Acts 18, I'll read up to 1 to 23, and then I'll, excuse me, our focus will be on verses 1 to 11, but I do wanna set it in its larger context, so I'll begin reading in chapter 18 at verse one. It says, after these things, that was his time in Athens. So he's just left Mars Hill, the Areopagus, not just, probably not 10 minutes later, but after his ministry there in Athens. So beginning in verse one of chapter 18.

After these things, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth, and he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome, and he came to them. So because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked. For by occupation they were tent makers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.

And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justice, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision.

Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent. For I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you. For I have many people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

When Galiot was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat, saying, This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was about to open his mouth, Galiot said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. But if it is a question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves, for I do not want to be a judge of such matters.' And he drove them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat.

But Galileo took no notice of these things. So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Centria, for he had taken a vow, and he came to Ephesus and left them there.

But he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you, God willing. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.

After he had spent time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for the written word of the living and the true God. We know it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction. and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. We pray that you would bless us now and help us to receive with thankful hearts your word. Again, forgive us for all of our sin and those things that darken our understanding, and we pray that the Holy Spirit would guide and lead and direct us.

And may we rejoice at this happy occasion of the baptism of a brother. And may we see your plan unfolding in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. And we ask these blessings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Introduction

Well, what we have here is the conclusion of what's called the second missionary journey. The second missionary journey of the apostle Paul is recorded beginning in Acts chapter 15 at verse 36 and finishes here in chapter 18 at verse 22. It took place in AD 49 to 52. Now, there was much ground covered.

One man says the second journey includes Derbe, Lystra, Phrygia, and Galatia, sites visited on the first journey. In addition, God leads Paul to Macedonia, starting from Troas. He goes to Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and finally Corinth, before returning to Antioch. And he spends a lot of time in Corinth, as we see there in verse 11.

He continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. The only other place that he spends longer time is in the next missionary journey, the third one, when he spends longer in Ephesus. So we can identify the second journey with the Corinthian church. Not again, that wasn't the only place that he went, but that's where he spent the bulk of his time.

So I thought it would be instructive. There's obviously a passage or there's a text that affirms our practice in terms of baptism. They heard the word, they believed the word, and they were baptized in light of that word. But I thought it would be instructive, not only in terms of baptism, but in terms of Paul's ministry.

We're on a pretty happy occasion in the life of our church. We're trying to help plant churches and see men raised up. And we need to have not just men breathing bodies, but specific kinds of men. And I think Paul exemplifies that.

Now, I don't think any of us on this side of heaven are ever gonna sort of match what Paul was, but this ought to be the type of man that we seek to cultivate, the type of man that we seek to recognize, and send out for ministry. So I want to do two things this morning. First, look at the arrival in Corinth in verses one to four. And then secondly, the ministry of Paul in Corinth in verses five to 11.

Arrival in Corinth

Now notice in verse one, after these things, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. Now, there's a great history associated with the Corinthian church, with the city of Corinth, but the one thing that it's important to understand is that it was located in a strategic place on the Isthmus of Corinth and joined the mainland of Greece to the Peloponnesian Peninsula. The population at this time was about 200,000 people. So it was a very important trade route.

John Stott makes this observation concerning the ministry of the Apostle Paul. He said, Paul must have seen its strategic importance. If trade could radiate from Corinth in all directions, so could the gospel. So Paul wasn't one of those church planters that only went to the cities.

But he did go to the cities. He did go to the rural areas. He went to the places where there were rich people. He went to those places where there were poor people.

He went wherever the Spirit of God directed him with the message of God, which is namely, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Now when you read the letters of 1st and 2nd Corinthians, you'll notice that the church in Corinth had some problems. They had a lot of issues. That comes out in sharp relief in the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

Just a bit of background concerning them. If Athens, where Paul had previously been, if Athens represented the sins of the intellect, Corinth represented the sins of the flesh. Plato used the term Corinthian girl as a synonym for a prostitute. To play the Corinthian meant fornication from the 5th century BC onward.

The city housed the temple of Aphrodite or Venus, and there were a thousand temple prostitutes who came to the city each night to practice their trade. Doesn't sound like it would be a conducive place to build a church. Well, of course, that was a conducive place to build the church. The apostle is directed by God to go there.

As John Gill says, the gospel was to be preached to the worst of sinners, among whom God's chosen ones lay, the apostle was directed to come hither. So it's not a friendly place, it's not a place that is welcoming, it's not a place that says, oh yes, we'd like to have several Christian churches here. So, in light of that, what are we supposed to do? If the people aren't absolutely welcoming, does that mean we just pass on by?

No, Jesus says, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. We seek to go where sinners are. In short, we go everywhere with the message of the gospel to make disciples and to plant churches. And that is precisely what Paul does on these missionary journeys.

Now notice he contacts this couple in verse 2. He found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. They are mentioned in other places in the New Testament. They're a Christian couple.

They even risked their own necks for the Apostle Paul, according to Romans chapter 16. Notice they could not stay in Rome because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome. It's a bit of a historical tidbit concerning that. Suetonius, a Roman historian, relates that Claudius expelled the Jews because they were continually making a disturbance. under the influence or at the instance of one Christus, which some regarded as the proper name of a person now unknown, but others as a mistake for Christus.

So it wasn't because they were committed to Christ. Whatever the disturbance the Jews were making, they were expelled from Rome by Claudius at that particular time. That explains why they are here. And Paul, of course, meets with them.

There is affinity. Notice that they engaged in the same trade. Verse 2. He came to them, verse three, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked.

So they were leather workers. They were tent makers. They worked with their hands. They built, they sold product.

They were capitalists, yay. And then notice the custom of the apostle according to verse four. It says, he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. That's a common theme in the book of Acts.

In other words, brethren, we are told by Jesus in Matthew 28 to go therefore and to make disciples of all the nations. We're not to simply sit down and wait for them to come to us. There needs to be this active involvement on the part of the church to go, to send, to plant, to make, to build, to do the things commanded by the blessed Savior. And so Paul, when he goes into various cities in the Roman Empire, the first place that he goes is to the synagogue.

He knows that the Jews will be there, and he knows that there will be Greeks or Gentiles there. There were those God-fearing Greeks or Gentiles that were interested in the God of Israel, so they would on Sabbath day come to the Jewish synagogue. And there Paul would preach Christ. He would speak concerning the Old Testament prophets.

He would speak concerning the life and the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He would explain its significance. Why did Jesus live, die, and rise again? Was it simply for an example?

Was it simply to show us a higher and more nobler way? No, it was to bring salvation to sinners. All those who look to Jesus Christ in faith benefit from His life. What does that mean?

It means when they believe the gospel, they receive His righteousness. They benefit from His death. What does that mean? It means they are cleansed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And they are benefited by the resurrection from the dead of our Savior. Paul summarizes in Romans 4.25, he says that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised for our justification. So again, Paul would go into these synagogues and he would preach the gospel to the Jews and to the Gentiles, to the Jews and to the Greeks. And again, there are several places in the book of Acts where he does that very thing.

Turn with me back to Acts chapter 13. When he begins his missionary journey, this is precisely how he operates. Acts 13 marks the first missionary journey. That was AD 47 to 48.

Notice they are sent by the church. The Spirit comes to the church. The Spirit specifically comes to the church. What do we learn by that?

It is the church that is central in God's plan in terms of raising up men, identifying men, sending men out to do the work of church planting and missions. Then notice in verse 5, when they arrived in Solomus, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. Look 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.

Notice in chapter 14 at 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 of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. Notice in chapter 17, verses one and two, now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul noticed the next words, as his custom was, went into them and for three Sabbaths, notice as well, Not only that he does it, but he describes the manner in which he did it. He doesn't come in there and scream at them and say, you horrible Jews, you just need to believe on Jesus as he is set forth in the gospel.

Now look at what it says. Verse 3 again, or verse 2, 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 preached to you is the Christ. Brethren, the left wins battles by shouting people down. The Christian church is to out-think the unbeliever.

And how do we out-think the unbeliever? We think God's thoughts after him. We have the scripture. Remember later in Acts chapter 25, Festus says to Paul, much learning is driving you mad.

And Paul says, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but I speak the words of truth and reason. We need men that are fit, not only in terms of virtue or characteristic, but in terms of giftedness, being able to open the Word of God, to explain the significance of the Scriptures, to reason, to dispute, and ultimately, to confound the enemies of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul does when he goes to these various synagogues in the Roman Empire. We see our text in 18.4.

And then notice in 1908, same emphasis, and he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. Christian preaching ought to be reasoning, it ought to be persuading. The Word of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. These aren't little happy talks.

These aren't little stories. This isn't just a little autobiographical sketch. This isn't just a fireside chat. But the Word of God must be proclaimed because it is the means by which God saves sinners.

First Corinthians 121, for since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through what? The foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. That doesn't mean you can't read your Bible and come to saving faith. That doesn't mean you can't hear the gospel from a friend and come to saving faith.

But the means ordained by God primarily in terms of the delivery system is the proclamation of the truth. It is the preaching of the word. It is reasoning. It is explaining.

It is persuading. And we see that in the life and the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

Ministry of Paul in Corinth

Now let's move to the ministry in Corinth in verses 5 to 11.

Testimony in the Synagogue

Notice in the first place his testimony in the synagogue. Verse 5, when Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, they had been with him in Athens, had departed from a time, and remet him now as he's in Corinth. The epistles explain where they went and at least to some degree what they did. So now they're back together.

So Silas and Timothy are with Paul. They had come from Macedonia. And then notice in verse five, Paul was compelled by the spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. Now there's a variant reading.

Our translation of the New King James has Paul was compelled by the spirit. The ESV has Paul was occupied with the word. The NIV has Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching. I think the point is pretty much the same in each of those instances.

What did Paul do when he went to those synagogues? Again, he didn't share his heart. Brethren, the last thing you want is a minister's heart. Hearts are deceitful among all things and desperately wicked.

Even remaining corruption is enough to pollute the heart of a minister such that that's not what you come to church for. You don't want my heart. You don't want Paul's heart. You don't want Peter's heart.

You don't want any minister's heart. You want the truth of God's holy word. At some point in the history of the church, oh, back in the 20th century, we forgot that. It got into this sort of celebrity culture.

It got into this sort of narcissism from the ball pit. It got into all kinds of stuff that is contrary to what we see in the practice of the apostolic church. So Paul is compelled by the Spirit and he testifies to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. Again, it is important that we understand the significance of the tabernacle in Old Covenant religion.

It's important that we understand the temple in Old Covenant religion. It's important that we understand the timeline of the history of Israel. I think that is absolutely very crucial for us to get and garner. But the primary emphasis in terms of saving faith, the principal acts of saving faith is to rest upon and to receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

So not to surprise us that when Paul is compelled in the spirit as he's standing in a synagogue of the Jews, that the spirit leads him to preach that Christ or that Jesus is the Christ. Now, brethren, that would take a degree of courage on the part of the apostle, because as you know, the Jews didn't receive him, not All the Jews, but many of the Jews rejected him. John in the prologue tells us he came to his own, his own did not receive him. So there were people in the empire, Jewish people, that had a real ax to grind with Christianity.

They had a real ax to grind with Jesus being the Messiah. And so it would be probably understandable, at least in some context, for Paul not to press his luck when he's in the midst of a synagogue. Brethren, that is bad thinking. We need to press God's Word.

We aren't supposed, first and foremost, to think about our safety, or our comfort, or our blessing, or our provision. The task of the ministry of the gospel is to minister the gospel. And when we relinquish that, we are no longer a church. We're no longer ministers.

Whatever we may be, we're certainly not what God has called ministers of the gospel to be. So he preaches Christ to these people.

Opposition of the Jews

Now notice, secondly, the opposition of the Jews. Verse 6, it says, Now this opposition to the Apostle Paul is not new. Turn back to chapter 13. Chapter 13. to see several instances of their opposition to the Apostle Paul.

Acts 13, specifically at verse 45. That's pretty wicked, isn't it? Not only do they not want it, but they're gonna make sure nobody else gets it. Sounds like when Jesus condemned the scribes and the Pharisees in Matthew chapter 23.

You not only prevent yourself from entering into the kingdom of God, but you're blocking up the entrance for others as well. And that's precisely what these unbelieving Jews do in Pisidian Antioch. Notice in 14 too. 14.2, we see 14.1, they so spoke that a great multitude, both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. Verse 2, but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.

Notice in 4, but the multitude of the city was divided, part sided with the Jews and part with the apostles. Look at verses 19 and 20. Verses 19 and 20, then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there. Now, you've got to understand the mission to them was so important that they would make that long journey.

Listen, Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there. Pisidian Antioch was 80 miles from Iconium. Iconium was 18 miles from Lystra. Do you understand that, brethren?

We as Christians don't show that kind of commitment and tenacity in bringing the truth. They didn't just hop on a bus. They didn't take a little flight. They didn't take a train.

They most likely walked. They walked all those miles so they could shut the mouth of the apostle so that he could not preach that Jesus is the Christ. The animosity and the enmity and the rage of the unbeliever ought to fire up the hearts of God's people with boldness and courage to not shrink back. While they're out there celebrating their abortions, while they're out there clamoring for more rights to kill babies.

We need to pray for sure, and we need to reason and persuade from the scripture why this is an act of butchery, and it will be met with the judgment and justice of God most high. You see, these people were committed to exterminating the Apostle Paul. Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

It's an absolute amazing thing that these God-haters went all those miles in order to try and kill Paul. It's also an amazing thing that he was stoned to the point where they actually thought he was dead, and the next day he travels 60 miles to continue to preach. 60 miles. Brethren, I get a cold and you think the world was about to end. I'm laying on the couch and asking my beloved for seven up and saltines.

I mean, life is over. I can't even imagine what it is to be stoned, dragged out of a city, left for dead, get up the next day and walk 60 miles to preach. And it shouldn't surprise us the text that was Paul's in 1422. Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.

That's what he preached and no one had to say, what does he mean by that? What's he talking about? They saw the brand marks of Jesus in his body. They saw the scars and the wounds of the stones that he had just received.

You see, even though they tried to kill him, he didn't stop. He kept going. He kept persevering. He did what God had called him to do and he wasn't gonna shrink back.

Notice as well in chapter 17, verses five to nine. Chapter 17, verses five to nine. But the Jews, verse five, who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace. Those were the guys that stood around and had signs, evil men in the marketplace, hire us for day labor.

It's kind of how I read it. And gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out. These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

Jason has harbored them. And these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king, Jesus. And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

You see the point. You see the repetition. You see the hardship. You'd think after a missionary journey that was punctuated by rejection, by, you know, opposition, by pain, suffering, by almost coming to death, Paul might have said, you know, I'm ready to retire.

You know, that one missionary journey was very fruitful. We planted, we made some disciples, we planted the churches of Southern Galatia. That's not Paul. Paul's not going to shrink back.

Paul's not going to stop. Paul's not going to be sidelined. Paul's not going to be kowtowed. Paul is going to do what God Most High called him to do.

Come whatever may. That's the caliber of gospel ministry that this age desperately needs. It is men who do not shrink back from declaring the whole counsel of God Most High, because that is precisely what this wicked generation needs. What are we doing if we stop?

What are we doing if we relinquish? What are we doing if we're sidelined? We're stopping the very benefit and blessing that the people who are in opposition desperately need. I realize they don't know that.

I realize they don't understand that. I realize they disagree with that. But who cares? We go based on what God says in terms of our lives and ethics.

Back to 18.5, notice. Not only did they oppose Paul, but they blasphemed. This is interesting. Luke does this in chapter 13 as well.

Luke is the author of the book of Acts. Notice, the word can be used with reference to man, but it is likely their rejection of Christ that is described by Luke as blasphemy. Same thing in Pisidian Antioch in Acts 13. So to oppose or reject Jesus, to say no to the Lord Christ, to respond with that kind of enmity, not only to his apostle, but to him himself, that is to blaspheme.

Luke is telling us there is a change happening. The apostles preaching Christ are hallowing and praising the name of God Most High. The Jews who are opposing Christ are disregarding and blaspheming the name of Jesus Christ, God Most High.

Paul's Response and Departure

Notice thirdly, the response by Paul, verse six. It says, when they opposed him in blaspheme, he shook his garments and said to them, your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean from now on, I will go to the Gentiles. He does a similar thing in 1351.

He shakes the dust from his sandals off of his feet. And he does a similar thing here in the light of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the ministry of the apostle isn't forever. If it is the case that they are going to ultimately cut your throat, if there is wisdom to flee from that city, go ahead.

Jesus speaks to that in the mission to the apostles with reference to Israel in Matthew chapter 10. But we see that Paul nevertheless stuck it out after the vision that he had of Christ for that year and a half. But nevertheless, look back at the text. It says, he says, he shook his garments and said to them, your blood be upon your own heads.

I am clean from now on, I will go to the Gentiles. Notice this, this is an intriguing thing. Paul was a predestinarian, wasn't he? Paul believed in sovereign grace.

We've been studying Ephesians. For those visiting, we're studying Ephesians in our evening worship. And in Ephesians 1, it tells us just as he, God the Father, chose us in him before the foundation of the world. Not because we were holy and without blame, but that we would become holy and without blame.

He goes on to say, and love having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to the praise of the glory of his grace. The apostle Paul understood this doctrine all too well. Romans 9, 16, he says, it does not depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God who shows mercy. So for Paul, the predestinarian, we might suspect that he would just not invoke the fact that they were responsible.

But he does invoke the fact that they're responsible. They are culpable for their rejection of our Lord Jesus Christ. All men everywhere must repent. All men everywhere must believe.

This is the command of God Most High, 1 John 2.23. If you reject and you resist, it is on you. In fact, look at the heavy emphasis on predestination, even in the passage. Look at verse 10.

Jesus encourages Paul, for I am with you and no one will attack you to hurt you, for I have many people in this city. How does Jesus know that? Because he's God Most High. How does Jesus know that?

Because he understands the contours of apostolic ministry. He says, Paul, don't depart, don't leave. There are many in this city who are going to come to me. So when we come back to verse six, he says, your blood be upon your own heads.

I am clean. Reminiscent is the prophet Ezekiel. One of those watchman passages. Remember God tells the son of man to be a watchman, to make sure that you warn Israel concerning impending judgment.

And especially in chapter 33, verses one to five, at verse four, God says to Ezekiel, then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. So what did God tell Ezekiel? If you don't warn them, I will require it from you. But if you warn them and they resist and they reject, then I will require it from them.

And so Paul reminisces with that, and he brings that to bear upon his heroes. He says, I am clean. He says this later in Acts chapter 20. I am clean of the blood of all men.

I have not shrunk back from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Then notice what we have in terms of his departure. Verse 7 tells us he departed from there, entered the house of a certain man named Justice, one who worshipped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. He's probably still lodging with Aquila and Priscilla, but he's now preaching and teaching at this house of Justice.

Justice is right next to the synagogue. So because they've been forced out of the synagogue, basically run out of the synagogue, Paul makes that statement concerning the judgment upon them, and now he turns to this house of justice, not justice like we think, it's justice the name of this particular person, and there he would continue to preach and teach that Jesus is the Christ.

Effects of Paul's Ministry

Now notice, fourthly, the effects of his ministry. the effects of his ministry. There's a compendium statement in verse 8. Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

Now the reference by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 is to this Crispus. I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius. Now, this is one of the several household baptisms in the Book of Acts, and I want to tell you flat out, neither the pedo or the credo has absolute proof for their position in the household baptisms. I would certainly say to discountenance the pedo, that not every household has infants.

I have a household, we don't have infants. Those infants all grew up. They toddled, they became prepubescent, they went through puberty, as Al Martin would say, they grew up, they got married, and now they have their own households. So if Paul came to my household and he preached the gospel to me, to my household, and we believed that gospel and we were baptized, that would be a household baptism.

So Paedo-Baptists can't find solace definitely with reference to household baptism. In fact, I do think the emphasis in the passage leans towards credo or believer's baptism because notice the conspicuous pattern. Notice that we find Luke saying what he says all along this book of Acts. It says in verse 8, then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household.

So all of his household believed with him. And then notice, and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized. They heard the word of truth, they believed the word of truth, and they were baptized in light of the word of truth. Now, why do you think that happened?

Well, there was a prophetic reason and an imperative. The prophecy of Jeremiah, where the prophet, under inspiration of the Spirit, tells us what the New Covenant would look like. In the New Covenant, all shall know the Lord, from the least of them to the greatest of them. God says that he would write his law upon their hearts.

God says that they would have the forgiveness of sins. God says that they would know Him. And the knowledge there isn't simply cognitive, it is experiential, it is the knowledge of God as Lord and Savior. We have that obvious or rather prophetic definition of what the New Covenant is going to look like.

And then we come to the imperative of the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Well, what happens after we make disciples? You baptize them in the name of the triune God.

And then you teach them the two legs of the commission. Get them saved, justification by faith. Get them taught, sanctification by the Spirit and Word. So when we come to the book of Acts, that's the pattern, that's what happens, that's what transpires.

Not only here in 18.8, but turn back to chapter 2. Chapter 2, verse 38, they're cut to the heart as a result of Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost. And it says in verse 38, then Peter said to them, repent, 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 far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.

And with many other words, he testified and exhorted them saying, be saved from this perverse generation. Now notice, then those who gladly received his word were baptized. And that day, about 3000 souls were added to them. Notice as well, chapter 8, same sort of an emphasis.

Belief and then baptism. It reflects the Great Commission. It reflects the definition of the New Covenant community from the prophet Jeremiah. Notice in chapter 8, verse 12.

But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. See, they believed and were baptized. And Simon himself also believed. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

Simon didn't turn out to be saved. But that does not gut the testimony of verse 13. He had at least made an outward profession of faith. He had testified of faith in Christ, and as a result, Peter baptized him.

Now notice as well, chapter 8, verses 36 and 37, the Ethiopian unit. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may.

And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 918. 918. Immediately there fell from his eyes, this is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, something like scales. He received his sight at once and he rose and was baptized. 1048, 1048, this is the household of Cornelius having come out of darkness into marvelous light. He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

Then they asked him to stay a few days. As well, 16, 14, and 15, 16, 14, and 15. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira who worshipped God.

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. Notice in 32 and 33, well, verse 31.

So they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his were baptized.

You see the pattern, the conspicuous pattern reflecting the command of our blessed Savior in light of the prophetic testimony. that all in the New Covenant community are those who know the Lord. So what does that mean with reference to our infants? We preach the gospel to them. We bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

We catechize them. We bring them to the corporate means of grace. We set before them Christ and Him crucified, and we urge upon them to believe on Him, and you shall be saved. When they say, I've been saved, then we baptize them, because the pattern is belief and then baptism.

John Gill summarizes this point well. This is a plain instance of believers' baptism. First they heard the Word of God, then they believed this Word coming with power to them, and upon their believing they are baptized.

The Vision of Christ

And then finally, in terms of our exposition, notice the vision of Christ. The vision of Christ in verses 9 to 11. First, the Lord Jesus in His kindness encourages Paul. Now, it probably is no fun thing, brethren, to get chased out of a synagogue.

It's probably no fun thing to be opposed by the Jews. To have them completely understand what it is you're saying in terms of Jesus being their Messiah, whom they are rejecting, and them getting up in arms about it. I mean, when you read these passages, I don't think we feel the full contours of it. But again, chapter 14, they stoned him.

Why? Because he dared to claim that Jesus the Nazarene was the Messiah for Israel. What a horrific crime. They were trying to cancel him in this first century.

They wanted to silence him. So Christ comes to him and notice, commands him to speak. He says, don't let this get you down. Don't let this stop you.

Don't let this dissuade you from the mission at hand. Verse 9, now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision and he said, do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent. Now the mindset of the apostle Paul, we asked the question, what do you think he's thinking? Well, we know at least at one point what he was thinking, because in 1 Corinthians 1, he tells us his mindset when he came to the city of Corinth, or when he was ministering in the city of Corinth.

He says, I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. He says that. Not one of these super macho preachers for Jesus, the gospel leatherneck, the guy that brings the matches to everything. That's not Paul.

Paul's man enough to be able to say, I'm trembling, I've got much weakness, I've got some issues, I've got some challenges. See, brethren, true manhood isn't machismo. It's doing what God calls you to do. That's manhood.

And by the way, that's womanhood as well. Doing what God calls you the way that He tells you to do it. So the apostle has this, so Christ comes to him. And Christ says, do not be afraid.

A refrain throughout scripture. I mean, go back to Deuteronomy, the plains of Moab, before they enter into the promised land. What does God tell the children of Israel? Do not be afraid.

What does he tell General Joshua when Joshua was about to engage in the conquest of Canaan? Do not be afraid. What does he tell the nation of Israel? all throughout their history. Do not be afraid.

Why is that? Because our default mode is to be afraid. And so God counteracts that by telling us in several places to not be afraid. So Jesus says, I don't want you to be afraid, but I want you rather to speak, Paul.

That's what you've been chosen for. Do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent. Matthew Poole makes this observation. He says, the fierceness of the enemies of God and His truth should kindle a greater fervor in His servants for His glory.

Is that what we've witnessed in the last couple of years? I would suggest no. The fierceness of the enemies of God and His truth should kindle a greater fervor in His servants for His glory. Should Satan have better servants than God?

Should they dare for their master beyond what the servants of God are willing to do or to suffer for Him? In other words, should the wicked outperform the righteous? And by perform, I don't mean so that we can be saved. We're saved by grace so that we can serve the Master.

And we are not to relinquish, we're not to be paralyzed by fear or dissuaded by all of the legions of hell itself. So the Lord Christ comes to him, do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent. And then he incentivizes him. He encourages him.

He gives him the rationale for this. He could just say, don't be afraid, get back in there and speak. God could do that. The Lord Christ can do that.

That's perfectly acceptable. Why do we do this? Because God's commanded it. But more often than not, when God gives us commands, He gives us all these incentives.

He gives us all these promises. He gives us all these blessings. He gives us the rationale. You know, when your kids are little and they ask why, do you always give them the rationale?

Or at some point do you say, because I told you so. That's the rationale. But in this instance, notice the rationale in verse 10. For I am with you and no one will attack you to hurt you.

Now that didn't apply to Sosthenes. Look down at verse 17. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. But Galileo took no notice of these things.

With reference to the apostle, he would be spared. He would be kept from harm. There would be no harm coming to him. And then Christ gives us this final statement.

He says, for I have many people in this city. In other words, you need to keep preaching. You need to keep teaching. You need to keep facing down the opposition.

You need to stand fast. You need to be firm. You need to persevere. Why?

Because there are sinners in this world that need to be saved, and it's going to be through the instrumentality of your preaching. That is the encouragement given by our blessed Savior to the Apostle Paul, and what does he do? He takes it to heart, he acts upon it, and he spends a year and six months in the city of Corinth. He goes back to Antioch for a time, and then he launches the third missionary journey.

And there, again, the primary emphasis is in the city of Ephesus. What happens in Ephesus? There's an actual riot in Ephesus associated with the Apostle Paul's ministry. It is absolutely insane what happens, but God preserves his servant through all of it.

Application

And then I just want to bring a few thoughts and then we'll get in the water, Lucas. First of all, notice the preaching of the gospel is the primary activity of these missionaries. We use the word missionary in a general sense today. Anybody who goes to a foreign field and does something for Jesus, we call them a missionary.

Now that is a general sense. But in terms of the specific nature of a missionary, it is a man qualified by God, Allah, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1. His charge, his task, is to make disciples and to plant churches. That's what a missionary is, narrowly defined.

If you use missionary with reference to a nurse that is serving in a war-torn place in Myanmar, again, I'm not going to have a beef with you, but understand there's a general, but then there's the narrowly defined. And the missionaries that we find in the Book of Acts, the three missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, are about preaching. They're about telling sinners the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Opposition's Activity

Notice, secondly, the primary activity of the opposition. It's to oppose! The enemies of Christ do not take this lightly. Again, brethren, take the abortion debate right now.

What drives a human being with that kind of madness and rage to want to fight for the right to kill a baby in its mother's womb? You can only deduce or conclude that there's something satanic behind this. There's something spiritual in nature. The apostle tells us in Ephesians 6, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against darkness itself.

Now they manifest through Planned Parenthood. They manifest through these lunatics shouting their abortion, but nevertheless, the God-hater is committed The Christian church isn't always committed. The Christian church doesn't always take seriously their charge. The Christian church doesn't always pray that the Lord would raise up laborers.

The Christian church doesn't take seriously the emphasis on preaching and teaching the Word of God Almighty. The church needs to heed the Word of God and do what it does in light of and in spite of the opposition of the God-haters. That should just be intuitive, that we don't change based on what they're doing.

The Promise of Christ

Notice, thirdly, the promise of Christ. We're not going to get visions. That time has ended. The theological sort of argument for the cessation of those gifts is obvious in Scripture.

The particular exegetical point I would make is in Daniel 9, the 70 weeks of our blessed Savior. One of the things is to seal up vision and prophecy. That doesn't mean because we don't need it anymore. It's because we don't need it anymore because of the Bible.

We've got the scriptures. We're not gonna get visions, but we glean off the visions that we have in the scripture. He is with his church when we are engaged in the work. Notice again, verse, I didn't bring this out.

I'm running out of time. I'm mindful of that. Notice in verse 10, I walked right past that. For I am with you.

I am with you. Paul, don't be afraid, speak, don't keep silent. Why? Yes, because I have much people in this city, but even more primarily, I am with you.

Matthew 28, 18 to 20. Lo, I am with you even to the end of the age. The charge to Joshua, do not be afraid. Why?

Because I'm with you. The charge to the children of Israel, go into the land and conquer. Why? Because I am with you.

The emphasis on fear not is typically coupled with because I'm with you. Paul the Apostle summarizes in chapter 8 of Romans, he says, if God is for us, what can man do? If all the world should oppose us, if Satan himself is against us, but God is present with his church, shall not fail. We have the promise in Matthew 16, I will build my church in the gates of Hades, shall not prevail against it.

He protects his servants in order to advance his kingdom, and he has his people in this world. He has a great multitude that no man can number. We learn that from the book of Revelation. When John sees in visionary form the church triumphant before the throne, it's a great multitude, no man can number it.

So what does that tell us? We have work to do in the church today in terms of extending the kingdom of Jesus Christ. It is his mission, it is his task. We are his Eve, his helper with reference to proclamation and with reference to worship.

Baptism and Church Practice

And then finally, we ought to emphasize the practice of the church as church. Notice, preaching the gospel, making disciples, and then baptizing them. Preaching the gospel, making disciples, and then baptizing them. Gonna get a little personal here. with reference to Lucas.

I have a point, and I'm not suggesting that Lucas is a child, but the conversion of children in the life of the church. I mentioned, and I didn't remember this, I remembered Lucas and Jonathan when they were quite little. We met at the Seventh Day Adventist building, and I remember them running up one day saying, Pastor Butler, there's a big spider in the bathroom. I'm thinking, what do you want me to do about it? guys, but I've known him since he was just a little fellow, but the group predated me just a couple years, so he was in utero while he was here.

But the conversion of children in the life of the church, people often think we practice adult baptism. We practice believer's baptism. We practice believer's baptism. There's no age specified at what point somebody can get baptized.

Now, admittedly, the younger a child is, the more difficult. Sometimes children are men-pleasers or, you know, they'll do what mommy and daddy want and that sort of thing. So you have to exercise some wisdom and that sort of thing. But I want to suggest that the power of God who saves children in Christian families is the same power of God that saved the Apostle Paul when he was raging with enmity against the church.

There is in our culture, in the Christian culture, this celebration of the guy that was a heroin addict, and he used to visit prostitutes, and God saved him. And we tend to marvel at God's grace in such an instance. And then somebody comes along and says, you know, I can't really ever remember a time I wasn't believing in Jesus. And that doesn't seem to impact us as much.

Brethren, we've got big problems if it doesn't impact us as much. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The wicked are estranged from the womb, speaking lies as soon as they are born. The effectual calling of God upon a child is as much glorious as is the effectual calling of God upon the Apostle Paul.

Paul recognizes this in 1 Timothy chapter 6. He makes this statement concerning Timothy. He says, fight the good fight, lay hold on eternal life to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. He says, lay hold on eternal life to which you were also called.

That is the effectual call. Romans chapter 8, verse 30. How does that effectual call come to Timothy? Through the faithfulness of a Eunice, the faithfulness of a Lois, who catechized their little son and grandson, the faithfulness of a brother and sister that reared their children in the training and admonition of the Lord God Most High.

This is the time to celebrate amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like him. even if it wasn't the heroin guy or the prostitute guy. Yeah, we praise God for their salvation too, but we praise God that he works in and through family and church, that in the nursery, when you ladies are instructing your children. in the family altar when you fathers are leading your children to the cross of our blessed Savior. God's working.

God's in the midst of that. God affectionately calls. God draws them to himself. It is most blessed and wondrous.

It is glorious and awesome. So we don't discount somebody, well, I don't know, I never really did go out and use heroin, I never really did go out and, you know, visit prostitutes. We should celebrate that testimony just as much as the other. There is no celebrity culture in the church today that is an affront to God Most High.

Clark says, we know the fact that God called Timothy out of his state of original unrighteousness into his present state of grace. Such effectual calling is obvious in spectacular conversions, such as Paul's, but is just as real and necessary for those who learn the gospel from their mothers and their grandmothers. What a blessing. Parents, take this seriously.

Rear your children, train your children in the training and admonition of the Lord. Don't think Satan and his legions aren't after them. They're sexualizing five-year-olds today. Six-year-olds teaching them about pronouns and gender identity.

Brethren, at five and four and six, no one should ever think about such things. That shouldn't even enter the mind. The teachers are fighting for this privilege is very indicative of the godless age in which we live. They are fighting for your children.

Be assured of that. You need to fight harder for them. You need to teach them. You need to train them.

You need to schlep them to church. You need to teach them to sit and pay attention. You need to teach them that life isn't all about them. You're gonna go and do something that's actually about God for an hour and a half.

And you're gonna sit there and you're gonna listen. You could do it nicer brethren, to be sure. But the emphasis is on the effectual call of God through the means, and the means of faithful parenting is blessed by the Lord. We have seen it, we can testify, and we bless God as a result of His goodness.

So take heart. Parents, you've got little ones. I know it's a challenge. I know it's a difficulty.

I know it's a long-haul affair. but God most high is faithful. He's there in the trenches right alongside of you. And the same effectual call is necessary for those little wretches. And then for Lucas specifically.

With reference to our confession of faith, there's three emphases in terms of baptism. Fellowship with Christ, you have that by grace through faith in Him. Union with Christ, you have that by grace through faith in Him. The remission of sins, you have that by grace through faith in Him.

And that last bit in our confessional statement says, end of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. That is obviously spirit-empowered, but you need to be faithful, and you need to do what God calls you to do, and you need to help us, and we need to help you. That's my encouragement, brethren. When we add members to this church, it is for the purpose of mutual edification and encouragement and the fellowship of the saints.

And God be praised that he's adding to our numbers, not so that we can be puffed up, but so we can marvel at his amazing grace and his loving kindness. So may the Lord bless this day. May it be a time for remembrance, not only for Lucas, but for his family as they ponder the goodness of God Almighty. And salvation doesn't come through that water.

If in your head you think that that's somehow magic, it's not. After we use it, we're gonna open the tap. I showed somebody yesterday, kind of got to get your arm under there and open this tap. That water is just gonna flow right out into the park.

Well, it used to flow out in the parking lot. It now goes into a pit or a ditch for it. It's not magic. This is an outward sign of what God has done by grace in his heart.

The way of salvation is through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on him and you shall be saved. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your glory. We thank you for your power, for the goodness of God Most High as demonstrated in the gospel of our salvation. We thank you for the salvation of a man like the Apostle Paul, a man like Timothy as well.

We thank you for Lucas and for other young people here. For all of us, God, we know it's not because of our works but because of your grace that we will enter into your glorious kingdom. Bless and strengthen each one now, and again, draw those who are dead in their trespasses and sins by that effectual call. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Scripture References

• Ezekiel 33:1-5
• Daniel 9:24
• Matthew 10:23; 16:18; 23:13; 28:18-20
• Acts 2:38; 8:12-13; 8:36-37; 9:18; 10:48; 13:1; 13:5; 13:14; 13:45; 14:1-2; 14:19-20; 14:22; 15:36; 16:14-15; 16:31-33; 17:1-2; 17:5-9; 18:4-5; 18:8; 18:10-11; 18:17; 18:22; 19:8; 20:26-27; 25:24
• Romans 4:25; 8:30-31; 9:16; 16:3-4
• 1 Corinthians 1:14; 1:21; 2:3
• Ephesians 1:4-5; 6:12
• 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 6:12
• Titus 1:5-9
• 1 John 2:23