SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Paul the Preacher & Teacher (vs 23).
• (a). "Explaining"
• (b). "Witnessing"
• (c). "Convincing"
(2). Paul the Writer (vs 30).
(3). Paul the Evangelist (vs 24).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• During the second world war November 1942:
• As Hitler's Luftwaffe had invaded English skies,
• Britain was feeling the dread of his enlarging shadow,
• The country was asking the question.
• "How long can they endure the unrelenting darkness of their situation?"
• Prime Minister Winston Churchill needed to answer that question.
• What could he say to give the people hope & courage?
• On November 10th, he addressed a worried audience at the Lord Mayor's Day Luncheon:
• Slowly and in his own particular style, he spoke these immortal words,
• (and I will not be doing an impression!)
"Now is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.
But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning".
• TRANSITION:
• How appropriately these lines fit the final verses of the book of Acts:
• In Acts chapter 1 verse 8,
• Just before he ascended back to heaven, Jesus made a prediction.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth".
That verse is a very simple outline of the rest of the book of Acts.:
• Jerusalem (chapters 1-7).
• Judea & Samaria (chapters 8-12).
• Ends of the earth (chapters 13-28).
• And in chapter 28 we have the ending of the book of Acts,
• But only the recorded events by Dr Luke.
• The acts of the Holy Spirit are very much carrying on today,
• By now we are chapter 1 million and… well you can guess!
• So, this chapter truly is 'the end of the beginning'.
• The story goes on and on and on…
Note:
• We have noted over the past few weeks the apostle Paul's passion, his vision, his desire,
• Which has been to bring the Gospel to Rome.
• And to present the gospel even to Emperor Nero himself.
• Well, he got there (vs 16),
• But things didn't work out as he intended or hoped for,
• He was locked up in a small room, and under house arrest for two years!
• But as the saying goes: "You can't keep a good man down".
• Or to apply it to Paul: "You can't keep a good preacher quiet".
• Although he was under house arrest:
• He quickly got on with his favourite pastime, preaching & teaching.
Note: An unusual ending.
• From chapter 9 onwards the focus of the book has been on the apostle Paul.
• His conversion, his ministry, his missionary journeys,
• But now at the end we are keen to know what happened in Rome,
• Did he get to speak to Nero?
• Was he released or was he executed?
But all we read is summarised in verses 30-31.
• “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house”.
• Pause there for a minute.
• In Rome at that time was about two million people,
• Half of which were slaves, half of which were Roman citizens.
• Even the Roman citizens lived in relative squalor and poverty.
• So, the homes were not like fancy Roman homes,
• It was pretty dismal.
• He was a prisoner and so he lived in one of I would suggest the poorer homes.
• Also, he could not leave that house because he was chained to a soldier.
• The soldiers that attended Paul worked in shifts.
• They were chained to him for six hours at a time.
• When their shift was up, they would swap with another soldier for another six hours,
• So, four times a day, they would switch.
• Can you imagine living chained to someone for two years!
• So, if you are thinking Paul has a rather comfortable end to his life,
• Think again!
“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house.
and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!”
• And I think Dr Luke does that on purpose,
• His record of the early Church will not be focussed on Peter, Philip or Paul,
• Or any other personalities that dominate the book.
• The theme of this book is not the servants but the master,
• It is not the messengers but the message.
• So, Dr Luke ends his book the way he started it,
• Telling us about how the gospel message was preached,
• People believed and the Church continued to grow!
The outline to these final verses is not overly exiting:
• It divides into two parts.
• Verses 17-22: Paul meets with Jewish leaders.
• Verses 23-31: Paul has a second meeting with Jewish leaders.
• So rather than go through it verse by verse.
• I want to emphasise some key truths found in these verses.
(1). Paul the Preacher & Teacher (vs 23).
Quote: Søren Kierkegaard
“People have an idea that the preacher is an actor on a stage, and they are the critics,
blaming or praising him.
What they don't know is that they are the actors on the stage.
he (the preacher) is merely the prompter standing in the wings,
reminding them of their lost lines.”
I have said many times from this platform, that Christianity is a taught religion.
• Faith comes when we hear, understand and believe the gospel.
• “So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
• (Romans chapter 10 verse 17).
• Growth comes as we feed on the word of God.
• “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,”
• (1 Peter chapter 2 verses 2-3.)
• The writer of the book of Hebrews (chapter 5 verses 12-14),
• Put it this way.
“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
• Christianity is a taught religion.
• And with Paul under house arrest it meant of course that people had to come to him,
• Scan these verses you can see three examples of that.
• e.g., #1: verse 17:
• "Three days later Paul called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled".
• e.g., #2: verse 23:
• "They arranged to meet Paul".
• e.g., #3: verse 30b:
• "Paul welcomed all who came to see him".
The book of Acts shows us that the apostle Paul strategy was very consistent.
• Wherever he went he started with Jewish people.
• For thirty years Jewish communities have been opposing him,
• Even trying to kill him!
• But Paul always started with Jewish people and then moved onto the Gentiles.
• Unlike many he had encountered, verse 22 tells us that these Roman Jews:
• Were open to his ideas and wanted to hear him further,
• History tells us that there were between 8 to 12 Jewish synagogues in Rome at this time.
• Just the words Paul wanted to hear,
ill:
• Giving Paul an opportunity to preach.
• Giving an alcoholic an opportunity to drink.
Note: If you look at verse 23 you get to see the apostle Paul’s method and message:
"They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus."
PAUL HAS A THREEFOLD METHOD OF COMMUNICATION:
(a). "Explaining":
• The Greek word for "explaining" means:
• "To lay out, to set forth".
• Dr Luke used that word elsewhere, for example in Acts chapter 11 verse 4:
• To describe how Peter explained things in a logical orderly sequence.
Ill:
• The technical word for that is, ‘apologetics,’
• (The word “apologetics” derives from the Greek word apologia,)
• The word is used eight times in the New Testament:
• Acts chapter 22 verse 1; chapter 25 verse 16; 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 3.
• 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 5-6; Philippians chapter 1 verse 7.
• 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 16, and 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15.
• In ancient Athens it referred to a defence made in the courtroom,
• After the accusation, the defendant was allowed to refute the charges,
• With a defence or reply (apologia).
• The accused would attempt to “speak away” (apo—away, logia—speech) the accusation.
• Christian apologetics is that branch of Christianity,
• That deals with answering any and all criticism that opposes or questions,
• What Christians believe regarding God in Christ and the Bible
• Apologetics may be simply defined as the defence of the Christian faith.
• Giving rational and evidential reasons for what we believe.
• In March here at DRC as we build up to Easter,
• We will be doing a series of 7 apologetic talks around the person of Jesus Christ.
• TRANSITION:
• The apostle Paul encountered some Jewish thinkers who were highly educated.
• So, Paul explained the Christian message by laying out arguments,
• Accurately and in a logical order.
Ill:
• The British evolutionary biologist and author Richard Dawkins,
• In his book, ‘The God Delusion’ says, that “Christian Faith is non-thinking.”
• The apostle Paul, like many Christian apologists would reply, “Nonsense!”
Quote C.S. Lewis:
"If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all".
• The apostle Paul explained the Christian message by laying out arguments,
• Accurately and in a logical order.
• And each Christian needs to give a reasoned answer for the faith they have.
• (1 Peter chapter 3 verse 15.)
(b). "Witnessing" or "Declared" or "Testified".
• The Greek word literally means:
• "To declare emphatically".
Ill:
• Paul was a passionate preacher!
• Reminds me of the Welsh preacher,
• Who was preaching on the verse found in the book of Psalms (42 verse 1),
• “As the deer pants for the water So my soul longs after You
• As he got more and more fired up, he looked at the congregation and pointed, saying,
• “Brothers & sisters, it’s your pants that he wants!”
Ill:
• The great preacher G. Campbell Morgan, used to tell this story.
• About the great English actor William Charles Macready,
• He was around in the early 1800’s.
• A well-known preacher once said to the actor:
• "I wish you would explain to me something."
• Macready replied, “What is your question?”
• And so, the preacher replied,
"What is the reason for the difference between you and me?
You are appearing before crowds’ night after night with fiction, and the crowds come wherever you go.
I am preaching the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all."
Macready's answer was very insightful, he said,
"This is quite simple. I can tell you the difference between us.
I present my fiction as though it were truth; you present your truth as though it were fiction."
• TRANSITION: Enthusiasm
• Without enthusiasm life becomes dull, boring.
• Without enthusiasm we do not have the motivation to do things well.
• Lack of enthusiasm is actually considered a symptom for depression.
• Enthusiasm is what keeps things moving.
• One key ingredient in any witnessing, needs to be enthusiasm!
• Without it we are going to struggler to persuade anyone!
Quote: It's been said.
"You can have a hot head and win an argument, or you can have a hot heart and win a soul".
• The apostle Paul seems to have both:
• From morning until night Paul argued and testified passionately about Jesus.
• Morning until evening, bet your glad he's not preaching this morning!
(c). "Convincing" or "Persuading".
Ill:
• Graffiti written in the men’s toilet,
• Underneath the button on the hand air dryer,
• Someone had written the words, “Press here to hear a message from a politician”.
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul does not talk ‘hot air!’
• Notice his arguments are based on the Law of Moses and the Prophets,
• He is making his words particularly relevant & understandable to his Jewish listeners.
Verse 23b shows us the two themes he argued:
• "The kingdom of God" – God is your creator but make him your King as well.
• "Preached Jesus" -The promised Messiah, his death, resurrection & Lordship.
• Themes & content that we find in other sermons of Paul in the book of Acts.
• And using the background of the Old Testament scriptures:
• “and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets”
• He paints a picture of Jesus the Messiah,
• And if you cast your mind back to Acts chapter 2,
• That is the very same message the apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost.
• So, the very first sermon and the last message of this book are the same!
• No matter who is preaching in the book of Acts,
• Or where they are geographically or to what group of people or what setting,
• It is always the same gospel!
• Summarised by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 3-4.
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,”
(2). Paul the Writer (vs 30).
“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him.”
Ill:
• Mike Hencher is a friend of mine based in Newent, Gloucestershire.
• A number of years ago he was forced to have a knee cartilage operation,
• Laid up in bed and unable to do anything else,
• He had the idea to write a booklet, ‘The Missing Peace.’
• Sales of that booklet have now passed over 2 million copies in print.
• You can also read or download 'The Missing Peace' in 14 different languages,
• Web: https://www.themissingpeace.org/
• TRANSITION: Because of his confinement to a hospital bed,
• Millions have been able to read and understand the gospel!
• And because of the two years Paul spent in prison,
• We have Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.
• Paul’s Roman imprisonment produced three great letters to the churches,
• Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,
• As well as the only personal letter in the New Testament to his friend Philemon.
Note: While the prison epistles reflect Paul’s earthly position as a prisoner of Rome,
• The apostle Paul makes it clear in all four letters,
• That his captivity was first and foremost to Christ!
• Philemon verse 9; “…an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus"
• Ephesians chapter 3 verse 1; “Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles”
• Colossians chapter 4 verse 18; “Remember my chains.”
• Philippians chapter 1 verses 12–14). “I am in chains for Christ.”
The apostle Paul believed that God allowed him to be taken prisoner in Rome,
• He tells us why in Philippians,
• So, some of the royals would get saved (chapter 1 verse 13)
• And so, their influence could go out over the Roman roads to the world.
• (chapter 4 verse 22)
• Paul is confined under house arrest, awaiting trial before Caesar.
• He is not able to visit this church,
• All he can do is teach in the home and send letters out from visitors like Epaphroditus,
• He can write, and he can pray,
• But he certainly is not free to minister as he would prefer.
• And he knows that humanly speaking, his days are numbered.
Quote: Old Hymn by William Freeman Lloyd (1824)
My times are in Your hand.
my God, I wish them there!
My life, my friends, my soul, I leave.
entirely to Your care.
My times are in Your hand.
whatever they may be,
pleasing or painful, dark or bright,
as You know best for me.
My times are in Your hand.
why should I doubt or fear?
My Father's hand will never cause.
His child a needless tear.
My times are in Your hand:
Jesus, the Crucified.
those hands my cruel sins had pierced.
are now my guard and guide.
My times are in Your hand.
such faith You give to me.
that after death, at Your right hand
I shall for ever be.
(3). Paul the Evangelist (vs 24).
“Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.”
Question: What is an evangelist?
Answer:
• An evangelist is someone who proclaims good news.
• Greek euangelistes "preacher of the gospel," literally "bringer of good news,"
• Every Christian can do the work of an evangelist,
• But a person with the gift of evangelist will have a greater desire to evangelise,
• And will probably find it easier or rather more natural.
• Those with the gift of an evangelist,
• Will see people coming to faith through their ministry.
Ill:
• The New Testament records forty different people,
• Each suffering from some disease, who had been healed by Jesus.
• Out of the forty,
• Thirty-four were either brought to Jesus by friends or Jesus was taken to them.
• In only six cases out of forty,
• Did sufferers find their way to Christ without assistance."
• TRANSITION: That tells me if we don’t go out to people with the gospel,
• Then most of them will not be coming to us!
• The apostle Paul here is an exception when he was under house arrest,
• People came to him,
• But that is the exception rather than the rule!
Note:
• When it comes to evangelism, Churches have changed the rules!
• By that I mean we have gone opposite to the book of Acts.
• In the book of Acts, for example chapter 2,
• The Church comes together for, teaching, prayer, fellowship & Breaking of Bread.
• No-where in the book of Acts do they meet for evangelism.
• That is a cultural idea not a Biblical one!
• The Christians meet together to be fed, to be blessed,
• And then they separate, they ‘go’ and evangelise to those they encounter!
• TRANSITION: So, people coming to the home of Paul to hear the gospel.
• Is unusual, it is not the norm,
• Although our houses are great places to invite people in to share the gospel.
Note: the reaction to the message.
• “Some believed” and others did not!
• This is typical of what Paul experienced all through his ministry,
• Now I find those words encouraging, that “some” believed.
• And notice that no number is given,
• But that word “some” suggests to me not huge numbers, but “some.”
• The people heard the apostle Paul for 6, 8, 10 or even 12 hours at a time,
• And most of them still did not believe!
• So, for a preacher like me that is encouraging!
Ill:
• Also, a reminder of the truths Jesus taught in The Parable of the Sower/soils.
• (Found in Matthew 13:1–23, Mark 4:1–20, Luke 8:4–15)
• Whenever a preacher, teachers the Word or preaches the gospel,
• There are often four responses,
• Wayside soil – hard hearted listener,
• Stony soil – shallow hearted listener,
• Thorny soil – crowded hearted listener,
• Good soil – fruitful hearted listener,
• What makes all the difference is determined by the condition of the listeners heart!
• True for Christian and non-Christian, whenever the Word of God is preached!
It seems to me that most of those Jewish visitors to the apostle Paul.
• Left arguing, disagreeing over the gospel (vs 25).
• “They disagreed among themselves”.
Ill:
• While the gospel message is a message of peace:
• e.g., Knowing peace with God (sins forgiven).
• e.g., Knowing peace with other people (reconciliation & to live at peace where possible).
• Jesus taught that his message brings division,
• e.g., Matthew chapter 10 verse 34-36: Jesus said:
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
I did not come to bring peace, but a sword".
• In the ancient world,
• A sword is the sharpest of all weapons, it was the emblem of the right of authority,
• The impartiality of justice, the correction of offenders.
• Jesus is not talking about a physical sword, but rather division,
• Which takes place when an individual responds to Jesus and lives under his authority.
• e.g., A division may take place in a household,
• e.g., Between husband & wife, or parent & child,
• e.g., Between brother & brother, or friend & friend.
• Because the claims of Jesus cause a person to live life in another direction,
• To embrace new values, new morals, new behaviour, new direction, with new priorities,
• Many Christians live in that state of tension,
• Where they are being pulled in two directions,
• A desire to follow Christ but also to hold onto and build other relationships – that is hard!
Note: We see division in this chapter,
• Some believed, accepted the testimony of Paul, teaching of the O.T (vs 23-25).
• While others said, "That's ridiculous, let's get out of here".
• And as they leave the apostle Paul gives them one last warning,
• He quotes the prophecy of Isaiah to these people (vs 25b-27).
• Quotation from J.B. Phillips paraphrase.
" Paul added as a parting shot, “how rightly did the Holy Spirit speak to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘Go to the people and say, Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them.’”
• And because these Jews are behaving as stubbornly as the Israelites in Isaiah's day:
• Paul sombrely adds, verse 28:
"Let it be plainly understood then that this salvation of our God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they at least will listen to it!”.""
• With that offensive word "Gentiles",
• As we have seen many times in the book of Acts, these Jewish leaders take their leave,
• Many of them angry and hot under the collar,
• But some of them convicted by this new teaching.
Note:
• The offence here is the message and not the presentation!
• Everything the apostle Paul teaches and debates with these Jewish leaders,
• Is based on the Old Testament scriptures (vs 23b)
“He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.”
• For us as Christians it is the scriptures both Old & New,
• That is why we are back next week studying the Old Testament again.
• But it is the scriptures both Old & New,
• That is the bedrock, the foundation to everything.
ill:
• You can fall out a window,
• You can fall off the top of a roof,
• But you can't fall off the floor.
• TRANSITION: This book is our floor, our foundation.
• If we build on it, study it, live by it, we will not fall!
(4). Conclusion to the Book.
• In the last two verses of Acts Dr Luke adds the finishing touches to his book.
• In doing so he doesn't fill in the specifics,
• About the Christians in Rome, or even Paul's trial and eventual death.
• As I said earlier in my talk,
• The theme of this book is not personalities, it is not about the servants but the master,
• It is not the messengers but the message.
• So, Dr Luke ends his book the way he started it,
• Telling us about how the gospel message was preached,
• People believed and the Church continued to grow!
There are three things that ought to be seen in the Christian church in every generation:
(a). Widespread Acceptance (vs 30):
“For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and WELCOMED ALL who came to see him.”
The apostle Paul's door was OPEN to anyone:
• Jew or Gentile, slave or free, soldier or civilian.
• Rich or poor, men or women,
• The apostle Paul was not a Christian snob,
• He did not welcome what some might call the ‘nice’ people,
• And then ignore those who some might say were regarded as socially inferior:
• Our God welcomes the “Whosoever”.
• If he did not then most of us, maybe all of us would not be here this morning!
• As his people let us make sure we do the same!
• The church's message is broad not exclusive.
• It is an invitation to everyone, regardless of a person's appearance or background.
(b). Solid Content (vs 31a).
" He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ".
• If you’re going to base your entire life on something,
• And that is what Christ calls us ALL to do.
• You want to know that it is solid and true.
• If you’re going to stake your eternity on that same thing,
• You really want to be sure that it is the truth.
• It would be utterly tragic to spend your life built on a lie,
• Or following a path that you thought led to heaven,
• Only to find out too late that you were wrong!
• As Christians, we build our lives and stake our eternity on the truth of God’s Word.
• So, we need to get to know it!
Ill.
• If you want to you can find lots of faults with this Church,
• We are a work in progress, but we are trying our best.
• But in the end, there is one thing I hope you will have to agree with regarding DRC,
• Like the apostle Paul we did two things: we preached and taught about Jesus Christ!
• And as a leader of this Church,
• I am happy to live with that!
• That is one of our priorities, Jesus said, “feed the sheep.”
• Now he did not say, “feed my giraffes!”
• So, apologies when my teaching is above your heads,
• But let’s be honest, I am aiming for your hearts but some of you keep ducking down!
c). Non-defensive Style (vs 31b):
" with all boldness and without hindrance!"
When the apostle Paul went to synagogues on his missionary journeys.
• He needed to be wise, tactful, at times he had to guard his words,
• Because he was in opposition territory,
• And he knew when folks understood his message he might be attacked or persecuted.
• But here in his own home and people coming to him.
• He could be bold and unhindered in what he shared with them,
• Because they were on his territory!
• There is a place for intellectual argument i.e., we noted that Paul used apologetics.
• But there is also a place and a time for proclamation preaching.
• Where we share the message of the Bible, even the bits that are not very palatable.
• And in our own building we can do that, " with boldness and without hindrance!"
ILL:
• Swedish au-pair had just started working for an English family:
• She had not yet got a good grasp of the English language,
• One day she entered a room, where the children she looked after had gone berserk,
• The room was a real mess and so she said to them ....
• Or rather what she meant to say was: "What on earth are you doing?"
• Instead, she said; "What are you doing on earth?"
• TRANSITION:
• Christian, are you evangelising, sharing your faith?
• Pray that God will give you an opportunity, today, tomorrow, this week!
• Non-Christian, what will you do with Jesus!
• Like these Jewish leaders, listen, learn and respond!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=7ohGXuwowTMdKExU95lbPjC2MPS0QcM6&fmode=download
SERMON VIDEO:
https://youtu.be/inTeotrNcFE
