God will save you or shake you!

God will save you or shake you!

“And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”

, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

"What does it mean to not be ashamed of the Gospel ()?" Answer: In , Paul addresses the Gentile believers at Rome and begins by explaining his mission, which was to preach the gospel to everyone. He concludes his explanation by saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” The word translated “ashamed” means “disgraced” or “personally humiliated.” A person “ashamed” in this way is like someone singled out for misplacing his confidence—he trusted in something, and that something let him down.

The word can refer to being dishonored because of forming the wrong alliances. So, when Paul says that he is not ashamed of the gospel, he is saying his confidence in the gospel is not misplaced. He is saying that there is no disgrace in declaring the gospel.

He is saying that he has given his life to proclaiming the truths that Jesus Himself had revealed to him, he is saying that, as he went on this way one day, on his way to Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shined upon all around him. And he fell to the ground, then he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And he said, “Who are you Lord?” And the voice said I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Paul remembers as he was headed towards Damascus with a warrant to arrest Christians, Christ Jesus issued His warrant and arrested His soul. He explained to the Romans why he did not believe that he had wrongly identified with Jesus and that God had changed his nature and ultimately his name and now he was proclaiming Jesus’ message as his life’s work. The application can extend to us as well. Just as Paul placed his confidence in the gospel of Christ, so can we. We can proclaim with boldness the truths that God has revealed in His Word, with no fear that our confidence is misplaced.

“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame”

, “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD,

“Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion,

a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:

‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ Therefore We can rest in the knowledge that the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of Scripture never changes What was true thousands of years ago is still true. The offer of salvation that was presented to people of the first century is still open to us. To live unashamed of the gospel means we proclaim it, but it also means we apply it to our lives and show we believe it. Paul’s life choices supported his message. He did not preach one thing and live another. We are “ashamed of the gospel” when we allow sin in our lives to go unchecked. We are ashamed of the gospel when we indulge in worldliness and carnal desires or blatantly disobey scriptural standards. And we are ashamed of the gospel when we indicate that we lack confidence in our own message.

, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

When we “walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners, and sit in the seat of scoffers”, we are being ashamed of the gospel. We are not allowing the gospel’s truth to penetrate our lives so that others see its changing power.

To live unashamed of the gospel means that we, like Paul, allow it to dominate our lives to the extent that everyone within our sphere of influence can see that we have “been with Jesus.

Now let’s us seek to answer the why did Paul say that the gospel brings salvation to the Jew first and then the Gentile?

The gospel is intended for all people. But, chronologically, the gospel message was first revealed to the Jewish people before it was revealed to the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). The Jews are God’s chosen people,

, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

Through the Jews, God demonstrated His love and holiness to the world: “Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah” (). It was through the seed of Abraham that “all peoples on earth will be blessed.” That promised blessing came through Jesus Christ, as explained in , “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.”

Jesus was born as a Jew under the Law, fulfilled the Jewish Law perfectly, and died as a once-for-all sacrifice on behalf of all who would put their faith in Him. In His public ministry, Jesus spoke of being sent to the Jews, and He focused His efforts on them. He was the Jewish Messiah, and He had come, in part, to “strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph” (). On one occasion, Jesus seemed to rebuff the pleas of a Gentile woman (though He later helped her) in . Jesus predicted that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in [Christ’s] name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (, emphasis added). The gospel of the kingdom was to be a blessing to the whole world, but it was natural that it be first proclaimed to Israel. When Paul speaks of the gospel bringing salvation “first to the Jew” in , he alludes to the special relationship the Jews had to the Messiah. The Christ was the Son of David, the hope of the Messiah had long been held by the Jews. So, when the gospel of Christ was first proclaimed, the Jews had priority. We see this prioritization in Paul’s first missionary journey. Every time they would come to a new city, Paul and Barnabas would preach in the synagogue to the Jews in that city. There are several important things to note about Paul’s statement that the power of God in the gospel “brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” First, God did not cease saving Jews in order to save Gentiles. In all of his missionary journeys, Paul continued to preach first in the synagogues. God continues to desire the salvation of the entire world.

, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” Second, Jews are neither better nor worse than Gentiles. All need the Savior, and, in Christ, all are on equal spiritual footing. reminds us we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” The believing Gentile is just as welcome in the family of God as the believing Jew. The Jew who has faith in Christ Jesus is just as secure in his salvation as the born-again Gentile. Finally, salvation comes the same way to both Jews and Gentiles. It is for “everyone who believes” (). Jesus is the only way of salvation regardless of one’s heritage. Paul said, “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (). says, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” All must come to Jesus in faith for salvation, and all are equally accepted by Him when they do.

God will save you or shake you … if you thrust Him aside. Now as we look at our text this morning, this first dramatic turning of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles is given a theological rationale by Paul in terms of the fulfillment of the Servant’s role in , “he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations,

that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Given their previous ministry in Syrian Antioch (11:22–26), their preaching to Gentiles in Pisidian Antioch was no new thing. However, abandonment of the synagogue, in order to minister to Gentiles in their own context, required some explanation. Even so, the report of their ministry in Iconium (14:1–7) shows an engagement with Jews in the synagogue once more. The pattern observed in 13:44–52 is repeated there, with Jewish unbelief and opposition forcing them out of the synagogue and eventually out of the city. So this passage is designed to explain the pattern of Paul’s ministry more generally, in terms of the social and theological issues involved.

44–45 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. Remember during Bible study I shared with you that sheep win sheep and pastors and elders equip sheep to win sheep. This is exactly what is happing here, the message had been spread by those who attended the synagogue service last week. And these people who begged Paul and Barnabas to come by on the next Sabbath and teach them more also took every opportunity during the week to teach the gospel to there friends. Presumably this gathering was in and around the synagogue. However, despite such enthusiasm, there were Jews in verse 45 we see Satan raise his head through the Jewish leadership, “But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. The Greek word here which means revile is the word “blasphemeo” it means to slander, defame, disrespect, and to attack some abusive through verbal means. At this point, Luke appears to use the expression the Jews, referring to those who in leadership and were not convinced who were filled with jealousy. Jealousy at the success of others is sadly a common human failing, and religious leaders are especially vulnerable to such behavior. Jealousy is a satanic trait of corruption, which will always corrode the person that it is found in. Their contradicting the message and blaspheming against God’s Word and His servant express their jealousy here. So they heaped abuse on him (ESV ‘reviling him’). This behavior is consistent through the book of Acts,

, “And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads!

I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Brothers and sisters we must realized the preaching and teaching of God’s true Word will either shake you to your core until your recognized and received the revelation of the Sovereign God or it will shake you to your core allowing you to reject and rebuff the reality of the Sovereign God.

The final expression of jealousy is organized persecution, would later result in expulsion from the region. Resistance is openly expressed and involves personal attacks that would make preaching in the synagogue difficult or impossible.

The text now tells us that v.46a, “And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to first to you…

In the face of this opposition, Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly, in it speaks of Barnabas telling people about Paul’s was speaking boldly in the name of Jesus.” , Scripture says, “…they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord.” , says, “But Paul said, I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this had not been done in a corner.” To speak “boldly” is to pronounce God’s divine verdict on the present situation. Their foundational claim (‘We had to speak the word of God to you first’) was justified in the opening section of Paul’s sermon (vv. 16–23), but finds further substantiation from considering in its original context (v. 47). Since the Christian gospel is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel, Jews everywhere have a prior right to hear what God has done for them. But look at verse 46b,“Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we are turning to the Gentiles.” The Greek conjunction epeidē (‘since’) indicates a clear causal relationship between the rejection of the gospel by these Jews which they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life because they have thrust God aside and now there is a deliberate turning of Paul and Barnabas to ministry among Gentiles in that city. Their rejection of the gospel (apotheo, ‘push aside, reject’; cf. 7:27, 39) is interpreted ironically as a judgment that they are not ‘worthy of eternal life’. Such intense and sustained opposition from Jews was the signal to Paul and Barnabas to ‘turn to the Gentiles’ (cf. 18:6–7; 28:28). This did not mean that the missionaries would now evangelize Gentiles for the first time. Neither did it mean that they would never again preach to Jews, since they immediately go to the synagogue in Iconium (14:1), and Paul continues to preach to Jews first, wherever he can find them. The citation from also makes it clear that turning to the Gentiles is not an afterthought or second best solution, following Jewish rejection of the gospel. Look at what the prophet Simeon says in.

, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

The mission is universal, but it must follow prescribed order. The Jews must be addressed first. If they reject the gospel, the missionaries are free to begin the second phase of their mission.’ This phase would concentrate on Gentiles who had no connection with the synagogue. Such a move would have profound implications for the character of the church in that place.

God save you or God will shake you, He will save you if you accept His gospel and His Son and allow His word to judge you. But it you what to judge yourselves, your unbelief will make unworthy of eternal life and God will shake because you have thrust Him and His word aside.

God will save you … if you have been appointed to eternal life.

Verse 47, “For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘“ I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth’” Look at what Christ says to Paul in

, “But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Jesus himself was first identified as ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’, and thus, foundationally, He is the one in whom Isaiah’s prediction is fulfilled. The risen Christ then commissioned the apostles to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. We have seen ways in which that witness was carried by others to different places and ethnic groups and we have noted the important step taken by Peter in sharing the gospel with Gentiles and the endorsement of this initiative by the apostles and believers in Judea (10:1–11:18). What we find now is not so much ‘a shift in strategy’ as a focus on Paul as ‘the chief instrument by which the gospel reaches out to the Gentiles and the end of the earth’. In this connection, the agreement reached in

, “On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. This should not be taken to mean that Peter, James, and John would never preach to Gentiles, and Paul would no longer preach to Jews. Spheres of missionary responsibility were delineated without prescribing exclusive rights to evangelize one group or the other. In Pisidian Antioch, Paul’s work among Gentiles would now take precedence and his base of operation would no longer be the synagogue.

In our text in verse 48a we see a reaction. “And when the Gentiles hear this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, (edoxazon; NRSV ‘praised’, or ESV ‘glorified’).

We might expect Luke to write that they praised God for the gospel, but he makes it quite clear that they were actually praising or honoring the message, , “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you” This is what is happening here, a way of salvation had been opened to them though the gospel, and, as a consequence, look what has happen, we see it in verse 48b. “And as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” and those whom shook God and thrust Him aside judged themselves and were “unfit for eternal life”; in contrast, the Gentiles show that they are destined for eternal life by “glorifying” this same “word of the Lord” ’. And these were appointed to eternal life. Wait just a minute you mean, God had to grant me saving faith before I can be appointed to eternal life?

The word here for appointed is the word “Tasso” and it means to assign, to put in place, to order, to fix, to determine, and to designate. Yes, it is the Sovereign God that designates whether you obtain eternal life or not. Let us never forget, God is under no obligation to allow anyone into His heaven. After it is His heaven and He is the one who fills it with those who have given their lives through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. God is always faithful to His people, , “I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’”

God also honors our faithfulness, if we faint not we our strength will be renewed.

, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

(This is not your house)

In our text Luke draws attention to the way in which God uses the gospel to call out his elect and to save them. ‘The present verse that speaks of “all who are appointed to eternal life” is a unqualified a statement of absolute pre-destination— an unqualified statement of “the eternal purpose of God” (Calvin)—as strong as any statement found anywhere in the NT.’

Not everyone is affected in the same way by the preaching of the gospel. God must open hearts, to enable people to listen and respond with faith (cf. 16:14; 18:10). Those who seek the Lord from among the nations are those whom he has already claimed as his own. Yet this happens as God enables some to believe through the proclamation of the gospel.

Even though in verse 49 is says that “the word of the Lord spread through the whole region”, many no doubt believed, yet, unbelief and hardness of heart were everywhere present and led to organized persecution.

God told the apostles to shake the dust off their feet and he filled them with the Holy Spirit.

The Jewish leaders moved to the next level of opposition this included “inciting the people, look at verse 50, “But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of the district.” These women and men were presumably adherents of the synagogue because they are described as God-fearing (sebomenas). The latter may have been Roman magistrates. With the aid of these influential citizens, the Jewish leaders stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region (exebalon, ‘cast out, expel’, is also used in , with reference to Jesus). So the missionaries followed the practice commended by Jesus in; , “And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.” So they did just that they shook the dust from their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium.

It is likely that this was a particular warning to their Jewish opponents, who would understand the significance of this prophetic-type action, rather than a wholesale condemnation of the city. Those who reject the message of eternal life will themselves not receive eternal life. We are either saved or we are shook. God’s gracious offer to us is this if we accept Christ Jesus by faith and the whole of God’s word and allow that to judge us then we will receive salvation. But it we choose to judge ourselves and thrust aside the necessary word of God and Christ Jesus His Son, and then we prove ourselves to be unworthy of eternal life. God’s judgment against scoffers will surely come, they will be astounded and perish. By shaking the dust from their feet, the missionaries indicated that they did not want to be associated with such unbelief and its consequences. Even in the context of so much persecution, the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. It is important to understand the here to be filled is the word “pleroo”, which means to be filled and filled again. It is to be continuous has the need arises in our lives to serve Christ even the more, even during great persecution. The Spirit enabled joy and perseverance in the face of intense opposition.

, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” Paul and Barnabas soon returned to strengthen these believers in their faith and to establish them as the new people of God in that city.

“The kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power” ().

If we are not disillusioned with how much we have allowed our talk to pass for our walk, discontented with the sparse amount of spiritual fruit we are truly bearing, and disappointed by the impotence of our own efforts, we will never be distressed enough to really plead with God to fill us with the Holy Spirit.

If we’re not disturbed by how little we can do in our own power, we’ll never be desperate enough to ask God for his.

What Is the Filling of the Holy Spirit?

But when we pray for this, what are we asking God for? In the words of Wayne Grudem, we are asking God for “an event subsequent to conversion in which a believer experiences a fresh infilling with the Holy Spirit that may result in a variety of consequences, including greater love for God, greater victory over sin, greater power for ministry, and sometimes the receiving of new spiritual gifts” (Grudem, 1,242).

Now, of course every Christian receives the Holy Spirit upon conversion. Being born again is the greatest miracle any human being can possibly experience, and it only happens by the omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit (; ).

But the reason we talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit as “an event subsequent to conversion” is because that’s how the New Testament usually talks about it. Paul was exhorting born-again Christians when he wrote, “be filled with the Spirit” (). And almost all of Luke’s description of Spirit-fillings occurred to people who were already born again (see ; , ; ; , ). And we’re actually talking about events (plural) because, just like the same people received repeated fillings of the Spirit in the book of Acts, we also need to be filled repeatedly.

According to the New Testament, we need to be repeatedly filled with the Holy Spirit for two primary purposes: empowered worship and witness.

(1) Intoxicated with God

When Paul told the Ephesian Christians to “be filled with the Spirit,” he was talking about Spirit-empowered worship:

“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ()

Be careful as you read these verses. Don’t let your familiarity with it or your experience-based preconceptions about worship styles or other things cause you to dodge the punch the Holy Spirit intends to land here.

Paul is saying, don’t be intoxicated with alcohol, but be intoxicated with God! His words confront each of us with the penetrating question, “Are you intoxicated with God?” (a) Does our heart so overflow with love for God that our heart, whether light or heavy, can’t help but sing, both to God and to one another? (b) No matter what our circumstances, are we overflowing with thanks to God?

If not, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit because we are not worshipfully enjoying God according to the grace available to us. That means we are not glorifying God as we ought, and are we not experiencing satisfaction in God like we might.

(2) Empowered by God

When Luke described this experience of Spirit-filling among Christians, its purpose was for Spirit-empowered witness:

“And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. ()

Those early Christians were feeling fear from the threats of the religious authorities, the same ones who had crucified Jesus. But their response was to ask God for boldness to preach the gospel and supernatural power to minister to people. And God answered their prayer. God did the same for Paul and Barnabas and He is faithful to do the same for us.

God will save us or shake us, don’t get shook!