Death to Life: The sending and saving power of God’s grace

In Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV) it says, “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.”

It’s abundantly clear that Jesus intended for his followers to take the gospel from one person to the next, from one city to the next, and even from one ethnicity to the next. And, present in the mission that Jesus gives to his followers is the instruction to teach everyone who believes everything that he has said. And, present with the mission and the command is the promise of His presence with those who go and do what Christ has said.

Having faith that saves is completely dependent on hearing and knowing the truth about Jesus. Faith separated from Jesus will leave you separated from God in the end.

This is why the first half of the book of Acts focuses on the ministry of the gospel in the Synagogues. Peter and the rest of the apostles focused their energy on opening the eyes of those who already know God and the OT…

The gospel has always been for all people in all places… and as Jesus becomes clear to the Jews, the gospel makes its way to the gentiles as well.

Now not all jews received the gospel, in fact, in the same way that Jews killed Jesus many of them persecuted the christians and even killed them.

One of the most influential persecutors of Christians was a man named Paul. And, while he was on the way to persecute and imprison Christians in Damascus, Jesus appeared to him and Paul was converted to faith in the one he had previously rejected.

God calls Paul to take the news about Jesus to others, including the gentiles… and as his ministry develops God calls Paul to focus his ministry on the gentiles. And, there are many differences between the Jews and gentiles…

Gentiles don’t follow God, they are consumed with pagan religions and their civic duty and society. Gentiles don’t know the story of all God has done, much less the hope of a promised Messiah.

You can read through Acts and see the difference in the way that Peter and Paul go about their missionary preaching and evangelism.

Peter builds on a familiar foundation as he preaches Jesus Christ.

Peter is able to start pretty far down the road because his audience is Jewish and familiar with the Word and the prophecies concerning the messiah.

Paul builds bridges of familiarity for the sake of presenting Christ.

Paul has to back up and start at the beginning, and Paul has to help pagans who have had the freedom to sin in every way possible to step away from their sin of indulgences and the flesh to be pure and holy.

Not only does Paul have to help them understand the call to holiness that comes with faith, Paul also has to help them understand the significance of their new relationships as Christians. God’s people are viewed as a family and are to act like one with each other. Paul also had to teach them the basics of the Christian life… they did not grow up in the synagogue and as a result they needed a lot of help clarifying what it means to follow God and live for him. And… Paul had to teach them the way that Christians interact with those who are not saved…

On a sidenote… I believe that the American church, including the Southeastern United States can learn a great deal from the two approaches to evangelism, discipleship, and the church in the book of Acts.

You see, just 20-30 years ago you could talk about the Bible and many people would have some understanding of what you meant. But, today it’s not so. More and more the people around are lacking the foundational or basic understanding of the Bible and it’s content of previous generations.

In 2024 the American church is much more like Ephesus than Jerusalem

I would say that we have moved from the missionary context of Peter to the missionary challenges of Paul. Peter preached to people with some understanding, Paul taught to people with little to know understanding.

You can see how much Paul had to teach and instruct when you read the book of Ephesians. In fact, you could say that the book of Ephesians is like a New Life 101 class for Christians.

We are going to start preaching and studying through the book of Ephesians next Sunday, and the sermon series is entitled “New Life 101” because in the book Paul walks from what it means to be saved, to what you should know and understand, to what it means to be a part of the body of Christ, and then to the many different kinds of relationships you have and how to live for God in each of them.

With our remaining time I’d like to point your attention at Acts 19. Acts 19 chronicles Paul’s time in the city of Ephesus that precedes the letter he later writes to them from prison in Rome.

Paul’s ministry moves from the Synagogue in Ephesus to the streets of the city. He found people who had heard of John the Baptist and believed his message about a coming messiah and the need for repentance, but they did not know the truth about Jesus or anything about the Holy Spirit.

Acts 19:1–10 (ESV)

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all. 8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Jesus saves, seals, and sends the saints who are his by the power of the Spirit.

In keeping with Matthew 28 and Acts 1 Jesus multiplies the church through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. And, there are four instances in Acts where the Holy Spirit comes upon a group of people and they speak in tongues.

The HS was on the apostles as they preached the gospel on the day of Pentecost. The HS was on the Samaritans in Acts 8 and they received the Holy Spirit The HS was again seen coming upon believers in Acts 10, but this time on the Gentiles through a man named Cornelius and those around him as Peter was preaching. In Acts 19 the HS comes upon a group of now new believers and they begin to speak in tongues and prophesy.

Notice in each of these that the laying on of hands is accompanied with the sign of tongues and prophesying or telling the truth about Jesus.

The book of Acts us the unfolding of what God promised, by the power of the Spirit, through those who believe and are faithful. The passage in Acts that sets the stage for everything that follows is 1:6-8.

Acts 1:6–8 (ESV) says, “6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The powerful signs of the Holy Spirit are related to the calling and commissioning of all believers to share the gospel and make disciples.

The HS makes it clear the apostles and Jews are empowered The HS makes it clear the Samaritans (northern Israel) are empowered and called The HS makes it clear the Gentiles are saved, called, and empowered The HS makes it clear that the unified church of Gentiles and Jews has been called and empowered to take the gospel to their neighbors and the nations.

We don’t see tongues and such in every situation in the book of Acts… but where we see it there is a consistent commissioning of the those mentioned in Matthew 28 and Acts 1…

The signs of the Spirit accompany the sending power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

As the Gospel moved from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth the HS reveals that every Christian in every place and of every ethnicity are called to make disciples and be His witnesses.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts is according to the sending instructions of Jesus. And, in the church at Ephesus.

The religious, civil, and economic setting of Ephesus is the back drop for the contrast between living by faith in God versus just living and believing in line with the rest of the world around you.

The events in the church at Ephesus give us clarity regarding the radical change and new life that follow faith in Jesus.

The Christians in Ephesus were being saved from a culture of sin and self indulgence.

The new life these Ephesian saints have found by faith in Christ and through the power of the Spirit is radically different than the life they had before Jesus.

The new life of faith in Christ involves letting go of the old sources of power, comfort, and hope to trust in the grace, goodness, and power of God.

Acts 19:11–20 (ESV)

11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Letting go of your old sources of comfort and hope can be trying and difficult. But, when we come to Christ we do so believing that he is the only one who can save, and the Holy Spirit is the one who does it in us.

The new life of faith includes letting go of your old identity and loyalties to embrace your new identity and loyalty to Jesus Christ.

Acts 19:21–40 (ESV)

21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. 27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.” 28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.”

Changing loyalties is met with confusion, anger, and attacks.

Salvation is not the result of a magic prayer or phrase.

Salvation is the gift of God’s grace to those who truly and sincerely trust Him by faith in Jesus.

New life means new affections, new priorities, new relationships, and even new rules.

New life is a sign of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life and the church.