I invite your attention to the
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 28, verses 23 and 24. The book
of Acts, chapter 28, verses 23 and 24. This morning's message
is the second part in this series, Will You Believe
the Gospel? Actually, we could title this
series, Will You Believe or Reject the Gospel? Because every time
you hear the gospel, you either believe it and receive it or
disbelieve and reject it. And Paul is going to make that
point to us here in the Acts of the Apostles, 28th chapter. And here we find Paul the Apostle
coming to the end of his earthly ministry. He has been arrested and charged with preaching
the gospel and sent to Rome. where he is to be tried. He there
in Rome is put under house arrest in the sense that he was permitted
to have his own rented house. He was there under guard, Roman
soldiers guarding him while he's there, but he was permitted to
receive guests. And a number of people came to
Paul there in his house in Rome and he presented the gospel to
them and they either believed and received it or disbelieved
and rejected it. We read in verse 23, so when
they had appointed him a day many came to him at his lodging
to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God,
persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and
the prophets from morning till evening. And some of them were
persuaded by the things which were spoken and some disbelieved. Now do you see this? There is
no middle ground. They either were persuaded of
the truth that Paul spoke concerning Jesus Christ and the gospel,
or else they rejected what they heard. It is with good reason
that we ask this question to you. Will you believe the gospel? or will you reject it? In the first message in this
series, last Lord's Day morning, we considered the fact that the
gospel was either rejected or believed by sorcerers. It was rejected by one of the
chief sorcerers of that day in Paphos of Cyprus, with regard
to a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was
Bar-Jesus and Elymas, Acts chapter 13, verses 6 through 12. However,
we also observed last Lord's Day morning that many sorcerers
or people who were engaged in sorcery believed the gospel,
received Christ unto the salvation of their souls in Ephesus of
Asia Minor. This will be found in Acts chapter
19. They believed the gospel, received
Christ, and then had a big bonfire where they burned the paraphernalia
of their sorcery. Today we consider that the gospel
was either rejected or believed by idolaters. What is an idolater? An idolater is anyone who worships
any God other than the one true and living God, Jehovah. Most of them make for themselves
gods out of inanimate objects, some with pieces of wood, some
with rocks, some make a molded image, perhaps of some precious
metal, but they make this idol, they confer deity to it, I say
that facetiously, and then they set their god in its place, bow
down and worship it and look to it for salvation and protection. God speaks of such people in
tones in which he mocks them in the prophecies of Isaiah and
Jeremiah. He speaks of one man who finds
a big piece of wood and thinks he sees a God in it, so he's
going to carve that piece of wood until he can get his God
out of it. So he begins to carve and chisel,
and he's making some wood chippings along the way. He decides that
his hands are getting cold, so he takes the wood chippings and
makes himself a little fire so that he can warm his hands. And God says he uses the worthless
part of his God to warm his hands and then makes himself his image,
sets it up, and worships it. And if you'll think about that
statement for a moment, you'll come to the conclusion, surely,
that idolatry is such vanity. Here is a statue, here is an
image, here is perhaps something even conjured in the mind that
is supposed to be the savior and the protector of a man. What
vanity is idolatry? Well, the gospel has come to
idolaters. Paul the apostle took it to them. Other preachers of the gospel
have taken the gospel of Jesus Christ to idolaters, and in every
instance in which the gospel of Christ was preached to them,
they either rejected it or believed it. We're going to consider first
this morning an instance in which the gospel was rejected by some
idolaters. Locate, if you will, Acts chapter
19 and we're going to consider an incident in the city of Ephesus
in Asia Minor. Yes, we considered the same place
last Lord's Day morning with regard to sorcerers. believing
the gospel unto the salvation of their souls. Now we're going
to be looking at idolaters who rejected the gospel there in
Ephesus and by the way there was also a third group to whom
Paul preached in Ephesus and this was Sabbath keepers in their
synagogues. You can read about them in Acts
chapter 19 verses 8 through 10. And you can read about the sorcerers
in Acts 19 verses 11 through 20. And these are the ones who
believed the gospel. And then the idolaters are going
to be told unto us beginning in verse number 21. Locate Acts
chapter 19 verse 21. Luke writes, when these things,
that is that marvelous deed that was done by the sorcerers there
in Ephesus in burning the books and the paraphernalia of their
trade. When these things were accomplished,
Paul purposed in the Spirit, meaning that he was led by the
Holy Spirit to do something and purposed in his heart to do as
the Holy Spirit had led. And he purposed in the spirit
that when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, places
in Europe, to go to Jerusalem, saying, after I have been there
I must also see Rome. So Paul has purposed in his mind
that he is going to go and visit there in Macedonia and Achaia
or Greece and then he's going to go on into Jerusalem and he
knew that the Spirit of God would eventually take him to Rome. In verse 22 we read So he, Paul,
sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy
and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time. This Timothy,
surely we know, the young man Timothy had been ministering
with Paul for quite some time. Paul wrote two epistles to Timothy. Erastus, we know not much about
him, but Paul sent them ahead of himself and evidently to prepare
a place for him to stay, to get the place ready so that he would
be able to minister when he arrived there. In verse 23 we read, and
about that time there arose a great commotion about the way. Now when we consider the way,
we identify it as Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and
the life. He is the only way to the Father. In this instance, the Way is
the name that was given to the followers of Jesus Christ when
considered as a group. They were called the Way. In
verse 24, For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who
made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the
craftsmen. A silversmith. Demetrius was
his name. He made images of the goddess
Diana. Diana in the Greek counterpart
has the name Artemis. Diana? was central in the idolatry
of Ephesus. She was considered a succorer
of men. She was portrayed as having many
breasts. And she had a temple that had
been built for her there in Ephesus. And this man, Demetrius, a silversmith,
along with others, were making images of her, statues of her. They were doing this to make
money. Idolaters make money from their
idols. They use their idols as a means
of providing income to themselves. In verse 25, we read that he
called them, the craftsmen, those who worked with him, those who
did the retail work of selling these images, he called them
together with the workers of similar occupation and said,
men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Evidently it was a very lucrative
trade. Evidently there were a lot of
people who wanted to buy religious jewelry. Not much has changed,
has it? Even in this day and age, people
want to buy religious jewelry, wear crosses around their necks
and crosses in their earrings and pictures of Jesus and statues
and such as that. I hope there are no such idolaters
among us here today. Making men rich, who make images
that are contrary to God's Word. But these were making a lucrative
business out of their idolatry. In verse 26, we read, Moreover,
you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost
all Asia, that would be Asia minor, what we nowadays call
Turkey, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people from
idolatry, saying that they are not gods, which are made with
hands. That's what Paul said. Demetrius
accused Paul of saying, they are not gods, which are made
by men's hands. I am tempted to use the modern
vernacular and reply to Demetrius, well, duh. Demetrius, are you saying that
God, your God, was made by your hands? That's what Demetrius
was saying. He says, Paul says that these
gods that we make, they're not really gods. Well, duh. Verse 27. So not only is this
trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the
temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised, or she may be
deposed from her magnificence, whom all Asia and the world worship."
Well, it's true. Worldly people worshiped her. Worldly people worship idols. Not all of them will worship
Diana. Demetrius may have been speaking
with a little hyperbole when he said, all Asia worships her. But this world has its idols. This world is full of idolaters. In verse 28. And when they, they
who made their business from idolatry, when they heard this,
they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of
the Ephesians. So the whole city was filled
with confusion and rushed into the theater with one accord,
having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. Evidently, they could not find
Paul, so they took two other men who traveled with Paul. The
two we mentioned earlier, Timothy and Erastus, had already gone
to Macedonia, but these two, Gaius and Aristarchus, these
were notable companions of Paul. They are mentioned in other places
as honorable men of the gospel. And they seized them and rushed into the theater with
one accord. The whole city being filled with
confusion by what was going on by the hands of Demetrius and
the rest of his craftsmen. Verse 30, and when Paul wanted
to go into the people, to the mob, the disciples would not
allow him. Then some of the officials of
Asia, These men were called Asiarchs. They were among the highest ranking
men with government positions in Asia Minor. Then some of the
officials of Asia, who were Paul's friends, sent to him pleading
that he would not venture into the theater. Some, therefore, cried one thing. And some cried another, for the
assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they
had come together. That is usually typical of a
mob scene, is it not? Some incident occurs involving
a few people And a great outcry is made. People hear the outcry
and they come. Perhaps violence begins to erupt. That draws in other people and
pretty soon you've got a large mob scene on your hands. And quite often, most of them
do not know what started the incident. All they want to do
is join in in the mobbery and the violence. Verse 33, and they drew Alexander
out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander
motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they found out that
he was a Jew all with one voice cried out for about two hours,
great is Diana of the Ephesians. It is as though they had nothing
more worthy to say. Here is a mob sing, a bunch of
idolaters, and for two hours, They're hollering, great is Diana
of the Ephesians. Not much good is going to happen
when you see a mob talking about how great is their God. We've
seen it many times in the news. On recent occasions, mob scenes
with violence and terror and people hollering out, great is
Allah. You can find the same in other
places where people in the name of their God are in a mob scene
and they're boasting about how great is their God. I would be
ashamed to speak of the greatness of my God while engaged in violence
and mobbery and hopefully you'll never see me doing so, but these
did. Verse 35, and when the city clerk
had quieted the crowd, he said, Men and brethren, pardon me,
men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city
of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana and
of the image which fell down from Zeus? You're trying to convince
us of what we already know. This was the city clerk talking
to the people. You're hollering about what people
already know. Her image had fallen down from
Zeus, or fallen down from heaven, according to the mythology regarding
her. Here were people worshipping
what they confessed to be a fallen god, or else Zeus had thrown
her out. I'm not really sure of the circumstance,
but at any rate, there is so much humor and irony in all that
is going on here. We know that our God fell from
heaven. He's speaking of his own God.
But then again, that's the way that idolaters are. Verse 36. Therefore, since these things
cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. For you have brought these men
here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of
your goddess. He's talking about believers. You will not find believers robbing
the temples of idolaters. And he said of these, these do
not blaspheme your God. Our comments regarding their
gods are simply these. They are worthless. Why do you
worship them? But as for going around blaspheming
them, no, we're not going to do it. Therefore, verse 38, if
Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, a
legal case, the courts are open and there are proconsuls who
can act as judges. Let them bring charges against
one another. But if you have any other inquiry
to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. For we
are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar,
there being no reason which we may give to account for this
disorderly gathering. Notice, disorderly gathering. Never let it be said that an
assembly of the children of God is a disorderly gathering. Paul exhorts us to do everything
decently and in order. There is orderliness in our worship. There's orderliness in everything
that we do in our worship, not so with idolaters. They are known
for their disorderly gathering, for their confusion, and quite
often, as in this case, for their mobbery and their danger to others. Verse 41, and when he had said
these things, he dismissed the assembly, and they went home
rejecting the gospel. Refusing to believe in Jesus
Christ, they went home the same idolaters that they were when
they had come to the theater that day, except now perhaps
they are more confirmed in it than they were before. I hope there is here today or
anywhere else where this message is heard, an idolater who will
continue in his idolatry because he will not believe the gospel
and receive Jesus Christ. But I'm happy to report to you
that there were some indeed who did hear the gospel and they
believed it. You can read about them in 1
Thessalonians 1. Locate, if you will, 1 Thessalonians
1 and drop down to verse number nine. 1 Thessalonians chapter
1 and in verse number 9. Actually, I want you to begin
reading in verse number 8. For from you Thessalonians, Members
of the church in Thessalonica, for from you the word of the
Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but
also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone
out so that we do not need to say anything. My friends, I hope
that a report like that can be given concerning this church.
that if the name of this church is mentioned, someone does not
need to explain what we believe. They can say, oh, the report
of them has gone out. Their faith is known. That is
a worthy thing to have said about you. Verse 9, for they themselves
declare concerning us, what manner of entry we had to you. Meaning
that when Paul had come to these people who were idolaters, they
listened, they believed, they received Christ. He speaks of
what manner of entry we had to you. and how you turned to God
from idols to serve the living and true God. You threw your
idols away. You left them. You deserted them. You realized that they were the
worthless pieces of inanimate wood or rock or whatever they
were. or even something that is conjured
in the mind, as is the idol of many people. You left your gods. You deserted
them. You turned to God. You realized
that he is the living and true God, and look in verse 10, You
began to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the
dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." Diana
fell from heaven, allegedly. Jesus will come from heaven. And when he does, it's going
to be a glorious day, coming to save those in the end day,
who had earlier deserted their idols and turned to the true
and living God, and now worship Him." These idolaters heard the gospel,
believed the gospel, and received the gospel, Jesus Christ being
the gospel Why did they do so? Paul, earlier here in this same
passage, gives us three reasons why these idolaters deserted
their gods and turned to the true and living God and began
to wait for his son Jesus Christ to come to them and for them
from heaven. He gives three reasons. The first reason is found in
verse 4. 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 4. Knowing, beloved brethren, your
election by God. Why did they turn from idols
to the true and living God and to Jesus Christ his son? Because
God had chosen them the salvation before the foundation of the
world. Knowing beloved brethren, your
election by God. God has an elect people. even
among idolaters. And every one of those who are
elect of God in idolatry will hear the gospel and receive it,
believe it, and turn from their idols to serve the living and
true God and to wait for his Son, Jesus Christ. Second reason
is found in verse number five. For our gospel did not come to
you in word only, that is, what I spoke in preaching to you,
but also in power, not mine, but it came in power, and in
the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance, As you know what kind
of men we were among you for your sake. Paul says, you know
that when we preached to you we were weak vessels, we were
not great orators like some of the preachers of the gods of
the idolaters. We did not have great powers
of elocution. We may have been despised. as
being ignorant and as being not much of preachers, but you know
the power that came with our preaching. You know how the Holy
Spirit took the word that we preached and convicted your souls, converted you, brought the saving
work of Christ to you. and gave you assurance of the
salvation of your souls. That was true of God's elect
among these idolaters. The Holy Spirit did a marvelous
work in them. The third reason why they departed
their idols and turned to the true and living God is found
in verse number six. and you became followers of us
and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Spirit." Notice, you became followers of us and
of the Lord. You cannot follow the Lord if you hold on to your idols. They deserted their idols. They
turned to the true and living God and began to follow Jesus
Christ by faith. These idolaters received the gospel. Oh, they
believed it. I am so happy to read and to
tell to you that God has some chosen people among idolaters,
I am happy to tell you that through the preaching of the gospel to
them, as weak and as poor as the speaker may be, the Spirit
of God can use the preached word to the conversion of their souls
and to grant them much assurance in Jesus Christ And if he does so, you will follow
him. You will desert your idols and
follow him. And I pray that that may be the
case today. I pray that no one walks out
that door today an idolater. But rather, even while you are
here, right there in your seat, Let us say, I desert my idols. Everything that is an idol to
me, I desert it. I turn to God. I acknowledge
him as the one true and living God. I will follow Jesus Christ
and wait for his coming from heaven. Is that your testimony? Oh God,
our Father, we pray that you bless the preaching of your word
this day. And we pray that we might be
known as a people who have forsaken our idols, whatever they were,
and turned to you and followed your son and anxiously wait for
his coming from heaven. To your glory in Jesus' name
we humbly pray. Amen.