Sharing the Gospel Message - Acts 13:13-51

“Sharing the Gospel Message”

Acts 13:13-51

©Copyright 2003 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche, August 17, 2003

Lot’s of people sit in churches every Sunday. Many of these people are devoted followers of Jesus Christ. However, many of these same people do not know how to share their faith with someone else. If asked to explain their beliefs, these people shrug or get tongue-tied. They talk about how much they enjoy the people of the church but seldom get around to actually telling anyone about Christ.

This morning we are going to look at one of the sermons of the Apostle Paul as he spoke to the people of Pisidian Antioch. We’re going to look at Paul’s approach as he shared the gospel so we can get some ideas on how to share our faith with others.

Before we look at Paul’s message we need to look at the background.

13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.” (Acts 13:13-15)

When we left Paul, Barnabus and John Mark they were on the isle of Cyprus. They sailed across the Mediterranean Sea to present day Turkey. They arrived at Perga but it appears that didn’t stay there very long. They quickly moved to the more mountainous areas of Antioch in the province of Galatia.

From these verses we see that all was not smooth sailing for Paul, Barnabus and John Mark. Several things become apparent. First, there was a change in leadership. It is no longer Barnabus and Saul but Paul and Barnabus. In fact, here we are told it was Paul and his “companions”. Certainly Barnabus took this all in stride.

We are also told that John Mark left the company when they moved from Perga and returned to Jerusalem. What makes this an especially interesting tidbit is that at the end of Acts 15 Barnabus wants to take Mark with them on another journey. Paul refuses since Mark “deserted them” in the past. The disagreement was so strong that the team of Paul and Barnabus broke up.

The third problem seems to have been an illness on the part of Paul. Around this time Paul wrote to the Galatians, “As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn.” (Galatians 4:13,14) The implication is that Paul was sick when he arrived in the area of Galatia.

This helps us possibly piece things together. Some suggest that Paul contracted a disease, perhaps Malaria in the lower coastal regions and moved to the higher elevation of Pisidian Antioch and Galatia to get healthy again. It is possible that Mark felt they were deserting the people of Perga and Pamphylia (where they apparently had intended to minister). He left the group and headed home. If this is the case (and we don’t know whether or not it was) it would be understandable why Paul felt betrayed and abandoned by Mark.

All this does is show us that things do not always go smoothly in the Christian life. Personalities and opinions do sometimes clash. However, even when there is trouble, we have a responsibility to continue to preach the good news of the gospel

When Paul and Barnabus arrived in Antioch they followed the practice they usually followed. They went first to the synagogue. The reason for going to the synagogue is quite simple: First, these were all people who were seeking God. When they went into the synagogue they would (as visiting teachers) be given an opportunity to share with the entire group. Second, Paul and Barnabus wanted to make the gospel available to their fellow Jews.

GOD IS THE INITIATOR

When asked to speak, Paul stood and in verses 16-22 recounted God’s dealings through the nation of Israel. It is possible that Paul’s purpose in recounting this familiar history was to let these men know that he was aware of the history of Israel. This may have been Paul’s way of identifying with his audience and building a common ground. It’s a good principle: before people will listen to what you have to say, they need to feel you have listened to them. Paul understood the proud history of the people in the synagogue. Surely as he spoke, the people nodded their heads in agreement.

I wonder however if Paul had another method to his “madness”. In verse 17 we are told that “GOD chose our Fathers”, HE made the people prosper in Egypt, HE led them out of the country; HE endured their rebellious conduct; HE overthrew the nations in Cannan; HE gave the inheritance to the people; HE gave them judges; HE gave them Saul and then David. And then in verse 23 we are told that GOD brought to Israel a Savior.

Do you see the common thread? God is the initiator. God is seeking us, we are not the ones seeking Him. This is an important point as we share Christ in the world. People have many mistaken ideas: First, many believe we have to “find” God. God is not hiding. God has gone to great extents to make Himself known to us. He has done great works, He has given us the prophets, He has given us the Scriptures and He has given us Jesus. God wants to be known.

Second, there are many who believe they must buy God’s favor by their good works. This is the majority opinion in our society. It was the opinion of those who gathered in the synagogue before Paul. In verse 39 Paul says “Through Christ we are justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.”

People today seem to believe if they find the right combination of actions or behaviors, they will get God to like them. They believe if they can pray the right way, learn the right words, or be good enough, they can: obtain salvation, healing, prosperity, deliverance from trouble. Unfortunately, many of the “religious” treat God like a snack dispenser. They believe if they give the right combination of payment they will receive the prize they seek of a better, more comfortable, life.

This is foolish for two reasons. First, it is foolish because God does not have to be persuaded to bless us. He desires to bless us in every aspect of our life. He is not the one that needs convincing – we are. Second, this vending machine mentality reveals that we have no idea about the seriousness of sin. The very idea that we think we can do enough good things to warrant God’s blessing and love shows that we don’t know how deep and horrible our sin really is.

Paul is laying out a foundation. We must do the same. We must be alert to the fact that most of the people we talk to about the gospel are going to be people who think they must do the work. They believe salvation is earned rather than received. They need to understand that salvation comes from the Lord.

CHRIST ALONE IS THE REDEEMER (23-37)

Paul moves from this foundation into the core of the message. Paul points out that God brought Jesus from out of the line of David. Jesus was the one the people in the synagogue had been waiting for! He was the one who John the Baptist pointed to. Jesus was the One everyone had been waiting for.

That’s the way we need to present the gospel as well. We must begin by helping people see that Jesus is the one they have been looking for all their lives. Each of us is looking for meaning and purpose in life. Every one of us wants to connect with the Almighty. Every one of us would like a new beginning to escape from the futility and pain of our pasts. We want to be forgiven. Even more, we would like to be fully known. We would like to know that there is someone who knows us as we really are . . . knows the thoughts, schemes, foolishness and sin of our lives . . . but is still willing to love us. We want to be really loved.

This is what Jesus does for us. How does Jesus do this? He does this by His death. His death was not an accident. When the Jewish leaders railroaded Jesus they were fulfilling God’s plan. Jesus died willingly and purposefully. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Jesus paid the price for the sin we committed.

Of course, anyone can say this. We could say that Mohammad died for us, or Buddah, or Joseph Smith. We can even be so bold as to claim that we are dying for the world. Why do we believe the death of Jesus was any different from any other leader? First, we believe Jesus was sinless because He was God in human form. Therefore He did not have to die for His own sin (He was the only one qualified to be a Savior). Second, He didn’t stay dead!

As we share our faith with other people we need to hit the main facts: Jesus came in fulfillment of God’s plan to meet our greatest need (the need for a Savior); He died as a payment for our sin; He rose again proving that the payment was sufficient and new life had been granted. When Jesus rose from the dead He said in essence, “I know the way to Heaven, follow me and I’ll show you how to get there.”

It is an unpopular message but one we must proclaim (1 Timothy 2, 5,6) “There is one God and ONE mediator between God and man: the man Christ Jesus, who loved us and gave His life for all men.” Notice what the text tells us. It tells us that there is only one way to be saved- it is through Jesus. We cannot be saved through other religions or through our good works. Many find this message offensive in our day and age. People say Christians are arrogant and exclusive.

We are not arrogant (or shouldn’t be). We did not set the terms for salvation, God did. Our salvation is not of our doing, it is God’s doing. There is nothing for us to be arrogant about. We are recipients of an undeserved grace.

While it is true that Christianity says there is only one way of salvation, I don’t see that as a bad thing. Suppose you were caught in a cave in. You were hopeless and helpless. Then suppose someone came along and made an opening and said, “Come this way and you will be saved.” Would you charge the person with being arrogant and exclusive? Would you plead that there should be many ways out of the cave for those who didn’t want to take this way? Of course not! You would go out the way that was provided and be grateful the rest of your life.

Jesus gave His life for ALL men. The offer of salvation is not restricted to only a few. Anyone who trusts Jesus can be saved. This includes the Muslim, the Jew, the Hindu, the New Age-er, or the pagan.

We tell aliens they can become a citizenship if the will take the citizenship class and swear allegiance to the United States. Does that make us narrow minded? Does that make us exclusive? Not at all. Anyone, no matter where they have come from can become a citizen of our great land if they will do what is required. There is a way of salvation and that way is through Jesus.

TRUSTING CHRIST THROUGH FAITH IS HOW WE RECEIVE THE GIFT (38-41)

If God is reaching out to us through the death and resurrection of Christ, how do we receive this gift? Paul says we must believe. We must believe not only the facts of Jesus’ fulfilled prophecies, sacrificial death, and world-changing resurrection; we must believe that He did this for our sin. We must believe that we can be made new if we will trust God’s provision rather than our own works.

Paul wanted these men to know that the way to salvation lay not in their rules and regulations but in the grace of God offered through Jesus Christ. If these men truly wanted to know God, and to know forgiveness and new life, they had to place their trust and confidence in Jesus. They needed to believe that He was the Savior. They needed to believe he meant what He said. I like to tell people the Bible tells us that we must “bet our life” on Jesus. That’s the kind of faith we are called to have. It’s not merely intellectual; it is also emotional. It’s not simply believing information, it is basing your life on that information.

Jesus tells people to “count the cost” before they become a believer. This is what Paul does. He warns people that the choice is to follow Christ or to go their own way. To follow Christ leads to eternal life. To go their own way means to face the wrath and judgment of God. Those are the choices. They are the only two choices. There is no middle ground.

Again, our society rebels at these words. They proclaim, “if God is loving, why would He send anyone to Hell?” The simple answer, “Because that is what they have chosen.” C.S. Lewis stated it well, “In the end there will be only two types of people. There will be those who say to the Lord, “thy will be done” and those to whom the Lord says, “thy will be done.” The person who refuses God’s offer of salvation gets what they have chosen.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Notice the Different Responses. Paul and Barnabus shared the gospel message and “all who were appointed for eternal life believed”. (13:48) The people wanted to know more. They hungered to hear more of the truth.

As you share the gospel there will be many who will want to know more about Jesus. It may surprise you to know that few people understand the real message of salvation. We think it is common knowledge . . . it is not. Most people feel the church is only about morality. They know nothing of God’s grace. That’s the message we must proclaim. We must tell people that God longs for a relationship with them. He loves us so deeply that He provided a way for us to be forgiven and made new. That way was through Jesus.

As you share this message you will find many people surprised. They did not know that this was the Christian message. They will believe and they will be saved.

But there were others. The Jewish leaders stirred up trouble (13:50). They were threatened by the message. They were offended by the notion of grace. They felt a need to silence Paul and Barnabus. You may meet some of those people.

There are some who refuse to admit they are addicted to sin. Like the alcoholic or drug user they believe they have things “under control”. They believe they can merit salvation on their own. They resist the idea of being helpless. They don’t want to be a recipient of God’s grace. They hate anyone who implies they are not “good enough”. In these cases we need to remember that people are not rejecting us – they are rejecting Jesus. Like Paul and Barnabus the best course is to shake the dust from your feet and move on.

Making it Personal. It would be irresponsible of me to end this message today without asking you some important questions. Are you putting your faith in God’s gracious offer of salvation or are you still trying to get to Heaven by your goodness? Have you recognized Jesus as the only one who can set you free from your life of sin or do you still think you can “make up” for your sin by doing good things? Do you understand that He died in your place? Do you believe that He rose from the dead and wants to lead you to eternal life?

If you believe these things, may I ask another question? Having believed intellectually, are you willing to put your trust in Christ’s work? Are you ready to build your life on these truths? Are you willing to bet your eternity on Jesus?

If you have never done so, I invite you this day to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. There is a choice to be made and I encourage you to go the way of Christ. If this is what you want why not say this simple prayer right now,

Lord Jesus, I come to you today as the only one who can set me free from sin and death. I believe that you died in my place. I believe you rose from the dead. I believe you are the only way to eternal life. Today, I receive you as my Savior and as my Lord. I place my hope for life and eternity in your hands. Today I take you at your word and trust your promise. Fill me with your Spirit and lead me by your love. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer today, tell someone. Fill out one of the visitor cards and write “I received Christ today” and give it to me or leave it on one of the tables. Or, tell someone personally, let them know that you have begun a new life in Christ. After you have decided to follow Christ, spread the word . . . tell others what you have learned about Jesus so that they might find new life as well.

©Copyright 2003 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche, August 17, 2003