Christ Church (Moscow, ID)
ChristKirk
Welcome to the new podcast feed for Christ Church (Moscow, ID). Here you can find sermon and conference messages from Douglas Wilson, Toby Sumpter, and other men. Visit https://christkirk.com and download our app (https://bit.ly/christkirkapp) for more resources and information.
Episodes
A Very Fruitful House Arrest
So Malta is due south of Sicily, and so they have come all the way to the west. They then sailed to Syracuse, which was in Sicily, and then to Rhegium, which right at the toe of Italy’s boot. They made their way up north to Puteoli, a port on the west coast of Italy, about 150 miles south of Rome. They came to Three Taverns, which was about 30 miles south of Rome. Some believers came out to welcome Paul there, encouraging him, and accompanying him back to Rome.
Adventure at Sea
As we have gone through the book of Acts, we have had numerous occasions to notice just how tough the apostle Paul was. The shipwreck recorded in this chapter occurred about four years after the writing of 2 Corinthians. And in that book, Paul mentions three times he had been in shipwrecks, including one night and day adrift on the sea (2 Cor. 11:25). And that means that this shipwreck was his fourth one.
Defense Before Agrippa
In this chapter, we learn the basic structure of Paul’s evangelistic message. What was the content of the gospel that he preached? And what was the process through which unbelievers were brought to faith?
Paul, the Faithful Roman
As the crow flies, Caesarea was around 47 miles from Jerusalem. But because of terrain and available roads, it was around 65 miles to travel. Paul in Roman custody down in Caesarea was out of the reach of the Jews. But he was not far enough away to be out of their thinking. Two years later, he was still very much on their minds.
Lying is What They Do
Lying is not just something that people do when they are little boys getting into the cookie jar. We sometimes naively assume that greater responsibility means that there must be greater levels of integrity. But it is often the case that the higher up you go—whether in civil or ecclesiastical government—the greater the incentives and pressures to give way to deceit. The cookie jar is much bigger, and deception rises to an art form.
Within Cupped Hands
We see in this passage how the sovereign God moves all things in accordance with His purpose and will, and He turns the machinations of the wicked back upon them. God had told Paul that he was going to bear witness to Christ in Rome; he need not worry. All plots against him would misfire.
Three Accounts of the Glory on the Road
The Lord saw fit to give us three distinct accounts of Saul’s conversion on the way to Damascus. The first (Acts 9:1-19) is a third-person narrative by Luke. The second is our passage here today, a first-person defense to an angry mob (Acts 22:1-21). The third is Paul’s first-person defense to King Agrippa (Acts 26:1-23), which we will consider in detail in due course.
Just Like Ephesus
As it happened, all the warnings that Paul had received on the way to Jerusalem came true, almost immediately. If the thing was going to happen, there was apparently no sense in delaying it. We have before us the account of Paul’s attempt at conciliation, and the riot and arrest that happened anyway.
Many Farewells
So Paul is resolved to go to Jerusalem, and apparently a sense of destiny rests upon him. He is repeatedly warned what will happen if he does, and Luke records the warnings carefully. This is not to make us think that Paul was disobeying the Spirit. The prophecies did not say, “You must not go,” but rather, “This is what will happen if you go.” This warning happens in “every city” (Acts 20:22-23). It happened in Tyre (Acts 21:4). Agabus also warns him (Acts 21:11). Nevertheless, Paul is resolved to do what he must do. He may even have the long game of appealing to Caesar in mind.
A Ministry in Retrospect
The great apostle had invested much of himself in the course of his ministry at Ephesus. It was one of his most successful ventures, and he had poured himself into it. He was about to let go, departing from them, commending them to God forever. This in-person farewell happened in the mid-50’s, and he wrote the book of Ephesians to them in the early 60’s. They stayed on his mind, in other words.
The Fall of Eutychus
As Paul traveled around the Roman world, he had made numerous disciples in various places. They were all regular people, and they all had different home towns. But they began to congregate around him, and the truly international nature of the Christian church began to take shape. It was becoming visible. The secularists play at unity and diversity, but it always veers to one side or the other. It either collapses into an anarchic mess, or it solidifies into a total state.Only Christ can give us form and freedom together. Paul had gathered these men together, and he was going to Jerusalem with them, a trip that would certainly underscore the point.
No Small Gain, No Small Stir
Mammon is frequently a behind-the-scenes god. The celebrity goddess has an impressive sacred space dedicated to her, which cost a lot of money, but that was just the investment, the outlay. The returns come in the form of the merch. The sacred space was there on the hill, but going in or coming out you would be likely to walk past the Stoa, where the T-shirts and knick-knacks were for sale.We have already discussed the economics of grace, but here we see it on full display. The overture was the burning of the occult materials. The full performance was the spectacle of rioting merchants.
Episodes in Ephesus
Ephesus was one of the places where the apostle Paul invested a goodly amount of time. On this occasion, he was there for two years, and you should recall that he had visited earlier in Acts. It was a port city in western Asia Minor, and the temple to Diana there (Artemis) was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was a notable city. We know it as Christians from the riches found in the book of Ephesians, and from the exhortation to return to their first love that is found in Revelation 2.
The Grace of Believing
As we continue through Acts, we come to a passage that is filled with a number of interesting details—details which spread out in different directions. And although various subjects are addressed here, we will come to see that all of it represents the grace of God to us.
And Gallio Cared Not
The next city that Paul came to was Corinth, which came to be the home of one of the more important churches in the New Testament. Corinth is about 48 miles southwest of Athens, and is situated on the Isthmus of Corinth, a narrow strip of land that connected Attica (northern Achaia) from the Peloponnese (southern Achaia). Corinth was an important trading center, with access to the sea in both eastern and western directions.
Sparrows in the McDonald's Parking Lot
So Paul was in Athens, waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. While he was waiting, he found himself greatly vexed and provoked over the rampant idolatry there. Athens was disease-ridden, and their sickness was images. This passage tells us what happened next.
Eagerly Skeptical
Thessalonica was a major city in Macedonia. It had a huge harbor and was situated on a major trade route. It had been established by a Macedonian king named Cassander in 315 B.C., who named it after his wife Thessalonike. Paul was supported financially in his mission here by the saints in Philippi, the city he had just come from (Phil. 4:16).
Prison Acoustics are Best
This is the place where Luke joins up with Paul’s entourage (v. 10). He may have been the man in the vision, but regardless, we know that he joined them here. When they cross over to Macedonia, this is the first recorded evangelistic foray into Europe. This is where the Philippian church is established, and reading Philippians alongside this narrative will be especially rewarding.
Enter Timothy
In this portion of the book of Acts, we are first introduced to Timothy, Paul’s companion and co-worker over the course of years. As we get to know Timothy, we are going to get to know Paul better, and we are going to see some areas where we can be strengthened and encouraged.
Barnabas and Paul, and then Silas
The early church, no less than ours, was a church that was filled with personalities. Sometimes those personalities clashed. Sometimes it was messy. And still the Word of God grew and flourished.
To the Holy Spirit and to Us
This is the moment where all the trouble that has been brewing finally comes to a head. And remember that John Mark deserted them in Pamphylia and returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13), the place where the resistance to Paul’s mission was most pronounced. John Mark most likely did not come back to Jerusalem with a good report either, which may account for Paul’s low opinion of him later on in this chapter.
Battle Joined
As the gospel slowly spread out from the center at Jerusalem, it began to be accepted by various representatives of the variegated Gentile world. Remember . . . Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). There were the Samaritans (Acts 8:5ff). There was the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:38). There was Cornelius and his people (Acts 10:34). There was Sergius Paulus, the first out-and-out pagan (Acts 13:12). There was resistance to this, and some complaining (Acts 10:45; 11:2-3, 12), but nothing was definitively settled.
The Tenacious Apostle
A business leader once commented that nothing worthwhile “was ever accomplished by a reasonable man.” In this passage, we see once again how dedicated and how tough the apostle Paul was. And, some would say, how unreasonable. But look at what he accomplished.
And So Spake
Having departed from Antioch, Paul and Barnabas came to Iconium, another significant town in Galatia. The ministry here was one of the most successful missions that they engaged in, and the results were predictably tumultuous. But in the course of this passage we learn a few things about how gospel proclamation ought to go. How the gospel was preached had a significant impact on the results.
Envy Rises
We know that the Lord Jesus was turned over to the Romans by the Jewish leaders because of envy. Pilate had been around political posturing long enough to be able to detect it when he saw it. Pilate wanted to release Jesus, in part because he could see what was going on. “For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy” (Mark 15:10).We have come to the point in the story of the expansion of Christianity where the Spirit-blessed kingdom was starting to provoke the same kind of response. This is as it should be.
The Sure Mercies of David
We are here given an outline of the sermon Paul preached in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch. The sermon was preached to Jews and Gentile God-fearers both. Remember that by this point in history, the faith of Israel was mighty attractive to many Gentiles, and they admired it from their seats in the back row. But circumcision and keeping the entire law was a real barrier to full entry, and the message brought by the Christian evangelists was therefore electrifying.
Serious Gentile Territory
We are now accompanying Paul on his first missionary journey, together with Barnabas and their associate minister, John Mark. Now remember the theme of the book of Acts—that being the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem at one end to the uttermost parts of the earth on the other. We are engaged in the arduous process of including the Gentiles in the Christian church, and we have now come to the first giant step.
Struck by an Angel
In this chapter, we should notice a few introductions, and a notable contrast. We are introduced to John Mark, the author of the second gospel, in which he served as Peter’s “secretary.” We are also introduced, obliquely, to James the Lord’s brother. And the contrast is between how the angel of the Lord treated Peter over against Herod.
The Primitive Gospel
As we continue to work our way through the book of Acts, we are not going to spend very much time on the retelling in verses 4-14. But we are not setting this repetition aside as unimportant because Luke obviously intends to emphasize it. He wants us to note it. He tells the story in chapter 10, and then repeats it in detail in chapter 11. Then there is a strong reference to this episode at the Jerusalem Council later (Acts 15:7-11). This incident was a significant event.We can note a few additional details we learn in this recounting. We learn that six Jews accompanied Peter from Joppa (v. 12). We learn that the angel told Cornelius that the message that Peter would bring would be words of salvation (v. 14). And Peter tells us here that the Spirit fell on them near the beginning of his talk (v. 15). So we will begin our exposition at verse 16.
The Plain Gospel Intent
So we need to begin where we left off, which was at the house of Simon the tanner. Simon Peter was somewhat settled there, and it was there that God spoke to him about how he should not consider Gentiles unclean when God had declared them clean. This was hard for Peter because he had never eaten anything common or unclean, and God’s instruction to him about the Gentiles came in the form of telling him to eat unclean food.But tanning was an unclean occupation. A tanner has to handle the carcasses of dead animals, as that is his profession. Simon the tanner lived by the sea because he required salt water for his work, and because the sea breezes would help with the smell, which was bad. We know that handling dead animals made one unclean from Scripture (Num. 19:9-10), and this was the case even if the animal was a clean animal.
The Holy Spirit Works the Room
This episode is the second time in Acts when the Lord makes a point of introducing two people to one another by supernatural means. The first time was in the previous chapter when He appeared to Saul and said that Ananias was coming, and then appeared to Ananias and told him to go minister to Saul (Acts 9:11-12). Then an angel of the Lord arranged for Philip to meet the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8: 26-27). And in this passage, Cornelius is told to send for a man named Simon Peter (v. 5), and is given the address (v. 6). The next day Simon Peter is told that the men sent by Cornelius are in fact from Him (v. 20). And this is not the last time it will happen in Acts either (Acts 16:9-10).Remember our Table of Contents from chapter one (Acts 1:8), and realize that the Spirit is actively involved in introducing wildly disparate people to one another. It is as though the Spirit is working the room, making all kinds of introductions. This is how the kingdom works.
Healing for George Washington
We are now reading about the very beginning of Saul’s Christian life, and his apostolic ministry. We are looking at just 21 verses, and in that short span we see two distinct attempts on his life. The thing that infuriated them against him was the fact that he was so powerful in his proclamation and reasoning. In fact, it was the very same response that Saul had earlier given to Stephen. Saul was now on the receiving end.
On the Street Called Straight
We are now reading about the very beginning of Saul’s Christian life, and his apostolic ministry. We are looking at just 21 verses, and in that short span we see two distinct attempts on his life. The thing that infuriated them against him was the fact that he was so powerful in his proclamation and reasoning. In fact, it was the very same response that Saul had earlier given to Stephen. Saul was now on the receiving end.
The Great Turnaround
We come now to Luke’s account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. Remember that Saul is not his non-Christian name, but is rather his Hebrew name. Paul is his Roman name, not his Christian name. He goes by Saul for some years after this event. But such was the nature of this remarkable appearance that we still routinely refer to any surprising conversion as a Damascus road conversion. One moment Saul had murder on his mind, and a few moments later he was being led by the hand to the place where he would be baptized three days later.Remember also that Saul of Tarsus was wound tight inside when the Lord appeared to him. The Lord had appeared to him directly, but the Lord had also done some preparation work in Saul’s heart beforehand through the faithful testimony of Stephen—how Stephen argued, how Stephen preached, and how Stephen died.
Ethiopia Stretches Out Her Hands
Remember that the Lord had said the gospel would progress from Jerusalem to Judaea, to Samaria, and then to the uttermost parts of the earth. The books of Acts begins in Jerusalem. After the murder of Stephen, the disciples scatter into the province of Judaea, and also Samaria. Philip went to Samaria and ministered there. An angel then sends him into the wilderness toward Gaza, but does not tell him why. While there, Philip sees a chariot (and probably a caravan, given the importance of this man). As the gospel fans out across the world, this is the next stepping stone, and the word of the psalmist is fulfilled. “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God” (Psalm 68:31). And as the next verse makes plain, Ethiopia is the harbinger of all the other nations coming to Christ. “Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah” (Psalm 68:32).
May Your Money Perish With You (Acts of the Apostles #19)
After the apostles had laid hands on the seven men who were to help administer aid to the widows, two of those men come to the forefront as powerful preachers and miracle workers. We have considered the story of Stephen, who face his martyrdom with remarkable courage and grace. The story of Stephen ended with an introduction to Saul of Tarsus and his early persecuting career, but Luke’s main focus moves on to a second man among the seven, a man named Philip.Now remember the “table of contents” from Acts 1. Jesus had said they would travel as His witnesses to Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and then to the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit was poured out in Jerusalem (Acts 2:2-3), and all the early activity happened there. In the persecution that broke out after Stephen’s death, the believers scattered into Judaea and Samaria (Acts 8:1). And then follows Philip into Samaria (Acts 8:5).
Quicksilver Evangelism (Acts of the Apostles #18)
The early church father Tertullian once famously said that the “blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” This aphorism has been proven to be true in countless ways down throughout the history of the church. And the great Augustine made the same point: “The earth has been filled with the blood of the martyrs as with seed, and from that seed have sprung the crops of the church. They have asserted Christ’s cause more effectively when dead than when they were alive. They assert it today, they preach him today; their tongues are silent, their deeds echo round the world. They were arrested, bound, imprisoned, brought to trial, tortured, burned at the stake, stoned to death, run through, fed to wild beasts. In all their kinds of death they were jeered at as worthless, but ‘precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’”
The God of Glory Appears (Acts of the Apostles #17)
We have already looked at the overall theme of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin, which is that God’s presence is not locked in a box somewhere. He is not a freeze-dried god, and not contained or bounded by anything that we might say, do, or think. Wherever God is, that place is holy. Whenever God is in fellowship with someone, that person is holy, that person is a saint. The filthiest dungeon could be holy ground, and a saint chained to the wall of that dungeon could be someone of whom the world was not worthy (Heb. 11: 38).
In the Place of Moses (Acts of the Apostles #15)
One of the hallmarks of worldliness is when the curators of museums subvert the legacies of the men they are ostensibly honoring. The Lord Jesus referred to this common pattern when He said that the men who build memorials to deceased prophets are the descendants of the men who murdered the prophets. As the stage is set for the martyrdom of Stephen, we see the very same dynamics in play.
The Word that Grows (Acts of the Apostles #14)
We see in this passage the formation of the Christian diaconate. The noun for deacon is not used here, but the context makes it pretty obvious. There was a daily distribution of food to widows and some inequities in that distribution were causing problems. The Twelve said that they should not leave the diakonia of the Word (v. 4) in order to diakoneo tables (v. 2). The noun form is the word for deacon (diakonos). And what we can learn from this is the evangelistic potency of good church government.
The Honor of Dishonor, the Grace of Disgrace (Acts of the Apostles #13)
One of the more remarkable blessings that the presence of the Holy Spirit brings is the ability He gives to believes to suffer scorn gladly. This is a remarkable thing in the moment, but it also serves as a portent of what it is to come. It is a statement in the present and a sign for the future.
The Unchained Word of Life (Acts of the Apostles #12)
The Founder of the Christian faith, the Lord Jesus, was murdered by the authorities. This is a fact that cannot be emphasized too much. After He ascended into Heaven, the second generation of Christian leaders all found themselves in jail within a matter of just a few weeks. This should tell you something about the nature of the faith we profess.
Great Grace, Great Fear (Acts of the Apostles #11)
We come now to the famous story of Ananias and Sapphira, the moral of which is sometimes thought to be “what happens to chintzy tithers.” But actually, that is not it at all. Many more layers are involved. It is also worth noting that we come across three men named Ananias in the book of Acts. We have this man in our text (Acts 5:1), we have the man who was used to bring Saul of Tarsus into the covenant (Acts 9:10), and the high priest who was so hostile to Paul (Acts 23:2; 24:1). In a figure, we have Achan, we have Joshua, and we have the king of Jericho.
God's Hand and Determinate Counsel (Acts of the Apostles #10)
The God of all creation is, of necessity, the God of all history. It is not possible to separate the two, and any attempts to separate the two will only land us in chaos and confusion. God is God, and that is the end of it. This is how the early Christians thought and prayed, and this is something that we must learn from them.
No Other Name (Acts of the Apostles #9)
The foundation of the Christian church was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and because His execution had been perpetrated by the authorities, this meant that Christianity was established in defiance of the established authorities. And once the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Lord’s disciples, this also meant that the Body of Christ took shape under exactly the same conditions.
Times of Refreshing on the Threshold of Doom (Acts of the Apostles #8)
Jesus Christ was a murder victim, killed by the ungodly men who ran the ecclesiastical machinery of ancient Jerusalem. They thought that they had dispensed with the Christ threat, but He exploded their plans by coming back from the dead. Now this risen one had predicted that He would come back from the dead, as His enemies well knew (Matt. 27:63). This prediction had been fulfilled, as they also knew (Matt. 28:11-15). But in addition to this, He had also predicted that Jerusalem would be flattened within one generation (Matt. 24:34). The city was now on death row, and the clock running down. The resurrection was therefore the guarantee that the destruction to follow was certain. In this context, the great apostle Peter was offering the miscreants terms. He was giving them a chance to repent. Many did, but—in the teeth of the evidence—many others did not. It was not a matter of evidence.
Healing at the Beautiful Gate (Acts of the Apostles #7)
Faith in the power of Christ is not the same thing as faith in the power of faith. In this passage, Peter says explicitly that it was not through their own power or holiness that this remarkable healing was accomplished. Rather it was the power of the risen Christ who did it, using Peter and John as His instrument.
The Day of the Lord (Acts of the Apostles #5)
We saw last week that the gift of tongues was a marvelous blessing for those who had ears to hear. For believers, the point was all about the grace of God, and the wonderful works of God. But we also saw that for unbelievers, the reality of gibberish in the streets of Jerusalem was beyond creepy. If they had known the meaning of Scripture, they would have heard ominous music in the soundtrack. They were on the threshold of their doom.We have seen how Luke set the stage for recording Peter’s sermon. In English, the sermon takes about two and a half minutes to speak, but it says later (v. 40) that Peter spoke “many other words” in the follow up. Given the nature of the case, it is important to take in all of Peter’s sermon at one go.
Gladness and Singleness of Heart (Acts of the Apostles #6)
The evildoers running the Sanhedrin were now confronted with a real problem. The man they had unjustly murdered had come back from the dead—His greatest miracle. He ascended into Heaven and poured out the Holy Spirit on His twelve disciples, who began preaching the resurrection powerfully and performing many wonders and miracles (v. 43). By killing Jesus Christ, the unbelieving Jews only succeeded in giving Him a throne of everlasting dominion in Heaven. And down below in Jerusalem the headache that Jesus had been for them was now multiplied by twelve. In addition to this, because baptism was being administered in the name of this Jesus, the Church now had a definite set of boundaries. These were the people who were bound to Christ.
Two Layers of Meaning (Acts of the Apostles #4)
In the second chapter of Acts, we have the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, resulting in the gift of tongues, a powerful sermon, and a massive in gathering of new believers. As we read about this stupendous gift of tongues, we might have the same reaction that the initial hearers did. What on earth does this mean (v. 12)?