Bible Study on Acts 16, verses 25 to 40, the salvation of the jailer

 

Acts 16:25 ¶  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.

 

Paul and Silas faith would not allow them to lament the turn of events and they praised God in their terrible situation, a lesson to us all. They witnessed for God by their singing of praises, possibly from the Psalms, and the other prisoners heard them. A discernible, a great earthquake happened which changed the dynamics. Every prisoner’s chains were loosened from them. The jailer and his family and the jail were in the same house like Potiphar’s in Genesis in Joseph’s story. A jailer who lost his prisoners would be executed and perhaps his family, as well. See a previous situation.

 

Acts 12:19  And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

 

Seeing the doors open, the jailer thought it better to die by his own hand than suffer execution for his failure. But, Paul pleaded with him not to take his own life as all of the prisoners were there and no one had escaped.

 

Now, here we have one of those statements or questions in the Bible that may have two meanings. 95% of the time in the Bible when the word salvation or saved is used it is a reference to a physical danger. Just do a word study from Genesis on. Here the jailer could be asking how he could be saved from his situation and Paul promises him twofold, temporal salvation and eternal salvation, along with his family. The jailer took care of Paul and company and was baptized believing and rejoicing in the Lord that night.

 

I cannot tell you how many times I am grateful that my eternal salvation also meant a temporal deliverance. Were God not protecting me there were several times in my life where I should have died from my foolishness and sin. But, God saved me and He saved me, gave me new life and delivered me from danger. 

 

You may not believe that the jailer here was concerned about he and his family’s fate but it is clear that he was in grave danger if the prisoners had escaped.

 

And thy house is a problem for us if you don’t believe he and his family were in danger. Were you promised that if you received Christ that your family got an automatic pass? That it was a guarantee they would all be saved? I think you can find many people who have come to Christ whose family rejected them and never accepted Christ as their Saviour.

 

Here, though, and I am speaking now in regard to eternal salvation, we have a statement, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Apply this to eternal salvation we have believe on. Is that different than believe in? Well, whether it is or not we have the definition at least of what believing on means in John’s Gospel.

 

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

 

Clearly, to believe on Christ means to believe what He said about Himself, believing Him. He made clear statements listed in John.

 

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

 

John 14:1 ¶  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go

to prepare a place for you. 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 

    4 ¶  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

 

Acts 16:35 ¶  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. 36  And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. 37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. 38 And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. 39  And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. 40  And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

 

Would it were so that the authorities today were as concerned about violating our rights as citizens as these provincial magistrates were. Being a Roman citizen carried some weight in this world as we will soon see again as at one time being an American meant something around the globe.

Bible Study on Exodus 21, verses 12 to 21, laws regarding violence against another

 

Exodus 21:12 ¶  He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death. 13  And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee. 14  But if a man come presumptuously upon his neighbour, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. 15  And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall be surely put to death. 16  And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death. 17  And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. 18  And if men strive together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keepeth his bed: 19  If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed. 20  And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. 21  Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money.

This passage begins with laws regarding murder, slavers, those who curse their parents, mutual combat and compensation for injuries resulting, and striking a servant. These are God’s commands for civil law for the Hebrews. This gives you a rough idea of the nature of civil protections at that time, certainly shocking by our standards today. God modified existing standards so you can see what must have been accepted practice.

Remember in Genesis how Abraham and Isaac were afraid of being murdered so some ruler could steal their wives, so they lied? That showed us the likely conditions of the time with regard to a powerful man simply taking a less powerful man’s wife for his own sexual purposes. In the same way these Laws given to Moses for the children of Israel must reveal the conditions of the time.

According to some sources the death penalty in Egypt was unevenly applied to those who killed another person and there was no distinction between premeditated murder and unpremeditated manslaughter. God created consistency with His edicts as the standard rather than an official who could be bribed as a matter of accepted practice.

In Egypt, the Pharaoh, as a living god, was the source of justice bound by tradition and convention but with himself and his ministers being able to apply justice as their position and power allowed rather than based on an absolute standard. God is laying down a standard.

The much older so-called Code of Hammurabi, which most certainly was not a body of laws but more a commentary on law or a philosophy of law as there is no evidence it was ever put into practice, had the death penalty for over 30 offenses. For instance, giving refuge to a runaway slave was to require the death penalty. But, it was uneven in that the punishment for a crime depended on the social status of the victim and the perpetrator. Bible skeptics make much out of the “eye for an eye” standard but that only applied between people of equal rank. God is creating an equal standard for everyone as, at this point, there is no aristocracy outside of the leader of a tribe and Moses and his assistants in enforcing God’s Law. They were held to the same standard.

Verse 12 gives us the meaning of the commandment Thou shalt not kill as Jesus defines it in Matthew 19:18  as do no murder.

Matthew 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

Verse 13 suggests the cities of refuge ordered in Numbers, chapter 35, where an unintentional killer could run to in order to keep from having family vengeance enacted on him. It also shows again God’s hand in events as the accidental victim was delivered into the hand of the killer by God.

Verse 14 shows that committing murder and running to God’s altar for protection will not save you someone from punishment.

1Kings 2:29  And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. 30  And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. 31  And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. 32  And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. 33  Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. 34  So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

Verse 15 requires death for someone who strikes one of his parents. Also note verse 17. Other interesting verses on this subject include the following;

Proverbs 20:20 ¶  Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Proverbs 30:17  The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

1Timothy 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Rules against disobedient and disrespectful children include;

Leviticus 20:9  For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.

Deuteronomy 21:18 ¶  If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: 19  Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20  And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. 21  And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

With regard to verse 16 and more modern times it is interesting the kind of man who would have engaged in the slave trade, at least the part involving kidnapping innocent people in Africa and stealing them to sell into North or South America, was doing great evil. One can only imagine a depraved beast of a human being engaging in such wicked trade, particularly if he regarded himself as a Christian.

Verses 20 and 21 modify existing customs on treatment of slaves and servants. There were various customs, laws, and traditions in the Ancient Near East regarding slaves and servants but it was a fact, God’s modifying the institution’s customs and standardizing the treatment of slaves, notwithstanding.

Do not make the mistake of Christians who unified state and church into a monster of oppression into believing that God modifying a cultural practice means that He approves of it or ordains it. In addition, the Hebrews were being given not only their religious law but their civil law, as well. Christians aren’t given that structure. We are not 12-15^th century BC Hebrews. We’re not even justified by the Law but only by faith in Christ. We cannot hide behind the Law given to Moses or use it as an excuse for our own selfish wickedness. Some fundamentalists act like they would enjoy nothing better than bringing back stoning and slavery.

Bible Study on Acts 16, verses 16 to 24, the testimony of devils

 

Acts 16:16 ¶  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.

 

James 2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

 

There were other times when devils acknowledged who Christ was.

 

Matthew 8:29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

 

Why did Paul cast out this annoying spirit even though it declared who they were, that their God was the most high, and that they showed the way of salvation? God does not need or require the declarations of devils, for one. This woman was declaring openly, loudly, and daily that these men were servants of the greatest God, which would have been an offense to the idolatrous Graeco-Roman world. She was, by her nuisance, making Paul and Silas a public disturbance by their very presence.

 

And yet, by driving the spirit from her, her usefulness to her employers was gone. Some sources claim that people claiming special powers of divination and sorcery were common in these days, with the charmers being under the control of people who made money from them. In fact, religion was the biggest business in the Roman world. The Romans thought of themselves as very religious, collectively pious, and that their success in the world was due to their relationship to the gods. Like the Hindus in India today they would have had no problem adding another cult to their pantheon as long as that cult did not claim that their god was THE God.

 

Paul and Silas are arrested and beaten without a trial to face their accusers which was Paul’s right as a Roman citizen. This is swift injustice and what was perceived to be their interference with the lawful business these people who ran the possessed girl enjoyed, this disturbing the public peace turning what the girl declared back on Paul and Silas was the reason.

 

But, of course, God had another purpose for allowing this to happen in mind.

Bible Study on Exodus 21, verses 1 to 11, a Hebrew servant

 

Exodus 21:1 ¶  Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them. 2  If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3  If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4  If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself. 5  And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6  Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever. 7  And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do. 8  If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her. 9  And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters. 10  If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish. 11  And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.

Now comes the civil law that God wants to give the Hebrews to set them apart from other cultures in the world and other nations. This will give us a clue of some of the customs the Hebrews were part of in Egypt, which God is modifying here. He starts with rules for purchasing a servant of his own people. While this would not seem to be of much relevance to us there are some important things to note. Compare the mercy and moderation called for servants to the treatment the Egyptians dealt out to the Hebrews.

Having servants or slaves was a normal part of these cultures and the world of that time. In fact, until recently, with the advent of electric appliances and gas-powered equipment for farms having slaves or servants or children to do the manual work alongside farm animals was essential for survival on anything but a subsistence scale.

God did not create culture and civilization. He permitted man to do it and He modified it. He molded and tempered societies. His purpose is His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself, not creating something for historians to write about. As an example, Christianity’s focus moved to Europe, leavened and mixed in with pagan practices to make it more sellable. God did not call for this but permitted this corrupted Christianity but out of that milieu He drew certain people, some called heretics or nonconformists and other names like Paulicians, Henricians, Bogomils, Albigensians, Waldensians and others given their names by their enemies, each group not being perfect in doctrine or understanding but drawing closer to Him moving away from the paganism of established political churches and dying cruel martyrs’ deaths.

Constantly, signs of God’s molding and tempering of the Christian faith moved into the Reformation and beyond. Each generation saw people striving for a purer faith and one more lined up with the Bible. It is a process, a part of reconciling man to Himself but using man’s free will and man’s understanding here a little, there a little to move mankind closer to God.

Back to the Hebrews meant to be a theocracy with God as king, God tempers and constrains the customs of the Ancient Near East to make a people unique to Him. He did not simply wipe the board clean and start over but worked within the framework of culture that existed. He works like that when we are saved individually. We typically don’t quit our jobs, leave our families, and forget all that we’ve learned in the world to start over like a newborn baby with no memory. God molds and shapes us through His Bible, preaching, prayer, and our experience to make us the person He wants us to be which will never be completed on this earth and in this life.

Verse 10 gives us a hint about God’s continuing value of the children of Israel, even today. God the Father calls Israel His wife. For instance, in the book of Hosea Israel is likened to an unfaithful wife…

Hosea 1:2  The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

…and Israel is also God’s firstborn…

Exodus 4:22  And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:

…and the Church is Christ’s bride….

2Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

John 3:29  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled.

Revelation 19:9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Revelation 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

Revelation 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

…and rules are given about a first wife and then the second wife’s children…

Deuteronomy 21: 15 ¶  If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: 16  Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: 17  But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

These verses help explain the doctrine that God has a unique place for Israel in the end times. He is not done with the people He created out of the heathen world of the second millennium BC. There are promises of their supernatural redemption all through the Old Testament.

Jeremiah 31:31  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:33  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 32:40  And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Bible Study on Acts 16, verses 6 to 15, Lydia of Thyatira

 

Acts 16:6 ¶  Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, 7  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. 8  And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. 9  And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10  And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. 11  Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; 12  And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. 13  And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. 14  And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. 15  And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

 

The Holy Spirit guides Paul and company not to proceed any further into the province of Asia, our Asia Minor and Turkey today. They got as far as central Turkey today, Galatia, but were forbidden to go northward into Bithynia. They passed by Mysia and entered Troas, the far western part of the Asian mainland. So, they went east, tried to go north, were stopped, and turned back westward.

 

What does it mean that the Spirit suffered them not? Perhaps they all, through prayer, had the same sense that they were not to go further. Many of us Christians, though, have had experiences where we intended to do something, good or bad, and were prevented by a force that could only be accounted for by the Holy Spirit.

 

It is here that a vision appeared to Paul of a man from Macedonia pleading with him to come to preach the gospel to them in Macedonia, a Roman province that included Alexander the Great’s old kingdom of Macedonia and neighboring regions. It is not the same area as the country of Macedonia today exactly.

 

Here we have mentioned a great woman of God named Lydia, a businessperson who engaged in the selling of purple. Clothing colored that way was so expensive that it came to signify royalty. The Roman soldiers put a purple robe on Jesus to mock Him as the king of the Jews.

Mark 15:17  And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18  And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! 19  And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. 20  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

The wealthy man in the story of Lazarus and the rich man wore purple.

Luke 16:19 ¶  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:

Purple was worn by Roman magistrates and it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Also, in Japan, the color is traditionally associated with the Emperor and the nobility.

Purple was made from a sea snail, traditionally by the seafarers of Tyre. It was known as Tyrian Purple in that context. The process of killing thousands of sea snails and making the dye was long and expensive, requiring a great deal of precision to get it right.

Lydia, as a purveyor of a luxury item, a businesswoman, was probably fairly successful and offered her home as place for Paul and company to stay after she became a Christian. Lydia came from a Greek city in Asia called Thyatira. It doesn’t say she was a Jew so she may have been a convert to Judaism. It is interesting to note that scholars believe that the name of the city is from an old language called Lydian spoken in the ancient kingdom of Lydia and thereabouts. Lydia was probably a fairly common girl’s name in Thyatira, I am thinking. But, we are in Macedonia now in the European mainland north of Greece.

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 18 to 26, part two, hearing from God

 

Now that we have the complete revelation of God we do not expect God to speak to us audibly nor do we accept that He has spoken voice-to-ear to some great religious leader. Whenever some religious celebrity declares that God appeared to him in his living room or some such nonsense we often laugh or shake our heads. But, we have a more sure word of prophecy in the Bible that is more certain even than a voice we think is from heaven.

2Peter 1:17  For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

    19 ¶  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Finally, the people did not want God to speak to them in verse 19. They wanted Moses to speak to them. Human nature is to follow a man; whether it be the toughest, luckiest, altogether pagan Viking or a charismatic pastor in a Fundamentalist church. They don’t want to hear from God directly. They aren’t willing to let God speak to them through His words in His book. They want everything spoon-fed to them. This allows for better control, certainly. The Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of our Colonial Era would say that God only speaks to His people through the sermon on Sundays. They denied Martin Luther’s insistence that the Holy Spirit would speak to each sincere believer through God’s own words in His book. Bible studies in people’s homes were typically outlawed. Thus, Ann Hutchinson’s famous Bible study was condemned and lies were spread about what she was teaching.

People are not comfortable with God speaking to them through His word. Just tell me what to think they would say, what to believe, for it is too terrible and disturbing to simply believe what God has preserved for me. They wanted Moses to be their mediator and their instructor and did not want to hear directly from God. So, it is today with most Christians, whether Protestant Fundamentalists or Roman Catholic.

Each of us, though, have this privilege, immense and grand in its proper application. That not only should we hear a man of God expound and exhort on what God has laid on his heart for us to hear but to let God speak to us through His own words in His own book, not just on Sunday but every day and many times a day if we are drawn to it or have memorized passages to contemplate and meditate on.

Psalm 119:15  I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

Joshua 1:8  This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Bible Study on Acts 16, verses 1 to 5, Paul takes Timothy with him

 

Acts 16:1 ¶  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2  Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3  Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. 4  And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. 5  And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

 

Here Paul meets Timothy from the Greek Timotheus. His immediate lineage is further named elsewhere.

 

2Timothy 1:5  When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.

 

Paul wrote later;

 

Galatians 5:6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

 

Paul’s behavior is a little contradictory. He will say that he is no longer going to the Jews in Acts 18:6 and yet will continue to try to preach to them, which will cause him no end of trouble. Notice that Peter also declares his mission to the Gentiles in Acts 15:7 which Paul claims in Romans 15:16 and Galatians 2:8 and other places.

 

God did ordain Paul to minister, teach, and preach.

 

Acts 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

 

For examples, Paul preaches to the non-Jewish crowd who worship Greek gods at Lystra in Acts 14:8-18, then to a king in Acts 26, and several times he attempts to preach to the Jews who are either hostile or clueless as in the final chapter of Acts. Finally, he declares in his writing in Romans 11:13 that he is the minister to the Gentiles.

 

Paul is a complicated man, a leader like Moses, driven by his zeal for God and his own will, prejudices, and stubbornness. He will do things that he is called to do but will also do things at cross-purposes to his mission. But, still we must admire him for his determination to be a messenger, an ambassador for God who made him sit probably in chains to Roman guards to write his incredible letters.

Bible Study on Exodus 20, verses 18 to 26, an altar of stone

 

Exodus 20:18 ¶  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. 19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. 20  And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. 21  And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

Exodus 20:22 ¶  And the LORD said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23  Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold. 24  An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. 25  And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. 26  Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

Apart what is obvious in this passage, God wanting to impress upon the people just what and who they were dealing with, there is an important point to be made about avoiding the paganized Christianity of historical church organizations of either Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, or Protestant faith traditions. God did not want the Israelites to mingle worship of gods and devils with His worship in any way.

Deuteronomy 32:17  They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

How do you know if you are a pagan Christian? Well, if your faith tradition or church or yourself holds on to a certain wording in a prayer that you repeat constantly like the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples as some kind of amulet to ward off trouble as those in former times thought it should ward off evil spirits you are paganized.

This is a model prayer for the disciples not a mantra you just repeat over and over again for good luck or to command God like some pagan magician.

Matthew 6:9 ¶  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11  Give us this day our daily bread. 12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

There are elements in this prayer that should be included in our prayers as well; honoring God, seeking His will, asking for what we need, pleading for mercy in the measure in which we grant it to others, deliverance from sin and calamity, and an acknowledgment of His power and sovereignty over all things. We need this more than He does. Prayer lines up our thinking with the reality of God if we follow Christ’s instruction and places us positionally in truth.

Long-winded prayers for show, not talking to God but talking to the people that hear you, and vain repetitions, almost as if you were chanting, are also symptoms of paganism.

Matthew 6:5 ¶  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 6  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7  But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8  Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

If you believe that God has to bless you, has no choice, for any reason you are a pagan Christian. If you believe that your service to God, your faithfulness in church attendance, or your righteous convictions and moral standard; the way you live, the political candidates you vote for, and how respectable you appear in your community are things you can do to ward off evil and prevent misfortune because you know you will have God’s protection from all trouble and difficulty, family problems, disease, etc. then you are paganized. As I said previously, you do not do business with God. You do not command Him and this life, He tells us and our own experience shows, is so fragile and our situation here so precarious and temporary and all is under judgment from mankind’s sin nature that we have no guarantee of never having to face disaster, pain, or grief while we are in this body.

The Jew and the pagan brought their animal sacrifices to a temple. They formulated complex rituals and ceremonies to get their gods’ attention, rituals and ceremonies that God never commanded. They developed these formulas to obtain their gods’ approval over long periods of time, making it up as they went along.

We all carry pagan ideas into our worship from our past as we came out of various faith traditions; Catholic, Lutheran, Charismatic, Southern Baptist, etc. etc. that had allowed these pagan ideas to enter in and we must fight to remove those pagan ideas from our worship. God does not want our worship to be corrupted with the leaven of the Pharisees or of Baal.

John 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

God did not want altars of hewn stone like the pagans made. Verse 26 will be important later in clearing up something that some get wrong, perhaps, because of a lack of reading comprehension, but we’ll save that for when it comes up again.

Verse 22 shows a direct link through this thundering and smoke to heaven itself. In this regard, heaven came down to the Hebrews. Note the following as ways God communicated with someone He chose before the Bible was complete and the entire revelation of His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself was available to us in book form around 150AD or even before.

 Genesis 22:11 ¶  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

Acts 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

God also speaks through man’s spirit imparting understanding and wisdom to Him.

Job 32:8  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

2Peter 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

2Peter 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Bible Study on Acts 15, verses 22 to 41, telling them to avoid the pollution of the pagan world

 

Acts 15:22 ¶  Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: 23  And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: 24  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: 25  It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26  Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27  We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. 28  For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; 29  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. 30  So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: 31  Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. 32  And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. 33  And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. 34  Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. 35  Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

 

The elders and the church are pleased and send letters by Paul, Barnabas, and Silas and Judas Barsabas to the churches in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. The burden is simple, to avoid the pollution that comes from worshipping the pagan gods of Greece, Rome, and the rest of the ancient world. Abstaining from food offered to idols, from blood, things strangled, and from the ritual fornication commonplace as explained previously. These tokens of worship in the Graeco-Roman world were to be avoided and, as I said, Paul will go in to much detail about why they should not do these things in the letters to the Corinthians.

 

Acts 15:36 ¶  And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. 37  And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. 38  But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. 39  And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; 40  And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. 41  And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

 

With these clarified directives from the apostles and elders at Jerusalem Paul wants Barnabas to go with him to revisit the churches they had established in every city to see the state of their affairs. One thing that struck me here is that we should not leave our children in the street. Christianity is not a hit-and-run effort. When you witness to someone and they have trusted in Christ you should have their name and a way to communicate with them. Discipling them is your responsibility or should be a consideration. Others might do the work as God often uses multiple people to work on one person’s salvation and sanctification you have not “done your job” by praying a prayer with someone and then leaving them to Satan’s devices. It is a good lesson for us.

 

Barnabas wanted to take John Mark but Paul would not have that due to John Mark leaving their journeys back in 13:13. This point of contention between the two pioneers of the gospel was very sharp as it says, so they split up. Paul took Silas and Barnabas took Mark. Paul the authoritarian and Barnabas, the son of consolation, reveal their character in this incident.