The Religion of the Natural Man

And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed: Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary. - Acts 28:1-10

    In Acts 28 we find Paul and those who had been sailing with him on the island of Melita. That island today is called Malta. It is found between Sicily and Africa, about sixty miles off the coast of Sicily. As we have already seen, the ship in which they were sailing had been torn to pieces in a furious storm, but according to the promise of God, all 276 men, passengers and crew, were safe on land. The 1 survivors of the storm were drenched, weary and cold, but they were alive! Divine providence had brought them to the island of Malta because God was determined to be gracious to the Maltese people. Some of his elect were on the island who must be called by the preaching of the gospel. Therefore God, who has his way in the whirlwind, directed the path of this hurricane to bring Paul to Malta. Here is another incidental, but marvellous illustration of the fact that 'All things work together for good to them who love God [even before they come to love him], to them who are the called, according to his purpose [even before they are called]' (Rom. 8:28).

    The Maltese people are described by Luke as 'barbarians'. That does not necessarily mean that they were uncivilized, though that might also have been true. The word simply means that they were not Greeks, Romans, or Jews. They did not conform to the customs of these three dominant societies and did not speak their language.

    It does not appear that God had ever before sent these barbarians a gospel preacher. Yet they were naturally religious people. Their religion, as we see in this passage, made them both moral and charitable. It had a good effect upon them. They had nothing but the light of nature, but they walked in the light they had. Yet they were lost, perishing men and women without the light of the gospel and the knowledge of Christ. Their religion restrained and, in measure, outwardly corrected the natural depravity of their hearts, but it could not save them. Natural religion, that which is learned and acquired by conscience and nature, cannot save. In order for lost men and women to be saved they must be brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. As we look at Paul's encounter with the men of Malta, we are plainly taught six very important lessons.

    1. When God intends to save sinners, he always sends them a gospel preacher (28:1)

    There is an elect multitude in this world who must be saved. All who were chosen by God the Father in eternity and redeemed by God the Son at Calvary must be regenerated and called by God the Holy Spirit at the appointed time of love. All God's elect must be saved (John 6:37-45; 10:16; Rom. 11:26). Not only has God ordained the salvation of his people, he has also ordained the means by which it is to be accomplished, and God's appointed means of grace is the preaching of the gospel. Sinners are saved by hearing and believing the gospel of Christ (John 6:40; Rom. 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23-25). God never bypasses his ordained means of grace. If he intends to save a sinner, by one means or another, he will cause that sinner to hear the gospel. There are many illustrations of this fact in the book of Acts (8:26-27; 9:10-18; 10:1-48; 16:9-15,19-34).

    In Acts 28, we see God's hand of providence graciously arranging all things to bring Paul to Malta, so that he might preach the gospel to the elect among the barbarians there. Though the inhabit ants of Malta were unaware of it, they were highly favoured of God. By sending the hurricane that must have terrified them all, and perhaps killed many of the islanders, God had blessed them above all people. He used that hurricane to plant a gospel preacher in their midst (Isa. 52:7).

    Let us carefully apply this to ourselves. Knowing that God has ordained the salvation of sinners by the preaching of the gospel, every believer ought to make it his or her business (by personal witness, distributing tracts, tapes, books, etc. and by the support of faithful ministries) to preach the gospel to all. And all who care for their souls should seize every opportunity to hear the gospel preached.

    2. All men by nature are religious (16:2-6)

    God has by creation given all men a consciousness of his being, which they cannot escape (Rom. 1:18-20). These men of Malta, though they were unlearned barbarians, displayed a certain natural religious creed. They knew that there is a God who governs the world. Their language displayed an awareness of the Creator's dominion of the universe. They did not know God. But they knew that God exists! They also knew that God is holy, righteous and just. When they saw the snake hanging on Paul's hand, they concluded instinctively that God had judged him. These Maltese barbarians knew that God punishes sin. Though they had never heard of, or read, the Bible, the law of God was inscribed on their hearts (Rom. 2: 13-15). They knew that murder was a horrible crime and that no man can escape the justice of God.

    3. The religion of natural men is always perverted

    This is the reason why no one can be saved without the preaching of the gospel. No matter how sincere a man is, without the revelation of Christ in the gospel, he gropes about in the blindness of his own depraved heart and the darkness of religious superstition, idolatry and will-worship. The men of Malta ignorantly supposed that those who suffer evil things are evil people. They presumed that a person's acceptance with God is determined by his own personal goodness. Free-will, works religion is the religion of all lost men. It is the religion of the depraved, fallen sons of Adam. It is always fickle because it is ruled, not by the Word of God, but by emotion and experience (28:5-6).

    4. Anyone who walks in the light God gives him will be given more light

    These men had nothing but the light of nature. Yet they honestly walked in that light which God had given them. At his own appointed time, God gave them the light of life. Evangelist Rolfe Barnard used to say, 'God won't send honest people to hell.' And he was right. If a person despises the light God gives him, the light he has will be turned into darkness (Matt. 6:23). But if a person walks in and obeys the light God gives him, God will give him greater light (Isa. 2:5; 1 John 1:7). No one will ever seek to know God and perish in ignorance of him!

    5. Any man called by God to preach the gospel will be manifestly distinguished by God as his messenger

    God's servants do not promote themselves, or call attention to themselves. Paul was not looking for snakes to handle. He was gathering firewood. If he could not serve the souls of men by preaching to them, he was glad to serve their bodies. By his condition as a prisoner, Paul was the most contemptible man in the crowd. But God providentially distinguished him from the others and caused men to pay attention to him. The Lord often uses two legged snakes, who are determined to destroy the influence of his servants, as the very means by which he increases their usefulness—just as he used the viper that bit Paul to open the door of utterance before him.

    6. Those who honour God will be honoured by God (28:7-10)

    It appears that after hearing Paul preach the gospel, a very prominent man, Publius, believed on the Lord Jesus. He graciously received Paul and his companions into his house and lodged them. Having received a prophet in the name of a prophet, he received a prophet's reward (Matt. 10:41). When his father came down with a deadly fever, there was a prophet in his house with the power of God to heal him and all others who had need of healing. Those who faithfully served Paul were faithfully served by Paul. But, more importantly, those who honoured and served God's servant were honoured and served by God himself (1Sam 2:30). All who are wise will apply to themselves the exhortation Paul gave in this regard (1 Thess. 5:12-13).