58 Acts 16.35-40 The Church: Distinct and Strong

October 20, 2024

Christopher C. Freeman

Title: The Church: Distinct and Strong Text: Acts 16:35-40 FCF: We often struggle being used of God to preserve His church. Prop: Because Christ’s church will not be stopped by wicked schemes, we must be used by God to preserve His church. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 16. In a moment we’ll begin reading in verse 35 from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. In the Philippian episode of the missions journey so far, we have seen that the Lord is the one who prepares His missionaries, and the mission field. The Lord is the one who builds His church. But in the midst of that, the Lord has enemies that oppose Him. They range from powerful dark spiritual forces all the way to petty sinful humans and everything in between. But in Philippi we’ve seen the Lord conquer His enemies. Last week we saw the might and grace of God as He released His missionaries from prison while simultaneously destroying one of His enemies by giving a jailer and his household new hearts to believe on the Lord Jesus. Today, we will see the somewhat perplexing conclusion to this Philippian mission. We will see the Lord continue to lead His church to be victorious. But we will also see that God uses His people to accomplish that victory. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Invocation: Father, we marvel at this thing that You have created called the church. The assembly of those who have been called out from their darkness and into Your light. This gathering that has been predestined in Your Son since before time began. This body that has been given the status of friend, brother, sister, bride, priesthood, co-heir, princes and princesses. We marvel at this, because we know that while all this is true of us – we are most undeserving of these gifts. We were once Your enemies. Now we are part of Your royal court. We were once children of the Devil, and now we are the bride of Your Son. Never has any rags to riches story come close to compare to the story of how You left Your throne and sought Your bride. Father use Your word today to help us recognize how Your church is distinct and unique in the world. That we have been called to a purpose that no other entity on earth can fulfill. Help us also to see that when Your church remains strong in faith it will be able to withstand the various wicked schemes we face. Help us for Your Son’s sake we pray… Amen. Transition: Let us again dive right into the text this morning and consider the end of the beginning of the church in Phillipi. I.) Christ’s church will not be stopped by wicked schemes, so we must do what we can to make our identity clear to the world. (35-37) a. [Slide 2] 35 - Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” i. It is interesting that nothing in this text is said at all about the previous night’s earthquake. 1. In the western manuscripts we do have a small comment inserted which suggests that the earthquake sent the chief magistrates into a similarly fearful state as the Philippian jailer, and led them to conclude that Paul and Silas needed to be released quickly. 2. However, no early manuscripts include this statement and it is almost certainly an inserted commentary and not original to the text of Acts. 3. So why do the magistrates act as if nothing happened the night before? 4. Perhaps, since earthquakes are so common in Greece, an earthquake shaking foundations but not collapsing buildings is not worth further consideration? 5. And so the next day proceeds as they had planned it would. ii. Paul and Silas’ crime was disturbing the peace and insisting that Romans practice cultic Jewish practices and beliefs rather than being Romans. 1. Jews had earned many reputations in the Roman Empire. Some of the more unsavory reputations were that they were rebels, diviners, and shysters. 2. We have already pointed out that the general consensus of the city of Philippi was antisemitic. And with reputations such as these, we might understand why. 3. And now, unfortunately, Paul and Silas were lumped into this and viewed as rebels and shysters peddling anti-Roman beliefs and practices. iii. For this crime, they were beaten with rods and spent a night in prison pinned to a wall. iv. This completed their sentence in the eyes of the city magistrates. v. So, the next morning they send their policemen to the jailer to inform him of their release. b. [Slide 3] 36 - 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.” i. Here we see that the jailer did, in fact, return Paul and Silas to their jail cell for the night. ii. Even though he was now a believer, and even though he knew that these two men were unjustly punished for a crime they did not commit, and even though he had washed and fed these men the previous night, the jailer still obeys the city magistrate and does not free Paul and Silas from their cell. To do otherwise would risk his life, career, and is wholly unnecessary to defend the cause of Christ. iii. Even in the cell though, it seems by his statement that Paul and Silas are not bound to the wall any longer since he simply told them to come out and go in peace. iv. The jailer either adds to the words of the policemen or Luke gives a fuller account of what the policemen said through the words of the jailer. v. In any event, the blow is softened some by bidding them to go in peace. vi. However, this peace was attained in the eyes of the magistrates by the payment of what was owed because of their crime. vii. They can go in peace because they had paid their debt to the city. c. [Slide 4] 37 - But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” i. This is, perhaps, one of the more perplexing statements in the book of Acts to understand. ii. We need to know what Paul is saying and we need to know why he is saying it. The “what” is actually fairly straightforward, but the “why” is where we will have to do some detective work. iii. What is Paul saying here? 1. The core of the matter is that Paul claims that he and Silas are both Roman citizens. 2. Now for a fuller discussion about Roman citizenry, you can always chat with me later or come to a Thursday Night Bible Study (not this week) but another perhaps. 3. The Scriptures indicate to us that Paul was actually born a Roman citizen and probably had the birth declaration to prove it. Silas, we aren’t sure, but in other texts he is referred to as Silvanus, which is a purely Latin name, like Paul. 4. Paul and Silas would be unlikely to impersonate a citizen since this would be a crime with heavy penalties. 5. But what are the privileges of being a Roman citizen. a. Well among other things they had legal rights. b. They could sue and be sued, they could appeal court decisions, they had the right to a legal trial which required specific charges and genuine witnesses which supported that charge. Evidence would need to be brought and a lawyer must be present to argue their case. c. And, a citizen was NEVER allowed to be whipped or tortured during an investigation and the only way they could be sentenced to death was for the crime of treason against the Empire. 6. I hope you see the issue Paul is raising. a. They are both citizens… yet… b. They have been treated as though they were non-citizens. c. So, what is the punishment for that? i. For the magistrates, they could be stripped of their office, they could be heavily fined, they could be publicly shamed, they could be exiled, or even worse punishments than these. ii. Certainly, it would be a very shameful thing for the city to endure, being so prideful in their status as a Roman colony to be found abusing Roman citizens. d. So… Paul saying this is no small matter. 7. But that still leaves us with the question of… why. iv. Why does Paul say this? He and Silas were free to go. There doesn’t seem to be anything to gain here by revealing after the fact that they were Roman citizens. So, what are Paul’s motives? 1. Is Paul seeking revenge? Is he just a stickler for the law? Is he the kind of guy that will always stick up for his rights? None of these explanations fit with the context of Acts nor the character of Paul. So why is Paul doing this? 2. Even though it may be hard for us to see at first, the real reason Paul brings this whole matter to a head here, is the future security of the Philippian church. a. We have already established that Philippi was a city of antisemitic inclinations. b. So much so that Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned on the basis that they were Jews and had the audacity to tell the Romans to be more Jewish and less Roman. c. They were publicly beaten, and shamefully imprisoned. Their reputation now affiliates them with Jewish rabble rousers who are anti-Roman. d. Such a public image is now being projected onto the church and the gospel it preaches. e. What we have here from Paul is a shattering of that narrative. f. The story that everyone bought was that they were a bunch of Jewish shysters trying to peddle their faith and practices in this Roman city, when in fact they were Roman citizens, freely teaching and preaching things that were neither Anti-Roman nor pro-Jew. g. And because their beating and their imprisoning was public, in order to disassociate their shame from the church there in Philippi and the cause of Christ in general, they needed their citizenship to be made public too. h. Paul demands that the civil magistrates come down to the jail and release them themselves. Not secretly… but publicly. i. What is the motive behind this? j. Paul is attempting to secure the future of the church in Philippi. k. If the church inherits and keeps this anti-roman stereotype, it would certainly be quickly purged from the city.. l. But if the church was established by Roman citizens of various ethnic backgrounds who believed in the message of the gospel, it would be acceptable in the city. m. In fact, in the book of Philippians, which was written probably about 10 years later, the church there was just beginning to suffer persecution. n. Meaning that Paul’s actions here, at least from a human perspective, bought the church a decade of peaceful development. d. [Slide 5] Summary of the Point: What is clear from the entire record of the missionaries’ time in Philippi, is that no matter who or what stands against it, the Lord and His church cannot be stopped. All the wicked schemes of demons and men cannot hope to thwart what God is doing in and through His true church. Even though God will do this, that does not mean that His church does nothing to preserve itself. In fact, the MEANS that God often uses to lead to His church being victorious is when His church rises to action. In this text we will see two ways that we can be God’s tools in preserving His church. The first of these is demonstrated by Paul in verse 34. We must do all we can to make sure our identity as Christ’s church is clear to the world. For Paul, it was making sure that no one thought the church was anti-Roman or pro-Jew. Now were there things about Jewish culture that the church agreed with? Of course. Were there things with the Roman culture that the church opposed? Of course. But when the church’s identity is skewed, even slightly, it loses its savor and becomes good for nothing. When individual local churches do this… they lose their candle. In the application today, we will explore this more deeply. But for now, we must move on. Transition: [Slide 6 (blank)] One way we can be used of God to preserve His church and come out victorious is by preserving the identity of the church and not allowing it to be affiliated with improper or lesser causes. But what is another way we can be used to preserve the church? II.) Christ’s church will not be stopped by wicked schemes, so we must do all we can to encourage one another and build each other up. (38 -40) a. [Slide 7] 38 - And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, i. Here we see the desired effect of Paul’s revelation of their citizenship coming home to roost. ii. The chief magistrates of the city are severely afraid of what might happen to them and to the city, should it get out that they and the city had beaten and imprisoned Roman citizens without a fair trial. iii. All of them were guilty and all of them could be sued and face harsh penalty. iv. And so, what must they do? b. [Slide 8] 39 - and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city. i. The chief magistrates humble themselves to come to the prison and personally release Paul and Silas from prison. ii. Notice that they appeal to them – or another way to say this – they begin deep negotiation with them. The question is… how do we all save face here. Certainly, they don’t want to publicly admit they did this for a couple reasons. 1. First, as we’ve pointed out, if this gets too public, they might be on the hook for some penalties from Roman authorities. 2. We also need to consider the potential political and economic dilemma they face. Paul and Silas were brought into this mess by a fairly wealthy syndicate of slave owners. If the magistrates overcorrect, they could have a political problem on their hands too. iii. But, Paul and Silas cannot allow their reputation, and the church’s reputation by extension, to be so marred by the events that have transpired. iv. There is no question that these magistrates have been severely humbled and are forced to enter what we can imagine was a very tense negotiation with Paul and Silas. v. We see also that they are now requesting them to leave the city. Why? 1. First, we should see that this is a continued request. Meaning that Paul and Silas, at least for a time, refused to leave. 2. Second, this is a request and not a command nor is it as if they were allowing them to leave. This is further proof of their humbling. 3. But why do they want them to leave? a. Well of course to lessen the impact of this word getting out. b. The longer Paul and Silas stayed in Philippi the more likely it would be that people would find out that they were Roman citizens and that they had treated them unjustly. c. Also, the longer Paul and Silas stayed, the more likely that trouble would continue with the masters of the slave girl and the chief magistrates. vi. So, what is the outcome of all this negotiation? vii. Basically, going forward, we can assume a “you scratch my back I scratch yours” kind of arrangement. viii. The church will be allowed to continue to operate without hindrance from the city officials, and with a good reputation to boot. And Paul and Silas would leave, somewhat quietly, and without causing a ruckus. c. [Slide 9] 40 - And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and left. i. After Paul and Silas leave the prison grounds, they travel to Lydia’s home where they reconnect with those who had believed in Philippi up to this point. ii. More than likely they had been in the city for several weeks and many had believed on Jesus and been saved. iii. It is in Lydia’s home, the staging ground of the Philippian church, that they encourage these believers, no doubt to continue in the faith and preaching of the gospel. iv. As we move on to chapter 17 we will notice that the pronouns will change from “we” to “they”. v. Since we see that Paul, Silas and Timothy are mentioned later by name, this means that Luke stays behind in Philippi, no doubt to help the fledgling church continue to thrive. 1. This would further perpetuate the true identity of the church there since Luke was a gentile. 2. Him staying back would also be enough to pressure the chief magistrates to keep their end of the bargain. d. [Slide 10] Summary of the Point: And so, we see that the Lord has preserved and kept His church in Philippi from being uprooted and cast out. Instead, it has been given a chance to thrive. The Lord used the shrewdness of Paul to accomplish this. But it wasn’t only Paul’s wisdom in handling the situation with the reputation of the church – but it was also his pastoral heart to go and encourage the small body of believers that had sprung up there in Philippi. He returns to Lydia’s home to encourage them. This is another way we can be used of God to preserve His church. We can encourage one another. We can teach and grow each other. We can edify each other. We can build each other up. As we encourage one another, it actively preserves and builds the individual faiths of those who make up the body of Christ. Conclusion: So CBC, what have we learned today and how then shall we live? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 11] The book of Acts clearly establishes God’s sovereignty in the advancement of His gospel and the building of His church. Of course this doesn’t mean He has no enemies opposing Him. In fact, there are both spiritual and physical enemies actively opposing Him and His church. But as we’ve seen in the city of Philippi, Christ will preserve His church through all the wicked schemes against it. But Christ’s assured victory does not lead to our complacence. Rather, knowing that He will preserve us gives us the confidence we need to go and be faithfully used of God to preserve His church. We see that in two ways in the text today. First, externally toward the world the church’s identity must be preserved. In order for the church to endure, it must remain clear what the church is and is not. The church’s distinctives must remain. Therefore, we ought to be used of God to clarify and clean up the identity of the church to the watching world. Secondly, internally toward the faith of the church, we must encourage one another and build each other up in the teachings of the Lord. This includes both discipleship toward Christ likeness and also faithful reminding of the Lord’s promises. Being used in this way ensures the endurance of the church through the trials we face as our faith is built and perfected. But let me see if we can get to some specifics regarding these things. 1.) [Slide 12] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that the Lord will preserve His true church. a. God kept the missionaries from going anywhere but Macedonia. b. God guided them here to Philippi. c. God opened the heart of Lydia. d. God shook the ground to release them from prison. e. God struck fear into the heart of the jailer. f. God gave faith to the jailer and his entire household. g. God gave Paul and Silas their citizenship. h. God used their citizenship to preserve His fledgling church in the city of Philippi. i. And for 2000 years God has preserved His church. j. And should the Lord wait that long… He will preserve it another 2000 and beyond. k. God’s true church, those who are truly united to Christ by faith, are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. They will be presented faultless before the throne of God. The work which Christ began in them will be completed. l. There is no shadow of doubt that God’s true church will be preserved until the end and that no force of hell and no scheme of man will ever pluck them from His hand. m. Why? n. Because He will do this. And what the Lord has said He will do… It is as good as done. o. But we cannot pendulum swing too far in this teaching… 2.) [Slide 13] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that this applies to every single local visible church assembly. a. Every word in what is on the screen is very important. b. Certainly, God will preserve His true church. c. But not every local assembly will be preserved. d. Not every visible church will endure. e. How do we harmonize these two statements? f. Quite simply – not every local church, not every visible church, and not every member of every local or visible church are actually part of Christ’s true church. g. When I say local and visible, I mean the entity that we often associate with the church. This building. This denomination, This particular assembly here in Columbus Michigan. The collection of our particular membership rolls. h. Christ’s true church is global. It is not bound by a certain location. Christ’s true church is invisible. There is not one name or one building in which they meet. And the true church’s membership roll is the book of life. And only Christ as the judge will open this book. i. The day may come when Columbus Baptist Church no longer exists. All our members may withdraw or abandon their membership obligations, our constitution may fail, our Elders may fail, or persecution may make it impossible for us to keep any visible mark of our existence. j. But my friends, should a day like this ever occur – it in no way destroys the promise that Christ will preserve His church. k. In Revelation 2 and 3, we find a series of 7 churches in Asia. Each of them is a local assembly who had been established by the direct result of the ministry of the apostles. l. Five of those seven churches were already failing in one way or another to accurately represent Christ or to maintain a strong faith amid trials. John writes them to correct this. This proves to us that it is not wrong for us to act in order to preserve a local assembly… m. But today – 0 out of those 7 local churches exist. n. This is not because Christ has failed, but rather because no local assembly has such an eternal promise given to them. o. So, what can we do to be used of God to see His church preserved, in our local assembly and beyond? 3.) [Slide 14] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don’t naturally do or aren’t currently doing?” We must do all we can to encourage and build up the body of Christ. a. This is what we might call an internal check against the decay that visible churches often face. b. In this text we saw Paul ministering to the fledgling church in Lydia’s home, encouraging them before he departed the city. c. We also see Paul appoint a godly and trusted man, who was equipped to lead this fledgling church forward. d. Although our view is very brief, we get the impression that this is the role we all must have when considering the spiritual fitness of the visible church. e. In order to battle atrophy of the muscles, you must use them and exercise them. In order to fight against the atrophy of faith, it must also be exercised and fed. f. And so, the question arises – how can we build our faith? How do we make our faith stronger? g. Historically the church has recognized that the way our faith is built is by attendance to the means of grace that the Lord has given His people. h. These means are particularly the ministry of the Word, prayer, the fellowship of the saints, and the sacraments. Interestingly, the historical means of grace are essentially what the church devoted itself to in Acts 2:42. i. From the Elders all the way down to those who are new believers, we all must do all we can to build up the body of Christ. Although Christ is sure to preserve His church, the way that we as individuals are preserved, and we as a local assembly are preserved, is to be His true church. And the way we do that is by growing in our faith and Christ-likeness. j. And so, the question is – who are you building up in the faith? Who is building you? k. If the answer to either or both of those questions is… no one. Then you must give attention to this thought. l. Those whose faith does not endure to the end, will not enter the kingdom of God. m. But this internal check is not the only way we can be used to preserve the church. 4.) [Slide 15] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop muddying the identity of the church. a. Inadvertently Paul and Silas had yoked various causes to the church in Philippi. The church became pro-Jew, Anti-Roman, Anti-Commerce, and thus Anti-Philippi. b. It appeared to those outside the church that it was a threat to their way of life and an attack on their city and even on the empire. c. Paul, shrewdly confesses at the most opportune moment that he and Silas are Roman citizens. And demands that the chief magistrates of the city come down and release them from prison themselves. d. In doing this, Paul divorces these petty causes from the church, allowing the church to continue to exist in peace in the city of Philippi. e. Now I have not made a great study of this, but I’d wager that if you go down through the ages, I’d say that at least in many cases if not most, when the local church fails, it is because it has lost its true identity. f. There are two ways the church can lose its identity. Either by adding to what it should be or by taking away from what it should be. Or both. g. In our culture and around our world the visible church and the different movements within it are constantly battling against the church being co-opted by lesser causes or against sacrificing God given distinctives in order to be relevant or acceptable to the world. h. Here are a few things the church is not. The church is… i. Not a charitable organization ii. Not a place of healing for all broken people iii. Not a welcoming place that accepts you for who you are iv. Not a great place to raise a family v. Not a great way to meet people like yourself vi. Not a bastion for conservative values vii. Not a prop for a political party viii. Not a weapon against abortion or the LGBTQIA+ community i. Certainly, the church has much to say about each of these things… but none of these are the identity of the church. j. What is the church’s true identity? k. [Slide 16] The church is a community of individuals who have each been elected of God and appointed for eternal life, whom the Father called out from darkness into His light, whom the Son sought and purchased through His atoning death, whom the Spirit convicts, guides and unifies into all truth, who loves God through Christ in the Spirit and shows this by worshipping Him and growing in personal knowledge of Him through His Son and who make Him known through the nations by discipling one another, living holy lives, and sharing the gospel publicly even if it costs them everything. l. The church must keep its identity pure, otherwise it will be cast aside. m. The church of Ephesus in Revelation 2 had lost its first love. It was many good things – but it was not what it was supposed to be. Why? Because it had abandoned putting the love and worship of God… first. n. My friends, Columbus Baptist Church must be known as this kind of church – or we are sure to fall. o. But even if we do fall… take heart and take comfort. 5.) [Slide 17] Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” The gates of hell will not prevail against the church that Christ is building. a. Many great individuals, organizations, movements, churches, and even entire denominations have fallen in the last decade. b. Though they were once great bastions of truth and beacons of the gospel – they have succumbed to weak faith and identity collapse. Now they are empty husks. Chaff fit for the fire. c. We may be tempted, my friends, to allow their failure to steal our hope that the Lord will preserve His church. d. But my friends… even if they are left behind… The Lord will preserve His remnant. Though many men abandon the gospel – God’s true church never will. e. Though the gates of hell stand against it… Christ will build His kingdom at the very entrance… for it will not fall. Not while the captain of our salvation leads the charge. [Slide 18(end)] Let me close with a prayer from the Apostolic Constitutions. Lord, we pray for peace in this world, and in our churches, spread around the world. God of the whole world, give us your everlasting peace, and take it not away. Preserve us. Keep the church unshaken and free from the waves of this life, founded on a rock until the end of the age. We pray for this local church, that the Lord of the whole world would preserve and keep it unshaken, and free from the waves of this life, until the end of the world. Stoop down to us here to keep us following the hope of heaven, as we rightly divide your word of truth. We pray for our pastors and those in leadership. God of compassion, give them health and honor in godliness and right living. We pray for your protection and mercy in their lives. We pray for those who give, that you would return to them eternal things for earthly things. We pray for new believers, that you would strengthen and confirm them in their faith. We pray for the sick, that you would deliver and heal them from every disease, and restore them to us in full health. We pray for those who travel, and we pray for those in prison. We pray for those who oppose or even hate us, and for those who persecute us. Pacify their anger and scatter their wrath. We pray for those who are still outside the fellowship, and for those who have wandered. Save them, Lord. We pray for the youngest, that you would meet them and perfect them in holy reverence for you, and bring them to a complete age. Preserve us by your grace to the end, and deliver us from the evil one. Keep us from scandals and preserve us for your kingdom. Raise us up by your mercy, as we dedicate ourselves to one another and to you, the living God, through Jesus Christ, amen. Benediction: May the Lord who never sleeps, Who Keeps Israel in His holy care, Who will not suffer that your foot be moved, Nor fail in his certain aid, Keep you from now on, yea, forever more. Until we meet again, go in peace.