Series — Paul's Second Missionary Journey — Sermon 5 — If God be for Us, Who can be against Us?

Introduction

Good morning Church!

It’s good to see each and every one who has made it out this morning and all those who may be joining us online as well.

Once again, we will be continuing on in our study of the Book of Acts this morning. Today, we will be picking up in Chapter 18 and we will be looking at the first 18 Verses this morning.

Now, the title I’ve given to today’s message comes from a very famous Verse that almost everyone is familiar with that says…

Romans 8:31 KJV 1900

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

That’s right. If God be for us, who can be against us!

I’ve had one of the most trying weeks of my career this week and there have been times this week I had to tell myself these very words and just simply trust in the mighty hand of God to get me through!

And what we are going to see this morning is our beloved Bro. Paul doing the same thing.

If you will remember, last week we left off with Paul preaching to some of the most intellectual folks in the planet probably and yet as smart as they were, some still did not believe.

After preaching on Mars Hill, Paul sets out to Corinth as we will see here in a second when we get into the scripture and in Corinth, he finds some success as he preaches the gospel but he also runs into some struggles and strife.

Those not actively engaged won’t fully understand this but ministry is tough. Very often you run into obstacles that seem to stand in your way and just when you overcome one, it seems before long there’s another.

And after a while you just get beat down from the obstacles and you get wore out and sometimes you just simply want to give up!

I’ve been there. I’ve experienced it first hand. Actually been dealing with it myself for a while now.

But you know, let me just say, God knows exactly when to show up and He knows exactly what we need and in those times of struggle, He never fails to send us just what we need at just the right time.

I came to a point this week where I said I’m done worrying about it. Lord it’s in your hands and I know you have my back and if You be for me, it don’t matter how many darts Satan throws at me, You’re my fortress, my shield, my hiding place and I shall not fear!

And listen Church, when I got to that point, where I just said, “here Lord it’s yours”…man as crazy as things got there was just a calmness, a peace inside of me and like a little voice that just said, “I got this.”

And I honestly believe this morning, that’s where Paul was here. He was having some great success in Corinth but he’s also running headlong into some opposition and I think Bro. Paul just needed a word of encouragement and the Lord gives it to him at just the right time!

And what I want you to know this morning is this…whatever it is you are struggling with today…come to a point in your life where you absolutely, totally, and completely just say… “Here God, take it! Help me with this! This burden is more than I can bare or this struggle is more than I can take so please just take control and let me find rest under the wings of the almighty!”

And dear friend, I promise you when you finally give it up and give it to Him, you will find so much peace in your life!

And you’ll just get this overwhelming sense that it’s all going to be ok! One way or another, it’s all going to be ok!

Romans 8:31 KJV 1900

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

With no further ado, if you have your Bible’s turned to Acts 18 Verse 1, would you say, amen!

The Coming to Corinth — (Vs. 1-3)

Alright, we left off last week with Paul preaching to the intellectual elites at Areopagus and if you will remember, some thought him to be a mad man while others believed.

After doing all he could in Athens, Paul decided to move on to hopefully some more fertile ground!

And therefore he made his way to Corinth.

Now, in order to understand a little about this bustling city I want us to take a little deeper dive into just what kind of city Corinth actually was.

The very name should tell us a lot.

The name Corinth literally means “satiated” which means to be fully satisfied!

Anything you wanted you could get in Corinth!

This was more than likely the reason why the two largest epistles Paul wrote to the Churches he had planted were written to the believers in Corinth!

There was a lot going on in this city and if not careful it would be very easy to fall victim to the multitude of fleshly lusts offered there!

John Phillips — In Paul’s day Corinth was the political capital of Greece and the seat of a Roman proconsul. It occupied a strategic location on an isthmus, a natural land-bridge connecting the Peloponnesus with northern Greece. It had harbors facing two seas, east and west. Sea routes and land routes converged on Corinth so that it was the chief market city between Asia and Italy.

For years Corinth had vied with Athens, its commercial and political rival. In 146 B.C. the Romans had destroyed Corinth in revenge for a revolt, and it had remained in ruins for a hundred years, until Julius Caesar revived the city as a Roman colony in 46 B.C.

Corinth was the Vanity Fair of the Roman Empire, famous for the licentious worship of Venus (the Aphrodite of the Greeks and the Ashtoreth of the Phoenicians). That worship was centered on the temple of Venus on the Corinthian Acropolis. Most seaports have their seamy side, but Corinth outdid them all. The temple of Venus alone housed a thousand sacred courtesans. From time to time the Isthmian games were held in the stadium that was attached to the temple of Neptune, a short distance from the city. So dissolute was Corinth that the name of the city became a synonym for licentiousness.

Chuck Swindoll — By the time of Paul, this Roman colony of approximately eighty thousand beat with the heart of Rome and strongly resembled the capital city. Corinth worshiped the emperor, upheld Roman law, pulsated with international trade, hosted athletic games, beckoned pagan worshipers, and thrived on slavery. The city became a popular refuge for Jews fleeing the expulsion of Claudius in AD 49, so a synagogue of unknown size formed amid the sprawl of pagan settlers seeking an immediate fortune and unbridled pleasure.

The city also lay in the shadow of the temple of Aphrodite, which loomed 1,900 feet overhead at the summit of the Acrocorinth and where a thousand female temple prostitutes enticed worshipers from the farthest reaches of the Roman Empire. So infamous was this city’s debauched reputation that Aristophanes coined the word “corinthianize” to mean “to practice immorality.” Perhaps no city on earth presented Paul a greater challenge than the Las Vegas-like city of Corinth.

We just thought Athens was bad!

Athens was overloaded with fleshly intellectualism. Corinth was overloaded fleshly lusts!

Paul had found what seemed to be the perfect place to settle in and share the gospel of his Savior with a sin soaked society!

He immediately though, upon arriving in Corinth finds some fellow laborers.

The Bible tells us here in Vs. 2-3 that he finds some Jews named Aquila and Priscilla and the Bible never makes mention of it here but it is understood that they were already believers.

So, not only does Paul find some Jewish companions that he has some commonality with but they also are of the same trade that Paul is of which was tent makers.

And apparently they hit it off pretty good because Paul ends up lodging with them and working with them on what seems to be a daily basis except for the Sabbath which leads us to the next part.

The Compelling of the Spirit — (Vs. 4-6)

Timothy and Silas not only brought good news of a spiritual matter but they also provided Paul with some financial relief from the Church in Philippi which allowed him to basically go full time in ministry.

Philippians 4:15–16 KJV 1900

15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Paul was a tentmaker by trade and he had been working at this since coming to Corinth to make ends meet but now that he’s getting some financial support from the Churches to preach the gospel, tentmaking becomes second thought while preaching the gospel becomes the main objective!

The Bible says in...

Acts 18:5 KJV 1900

5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

The NLT translates it this way...

Acts 18:5 NLT

5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.

He spent all his time preaching the word!

This was of utmost importance!

The preaching of the Word!

And so Sabbath after Sabbath, once Silas and Timothy join him here in Corinth, Paul preaches the gospel in the Synagogue!

He runs into a bit of a snag though!

The Bible says here in Verse 6...

Acts 18:6 NLT

6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”

They opposed and insulted Paul!

This word here “Opposed” in the Greek means “to set in battle against.”

The Jews were so wholly against the preaching of Christ that the Bible says they basically were set in battle against Paul!

They thought of this as war!

And they even go as far as to insult Paul.

In Paul’s mind, to fight against him was no big deal. He was used to it. But then they began to insult him, and thus by insulting Paul and his Preaching, they were in essence insulting God and Paul was done!

He says, “That’s fine! I’ve tried! I’ve tried to teach you about Jesus but you deny Him foolishly! So be it! Let your blood be upon your own heads! I am innocent! I have done everything I was called to do.”

Just like we were talking I think it was Wednesday night, you can’t make someone believe.

As bad as we’d love to be able to do that, it simply doesn’t work that way!

A person can only be saved by being born again of God and it’s a decision they have to make when the Holy Spirit of God deals with their heart!

It’s not something that someone can be forced, or coerced into. It must be their choice!

And maybe you are here this morning and you need to be saved. As bad as I’d love to come and grab you and save you, unfortunately that’s a work that only God can do!

Oh but dear friend when He does it, it’s the sweetest thing on this side of Calvary!

If God deals with your heart during this message this morning, answer that call!

It will be the best decision you’ve ever made!

But Paul preached and the Jews didn’t like it so Paul said, “Fine! You’re blood be upon your heads! From now on, I’ll just preach to the Gentiles!”

Which brings us to our next point...

The Carrying of the Gospel to the Gentiles — (Vs. 7-8)

After leaving the synagogue Paul ends up entering a fellow’s house named Justus who the Bible says was a God fearer and begins preaching. The best part is the Bible tells us here that this man’s house was next door to the synagogue!

Can you imagine the disdain of the Jews towards Paul when this happened?

I’m sure they were hot!

I couldn’t help but to wonder if they could hear Paul preaching from this man’s house ya know?

They don’t want anything to do with Paul’s preaching so he moves next door and keeps on keeping on and look what the Bible says happened in Verse 8....

The Chief Ruler of the synagogue ends up getting saved and all his house!

The gospel seed didn’t take long to germinate!

Can you imagine the thoughts of the other Jews when the leader of their Church ends up believing the gospel that Paul was preaching and stops coming to the synagogue but instead starts showing up at the worship services at Justus house!

I’m sure some people were thrown off!

And not only did Crispus get saved but his whole family ends up getting saved!

And then, the Bible goes on to say that many of the Corinthians “hearing” believed and were baptized!

They heard and they believed and they were saved!

The Bible says in...

Romans 10:13–15 KJV 1900

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Paul was sent to preach. Paul was obedient to the sending. Paul preached the Word of God. The people heard the Word of God. Upon hearing they believed the Word of God being preached and were saved!

The Gentiles were open to the preaching of the gospel and God began to move in a mighty way!

Now, you would think that the Chief ruler of synagogue being converted would be such a victory in the eyes of Paul that he would be encouraged to continue on!

But…sometimes some of our greatest victories lead to our times of greatest depression.

It’s something that’s so hard to explain but I’ve been there so I know what Paul was going through.

Not only have I been there but one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament experienced the same thing.

When Elijah defeated the 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel you would think a victory like that would lead to great confidence but immediately after this great victory, the wife of the King, Jezebel, threatened to kill Elijah and so he retreats to an area in the middle of nowhere and goes into hiding and a great state of depression! He even goes as far as to ask that God would take his life away!

But God seen him in his depression and met with him and told him to get back to work that God had 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal!

Sometimes even in our greatest victories we find ourselves downtrodden and fearful.

Here was Paul and he had a great victory here in Corinth but I get the feeling that Paul feared what was about to happen. In the majority of the cities prior to Corinth when a mighty move began, the opposition arose and it ended with Paul and his accomplices being beaten and imprisoned.

Undoubtedly, in the back of Paul’s mind this lingered and loomed as he seen people moving to faith in Christ.

And I just get this feeling that Paul’s spirit began to get downtrodden which leads us to the next point here.

The Confidence Building of the Lord — (Vs. 9-11)

BE NOT AFRAID BUT SPEAK!

FOR I AM WITH THEE!

AM — Greek eimi = to be present

WITH — Greek meta = after, behind

The Condemning of Paul’s Preaching — (Vs. 12-13)

The Chiding of the Governor — (Vs. 14-17)

The Continuation in the Journey — (Vs. 18)