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God willing, we'll return to 
the Pentateuch after the summer break. We'll take July and August 
off, and then we'll return to the Book of Numbers when we come 
back in September. Until that time, I don't really 
have a script, which sort of bothers me. I like to be stuck 
in a book. I don't like to be wondering 
what to do in a given evening, so if you guys have any ideas 
or suggestions or recommendations, please feel free to text me or 
call or email or whatever. I'm certainly open for suggestions. I want to look at the ministry 
in Iconium in Acts chapter 14 at verses 1 to 7. So last week we looked in Acts 
17, so we're not sort of moving our way through the book of Acts, 
just a few passages that I think are helpful and encouraging. 
So I'll read Acts 14 verses 1 to 7 and then we'll look at it in 
some detail. Now it happened in Iconium that they went together 
to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude 
of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving 
Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against 
the brethren. Therefore, they stayed there a long time, speaking 
boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, 
granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the 
multitude of the city was divided, part sided with the Jews and 
part with the apostles. And when a violent attempt was 
made by both the Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to abuse 
and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and 
Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. And 
they were preaching the gospel there. So where we're at here 
in the book of Acts in chapter 14 is the first missionary journey 
of the apostle Paul. If you look back at chapter 13, 
specifically at verse one, it says, now in the church that 
was at Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers, Barnabas, 
Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaan, who 
had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. As they 
ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Now separate 
to me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. 
Then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they 
sent them away." Notice that these missionaries just didn't 
get a bee in their bonnet and say, you know what, let's go 
out, take the gospel to the regions around us and let's just celebrate 
Jesus. Now, the Spirit comes to the 
church, the church identifies the men, the church then sets 
the men apart through fasting and prayer, and then the church 
sends the men out. The Bible doesn't know any missions 
that is disconnected from the context of the local church. Now, I realize there's a lot 
of missions that are disconnected from the local church in our 
own day, I would suggest they get back to scripture because 
the scripture is very much pro-church in relation to gospel missions. So Paul and Barnabas are set 
out on this first missionary journey, Acts 13.1 to Acts 14.28. 
So they go through the region of southern 
Galatia. They preach in those cities. 
They make disciples. They plant churches. And then 
they come back in chapter 14. They stop in all the cities where 
they had made disciples and planted churches. And there they ordained 
elders in those places so they could function and then perpetuate 
gospel ministry in the land at that time. So this took place 
in about AD 47 and 48, covered about 1,400 miles. Cyprus, and the churches in southern 
Galatia, which are Pisidian, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and 
Derbe. And then as I said, the return 
is narrated, if you look at chapter 14, specifically at verses 27 
and 28, it says, now when they had come and gathered the church 
together, So the church sends them, they go out and engage 
in missionary endeavor, they evangelize, they make disciples, 
they plant churches, and then they come back to the church, 
and they reported all that God had done with them, and that 
He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, so they stayed 
there a long time with the disciples. And then again, they get sent 
on another, and then another, missionary journey, three total 
that are recorded in the Book of Acts. Well, here specifically 
in this first one, they're in Iconium here in chapter 14 at 
verses 1 to 7. I think there's several things 
in this particular passage that are instructive for us in connection 
with some of the other ministry that's going on, especially on 
Sunday night in terms of regulative principle. But there are three 
sections in this portion of scripture. First, I want to look at the 
blessing of God in verse 1. Secondly, the opposition of the 
Jews in verses 2 and 3. And then thirdly, the division 
of the city in verses 4 to 7. But with reference to the blessing 
of God, notice the location. Verse 1, now it happened in Iconium. This was about 90 miles southeast 
of Pisidian Antioch. That's where Paul had been in 
chapter 13 when he preached that extended, at least for us, recorded 
sermon in Acts chapter 13. So he'd been in Pisidian Antioch. 
They had met some resistance in terms of unbelieving Jews 
there. So then they go to Iconium, which as I said was about 90 
miles southeast of Pisidian Antioch. And then notice what they do 
in verse 1. Now it happened in Iconium that 
they went together to the synagogue of the Jews. This was commonplace 
in terms of their missionary strategy. If you look at chapter 
13, specifically at verse 14, but when they departed from Perga, 
they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on 
the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the 
law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them 
saying, men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation 
for the people, say on. As you might imagine, the apostle 
Paul sat on. He stood up and he preached Christ 
and him crucified. This was his custom. He would 
go to the synagogue. Notice in chapter 17. Chapter 
17 in verse 1. Now, when they had passed through 
Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there 
was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, 
went into them, and for three Sabbaths, reasoned with them 
from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ 
had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, This 
Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ." So it makes perfect 
sense in a missionary strategy to go where religious folk are. 
Specifically, the synagogues would have the Jews, and the 
primary emphasis that Paul would convey to them is that Jesus 
is the yea and amen of the Old Testament Scripture. Jesus is 
the fulfillment of God's plan to send a messiah to save his 
people from their sin. So that's what he does. He reasons 
and he explains from the scripture that it's Jesus who is the Christ. He does this here in Thessalonica. He'll do it in Berea in 1710, 
in Athens in 1717, in Corinth in 1804, in Ephesus in 1819, and then again 
in 1908. And if you look back to chapter 
13, specifically in Pisidian Antioch, specifically at verse 
44. I just want to make an observation 
here. Well, verse 42. So this is after 
the sermon, in the synagogue, in Pisidian Antioch. So verse 
42 tells us, when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles 
begged that these words might be preached to them the next 
Sabbath. Don't underestimate that. There were Gentiles begging 
to hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously, the 
power of the Spirit was on the Apostle Paul, such that when 
he preached, people wanted to hear what he had to say. They 
were begging to hear it. Verse 43, now when the congregation 
had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed 
Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue 
in the grace of God. And then note verse 44, on the 
next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the 
word of God. So what happened is that people 
went home and they said to their friends and neighbors, you've 
got to come to the synagogue on the Sabbath day because there's 
this fellow named Paul and he's telling us about the Lord Jesus 
Christ. He is telling us that this Jesus of Nazareth is the 
one who fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecy. So on the 
next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the 
word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were 
filled with envy, and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed 
the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold 
and said, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken 
to you first. But since you reject it and judge 
yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the 
Gentiles, for so the Lord has commanded us. invoke a servant 
song that is primarily applicable to the Lord Jesus Christ and 
his light bearing to the Gentiles, they see their participation 
in that. Notice in verse 47, for so the 
Lord has commanded us, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles 
that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. And 
then dropping down, notice specifically at verse 51, "...they shook off 
the dust from their feet against them and came to Iconium, and 
the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." 
The point I want to make is when they say, behold, specifically 
in verse 46, we turn to the Gentiles, it's not saying I'll never preach 
the gospel to a Jew again. He's saying in terms of their 
overarching emphasis, Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. 
That doesn't mean he doesn't ever preach the gospel to a Jew 
again. As we see, he goes to the various 
synagogues. He does set before them the glory 
of Jesus Christ as the one that the Bible prophesied, or the 
Old Testament prophesied. So that's the location. That's 
the situation. Then notice what we see next 
in 14.1. Now it happened in Iconium that 
they went together to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that 
a great multitude, both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. If you had no conscious sort 
of understanding of the way of salvation, if you were just sort 
of a brand new person and you read this verse, you might be 
inclined to think that it was something about the way these 
guys spoke. It was something about the giftedness 
in their ability to convey their lesson. It was that that then 
led to this multitude, both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believing. 
In other words, do we say that because Paul is such a great 
preacher, the people who heard him were moved to the place where 
they now would surrender their hearts to faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ? Is Paul the responsible agent 
here? Well, I don't think so, and yet 
I don't want to denigrate from what the passage says. But if 
you look back in chapter 13 at verse 48, you'll see something 
concerning the sovereignty of God in the saving of sinners. 
Notice in 13.48, now, when the Gentiles heard this, they were 
glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as many as had 
been appointed to eternal life believed. You can get no clearer 
a statement on what we commonly call or nickname Calvinism or 
Reformed theology. It just doesn't get more clear 
than that. As many as had been appointed 
to eternal life believed. Why did they believe? Because 
they had been appointed to eternal life. Who appointed them to eternal 
life? God Most High, the Sovereign 
One. Ephesians 1.3, the Apostle blesses 
God for every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 
And then in verse 4, he says, He chose us in Him before the 
foundation of the world. Verse 5, he says, In love, having 
predestinated us unto adoption as sons. In 1.11, he says that 
nothing takes place apart from the purpose of God. And so the 
sovereignty of God is maintained there in chapter 13. And then 
look over at chapter 16. Chapter 16, Paul is in Philippi 
and he goes to minister on the Sabbath day to the riverside. Notice in verse 13 where prayer 
was customarily made. And we sat down, the we there 
is Luke, there are we sections in the book of Acts indicating 
that Luke is with Paul when he's engaged in this particular activity. There's one here, there's one 
in chapters 20 and 21, and then again in chapter 27 and 28. We 
sections, Luke was with the apostle Paul. So verse 13, and on the 
Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside where prayer 
was customarily made, and we sat down and spoke to the women 
who met there. Now, a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She 
was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira who worshipped 
God. Now, that statement, who worshipped 
God, is probably a reference to the sorts of Greeks or Gentiles 
that would find themselves in a synagogue on the Sabbath day. 
They were the kinds of people that were interested in Yahweh 
of Israel. They were the kinds of people that knew that the 
Jews had a particular God that they worship. They, Greeks or 
Gentiles living in the Roman Empire at that time, had a pantheon, 
had a polytheistic society. They had any number of gods they 
could choose from. They were certainly interested 
in Israel's God. So again, one of the reasons 
why Paul would go to a synagogue is because there would be Jews 
there, but there would be God-fearing Greeks or God-fearing Gentiles. 
So notice what we see then in the next clause. The Lord opened 
her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she 
and her household were baptized, she begged us saying, if you 
have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house 
and stay. So she persuaded us. But notice that the Lord opened 
her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. So whatever we 
say about chapter 14, verse one, we cannot neglect the absolute, 
unrivaled, unmitigated sovereignty of God in the salvation of sinners. But when we look at 14.1, we 
see that God uses means. And the means that God employs 
is gospel preaching. And I would argue that it ought 
to be good gospel preaching. It ought to be doctrinally sound. 
It ought to be in light of 2 Timothy 4. It ought to be faithful. It 
ought to be expositional. It ought to be applicatory. It 
ought to be the kind of preaching that God himself is pleased to 
bless. And so it's not directly the 
result of the preaching that this great multitude of both 
Jews and Greeks believe, but it is through that instrumentality, 
and that's the emphasis in the text. So it happened in Iconium 
that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews and so 
spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks 
believed. The instrumentality of preaching. The declaration of good preaching 
as the instrumentality of God in the salvation of sinners. 
That shouldn't cause anybody any hardship. But it should cause 
all of us reflection and prayer time with reference to God raising 
men up that will so speak. Raising men up that will so speak 
in such a way that he's pleased to bless that to the salvation 
of sinners. And that pastors who are presently 
engaged in that task will continue to so speak because there's lots 
of sinners who need calling out of darkness into marvelous light. 
And if we are not engaged in that primary task of church life, 
then we are missing the mark. In other words, God puts a premium 
on the word preached. John Gill says, such words and 
doctrines of grace with so much power, authority, and demonstration 
of the Spirit with so much plainness, clearness, and evidence, as well 
as with so much boldness and courage. Those bits where Paul 
goes into the synagogues, he reasons, he examines, he demonstrates, 
he shows. He doesn't just say, you know, 
let Jesus into your heart, fellas, and everything will be happy 
and good. He shows them from the Scripture who the Lord Christ 
is, and He calls them to close with Him in faith and repentance. Look at Romans chapter 10, and 
see the instrumentality of preaching relative to the saving of sinners. 
Now God is good, God is gracious, God is able to save a man as 
he reads his Bible in a hotel room on a Thursday night. There 
is no doubt God can do that. But God has been well pleased 
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. Notice in Romans 10, specifically 
beginning at verse 14. The whole emphasis here, well, 
back up. Notice in verse 11. For the scripture says, whoever 
believes on him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction 
between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to 
all who call upon him. Whoever calls on the name of 
the Lord shall be saved. Well, what does it mean to call 
on the name of the Lord? Well, back up a little bit to verses 
9 and 10, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus 
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, 
you will be saved. For with the heart one believes 
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made 
unto salvation. So this calling upon the name 
of the Lord means in faith. Calling upon the name of the 
Lord means somebody is convicted of their sin, they see they don't 
measure up, they see they justly deserve God's wrath and curse 
both in this life and that which is to come, so they look to the 
Lord Jesus Christ in faith. They call upon the name of the 
Lord. Now notice Paul's statement in verse 14. How then shall they 
call on him in whom they have not believed? The sinner does 
not call on Christ if they have not heard of Christ. It's pretty 
obvious, right? If you don't know there's a remedy 
out there for whatever ails you, you're not going to seek it. 
And so when it comes to the church and our mission to the world, 
the primary emphasis is to make known Christ and Him crucified. Life, death, resurrection, and 
the significance behind that. So back to the text, and how 
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? There's 
a better way to translate this, a more literal way. It should 
sound like this, and how shall they believe him whom they have 
not heard? You mean they hear Jesus directly? 
Yes! When the Bible is clearly expounded 
accurately, they hear the voice of the Savior. Just put your 
finger there in Romans 10 and turn to Ephesians 2. Ephesians 
2 demonstrates this. Ephesians 2 demonstrates that 
through faithful preaching of the gospel by faithful men set 
apart for that task, in this case the Apostle Paul, what the 
sinner hears is the very word of Christ. Notice in Ephesians 
2.14, who has made both one, and has 
broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished 
in his flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained 
in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the 
two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both 
to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death 
the enmity. Now note verse 17, "...and He 
came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those 
who were near. For through Him we both have 
access by one Spirit to the Father." When did Jesus go to Ephesus? 
Jesus didn't go to Ephesus, but Paul went to Ephesus, and when 
Paul went to Ephesus, and he went into the synagogues, And 
when he went into the Agora, and when he rented the school 
of Tyrannus, and from the school of Tyrannus, when he preached 
the word of the Lord for those two years, such that everybody 
in Asia Minor heard it, they were hearing from Christ himself. 
Faithful exposition of God's word is the word of God. So back 
to Romans 10, 14. How shall they believe him whom 
they have not heard? And then he goes on to ask another 
question, and how shall they hear without a preacher? Again, 
Paul's not mitigating against the reality that a person can, 
in his room on a Thursday, read his Bible and get saved. Now, 
in Paul's day, it was a little bit more difficult because you 
didn't have a Bible in your room on a Thursday. You didn't have 
beautiful Cambridge wide margin goatskin Bibles that you can 
hear mooing at night. You didn't have the sorts of 
things and resources that we have. You didn't have a phone 
with probably 50 to 100 different Bible translations. You see, 
the imperative of preaching was absolutely crucial in the first 
century church, but I don't think it has ended in the 21st century 
church or in the 21st century world. Remember that the Greco-Roman 
world, the Roman Empire, they were big into drama, they were 
big into skit, they were big into mime, they were big into 
all that sort of thing. They could have presented the 
gospel and in a whole host of ways. But what does God ordain? God ordains the foolishness of 
the message preached. So Paul's question here is how 
shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless 
they are sent? In other words, it's not somebody 
gets a bee in their bonnet and says, you know, I'm going to 
go and be a preacher tomorrow. Nope. the church must recognize, 
the church must assess qualifications, the church must make sure that 
that person is fit to go out and engage in that particular 
task. And then the church sends the 
preacher to go and engage in that task. And then he invokes 
the Old Testament, as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of 
those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings 
of good things. But they have not all obeyed, 
or they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord 
who has believed our report. And then look at this statement 
in verse 17, so then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the 
word of God. Again, somebody can read it, 
sure, but it's the preaching of the gospel that God is well 
pleased to bless. Turn to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 
1, specifically at verses 21 to 23. First Corinthians chapter 21, 
I'm sorry, chapter 1, actually let's pick up at verse 18. You've 
got to understand Paul's methodology here. When he talks about the 
foolishness of God, it's a contrast with the wisdom of the world. 
The point of the apostle is that what the world deems foolishness 
is God's wisdom, it's God's power, it's God's glory. And God has 
purpose to choose, or has purpose to demonstrate that wisdom and 
that glory through what the world considers to be very foolish. 
the foolish word, the foolish recipient, the Corinthians. Not many wise, not many noble. There's nothing in you that deserve 
God's grace. But then into chapter two, even 
the preacher himself. When I came to you, I didn't 
come eight foot tall and bulletproof and ready to face all foes. I 
came in fear and in weakness and with much trembling. See, 
the wisdom of God is demonstrated through the foolishness of the 
message preached, through the foolishness of the recipients 
who believe, and through the foolishness of the men who actually 
deliver that word. Later, Paul will talk about gospel 
treasure being placed in earthenware vessels so that the excellence 
of the power may be of God and not of men. In other words, nobody's 
supposed to come away from a sermon and say, oh, wow, that apostle 
Paul, he's so great, I'm going to be saved. Or, oh, that so-and-so 
preacher is so great, I'm going to be. No, no, no. It's not supposed 
to be that way. The earthenware vessel is not 
supposed to be celebrated. It's the Lord Christ. It's the 
gospel treasure. That's the big thing. So that's 
Paul's point here in about 1.18 to 2.5. So the message of the 
cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, isn't it? 
But when you tell somebody about blood atonement, you tell somebody, 
not that I think most Christians, hopefully our Christians do, 
but blood atonement probably isn't part of the evangel on 
the street corners most of the time these days, but when you 
start talking about the cross, People don't receive that. They 
think it's odd. They think it's weird. If you 
do talk about blood atonement, they might think you're a bit 
sick in the head. I remember a brother of mine back in, you 
know, our early days in Palmdale singing that song, there is a 
fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. He happened 
to sing it one time at his home and some unconverted family members 
were there and thought he was, you know, off his nut because 
they're singing about fountains with blood and us being plunged 
beneath it. It's foolishness to the world. 
And Paul knows that. Paul's not some rube that doesn't 
understand what's going on around him. No, he understands all too 
well. So verse 18, for the message 
of the cross is foolishness to those who are perished. But to 
us who are being saved, it is the power of God. Thank you, 
my dear brother. That's good, yes. Yeah, that 
one too, at least one of them. For the message of the cross 
is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are 
being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will 
destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding 
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the 
scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made 
foolish the wisdom of this world? He has, through the cross, through 
the Corinthians, and through the apostle Paul. And then notice 
what he says in verse 21, for since in the wisdom of God the 
world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through 
the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. I think the emphasis is on the 
content of the message, the truth of Jesus' life, his death, and 
his resurrection. But the content of the message 
is a message nevertheless preached. And I'm going to lean on Tom 
Lyon. Tom Lyon has a message connected to this particular 
passage, and he draws out three simple points. First, preaching 
pleases God. Right? That should be enough 
for everybody to love preaching. Notice, for since in the wisdom 
of the world, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased 
God through the foolishness of the message preached to save 
those who believe. Whenever there's an argument 
for preaching in church, it's that it pleases God. But men 
don't like long sermons, and people don't want to hear detailed 
exposition. Well, it pleases God, and that's 
ultimately what we're here for, isn't it? 2 Timothy, show yourself 
approved, a worker unto, unto who? Unto God. It's God's approbation 
that you are seeking there. So preaching pleases God. The second observation that Tom 
Lyon draws out is that preaching does not please man. the natural 
man, hopefully those of us who are saved like it, but notice 
it says in verse 22, for Jews request a sign and Greeks seek 
after wisdom. They don't want exposition and 
demonstration and reasoning from the scriptures. Jews want signs 
and Greeks want to stroke their beards and talk about Epicurean 
or or Stoic philosophy in the Pantheon, and whatever it is 
that is new and exciting in these days of ours. So it doesn't please 
man. But preachers, nevertheless, 
preach. So notice what Paul says in verse 
22, for Jews request a sign, Greeks seek after wisdom, but 
we preach Christ crucified. We don't capitulate. We don't 
do market studies and surveys, we don't try to tailor our church 
services to whatever the prevailing winds of demand is in our general 
society. No, God's pleased with it, God's 
ordained saving sinners through it, and therefore we're going 
to engage in it because that's what we're supposed to do. We 
preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block, and to 
the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews 
and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God, 
because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness 
of God is stronger than men." And then one final passage, I've 
already alluded to it, 2 Timothy chapter 4. 2 Timothy chapter 
4. This is our detailed look at 
preaching as a means ordained by God in new covenant worship. 
So we won't spend a lot of time on that on a Sunday night. But 
notice in 2 Timothy 4, this is material we recently looked at, 
so we won't spend a lot of time here. But the last corporate 
command of the apostle Paul to Timothy is right there in verse 
2. Preach. Preach the word. That's it, Timothy. Yeah, be a nice guy. Have coffee. Be friendly. Be gregarious. Be the kind of guy people like. 
But your primary calling is to preach the word. You're to be 
ready in season. You're to be ready out of season. 
You're to do it in a particular way. You're not just leading 
Bible study, Timothy. Anybody can convey or pass on 
information. That's not preaching. Preaching 
is a lecture with fire. Preaching is a lecture with the 
Holy Spirit present. Preaching seeks, not in a manipulative 
way vis-a-vis a Charles Finney, but seeks to address man in all 
of his components or constituent elements. It's not just to inform 
the mind, but it's to move the will. It's to induce repentance 
for sinners. It's to bring about correction 
for those who are straying. It's to impart that knowledge 
of God such that the people of God can grow. So notice what 
he says. Preach the word. Be ready in 
season and out of season. Convince Don't just throw it 
out there like it's one thought among a multitude of others. 
You've got Aristotle, you've got Socrates, you've got Plato, 
you've got Jesus, you've got Heraclitus. No, no, no. You preach 
the Word and convince. But as well, rebuke. Why is that? Because we're sinners, brethren, 
and we need to be rebuked by the Word. We need to be disciplined 
by that Word. We shouldn't get offended, we 
shouldn't get upset, we shouldn't say, I can't believe he said 
that. Now, I don't think pastors should go after persons personally 
from pulpits. I think that's wrong and an abuse 
of authority. But if the shoe fits and it's 
not a personal attack, praise God that he's actually bringing 
some rebuke into your life, because it's then that correction takes 
place. So convince, rebuke, and exhort, 
and do so with all longsuffering and teaching. I love what Machen 
said. You've probably heard the old 
saying. You know, preach the gospel at 
all times, and if necessary, use words. Has anybody heard 
that? Yuck. Absolutely, positively yuck. Preach the gospel at all times, 
and if necessary, use words. The only way you preach the gospel 
is words. It's not virtue, follow me around 
all day, you ain't going to heaven. If you hear me preach the gospel, 
then by God's grace, you can go to heaven. Listen to Machen 
with that in mind. We can preach the gospel, they 
tell us, by our lives, and do not need to preach it by our 
own words. But they are wrong. Men are not 
saved by the exhibition of our glorious Christian virtues. They 
are not saved by the contagion of our experiences. We cannot 
be the instruments of God in saving them if we preach to them 
thus only ourselves. Nay, we must preach to them the 
Lord Jesus Christ, for it is only through the gospel which 
sets him forth that they can be saved. That's nonsense. And if necessary, use words. That's the only way you can convey 
the gospel message. Now, I'm not suggesting go out 
and live like the devil and just sin all day long and, oh, and 
by the way, should believe on Jesus. No, there's something 
about our Christian conduct and our character and our ethics 
that should commend the faith to those around us. But that 
commendation of the faith isn't the same thing as the faith. 
And the faith must be believed, the faith as it is in Jesus. And so the preach the word element 
that Paul sets forth is crucial. And as we saw the last couple 
months ago, maybe I lose all track of time here, but especially 
throwing some travel in the mix. 2 Timothy 4, the two reasons 
why Paul tells Timothy this, the time will come when they 
won't want it, and then Paul is departing. So in Paul's absence, 
Paul wants to make sure he passes the baton on to Timothy so that 
Timothy will do the work of the ministry. But as well, the time 
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. They're 
not going to want you to preach the word, Timothy. So instead 
of capitulating to them, continue to preach the word, because that's 
what they desperately need. So back to our text in Acts 14, 
just a little sort of a rabbit trail there concerning preaching. Look at what it says again in 
verse one. We'll probably pick up the rest 
of the section next week. So you can make a recommendation 
for two weeks from now. But notice again in verse one, 
now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue 
of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude both, excuse 
me, of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. So that a great multitude, 
both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed, indicates that God 
blessed the preaching of His word, such that it was, in fact, 
a demonstration of the Spirit in power. The fact that there 
were a multitude that heard the apostles' words and believed 
it. Again, it's not connected to 
the manner in which they spoke. That was the instrument, to be 
sure, to convey the gospel message. But God in 1348 and God in 16 
is the God who opens the heart and brings sinners into the fold. So nevertheless, this great multitude, 
but notice the language that's used here, they believed. When you read through the book 
of Acts, you will see belief and repentance used, you'll see 
it used a lot, and oftentimes you'll see them used synonymously. And I think it's important for 
us to kind of get a grip on that. So the emphasis here is justification 
by faith alone. But if you turn back to Acts 
chapter 2, you might think the emphasis is on justification 
by repentance alone. If you look at 238, the sermon 
on the day of Pentecost, Notice what Peter says, repent and let 
every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for 
the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Spirit for the promises to you and to your children and 
to all who are afar off as many as the Lord our God will call. 
So as I said, you see repentance emphasized in the Book of Acts. 
You see belief emphasized in the Book of Acts. And at times, 
you see them used synonymously. So how do we make heads or tails 
out of this? I have heard it in my time here 
that I don't preach repentance enough. I need to preach more 
repentance. That's probably true. But I'm 
governed by the reality that justification is by faith alone, 
not to the neglect of repentance. But I think if we understand 
repentance properly, and treat it as, you know, the other side 
of the coin of faith, it will spare us from turning repentance 
into a work. That's my concern, is that sometimes 
repentance is preached as a work. You do this, you change here, 
and then you come to Jesus. No, you come to Jesus. Jesus 
is in the business of cleansing, purifying, saving, sanctifying. Again, repentance is a reality. 
I affirm it 100%. I affirm it in this language, 
Westminster Shorter Catechism 87. What is repentance unto life? Repentance unto life is a saving 
grace whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin and apprehension 
of the mercy of God in Christ, doth with grief and hatred of 
his sin turn from it unto God with full purpose of and endeavor 
after new obedience. It's as good a definition as 
one can get. But again, there are those who have turned the 
preaching of repentance into a work to be performed before 
coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. That needs to be guarded against. Now, when we look at the book 
of Acts, as I said, we have an emphasis on faith and belief. And there are many passages, 
we'll just look at a few. Look at 10.43. 10.43, preaching 
to the household of Cornelius in verse 43, The apostle Peter says to him, 
Jesus, all the prophets witness that through his name, whoever 
believes in him will receive remission of sins. And then over 
in Acts 13, 39, that preaching in Pisidian Antioch, specifically 
in verse 39, and by him everyone who believes is justified from 
all things from which you could not be justified by the law of 
Moses. Again, I'm not pitting the two 
against each other. I'm telling you, these go hand 
in hand. Wherever you see faith, it is 
repentant faith. Wherever you see repentance, 
it is believing repentance. I think that's the point that 
Luke is conveying under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as he uses 
these terms synonymously and at times interchangeably. Notice 
again, 1348, as many had been appointed to eternal life, they 
believed. Now, obviously, God's sovereign 
chose, appoint, predestined, but at that time, they believed 
the truth. 1401, same sort of an emphasis, 
and again, in many other places. 1631, what must I do to be saved? Well, you need to stop being 
a bad jailer. You need to start loving your 
wife better. You need to be kinder to your children. All those things 
were most certainly true, but the emphasis is upon believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. The idea 
is, is that when by grace we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
we're repenting. There's a change of mind. What 
we once loved about sin, we no longer love it. Now we want Jesus. And as a result, there are then 
fruits that are worthy of repentance, will love our wives more, will 
be better jailers, will be more faithful in our service to the 
Lord and to others. And so we've got faith, but as 
well repentance. We see it there in 2.38, but 
also look at 3.19. 319, repent therefore and be converted, 
that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing 
may come from the presence of the Lord. 531, it speaks of Christ, 
Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, 
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. You've 
got it again, scattered throughout. Look at 1118. 1118, as Peter is summarizing what 
happened in Cornelius' household, he reports 
it to Jerusalem, and notice in verse 18, when they heard these 
things, they became silent, and they glorified God, saying, then 
God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life. So now let's 
look at some of the interchangeableness of these terms, one with another. 
Look again at 1043. 1043, we just saw it, to him all the 
prophets witnessed that through his name whoever believes in 
him will receive remission of sins. How did they interpret 
that? Verse 18, then God has also granted to the Gentiles 
repentance to life. So this belief for the remission 
of sins can be viewed as others as repentance unto life. Go back 
to chapter 2. Notice the ones that were told 
repent in verse 38 are described as believers in the subsequent 
section. Notice in verse 40, and with 
many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, be 
saved from this perverse generation. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added 
to them. They continued steadfastly in 
the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and 
in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul and many wonders and 
signs were done through the apostles. Now all who, notice, believed 
were together. So repent, be baptized in the 
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. What are you? 
You're a believer. These terms are used synonymously 
in the book of Acts. Belief is repentant. Repentance 
is believing. Two sides of the same coin. Look over at chapter 17, we looked 
at this last week. Remember when the apostle at 
the Areopagus is telling men to repent. He does that specifically 
in verse 30. Truly these times of ignorance 
God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. 
Isn't it intriguing? We see that some believed according 
to verse 32. And when they heard of the resurrection 
of the dead, some mocked while others said, we will hear you 
again on this matter. So Paul departed from among them. However, 
some men joined him and believed. So repentance and faith in the 
Book of Acts are oftentimes used synonymously. So it's okay to 
say, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's okay to say, repent 
and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins. But just don't turn repentance into a work to be 
performed by the sinner in some sense to clean himself up before 
he comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. That's faulty, that's problematic, 
that's teaching it as a work, and that is to be condemned. 
We come to the Lord Jesus Christ, nothing in my hand I bring. We 
don't come saying, you know, I stopped smoking crack, I stopped 
visiting prostitutes, I stopped beating my wife. Now therefore 
receive me unto yourself. That's not the way it works. 
Return ye backsliding children and I will heal your backsliding 
in Jeremiah the prophet. So we got to make sure we're 
clear on the whole issue of faith and repentance. Repentance isn't 
a work to be performed in order to be rewarded by God. Rather, 
it is an act of God's grace that goes hand-in-hand with saving 
faith. On the one hand, we see Jesus 
in faith as altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. On the 
other hand, we see our sin as odious and wicked and stuff we 
want to avoid. So it's a change of mind, and 
it's a going forward to the Lord of glory. And then, again, living 
in light of that reality and putting to death the deeds of 
the body. What does Paul say in Romans 8, 13? Well, that's the life of repentance. We, as God's people, when we 
sin, we don't try to cover it, we don't try to hide it, we don't 
try to mitigate it, we don't try to pretend like it never 
happened. We own it. We live in light of Proverbs 
28. He who covers his transgression will not prosper, but the one 
who confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. You find mercy 
from God, and if you're surrounded by God's people, you find mercy 
from them as well. It's built into the system that 
we're supposed to forgive each other, even as God in Christ 
forgave us. So the idea of repentance is 
an ongoing situation just like faith is, but it's not a work 
to be performed in order to get a reward from God. When we're 
truly believing, we're truly repenting. When we're truly repenting, 
we're truly believing. Two sides of the same coin. There are many other passages 
in the book of Acts that I would commend to you in terms of faith 
and repentance. But do remember, by way of closing, 
the apostles celebrated justification by faith alone. The Protestant 
Reformation was about salvation by grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, according 
to Scripture alone. That is not a diss against repentance. It is not suggesting that repentance 
is not important, but at the point of a sinner coming to the 
Lord Jesus Christ, it's justification by faith. And again, I would 
argue Repentance is there. There's a mind change going on 
as he lays hold of Jesus Christ. And then subsequent to that, 
there will be fruit. There will be evidences. There 
will be those things that you are putting to death and those 
things that you are putting on. Probably not as much as you'd 
like, probably not as much or as often as you would want, but 
nevertheless, there is an upward trajectory in the heart of God's 
people. We'll close there and pick up 
the rest of the section next Wednesday. Our Father, we thank 
You for this wonderful night. We thank You for the blessing 
of Christian fellowship. We thank You that You brought 
Isaac back to us safely. We thank You for this good news 
in his life. We pray for Your blessing upon 
him and Jill. And God, we pray for your glory to be had in the 
life of our local church. We thank you for our young people. 
We thank you for our children. We thank you so very much for 
the babies in the wombs and for the life that we see so wonderfully 
displayed here on a Sunday. We give all praise and all glory 
and all honor unto you, and we pray through Jesus Christ the 
Lord. Amen. Well, any questions or comments 
on any of that? Stoicism? Yes. Stoics? Really? Who? He'd have to change his name. You couldn't be hysterical PewDiePie. So it's really, you see it too? People will just run away from 
Christianity and just get on to anything. Anything, yeah. And just go to talk about the 
wisdom and the foolishness and stuff. All the convoluted ways 
people, I'm kind of talking about faith from here, but the way 
they try to talk about Christianity and the way they put it into 
the community and try to just be One, it's very black and white 
and it's so hard to hear that when it's so black and white. 
That's not to say that it's not complex, you know, with theology, 
but the gospel is very black and white and people just can't 
hear that. They make all these different 
things around it and make it so complicated. And then turn to the Stoics when 
all else fails. For sure, yeah. And that's what 121 in 1 Corinthians 
there, where saints in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom, 
did not know God. They had their efforts and their 
attempts and their philosophies, but it never brought them to 
peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's the message 
of the cross. That's the vehicle for the salvation 
of saints. I'm a huge fan of Jordan Peterson, 
but I feel like he's the epitome of that. He goes all the way 
around, and all these different monophores and architects, and 
it's like, no, it's just black and white gospel. I wish someone 
would just, like, you know, tell him to black and white. He goes 
all over the place trying to explain Christianity, and it's 
like, no, you just need the blunt message of it. Yeah, yeah. Well, 
hopefully somebody will get near him one of these days. Yes, sir. On the point of Soicism being 
popular these days, I have seen this. I think this speaks to 
the bankruptcy of the postmodern and emotional nonsense that's 
been worn down our throats for the last 25 years. It's kind 
of funny to see sectors devour each other, but there's a sector 
of conservatism. So you've got Pearson. Roger 
Sprenton was the other guy that was very prominent for many years 
in this space. On the point of preaching, this is good in terms 
of Puritan. the imperatives that the report 
about this world has rightly emphasized. In light of the Puritan 
emphasis, in having to study the history of preaching homiletics 
from the homilies that were crammed down people's throats up until 
the development of a Puritan discourse in the 1600s, there's 
a quote from Perkins, preach one Christ by Christ to the praise 
of Christ. And that was very powerful to 
contemplate Yes, there's the preaching of the word, but it's 
the preaching of Christ. So that's why I find it very 
insulting when modern evangelicals accuse reformed people of not 
preaching Christ. I think that's slanderous, including 
this meeting. Lastly, on the point of repentance, 
it's very unfortunate that we have a worship salvation controversy. 
and evangelicalism, because to your point, the Westminster Shorter 
Catechism had an answer that would have precluded the nightmares 
that people had in the 1990s. So, confessionalism is the answer.