Alright, in Acts 18, there are
11 verses, as I mentioned earlier. And you might watch for this,
my subject being, in election and preaching, I have much people
in this city. Verse 1, After these things Paul
departed from Athens, and he came to Corinth. And he found
a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy
with his wife Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all
Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them. And because he
was of the same craft, he abode with them and wrought or worked,
for by their occupation they were tent makers. And he reasoned
in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the
Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus
were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit and
testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed
himself and blasphemed, he shook his raiment and said unto them,
Your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. From henceforth I
will go unto the Gentiles." And he departed hence and entered
into a certain house named Justice, one that worshiped God, whose
house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler
of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all of his house,
Many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul by
night in a vision, Be not afraid, speak and hold not thy peace,
for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee,
for I have much people in this city. And he continued there
a year and six months teaching the Word of God among them. Now, the last part of verse 10
is where we eventually want to make our way today. I have much
people in this city. Those who are pretty well acquainted
with their Bible and have been in church and Sunday school for
a good time of their life will know and understand that Paul
in the book of Acts made three missionary journeys, as we call
them. All of them are traced out in
the book of Acts, and they are written up here in this book.
Three times we see in the book of Acts from the history of it
that he went forth from the church that was there at Antioch where
he had been a teacher, and he went forth to preach being sent
forth by the Spirit of the Lord. Here they are. Journey number
1 is covered in chapter 13 and 14 of the book of Acts. Journey
number 2 is covered from Acts 15 and verse 36 down to chapter
18 and verse 22. And the third missionary journey
is recorded in Acts 18 and verse 23 unto chapter 21 and verse
14. That kind of helps us get in
our mind a picture of Paul's ministry and journey. Thus, by
this chart that we have just given, you can see that the events
in our present text that we read here in Acts chapter 18 occurred
during the midst of Paul's second missionary journey. And in the
region that might be called Asia Minor, or part of Europe, or
some have called it the Aegean Shores because of the Aegean
Sea. And as amazing as our text is,
there are some good points and some good applications which
prominently present themselves in line with this section of
the scripture. Plainly, our text speaks of election. What else could Paul or God have
in mind? I have much people in this city. Much people yet to be called. Much people yet to be converted. by which they would be by the
ministry of the Word and the Spirit of God. But, let's set
all of this in its proper light. Going back to Acts chapter 16,
I won't turn there, and about verses 6 through 10 in that chapter,
an amazing display is there of God's sovereign providence in
directing the way of Paul where he was to go and to preach the
gospel. Acts 16 and verse 7 says, they
came to Mycenae and from there they assayed, as it is in the
King James, that is, they intended, they had made it their object
They tried, they endeavored, they attempted, is what it means,
to go east into the region of Bithynia. But they were forbidden
to do so, the Scripture said, by the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit of God forbade them to go in that direction that had
been in Paul's mind and intention. Now, one thing here, you almost
need a map. of the journeys of the Apostle
Paul before you to get a picture of his travels and the cities
that he visited and where he went. Some Bibles, most Bibles,
have a set of maps in the back of them, and one of Paul's missionary
journeys you might find in the maps in the back of your Bible. But in Acts 16, verses 9 and
10, Paul is given a vision in the night. And he saw a man,
a man of Macedonia in that dream or vision. And the man of Macedonia
was crying and saying unto him, Come over and help us. Well, this gave Paul and his
associate the assurance that they should go and preach the
gospel in that particular place. God had given them some direction. And so they went. And they came
to such cities as Philippi, Thessalonica they visited. They came to Berea,
and even through that pagan philosopher city of Athens itself. And finally, in our text, they
came to the city of Corinth. And according to Acts 18 and
verse 11, Paul spent a year and six months there in the city
of Corinth, teaching and preaching the Word of God among them. And while he was there, there
came a man, Aquila, and his wife, Priscilla, who had been expelled
out of their city because all Jews were required to leave. And Paul met them, and they were
tent makers like Paul was, and so they plied their craft together."
In the third verse, And every Sabbath day there in Corinth,
it was Paul's custom, he went down to the Jewish synagogue
and he reasoned with them there concerning the Scripture and
the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 18 and verse 4. Of course,
we understand that he is using the Old Testament oracles or
the Old Testament Scripture. He would reason with them out
of the Scripture, showing indeed that Jesus was the Christ. Now before we look at our text,
let's consider the place where these things occurred. The city
of Corinth, as we read in verse 1. They went from Athens, which
was in Greece as you know, and they made their way finally to
the city of Corinth. Now I want to say a few things
about the city of Corinth that we might understand its nature
and what it was, the kind of city that it was. It was a city
with a very mean reputation. Much vice, sin was there, idolatry
and superstition. It was a seaport city which brought
many visitors crossing through, passing in, and passing out,
and it was a city full of all kind of vices that one might
imagine. Athens had been a city full of
idols, but Corinth was a city full of many practicing very
lewd behavior. Especially was Corinth famous,
or perhaps I should say infamous, as the case may be, for the great
amount of sexual promiscuity that was practiced there in the
city of Corinth. It was a small-scale San Francisco,
California, famous for prostitution, famous for the prostitutes that
were there. Historians have written that
the Temple of Venus was there, and also other pagan temples
said about the city of Corinth. So wicked was the city that there
came to be coined the term to act a Corinthian. That was a
term that they would apply to some people in their life. It
was a euphemism for lewd behavior, fornications, whoredoms, Another
term that came to be known was to Corinthianize. Someone would
say they were Corinthianizing. It related to the impurity and
the prevalent vices that were there in the city. And of course,
as history and experience both teach us, the prevailing sins,
the prevailing custom, the superstitions of any particular society will
more or less, sooner or later, bleed themselves over into the
churches in that society. Some will bring them with them
into the church. Some of their former practices
and the prevailing sins of the time will make their way sooner
or later to some degree into the churches around about them.
Now there is a strong proof that this was the case in the city
of Corinth and the church that was there. You remember 1 Corinthians
5, don't you? Concerning the man living in
fornication with his father's wife, and the church had tolerated
it and taken no action. You remember also where in 1
Corinthians 6, 13-20, Paul writes to remind the Corinthians that
some of them had viewed the bodily appetite for food the same as
they viewed the body and fornication. They had even come to that detestable
act, that you get hungry, you eat, and that therefore these
vices and urges were simply a supplying of the body. Ah, wicked cities
indeed that we meet with in the Scripture. Think of Sodom. Think of Nineveh. And then here
is Corinth. And yet God visited some of these
wicked, corrupt cities with a mercy and grace unto salvation of some. Even in Corinth, as God told
Paul, I have much people in this city. It was a wicked city. Some went right it off. Very
unstable, very wicked in every way. God sent Christ, however,
Not to call the righteous, but to call sinners unto repentance. Matthew 9 and 13, that they that
are sick have need of a physician. Mark chapter 2 and verse 17. And that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse
15. So remember, in 1 Corinthians
chapter 6, verse 9 through 11, Paul gives there a catalog of
the sins that some of them had practiced in their pre-conversion
days. Here are some. Fornication, idolatry,
effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous,
drunkards, and such like. And notice he said in verse 11
of that chapter, such were some of you. That is, at one time
you walked in this way, at one time you lived in this manner
of sin. He also reminds them in 1 Corinthians
12 and verse 2, you know that you were Gentiles carried away
under these dumb idols even as you were led. Just consider the
kind of people so many of them had been and so many of them
were. and how in time past they had
walked according to the course of the age. They had practiced
the vices customary in their society, and the prevailing vices
of their age or their era they had engaged in before they were
called. John Eady put it like this, They
walked in conformity to the reigning sins of their time." And that
seems to be the norm or the standard in any period when we look out
upon history. Now hold the thought that so
many of the members of the church, even the majority of those at
Corinth, were of Gentile extraction. I'm not saying there were no
Jews there were, but for the most part, they were of Gentile
extraction. And as such, they had formerly
been worshippers of idols and false gods, and they'd been swallowed
up in ignorance and in their superstition before they knew
of Christ. In fact, one version calls them
profane person. You know that at one time you
were profane persons. And yet, even of this sort, even
out of this mixture, God says unto Paul, I have much people
in this city. Now, see something in Acts 18
and verses 4-6. And that is that each Jewish
Sabbath, not our Lord's Day or Sunday, But each Jewish Sabbath,
Paul went to the synagogue, took advantage of being able to stand
and speak, and reasoned with them that Jesus was the Christ,
and this to both Jew and Gentile. In verse 6, we notice that very
strong opposition arose, and it came from the Jews in those
parts. concerning Paul declaring that
Jesus was the Messiah set forth in the Old Testament. And in
verse 6, the last part, we have a hint as to how strong this
opposition of the Jews must have been because it caused or resulted
in Paul to shake his garment off against them. Now that was
a great insult in that day and our time. to take his garment
and to shake it off against him as if to shake every little bit
of dust that might have been picked up in and around the synagogue
off of himself that might cleave unto him. Compare that with Acts
13 and verse 51. And he declared, Paul did, that
he was done with them. He declared that their synagogue
he was leaving. And from hence he would go to
the Gentiles. He tells them and that he had
been faithful to preach the Word of God to them, and that their
blood was not upon him in any way. He stood not in any way
guilty if they fall into condemnation because he had preached Christ
to them. He had faithfully done so. And
how he would carry his saving message to another people. Now there are at least three
such passages in the book of Acts from Paul with this kind
of attitude. Let's look. I'm going to read
them. Acts 13 is the first one that I can think about. And in
Acts 13, this time, let me read verses 44-48, please. Paul is preaching. He meets with
the rebellion of the Jews. And in verse 44, the next Sabbath
day, came almost the whole city together to hear the Word of
God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes,
they were filled with envy and spake against those things which
were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and
Barnabas waxed bold and said, listen to this, it was necessary
that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you but seeing
you put it from you, judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn unto the Gentile." Now, the second one is in our
text, in Acts 18 and verse 6. And the third one is in Acts
28 and verse 28, where Paul is in Rome. He is in his own hired
house. Again, he meets strong unbelief
from some of the Jews, and to them he quotes the passage taken
from Isaiah chapter 6, verse 9 and 10, and he tells them in
Acts chapter 28 and verse 28, in fact, almost at the very end
of the chapter, he says this, Acts 28, 28, Be it known therefore
unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,
and they will hear it." So, we have that from Paul. Paul quitted, therefore, the
synagogue, moved out, and in verse 7, he found a house right
next door where he took up and held services, and the people
began to come. continued his ministry there
right next door, using the house of a man named Justice. And in verse 8, to add insult
to injury, one of the chief rulers of the synagogue believed the
gospel and began to meet with Paul. Now the situation there
was explosive with so many Jews against Paul openly. And him
conducting services right next door, hard next door to the Sabbath,
having shaken off his garment against them, lifted up his feet
against them, and given them a very strong rebuke. And to
add insult to injury, one of the chief rulers of the synagogue
believed and came over and worshipped. Need we be reminded that at Lystra
in Acts 14, 19 through 20, that the Jews had stoned Paul, thinking
they had killed him, drug him out of town, threw him like a
piece of trash on the side of the road, and his disciples came
and he got up again. But they stoned him nigh unto
death. Now God does an amazing thing
for His servant Paul here in Acts 18, verses 9 and 10. For the Lord spoke to Paul in
a night vision, or a dream, some kind of divine communication
the Lord God made unto him, which had also been given to him at
other times, by the way, Acts 23 and 11, 27, 23, and 24. The Lord had made His will known
unto Paul. Now the purpose of the vision
in Corinth at night was to encourage Paul to keep preaching Christ
and assure him that he would be safe from harm, that nothing
would befall him in the way of harm." You remember now how many
places Paul was taken out, scurried out by his disciples just before
they did him harm? Many places he went under the
cover of darkness. The disciples had to get him
out of town before some harm came unto him. But God assures
him in this place Stand fast, stay here, preach the Word, no
harm shall set upon thee. This time the reason is couched
in a promise. Look at the last part again of
verse 10, if you will. For, or because, or since, I
have much people in this city. First, the amazement of it. A city so wicked. A city so full
of idolatry. And yet are there many here that
God has reserved unto Himself. Second, the meaning of the words. They're wrong who take these
words to mean, I have many here already saved, already converted,
already believers who are willing to stand with you and help protect
you. That's not the meaning, and it
would be a perversion to make it say that. Those who would
put this sense upon the words do so with an ulterior motive,
and that is to rob the passage of the election of grace, to
take sovereign election out of this very clear statement, to
be rid of election unto salvation. At least we can accuse them of
ignorance if that be not their cause. By the much people, he
refers to those not yet called, not yet converted, but who would
be later by or through the ministry of the preaching of the Word
of God and of the gospel, but who were at the present time
mixed up together with the many who would continue as unbelievers. But being elect, this many, they
would be in God's time called out from among that wicked assembly. and become converted unto Christ. For example, just think of the
words of the Lord in John chapter 10. Have you ever noticed real
carefully that our Lord says something along this same line? Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Get it again? other sheep I have,
not of this fold, them also I must bring." Now, most expositors
consider that by the other sheep in John 10, the Gentiles are
meant, who were not of the Jewish nation, not of the Jewish fold,
and who were of old, what Paul described in Ephesians chapter
2 and verse 12, without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having
no hope, and without God in the world." This, as one expositor
wrote, is a prediction from the Lord of the approaching call
of the Gentiles to salvation. There were some of them, yea,
many of them, who were appointed to eternal life, but not yet
called still living in sin incarnate." And notice the word that Paul
uses, must. The Lord uses it, I'm sorry.
Them I must bring. I must bring them. Not try to
bring them. Not offer to bring them. But
actually bring them. I must. Again, I have them. I have them, he said, Thou hast
given them to me. I have many sheep that are not
of this foal." This confirms that the elect people are viewed
and called, before they are converted, as God's sheep. They are not
goats, they are God's sheep, even before they are converted.
Gone astray? Yes. Lost yet? But they are the
sheep of His pastor, and then are found and brought into the
foal. They are sheep. by their loss
and that before they believed." They never were goats. That makes me think of a man
who told me probably 35 years ago, well, I was once a goat
and then the Lord made me a sheep. Not so at all. But see again
in John 11, 51 and 52, the distinction prophesied that Jesus should
die for that nation not for that nation only, but that he should
gather together in one the children of God that are scattered abroad."
And considering what old Caiaphas, the priest, had just said in
John 11, 49 and 50, this prophecy is indeed amazing. See the contract. That nation
and the children of God scattered abroad. So let's switch our focus
to the passage found in Acts chapter 13 and verses 44 through
verse 48 again. Paul is in Antioch of Pisidia
at this time before he came to Corinth. Two things occurred. A. The Gentiles showed an interest
in hearing the word of God and the gospel And they bid Paul
that they might come again the next Sabbath day and hear. This
is the Gentiles. The Jews were told, opposed Paul
and contradicted. They blasphemed and discussed
against him in an awful way. We've just read what the Lord
said unto them. It was necessary the Word of
God first be spoken to you, but seeing you put it from you, judge
yourself unworthy of everlasting life. But we remember something.
The Gospel was to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans
1 and verse 16. This was an order that was observed
by Christ, then observed by Paul. The Jew first. For they first
trusted in Christ, Ephesians 1 and verse 12. When Paul announces
that he is turning to the Gentiles, then look at Acts 13 and verse
48. What a wonderful saying we have
here. When the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad, glorified the word of the Lord, and listen,
as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Now that is very,
very clear, is it not? As many as were ordained to eternal
life. Now the verse does not say, as
many as believed were appointed to eternal life. That's to turn
it upside down. As many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. They believed because they were
ordained unto eternal life. that they were to look upon these
as cause and effect. The reason they believed is they
were ordained unto eternal life. We can't turn these words down,
as some have done, to mean as many as wanted or as many as
were disposed, as you see in some versions of the Scripture.
It clearly means as many as were enrolled are inscribed in the
Lamb's Book of Life. They were chosen, they were ordained
to eternal life, and they believed. They and they only believed. You remember Lydia, of course. The Lord opened her heart and
she attended to those things spoken by Paul. Thus, when the
Lord tells Paul I have much people in this city." It says that God
has chosen them to salvation through belief of the truth. He's marked them out as heirs
of life and of eternal heirs of salvation. And it assures
Paul that his preaching ministry would meet with success and would
bear fruit. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save those that believe. And that brings us to
a final point going down the home stretch. And that is the
connection that the Scriptures make between election and the
gospel. I refer you to 1 Thessalonians
1, 4 and 5. Here's what Paul said to them.
Knowing, brethren, your election of God, seeing our gospel came
to you not in word only, but in demonstration and in power
of the Holy Spirit. And though the oral gospel cannot
regenerate, does not regenerate, yet Paul can say to those chosen
to salvation, whereunto He calls you by our gospel. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 14. And in Acts 16, 6 through 10,
how Paul was forbidden to preach in one place and then bid to
stay longer in another, that is, in Corinth. For I have much
people in this city. It seems where there are elect,
God sends the gospel. And it seems contrarywise where
God sends the gospel, there are elect. When I say elect, I'm
not referring to free will election. When I say gospel, I'm not referring
to the junk gospel that is being pawned off on people in so many
places today. Such are no more than deceived
and deceiver, the blind leading the blind. Most churches do not
know it, but they have not yet preached the gospel. God's providence
falls out in such a way that He maintains He sins, he maintains
the testimony, the witness of Christ in the gospel where his
people are that are to be called. Why would the Spirit send the
gospel where there are none of God's elect? The gospel is a
witness of Christ, Matthew 24 and 14. And it is a saver unto
death, unto many, as the margin said. in that passage in Corinthians. John Owen once wrote, quote,
the first direct principle design of the dispensation of the gospel
is the conversion of souls, unquote. Then he adds, it is not likely
to be continued in any place where conversion is not accomplished
in any. Owen said that he doubted that
God would send the gospel. only for the aggravation of men's
sins and their condemnation. And where sinners hear the gospel,
where they hear it with contempt and react against it with contempt,
they do so to their own hurt, and the gospel therefore becomes
a saver unto death. I have much people in this city. In other words, mine elect are
here. I have some. They're going to
be called. They're going to be converted.
Hold your faith strong and preach faithfully. Consider two individuals
in closing and the providential way the gospel came to them just
at the right time in their life that they were converted. The
first one is the Ethiopian eunuch in the eighth chapter of the
book of Acts. This man had been to Jerusalem
for the worship. He was treasurer over Candace's
treasury in Ethiopia, and as he rode back to his country,
having been to Jerusalem, sitting in his chariot, reading from
the prophet Isaiah, and the best part of it, chapter 53. And the
Lord sent the evangelist Philip, who came and joined himself and
preached Christ out of that scripture, and the man was baptized. The second one is Lydia. of Thyatira,
a seller of purple, and yet crossing paths with Paul in the city of
Philippi. There she is with a group down
by the riverside where prayer is wont to be made, and Lydia
comes in Acts chapter 16, one of the first converts that he
had in that city. And blessed be God, he gives
her an ear to hear. to attend to the things that
were spoken by Paul. It says the Lord opened Lydia's
heart that she attended to the things that were spoken by Paul.
So you see how blessed in our background is the providence
of God when by dragging or persuasion or whatever we made our way to
a place where the Word of God was preached and our hearts were
smitten. And God used his word to enlighten
us. He opened our ears and understanding
to that. How blessed indeed when the message
of Christ fell on our ears with hearing and understanding. I
have much people in this city. I think of the city of Houston
sometimes, the millions that are about here, the millions
that are in churches, and I think the Lord surely has some of his
elect in this city and where there is no gospel, woe to that
people, how blind and how dark is their way. The people that
sit in darkness without the instruction or the illumination of the gospel. Thank you. Let's bow our heads
together, please, for a word of final prayer. on all of those that the Father
hath given Him. He has conquered sin and death
and the grave. He has suffered and died and
been raised again. His blood and His death are sufficient
for the saving of sinners, having given Himself to the suffering
of the cross, enduring all that God required of Him as our great
High Priest and Sacrifice, that He might secure our pardon. Christ is passed into the heavens
and having been perfected as our saving High Priest. He and He alone is the author
of our salvation. He, being perfected, is able
to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him. He has, as Daniel said, brought
in everlasting righteousness. He hath brought it in in behalf
of His people. So what a wonderful thing to
say. And being made perfect, became
the author of eternal salvation unto all, no, unto all of them
that obey Him, to them that believe, to them that follow, that walk
in His way, to them that are regenerated, and convert him,
that he is the author of eternal salvation. Now, does it stand
to reason that if our salvation is eternal, that it was purposed
before the world, applied to us now, that it can never be
forfeited and never be lost? It is an eternal salvation, purposed
before the world, executed in Christ, and standing throughout
eternity or into eternity. Eternal salvation. You know something? I think the
Hebrew author uses these words in respect to the Jew. Their
sacrifices for sin lasted a year and done again and again and
again. But the Bible said, or Hebrews said, forever. He has
sanctified forever. Those Old Testament sacrifices
could not do that, but Christ, in His great sacrifice, has made
one with eternal, everlasting efficacy. Thank you, and let's
bow our heads together, please. Let's pray.