Monday August 27
Philippi
Once in Macedonia, Paul and his companions traveled to Philippi, where they established the first Christian congregation in Europe.
Read Acts 16:11-24.
16:11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next [day] to Neapolis;
16:12 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.
16:13 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].
16:14 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.
16:15 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.
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:
16:17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation.
16:18 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.
16:19 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,
16:20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
16:21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat [them].
16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
16:24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Where did the missionaries go on Sabbath and why? What ultimately happened to them there?
Whenever Paul arrived in a city, his practice was to visit the local synagogue on Sabbath in order to witness to the Jews (Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 17:1, 2; 18:4). That in Philippi he and his group went to a riverside to pray—together with some women, both Jewish and Gentile worshipers of God—probably means there was no synagogue in the city. The significance of this is that Paul did not go to Jewish synagogues on Sabbaths only for evangelistic purposes, but also because this was his day of worship.
Read Acts 16:25-34.
16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
16:26 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.
16:27 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.
16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
16:29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed [their] stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Review the story of the jailer’s conversion. What did he need to do to be saved?
Don't answer "believe." For this is not the right answer. Evangelicals teach "just believe" and be saved. But, the devils "believe and tremble." What did he need to do to be saved? What must we do to be saved? It is the most important question we can answer correctly. Without our part which is immeasurably small we shall be lost. What must we do?
Paul and Silas’s answer to the jailer’s question is in full harmony with the gospel, since salvation is entirely through faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:28, Gal. 2:16). What we cannot conclude from the episode, however, is that belief in Jesus is all that is necessary for baptism, at the expense of the proper doctrinal and practical instruction.
What do we know about the jailer? Was he a Jew or a Jewish proselyte? In either case, what he needed was to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. What if he were a Gentile who already knew and worshiped God, such as Cornelius, Lydia (Acts 16:14), and several others in Acts? What if he had previously attended Paul’s evangelistic meetings in the city? Whatever the facts about him, the brevity of the account should not be used as an excuse for quick baptisms.
Read Acts 16:31-34.
16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed [their] stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
What does this teach us about just how complete and full Christ’s sacrifice was for us? How can you learn, day by day, to rest in the assurance of Christ’s righteousness covering you as your only hope of salvation?
"Righteousness by faith" is like "just believe." There is more to it than "believe" or "faith." What is faith? Are there differing levels of faith? Yes. We must trust Jesus with the whole heart, not part of it. We must love the Lord thy God with all the heart. We can hold nothing back. It is all or nothing. Jesus want's real righteousness by real faith, "saving faith." Trusting that the righteousness of Christ is going to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sins leads to a loss of salvation by all who accept such a false gospel. When we confess our sins he is faithful and just to not only forgive our sins, but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He will cleanse our sins as white as snow if we will allow Jesus the whole heart.