The First Christians

Transcription

1 The First Christians Acts 11: Lesson Thirty-one Today s lesson takes us to the golden city of the Roman Empire. Antioch was called the queen city of the east. It was founded in about 300 BC and grew, at this time, to be the third largest city in the world. There was Rome, Alexandria and then, Antioch. Historians tell us it had a population of at least 600,000. It was a strategic crossroads of commerce and growing rapidly because of its geographic location. With Rome to its north and Alexandria to its south, commerce between these two cities ran through Antioch. All the caravans unloaded their wares at the wharves and warehouses at Antioch. Its main street was more than four miles long and was paved entirely with marble. It was also lined on both sides by marble columns. It was the only city in the ancient world that had its streets lit at night. But with all this good thing it was basically known as an evil city. Chariot racing, gambling, and the pursuit of physical pleasure was the action in this city. In fact, Juvenal, a Roman writer, said that the Euphrates River spilled its garbage into the Tiber, and what he meant was that Antioch corrupted Rome. Antioch was "sin city". Any vice, any god, any pleasure was within walking distance. The streets of Antioch were never quiet; this city never slept. If there was ever a city that would ignore the gospel, it was this first century sin city. Yet, in the next few verses in our study through the book of Acts, we discover an incredible example. We discover, in fact, an example of Christianity; an example of God's grace; an example of godly living in the midst of ungodly temptation. Believe it or not, we discover an example of a New Testament church. I. The Genesis of the Church at Antioch (vv ) Verse 19 picks up right where Chapter 8 verse 4 left off. The middle part is kind of like a parenthesis. He goes right back to the persecution that broke out at the time of Stephen, which was conducted primarily by Saul. And he picks that point up again. There's a little interlude with Cornelius and then he comes back.

2 Acts Lesson Thirty-one, page 2 In verse 19 they went to Phoenicia. If you keep going north on the coast you come to Antioch. But notice this: that they were preaching to Jews only Why? Because they still believe that salvation was for the Jews Continue to verse 20. Evidently, some of the Jewish men were burdened for the cosmopolitan harvest field of Antioch. They were so excited with what Jesus Christ had done in their lives that they assumed the big city needed to hear the message! I find it interesting once again, that these men were not the Apostles; they were laymen Look at verse 21. Let s don t skip over a key phrase: the hand of the Lord_ It sounds so very familiar to us; it's an Old Testament expression, but it actually occurs only three times in the New Testament, and in all three cases it's by Luke. Luke is using an Old Testament expression to depict the invisible God making Himself known in a tangible way in the company of God's people. II. The Growth of the Church at Antioch (vv ) Now notice verses 21 and 22. Jerusalem has heard the report. If it wasn't bad enough that the Jews in Jerusalem had to deal with the case of Cornelius, they now have another one. How are they going to handle this thing, more Gentiles getting saved in Antioch. Well, they had a good response. They sent forth a good man - _Barnabas We should pause here to make an important point. The church in Jerusalem is to be commended for choosing the right man_ for the _right task_

3 Acts Lesson Thirty-one, page 3 What qualified Barnabas? Let me just mention three attributes. Right spiritual qualifications Right personal qualities Right connections III. The Grace on the Church at Antioch (vv ) So, Barnabas finally arrives at Antioch. Look at verse 23. Verse 23 gives us three impactful statements about Barnabas when he arrives: he witnessed the grace of God; he rejoiced_; he began to encourage_. What does grace look like that Barnabas could see it? If we looked throughout the book of Acts and beyond at every reference to the church in Antioch, we would find that Barnabas saw: People coming to faith_ in Jesus Christ (chapter 11) Sacrificial and spontaneous giving_ (chapter 11) _Prayer_ and Fasting (chapter 13) A vision_ for the world - Antioch will commission the first missionaries (chapter 13); People accepting one another in the body of believers What can we learn from the second phrase: he rejoiced or was glad? To rejoice and be glad when God works somewhere else And then the third phrase: he began to encourage them! No surprise here. What does Barnabas mean? Son of _Encouragement_

4 Acts Lesson Thirty-one, page 4 Barnabas is preaching and encouraging faithfulness. The end of verse 24 takes us a step closer. The term many people is aglas ekinas, it means a giant multitude_ He soon realizes that he cannot do this alone. In fact, God's word is now exploding among the Gentile people just as it did among the Jews in the days following Pentecost. Who could help him? Saul (v.25) He was perfect for the job - if only Barnabas could find him! The word translated "look" in verse 25, is a very intense word; it means to look up and down fervently When they got there, Barnabas introduced Saul and then probably stepped back to let him preach. In this way, Saul began his ministry. See verse 26. That phrase "great numbers of people" is the very phrase used in verse 21 saying that a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Verse 26 is saying that all who were brought to the Lord were now taught. God saved many; now Saul taught many. Let me point out something briefly. What was Barnabas gift? Encouragement. What was Paul s gift? Teaching Here we have two, Saul and Barnabas, working together with mutually supporting gifts to build up the church. One other note before we leave verse 26. There have been a lot of names in the New Testament for believers. Yet, from history, we discover that the name "'Christian" was a name originated by pagans, not the believers. They had never been called Christians before. You and I bear the name that believers throughout the ages have died to preserve in purity. Many people call themselves Christians so glibly. Listen, if you're a Christian, wear the name well. The name Christian means, "Little Christ"; that is, "one who imitates or adheres to Christ".

5 Acts Lesson Thirty-one, page 5 IV. The Generosity of the Church at Antioch (vv ) The Jerusalem church had already been decimated by persecution and thousands of believers had died. Now, a severe famine has caused further distress. The church in Jerusalem needed help. Notice that there was no command given. It was simply the response of caring hearts. And, do not miss the irony in this. Who is helping who? The Gentiles are helping the Jews. Antioch, the movement that the apostles were not too sure about, is now helping the apostles. And, guess who is carrying the money. A man they had dismissed eight years earlier as somewhat unimportant to the cause; that is, Saul himself. V. The Great Lessons from the Church at Antioch The church at Antioch was clearly blessed of God. It is the church in Antioch that: will become the center of evangelism will become the birthplace of foreign missions will support Paul_ Each of these facts teaches us something about the church that God blesses. If we want God s blessing upon our local assembly, there are a few things that must be true of us. We must grasp the truth that every _member is a minister_ We must be _alert_ to new opportunities_ We must be generous in our giving We must live in a manner worthy of our name!

6 Acts Lesson Thirty-one, page 6 Paul, in his epistles, exhorted the believers to walk worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Col. 1:10, 1 Thess. 2:12). To be a church that God blesses, we should learn from the church of Antioch. From a small group of persecuted refugees, the church in Antioch saw large numbers of people come to Christ. In fact, three times Luke underscores the large numbers (11:21, 24, 26). But the reason this church experienced such remarkable growth was not that the leaders employed the latest church growth principles. Rather, the reason for the growth was simple: "The hand of the Lord was with them" (11:21). This was a church that God was blessing. It was a church founded by simple believers who knew that God has called every Christian to serve Him. They proclaimed the gospel as the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Their leaders set the example and taught them God's Word. They were generous givers, trusting God to meet their needs. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. If we want the hand of the Lord to be with us, then we would do well to follow the example of this church at Antioch. Lesson Thirty-two: Knock, Knock Who s There? Acts 12: 1-19