A Call To Community Series

Acts 16:9-15. [9] And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." [10] And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. [11] So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, [12]and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. [13] And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. [14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. [15] And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. (ESV)

What distinguishes one community from another. Besides geographical location, people will often distinguish between urban and rural, rich and poor, densely vs. sparsely populated and a myriad of different factors. Communities are often defined by what can be outwardly seen. Likewise for the Christian community, there are two New Testament ordinances that distinguish us from other communities: Baptism and Communion. Baptism is the distinguishing ordinance for one entering the Christian community. Baptism is a public sign of identification with Christ and the Christian community.

In Acts 16, although all members of Lydia’s household may not have chosen to follow Christ, it had become a Christian home. Her faith was evident in her actions, particularly in how she related to the broader Christian community. Lydia’s sincerity

use her house as their home base while in Philippi. Baptism was another act of obedience to publically profess her faith to the broader community. With the testimony of Lydia in Acts 16, had she professed faith in Christ and not submitted to baptism, she would have been in effect denying her own profession of faith. That is surely why Luke mentions her baptism, but never records her words in professing Christ as her Saviour. Why? Because, without baptism, her words would have been empty. It was baptism which sealed the credibility of her confession of Christ! (Keddie, G. J. (2000). You Are My Witnesses: The Message of the Acts of the Apostles. Welwyn Commentary Series (186). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.)

People are created by God to live and interact in community. It is an unhealthy thing to live alone unto ourselves. Even for the health of an individual family, obedience to the plain teaching of scripture aids in the health of that family. As we looked yesterday at the ways God has called us to serve in the Christian community, obedience to what He has commanded is the vehicle upon which He guides and blesses individuals, families and the broader community.

In explaining the role of baptism in the faith of Lydia, Acts 16:9-15 shows how this ordinance acts as a call to community. Through this baptism we see: 1) The Proclamation for Community (Acts 16:9-10), 2) The Place for Community (Acts 16:11-13), 3) The Person in Community (Acts 16:14), and 4) The Proof of Community (Acts 16:15).

God uses believers obedience to His commands in:

1) The Proclamation for Community (Acts 16:9-10)

Acts 16:9-10. [9] And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." [10] And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (ESV)

This vision that appeared to Paul happened while awake, for it is not called a dream (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Ac 16:9–10). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.). For Paul to receive a vision, we must understand that visions and dreams were a recognized means of divine communication in ancient times, as they are in many eastern contexts today (see 9:10, 12; 10:3, 17; 18:9; 22:17). However, in the total record of Acts, such visions are rare and unexpected by the characters concerned. We should therefore conclude that this is an unusual form of divine guidance (Peterson, D. G. (2009). The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (456). Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.).