In His Rented House

Acts 28:16-31

Key Verse: 28:31 

“Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

In this chapter, we finally see Paul’s arrival in Rome: but strangely enough, we have no Biblical account of his appeal to Caesar. We know that appealing to Caesar was not the real motive of Paul’s heart. He had already been told by the Lord(Acts 23:11) that he would bear witness for Him in Rome. He writes in his letter to the Romans in chapter 1:15 and 16, these words: 

“That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” 

From this passage we learn Paul’s faith for world mission and his glorious image of Christ and the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose. From this picture of Paul preaching the gospel in a rented house as a prisoner, we see the character of God’ s history and find our own personal spiritual direction. Through the passage let’s renew our vision for God’s will for world mission. We see three truths about the gospel from this great Book-ending passage: 1] The Gospel must be shared, 2] The Gospel cannot be stopped and 3] Only the Gospel can save. 

(Thank God for blessing the European and CIS Bible conferences. We will have the chance to hear wonderful mission reports from the journey team who attended those conferences at this time.) 

[I] Paul begins his ministry in Rome [16-22] 

At last, Paul arrived in Rome. We like the word, ‘finally’. I want to add one more word here ‘by God’ s grace and mercy Paul finally arrived in Rome,’ as if he came back to his home. But the place Paul arrived in was not his sweet hometown, but a land where his trials were waiting for him. Long ago Paul held to his prayer to visit Rome. It was after seeing God’s great work in Ephesus. Acts 19:21 says, “After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. ‘After I have been there,’ he said, ‘I must visit Rome also.’” Paul was delayed by imprisonment and trials. But in Acts 23:11, the Risen Christ stood beside him and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Later, in a terrible storm, the Lord’s angel said to him, “Do not be afraid Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar. . .“ (Ac 27:24). At last, Paul was standing on Roman soil in his old age as a missionary from the respect of God’s work although people called him a prisoner. Can you imagine how Paul prayed when he set foot in his room? 

Paul did not waste time. Three days after his arrival, he called together the leaders of the Jews and talked with them (17—20) . Paul’s ministry in Jerusalem was not random. He followed God’s order. He began with the Jews. It was according to the principle of his ministry, “First for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Paul wanted them to know that he was innocent. He was in prison because of Jewish political pressure. But he did not retaliate. He understood his imprisonment spiritually. It was because of the hope of Israel that he was in chains. Here the hope of Israel refers to the hope that the long awaited Messiah would come and save his people and establish the kingdom of God. Through this conference with the Jews, Paul wanted them to know the Gospel which cannot be stopped by human forces. God uses all possible means through those who show their hearts to the Lord.

The Jews in Rome were already predisposed against Christianity. But they agreed to listen to Paul and came in large numbers to meet him (21-22). 

[II] Paul taught them the Bible. (23-29) 

Many people made appointments to study the Bible at the place where Paul stayed. Look at verse 23b. “From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.” Here we learn the key points of Paul’s Bible teaching: the kingdom of God and that Jesus is the Son of God. First, the kingdom of God is where God is King. This refers, first of all, to the hearts of men. Without the kingdom of God, men are ruled by sin and death. They are slaves of the devil. But whoever willingly accepts Jesus as the King sent by God, can receive the kingdom of God in his or her heart. All the power of sin and death is driven out; God rules with peace and love. At that time, the world was a Roman world. The Roman Empire was like a brute beast that crushed and devoured its victims and, at the same time, utterly corrupted its members. Nero was the Emperor. But Paul declared the kingdom of God in Rome. Paul hoped that the Jews in Rome would be Bible teachers and that God would use them to evangelize the Roman Empire.

Second, Paul also tried to convince the Jews that Jesus is the Christ, sent by God. But Jesus was not the kind of Christ they wanted. Jesus came to save men from their sins through his death and resurrection. But the Jews wanted an economic or political messiah. A few of them believed, but most of them did not. What a terrible result it seemed to be.
How did Paul handle this? Paul understood the rejection of the Jews on the basis of God’s word (25-28). It was the fulfillment of Prophecy. Through the words of the prophecy in Isaiah 6:9,10 Paul was comforted. There are no surprises to God. There is only the fulfillment of prophecy. Paul, who had a sense of God’s work and history, said in verse 28 as follows: “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!” So many people rejected his teaching. But Paul believed that, in the end, they would listen and the whole world would be saved. In the time of rejection we must have eyes to see what God is doing based on his word. Paul saw where God’s work and history were going. God’s salvation was being sent to the Gentiles. As Simeon prophesied, Jesus is the Light to the Gentiles (Lk 2:32). 

[III] In his rented house. (30-31) 

Look at verses 30-31. “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Humanly speaking, Paul was a prisoner. He was confined under house arrest. He could not go fishing on the campus freely. But God sent him many Roman sheep, one after another, who came to see him. And Paul welcomed them. Paul preached the kingdom of God to them and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. No doubt he taught them that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And that God raised Christ from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. One by one, Roman citizens and soldiers received the forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the kingdom of God.

 
To human eyes, Paul’s preaching the kingdom of God under Roman confinement seemed insignificant. But in God, Paul’s ministry was a new beginning in world history. In the next three hundred years, through innumerable unnamed Christians, God turned the Roman Empire into Christendom. In 313 A.D. the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be the national religion. However, once Christianity became the religion of the Empire, it merged with Roman culture. Christians began to think of the kingdom of God as a better life on earth. They compromised their gospel message and moral and spiritual purity. Then God allowed the Roman Empire to be overrun by vandals and barbarians. Many thought Christianity had failed. But St. Augustine perceived God’s purpose in this and wrote “The City of God.” God’s kingdom was not contained by the Roman Empire. God’s kingdom had been advancing steadily through house churches like Paul’s.

Since then, in every generation, the established institutions have failed and vanished. In our time, so many so-called mainline denominations of Christianity compromise with the culture and try to validate gay marriage. We must know that God’s church is not confined in these corrupted old institutions. God’s church is in the manger of baby Jesus. God’s church is Paul’s gospel preaching in the rented house in Rome. God’s church is in the individual Christian homes throughout America in which men and women fear God, live a holy life, and preach the kingdom of God. Thus, we can see in Paul’s house church the whole church of God. Let’s read verse 31. “Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” 

The book of Acts ends here. In fact, it ends with a new beginning. Human history is always changing. But the work of God is flowing steadily from one generation to the next through the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ. The church’s single foundation is Jesus Christ our Lord. 

As a conclusion to this Acts study, let’s renew our gospel faith and world mission vision. Let’s renew our commitment to a house church ministry.

While preparing this message I thought about who would continue the story of the Book of Acts. Of course, all of us who have been called by Jesus will continue this story we read about in the book of Acts.  Yet, I also saw a picture of the future pioneering ministry of Shepherd Jay and Carrie’s family in Ecuador. To complete this picture I asked Shepherd Jay to share his prayer topics. When I read their prayer topics through E-mail, I was convinced that God would be with them and make this house church abundant as Paul established his rented house as a base camp for pioneering the Roman Empire. May the spirit of Paul strengthen them to establish a powerful ministry at the University of Guayaquil and become a model house church for all Latin America pioneering ministries. Most of all they may hold to one word, “Only the Gospel can save lost souls.” Their detailed prayer topics are attached to this massage for your prayer support.

American citizen’s, we can have better chance to go all over the world as Paul took such advantage to open the door for the Gentiles. We cannot skip the relation of the first church’s birth and the power of the Roman Empire. The mission of the first church was to be witnesses of Christ to the ends of the earth. For this purpose God provided a special stage, the Roman Empire, to fulfill his work of world mission. If the first church’s ministry was limite4 to the Philistine area, it would not grow in number and be useful for world mission and eventually it would fall into the category of a mere branch of Judaism.
By the same token, God provided America, modern day Rome, as a special stage to continue his expending work of world mission. Her great size and influence in every manner and leadership in world history is a good resource to spread the seed of the gospel to all over the world. 

UBF USA and Canada is growing steadily. It now covers many cities and states. But in essence we are a house church ministry. We are a manger ministry. We must value quiet devotion to Christ in the house church more than a glamorous mass movement. We must highly value personal faith in Jesus and personal piety. We must keep up one—to— one Bible study. We must keep our message focused on the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. As we do so, may God make North America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

One word: In his rented house 

Ecuador Prayer topics

Jay and Carrie Irwin

“19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Matthew 28:19

Preparation prayer topics

1.To finish our TEFL certification(teachers of English as a Foreign Language) within 3-6 months.(between November 2005 and February 2006)

2.To pay off our remaining $1,500 debt

3.To prepare Bible study notes in Spanish(Genesis, John)

4.To practice Spanish each day

5.To be sent as lay-missionaries after the Spring 2006 Bible Conference

Short-term mission

1.To pioneer the University of Guayaquil 

2.To Master Ecuadorian Spanish

3.To get jobs for self-support as English Teachers at an English Institute in Guayaquil(possibly with a company called—“Inlingua”).  We need to make about $1,000 per month to properly support ourselves(A budget will be made when we get there to see about the exact prices of groceries and other expenses).  The TEFL jobs pay about $3-5, sometimes $7 per hour.  

4.To find a small apartment near the University of Guayaquil, with the rent of $100 per month

5.For shepherd Jay to serve life-giving Sunday Messages in Spanish faithfully 

Long-term mission

1.To establish 12 leaders for the University of Guayaquil

2.To raise 70 disciples of Jesus in Guayaquil

3.To establish 1,000 house churches with Jesus at the center in 15 years

3.To send out 1,000 missionaries to Arabic speaking Muslim nations in 15 years

4.To have 3 of our own children and 1 or 2 adopted Ecuadorian children

5.Faithfulness to Jesus’ world mission command to the point of death

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