Turn, if you would, open your
Bibles, if you would, to Acts chapter 17. Acts chapter 17. The name of the message is found
in the text. The text for the message name
is verse 6, where it says, these have turned the world upside
down. And the name of the message is turning the world upside down.
Turning the world upside down. Acts chapter 17, verses 1 to
9 we'll read. And then we'll look at the verses.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollina, they
came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three
Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures, opening
and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen
again from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto
you is Christ. And some of them believed, and
consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great
multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which
believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows
of the base sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city
on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to
bring them out to the people. When they found them not, they
drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city,
crying, These have turned the world upside down, or come hither
also. whom Jason hath received, and
these do all contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that
there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people
and the rulers of the city, and they heard these things. And
when they had taken security of Jason of the other, they let
them go." Now there's so much before us in this small portion
of Scripture. So much before us. And we see
right here before us what happens when the gospel of God's free
grace is proclaimed. It will have an effect. It will
have an effect. As one creature grace or was
one grace preacher once proclaimed, some leave glad from a meeting
and some leave mad. Some leave glad and some leave
mad after hearing the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So let's look at this portion verse by verse. praying
again that the Holy Spirit would illuminate the Scriptures for
us and teach us the things of Christ. And we see what happens
before us, what happens when Christ is proclaimed, when Christ
is preached. Let's look again at verse 1,
it says, Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollina,
they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the
Jews. Now I want us to take notice right here in this verse, God's
divine providence at work. God's divine providence at work. He will have his preachers proclaim
the gospel where his sheep are. He will have his preachers proclaim
the gospel where his sheep are. Remember, turn if you would one
chapter over in Acts 18. Paul is in Corinth. And what does the Lord tell him?
The Lord tells him to stay in Corinth. Why? Well, we're seeing
the text. The Lord says, you stay there
because I have much people in the city. He has much sheep in the city. Look at Acts 18 verses 10 and
11. For I am with thee and no man
shall sit on thee to hurt thee. For I have what? Much people
in this city. They hadn't been regenerated
yet, but Paul was to preach there. Because the Lord had much people
in that city. And he continued there a year
and six months, teaching the word of God among them, and we
know that the church in Corinth blossomed. Because the Lord had much people
in that city. Much people. Now notice in our, over in Acts
chapter 17, notice here it says, now when they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollina, they came to Thessalonica, where there
was a synagogue of the Jews. Now notice, they pass right through
those two cities. They don't preach there. Now Apollina is named after the
Greek, the heathen god, Apollos. And these cities are both Turkish
cities from what the commentator said. And Paul passes right through. Doesn't preach to one person.
And you know, they're never mentioned in scripture again. They're never mentioned in scripture
again. Beloved, this is God's divine providence at work. At work. But they continue on
to Thessalonica. And is this not God's distinguishing
grace? They continue on there, because
the Sovereign One, He has people in that city. He has people in
Thessalonica. And it's said that it had a synagogue.
And it's said by several commentators the other two cities did not.
have a synagogue and Paul could always be found going to the
synagogues and preaching. But the interesting thing I find
in that first verse is he went right through them. Didn't preach a word. Didn't preach a word. And let
us also remember that these men, they're on a divine mission.
They're sent by God to preach the gospel. They're on a divine
mission. They are sent to preach and proclaim
the gospel to God's lost sheep. Wherever he will open the door
and they are led by God, the Holy Spirit. And he leads them
right to Thessalonica. And this was all, think of this
too, this was all according to God's eternal purpose. It's all according to God's eternal
purpose that they went right through those cities. And it's by God's eternal purpose
that they go to the synagogues in the cities. It's by God's
eternal purpose. And they go there and they reason
with those in the synagogue. And our scripture said for three
consecutive Sabbath days, And this is all according to God's
eternal purpose. It's all according to His eternal
purpose. Turn, if you would, to Acts 15,
18. And let us never forget this.
Let us never forget this. Acts 15, 18, the scripture declares
this. And let us remember this, whether
the word's being preached here or somewhere else, As we see,
Paul went right through those two cities and went to Thessalonica.
And let us remember this in Acts 15, 18, it says this, knowing
that the God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
It's by God's eternal decree, beloved, that he passed right
through those cities. Now we can see here, we're going
to see here that Paul opens the Old Testament, and I had Brother
Tim read that scripture, because Christ Himself revealed to the
two on the road to Arimaeus who He was from the Old Testament. And remember, remember that when
Paul is preaching here and teaching, they're teaching and preaching
out of the Old Testament. He's proving and reasoning with those
in the synagogue, proving to them from scripture that Christ
is the Messiah. that Christ is the Messiah, showing
that the writers of the Old Testament plainly taught that Christ was
the Messiah, that Christ, who is God incarnated in the flesh,
must needs have suffered and rose again from the dead, and
that it was all according to God's eternal plan and purpose.
All according to His plan and purpose. And God in the Holy
Spirit sent Paul on a missionary journey for that very purpose,
to go and to preach and proclaim Christ. And it is again by God's
eternal decree that he is going right through those cities to
Thessalonica. It was by God's eternal decree
that Paul was told to stay in Corinth because God had much
people in that city. The only reason the town has
a gospel preacher is because there's sheep there. That's right. Brother Norm Wells
said that. He says, you're being sent to
Alma because there's sheep there. He says, he firmly believes that
the only reason that towns and cities have gospel preachers
is because God's sheep are there. Sent by the eternal decree of
God. And Paul again, as his manner
was, went into the synagogue. Look at verse 2. For three Sabbath
days he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. And again,
this was all according to God's eternal purpose. And His purpose
unfolds before our eyes in the Scripture. Unfolds before our
eyes. Look at this. And Paul, as his
manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned
with them out of the Scriptures. Now what does it mean when it
says he reasoned with them? Well, he means he bought the
Scriptures before them. The Old Testament Scriptures.
And when it says here the Scriptures, and remember this, any time you
see in the New Testament the Scriptures, that's the Old Testament. They did not have the New Testament.
Paul is preaching and proclaiming Christ from the Old Testament. And this is all the gospel preachers
of that time had. And beloved, they preached Christ
and Him crucified. He reasoned with them. Now think
of this. Scripture declares here what?
He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. He didn't reason
with them out of what he thought. Whenever we're witnessing to
someone, We should begin with the scriptures. We should sustain
with the scriptures and we should end with the scriptures. That's
what penetrates. We just proclaim what the word
says, telling others what Christ has done for us. But the scriptures
must be the thing that we must we must talk to folks with. And
I've talked to folks sometimes And they say this when they're
talking about, well, I think. I despise those words. I don't
want to know what you think. I want to know what the scriptures
say. I think it's trouble. What does the scripture say? Someone says, well, it's your
free will. You have to make a decision.
But then we can open the scripture and say, but the scriptures say
you're dead. How can a dead man make a decision? How can a dead
man do anything? Well, that's the end of that
argument. See, the scriptures is the final
authority. The scriptures declare we're dead. We have no hope.
We have no ability to come to Christ. He must make us alive,
regenerating us, born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And when
people say, well, I think, usually the I think comes along with
scripture twisting. They twist it to whatever they
want it to say. No. What does the scriptures say?
What does the scriptures say? That's what we want. Thus sayeth
the Lord. What does the Lord say? Grace
people just want to know what the scriptures say. And then
we bow our knees to it, don't we? We bow our knees to it. Now, reasoning here means the
dialogue to present. He listened to their arguments
and he patiently refuted their arguments with scripture. And
he pointed his listeners to Christ. He pointed them to Christ. He
didn't say, well, I think the scriptures say this. No, he said,
this is what the scriptures say. This is what it says. And we see that in the next verse.
Paul reasoned with them. Where? Out of the Old Testament.
And he pointed them to Christ. Look it. Opening and alleging
that Christ must needs have suffered, and is risen again from the dead,
and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ." He was pointing
them to the Messiah. He said, this Jesus is the Messiah. He's the Messiah. He's the one
the Old Testament prophets spoke of. He's the one who all the
pipes and shadows, it's Christ. And Christ alone. And opening here in our text
means that he explained under the law and the prophets and
the Psalms, those things that speak of Christ. Just like what
the Lord did on the road to Arimaeus, where we saw with brother Timrek,
that he opened the scriptures. Turn if you would, here's a good
example, turn if you would to Isaiah 53, and then put your finger
in Daniel chapter 9. And here's a good, one commentator
brought this up, I thought this was great. Alleging means that
he put, when it says he opening and alleging, it means he put
one scripture beside another. That's what it means. He took
one scripture and he put another one beside it. And Calvin bought
this out. He bought this out with these
two verses. So he took one scripture, he said a good example is Isaiah
53, 4. Look at this. Surely he hath
borne our griefs. Isaiah 53, 4. Surely he hath
borne our griefs. and carried our sorrows. Yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. Then turn,
if you would, over to Daniel chapter nine, Daniel chapter
nine. So he took one scripture, said,
OK, Isaiah 53, four. And this is just my example.
Surely he hath borne our grace and carried ourselves. Yet we
did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. And then
open up Daniel nine, twenty four. And the scripture declares this,
70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy
city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and
to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness
and to seal up the vision and the prophecy and to anoint the
most holy. And he would say, those both
speak Christ. Make reconciliation for iniquity,
to make an end of sins. When did all that happen, beloved?
When he was when He carried our griefs and our sorrows and He
was stricken, smitten of God for our sins. For our sins. So that's what opening the legend
means. You take scriptures and you put them side by side. So
what did Paul do when he took the scriptures? And again, the
scriptures in this portion mean the Old Testament. What did he
do? He pointed them right to Christ.
Pointed them right to Christ. My goodness. And he preached
Christ, and he preached Christ in him crucified. He didn't make
silly statements like God wants to save you. Won't you just let
him? You'll never find that in this book. You will never find
that in this book. Never. Paul never told them to bow their
heads and keep quiet while the pianist played and said, every
eye closed. Won't you repeat this prayer
after me? He never ever did that. And you
will never find that in this book, although it's done in thousands
of churches. You'll never find that in this
book. And he never had them walk an
aisle. He didn't say, oh, you come up
to the front of the synagogue here and bow down in the aisle.
He never said that. And you will never find that
in the book. No, but he preached Christ in him crucified and God,
the Holy Spirit moved and he would he regenerated lost sinners. And you can be saved without
moving a muscle because it's a heart work and God must be
the one who does the heart work. You must be born again. And it's
a work of God. It's a work of God. Oh. You never hear him say, just
give Jesus a chance. Won't you give Jesus permission
to save you? That's just, that stuff irritates me. It's so wrong. But yet people hear that Sunday
after Sunday after Sunday. Praise God, we can come here
and we can hear Christ preached and proclaimed. And we let God,
the Holy Spirit, do the work that he does, don't we? Because
he must save you or you'll never be saved. He must. He must be regenerated by the
Holy Spirit or you'll never be saved. And so you find Paul here
reasoning and opening and alleging from the scriptures that Christ
must needs have suffered and that he must rise again from
the dead and that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. And he pointed
them right to him. Right to him. And that's all you'll find in
this wonderful book. You will find God's preachers
continuously pointing you to Christ. Pointing you to Him. Because He is the only Savior.
And it's Him that Paul preached. Paul preached that only Jesus
Christ can purge you from your sins. Paul preached that Jesus
Christ has obtained eternal redemption for His people. Paul preached
that by Jesus Christ, by the supreme sacrifice of Himself,
that He sanctified, that He perfected His people forever, for those
He laid down His life for. Not for everyone, but for every
one of His sheep. He laid down His life. I give
my life for the sheep. And He did. He did. And how do we know what Paul
preached? Turn, if you would, to 1 Corinthians 1. How do we
know what Paul preached? Well, he was moved by God the
Holy Spirit to write these truths down in the epistles. And Paul
would not have written what he did not preach. Paul would not
have written what he did not preach, and God the Holy Spirit
inspired him to pen these words. 1 Corinthians 1, verses 17-21.
1 Corinthians 1, verses 17-21. for Christ sent me not to baptize.
The Lord didn't send Paul to get a following. He didn't send
Paul to baptize, right? No, what did he do? He sent him
to preach the gospel, but to preach the gospel with wisdom
of words, or not with wisdom of words. And remember, Paul
was a learned man. He was a learned man. You could
have went toe to toe with anyone, but he says not with words of
wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect
for the preaching of the cross is to them that foolish pair
or to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved.
Beloved, it's the power of God. It's the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where are
all these scribes and Greek philosophers? They're all perished in their
sins, aren't they? All of them. A lot of them are forgotten.
Where are the wise? Where's the scribe? Where's the
disputer of the scribe? Where are those who shake their
fist at God sometimes in our life? Some of them have perished,
haven't they? died in their sins. Praise God he didn't, that he
saved us and redeemed us and didn't leave us where we were. And the only reason he didn't
is because we're his sheep. He said, mercy on us. Worst is the
spirit of this world. Had not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world. For after that in the wisdom
of God, The world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. By the foolishness
of preaching. And then look at verses 23 and
24 of the same chapter. Again, this is what Paul preached,
but we preach Christ crucified. He didn't preach himself, he
didn't preach how to live a successful Christian life. He didn't preach
any of that. He preached Christ. He preached
Christ. But we preach Christ crucified,
unto Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, there's
the whole act. There they are, the bride of
Christ, Jews and Greeks. Christ, the power of God, and
the wisdom of God. My goodness. So there's no contradictions
in his preaching and in his writings. No, he preached Christ. Turn,
if you would, over to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians, one more book
over. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. And then put your finger in Colossians
chapter 1. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and Colossians chapter 1. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verses
5 and 6. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. They don't preach themselves. Preaches Christ. For God who
commanded the light to shine in the darkness has shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul knew that salvation comes
only through Christ and through the preaching of the gospel.
Paul knew that. Therefore he preached Christ.
Turn if you would over to Colossians chapter 1. Do you know Paul had
one object? One object in his preaching. Christ. Christ. Christ is the
one object of his faith. And Christ is the one object
of his preaching. He preached and proclaimed Christ and him
crucified. Colossians chapter 1 verses 25
to 29. Where have I made a minister according
to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill
the word of God? Now look at this. Remember he
passed through those two cities? Remember Paul and Silas passed
through those two cities? Even the mystery which had been
hid from ages and from generations. My goodness. The mystery which had been hid
from ages and generations. Christ must be revealed or we'll
never know him. But now is made manifest to his
saints. To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach. There
is the object of his preaching, Christ. Christ, the hope of the
hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching
every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect
in Christ Jesus. All our sins are forgiven. We're
sinners, but we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
We who believe. My goodness. Whereunto I also labor, striving
according to his workings, which worketh in me mightily. It's
God working in us. My goodness. Let's go back to
Acts chapter 17, and with that in mind, let's look at verse
4. So Paul had one object in his preaching, and it was Christ
and him crucified. Look at Acts chapter 1 verse,
or Acts 17, I'm sorry, verse 4. I'm getting excited, so I'm
getting ahead of myself there. Acts 17 verse 4. And some of
them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout
Greeks a multitude, and of the chief women not a few. Now according
to God's purpose, according to His eternal purpose, the gospel
came not in word only, but oh, it came in power, beloved. And
we see that here in this verse. It came in power and in much
assurance. Our Lord opened the hearts of
some of the Jews. Just as he opened Lydia's heart in Acts
16, one chapter over, Acts 16, 14, the scripture declares this.
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city
of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us, whose heart the
Lord opened. And that's what he does for every
single one of his sheep. He opens our hearts. and that
she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. She's
born again by the Holy Spirit, and she believes on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and she's saved. My, what a Savior. What a Redeemer. And those spoken of in our text
in verse 4, and some of them believed and consorted with Paul
and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a multitude, and the chief
women not a few. He's spoken of in our text, they
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. They've been regenerated by the
Holy Spirit of God. They've been granted faith to
believe, and repentance to turn to Christ, and to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and they're saved. They believed the gospel
preached by Paul the Apostle. They embraced the Lord Jesus
Christ as their Lord and Savior. And also a great multitude of
Greeks believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. These are Gentiles who
were proselytes to the Jewish religion. And according to God's
eternal purpose and according to the appointed time by God
for them to be delivered from the power of darkness and to
be translated in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, they
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's all a work of God. They didn't know they woke up
that morning and said, God, they had no clue the Lord was going
to save them. Isn't that amazing? All according to God's eternal
purpose. And many of the cheap women which
were there were granted faith to believe, true saving faith
to believe the gospel preached by Paul. And they were also Gentiles,
who were Jewish proselytes. And they were, some commentators
say they were women who were married to prominent men. principal
man in the city of Thessalonica. Now, if we believe the Word of
God, it cannot be denied that the salvation of those Jews and
Gentiles at Thessalonica was all according to God's eternal
purpose. It can't be denied, can it? It
can't be. If we truly believe the Word
of God, it can't be denied that it was all according to God's
eternal purpose. Turn, if you would, to 2 Timothy
1.9. And I want to read this verse here. 2 Timothy 1.9. Actually, let's look at verse
8 and verse 10, too. We'll read the context of this. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be
thou partakers of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God. Now look at this verse 9. Who has saved us and
called us with the holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. but is now made manifest
by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished
death and has brought life and immortality to light through
the gospel. Now, verse 9 there, who has saved
us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now, Christ
died for them upon the cross, and we see in this verse it coming
alive right before us. This is a great and God-honoring
truth that we see in 2 Timothy 1.9. And it applies to the salvation
of every one of God's elect. Now you let that sink in. It
will warm your heart. That verse applies to every single
one of God's elect, who has saved us and called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to His own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. According to God's eternal purpose,
we are saved. Oh, that's good news for sinners.
That's wonderful news. And it's not according to our
works. But it's according to what He's done, beloved. What
He's done. So let us take the time to ponder
this very important truth which has been set before us in these
texts. When Paul preached the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ to those who were in that Jewish synagogue,
he reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. Out of the Scriptures. He didn't use human reasoning.
He didn't use human logic. Those things didn't enter into
his preaching. He didn't use enticing words
of man's wisdom. No, beloved, he pointed his ears
to the Word of God, to the Scriptures, and he said, thus saith the Lord. And this is exactly what God's
preachers do. We point you to the Word of God
and say, this is what the Lord says. We do not debate gospel truths,
beloved. We do not debate gospel truths.
We declare what the Scriptures say. We point sinners to Christ,
to the Holy Word of God, and we say, Thus saith the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord. That's all any of God's preachers
can do. And that's all we see Paul and
Silas doing. And it's an honor and a privilege
to preach the gospel. And to patiently wait and see
what the Lord does with it. What the Lord does with it. And we preach Christ because
salvation is of the Lord. And it's in Him. There's nowhere
else I can point you but to Christ. But to Christ. Now let's look
at verses 5 and 8, 5 to 8 here, and we see the religious folks
getting quite worked up, getting quite worked up, and causing
trouble. And why? All this because Paul
and Silas preached Christ. That's all they did. They just
preached Christ. And some Jews and Gentiles were
converted. And these religious Jews who
weren't saved, who didn't believe, they got mad. And notice the
confederation that occurs before us here. Jews ally with those
who they normally would have nothing to do with. God's enemies
always confederate against Christ. People they'd have nothing to
do with. Lewd fellows, scriptures say, and base their sort of enemies
will become allies. with religious folks coming against
the cause of Christ. Look at Acts 17, verses 5 to
8. But the Jews, which believed
not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of
the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city
on an uproar. They just got people so stirred
up. And remember, how did Paul and
him turn the world upside down? Just by preaching Christ. Just
by preaching Christ. And said, all the city on an
uproar and assaulted the house of Jason. Jason was a faithful
brother in Christ and sought to bring them out to the people.
And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren
unto the rulers of the city, crying, these that have turned
the world upside down are come hither also. So they'd heard
of what Paul and Silas and them had been doing. whom Jason hath received, and
these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that
there was another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the people
and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. Whenever
and wherever the true gospel is preached and proclaimed, the
true gospel of God's free and sovereign grace, there will always
be those who oppose the truth. There will always be those who
oppose the truth. But that does never that. And
let us remember this. That never means the Lord loses
control because our God is sovereign and he is in full control over
all circumstances. And they all work for the good
of his people. For the good of his people. Turn
if you went over to Acts chapter 16. Acts chapter 16. Our Lord brought persecution
upon Paul and Silas, moving their persecutors to throw them into
prison. Remember? They were thrown into prison.
It's our Lord that had them moved to do that by God's eternal purpose. Now we'll see why. We'll see
why. This was all ordained by God
for the salvation of the jailer. For the salvation of the jailer.
Look at Acts 16, starting in verse 20. and we'll read to verse
34. And brought them to the magistrates,
saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city.
There it is again. All they're doing is preaching
Christ. They trouble our city. And teach customs which are not
lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And
the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates
rent their clothes, oh, they're steaming mad, and commanded them
to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes
upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to
keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust
them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight, Paul and Silas
prayed and sang praises unto God." They've been beaten, they're
in stocks, and they're singing praises to God. Oh my, what grace
God gives His people, eh? What grace God gives His people. And the prisoners heard them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, a divinely appointed
earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and
immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were
loosed. And the keeper of the prison,
awaking of the sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew
out a sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners
had been fled. He knew that if he lost even
one prisoner, it's a death sentence. He's a soldier, he knows. It's
a death sentence back then. So he's going to kill himself. But Paul cried with a loud voice
saying, Do thyself no harm. Now, remember, all this has happened
according to God's eternal decree. All this has fallen out according
to God's eternal decree. And Paul cried with a loud voice
saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Not one of them
left. Their bands broken. They're in
prison and not one of them left. What would normally happen when
prison doors open and you got prisoners? They're gone. Oh,
but by God's sovereign purpose and decree, not one of them left.
Not one of them. Oh, my. And he called for a light
and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and
Silas and bought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to
be saved? Now, if there was ever anything
to do to be saved, there's the question, right? What must I
do to be saved? Paul tells him, you don't do
nothing. Oh my. And Bartholomew said, sirs, what
must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And thou shalt be saved in thy
house. Now we know that God the Holy Spirit must move and grant
us faith. But we do believe, don't we?
When He regenerates us, we believe. We believe on Christ. And they spake unto them the
word of the Lord unto all that were in his house. They told them about Christ. And he took them the same hour
of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized, he
and all his straight away. And when he had brought them
into his house, he sat meet before them and rejoiced, believing
in God with all his house. My, all that had happened to
them had fallen out according to God's eternal decree. God
moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. He plants
His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in
unfathomable minds of never failing skill, He treasures up His bright
designs and works His sovereign will. And that's what we're seeing
right here in our text in Acts 17 and that's what we just saw
in Acts 16. His sovereign will was worked
out, beloved. And in our text, the opposition
from unbelieving Jews at Thessalonica was also according to God's eternal
purpose. Because He's a sovereign Lord,
and He rules over all. And these unbelieving Jews were
moved with envy. when they tried to apprehend
Paul and Silas, but again, this was all falling out according
to God's divine purpose, as the Lord Jesus had worked in the
hearts of those who had been delivered, delivered from the
power of darkness, under the preaching of Paul and Silas.
And these unbelieving Jews hated it. They hated it. Self-righteous, unbelieving Jews. They knew they were losing control
over those who were converted to the Christian faith. And they
were filled with ungodly, envious hatred, and were moved to seek
a way to put a stop to that glorious, God-honoring movement which had
occurred. And they took unto them certain
lewd fellows of the baser sort. Here's the Confederation. They never would have gotten
together. They were probably, one commentator said they were
probably men from the market of low character and who were
ungodly and the Jews could easily influence them with money or
just influence that they had. And they gathered a company of
them and they set the whole city on an uproar. and they assaulted the house
of Jason where Paul and Silas were staying. And they sought
to bring them out to the people and the mob, the mob was in an
angry uproar and they were intent, it was the intent of those unbelieving
Jews to beat and to stone Paul and Silas. But Paul and Silas were not in
Jason's house at that time according to God's eternal decree. Look
at, again, Acts 17, 6-8. And when they found them not,
they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city,
crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come
hither also, whom Jason hath received. Jason received them
into his home. These do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying
that there is another king, one Jesus. And they troubled the
people. They troubled the people and
the rulers of the city when they heard these things. Now, beloved, all they did was
preach the gospel. All they did was preach Christ and Him crucified.
And they turned the world upside down. They turned the world upside
down. They just preached Christ. They proclaimed, the unbelieving
Jews proclaimed that Paul and Silas did things contrary to
Caesar. And that they proclaim Christ as another king. Now all
Christians own Christ as king, don't we? All of us. We own Christ
as king. And Paul and Silas said Jesus
was king, but not a temporal one. Not a temporal one. Not a temporal one like Caesar
was. Christ's kingdom is a spiritual
kingdom. Not of this world. But see, the
unbelieving Jews didn't understand that. And they're finding any
reason they can to get the mob worked up. And to turn them against
Paul and Silas. And so, Paul and Silas, by preaching
that Christ is a king, an eternal one, whose kingdom is spiritual,
they didn't say anything against Caesar. They were just saying
that Christ is king. Oh my. And these unbelieving
Jews troubled the people and the rulers of the city. But God's will would not be thwarted.
God's will would not be thwarted. Let us close with these thoughts
as the basis of Paul's appeal to those he preached to. We saw,
what we looked at today, we saw what was the basis that Paul
appealed to the Jews with was the Scriptures, right? He opened
and reasoned and alleged from the Scriptures. The Word of God
alone is what he used. And we who preach the Gospel
of God's free grace in Christ, we appeal to no other authority
but the Scriptures. This is our authority. And we
preach the same message that Paul preached. Christ and Him
crucified. And we proclaim the necessity
of Christ. Substitutionary death. And it's
all according to the Word of God. Now there are four things
that necessitated Christ's death on the cross. Number one, God's
decree. Turn if you would to 1 Peter.
God's decree necessitated the death of Christ on the cross. And then put your finger in Isaiah
chapter 50. 1 Peter chapter 1 and Isaiah chapter
50. Four things that necessitated
the death of Christ upon the cross. From the Word of God. From the Word of God. 1 Peter
1, verses 18 to 20. For as much as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot, who verily was foreordained before the foundation
of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.
God's decree necessitated the death of Christ. Number two,
Isaiah chapter 50. Isaiah chapter 50. Christ's voluntary servitorship. He voluntarily went to the cross.
He voluntarily died. This being proclaimed in Scripture,
it was necessitated that Christ must die upon the cross from
the Scriptures. Isaiah 50, verses 5 to 7. The Lord God hath opened mine
ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave
my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off
my hair. or off the hair, I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
For the Lord God will help me. Therefore, will I not be confounded?
Therefore, have I set my face like a flint, and I know that
I shall not be ashamed. That portion speaks of Christ.
And he went voluntarily to the cross. Because he knew he must
die for the sins of his people. There's no other way for us to
be saved. And then turn to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. And then put your finger in Luke
24. John, chapter 10. And remember,
Christ voluntarily went to the cross. Look at John, chapter
10, verses 16 to 18. And other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold, verse 16, them, them also I must bring
and they shall hear my voice. There's no doubt. And there shall
be one fold and one shepherd, that's all of God's elect through
all the ages. Therefore doth my Father love
me, because I what? Lay down my life. He did it voluntarily.
He lay down His life, that I might take it again. No man taketh
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. Voluntarily, beloved. He voluntarily went to the cross.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my Father. My goodness. The third point. from the Scriptures
that necessitated Christ's death on the cross, Luke 24, verse
44. And He said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was with you, that
all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me. And they all foretold that the
Messiah would die. And he must die for the sins
of his people. We saw that in Daniel, didn't we? We saw that
in Isaiah 53 and we saw it in Daniel 9. When we put scripture
side by side. Last point is that necessitated
the death of Christ is Romans. Turn if you would to Romans chapter
3 is the justice of God. The justice of God necessitated
that Christ must die upon the cross because God's justice must
be satisfied, right? It must be. either in us or in
Christ. Praise God, Christ satisfied
God's justice for us, for us, for His people. Romans chapter
3, verses 24 to 26. Being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Verse
25, Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith
in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that
are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say at
this time, His righteousness, that He might be just. God must
be a just God. His justice must be upheld. And
the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus. Now think of this.
The very one who gave the law. The very one who gave the law. Fulfilled the law for his people. Fulfilled it. Praise God, he
did, because we could never fulfill it. We could never we can't even
fulfill one law. My goodness. Scripture declares
this is the law then against the promises of God. God forbid. For if there had been a law given
which could have given life, verily righteousness should have
been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin.
Everyone's a sinner. Born sinners. That the promise
by the faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. God's people have been given
the faith. It's a gift of God. The faith, the belief. We've
been regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God. Dead, lost sinners.
Praise be to his name. Praise his name. Let's go to
the Lord in prayer. Oh, heavenly Father, we saw in the scriptures today
that Paul and Silas are preaching the gospel, preaching Christ
and him crucified. And that according to your eternal
counsel, some were saved. Some Jews were saved and some
Gentiles were saved. We know, Lord, that it happened
all fell out according to your divine purpose. And your counsel. And we even saw that the persecution
that come upon Paul and Silas and that comes upon us is all
by your divine, eternal decree. Oh, Lord, help us to rest. Help
us to trust in you and rest in you. Help us to see these things
in the scriptures and rejoice when we're going through trouble
or or times of sorrow. Help us to reflect upon the fact
that you are watching over us, that you keep us, and you will
one day deliver your people. Each of us here who believe that
one day we'll be in your presence and it'll all be by your mercy
and grace. Lord, we give you thanks and praise. We pray that
if it's your will that you take the message, Lord, oh, that you
would open the hearts of your unbelieving sheep. Oh, Lord,
we give you all the glory and honor and praise. We just put
salvation we know is in your hands. And as Paul and Silas
did, they preach the gospel and they leave it in your hands.
And Lord, we do the same. Oh Lord, we glorify you and praise
your name. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.