The Tension Of Gospel Faithfulness
Acts 19:21-41
In the Christian faith there are Biblical doctrines that when fully accepted have aspects to them that must be held in tension. What I mean by holding something in tension is that there are aspects of that doctrine that are unsolvable to the human mind and require an element of faith to fully accept and believe. And when we by faith receive and believe these truths we hold those things in tension. Let me give a few examples:
Christian Doctrines Held "In Tension"
1. Ex Nihilo Creation
Ex Nihilo is a Latin phrase that means "Out of Nothing." How could God create something, namely the universe, out of nothing. In our rational minds we know anything that we create must come from some pre-existing matter, some raw materials. God created everything out of absolutely nothing. We hold this truth in tension.
2. The Trinity
How can three be one; how can one equal three. How can He be they and them be him? We hold this truth in tension.
3. The Incarnation of Jesus
How can an eternal, timeless, limitless, transcendent God enter time and space and take on human flesh.
4. Hypostatic Union
This theological phrase refers to the present union of the nature of Jesus. Today, Jesus is fully God; and today Jesus is fully man. How can one person have two complete natures, the nature of God and the nature of man.
5. Election
How can the truth of the Bible that God loves all people and desires everyone to be saved and the truth of the Bible that only the elect will be saved, how do these things coexist? They must be held in tension.
And the thing about each of these doctrines is when you think you've resolved the tension that's in each of them you have undoubtedly slipped into some form of false doctrine. For instance, for those in the centuries of Christian history who have allegedly resolved the tension of the Trinity or the Incarnation usually do so by denying the deity of Jesus. Those who think they've solved the tension of Ex Nihilo creation have usually slipped into some form of theistic evolution.
Now just as these foundational Christian doctrines must be held in tension, there is also a tension that must be held when it comes to Gospel faithfulness; a church on mission. Often what happens in both individual Christians and in congregations is we tend to lose that tension that must be held; we tend to lean too heavily in one direction or the other.
In the passage before us today we will see how two aspects of gospel faithfulness are held in tension by the apostle Paul and the newly formed church in the city of Ephesus. I trust it will be very instructive for us today. Before we read the text, I would remind you of what we learned last week as Darrell Smith did an excellent job preaching about the Seven Sons of Sceva. Following that event, revival broke out in the city of Ephesus. People were converted, they had huge bonfires where they burned all their trinkets and idols and occultic books and paraphernalia; they confessed their sin to each other. A transformational revival was taking place in the city of Ephesus. Paul determines he's going to leave shortly and head to Jerusalem, and eventually Rome. He sends his two assistants - Timothy and Erastus - on ahead of him. But before he leaves to join them, you'll never guess what happens: a riot breaks out in Ephesus. Now most cities it only took 2 or 3 weeks before a riot broke out, here it was over 2 years.
23About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. [Don't you love the way Luke writes? There arose no little disturbance; Demetrius brought no little business to the craftsmen. I'm going to eat no little food for lunch today because I'm not a little hungry. This sermon is going to take no little minutes to preach...] 25These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. 30But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
You know as we've gone through the book of Acts, one of the major themes we've seen over and over again is that the Word keeps going out, and God keeps bringing people in. God's faithfulness to his promise in Isaiah 55:11 that when his word goes out it will not return empty and void, but will accomplish all for which he purposed for it to accomplish - that promise is on full display throughout the book of Acts. But accompanying the powerful influence of the Word going out and God bringing people in is a hostile reception from the world. The pattern is no different here in Ephesus.
Luke relates the account of a riot that broke out in Ephesus. I think as we study this passage we will see how incredibly relevant this 1st century riot is to where we find ourselves in 21st century American culture. We will see two aspects of gospel faithfulness that are held in tension by these Christians in Ephesus. And if we are going to be faithful Christians in the 21st century American culture, these things must be held in tension. The first thing we see is that Gospel faithfulness...
I. CONFRONTS The IDEALS Of A Society
Every society in every generation in every geographic location on the planet has some developed ideals by which they are identified and by which they function. These are the norms of a society, they are what bind a culture together. Gospel faithfulness means confronting those ideals with truth. We see that happening in Ephesus.
Here's the deal - we must not be afraid to let the gospel upset the status quo. Paul has stayed in Ephesus after sending Timothy and Erastus ahead of him, and this big bru-ha-ha breaks out. Now the reason this disturbance breaks out is because of what I mentioned earlier that happened in the previous passage. Namely, people's lives are being transformed by the power of the gospel, so much so that they're forsaking the cultural norms; they're forsaking the societal ideals; they're forsaking their former lives. They're forsaking their former pursuits; forsaking their sin and they are pursuing Christ. Why? Because the gospel confronts the ideals of a society. When this happens, there will be a couple implications that result. First, there will be...
A. FINANCIAL implications
Luke indicates that the primary instigator of this riot was a silversmith named Demetrius. And the bottom line for Demetrius was the bottom line. This gospel began to cause financial implications, not only for Demetrius but also for other craftsmen and workmen of similar trades.
Well just how did the gospel impact them financially? Because the gospel that Paul was preaching said these trinkets and idols that these craftsmen are making are not gods. There’s no power in them; there’s no spiritual essence to them. And the problem is that Paul is persuading some of them. In the temple there was a massive statue of the false goddess Artemis. People would buy replicas of that statue, little trinkets of Artemis they carry around in their pockets; they would shrines to Artemis their homes. And Paul is saying, “These things were made by human hands, they’re not gods, they’re not real.”
And some people are saying, “You’re right! What kind of god is this? I saw Demetrius make this thing. I’ve always gone to Demetrius and sons for my pagan idols and it never occurred to me that they’re not gods, how could they make gods?” And this revolution of truth in the city of Ephesus begins to have financial implications in the city.
That’s precisely the reason why Demetrius incited the riot. He gathers together all the craftsmen who make their living from these idols and notice what he says: “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.
You see if people start believing this message that there’s only one true God, and Artemis is no god at all, just a human invention, then what’s going to happen to our way of life, what’s going to happen to our business; what’s going to happen to our wealth. We’re going to be driven out of business!
It often happens that people do not really care about your other-worldly religion as long as it remains other worldly. When your faith begins cause implications in this world, then people start to get upset. The bottom line is the bottom line. That’s fine for you in the privacy of your own life if you want to worship Jesus, if you want to serve him, just keep it to yourself. People are fine with Christians believing whatever they want to believe. You want to believe in the goofy nonsense of a virgin birth, yeah whatever. You want to believe that some man came back to life, that he’s returning on a white horse – that’s fine, you believe in it. Some people believe in aliens. But what they don’t want is for this faith of ours to impact in any way the cultural climate of our day.
When the gospel takes hold of a city, of a region, of a town or community, there will be financial implications. I mean could you imagine what would really happen to some businesses in our city if the gospel really took hold? Would we start to see strip clubs close down? Would we see the drug industry dry up? Every business operates on the basic premise of supply and demand. If there’s no demand for a product or service, that business ceases to exist. So there are financial implications. There will also be…
B. CULTURAL implications
27And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Demetrius recognized that Paul’s gospel message was a threat to the glory of Ephesus – the great goddess Artemis, a threat to her worship; a threat to the honor of her name. You see, they get it. They get the connection. Jesus is a threat to the idols of the city.
Let me ask you – does anyone in your circle of relationships see your worship of Jesus as a threat to their idols? They should. Demetrius saw the potential cultural implications of the gospel message and he said, “This is not good. Christianity may be good in a number of different ways, but it is not good for the makers of idols. When the gospel takes root it doesn’t help the foundation of our lives."
So they’re enraged. Not just a little upset, not just a little put off – they’re enraged! And they start crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” Why did they cry that out? Because Ephesian identity was wrapped up completely in the temple to Artemis. If you went to Ephesus, you were no doubt going there to see the great temple to Artemis. The temple itself was a magnificent structure. The footprint of the temple was 4X the size of the Parthenon in Athens. It had pillars 60 feet high. 423'X225' - significantly bigger than a football field. It is regarded as one of the 7 wonders of the Ancient World. This thing was massive. Like I said, if you're traveling to Ephesus, you're going to the temple of Artemis, you're buying the foam finger, "Artemis is #1."
Ill. Again, the entire identity of the city of Ephesus was wrapped up in the worship of this false god Artemis. I tried to think of a modern comparison, and the closest thing I could come up with was Green Bay, Wisconsin. Now when I say Green Bay, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? The Green Bay Packers. The city of Green Bay is hardly what you’d consider as a typical major league city. The population is only about half that of our city of Chattanooga. The entire identity of Green Bay is wrapped up in the Packers. I read this week that a couple years ago they made an expansion to Lambeau Field, adding 7,000 seats, the Director of the Green Bay visitors bureau estimated there would be an additional $1,000,000 dollars pumped into the local economy for each home game because of that expansion.
Now imagine if some preacher came into Green Bay and began to declare a message that says football is just a game. There’s no real value to the playing of the game; it doesn’t produce any lasting change in your life. It’s a false idol that has consumed your lives. Now, is there truth in that message – of course there is. Now imagine if that message started to take hold in the society Green Bay. People stopped going to games; you couldn't give away tickets; they stopped buying jerseys, and souvenirs, and foam fingers. Would there be financial implications in Green Bay? Of course. Would there be cultural implications in Green Bay? Of course there would. Why? Because the idolatry of the Green Bay Packers would be exposed.
What happens here in Ephesus is probably similar to what might happen in Green Bay. They immediately look for someone to blame and they drag out a couple of Paul’s companions, Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul even wanted to go into the crowd, perhaps thinking he could reason with the mob. But some of his people hold him back saying, “Look, reasoning with a mob is not usually the way to go.” Paul even has some friends in high places in Ephesus, referred to in the text as Asiarchs, they urged him NOT to go into the theater where the mob was frothing into a frenzy.
The text says that for two hours they cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Now if you’re here and you can’t imagine a mob of people chanting the same thing for two hours I would ask you, “Have you ever been to a sporting event?” Play Clip
You see, there's this incredible crying out of the people because they're seeing their society, their culture changing right before their eyes because of the powerful influence of the gospel in Ephesus. And they're angry about it. The city's fame is at stake, the glory of Artemis is at stake. Their lives, their honor, their wealth is at stake.
We love to talk about changing the culture or impacting society. And I think we can wrongly assume that people will be happy that we changed the culture. "We're here to change the culture." - "Oh, we're so glad you're here to change the culture!" The culture is what it is because a majority of people in that culture must like it that way. Effecting cultural change will be met with fierce resistance. When the gospel starts to make inroads in your school, or your workplace, or community or any other sphere of influence, don't expect everyone to thank you for it.
And here's the clincher for this first point: Let us not make a safe God, and a safe gospel so we can keep living our safe lives. We often talk about our church being gospel-centered. What do we mean by that? Let me tell you what we do NOT mean. We do not mean that our church is kind of like a spiritual tune-up center where your life is running a little rough in some areas, so come to church and we'll give you a little tune-up. You're running a little rough in your marriage, well lets do a little series on relationships.
You're running a little rough in the checkbook - well let's do a little series on finances. You're running a little rough with your kids - let's do a little series on parenting and give you a tune-up. If you've come here to get a little tune-up, here's what we'll tell you - you need to get rid of your vehicle, dismantle it completely, send it to the junkyard. Because we're not talking about getting a little tune-up, gospel-centeredness means getting a whole new vehicle; it means going from death to life; it means going from darkness to light; it means total, complete, radical transformation.
You see because the gospel says, you and I are natural-born sinners. We habitually sin and break God's law, and that sin has separated us from a Holy God; that sin has caused us to be under a curse of death. But God, being rich in love and mercy and grace sent forth his one and only son, born of a virgin, God in the flesh, divinity meets humanity. And his name is Jesus. He was tempted in every way, yet he never sinned, he never broke God's law. But yet, he took the punishment of sin by dying on the cross, taking the wrath we deserved. Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit he was resurrected from the dead on the 3rd day to provide new life!
Now how does the Bible describe the way we should respond to that gospel? By getting a little spiritual tune-up? No! Two words - repentance and faith. Repentance means sending the old vehicle to the junk yard; completely renouncing the way you travel through this life. And faith means depending upon, trusting in, and clinging to Jesus alone for a hope, and a future.
Now, will that affect your marriage? No doubt! Will that impact the way you spend your money - you better believe it! Will that transform the way you raise your kids - absolutely. But we're not talking about tune-ups, we're talking about total life transformation. Listen, Gospel faithfulness is a threat to the morays and preferences of a culture; Gospel Faithfulness confronts the ideals of a society. We need to know this going in. But here's the second aspect of Gospel faithfulness I want us to see from this text...
Gospel Faithfulness...
II. CONSIDERS The LIMITATIONS Of A Society
What do I mean by that? These Christians in Ephesus, they were not revolutionaries in the negative sense; they were not insurrectionists; they were not disloyal to the laws of the land. They were not rabble rousers, they weren't troublemakers who were just looking for an opportunity to make a front-page headline or be the lead story on the nightly news. Paul and the other Christians had obviously considered the legal limitations of the society of Ephesus, and they purposefully functioned within those legal limitations. In fact, as we read, they were actually vindicated by the civil authorities in Ephesus.
But I also think present in their gospel faithfulness was not just a consideration of the legal limitations of a society, but also the peaceable limitations of a society. Paul said later in Romans 12: Give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:17-18
Do what is honorable in the sight of ALL, live peaceably with ALL. In plain, Lookout Valley English that means, don't be a jerk. Don't be obnoxious. The gospel itself is offensive. We don't have to be offensive in the way we share it. The gospel itself topples idols; we aren't called to go around knocking things over - let the truth of the message do that.
About 4 years ago a friend of mine approached me about an opportunity to pastor a church in the United Arab Emirates. If you don't know anything about that country, it's an oil rich Muslim nation in the middle East. You've probably seen pictures of the capital city of Dubai, which has the tallest building in the world. Because there are so many foreigners who live in the UAE, employed in the oil industry, the Sheik of the nation allows Christian churches to exist so that Christians living there have a place to worship. One of those churches had a pastor who was going to be leaving, and I was approached about putting my name into consideration for that church. It's an evangelical church of about 150 people - almost all westerners.
I spoke with Amy about it and my initial response was, yes, submit my name. A couple weeks later after spending time in prayer and consideration, I contacted my friend and told him I had a change of heart and I felt my time at LV was not over and God was calling me - at this point at least - to be a sender of missionaries to foreign lands.
Now during that time of consideration I wanted to know what were the limitations of being a pastor in the UAE. Could I faithfully preach the gospel in a Muslim country, in a church that was on land donated by the Muslim Sheiks. Surely there would be some limitations. And there are.
Pastors in the UAE can preach from their pulpits whatever is in the Bible; you can tell people that Jesus is the only way. You can even gently explain how Christianity and Islam see things differently. But what you can't do is in anyway say anything disparaging about the Muslim prophet Mohammed, or the government, or the sheiks who lead that country.
Now we can be thankful for freedom of speech in this country - for as long as it lasts. But in that context, in a Muslim country, they are allowed to exist but there are legal limitations. And there are some very solid, faithful Christian churches, faithfully preaching the gospel, living peaceably within that Muslim nation, living honorably among all men. It's a fine line.
Here in Ephesus, you have the town clerk comes forward, speakingto this mob in defense of the Christians. The town clerk is essentially the city accountant, the city manager. He's the keeper of records, registrar. He's a big deal. Now, this guy is not a Christian - he worships Artemis. He says, "Listen, everyone knows that our entire identity as Ephesians is wrapped up in the temple of Artemis. Everyone knows that the great stone fell from the sky." (which was probably a meteor and they took it as divine indication where the temple should be built and confirmation that Artemis was the true goddess). He says, "These things are undeniable." But the key to his whole argument is that Paul and the others have not done anything illegal.
You see it was against the law to destroy temples, to destroy shrines and in that way publicly blaspheming Artemis. No physical acts were done against the shrines. Paul didn't go in to the temple and physically push over the idols. So the town clerk argues, they haven't broken any laws that are on the books: 37For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.
He's saying, "Take them to court if you think they've broken the law." But the implication is, they hadn't broken any laws. They were careful to legally function within the limitations of that society.
We have been given, in our culture, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. These are precious gifts not to be taken for granted. But we are to be wise in the way we function within those freedoms.
In our community we have some tremendous opportunities. Our church sponsors the good news club at LVES which meets every Monday after school. Trust me, there could be a very unwise way in which we approach that opportunity that would not benefit the cause of Christ in anyway. We could be combative and offensive and obnoxious in ways that eventually the school administration would be required to say, "I'm sorry, you can't be here anymore."
I'm the chaplain for the wrestling team at UTC. Starting this week I'll lead the team in a chapel service every Tuesday at 3:00. You can pray for me as I try to hold these two things in tension together as I confront the developing ideals of those 18, 19, 20 year olds and as I also consider the limitations of speaking on a public university campus week in and week out.
These are the kinds of things we need to think through. When we attempt to vigilantly hold these two aspects of gospel faithfulness together, there will be a tension that is experienced.
Let me close this message with a couple questions that will hopefully get us to thinking. I would expect that some of you really liked the first half of the sermon, but not the second half. You may be thinking, "yeah, lets go topple some idols, let's get out our bazooka and start blowing up the abortion clinics and strip clubs!" You're all about confrontation.
And then there are others, you're right there on the second half of the sermon, but you're not so sure about the first half. Let's just live peaceably with everyone, don't make waves, don't draw attention to ourselves, let's just kind of blend in and stay in our holy huddle here.
Some of you thought the first half sounded a little nuts, others thought the second half sounded a little weak. Whichever side you tend toward – and I know that most of us, by nature, tend to one side or the other –I’ve got a question for each of you.
First, to those who tend to be a little more militant: Q. As you do battle, do people sense you are a happy warrior or an angry mercenary? There is a battle, we’re engaged in spiritual warfare daily, but do you go through life knowing there is a happy reward waiting and I serve a joyous king. Or do you take the attitude of an angry mercenary – kill ‘em all, let God sort ‘em out! I shoot first, ask questions later. Kind of a Christian Clint Eastwood.
Now for those who are too slow to upset the status quo, don’t want to make waves. Here’s my question for you: Q. Are there beliefs you refuse to share or convictions you fail to live out because they would seem so strange to others? "I don't like to talk about these things publicly, I've got to work with these people. What will they think of me?" There's a strong temptation toward worldliness. In fact, I've got a definition of worldliness on your outline:
The definition of worldliness is this: Worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness look strange. That’s what’s happening among many in the church today. All sorts of things that the Bible calls “sin” are made to look very normal. Beware Christian of the idol of respectability. What I mean by that is we can desire to be respected by our community so desperately that we would refuse to say or do anything that might diminish our respect in the eyes of others.
Illustration: Water skiing. Growing up in central Florida, one of the things that we have in abundance there is lakes. There are lakes everywhere. And of course with lakes in Florida there comes a couple things, 1) Alligators abound. And 2) Water skiing. Now it may seem like those two things shouldn’t go together, but for whatever reason, they do. I can remember as a child, the first time I put on a pair of water skis. I was probably 8 or 9 years old. I had watched my older brothers ski all the time and it looked so easy. But the first time I tried, my face met the water with significant velocity. It took me 7 or 8 tries when I was first learning to water ski to finally get going. I would go for a few feet and then, bam my feet went out from under me. Finally what I discovered is there is a perfect tension that must be kept between how you’re distributing your body weight. There’s a certain amount you’re leaning back on the skis, and a certain amount you’re pulling on the ski rope. Once you discover that perfect tension, it’s wonderful. Before long you’re jumping the wake on your skis, extending yourself way out where you’re almost running parallel with the boat – it’s awesome. But it takes some time, it takes some balance, it takes some gnarly wipe outs before you find that perfect tension between the two.
I would say the same is true with our pursuit of gospel faithfulness - both as individuals and as a church. We can tend to be either too militant, too angry, too confrontive. Or we can tend to be too soft on sin, too silent on truth. When we achieve this tension you can guarantee, our lives will seem strange to our neighbors and acquaintances.
On one hand they may be offended by the truth we proclaim; they will be put off by the righteousness we pursue. But on the other hand, they will say, “They are some of the happiest people I know, they’re pleasant to be around, they’re good neighbors, they’re reliable co-workers.” When we achieve this tension of gospel faithfulness I’ve been talking about this morning that's when we will be living lives of maximum impact.
And you may ask, “Troy – how do we achieve that tension? How do we hold these two things in balance?” I want to answer that question in two ways. Well, one of our roles as pastors and elders is to equip the saints for the work of ministry. One of the ways we're going to seek to equip you is through a new short-term study we'll be doing in all of our adult and youth small groups called "Life On Mission." How appropriate since our theme this year as been a church on mission. Watch this video...
We truly believe that as our entire church studies this truth together we will be further equipped to achieve this tension I've been talking about, to live lives of maximum gospel impact.
But here's the second way I'd like to answer that question, "How do I achieve that tension of gospel faithfulness. It’s my last thought:
Last Thought: As I allow the gospel to TOPPLE IDOLS in my own heart I will become more and more FAITHFUL in presenting it to the world.
Let me unpack that a little. Idols of always being right; idols of respectability.
