Remain True to the Faith

Acts 14:1-28 

Key Verses 14:21b-22 

“²¹They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said.”

In last week's passage the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to be set apart for his work. The Holy Spirit sent them out as missionaries. First they went to Cyprus, then to Perga and Pisidian Antioch. There they preached the gospel and many, Jews and converts to Judaism, received and believed their message. But some Jews were jealous and talked abusively against the gospel message. Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ' "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth" ' " (Acts 13:46b-47). All who are in Jesus have been made a light to salvation to the ends of the earth. The Gentiles were glad and honored the word of God when they heard this, but the Jews were jealous all the more and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas so that they got expelled from the region. 

Today's passage continues their journey from Pisidian Antioch, deeper into Gentile territory, to Iconium, Lystra, Derbe. And then backtrack and revisit these locations as they return home. To obey the Lord's command to bring salvation to the ends of the earth was not easy. Their hardships only intensified and increased. But their message at the end was to remain true to the faith and enter the kingdom of God. It is our natural way to avoid hardships. We hate hardships. So, I pray that we may be encouraged by and learn of their faithfulness to the Lord that we may endure and experience the Lord’s power. Let's look at their journey part by part. 

I. In Iconium (1-7) 

Look at verses 1-2. "1At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers." The same pattern of events occurred at Iconium. A great number of people believed, both Jew and Gentile, and again some Jews who refused to believe brought trouble against them. Again, it says that they "stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers." The word "poisoned" here tells us how strongly they had attacked the minds of the brothers and what this kind of hardship felt like for Paul and Barnabas to experience. It must have been so painful and frustrating to see the minds of those who came to listen to God’s word corrupted by those who were jealous, to see their labor for these people turned against them. But they did not give up on these people. 

Let's look at their response in verse 3. "So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders." When the Jews did this, Paul and Barnabas did not argue or try to defend themselves but spoke "boldly for the Lord" and they spent “considerable time” doing so. We see their faith in the Lord to spend this considerable time in labor for these people. They believed the message of the Lord’s grace was stronger than any poison and is in fact the one antidote.

Verse 3 also tells us how the Lord responded. He "confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders." Here we see the Lord who not only sent out his servants, but went out with them, and worked among them in their time of hardship. Many of us have experienced this kind of hardship where the minds of those we are serving are poisoned against the gospel message and our ministry. And many times it happens suddenly just like in this passage and we have to face a flood of personal feelings of rejection and anger and frustration. But this passage calls us to look to the Lord by faith who works among his servants whom he sends out to serve his message. And as we look to him by faith we can experience his power and be strengthened to continue serving the work he called us to do.

Yet the city was divided and there was a plot to mistreat and stone the apostles (4-5). But they found out about it and fled to the nearby Lycaonian cities where they continued to preach the good news (6-7). There is no guarantee that all the troubles will go away. But we see the power of faith enabled Paul and Barnabas to continue serving the Lord without fear. Let's look at their next location. 

II. In Lystra (8-20) 

Look at verses 8-10. "8In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10and called out, 'Stand up on your feet!' At that, the man jumped up and began to walk." Paul again was speaking. Then he interrupted his own speech and called out for a man who been crippled from birth to be healed. It was amazing that Paul could just look at him and see that he had faith to be healed. The Lord's power was surely working through Paul, and the man was healed. He jumped up and began to walk. This sounds like the times when Jesus healed the crippled. And the crowd would praise God in amazement. 

But this crowd had a very different response. Look at verses 11-13. "11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, 'The gods have come down to us in human form!' 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them." Rather than seeing God through this miracle, they thought that Paul and Barnabas were the gods Hermes and Zeus. The word got around so quickly that the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city gates, brought bulls and wreaths to offer as a sacrifice to them. 

When Paul and Barnabas heard of this they "tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd shouting. Look at verse 15a: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you..." They couldn't stand to hear that the people were treating them like gods, that the crowds were crediting them for what God had done. So they rushed in to put a stop to it. They were merely messengers bringing God’s message. Their attitude is very different from Herod, who enjoyed the people calling him a god, but was later struck down for it. 

Look at the rest of verse 15 and 16-17. "We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Here Paul quickly gave a simple message about who God is and the message God was bringing through them that day. Their message was this: to turn from these worthless things—their idols—to God. Paul didn't talk about God's promise to David or any of the other prophets or even Jesus—as he did when speaking to Jews. It was clear that these people had no idea at all who the true and living God is. 

This was truly good news for them. They were quick to turn to idols and to make offerings and sacrifices to them. But these idols are worthless. They are nothing and do no thing. But God was now calling to them him. Who is God? 1) He is living; 2) He is the Creator who made heaven and earth and see and everything in them. 3) God's testimony of himself is the kindness and provision he showed to them--giving them crops in season, filling their hearts with joy, and that day healing a man who had been crippled from birth and had never walked. Yesterday’s daily bread from Job 37:13 says that God waters the earth to show his love. This is who God is and what he had been doing for them all this time, even before he and Barnabas arrived. They didn’t know of God before, they only saw their idols. 

What this crowd did gives much meaning to the command the Lord had given them, as Paul shared in Acts 13:47: "I have made you a light for the Gentiles." The root of their darkness was not knowing God, and thereby exchanging their lives for worthless things, giving what belongs to God to something or someone else. Of course, nobody worships or believes in Zeus or Hermes anymore. However, many regard Jesus not as the Lord, but as an ancient myth just like Zeus or Hermes. And so people today suffer in this same deep darkness of knowing who God who is and up setting up other things as their gods that bring them fortune or show kindness to them or punish them. We are inviting people to Bible study from the campuses that these students might know God and turn to him. We thank God for his grace to turn us from worthless things to the living God, our Creator. What a terrible thing to give one’s life and all that is valuable to what is worthless, all the while God has shown his kindness to us.

Look at verse 18: "Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them." Despite Paul’s words they really wanted to sacrifice to them. Then another group quickly entered the scene. Look at verses 19-20. " 19Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe." These Jews had come from Antioch and Iconium! They came all the way to stone Paul. They were missionaries of the devil. And finally they got to stone Paul and then dragged him outside the city and left him for dead. But interestingly, Paul didn't flee this time. Although this time they actually stoned him, he got up and went back into the city. Why did he do this? It was because of his faith in the living God! Because of his faith he didn’t live in fear of people, but he lived to serve the Lord. The Lord empowered and strengthened him so that even hardships when met with faith became opportunities to know the Lord’s power. Then the next day that he and Barnabas left. 

III. In Derbe and the journey back to Syria Antioch (21-28) 

Look at verse 21a. "They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples." Without fear of the Jews, they continued to preach the good news in the next city and their ministry continued to bear fruit of disciples. 

Look at verses 21b-22. "Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. 'We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,' they said." Paul and Barnabas deeply cared for the disciples that were won in each city. Paul and Barnabas were pushed out of each region by one difficulty after another and didn't get to spend the quality time they wanted with the new believers who were left behind. They gave their efforts to raise quality disciples. 

The main point of their encouragement and strengthening was, "to remain true to the faith" (22). And they did this by saying, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." I'm sure that Paul and Barnabas said many other words to encourage and strengthen them. But it is this one line that the author presents to us to accept.

 

In the case of these disciples, they were born in hostility and witnessed from the beginning many hardships befalling Paul and Barnabas. Those in Lystra even saw Paul stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead. What was the condition of their hearts after witnessing and experiencing all these things? The contents of Paul’s encouragement tell us that some already had a sense of trouble to live as a Christian. Should they face hardships like Paul? What would happen to the security of their families or jobs? 

Paul didn’t tell them that they would not have hardships. He said, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” Here Paul reminded them of the goal we have as Christians: to enter the kingdom of God. Life is not about security on earth, but securing our life in the kingdom of God. And the way to do that is to remain true to the faith despite the hardships that will come because of it. 

The events in the book of Acts have shown us this truth for those who are true to the faith: facing hardships and opposition from this world. But we also see the Lord’s power working in each case. The Lord was pleased to show his power through his servants who continually trusted in him. Some he rescued from danger like Peter, and some he used to proclaim his message and then brought them to him like Stephen and James. So, hardships must not change our faith. We are called to be faithful despite hardships. We are called to remain true—not just in the beginning, or periodically, or when other Christians are watching us, but true all our life. The key is to trust the Lord in all circumstances that we may experience his power and enter the kingdom of God.

Our faith comes from God. It is his grace to us to call us to his kingdom when formerly we were in darkness and giving our lives to worthless things. And God does not change. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. And his name is the Amen and faithful witness. And Jesus warned us that we would have trouble. He said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first," (John 15:18), and, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." All these hardships come with one point: to turn us away from the Lord and lose heart. But Jesus told us to take heart and trust in him all the time. 

Paul is speaking as one who knows hardships and the Lord’s power that comes through faith personally. Let’s think again about Paul going back into the city after being stoned. Paul fled from Iconium when he found out about the plot to stone him. But when he was actually stoned, he didn't flee. He went right back in. After experiencing this hardship firsthand, he had a better understanding and could encourage others to be faithful to the Lord as well. It was not for his own sake, but to show the disciples that it was not his zeal or ambition at work, but it was Jesus. He didn’t want the disciples to be ashamed of him or the gospel because of his sufferings. He didn’t want to shrink back out of fear. 

The passage emphasizes how Paul and Barnabas remained true in their obedience and faith despite all of their hardships by preaching the gospel wherever they went. They give the right practical example to serve the Lord. People may not stone Christians today, here in Downey, but sometimes it can feel like—when we face rejections at the campus, when students’ minds are poisoned against us. Especially on the matter of acceptance, Christians are challenged. We want to be accepted by others, but they do not like our faith or do what is accordance with our faith and it challenges us. Also, we put our priority to serve the Lord and worship him, but people do not understand and persecute, challenging us to make God fit our convenient times that do not conflict with others. We are called to remain true to the faith just as Jesus is true and faithful. Then our hardships become meaningful opportunities to know the Lord’s power and grace as we look forward to entering the kingdom of God. 

Look at verse 23. "Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. " The key words here are “in whom they had put their trust.” To raise disciples, Paul and Barnabas helped them to learn to keep trusting in God, not people. Second, in comparison to verse 26, which says that Paul and Barnabas had also been committed to the Lord for their mission work, they helped the disciples to have a meaningful sense of responsibility in serving the Lord. They did not know when they might see the disciples again and helped establish a working church fellowship through commitment and trust in the Lord. 

Verse 27 says, "On arriving there [Syria Antioch], they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." In their report they didn't focus on their own personal hardship stories. Paul didn’t say, “Guys, I got stoned! Be careful if the Holy Spirit calls you!” But they reported with great joy what God had done and how he opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. It means that many were being saved. It was a report of great thanks and joy in the Lord. 

May God help us to follow the faithful example of Paul and Barnabas and our Lord Jesus, and remain true to the faith, overcoming all the hardships by his power! May God help us be a light to those in darkness that they might know God and have life in Jesus. 

One Word: Remain true to the faith