Acts 16 - Evangelistic Strategy Matters!
Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
This is the beginning of Paul's second missionary journey. Timothy and Silas accompanied him.
According to the estimate of William Barclay, the first missionary journey finished about five years before the events of this chapter. Paul was anxious to see for himself how the work of the Lord continued among these churches he founded five years before.
Paul had parted with John Mark and Barnabas, as God replaced them with Timothy and Silas. Silas was a respected and trusted man in the church in Jerusalem. Although we don't hear a lot about him, he ended up with Paul in prison. When they started singing hymns together, an earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, and they were freed. The Philippian jailer was about to kill himself, because all of the prisoners were set free on his watch. But Paul and Silas led the man to Christ, and he and his household were saved. It appears as if Timothy was safe in Philippi, possibly in Lydia's home.
The story above is about Lydia, who was a dealer in purple cloth. Since purple dye was extremely expensive, she made quite a bit money selling the cloths dyed with purple. Paul and his companions met Lydia down by the river where there was a prayer meeting going on. Importantly there were no men there. Rather than trying to find the men, Paul presented the gospel message to the women and they believed.
“Had there been ten Jewish men, they would have sufficed to constitute a synagogue. No number of women would compensate for the absence of even one man necessary to make up the quorum of ten.” (Bruce)
The text says Lydia was a, "worshipper of God". This is also called a "God-fearer" in the bible. What does this term mean?
That Lydia was a "worshipper of God" (or "God-fearer") means she was a Gentile (non-Jew) who believed in the God of Israel and followed Jewish ethical teachings, yet had not fully converted to Judaism. She was spiritually seeking, reverent, and gathered with others to pray on the Sabbath. - Got Questions.org
Importantly the Lord opened her heart to the Lord's message. We see many important ingredients to successful evangelism campaign the apostle Paul engineered.
1. Paul, Silas, and Timothy met the people where they were at. Somehow they figured out where this prayer meeting would be taking place. They didn't know it would be only women, but it didn't matter, as God had opened up the door.
2. Lydia was a worshipper of God. As previously mentioned she was what we might call a "seeker" today. She was interested in God, but did not connect God with the Gospel of Jesus. Many people today would say they, "believe in God" but have never heard a clear presentation of the Good News of Jesus, Jesus, who was God, became human to lead us into a true relationship with God.
3. Lydia was a woman of influence. While this is not always the case, oftentimes significant breakthroughs, where large groups of people are coming to Christ, are led by "influencers". Lydia not only had wealth but also a very large household. When Lydia came to faith, her household followed. God doesn't just see individuals when he looks down on earth, but groups of people.
4. The Lord opened up Lydia's heart to the gospel message. People can hear the gospel and not respond, or even be hostile to it. But it is the Holy Spirit that leads people to faith in Jesus.
Martin Luther said in his explaination of the HOly Spirit in His Catechism.
"I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith."
5. When Lydia and her household came to faith they were all baptized.
The same thing happened in the Phillipian jailer's home. So we see it is normative when whole households came to faith, they are ALL baptimzed.
Some, including me, use these examples as evidence for infant baptism. After all, if the whole household was baptized would not the children or youth have been baptized. Others refute this by saying that the text does not explicitly mention children or that they came to believe, and belief always precedes baptism. I think you could argue it either way. If it is the Holy Spirit who leads someone to faith it would seem this revelation is irrespective of one's age.
Paul and his companions' strategy on their second missionary trip was vary effective in bringing the gospel into Europe under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Note, it was the Holy Spirit who led Paul to hear the Macedonian man pleading with him to come over. Though the Gospel preached in the power of the Holy Spirit is what leads to saving faith, we can learn from Paul's strategy.
My assumption is that God wants unbelievers to be saved more than we do. I would also assume that as we devote ourselves to bringing the gospel to places and people who have not yet come to faith, God will bless our efforts, even if we don't see the results right away. I think the real question to ask ourselves is,
"Do we have the same desire as Timothy, Paul, and Silas to bring the gospel by any means to those who don't yet believe?"
I also don't think we have to go on a overseas mission trip to bring the gospel to those who do not yet believe in Jesus. There are those who, "Believe in God" but have not yet met Jesus all around us. They had not connected the gospel to their longing to know God. We should pray for God to open doors for us like He did for Paul, Timothy, and Silas.
God has given us the Gospel message and if we believe in it, our testimony is the most valuable thing we have, as we share Jesus with other. In it says,
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, ask the Lord to send his workers into the harvest field." Matthew 9:37-38
Father, we know you have called us to not only believe in the gospel but also to share with those you lead us to. Give us courage and boldness to go where you want us to go and share Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit so that many more will come to know You! Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment