Forward Together: To Rome and Beyond

Review

Turn to Acts 28.

Paul, Aristarchus, and Luke set sail on their voyage to Rome. They rode out a terrible storm for two weeks and they lost all hope of survival, but God was still sovereign in the storm. Even Paul was fearful, but the Lord sent an angel to reassure him. Paul then showed great steadiness and his leadership encouraged the others. All 276 people survived the shipwreck on the island of Malta. The voyage to Rome was paused, but it was not over.

Message

Sir Winston Churchill is enshrined in history as the courageous prime minister of England who lead that country through some of its darkest days. Through much hard work, he became a powerful public speaker. Many of his short but powerful statements have survived to the present day.

In 1898, Churchill was writing a book about a British military campaign that occurred in the region of Afghanistan the year prior. In that book, he made this statement:

“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.”

In other words, there's a thrill in experiencing danger without actually being harmed.

I cannot help but wonder if Paul would have echoed those words at the beginning of Acts 28. Perhaps he would have said,

“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shipwrecked on an island and walk away unscathed.”

That is indeed what happened to Paul where we’ll begin reading today.

Read Acts 28:1-10.

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Shipwrecked, but serving - Acts 28:1-10.

By God’s mercy, the ship was beached on the island of Malta, about 55 miles south of Sicily.

Next slide here: shipwrecked on the island of Malta

The inhabitants of the island were Phoenician. They did not speak Greek, which is why they were considered “barbarians.” They were not at all barbaric in their manners, however, but took good care of the sea voyagers.

Notice what we find Paul doing almost immediately in verse three.

Read Acts 28:3.

He was a prisoner who had just suffered being shipwrecked like everyone else, but he’s already serving. That’s what Paul did for the next three months that they stayed on the island. Malta became his mission field where he served God by serving others.

Application: Would that have been you? Would you have made that choice? Or are you the type that prefers to sit back and let everyone else serve you? I have no doubt there was plenty of those people on board that ship, but God never mention them here by way of Luke’s pen. He highlights only the ones that served.

Husbands, how did you serve your wife this week?

Wives, how did you serve your husband?

Kids, how did you serve others in your home?

Now in our text we find this rather unusual story about this venomous snake that attacked Paul. If time allowed, we could see some interesting things about this. When it happened, the islanders began saying to each other that Paul must be a murderer - probably like the other prisoners were. Then, when nothing happened, they concluded that he was a god. Here’s the primary takeaway from this incredible circumstance:

Application: Nothing was going to stop Paul from getting to Rome - neither a storm nor a snake. Why? Because that was God’s plan for Paul’s life.

Christian, make certain of God’s will for your life and then go do it! Get some counsel from your pastor. Get some guidance. Make sure that what you believe to be God’s plan for you lines up with the Scriptures - then go do it! Go serve God all your life!

We’ve seen Paul shipwrecked, but serving. Secondly, we find in Acts 28…

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Rome, at last - Acts 28:11-16.

Read Acts 28:11-16.

They set sail for Rome in another ship from Egypt. This one was adorned by a figurehead of pagan deities, Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus. The Lord used a pagan ship to carry a Christian apostle where he needed to go.

Next slide here: from Malta to Rome

After stopping at Sicily and Rhegium, the ship docked at what is now called Pozzuoli, Italy. Can you believe what Paul found when he arrived in Italy? There were Christians in Italy! The Gospel made it to Italy long before Paul arrived. How did it get there? It was carried there by humble believers whose names are known only to God. Perhaps they were the Jews from Rome who heard Peter’s message at Pentecost, believed on the Lord Jesus for salvation, and then went back to Rome, taking the good news of Jesus Christ with them.

Paul was permitted to stay with these dear people for seven days before proceeding towards Rome. News began to spread among the Christians that Paul had arrived. They were so excited about this that they gathered an entourage to go out and welcome him. Notice the effect that this had on Paul when he saw them.

Read Acts 28:15b.

Application: I know we saw this last week, but we are reminded here that Paul was not a one-man army. He was not a loner that went and served God all on his own. He leaned upon godly friends for support. He drew strength from the dear Christians around him.

Christian, don’t be so focused on your own needs and problems that you are of no help to the other Christians around you.

Those other Christians could be your immediate family.

Those other Christians could be your Christian coworker or friend.

Those other Christians could be your church family.

God has designed us to need each other and to depend on each other. If you think that you are self-sufficient and that you don’t need a close-knit church family in your life, then you are missing the point. The Lord Jesus called us sheep. Sheep need each other. Sheep need to stay in the safety of the flock. Don’t try to live like Jesus on your own because that’s not going to work. The Christian life is not one of independence, but of dependence. If your Christian life is a like a silo, where no one is allowed to pour into it and where you don’t pour into the lives of others, you are wasting the new life that Christ gave you.

So we see that these Roman believers needed Paul and Paul needed them. After meeting the believers, Paul traveled the few dozen miles and made it to Rome.

Rome, at last.

The Lord Jesus had kept His promise to Paul. He had made it to Rome.

We’ve seen shipwrecked, but serving. Secondly, we’ve seen Rome, at last. Now thirdly…

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Bound, but not bound - Acts 28:17-31.

Read Acts 28:17-31.

After that tumultuous voyage, Paul got to Rome and rested for a mere three days. He didn’t wait long to begin his tried-and-true method of evangelism. Since he was under house arrest, he couldn’t go to the synagogues like he would have done. Instead, he asked the rabbis come to him, and they did. There, in his rented house, Paul began preaching Jesus Christ to the lost Jews of Rome.

The way Luke ends this history book to Theophilus may seem strange at first. Perhaps it seems like it ends suddenly. Luke began the book very sensibly - picking up the story where he had left off in Luke’s Gospel, but the ending is rather abrupt. Some writers have even suggested that Luke was interrupted and unable to finish this book, but I don’t think that’s the case at all. What was Luke trying to convey to us? What was the final thought that he wished to leave with Theophilus?

Read slowly:

Paul says in verse 20 that he was “bound with this chain.” Indeed, Paul was bound, but Luke closes this book by powerfully showing us that the Word of God was not bound!

Although many Jews in Rome would reject their Messiah, many Gentiles would receive Him with open arms!

Although Paul would be confined under house arrest, he would continue to preach the kingdom of God and teach those things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, no one forbidding him! He was hindered, but the Word of God was unhindered! He was bound, but not bound! Nothing could stop the Word of God from spreading across the world any more than Satan could stop Christ rising from the grave!

Some years later, Paul himself would echo these very thoughts in his final letter to Timothy.

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2 Timothy 2:9 KJV 1900

Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

Read slowly:

That was the parting challenge that Luke wished to leave with Theophilus. In fact, the very last word in the book is the Greek word, ἀκωλύτως. It means, “without hindrance.”

Paul and the other apostles would pass away, but Christ’s commission would continue on. Paul and the other apostles would be relegated to history, but the living Word of God would remain for the next generation. Now it was up to Theophilus, “lover of God”, as his name meant, to carry on the banner of the cross.

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Forward Together: The Rest of The Story

As a reader, many times I have found myself a little sad when a good story comes to an end.

I love finding a well-written book and becoming so immersed in its pages that its as though you enter another world when you pick it up to read. The problem is that at some point you have to set it down and you have to say “goodbye” to that world. I feel that way as we read the final words of Acts.

So what is the rest of the story?

What is the rest of the Acts of the apostles? What is the rest of the Acts of the Holy Spirit?

For Paul, it was that he ministered in Rome for two years, awaiting his trial before Caesar. In that time, he wrote the letters to the Ephesians, the Colossians, the Philippians, and to Philemon.

Most conservative expositors hold that Paul’s case was decided in his favor and that he was released to continue his missionary tasks. Lenski observes, “It would have been strange, indeed, if, after all other Roman judges had found nothing against Paul (23:29; 24:26; 25:18, 25; 26:30), the emperor’s court should have condemned him” (Acts, p. 1131).

It seems that Paul then continued his missionary labors until he was arrested a second time.

During this time…he wrote the Pastoral Epistles (I Tim., Titus, II Tim.), in which are some events that cannot be integrated with previous journeys (2 Tim. 4:20). Tradition records that Paul was arrested…and… beheaded by Nero. “The martyrdom of Paul under Nero is established by the unanimous testimony of antiquity” (Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, 1, p. 329). Witness to Christ: A Commentary on Acts, Ac 28, p 401.

Read slowly:

That was the end of Paul’s life on earth, but that’s not the end of the story of Acts. There is more to the story and it extends far beyond Paul’s life.

Listen to what I’m going to say next and take it to heart:

Read slowly:

We are the rest of the story.

We, and countless men and women who have followed Jesus down through the centuries: we are the rest of the story!

The story of Paul’s life comes to an end, but the story of the churches lives on! It lives on in our church family and in countless other Bible believing churches scattered across this world. You are writing part of that story with your life right now. What will you make that story to be? What will be the history of your life and walk with God?

Through us, God is continuing to write the history book of the church age. The book of Acts ended with that final stroke of Luke’s pen, but the story of Acts is not finished! It will not be complete until the day that the Lord comes for His bride at the Rapture. My brothers and sisters in Christ: you are part of this story!

Application: I ask you, Christian: what story of the faith are you writing with your life? What pages are you adding to the story of Acts? When you stand before Christ at His Judgment Seat, will you be ashamed of what has been written by your life?

I’ve preached on the Judgment Seat of Christ a few times now. If you don’t know what that is, we can point you to our audio or video archives.

Over the last year, we have read the history book on how the followers of Christ went from 120 in an upper room in Jerusalem to dozens or more local churches scattered across the Roman Empire. Untold numbers of local churches have come and gone since then. What will be the history of our church? What part of that history will you write? Will it be that the history of our church dies with our generation? Will it be that Christianity in America dies on our watch? Will we become the next Europe, where church buildings all over have been converted to housing, to businesses, and into islamic mosques? Is that our inevitable future? Or will we wake up from our collective stupor and determine that it will not happen in our time?! Will we rise and determine by God’s grace to know His commandments and to obey them as best as we know how? Will we become passionate again about knowing God through daily Bible reading, meditation, and prayer?

Wake up, church family!

Wake up, Christian!

Choose this day to make the rest of the story as pleasing to God as the first part of the story.

Choose this day that you will be a servant of others as you serve Jesus.

Choose this day that you will deepen your relationships within this church family so that you can minister to others in this church family.

Choose this day that your life will be grounded upon the Scriptures. Grow in the Scriptures.

Choose this day to follow the footsteps of the apostles and to move Forward Together: to Rome and Beyond.