Monthly Archives: August 2017

Death by Sermon (Acts 20:1-12)

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One of my favorite pastor jokes is that of the definition of preaching: the ability to talk in someone else’s sleep. And I’ve been doing it now for nigh unto 40 years! At my previous church there was a fellow who simply could not stay awake – for me, or anyone else for that matter. His wife made a career of poking him in the side, but they never changed from sitting in the third row. And though he never probably heard a full sermon, the guy loved me to death and was always such a great personal blessing.

In today’s passage as we pick up our chronology of Paul’s life, the first paragraph of travel details includes a “we” from the writer Luke, indicating that he is part of the road team again. Note the list of other names, many of these surely being younger men whom Paul was discipling. By this time, Paul is a well-known person in church communities of the Roman world, and spending time with him was probably a great privilege.

Acts 20:1 – When the uproar (in Ephesus) had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

It was certainly a pretty big deal for these people in Troas to have the Apostle Paul himself staying with them for seven days. Surely there were multiple gatherings and lots of conversation – we can easily picture this happening. And on the final night (a Sunday) while Paul was preaching, a fellow named Eutychus falls asleep, dropping out of the 3rd-floor window and meeting his demise upon impact in the street below.

Acts 20:7 – On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

OK… let’s sleuth this out a bit, as there are some hints about what is happening …

Clue 1 – I know you’ve never named a child or pet by the name of Eutychus, but it was a very common name at that time – especially for slaves. So it is presumable that this young fellow had worked all day and now at midnight it was really very late for such a tired guy.

Clue 2 – The upper room (always the largest in ancient houses) is said to have had many lamps. We can take from this that the large crowd and the burning lamps had depleted the oxygen supply a bit – even for the guy sitting in the window.

Clue 3 – There was a lot of talking going on. This may shock the system of some you reading this, but, most of the world does not do church in mere 60 to 75-minute increments. Just this past Sunday I visited one of the African-American churches in town, and the service went on for a total of 2.5 hours. People returning from missions trips often remark about how long the services were at the local church of the people being served. Ask anyone who has been to Kazakhstan on one of our partnership journeys.

You will note from the passage that the words “talking” or “talked” or “speaking” are used – along with the “breaking of bread.”  There are a variety of Greek words used in this passage that get translated very generically into English. To see it in the original, you would be able to discern that Paul’s conversations involved formal preaching, a sort of give-and-take teaching, and the simple conversation between friends.

Warning Note – So Paul goes down to the street and brings the young man back to life, which, yes, encourages the crowd. Yep, that would be pretty cool! But here is the warning:  If you die while I’m speaking, don’t count on me being able to bring you back … I’d suggest you just stay awake!

Here is another inside scoop on this passage … I really love it!  In fact, this was the passage I chose for my senior sermon at Dallas Theological Seminary. In those days everyone presented one in homiletics class, and the top presenters got selected by the faculty to preach them in chapel for the entire student body. No, I was not chosen … guess I put them to sleep in the classroom, including the prof.

What I love about this passage is the picture of the great body life that goes on when the church is gathered. So many of my favorite memories of church people I’ve grown to love in my churches in Dallas, New Jersey and Hagerstown revolve around all the time together on Sundays just hanging out and talking. This is valuable time! It is one of the great blessings of church family and community. And to gain this blessing, you’ve got to be there regularly; and when you come, you should not just run off and escape as soon as the service is over. That is not what church is about. Hang out with us! We’re really cool people! Think of it like Thanksgiving dinner – you would not just run in after the prayer, sit down and eat, and then rush off as soon as the apple pie was gone, would you?

God has set up the church – the body of Christ – so that we need each other and have each other as resources for successfully running the race of the Christian life. It is a great blessing. Don’t undervalue it.

All Roads Lead to Rome (Survey of Romans)

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As shared previously in this series, one of the items that define the meaning of “the fullness of time” for the incarnation (as stated in Galatians 4:4) is the rule of the Roman Empire and the system of roads and bridges throughout. Built for the use of the Roman legions in maintaining rule and order and defending the frontiers, they served as well to facilitate travel over distance as never before. And this likewise made possible the travel of missionaries and itinerant ministers like Aquila and Priscilla, etc.

The saying that “all roads lead to Rome” was literally true! They really did. The expression now is a metaphor, but in the time of Paul’s preaching and travels, Rome was the most amazing place on the planet. Having walked through the ruins of ancient Rome and been in the Coliseum, it is still plenty impressive even 2,000 years later.

As the missionary to the Gentiles in particular, Paul had a great yearning to visit the imperial city. (Romans 1:11 – I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong.) But circumstances had thus far prevented the fruition of this desire.

From the book of Romans we can see that the Christian community there was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles (probably many more of the latter), likely meeting in a variety of homes and gatherings (churches). And again, after Paul’s extended time in Ephesus on the third missionary journey, we turn to chapter 20 …

Acts 20:1 – When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months.

Just after the writing of 2 Corinthians, it is from Corinth in Greece that Paul writes to the Romans. It must have been even a bit frustrating and sad for Paul that his journeys had taken him to so many places but not yet to Rome. And finally, the Apostle feels compelled to write a greeting to them and tell them of his hopes to visit and fulfil his calling of preaching to both Jews and Gentiles especially …

1:14 – I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

A question that arises in the minds of readers of Acts and Romans relates to how a church was established in Rome, since Paul was yet to get there. Well again, all roads lead to Rome, and anything that was happening anywhere else was going to find its way to the center of the Empire. Additionally, it says in the text in Acts 2:10 on the Day of Pentecost that there were “visitors from Rome” amongst those in the crowd that heard Peter’s sermon. Likely among the 3,000 converts that day were those who returned to the city, sharing the gospel and establishing some semblance of a church community.

But how would these folks know how to make a viable community of faith work? Well, Paul had such concerns about not only this practical matter, but also that they be clear in the detailed teachings of the theology of the gospel. Hence we have in the letter to the Romans the very best statement of the nature of salvation. All of this was bolstered by a wide group of people who had personal experiences with Paul in other places. In fact, Paul mentions greetings by name to a total of 28 different individuals in the letter, including Aquila and Priscilla who were originally from Rome and now having returned to live and serve there again.

We too, in our day as in every era, have a need to rightly understand the essence of the gospel. The clarity is needed not only for our own salvation, but also that we be accurately equipped to speak of it to others. The theme verse of the letter is verse 17 of chapter 1 … For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

This statement is at once both simple and complex – with books written upon this theme of righteousness. And just as Paul desired to draw to these hearers’ minds a clarity about the gospel, I trust that y’all at TSF will long remember the same from my teaching … remembering even that I talked over and over about this word: righteousness.

What is the one thing you need to be saved?

I’ve asked that question many times in small groups and will invariably get the following answers: faith, trust, forgiveness, justification, etc.  And all of these things are correct. But there is a better single word answer: RIGHTEOUSNESS.  This means you need perfect perfection. And that is a problem. As humans we have inherited the curse of sin at birth; we don’t actually become sinners and are therefore separated from God, when we sin we prove we are sinners who are already separated from God. And as this Romans letter goes on to teach so well, we can’t do anything to earn perfection (righteousness). We need to get it from somewhere else – the only source being to have it imputed to us by faith in Christ … so that at the end of it all, we stand not in the worthlessness of our own “goodness” but rather before God in the righteousness that comes by faith in Jesus Christ.

We could maybe even say that all theological roads lead to central truth of the Christian gospel of the need for righteousness.

But I Digress (Summary of 2 Corinthians)

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Do you find some people difficult to follow in conversation because they chase every mental rabbit that crosses their brain? Before one thought can be finished, another is triggered by the first conversation, and then another, and so the pile begins to grow. Getting back to the original thought is like untangling that extension cord that has been pushed around on the garage floor for the past couple years.

The Apostle Paul was one of these sorts of people. It is evident in his writing style, especially in the book we survey today – that of the second letter to the Corinthians. It is believed to have been written at this juncture in our chronological study of the life of Paul, on his third journey, composed in Macedonia (the northern portion of modern day Greece. After his extended time in Ephesus, we turn to chapter 20 …

Acts 20:1 – When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months.

The various letters of Paul to the Corinthians involve one of the more complicated studies in New Testament literature. Not only do we have the two letters in the inspired Scriptures, there were at least two other letters that Paul references having written to them. Here is a best shot at a chronology of visits and letters …

  1. First visit of Paul to Corinth
  2. A letter written to them (lost to us) that they misunderstood (see 1 Cor. 5:9-11)
  3. A second letter – known to us as 1 Corinthians – to address a list of problems
  4. Second visit of Paul to Corinth – described in 2 Cor. 2:1 as a “painful” visit
  5. A third letter – lost to us – it was disciplinary in nature (2 Cor. 7:8-9) and grieved Paul to have to write it (2 Cor. 2:3-4)
  6. A fourth letter – the text of 2 Corinthians.\
  7. Third visit – mentioned above in Acts 20:2

Much of this letter of 2 Corinthians involves Paul dealing with the issue of false teachers who had come into the church family and created many problems. Beyond that, these self-appointed authorities sought to personally discredit Paul and the content of his teaching. Their exact doctrine is unknown, but it likely contained elements of legalistic Judaism and a rising error called Gnosticism – this latter heresy involving teaching that took away from the person of Christ and his perfect humanity.

It would have been understandable if Paul were to have essentially given up on the Corinthians and allowed them to go their own way. Sometimes we have to do that with people who have simply sold out completely to errant ideas and values. But Paul was unwilling to do this with the Corinthians, having a pastoral heart of compassion for them, even while confronting them in love. There is a balance in that.

We have had a slogan in TSF leadership circles that dates back over 20 years. Our history as a church in the early years was to work with people who had life crises, even of their own creation. We have sought to be a place of both mercy and compassion along with bold confrontation. The slogan goes something like this: We will exhibit grace and compassion to very imperfect people who are walking toward God and growing in faith, while also loving people enough to get into their face when they are walking away from God.

Ministering to broken people is a messy business. When you do it, there are going to be times where it does not succeed. Difficult people have a pattern of turning issues around and making their problem be your problem. While trying to help, you may well be accused of “handling the situation wrongly.” Whereas they spilled the milk all over the kitchen floor, you are accused of not cleaning it up the right way.

In such situations – actually in all situations – we need to hang on to truth and hang on to the Lord. This idea is seen in this singular passage we’ll share from 2 Corinthians … seeing here also Paul’s irritation, yet also his persistence to hang in there with these wayward people and get them connected rightly to God.

2 Corinthians 10:1 – By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

There is simply no way around the truth that ministry is difficult, and those who do it are going to have detractors and critics.