.
Even the Apostle Paul was not immune to pain or fear in his ministry.
In his first letter to the Corinthians,
after saying that God chose what is weak in the world
to shame the strong,
Paul recalls in 1 Corinthians 2, 3,
regarding his time with them,
that I was with you in weakness
and in fear and much trembling.
That was what was happening to Apostle Paul
when he was ministering to the Corinthians.
And we see a glimpse here while he is in Corinth,
a glimpse of that weakness and fear and much trembling.
Move back.
Is that better?
Hopefully.
Yeah.
I wonder if the sound is bouncing up the screen.
No?
I don't know anything about these things.
Yes.
I don't know anything about these things.
So despite all the weakness and fear and trembling
that Paul had while he was with them in Corinth,
Paul persevered in his proclamation of the gospel.
And this passage is really a clue,
key to how he was able to do that.
It teaches us that God's presence
and God's people appointed for salvation
spur us on to persevere in our proclamation of the gospel.
So first, we're going to talk about God's presence,
his promise, I am with you.
And second, we're going to talk about God's people
when he says, I have many people in this city.
Even though he was waiting for Silas and Timothy
to rejoin him in Athens,
it seems that Paul concluded that it was time for him
to leave Athens because he leaves
and he arrives in Corinth.
And after he's, when, at the time he arrived there,
Corinth was a Roman colony,
which was refounded by Julius Caesar at 44 BC
after having been destroyed by the Romans earlier.
And there in Corinth, Paul has an unexpected encounter
in verses two to three.
It says, and he found a Jew named Aquila,
a native of Pontus,
recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla
because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.
And he went to see them.
And because he was of the same trade,
he stayed with them and worked
for they were tent makers by trade.
So Aquila and his wife Priscilla
had recently departed Rome and arrived in Corinth.
This was because Emperor Claudius
had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.
This is corroborated by other historical sources
that had happened in 49 AD.
And most scholars understand this reference
by Suetonius, a Roman historian.
He puts it this way,
since the Jews constantly made disturbances
at the instigation of Christus,
Claudius expelled them from Rome.
Most scholars understand that reference
Crestus to be a reference to Jesus,
to Christ,
which shows that Christian Jews
were bearing witness throughout Rome
and among the Jews
and making an impact all throughout the Roman Empire.
And that, and the resulting turmoil
within the Jewish community,
the upheaval there,
caused the emperor to expel the Jews.
Amen.
I keep hearing the ringing from behind me.
I'm sorry.
In God's sovereign providence,
the expulsion of the Jews from Rome
actually led to Paul meeting Aquila and Priscilla.
And this is amazing because Claudius would have never known,
the emperor Claudius would have never known
that Aquila and Priscilla,
whom he expelled from Rome,
were tent makers by trade,
the same trade as the apostle Paul,
and that they would be able to partner,
form a dynamic partnership,
and they'd be financially viable
while they are proclaiming the gospel all over the place.
Claudius would have never known
that Aquila and Priscilla would accompany
the great apostle to Ephesus,
as it says in verses 18 to 19,
and there serve as the hosts,
the home base for the Ephesian church.
Claudius would have never known
that Aquila and Priscilla would risk their necks for Paul's life,
as Paul says in Romans 16 verse 4,
so that all the churches of the Gentiles
who had benefited on Paul's ministry owe their thanks to Aquila and Priscilla.
Claudius would have never known
that Aquila and Priscilla would not only
offer indispensable help to the apostle Paul,
but that they would also enlighten Apollos,
who was already described in Acts
as eloquent, competent in the scriptures,
fervent in spirit, and accurate in teaching,
but then they helped Apollos
to understand the way of God more accurately
so that they would go on powerfully
to refute the Jews in public,
showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.
Claudius would have never known any of these things,
but that's the difference between man and God.
Unlike Claudius, God sees and knows all things.
God is able to do all things,
and God is present in all places.
And so even the seeming bad news
of getting kicked out of the center of the Roman Empire,
the center of influence,
played right into God's sovereign hands.
Even through these history-altering political upheaval,
God was with Aquila and Priscilla,
and he was with Paul.
And there in Corinth, Paul does what he always does
in every city he visits.
He says in verse four,
and he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath
and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.
And verse five tells us that
when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia,
Paul was occupied with the word,
testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.
The word occupied is the word that Luke uses
in various places to refer to being seized by something,
to be surrounded by something.
Paul was a man who was seized by,
captured by, surrounded by the word of Christ.
He was absorbed in proclaiming the word of Christ.
That was what was foremost on his mind,
that there are many things in life,
in our lives,
that we can occupy ourselves with,
that we do occupy ourselves with.
But we must take care to remember
that as God's people,
we are to be occupied with the word of Christ.
We are no longer just fishers of fish.
We are fishers of men.
Paul was so invested in the proclamation of this word
and so desirous of his Jewish compatriots
to repent and believe in Jesus,
that when they oppose and revile him,
it says he shook out his garments and said to them,
your blood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.
Paul's strong reaction shows how deeply he cared
about his Jewish brethren.
In Romans 9 verses 1 to 3,
Paul says,
I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart,
for I could wish that I myself were accursed
and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my brothers,
my kinsmen according to the flesh.
That's how badly he wanted the Jews
to come to faith in Jesus.
And that's why he reacts so strongly
when he is rebuffed.
Paul says,
your blood be on your own heads.
I am innocent.
That's an expression that comes from Ezekiel chapter 33,
which says that when the watchman sees the enemy army approaching,
but then neglects to blow the trumpet to warn his people,
then when the city is destroyed,
God says,
their blood will be on the watchman's head.
However, if the watchman does blow the trumpet
to warn his city of the coming enemy,
and if they refuse to act,
they neglect to flee,
then their blood will be on their own heads.
Paul's washing his hands clean here.
I warned you.
I preached the gospel to you,
but you refused to listen,
so your blood be on your own heads.
I'm innocent.
Nowadays, many people in our society
are increasingly preoccupied with,
you know, ethical consumption.
We recognize that how we buy
and what we buy
and how we dispose of what we've used
all have implications.
We try to leave a smaller carbon footprint
by driving Priuses,
electric vehicles.
Lucy just got a Prius.
We recycle and try to avoid single-use products
for the sake of our environment.
We try to buy fair trade products
to make sure that farmers
and artisans and other laborers
who produce them
were paid fair wages
and not exploited.
Some of us even try to eat
ethically sourced foods,
looking for free-range eggs,
grass-fed beef, and so on.
Some of us are very concerned
about being unwittingly involved
in treating people,
even animals, unjustly.
In short,
we don't want blood on our hands.
But do we also think about
the urgency of evangelism
in this way?
God has already fixed a day
when he will judge the world
with righteousness
by the man he has appointed
and he's given proof of this
by raising him from the dead.
Judgment day is coming
and we Christians
are the watchmen.
Are we blowing the trumpet?
Are we sounding the alarm?
Are we sharing the gospel?
Are we innocent in this matter?
Or do we have blood on our hands?
Do we really believe
in the coming judgment?
Do we really believe
in heaven and hell?
If we really believe
that this is a matter
of life and death
and if we really believe
that people's eternal destiny
is at stake,
how can we not be occupied
with proclaiming Jesus
who alone can save them?
I've shared this once before,
but 20th century American pastor
Lee Rutten Scarborough
says this,
if we could only have
a five minute glimpse
into hell,
our evangelism
would be changed
for a lifetime.
People being tormented
in hell
for eternity
are not going to be impressed
that we were too busy
doing other important things.
They're not going to be thankful
that we were too polite
and considerate
to warn them
of this sobering reality.
This is why Paul faithfully
sounded the alarm
to his fellow Jews,
but because they rejected
the gospel,
Paul says,
from now on,
I will go to the Gentiles.
This doesn't mean
that Paul will never again
preach to the Jews.
He's just saying
that while he's in Corinth,
he is turning his attention
now to the Gentiles
and he's turning his attention
to the Gentiles.
In verse 7,
he goes to the house
of Titius Justice,
who was a Gentile God-fearer
who had apparently
listened to Paul
in the synagogue
and converted.
And as Paul leaves the Jews,
he shakes out his garment,
which is a similar gesture
as shaking off the dust
from your feet.
That's what Jesus taught
his disciples to do
when a town or city
rejects their message.
It was a common practice
among the Jews
to shake off the dust
from their feet
when they were leaving
Gentile territory.
It was their way
of shaking the uncleanness
off of their feet,
saying in effect
that they don't want
anything to do
with the Gentiles.
What's remarkable
about Jesus' teaching
was that he was sending
his disciples
to Jewish towns.
And he was saying,
if they reject you
as you're leaving
these Jewish towns,
you should wipe the dust
off of your feet.
That's a shocking message
because what he is saying is
it doesn't matter
if you are Jewish.
If you reject the Messiah,
if you reject Jesus,
you cannot be saved.
And so Paul here,
leaving the Jewish synagogue,
shakes his garment off.
That means it doesn't matter
what your ethnic
or racial background is.
Doesn't matter
what your ancestry
or spiritual pedigree is.
If you yourself
do not pledge
allegiance to Jesus,
you will not be saved.
The ground is level
at the foot of the cross.
And only those
who bow the knee
before King Jesus
enter into the kingdom of God.
Though most Corinthian Jews,
it seems,
rejected Christ,
not all of them did
because verse 8 tells us
that Crispus,
the ruler of the synagogue,
believed in the Lord
together with his entire household.
And many of the Corinthians
hearing Paul believed
and were baptized.
So now you can imagine
what's about to happen
if you've been with us
through this series
in the book of Acts.
The Jews have effectively
kicked Paul out of their synagogue,
preventing him
from teaching there
so that Paul had to get
a new venue.
But one of their own,
the ruler of the synagogue,
the person in charge
of their religious,
administrative,
and political affairs,
believed in the Lord.
This is remarkable.
It's also a cause
for deep shame
among the Jews.
They were making
a concerted effort
to oppose and revile Paul.
They were trying
to contradict his teaching
and they were impugning
Paul's motives.
They were maligning
his character,
trying to prove
that his teaching
that Jesus is the Messiah
is contrary
to the Old Testament Scriptures.
But as they are
effectively opposing Paul,
their most learned
and respected member
converts and joins Paul.
This significantly
undermines their effort
and it's embarrassing
for them.
And not only that,
not only Crispus,
but many of the Corinthians
hearing Paul
believed and were baptized.
And if you follow
the pattern
in the book of Acts,
fruitful ministry
for Paul
always spells
trouble for him.
It's followed
by suffering
and persecution.
When Paul was in
Pisidian Antioch
in chapter 13
verses 45 to 47
when the Jews
saw the crowds
that were gathering
around Paul
that he was popular
a lot of people
wanted to hear him.
He says they were filled
with jealousy
and began to contradict
what was spoken
by Paul reviling him.
And then they incited
the people
and they drove Paul
out of the city.
When Paul was in Iconium
in chapter 14
verses 2 to 7
similar things
the unbelieving Jews
stirred up the Gentiles
and poisoned their minds
against the brothers.
And they tried
to stone Paul.
In Lystra
in chapter 14
verse 19
the Jews came
and persecuted him
and they actually
stoned him
and left him for dead
even though he survived.
In Thessalonica
in chapter 17
verse 5
the Jews were again
he says jealous
and taking some wicked
men of the rabble
they formed a mob
and set the city
in an uproar
and attacked the house
of Jason
where Paul was staying.
And then these Jews
followed Paul
into Berea
and there agitated
and stirred up
the crowds again
so that he had to flee
once again.
he just can't
catch a break.
So imagine
being in his shoes.
Don't you think
you'd be just
a little bit afraid?
A little bit afraid
of your own
ministry success?
It's not that Paul
was unwilling
to suffer for Christ's sake.
He says later
in chapter 21
verse 13
I'm ready not only
to be imprisoned
but even to die
for the name
of the Lord Jesus.
He was a Christian
soldier who was ready
to lay down his life
in the battlefield
but that did not
make the violent
persecution
that he endured
pleasant.
And Paul was weary
and apprehensive.
His missionary journeys
have been long
and arduous
and he had many
battle scars
to show for it
and we know
that Paul
was afraid
of being attacked
and harmed
because the Lord
appears to him
in a vision
to reassure him
in verses 9 to 10
to not be afraid
but go on speaking
and do not be silent
for I am with you
and no one
will attack you
to harm you
for I have many
in this city
who are my people.
Verse 9 contains
two commands
and verse 10
supplies the two grounds
the reasons
the basis
for those two commands.
The first command
is the first half
of verse 9
do not be afraid
and the reason
for this
is in the first half
of verse 10
for I am with you
and no one
will attack you
to harm you.
Paul is commanded
not to be afraid
because of God's
protective presence.
God has personally
guaranteed his safety
in Corinth
from the attack.
The second command
is in the second half
of verse 9
but go on speaking
and do not be silent
and the reason
for that
is given
in the second half
of verse 10
for I have many
in this city
who are my people.
Paul is to continue
proclaiming the gospel
because there are many
in that city
whom God has appointed
for salvation.
We'll look at these promises
in turn
but first let's look
at the promise
of God's presence.
Do not be afraid
for I am with you
and no one
will attack you
to harm you.
This is an amazing
kindness of God
if you think about it.
God didn't owe Paul
anything.
Paul was a rebel
who was persecuting
the church of God
but he was saved
by God's mercy
and grace alone
from the fires of hell.
Paul often describes
himself in his letters
as a slave of Christ,
a servant
who is completely disposed
to the will
of his master.
God could have
had Paul endure
another round
of beatings
and stonings
in Corinth.
It would have been
totally
within God's rights
as Paul's Lord
to do so.
But God doesn't do that.
Instead,
the Lord
personally appears
to Paul in a vision.
He doesn't send
a messenger.
He doesn't send
an angel.
He comes himself
to Paul.
The Lord himself
says,
do not be afraid
for I am with you
and no one
will attack you
to harm you.
What kindness
of God.
this is the kind
of gentle
and patient
Lord
that we serve.
There have been
many times
I've been
discouraged
in my old ministry
and yet
in those times
my Lord
has never
been harsh
with me.
Never.
He's never
said,
Sean,
just put your act
together.
Stop being
such a wimp.
He's always
patient,
gentle,
kind.
And that's
how he is.
He's a master
who knows
when his servant
is weary.
He's a general
who knows
when his soldier
is fearful.
He's a father
who knows
when his child
needs his comfort.
And so in this
moment of Paul's
weakness,
in the moment
of fear
and much
trembling,
the Lord
comes with
assurance
and encouragement
and consolation.
Do you know
that God
is not a rigid
taskmaster
over you?
That he knows
your weaknesses
and he sympathizes
with you?
That you can
draw near
to his throne
of grace
with confidence
because he is
such a gracious
and compassionate
Lord?
As a father
shows compassion
to his children,
so the Lord
shows compassion
to those
who fear him
for he knows
our frame.
He remembers
that we are dust,
it says in Psalm 103.
In the same way
that earthly parents
show grace
to their children,
we often find
parents find
themselves saying,
they're just kids.
Give them a break.
They're just
four years old,
seven years old.
They're children.
In the same way
our father
knows our frame,
he remembers
that we are dust.
He says,
often,
oh,
they are but dust.
They are weak.
And he shows us
compassion.
And when God
is with us,
we have nothing
to fear.
In Exodus 3,
when God commands
Moses to go
to Egypt
and free his people
from slavery,
Moses responds,
who am I
that I should go
to Pharaoh
and bring
the children of Israel
out of Egypt?
This is a very
sensible objection
from a human
point of view.
Moses
is no king.
He has no army
at his service.
He's a nobody.
And who is he
to go to Pharaoh,
one of the most
powerful kings
in the ancient world
and demand
that he free
all of his labors?
But God's response
to him
is quite simple.
I will be with you.
Similarly,
in Jeremiah chapter 1,
when God commissions
Jeremiah
to be a prophet
to the nations,
Jeremiah responds,
oh,
Lord God,
behold,
I do not know
how to speak
for I am only
a youth.
That too
is a very
sensible objection.
Jeremiah
is no Cicero
or Demosthenes.
He's no Abraham Lincoln
or Frederick Douglass.
He's not eloquent.
He knows it.
And he's only
a youth.
He's inexperienced.
But again,
God's response
to him
is very simple.
Do not be afraid
of them
for I
am
with you.
God tells Paul
the exact same thing here.
Do not
be afraid
for I
am
with you.
If God
is for us,
who can be
against us,
brothers and sisters?
Even though
I walk
through the valley
of the shadow
of death,
I will fear
no evil.
Why?
Because
you are
with me.
Paul believes
God's promise.
And so in verse 11,
it tells us that he stayed
a year and six months.
That's a long time
for Paul.
He teaches
the word of God
among them.
And as Paul
anticipated,
the jealous Jews
do make a united
attack on Paul
starting in verse 12.
When Galileo
was proconsul
of Achaia,
this is around
51-52 AD,
you know,
from inscriptions.
Sometime
in that window,
verse 13,
it says,
this man is persuading
people to worship
God contrary to the law.
They bring this charge
to the proconsul.
So since this charge
is being made
to a Roman proconsul,
this is not about
the Jewish law.
They're saying
that he's violating
Roman law.
It's possible
that the accusation
is similar
to the charge
of the Thessalonians
in chapter 17,
that he was acting
against the decrees
of Caesar
by saying
that there's
another king,
Jesus,
undermining
the worship
of Caesar,
the cult
of the emperor,
or perhaps
teaching a religion
that was not
sanctioned by the emperor.
they're trying
to get
Paul
expelled,
Christianity
stamped out.
But look at
what the proconsul
says
in verses 14
to 15.
If it were a matter
of wrongdoing
or vicious crime,
O Jews,
I would have reason
to accept your complaint,
but since it is
a matter of questions
about words
and names
and your own law,
see to it yourselves.
I refuse to be
a judge
of these things.
In essence,
Galileo's verdict
is that no serious
crime has been
committed.
That the matter
at hand is not
an infringement
of the Roman law,
but that it's
actually a discussion,
a debate
within the Jewish law.
So he says,
go discuss it
among yourselves.
He's kind of,
he seems like
he's a little bit
impatient with them.
He summarily dismisses
them and he says
that he drove them
out of the synagogue.
Not synagogue,
sorry,
drove them out of court.
This is shocking,
actually.
It has huge implications
for the fledgling church
because this is
the first time
that a Roman official
issues a legal verdict
concerning Christians.
And he has essentially
said,
Christians have
every right,
every bit of right
to worship
as you,
the Jews.
He has said
they have legal right
to gather.
He can continue
to proclaim the gospel
with impunity.
You could tell,
I mean,
you could imagine
why the Jews
were infuriated.
They wanted Christians
forbidden from
practicing their religion,
but instead the Jews
ended up tying
their own hands
behind their back
with this,
with this legal decree
from Galio.
And so,
because they were so mad,
look at what happens
in verse 17.
They all seized
Sosthenes,
the ruler of the synagogue,
and beat him
in front of the tribunal.
But Galio paid
no attention
to any of this.
Remember in verse 8
that Crispus,
the ruler of the synagogue,
believed in the Lord.
So,
it seems that
becoming a Christian
was not acceptable
from the perspective
of the Jews,
so either he resigned
or he was forced
to leave his position,
so they appointed
someone else.
So Sosthenes
is a new ruler
of the synagogue
and he's new
to this position
and he's been thrust
with this responsibility
of bringing this legal charge
against the Christians
and he's doing his part
but then he loses the case
and this poor Sosthenes
gets beaten up
by his own fellow Jews.
God has said to Paul,
do not be afraid
for I am with you
for no one
will attack you
to harm you.
Isn't that amazing?
He fulfills that promise
in a spectacular way.
Paul didn't,
look at it,
Paul didn't even have
to utter a word in court.
Before Paul even opened
his mouth,
Galileo summarily
dismissed this case.
Before he did anything,
God defended Paul
and no one could touch him.
And the second command
and the promise
that God,
that the company
did in verses 9 to 10
is also fulfilled.
The Lord said to Paul
in the vision,
go on speaking
and do not be silent
for I have many
in this city
who are my people.
Paul was seeing
this reality
in verse 8
when Crispus
and his entire household
came to faith
and it says
many of the Corinthians
hearing Paul
believed and were baptized.
It's similar
to what Acts 13
verse 48 says.
It says there
that when Paul
and Barnabas
preached the gospel
to the Gentiles,
quote,
as many as were
appointed to eternal life
believed.
God's sovereign
prior appointment,
his divine election
is what is in view
in this verse.
And God commands Paul
to proclaim
this gospel
not in spite
of his election
but because
of his election.
But because
there are many
in Corinth
whom he has chosen
for himself.
It may seem
somewhat counterintuitive
to some of you
but according
to this verse
knowing that God
has preordained
some people
for salvation
does not make
us complacent
evangelism.
It actually
provides a reason
to go on
speaking
and not
be silent.
Because God
has sovereignly
ordained
to broadcast
his saving news
through his people
the fact that
God chooses
some for salvation
from before
the foundation
of the world
does not obviate
our evangelistic
efforts.
Instead
knowing that
there are people
that God
has already
predestined
for salvation
and knowing
for that reason
that they
will respond
to our proclamation
of the gospel
with repentance
and faith
that actually
motivates us
to keep
on speaking
about Jesus.
Because we know
that our proclamation
will not be in vain.
there are many
in the city
of Corinth
that God
had chosen
to be his people.
In 1 Corinthians
1, 14-16
he mentions
Crispus and Gaius
and the household
of Stephanus.
And get this
in 1 Corinthians
chapter 1
verse 1
Paul mentions
as one of his
co-workers
who is
sending this
letter with him
our brother
Sosthenes.
you wonder
if
Paul names
him specifically
and Luke
mentions
Sosthenes
the ruler
of the synagogue
specifically
because it's
the same
Sosthenes
that the
believers knew.
Even he
maybe
came to
faith in
Jesus Christ.
That's not
reason to go
in.
treat people
in that way.
The many
in Corinth
where God's
people came
to faith
and for that
reason in
verse 18
it says
Paul stayed
many days
longer in
Corinth
to continue
to speak
of Christ.
Notice
Paul doesn't
say
well
since God
has chosen
many people
in Corinth
to be saved
and they
will be
saved
with or
without me
so I guess
there's no
need for me
to stay
here after
all.
No that
line of
reasoning is
totally alien
to the
scriptures.
It would
have been
totally
foreign to
Paul's
mind.
Paul stays
and proclaims
the gospel
for many
days longer
precisely because
God has
said I
have many
people in
this city
who are
my people
because they
need to hear
the gospel
because they've
been appointed
for salvation
because they
will respond
to the
gospel.
Even of
Cambridge and
Boston I
believe God
says I
have many
in this
city who
are my
people.
Remember
Jesus said
the harvest
is plentiful
but the
laborers are
few.
What we
lack in
our city
is not
people who
are willing
to believe
what we
lack is
people who
are willing
to share
the gospel.
And that's
a strange
thing because
everyone loves
being a
herald of the
good news.
I don't
know if
you remember
last year
at the
beginning of
the pandemic
at the
end of
March 2020
for about
two month
time actor
John Krasinski
hosted a
home YouTube
channel entitled
Some Good
News.
You guys
remember that?
Obviously it's
all good news
that he thinks
is good but
the people
like him he
concluded that
other people
like him were
all desperate
for some
good news
because there's
so much bad
news in the
world.
And so he
created a
news channel
entirely
dedicated to
good news.
Everyone loves
hearing good
news.
Everyone likes
telling people
good news.
Why not
should we
herald far
and wide
the best
news of all?
Every single
human being
in this world
has sinned
against God
and is destined
for bloodshed,
for death.
eternal
damnation.
As Romans
6.23 says
the wages
of sin
is death.
Hebrews 9.22
says without
the shedding
of blood
there is no
forgiveness
of sin.
Someone's
blood had
to be shed
and it was
going to be
ours.
Except that
Jesus
interposed
his own
blood.
That we
might be
forgiven.
That we
might be
reconciled to
God and
have eternal
life.
some people
it's true
in this world
want nothing
to do with
that good
news.
But there
are many
in this
city who
are God's
people.
They are
longing.
They are
waiting.
Let's pray.
God
show us
how good
the gospel
is.
Help us
to not
merely believe
it, know
it in our
heads, but
to believe it
with all of
our hearts.
Help us
to know
in the
marrow of
our bones.
How good
your good
news of
salvation is.
How kind
and gracious
you are.
So that we
would not
hesitate.
So that we
would not
be ashamed
of the
gospel.
In Jesus
name we
pray.
Amen.