I. Intro: “How Not to Fight Atheism”
As reported by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. of the CHRISTIAN POST:
“In December 2010, the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason - a group dedicated to raising the profile of secularists, atheists, and agnostics - began running advertisements on Fort Worth public buses that read, ‘Millions of Americans are Good Without God.’ …
“Some Christians responded with outrage. 'The ads are hurtful to the people who do believe in God, and I proudly believe in Jesus Christ, said one woman. A coalition of Fort Worth pastors called for a boycott of public transportation.”
In response to the public outcry, Mohler reports, “The Fort Worth Transportation Authority voted December 15 to ban all religious ads on buses. The policy took effect January 1, 2011. According to press reports, ‘both sides cheered the decision.’”
As a result, it is now illegal for both the secular AND the sacred to be displayed.
APPLICATION
Mohler suggests that this is anything but a victory, saying:
“Christians are sometimes our own worst enemy, especially when we claim to be offended. Those pastors and concerned Christians who demanded that the transportation authority ban the atheist ads actually gave the secularists the Grand Prize. By precipitating (and, of all things, celebrating) a ban on all religious messages from this public space, these Christians surrendered Gospel opportunities simply because they were offended by an atheist advertisement. No wonder the atheists clapped. …
"Are Christians so insecure that we fear a weakly-worded advertisement on a public bus? These bus ads represent just how weak the atheists’ arguments really are, but the response from agitated Christians represents a far more dangerous weakness. Instead of responding to the ads with a firm and gracious defense of the Gospel, these activists just surrendered the space altogether, rather than to bear the offense of the cross."
(from sermoncentral.com
II. Teaching Tactics (v.15)
A. Paul was aware of several factions, or classifications, of teachers, and they weren’t all doing it with pure motives
B. His mention of “envy and rivalry (strife)” is not about what he feared would happen, but about what he knew would happen because he’d seen it before (and saw it going on in other places)
1. A sure sign of this kind of thing is when people tell you a minister is bogus because of their ministry rather than how they handle the Bible
2. Paul’s concentration was “rightly dividing the Word of truth,” not developing a cult of personality—unlike some he could think of
C. He knew the seeds of conflict were sown on purpose, just as surely as the seeds of “good will”
III. The Good Guys (v.16)
A. Paul recognized some of these preachers as supporters because their love was genuine and they clearly believed his ministry was genuine
1. “put here”—or appointed, as of a soldier on duty—he knew he was where God put him on purpose, not as a punishment—for the purpose of, not because of
2. “Here”—the proximity of the location of the barracks was not an accident; it gave Paul handy access to influential people who could help spread the gospel (not just work for his release or protection)
B. Paul recognized this was more about promoting the Gospel than his protection
1. “defense of the gospel”—some knew Paul’s ministry was bringing growth to the church, even in jail
2. Sometimes, even in our defense of the gospel, we’ll see a side effect: we have new avenues of evangelism
IV. The Bad Boys (v.17)
A. Paul knew that some had ulterior motives in their ministry
1. Doing ministry for financial gain isn’t a new thing (Simon the magician, Acts 8:9-24)
"9But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
"14Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23For I see that you are in the gall[c] of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8:9-24)
2. Judaizers were probably making pretty good money coming in behind Paul and imposing OT interpretations on new believers, for which they would be well paid
B. Paul knew some people believed preaching the Gospel actually meant to bring difficulty upon him
1. “not sincerely”—not just that they didn’t mean to communicate the hope of the Gospel, but that in their motives, the “gospel” they were preaching was counterfeit
2. Some of these detractors made the point that Paul was only in “affliction” because he’d sinned—do we ever do that? Do we ever assume someone has done something wrong when they have difficulties?
V. Big Fat Hairy Deal (v.18)
A. “What then?” Paul asks—we might say, “So what?”
B. Paul understands that, by hook or by crook, the Gospel is getting face time with the lost
C. His joy has nothing to do with him or his situation
1. "You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." (Psalm 4:7)
2. "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12)
3. "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." (2 Corinthians 6:10)
D. For Paul, it wasn’t about getting credit: so long as the Gospel is shared, he’d leave the final evaluation of motivations to God—that wasn’t his problem (and it’s not ours, either)
1. "For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each." (1 Corinthians 3:4,5)
E. Paul was genuinely excited about the fact that the Gospel was being spread, regardless of who was sharing it or why they did it
VI. Conclusion
A. We have a common mission: share the Gospel. That is the one and only reason we are still here.
B. Don’t get tied up with personalities—thinking the message is at all about the messenger misses the point and may damage your testimony
C. Don’t assume “my side is the only side”—God is always on the mission of reaching out to the lost in much more creative ways than we can think of
D. Don’t assume if you wouldn’t do it that way, it must be wrong
