Acts 16:1-5Thriving Churches
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1 Then he went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him, so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for them to observe. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily.
acts 16!
Sub: Thriving Churches
Sub: Thriving Churches
Intro: As a result of Paul and Silas delivering the decisions reached by the church in Jerusalem, the churches in Derbe and Lystra were strengthened and made firm in the faith. They were unchanging in their attitudes and beliefs. The spiritual growth of the church produced numerical growth. The churches grew in their understanding of the truth of the gospel. They also became more obedient to the teachings and precepts of the gospel. Because of this, the churches continued to grow spiritually. As a result, they continued to increase in number day by day. As a result of the stability of the churches, they increased in number day by day. This should be a message to every church that if we expect our churches to grow, we must be stable in our attitudes and beliefs about God and Jesus Christ. The present spiritual condition of a church will affect her growth in the future.
Intro: As a result of Paul and Silas delivering the decisions reached by the church in Jerusalem, the churches in Derbe and Lystra were strengthened and made firm in the faith. They were unchanging in their attitudes and beliefs. The spiritual growth of the church produced numerical growth. The churches grew in their understanding of the truth of the gospel. They also became more obedient to the teachings and precepts of the gospel. Because of this, the churches continued to grow spiritually. As a result, they continued to increase in number day by day. As a result of the stability of the churches, they increased in number day by day. This should be a message to every church that if we expect our churches to grow, we must be stable in our attitudes and beliefs about God and Jesus Christ. The present spiritual condition of a church will affect her growth in the future.
The Local Churches Enlightened (16:4)
The Local Churches Enlightened (16:4)
4 As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for them to observe.
acts 16:
The legalists had been all through these parts sowing the seeds of error, but the missionaries were able to leave behind them the letter from James and Peter and the others to give the official lie to the legalists' false doctrine. Paul's bare word as an apostle should have sufficed. But "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" () was the principle of truth. So the added testimony of the epistle and the confirmation of Silas should have hammered the final nails into the coffin of the legalists' lie. That such a threefold cord of truth could be ignored by the Judaizers illustrates the pernicious persistence of error. The word here for "decrees" is of interest. It is dogma, the Greek word that gives us our English word. It is the same word used for the decree of Caesar that all the world should be taxed (). The Judaizers ignored the decree. Still, the local churches were enlightened. Any further entertainment of the error would be a deliberate disregard of the mind of the Spirit.
The legalists had been all through these parts sowing the seeds of error, but the missionaries were able to leave behind them the letter from James and Peter and the others to give the official lie to the legalists' false doctrine. Paul's bare word as an apostle should have sufficed. But "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" () was the principle of truth. So the added testimony of the epistle and the confirmation of Silas should have hammered the final nails into the coffin of the legalists' lie. That such a threefold cord of truth could be ignored by the Judaizers illustrates the pernicious persistence of error. The word here for "decrees" is of interest. It is dogma, the Greek word that gives us our English word. It is the same word used for the decree of Caesar that all the world should be taxed (). The Judaizers ignored the decree. Still, the local churches were enlightened. Any further entertainment of the error would be a deliberate disregard of the mind of the Spirit.
The Local Churches Encouraged (16:5a)
The Local Churches Encouraged (16:5a)
And so were the churches established in the faith.
The word for "established" (stereoō) is a medical term. It is only used here and in , , in connection with the healing of the lame man. Luke says of the lame man healed by Peter that "his feet and ankle bones received strength [stereoō]." When Peter defended the miracle before the Sanhedrin, he used the same word. He said that it was the name of Jesus, "through faith in his name," that "made this man strong [stereoō]." That is what the ministry of Paul and Silas did for the Galatian churches. It effected a healing. They were "established," made strong in the faith. This strength refers to the spiritual strength of the church. They were strong in the faith. Few of our churches today can be said to be strong in the faith.
The word for "established" (stereoō) is a medical term. It is only used here and in , , in connection with the healing of the lame man. Luke says of the lame man healed by Peter that "his feet and ankle bones received strength [stereoō]." When Peter defended the miracle before the Sanhedrin, he used the same word. He said that it was the name of Jesus, "through faith in his name," that "made this man strong [stereoō]." That is what the ministry of Paul and Silas did for the Galatian churches. It effected a healing. They were "established," made strong in the faith. This strength refers to the spiritual strength of the church. They were strong in the faith. Few of our churches today can be said to be strong in the faith.
Encouragement, Need For ONE OF the immensely popular shows of our recent past has been the show Cheers. The show was centered around folks hanging out at a bar. Now, people just don't go to bars to drink. They can drink at home. People go to bars to drink in an environment of encouragement. In fact, they have a name for it; it's called a happy hour. Happy hour is designed not only to give you drinks at maybe a little cheaper rate but also to bring people together and to create an environment. The establishments figure that if people are not receiving happiness from their jobs or in their homes, it works to provide an environment where people get what they are missing out on.
Tony Evans, Tony Evans' Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking, (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 86.
This strength refers to the spiritual strength of the church. They were strong in the faith. Few of our churches today can be said to be strong in the faith.
The Local Churches Enlarged (16:5b)
The Local Churches Enlarged (16:5b)
The Local Churches Enlarged (16:5b)
The Local Churches Enlarged (16:5b)
The Local Churches Enlarged (16:5b)
The Local Churches Enlarged (16:5b)
... and increased in number daily.
That was and is God's program for the church. It should be evangelistic, it should have an outreach, it should be winning souls, it should be growing, it should be growing daily. We "evangelize or fossilize," as someone has put it. Encouraging saints. Evangelizing sinners. The two went hand in hand so far as Paul was concerned. The idea that the local church exists solely for evangelism is wrong. The idea that the local church exists solely for encouraging the saints is wrong. It exists to do both.
The churches also grew numerically not by some promotional program but by emphasis on the Gospel truth. This growth is coveted by every pastor but is not always the result of faithful preaching of the Gospel. One must preach the Gospel to get these results but preaching the Gospel does not guarantee numerical growth.
That was and is God's program for the church. It should be evangelistic, it should have an outreach, it should be winning souls, it should be growing, it should be growing daily. We "evangelize or fossilize," as someone has put it. Encouraging saints. Evangelizing sinners. The two went hand in hand so far as Paul was concerned. The idea that the local church exists solely for evangelism is wrong. The idea that the local church exists solely for encouraging the saints is wrong. It exists to do both.
The churches also grew numerically not by some promotional program but by emphasis on the Gospel truth. This growth is coveted by every pastor but is not always the result of faithful preaching of the Gospel. One must preach the Gospel to get these results but preaching the Gospel does not guarantee numerical growth.
Faithful in bearing fruit. The churches were established and grew in number daily.
Faithful in bearing fruit. The churches were established and grew in number daily.
They were...
They were...
• established in the truth of salvation and behavior.
• established in the truth of salvation and behavior.
• established in standing against making ritual necessary for salvation.
• established in standing against making ritual necessary for salvation.
• strengthened in being stedfast in their labor for the Lord.
• strengthened in being stedfast in their labor for the Lord.
• continuing to reach more and more people for the Lord. Note: the Greek words "established" and "increased" are continuous action. It was a continuous, day by day experience.
• continuing to reach more and more people for the Lord. Note: the Greek words "established" and "increased" are continuous action. It was a continuous, day by day experience.
John G. Butler, Analytical Bible Expositor – Acts, (Clinton, Iowa: LBC Publications, 2009), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 178.
John G. Butler, Analytical Bible Expositor – Acts, (Clinton, Iowa: LBC Publications, 2009), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 178.
John Phillips, The John Phillips Commentary Series – Exploring Acts: An Expository Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1986), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 316-317.
John Phillips, The John Phillips Commentary Series – Exploring Acts: An Expository Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1986), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 316-317.
, The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Acts, (Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1991), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "B. GALATIA, the Return to a Far District: Faithfulness to the Church, 16:1-5".
, The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Acts, (Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1991), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "B. GALATIA, the Return to a Far District: Faithfulness to the Church, 16:1-5".
George T. Brooks, George Brooks Preaching Commentary – Expositions from the Book of Acts: Volume 2, (Austin, TX: WORDsearch, 2014), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "A New Field of Labor and a New Ministry Team".
George T. Brooks, George Brooks Preaching Commentary – Expositions from the Book of Acts: Volume 2, (Austin, TX: WORDsearch, 2014), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "A New Field of Labor and a New Ministry Team".