A call to Community

"A Call to Community". Acts 16:9-15. Ajax Alliance Church. Sunday June 2, 2013. Acts 16:9-15. [9] And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." [10] And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. [11] So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, [12]and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. [13] And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. [14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. [15] And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. (ESV) What distinguishes one community from another. Besides geographical location, people will often distinguish between urban and rural, rich and poor, densely vs. sparsely populated and a myriad of different factors. Communities are often defined by what can be outwardly seen. Likewise for the Christian community, there are two New Testament ordinances that distinguish us from other communities: Baptism and Communion. Baptism is the distinguishing ordinance for one entering the Christian community. Baptism is a public sign of identification with Christ and the Christian community. In Acts 16, although all members of Lydia's household may not have chosen to follow Christ, it had become a Christian home. Her faith was evident in her actions, particularly in how she related to the broader Christian community. Lydia's sincerity use her house as their home base while in Philippi. Baptism was another act of obedience to publically profess her faith to the broader community. With the testimony of Lydia in Acts 16, had she professed faith in Christ and not submitted to baptism, she would have been in effect denying her own profession of faith. That is surely why Luke mentions her baptism, but never records her words in professing Christ as her Saviour. Why? Because, without baptism, her words would have been empty. It was baptism which sealed the credibility of her confession of Christ! (Keddie, G. J. (2000). You Are My Witnesses: The Message of the Acts of the Apostles. Welwyn Commentary Series (186). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.) People are created by God to live and interact in community. It is an unhealthy thing to live alone unto ourselves. Even for the health of an individual family, obedience to the plain teaching of scripture aids in the health of that family. As we looked yesterday at the ways God has called us to serve in the Christian community, obedience to what He has commanded is the vehicle upon which He guides and blesses individuals, families and the broader community. In explaining the role of baptism in the faith of Lydia, Acts 16:9-15 shows how this ordinance acts as a call to community. Through this baptism we see: 1) The Proclamation for Community (Acts 16:9-10), 2) The Place for Community (Acts 16:11-13), 3) The Person in Community (Acts 16:14), and 4) The Proof of Community (Acts 16:15). God uses believers obedience to His commands in: 1) The Proclamation for Community (Acts 16:9-10) Acts 16:9-10. [9] And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." [10] And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (ESV) This vision that appeared to Paul happened while awake, for it is not called a dream (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Ac 16:9-10). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.). For Paul to receive a vision, we must understand that visions and dreams were a recognized means of divine communication in ancient times, as they are in many eastern contexts today (see 9:10, 12; 10:3, 17; 18:9; 22:17). However, in the total record of Acts, such visions are rare and unexpected by the characters concerned. We should therefore conclude that this is an unusual form of divine guidance (Peterson, D. G. (2009). The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar New Testament Commentary (456). Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.). Paul and his companions immediately interpreted this vision as a divine calling to take the gospel to Macedonia. This was the one kind of help that they knew that they could bring to the people. Paul would have deduced that the man in the dream was a Macedonian from what he said. We do not know why this form of divine guidance was adopted at this point. Macedonia was across the Aegean Sea on the mainland of Greece. In it were located the important cities of Philippi and Thessalonica. More significant, this would be the first entry of the gospel into the continent of Europe. (Marshall, I. H. (1980). Vol. 5: Acts: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (279). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.). Quote: G. Campbell Morgan captures the spirit of the obedient Christians and the excitement that must have been in those four missionary hearts as they sailed west across the Aegean: "Oh, to go, not where I may choose, even by my love of the Lord, but where I am driven by the Lord's command. Circumstances of difficulty are opportunities for faith, and the measure of our perplexity in service and in Christian life is the measure of our opportunity. Let us follow the gleam, though the darkness threaten to envelop. Let us be true to the inward monitor, and if in being true, suddenly illness prevent, and we cannot follow, then rest in the Lord in the darkness, and know that God's shortest way to Troas may be athwart our inclinations and purposes. It is better to go to Troas with God, than anywhere else without Him (Morgan, 377, as recorded in Gangel, K. O. (1998). Vol. 5: Acts. Holman New Testament Commentary (269-270). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.). * In faithful obedience, there is always work. Consider with baptism: From setting up the baptismal, to water of a right temperature to all the preparation, you would think that it could be done so much simpler. But with all faithfulness, it means preparation, work, sacrifice, and obedience. The testimony is always the truest and the strongest through such faithfulness. Having received the divine summons, Paul did not hesitate. Luke notes in verse 10, that when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. Verse 10 is the first of the "we" passages in Acts. Luke, the writer of Acts, has now joined the missionary team. Like Timothy, he was to be Paul's faithful friend and loyal companion for the rest of the apostle's life. The missionary team's experience illustrates a basic principle of knowing God's will: to move ahead and allow Him to close doors until the right opportunity is reached. We need to understand that "closed doors," though they are a type of negative guidance, are nevertheless true guidance. If we can learn anything from the apostle Paul here, we learn that negative guidance merely keeps us from where we are not called in order that in God's time we might come to where God is calling us and will provide blessing. When God closes doors, it is not because he has nothing for us to do. He does not want us to take a vacation. It is to keep us from getting into a work to which we are not called in order that we might be saved for a work to which we are. (Boice, J. M. (1997). Acts: an expositional commentary (p. 274). Baker Books.) Please turn to Acts 18 In determining any direction in life should we wait until we feel something to act? Think again on the topic of baptism. As a direct command of God, we are all to be baptized when we can understand the Gospel. We are not to wait until we feel like being baptized or for particular circumstances. In all things, feelings and further leading, come through obedience. Notice this sequence in Acts 18: Acts 18:5-8. [5]When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. [6] And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles." [7] And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. (ESV) * Belief, even here tied to the belief of an entire household, resulted in baptism. It was not the leader of the household that believed for the rest of the household. The testimony of the word impacted the entire household, and all in that household came to faith and professed that faith in obedience to the Lord's command to be baptized. Illustration: If I were to summarize one word that summarizes baptism it is the word obedience. In reality, we can see entire books of scripture like James, and the epistles of John centering on that very concept. How is it that something like obedience is key to considering one a Christian? Early Christians called baptism a "sacramentum," which is the Latin word for the Roman soldier's oath of absolute devotion and obedience to his general. In such a beautiful and public way, baptism declares to all the complete surrender and obedience to our commander and chief, Jesus Christ. (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.). God uses believers obedience to His commands in: 2) The Place for Community (Acts 16:11-13) Acts 16:11-13. [11]So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, [12]and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. [13] And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. (ESV) We now see the missionary team (Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke) in the port city of Troas. Troas was located across the Aegean Sea from Greece, on the western shore of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) near the site of ancient Troy. The missionaries had been directed there by the Holy Spirit, who had closed all other doors of ministry for them (16:6-8). Therefore, because of God's call, setting sail/putting out to sea from Troas, they made a direct voyage/ran a straight course to Samothrace. The wind was favorable for the voyage across the North Aegean, and they finished it in two days. (The reverse journey from Philippi to Troas, recorded in 20:6, took five days.) On the evening of the first day they reached Samothrace, a mountainous island rising to 5,000 feet, which forms a conspicuous landmark. In religious history the chief importance of Samothrace lies in its being the seat of a widely patronized mystery cult, the worship of the Cabiri, which had been practiced there from time immemorial. Samothrace is an island in the Aegean Sea, approximately half way between Asia Minor and the Greek mainland. There they stayed overnight (to avoid the hazards of sailing in the dark) and the day following sailed on to Neapolis, the port city for Philippi. The winds must have been favorable, for the reverse trip from Philippi to Troas on the third missionary journey took five days (Acts 20:6). When the missionary team landed in Neapolis, Paul's ministry finally reached Europe. (Bruce, F. F. (1988). The Book of the Acts. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (309). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.). * Although there are others who practice forms of baptism, Christian baptism is a conspicuous landmark for believers. It involves particular people, doing it in a particular way and for a particular purpose. The team did not stop to preach in Neapolis, but as verse 12 indicates, from there went on to Philippi, about ten miles inland. Philippi, as Luke notes, was a leading city of the district of Macedonia, and a Roman colony. Named after Philip II of Macedon (the father of Alexander the Great), Philippi was the eastern terminus for the great Roman highway known as the Egnatian Way. The city was named a Roman colony by Octavian, following the battle of Actium in 31 B.C.. Alexander [the Great] had moved from west to east to conquer brilliantly and infuse [the world] ... with everything Greek. Now a converted Jew was moving in the opposite direction, from Asia to Europe, to conquer for Christ (Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). Acts. Life Application Bible Commentary (278). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.) Please turn to Matthew 28 There is a reason for the team going to these regions with the purpose specifically of baptism. Not only is it tied to a specific commission from Christ, but specifically it is to be done in His name: Matthew 28:16-20. [16]Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.[19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (ESV) As a colony Philippi possessed the ius Italicum, which carried the right of freedom (libertas), that is, they were self-governing, independent of the provincial government; the right of exemption from tax (immunitas); and the right of holding land in full ownership, as under Roman law, and of using Italian legal procedures and precedents. (David J. Williams, New International Biblical Commentary: Acts [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1990], 284) * As opposed to a precise dictated time to administer the old covenant sign of circumcision, there is freedom in the timing of baptism. The missionaries remained in Philippi for some days, and as verse 13 indicates, And on the Sabbath day they went outside the gate to a riverside, where they supposed that there was a place of prayer. It was Paul's custom in each city he visited to preach first in the synagogue. As a rabbi and a student of the greatest rabbi of the time, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), Paul could be assured of getting a hearing there. To form a synagogue, however, required the presence of ten Jewish men who were heads of households. Evidently Philippi's Jewish community was too small to form a synagogue. In such cases, a place of prayer, under the open sky and near a river or the sea, was to be arranged for. The one in Philippi was located outside the gate by a riverside, probably where the road leading out of Philippi crossed the Gangites River. There they found some women gathered to recite the Shema, to pray the Shemoneh Esreh, to read from the Law and the Prophets, to discuss what they had read, and, if possible, to hear from a traveling Jewish teacher an exposition or exhortation and receive a blessing. The missionaries sat down (the normal posture for teaching; cf. Matt. 5:1; 13:2; Luke 4:20) and spoke to the women who had come together/assembled. (Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 460). Zondervan Publishing House.). * As this group met by the riverside, we see an excellent setting for baptism. Traditionally it has been administered publically. Instead of a private religious ceremony, it is a public profession of faith. As the Old Covenant sign of circumcision was only administered to males, the New Covenant sign of baptism is administered to male and females. Illustration: As a sign of the covenant, it has been said that Baptism is like a wedding ring: they both symbolize transactions. A wedding ring symbolizes marriage, just as baptism symbolizes salvation. Wearing a wedding ring does not make you married any more than being baptized makes you saved. To extend the parallel, if a person, especially a woman, does not wear a wedding ring you can almost always assume that the person is not married. So, it is in New Testament times. If a person is not baptized, you could probably assume that he or she was not a believer. On this we must be clear: baptism is a symbol of salvation and only a symbol. But, like a wedding ring, it is such an effective symbol that it should never be taken for granted (Michael P. Green. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (27). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.). God uses believers obedience to His commands in: 3) The Person of Conversion (Acts 16:14) Acts 16:14. [14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. (ESV) Verse 14 introduces a certain woman named Lydia. Because her home city of Thyatira was located in the Roman province of Lydia, it is possible that "Lydia" was not so much her personal name as her name in business; she may have been known as "the Lydian lady." Thyatira, site of one of the seven churches of Revelation (Rev. 2:18-29), was noted for its manufacture of purple dye and dyed goods. Not surprisingly, Lydia herself was a seller of purple goods/fabrics. Purple dye, whether made from the glands of the murex shellfish or from the roots of the madder plant, was prohibitively expensive. Purple garments were worn by royalty and the wealthy, and the selling of purple goods/fabrics was a very profitable business. That Lydia had a house large enough to accommodate the missionary team (v. 15) and the emerging church at Philippi (v. 40) indicates her wealth. Because Lydia seems to have been the head of a household, it is assumed that she was either a widow or unmarried (Balge, R. D. (1988). Acts (p. 180). Northwestern Pub. House.). * In a culture where being single was considered "lesser-than" she focused not on what she lacked, but on the ability and resources that God gave her, being resourceful in His service. Please turn to Romans 6 In baptism we identify with the royalty and wealth of Jesus. This royalty is through being a child of God, adopted into His family, whereby we have the promise of ruling with Christ. Yet this prohibitively expensive to achieve. It meant His death, by which we identify in baptism. Baptism is not a religious practice by which we achieve merit with God but the spiritual wealth we gain is through the identification of giving up claim to all earthly aims to achieve riches in heaven. In baptism we profess to die to self and proclaim that we have been raised, like Christ, to newness of life. Romans 6 explains this: Romans 6:3-4. [3]Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (ESV) Not merely content with the mere identification with Christ in Baptism, what we see back in Acts 16:14 are multiple sequential aspects of Lydia's conversion. First, she was a worshiper of God. Hers was a seeking heart, and she had already turned from pagan idolatry to worship the one true God. The phrase a worshiper of God shows that Lydia, like Cornelius (Acts 10:2), was a believer in the God of Israel. She had not yet, however, become a full proselyte to Judaism. Also known as God-fearers there were Gentiles who embraced the Jewish belief in one God and tried to follow the Ten Commandments, but did not fully convert to Judaism's dietary and other ceremonial obligations (Johnson, D. E. (2013). Philippians (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.; 1st ed., p. 14). P&R Publishing.). Not only was Lydia seeking, but she also heard/was listening to the gospel proclaimed by Paul. Many hear the sound of the life-giving message preached without really listening to it. Lydia listened with faith to the saving gospel. She did so because the Lord opened her heart to pay attention/respond to what was said by Paul. Divine illumination and persuasion is necessary for the heart blinded by sin to respond to the gospel (Jer. 13:23; John 6:44, 65; Rom. 9:16; 1 Cor. 2:14). This effectual call of God ensures that all who have been chosen by God will believe (13:48; 2 Thess. 2:13, 14; 2 Tim. 1:9, 10) (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B. K., & Silva, M. (1995). The Reformation study Bible: Bringing the light of the Reformation to Scripture: New King James Version (Ac 16:14). Nashville: T. Nelson.). Illustration: (4066 Charlemagne Gave Shirts) Unfortunately there has always been a misconception; called "baptismal regeneration" that baptism itself redeems people. There was a deplorable practice of the general Charlemagne to force all those he conquered to become Christians. Into the rivers and lakes near the battlefield he drove his defeated enemies to be baptized. Thus thousands of Saxons were made to profess the Christian faith. Naturally it did them little good for they did not know what they were pledging and they had no desire to accept it. One scheme Charlemagne hit upon to persuade the Saxons to be baptized peacefully was to give every convert a clean, white shirt. So numerous were the requests for these shirts that the supply ran out, and the newly-baptized began receiving instead a coarse yellow shirt. This was not so attractive, as we gather from the disdainful remark of a Saxon chieftain who was offered a yellow shirt: "I have been baptized already twenty times and received white shirts. I refuse to be baptized any more and will have nothing to do with a religion that is so stingy with its clothes." (Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.) Finally, God uses believers obedience to His commands in: 4) The Proof of Community (Acts 16:15). Acts 16:15. [15] And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. (ESV) As was customary in the early church, Lydia and her household were baptized immediately after their conversion, no doubt in the river near the place of prayer. The fact that Lydia was engaged in business strongly suggests that she was single or widowed, and the members of her household would have included any servants or dependants whom she had living with her (Marshall, I. H. (1980). Vol. 5: Acts: An introduction and commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (284). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.) The jailer's household also believed the gospel (Acts 16:33), as God established the church at Philippi. There is no evidence whatever that this included infants, and it cannot be used in support of infant baptism. Previous references to Cornelius's household indicate that those who were baptized both heard and believed the message (10:44; 11:4, 17). Throughout Acts baptism is based on personal faith and commitment, and there is no reason to see otherwise in the household baptisms (Polhill, J. B. (1995). Vol. 26: Acts. The New American Commentary (350). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.). Please turn to Matthew 3 Baptism is the outward sign of the redeemed individual's identification with Jesus Christ. It is an act of obedience by the believer but plays no role in salvation. The mode of baptism is significant. The times noted in scripture, you find that the person baptized was immersed. This method has the significance of identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. If we want to be like Jesus, then doing what Jesus did is the simplest indicator for obedience. Matthew 3 shows this obedience: Matthew 3:13-17. [13]Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. [14] John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" [15] But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. [16] And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; [17]and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (ESV) After her baptism, Lydia urged the missionaries to accept her hospitality saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." Hospitality is required of all Christians (Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:2; 1 Pet. 4:9), especially women (1 Tim. 5:10) and church leaders (Titus 1:8). It was critical in the ancient world, where inns were often unsuitable for Christians to stay in. They were filthy, dangerous, expensive, and often little more than brothels. To make a home where travelers could be exposed to Christian love, family life, and fellowship was a high priority for Christian community(cf. 1 Tim. 5:9-10). Lydia's hospitality gave proof of her place in the community. (cf. John 13:35). In Greek, this conditional sentence conveys a positive fact. Lydia indicates that the missionaries indeed consider her a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ because they have accepted her testimony sealed by her baptism. Lydia prevails and the missionaries take up lodging in her house. Here they continue teaching Christ's gospel and enlarge the church. Rather than seeing the apostles as a burden and their presence as a disruption of her family's routine, Lydia laid out the welcome mat. The notion of hospitality is related to the words "hospital" and "hospice." In other words, we practice hospitality when we generously and cordially throw open the doors of our homes to care for others. In hospitality, we nurture and strengthen and serve. And the result is that others find physical, spiritual, and emotional help. When they leave us, they are healthier and more whole than when they came. Is this your practice? Is your home a "hospital" for hurting or needy souls? (Barton, B. B., & Osborne, G. R. (1999). Acts. Life Application Bible Commentary (281). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.) * The Christian home is a place where faith and obedience should be encouraged and exemplified. The heads of households have the responsibility to not only discuss but also exemplify Christian virtues. Luke is interested not in providing details about Lydia's family but in portraying Lydia's household as the core of the emerging church of Philippi. The building blocks of the church are families and individuals (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 17: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles. New Testament Commentary (590). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.). * Lydia's obedience in baptism was the instrument that God used to show the reality of the life changing person of Christ. (Format Note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts. MacArthur New Testament Commentary (326). Chicago: Moody Press.) Closing Hymn: "Let it Be Said of Us" Prayer Room Invitation 8