The Great Stories of the Early Church 55-Paul and Silas 06 Why Suffering After Success? Acts 16:16-34

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1 The Great Stories of the Early Church 55-Paul and Silas 06 Why Suffering After Success? Acts 16: And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. KJV It is a principle of life, one might almost say a rule, that when spiritual advance is made some

2 real challenge is going to present itself. There are two actors in this matter. The one we usually suspect (and we are quite often correct) is Satan, the enemy of all righteousness, the father of all lies. He pays far more attention to believers that are seeking to grow, advance, and serve than many would like to think. And, he is given by God the ability to create certain situations to cause difficulty in the lives of God s people. At the same time we must also affirm that God has certain definite limits on him, lines he cannot cross, and things he cannot do. Witness Job Job 1: And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. KJV But we see in the book of Job that Satan, when allowed, has the ability to control weather, motivate wicked people to do evil things, and even create tragedies that some would deem accidents. The Sabeans and the Chaldeans were simply doing what wicked men do and if we did not have the opportunity to peek behind the curtain, as it were, in our story we would never know that they were being motivated by the devil. The fire from heaven, maybe lightning or maybe the lava from a volcano, would seem just a random event, like the fierce wind that killed Job s children as they were gathered in one house to fellowship and eat. And, why did this all occur? There were two reasons. One had to do with the hatred of the devil for Job because he was a diligent worshiper of God. His desire was to harm him in any way he could. We know that God set the limit on him that he could kill him but we also know that the reason this limit was set was because that is exactly what he would do if he could. Then, of course, there was Job s illness. It was not the result of bad eating habits or poor hygiene or even exposure to illness through sick people. He was smitten ill, gravely ill, by the

3 devil out of hatred because he desired to see him suffer and hoped that he would blaspheme God. It reveals a truth about the devil that his desire is to cause suffering and difficulty in the life of every serious child of God. His desire is born out of his hatred of God Himself. It is an insane desire that has no limits to what it is willing to do. The only thing that limits it is the power of God. But one must notice in Job s story that there is another actor in the events, One that stands behind all of the circumstances. Job 1:6-8 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? KJV It was God Himself Who brought Job to Satan s attention, specifically to provoke the devil to set Job in his sights to do him harm. And, why would a loving God do such a thing, bring such horror upon probably His best servant on earth at the time? We may never know the specifics but we can surely know the principles involved. Heb 12: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. KJV That we might be partakers of His Holiness. That in and of itself is a profound statement. Some would argue that we have been made partakers of His Holiness in the Work of Christ and there is a very real sense in which that would be true. 2 Cor 5:21 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. KJV

4 So, isn t that enough? And the answer is it depends on what you mean. It is surely enough to bring one into a right relationship with God, enough to secure the forgiveness of one s sins, and enough to secure one s place in the afterlife. So, what more is needed?, one might ask. So long as we live in this life practical holiness is an ever present need and it is a thing high on God s agenda, far higher than many people think. God has not appointed Himself your nanny to make sure that you never stub your toe or get a splinter in your finger. It is not His goal and plan that you never be sick, never suffer loss, and always have extra money in the bank. These are lies that have been perpetrated on the Church, especially the Western Church for the last century or so. God s desire for you, like His desire was for Job, that you would be a partaker of His Holiness in practical terms, that you would be a living, breathing, walking, talking example of faith and sincerity in every circumstance of life no matter how wonderful or how terrible. So, let us return to our story. Why are Paul and Silas beaten and cast into prison after having delivered an poor girl from demonic possession? Had God lost control of the situation? Did His protection not extend to this region so far from Jerusalem, this region where He Himself had sent them through a vision? Was the devil so powerful here that there was nothing God could do? You know the answers to those questions. God was just as much in control of this situation as He had been in control of the Day of Pentecost. So, why are Paul and Silas beaten and thrown in prison. The first answer has to be that He would have them grow in holiness and in their likeness to Him. Phil 3:8-9 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: KJV Paul knew what many have not been taught, that suffering and sacrifice in the lives of believers is a method God uses to conform them to Christ, to produce a life of righteousness in them. Once many Christians held this as their life goal, that I might die well. Today that goal seemingly has been replaced by many with, that I may never suffer. But just look what would have been lost if Paul had been unwilling to engage with the poor girl and unwilling to anger her owners. Make no mistake, Paul knew that he would be causing trouble. He would not have been beaten, at least for that act, for sure, may have never been thrown in prison, and may have never met the Jailer and his family. I am sure he did not know what the circumstances were going to produce but he was willing to trust God with his life. As a result, God used him to take this man and Lydia, with their families and households, and make them the core of the first church in Europe... by no means the last.

5 And, thought it is not said, we may safely infer that God grew Paul and Silas through the event, making them more certain that God is in control in all things and, thus, more ready to risk everything for the Kingdom of God. They learned to sing and worship while bloody and in pain, in prison, far from home and with very little in the way of resources. Can you imagine how we would have reacted? Imagine that God has shut doors of opportunity, sent you a vision to tell you where to go, and soon after you arrive has you beaten and thrown in prison. Would we be able to count, as Paul did, that God works all things according to the counsel of His Own Will? Would we have been able to sit there with our feet bound in the stocks, bloody and hurting, and sing praises to God? This is the essence of godliness itself, the willingness to openly trust God and worship in that trusting when all has seemingly gone wrong while we are honestly serving God. The real issue of godliness is not being preserved from suffering but enduring in faith through suffering and behaving in a holy fashion while suffering. This is what we look at in the Lord Jesus, remember? He suffered untold agony and in the midst of it prayed for his tormentors and had mercy upon a wicked thief who repented and cried for His help. Let us be done with the illusion of this modern, so-called, Christianity which continually seeks ways to avoid all discomfort and which proclaims a religion of all joy and no pain, all comfort and no suffering, all peace and no conflict, all needs met and no poverty. Let us become willing to suffer for Christ s sake in a godly way, to take up our cross and follow Him as He said was the requirement for following Him. Matt 16: Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? KJV There is another issue involved here that you may have thought about from time to time. When Paul and Silas realized that the doors to the prison were open and their bonds were loosed, why did they not escape? Submission to authority God was obviously in the matter - what was He going to do? The fledgling church might have suffered unduly if they had. Paul taught a principle concerning the government. Rom 13:1-5

6 1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. KJV The amazing thing about that statement is that the ruler of the empire at that time was a madman by the name of Nero. Paul was not an anti-government activist. While he obviously knew by experience that rulers sometimes made bad judgments and would sometimes call them out for it, he also believed that God was in charge and would accomplish His purposes even through the bad decisions that officials might make. We live in a day when people look for excuses to avoid obeying the government. Any perceived injustice or irregularity or unfairness is looked upon as valid occasion to protest to violate laws in place and express our outrage, either real or pretended. But this is not the path for Christians that Paul taught nor the example that he lived. Rom 12:18 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. KJV But this was not the only issue involved for Paul. As we said previously, he was convinced that God was in charge of all things and that He had allowed this situation in order to do some good. Paul wanted to see what that was and running away would not have allowed him to do that. And, of course, we know what the good was. God was going to save a man and his family and make them a part of this new church. Then, God was going to use this church to bring honor and glory to Himself in Philippi. I have little doubt but that the Jailer was one of the early leaders of the church, maybe even one of the elders of it. Now, you and I might be able to think of a thousand different ways that God could have saved the man without subjecting Paul and Silas to a beating. But what a vivid picture was created in the mind of the Jailer and his family that serving God meant suffering for God, being rejected by society at large and persecuted by the government. There was no false image here that Christianity meant a life of ease, health, and plenty. He went in knowing that suffering would be involved. I imagine that he must have thought as he washed the wounds of the two warriors for Christ, I wonder how long it will be until I am beaten for Christ if I publicly profess Him?

7 Another thing to consider is what Paul and Silas must have thought as they reflected on this event. Would they have spared themselves the beating, knowing that a complete stranger and his family would be rescued from sin and from God s Judgment? Would we be willing to be publicly beaten in order to see a stranger saved? There is a great eternal lesson here. All spiritual progress comes at a price. One cannot grow spiritually and be comfortable. The two things are mutually exclusive and Jesus was very clear on that point. 2 Tim 3: But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. KJV Matt 10: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. KJV For the church at Philippi to grow, for the Jailer to be converted, for the gospel to be established in this new place, someone must suffer. Paul and Silas were willing, yea even happy to do that. So, Paul and Silas, even after the doors of the jail were opened, though they were still bleeding from their wounds, did not escape. Instead, they acted out of concern for the Jailer who would have assumed full responsibility for all of the punishments due the prisoners had they escaped. They remained in their cell and called out for him not to harm himself. And, so, the church gained another family because these men were faithful.