The Evangelism and Conversion of Lydia

INTRODUCTION

In 1849, a fifteen year old boy was home from school, in Colchester, England.

While on break, he decided he would visit every church in town.

On January 6th, 1850, he walked into Artillery Street Primitive Methodist Chapel.

There were 12 people there.

A lay deacon was preaching because the regular minister couldn’t make it.

The boy saw that this man was not well-educated or well-spoken, but he said that he preached the Gospel clearly.

Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical & Theological Vision for Ministry A Life Changed by Preaching

Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death,—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin’ to do but to look and live.”

On that day, in that room, fifteen year old Charles Spurgeon finally understood the Cross and repented of his sin and trusted in Christ.

Amazingly, within four years, Spurgeon would be taking over as the Lead Pastor at the most famous Baptist church in England—New Park Street Chapel—later to become Metropolitan Tabernacle.

The church had been shepherded by Baptist fathers and theological giants such as Benjamin Keach and John Gill.

Spurgeon—four years removed from his salvation, was 19 years old.

Salvation stories like this, which bear much fruit for the Kingdom of God are amazing.

They come in all shapes in sizes.

Some are converted as an individual blessed to be raised in the church.

Some are converted as teenagers and adults from some pretty rough circumstances and rampant immorality.

Some are converted as teenagers and adults and are saved from legalistic efforts to earn salvation through good works.

But in each and every case, every work of grace is amazing.

Every work of grace is astounding.

God’s favor and friendship, gifted to lost sinners through the love of His Son, Jesus Christ, is miraculous in each and every case where it is received.

But what are the mechanics in play?

When a soul is converted, what is exactly is taking place?

When a Christian evangelizes and preaches the Gospel and others hear and drop their nets and they follow Christ, what happens?

This text will give us some insight to it this morning as we see the Evangelism and Conversion of Lydia in Acts 16:11-15...

And as we walk through the text, we will have three teaching points this morning:

1. In evangelism, God uses a messenger to deliver a message that must be believed (v. 11-13)

2. In conversion, God opens the heart of the hearer so that the message may be received (v. 14)

3. In salvation, God brings forth fruit from the converted that the message has conceived (v. 14-15)

CONTEXT

Before I read the passage, let’s remember where we left off last week.

Dr. Kramer faithfully walked us through Acts 16:6-10, where we see Paul’s Macedonian Call.

Paul’s travel plans are changed by the Spirit of Jesus.

His team went to Troas and in a vision, Paul saw a man pleading with him to come to Macedonia and help him and his people.

Paul is immediately sure that this means he is supposed to go to Macedonia in order preach the Gospel.

As I read the text this morning, you are going to hear Luke recording they names of a few different places as he describes their sea travel.

This is common of Luke.

He likes to give lots of particulars when it comes to the travel routes by sea.

Let me read it for us—Acts 16:11-15

Acts 16:11–15 ESV

So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 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. 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. 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. 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.

THE MESSENGER AND THE MESSAGE (v. 11-13)

We start this morning with the messenger and the message that must believed.

The messenger in Acts 16 is the Apostle Paul.

However, he is not alone.

He has others who are a part of his team—Silas and Timothy and even Luke, who is using “we” as he describes the group’s sea travel.

Dr. Kramer did such a wonderful job of showing us the team’s sea travel route last week and I want to build on that today by pointing us to the image on the screen.

It will help us sort through verses 11-12.

SEA TRAVEL TO PHILIPPI (v. 11-12) (SHOW PICTURE)

Paul and company travel from Troas and go NW to Samothrace—a little island in the middle of the Aegean Sea.

This means they are moving from Asia over to Macedonia in response to the vision that Paul had where he saw the Macedonian man in desperate need.

They anchored at Samothrace for the night—where they would have slept in the shadow of the huge mountain that dominates the island’s landscape.

Then, in the morning, they sailed for Neapolis, on the coast of Macedonia.

Neapolis was the port of Philippi, which was 8 miles inland.

And that is where Paul and company are headed in verse 12.

Philippi itself is the only city in Acts that is called a “Roman colony.”

The colonies of Rome were settlements of Roman citizens in a territory they had conquered and claimed.

The people who lived there had the same legal rights as their compatriots in Italy.

These colonies became places that Rome could send the surplus Italian population.

They would also give retiring soldiers land in these colonies.

The local government was Roman and the local law was Roman.

The Roman colonies were like someone took a plant out of the garden of Italy, put it in a pot and then planted it in a garden somewhere else in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Philippi is called a “leading city” of the district of Macedonia, which doesn’t seem to be referring to anything political, since there were other cities of greater importance.

Instead, this seems to be Luke’s rating of the city.

You might call this Luke’s Yelp! review, if that helps you imagine it.

Paul and his crew are there for “some days,” which indicates a continuous stay, but not a lengthy, settling in.

Weeks—not months.

PREACHING THE GOSPEL AT THE PLACE OF PRAYER (v. 13)

Upon arrival in Philippi, Paul goes outside the city gate, to a place by a riverside where the team supposes there is a “place of prayer.”

Now we know that it is usually Paul’s custom to first preach in the synagogue.

The fact that this does not happen in Philippi hints that there is no synagogue, because there are not enough Jewish men to form one.

In order to form a synagogue, the Mishnah said that there must be ten Jewish men.

The fact that there were not ten Jewish men speaks to just how far into the un-reached world that Paul is going now.

However, the city is not totally bereft of the influence of Judaism.

There are these women who are gathering to pray outside of the city gates, by the riverside.

And this seems to be more than casual prayer meetings at randomly selected times.

Here is David Peterson on this group of women in the place of prayer:

The Acts of the Apostles (1. Lydia and Her Household (16:11–15))

What the visitors found was a meeting where women gathered for prayer (We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there). ‘In terms of its focus on Sabbath-day prayer and worship, this assembly functions as a synagogue; however, its physical location—twice removed from the city limits by architectural (gate) and natural (river) boundaries—and socioreligious composition—women devoted to the Jewish faith—betray its restricted, marginal status within the Roman colony.’

In other words, this was a bit more formal than just gathering to swap prayer requests.

This “place of prayer,” seems to be an unofficial meeting place for Sabbath worship.

Somehow, synagogue Judaism had reached these women and little spiritual community had formed.

Paul sits down with them and talks to them.

And the way that Luke describes was God does in Lydia in v. 14 clues us into the subject matter of Paul’s conversation.

He is sharing the Gospel with them.

He is evangelizing.

They have heard something of the Word of God and Paul is there to tell them that all of the promises found in the Word have their YES and AMEN in Christ Jesus.

This brings us to our first teaching point this morning:

1. In evangelism, God uses a messenger to deliver a message that must be believed (v. 11-13)

GOD USES US TO SPREAD HIS WORD

What we are seeing in this passage, and truly throughout Acts and the entire Bible, is that God uses His people to proclaim His salvation.

He uses His children to tell of His charity and warn of His wrath.

When God’s people were enslaved in Egypt, God called Moses to be His mouthpiece.

When God’s people were engrossed in all sorts of idolatry and in danger of Exile, God called Isaiah and Jeremiah to implore Israel to repent.

When God’s people were in need of a Savior, He sent John the Baptist to blaze the path for the Son of the Potter.

God could spread His Word and send His messages with the angels.

He could write it in the stars.

He could have the rocks cry out.

But He chooses to use those whom He has made in His image.

Those whom He has called according to His purpose.

Paul illustrates this in the tenth chapter of his letter to the Romans.

First, he explains what someone what must do in order to respond to the Gospel with saving faith.

Romans 10:9–13 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

But how will they every call on the name of the Lord if they have not heard the message?

And that is exactly Paul’s point in the verses that follow:

Romans 10:14–17 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

God’s plan for spreading His saving message throughout the earth is to have His redeemed people tell unredeemed people about the salvation that is available to them in Jesus Christ.

This is what evangelism is.

Here is JI Packer on this:

According to the New Testament, evangelism is just preaching the gospel…It is a work of communication in which Christians make themselves mouthpieces for God’s message of mercy to sinners. Anyone who faithfully delivers that message, under whatever circumstances, in a large meeting, in a small meeting, from a pulpit, or in a private conversation, is evangelizing.

JI Packer

This work of communication is God’s mechanism spreading the seed of the Gospel throughout the fields of the nations.

It was some anonymous Methodist deacon who led Charles Spurgeon to Christ.

I was led to Christ by an evangelist from North Carolina at a summer camp.

My father was led to Christ by a co-worker.

A former pastor of this church was led to Christ by a Gospel tract that someone in a phone booth at the shipyard.

My wife’s mother led her to Christ.

And this morning, we are seeing Paul lead a dye merchant in Philippi to Christ.

As we will see in just a moment, it is God that does the saving.

He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Like all things, our salvation is from Him and through Him and to Him, so that He may get all the glory forever.

However, in His sovereign wisdom, He has purposed to use His redeemed church to take the message that has saved them to the world.

He sends us out as messengers with a message that must be believed, if there is to be any hope for the souls of those who hear it.

THE HEART OF THE HEARER (v. 14)

LYDIA

So with that first point laid down, let’s look at verse 14.

There is one woman in the group that is listening to Paul named Lydia.

She is from Thyatira—a city of Asia Minor—and she is a merchant who deals in purple goods.

Lydia is an interesting character.

There is no mention of a husband, which would mean that she is divorced or widowed.

She is a woman of some means because at the end of the chapter, in verse 40, her home has become the meeting place for the first church on European soil.

For her to have no husband, but have a business and a home would make her quite a unique woman in her time.

Her money likely comes from the fact that she has a successful purple dye business.

Purple dyes were derived from two different sources.

The most expensive purple dye came from snails.

This was the stuff used by the upper and ruling classes.

Then there was the cheaper stuff accessible to everyone else.

It came from the Madder plant in Asia Minor.

Whether Lydia had dealt in one or the other or both, she had done well for herself.

While she is from Thyatira, Philippi seems to be her main place of business.

So that is where she gathers with these women for prayer.

Spiritually speaking, Luke describes her as one who is a “worshiper of God.”

This refers to her being a God-fearer.

She is like Cornelius in Acts 10.

She is sympathetic to Jewish faith and even participates in it on some level, but she is a Gentile who has not fully converted to Judaism.

But to understand how this woman goes from a God-fearer to a follower of Christ, we have to pay attention to Luke’s words in v. 14.

“The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.”

Paul speaks.

Lydia believes.

But in between, there is this act of God that enables Lydia to believe that which Paul is saying.

2. In conversion, God opens the heart of the hearer so that the message may be received (v. 14).

What I believe we are really seeing playing out before our eyes in verse 14 is the doctrine of regeneration in action.

Now, we don’t have time to talk about every thread of this doctrine this morning.

However, I do want to give you an overview of it and explain why I believe we are seeing the regeneration of Lydia’s heart in this verse.

THE DOCTRINE OF REGENERATION

When different people speak of regeneration, they can mean different things.

Some people are referring to God’s initial act to make a heart alive.

Some are referring to something much more broad—like the whole process of God renewing a man in the image of Christ.

This morning, when I speak of regeneration, I am speaking of the specific, initial work of God to make a heart alive.

His gift of life to the heart.

Here is how Ezekiel Hopkins defined regeneration:

Regeneration is a change of the whole man, in every part and faculty thereof, from a state of sinful nature to a state of supernatural grace, whereby the image of God that we defaced and lost by our first transgression is again, in some good measure, restored.

Ezekiel Hopkins

There are a lot of definitions of regeneration that I read this week, but this was the best one.

In regeneration, we are talking about an overhaul in a person.

They are going from being dominate by a sinful nature that is opposed to God and dead in transgressions, to a state of grace brought about the power of God Himself.

Adam’s original sin has cut us off from God and made us enemies of God.

It leaves us dead to Him—condemned by His Law.

But as the Spirit of God regenerates the sinner, they are made alive to God.

As opposed to defining regeneration, Thomas Watson describes it. Listen to what He says God does in the act of regeneration:

The Spirit irradiates the mind, and subdues the will. The will is like a garrison, which holds out against God: the Spirit with sweet violence conquers, or rather changes it; making the sinner willing to have Christ upon any terms; to be ruled by him as well as saved by him.

Thomas Watson

FROM SCRIPTURE

Let me show you what Hopkins and Watson are talking about from Scripture.

In Ezekiel 36, the natural state of man is described with a word-picture—a heart made of rock.

This is the heart that is enslaved to its sinful nature.

God promises that in the New Covenant, which is ushered in and inaugurated by Christ, God’s Spirit would do a work in which He removes the heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh.

Don’t think of flesh in a negative sense—the way Paul speaks of it in Romans.

Think of the skin of a newborn baby.

This is the way God make the heart with this work of the Spirit.

Here are Ezekiel’s words:

Ezekiel 36:25–27 ESV

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Fast forward to the New Testament, and you have Jesus explaining what it means to be born again to Nicodemus and what does He say?

John 3:5–7 ESV

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

When Jesus speaks of the “water and the Spirit,” He is clearly referring to Ezekiel 36.

As He talks about being born again, He is talking about regeneration.

In fact, in v.7, when Jesus says “You must be born again,” the Greek word for born is gennao (yenNOW).

It is a passive verb—the same way a child is passive when a father begets him.

This is a work of God from above.

The same work from above that you see Paul refer to when he writes to Titus and says:

Titus 3:5 ESV

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

When regeneration takes place and God sends the new birth from above, the dead heart is made alive it is able to respond to God in repentance and faith.

The hurdles of unbelief that kept someone in lostness are removed as God reveals the beauty of Christ to a heart that He has made alive by His grace and power.

In the case of Lydia, our sister was a God-fearer.

A Gentile who had a reverence for the God of Israel.

This means that she could be prone to see Christ and His Cross as a stumbling block or as folly.

1 Corinthians 1:23–24 ESV

but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Lydia seems to have some familiarity with the truths of Judaism.

This leaves her prone to seeing a suffering, dying Messiah as a stumbling block to faith.

Something she just can’t believe because it is offensive to her sensibilities.

But she is also a Gentile, which leaves her prone to see Christ crucified as folly, the way the Greeks did.

They looked at Christ crucified and found the whole thing to be moronic.

So why isn’t Christ a stumbling block OR folly to her?

Because the Lord opened her heart...

He gave her a regard for the Word of God.

He imparted life to her and all of the blessings and gifts that flowed to her afterward can only be turned back into praise for God because they all stem from Him opening her heart and regenerating her.

Even her very repentance and faith, which results in her baptism, are to be regarded as gifts from God.

This has been the repeated pattern in Acts.

In Acts 3:26, Jesus is sent by God to bless sinners by “turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

In Acts 5:31, God has exalted Christ to His right hand in order that He may “give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

In Acts 11:18, Jewish believers are praising the Lord because he has “also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

And in Acts 13:48, as the Word of God is preached, “as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

This doesn’t mean that you are just a passenger in your salvation.

YOU must really repent of your sin.

YOU must really respond to the Gospel of Jesus by placing faith in Christ.

But understanding the doctrine of regeneration, we understand that we would not do any of that, if God did not first regenerate our cold, dead hearts.

Dead things are dead. Unless someone can bring them back to life, they stay dead.

Praise God that He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

And praise God that this is proven beyond dispute in the sending of His Son.

And praise God that in His rich compassion, He has elected to rescue sinners from a deserved eternal Hell.

And praise the Lord that He sends His messengers with His transforming Word and that He empowers them to preach it to sinners.

And that He gives those sinners, which He has appointed unto salvation, hearts of flesh, so that they can respond to Him and know Him through His Son.

This is what is happening in Acts 16:14.

God opens Lydia’s heart.

It was stone.

It was rock.

Rock does not listen.

But He made it flesh.

He made it new.

He gave it life, that so that she would come to Him and know Him through His Son.

If God is the One who imparts life, then He is the One who must be given the glory for the life that we have and any blessing we enjoy from it.

Again—our salvation is from Him, through Him and to Him.

BEARING FRUIT (v. 14-15)

And this really leads us to our third point this morning.

If salvation is from God and it is truly a result of life He has imparted to us, then there should be fruit that comes from it.

If there is life in the vine, there will be life in the branches.

Any true branch of Christ should show it by bearing fruit.

3. In salvation, God brings forth fruit from the converted that the message has conceived (v. 14-15).

When the Gospel is truly believed, the Gospel will bear fruit.

Wherever a profession of conversion is not accompanied by holiness of life it must be understood that the individual concerned is not yet a Christian.

Iain Murray

This doesn’t mean that someone is born again and suddenly they are the Apostle Paul.

But it does mean that they will begin to be concerned with the things of God and with obedience to God.

LYDIA IN THE PASSAGE

We certainly see this with Lydia in this passage.

Most immediately, we see her paying attention to Paul’s preaching because the Lord opened her heart (v. 14).

This was immediate fruit.

But you also see it in her baptism (v. 15).

This is one of the first steps of obedience that a new believer takes.

They are baptized and they enter into God’s church.

However, it doesn’t seem like Lydia’s baptism was rushed.

When Luke says she “paid attention” to what Paul said in v. 14, the Greek verb is imperfect, which indicates there was ongoing listening.

It seems that she listened to Paul for a good while before she was taken into the baptism waters.

And then you see it in her hospitality (v. 15).

She opens her home to the Apostles, almost as a sort of litmus test that is set up by her.

“If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.”

If you believe God has really saved me and I am your sister in Christ, come stay in my house.”

It is a polite invitation that shows how eager she is to express this new life that she has received from Christ.

This fruit is brought about because she has believed God and trusted in His Word.

This is the fruit of faith.

This is the fruit that comes forth when the seed of the Gospel is sown on good soil.

Matthew 13:23 ESV

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

THIS IS THE FRUIT WE ARE AFTER

Ultimately, this is our target in evangelism.

It is not just that we want to have people make decisions for Christ.

We want them to be disciples of Christ who truly know Him and demonstrate that by growing in grace and producing fruit for the sake of His name.

I grew up in the age of 90’s youth groups.

If someone came to an event and raised their hand and asked for a cup of water, they were counted as making a decision for Christ.

Every rally—every conference—event event—there would be reports of all these decisions for Christ.

But the fruit of an evangelistic culture that only chases decisions is what came after.

The Millennial Generation that raised their hands and walked those aisles have not remained in the pews.

According to the latest data from Pew Research, approximately 68% of Millennials (my generation), seldom go to church or go a few times a year.

Maybe you have called Millennials snowflakes in the past.

We better start calling them lost and figuring out how to reach them.

They are raising families and at least 3/4 of them are doing it without the Lord.

They need the Gospel like the Macedonian man.

But as we reach them, we are not just after their decision on a card.

We are not just after their number on a roll.

Here is what we are after--

We want to make disciples who are being shaped into the image of Christ—which they demonstrate by producing God-glorifying fruit in their lives.

When God uses us as His mouthpiece and we lead someone to Christ, that is just the beginning.

This is when they must be discipled in the local church, helped along to maturity, day by day.

And the fruit of their lives will speak to the grace at work in their discipleship.

CONCLUSION

Let me review our three points from today and then I will give you one final encouragement as you go.

1. In evangelism, God uses a messenger to deliver a message that must be believed (v. 11-13)

2. In conversion, God opens the heart of the hearer so that the message may be received (v. 14)

3. In salvation, God brings forth fruit from the converted that the message has conceived (v. 14-15)

It is intimidating to be the messenger that is delivering the message that must be believed.

It is intimidating to think about the prospect of warning someone that their soul is in danger of eternal hell.

To potentially go back and forth a little about the truth of the Scriptures and the reality of sin and the divinity of Christ.

Like Paul, we say, “Who is sufficient for these things?”

Well, I want to encourage you by telling you that it is not you.

You are definitively not sufficient for these things.

And yet, we have seen today that you are just a tool in the hands of a speaking, revealing, saving God.

Brothers and sisters, you are not the ones opening hearts.

You are not the ones making that which is dead by sin, alive by grace.

This is God’s work.

You are not the ones who are bringing forth fruit from the converted through the power of your word.

That is God. He is the One doing that.

And He is perfect at that work.

All that the Father gives Jesus, He swears He will not lose one.

So knowing that you are a tool, but that it is God who is doing the work, just be obedient.

Be pleased to play your part as a mouthpiece, trusting Him to do the work of converting and conceiving the fruit of salvation from the lives of the redeemed.

And you never know what He will do with it.

On January 6th, 1850, an old Methodist deacon went home and do you know what he did not tell his wife:

Today I led the greatest Baptist preacher the world will ever have known to Jesus.

He didn’t say that because he didn’t know.

Just be faithful.

God will be pleased to glorify Himself through your offering and He will be gracious to save lost people like Lydia, in His time.