Preaching Has Consequences

Acts 14:1-20

Acts 14:1–20 CSB

In Iconium they entered the Jewish synagogue, as usual, and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they stayed there a long time and spoke boldly for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace by enabling them to do signs and wonders. But the people of the city were divided, some siding with the Jews and others with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them, they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside. There they continued preaching the gospel. In Lystra a man was sitting who was without strength in his feet, had never walked, and had been lame from birth. He listened as Paul spoke. After looking directly at him and seeing that he had faith to be healed, Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet!” And he jumped up and began to walk around. When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought bulls and wreaths to the gates because he intended, with the crowds, to offer sacrifice. The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting, “People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own way, although he did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy.” Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them. Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. After the disciples gathered around him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

What do you think is an effective way to communicate the Gospel?

We see here that there is something about how we speak. They were effective communicators of the Gospel. It is not just what we say but also how we say it. We are supposed to b able to give a defense of our faith any time and in any situation. 1 Peter 3:13-17

1 Peter 3:13–17 CSB

Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

We see the results of this. Paul and Barnabas see immediate fruits of their preaching by people coming to faith.

What cost is too much for people to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

We are commanded to preach the Gospel and make disciples. Period. What cost was too great for Jesus?

Why did the Gospel cause such opposition? Does it today?

It is interesting that they were opposed but their opposition always starts out with the Jewish folks, probably because they had a very rigid religious system in place that was controlled by people in power. Also because they preached first to the Jews in the synagogues. Today we see a similar method of turning people away from the gospel. People are poisoning the minds of people today with untruths about God and Jesus just as they did in the beginning of Paul’s ministry.

What are some ways that our society and people we know try to “poison our minds?”

John 18:37-38

John 18:37–38 CSB

“You are a king then?” Pilate asked. “You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” “What is truth?” said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no grounds for charging him.

One of the biggest lies poisoning us today is that there is not truth. We see it in gender studies, we see it critical race theory, we see it even in many religious institutions. We are guided by our feelings and are being encouraged to do so. That is the biggest poison that we have in culture today. There is a truth…it is the word of God…but that is what is being challenged and poisoned. It isn’t new as we see how Pilate addressed the question of truth. Jesus said that He is the truth.

What was their response to the opposition at first?

they were emboldened and dug in. They spoke the truth and when doing that, there were signs that followed their boldly proclaiming the truth. That is significant. We often want to see the signs so we believe…or think that signs will make others believe. The truth is as we see time and time again in the scriptures, signs follow the proclamation of God’s word most of the time. the signs confirm the truth spoken. We can’t just sit back and say, OK God, do something and I’ll preach. We have to preach and then let God do what He wants to!

Why did they leave the town and does that show a lack of faith?

There comes a point when we are wise to flee from persecution. They never flinched when facing trouble, but we see time and time again in Acts that when they knew trouble was coming for them, they sought to get away from that trouble…especially when it was deadly. They weren’t afraid of confrontation but in life threatening situations, fleeing is good. That is wisdom, not lack of faith…as we saw with Stephen and James and even with Paul… their persecution was real. They also just moved, they did not stop preaching the Gospel. We sometimes can see the hand of God even in the times that we are forced to flee…maybe…He is in control...

What took Paul and Barnabas so long to figure out what is happening in Lystra? What is their response?

They didn’t know the language they were speaking in. They were in a different culture. They felt conviction because they did not notice it soon enough and people might have been led to believe things that were not true.

What is different about their message here than from before?

They were not preaching at a synagogue, they were expressing the idea of God in a relatable term because these guys had a much different concept of gods. He attested to God as creator and sustainer and shared the Gospel.

What does the fact that the people were turned easily by the Jews say about their faith?

They had a very shallow faith, discipleship is important. We cannot just be passive and let the Pastor preach the Gospel and not follow up…We all have a part in the growth of the church, which is believers…not the building we meet in. Many people came to oppose the teaching of the gospel and Paul and Barnabas. That isn’t much different today. We are outnumbered in influence by the culture…like the folks in Lystra.

Why did they just stone Paul, and how did he recover so quickly?

The reason they stoned people is because it worked. People were executed in many ways and they did what was right in their culture and what was effective. Paul was stoned and then dragged out of the city because he was thought to be dead. This could be another example of others fleeing, or it could be an example of Paul being singled out because he was the one speaking. We don’t know but we see something here that can only be seen as a miracle. Many people have speculated about what happened here but we know that Paul survived this death sentence. Was he resurrected? We don’t know for sure. Paul was certainly unconscious and Luke got a lot of his testimony from Paul. He got up…and left the next day. That is certainly a miracle.