What is Your Response to the Bible (Acts 17: 1-15)

For an ad-free version of the podcast plus the opportunity to enjoy hours of exclusive content and two bonus episodes a month and also help keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free  for listeners everywhere at;
patreon.com/JeremyMcCandless

Subscribe here to receive my new church history podcast every few weeks at.
https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com

Welcome:
Today, we're diving into a crucial topic that each one of us faces: "What is Your Response to the Bible?" We'll explore Acts 17:1-15 and see how different people responded to Paul's preaching. These responses are as relevant today as they were then. Let's delve into the decisions people made and how those decisions can impact our lives and faith journey.

Episode Notes: 

Key Points:

1. Decisions and Responses:
   • Everyone makes a decision when they hear the message of the Bible. Some are persuaded, and some are not, but everyone decides.
   • Paul’s approach in Thessalonica involved reasoning, explaining, and proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.
   • The responses were mixed: some believed and joined Paul and Silas, while others opposed and caused trouble.
2. Thessalonica:
   • Paul reasoned with the Jews in the synagogue, explaining and proving the necessity of the Messiah's suffering and resurrection.
   • The reactions varied: some Jews and many Greeks believed, while others were envious and incited a mob.
3. Berea:
   • The Bereans were more open-minded, eagerly receiving the message and examining the Scriptures daily to verify Paul's teachings.
   • Many believed, including prominent Greek women and men, showing the importance of verifying teachings against the Scriptures.
4. Handling Opposition:
   • Those not persuaded in Thessalonica caused a riot, showing that rejection can sometimes lead to active opposition.
   • Despite opposition, Paul and his companions continued their mission, moving to new places to preach the gospel.
5. The Roman Road to Salvation:
   • Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
   • Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
   • Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
   • Romans 10:9: "If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

Reflection Questions:

• What decision have you made regarding the message of the Bible?
• How can you ensure your beliefs align with Scripture?
• Are you open-minded like the Bereans, eager to verify and understand the truth?
• How can you share the message of Jesus with others?

Thank you for joining us today. I hope this episode cha

KINGDOM COME WITH ANDREW NKOYOYO
Learn how to experience Holy Spirit's power, healing, miracles. Subscribe/follow now below

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Chapters

• 13:18 [Ad] KINGDOM COME WITH ANDREW NKOYOYO
• 14:04 (Cont.) What is Your Response to the Bible (Acts 17: 1-15)

Transcript

What is Your Response to the Bible. (Act 17: 1-15)

Transcript: 

One Minister once asked another Minister at a conference, “How many decisions did you have on Sunday?” His colleague paused for a moment and said, “Somewhere in the region of 100,” he replied.

The first pastor was a little surprised and said, “Wow, that must have been a powerful sermon you peached on Sunday. How many people were there?” His colleague replied, “About 100, because everybody who was there that day made a decision.

Some were persuaded about what I said and some were not, but everybody made a decision.”

Having heard that story over 20 years ago I made a commitment in my own mind that whenever I preached I would also frame what I said in a way that everyone listing to what I said could make a decision and potentially leave the building changed in some way, in their view of God and their need of Jesus, or in their outlook on how they should live their Christian life. 

That day I also decided that my responsibility ended at the edge of the pulpit, and I should leave the rest to God.

The simple reality is that every Sunday, everybody present makes some kind of decision. Even choosing not to decide is itself a decision. So, all of us fall into two basic categories: you either decide you are persuaded, or you decide you are not persuaded.

What I’d like to do this morning is talk to you about those very type of decisions. Recently we’ve been tracking Paul on his missionary journeys, and we are now in the middle of his second missionary journey. 

So, lets pick up today and see the kinds of decisions he encountered when he preached. This is a really interesting series of events that I believe can teach us a lot, so welcome……

In Thessalonica

1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. 5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.[a] 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

(Acts 17: 1-9)

When we last left Paul, he was at Philippi. This passage opens by telling us that Paul journeyed from Philippi to a place called Thessalonica, that’s a distance of about 100 miles. When he got to Thessalonica, he went to the synagogue of the Jews. You will remember that in Philippi they didn’t have a synagogue, just a few people down by the riverside praying. Now, in Thessalonica, they do have a synagogue to go to, and this was their usual method.

What is instructive here is what Paul did next. He says, “He reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead, telling them that is indeed the Messiah ‘Notice it says that he reasoned with them, dialogued with them. The Greek word used here implies a discussion, perhaps even a question-and-answer session.

Up until this point, Paul primarily preached and taught. Both are public presentations, but here, Paul engaged in dialogue. So we see in both Jesus' and Paul's ministries, there were times for proclamation and times for dialogue and discussion.

Both methods are vital to our spiritual growth and understanding.

So, what decisions did people make in Thessalonica? In Thessalonica, some were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, while others were not persuaded and would cause trouble. 

The key takeaway is that our responsibility is to speak the truth, to open our mouths and share the gospel. Some will respond, and some will not. But our role is just to faithfully proclaim what we believe the bible teaches, specifically about Jesus.

So, I just want to point out that this is a departure from what Paul was normally doing and that we ought to follow the same pattern and have both types of ministries as part of our skill set. 

The second thing it says he did is explained and proved, what he said. That particular word contains the idea is he opened up the Scripture. According to this verse, he went to the Old Testament and demonstrated that the Messiah had to suffer and be raised from the dead.

When you read the Old Testament in isolation most people would conclude that a Messiah was coming. All the Jews read the Old Testament at that time expecting the Messiah. But most of the passages in the Old Testament talk about the Messiah coming and setting up a kingdom. So, Paul said, now look at it more carefully and you will see that the Messiah is going to come, suffer, die, first and then be raised to usher in that kingdom.

So it seems that some are persuaded.

But there’s also a second response. Looking further in the passage, some Jews were not persuaded. Everyone in that congregation, that day, decided. Some were persuaded that Jesus is the Messiah, while others were not. 

So, what did they do? Well, in this case, it says some who were not persuaded became envious. They were jealous of Paul because he came in and persuaded a significant portion of their synagogue that Jesus was the Messiah, and they didn’t like that at all. So, they became envious of his success.

Verse 5 says, That those who were not persuaded gathered a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, where Paul and his companions had been staying and tried to drag them out.

I think the old King James translation renders these events with an added perspective when it says they gathered together, "lewd fellows of the baser sort." They went down to the equivalent today of where the addicts and the criminals frequented and gathered them together into a mob.

They gathered a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked Jason’s house, trying to bring them out. They attacked Jason’s house, but when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of his friends before the civic leaders saying, These men who have caused trouble all over the world and they have now come to make trouble here.”

The old King James rendered it as "turned everything upside down," That’s ironic for I would say that it was sin that sin turned the world wrong side up, and it was Christians who came along and tried to turn the world, right side up. So they were accused of causing all kinds of problems.

They said, Jason has welcomed them into his house even though they are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." 

So, they accused them of preaching another king, interpreting that to mean Jesus was in opposition to King Caesar, which would certainly have upset the authorities. 

So here's what they did: in verse 9, it says, "When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. Then they made Jason, and the others post bond and let them go." 

So Paul and his companions weren't going anywhere until they secured it from Jason and some others. Once they had it, they let them go.

The Jason and his friends went back and told Paul and Silas, "The whole city is in an uproar, and you’ve got to get out of here." Verse 10 says that they immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. But when they arrive In Berea, they started all over again, preaching the same message.

In Thessalonica, there were two reactions: some were persuaded (verse 4), and some were not (verse 5). That’s often how it goes. In this case, those who were not persuaded caused a riot.

Before we move on to Berea, let’s consider this: what do you about people who are not persuaded? This is a hard lesson but it seems we must simply move on.

There is a story told by Jesus and the rich young ruler. The text says that when the young man heard what Jesus had to say, and he went away sad, and Jesus said to his disciples, “let him go”.

Jesus presented the truth, and the young man made his choice. We must do the same: present the message and allow people to make their decision. Not everyone will be persuaded, and that’s a reality we must accept.

"Any persuasive effort which restricts others’ freedom to choose for or against Jesus Christ is wrong." We are not Islamic Jihadists who believe people can be converted at the point of a sword, or even blown into the kingdom of God.

People have the right to choose, and we must respect that, even when they choose against Christ. Some will walk away, and some will cause trouble. There are variations within the "not persuaded" crowd.

Now, back to Berea. 

10 As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

(Acts 17: 10-15)

When Paul and Silas arrived, they went to the synagogue. Verse 11 says, they were "more noble." This phrase also means they were more open-minded. They received the word with all readiness. They were not only open-minded but eager to hear the message. 

But their eagerness was focused on receiving the word and they searched the Scriptures daily to see if Paul’s teachings were true. I love that. They didn’t just accept what he said, they verified it against Scripture.

This principle is critical. Don’t believe anything a preacher says unless it aligns with Scripture, and yes that applies to me too friends.

The Bereans checked Paul’s message against the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. They wanted to ensure the message was true.

Many in Berea believed it says, including prominent Greek women and men. So, some believed and even went beyond that by diligently searching the Scriptures. This eagerness to verify and understand the truth is commendable because it is that that leads to their growth in faith.

How do you increase your faith? The bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. George Müller, a great man of faith towards the end of his life said he had read the Bible over 200 times. Is it any wonder he had such strong faith? 

But looks what happens next it says that when some of the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came and also and stirred up the crowds there."

The opposition from Thessalonica followed Paul to Berea, causing them trouble once again.

So again the believers their immediately send Paul away to go a nearby sea port; but interestingly both Silas and Timothy remained there." Paul would sail on to Athens while Silas and Timothy stayed behind.

The Bereans responded with strong faith and eagerness to learn. In contrast, the Thessalonian Jews were not open-minded and only sought to cause trouble, and spread their trouble.

On September 22, 1975, a lady called Sara Jane Moore stood about 40 feet away from President Ford and fired a shot at him. A bystander, saw what she was doing and pushed her arm, causing the bullet to miss. 

Moore was sentenced to prison and paroled in 2007 after 32 years in prison reflecting on her actions at her parole meeting, she said, "I was blinded and only listening to what I wanted to hear, I do not think that way today" 

Isn’t that a perfect description of what these people are doing here?

Isn’t that an appropriate description of what some people do today?

They only hear what they want to hear. They don’t search out truth; they aren’t open-minded, and they aren’t seeking the truth. They just want to confirm what they already believe. 

I think these passages are a gift for use to help us understand that people always have two options: you can either be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, or you can be unpersuaded. 

But their decision is critical because I believe it determines where you will spend eternity.

So, are you persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? If you are persuaded, then you’re in. The intention isn’t to become religious; it’s simply to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Now, we saw there are variations among those who are not persuaded. 

Some might say, “That’s nice for you, but not for me,” which is what most people say today.

Others might become very antagonistic towards Christianity, causing trouble and creating obstacles. Throughout history, many have tried to oppose Christianity, but none haven’t been successful in the long run.

In our nations today we will see some who are persuaded and those who are not. 

Among those who are not persuaded, some will just walk away, and some will actively oppose.

Among those who are persuaded, some will do nothing, but others will get excited and want to share the message with everyone they possibly can.

That’s the decision we all have to make, isn’t it? Are you going to be persuaded and search the Scriptures? Or are you going to be persuaded and, by God’s grace, share and then message with everyone you can?

Now if that what you would like to day, I would like to close today by sharing with you four, just four simple bible verses that will help you do that and share the good new of Jesus with someone. It called by some the Roman Road, because it comes from the book of Romans

·        Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

·        Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

·        Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

·        Romans 10:9: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I think this passage today asked us to make a decision today, to believe. But more than that. Don’t just believe; believe and share.