Sunday morning, March 14, 1999
Fear Not
Acts 18:1-17
By P. G. Mathew, M.A., M.Div., Th.M.
Copyright © 1999 by P. G. Mathew
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshipper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.
One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. "This man," they charged, "is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law." Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law--settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things." So he had them ejected from the court. Then they all turned on Sosthenes the synagogue ruler and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio showed no concern whatever.
Acts 18:1-17
In the eighteenth chapter of Acts we find the apostle Paul leaving Athens and going to Corinth. Paul had previously been driven out from the Macedonian cities of Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. When he arrived in Athens, he was mocked by the people there, both Stoics and Epicureans. The gospel was mere foolishness to the intellectuals of Athens and only a few believed in Jesus Christ.
After preaching to the Athenians, Paul left Athens and traveled to Corinth, about fifty miles west of Athens. While Paul ministered in Corinth, he began to experience opposition from the Jews, so he left the synagogue. He expanded his ministry to the Gentiles and many believed.
In verse 9 we read that the Lord Jesus appeared to Paul in a vision one night, encouraging him to keep on speaking, because, he said, “I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."
Corrupt Corinth
The first point we want to examine is the corrupt nature of the city of Corinth when Paul began to minister there. Corinth had been conquered by Philip the Second of Macedonia in 338 B.C. and by Rome in 196 B.C. The Corinthians rebelled against their Roman masters, so in 146 B.C. a general named Lucius Mummius destroyed them. For one hundred years the city lay in desolation and ruin until 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar rebuilt it. Corinth became a Roman colony in 44 B.C. and the capital of the Roman province of Achaia in 27 B.C.
The city of Corinth was built on an isthmus, a narrow strip of land about four miles wide which connected central Greece to the north with the Peloponnesian peninsula to the south. Because of its location, Corinth controlled all trade traffic to the north and to the south. Additionally, Corinth had two sea ports, Cenchrea on the east and Lechaeum on the west, so all the sea traffic from the Aegean on the east as well as from the Adriatic on the west came through it. Corinth was a center for world trade, controlling all the land and sea traffic of the region.
Because of the control it exercised over trade, Corinth became extremely rich, and, as a result, was an extremely licentious and corrupt place. In ancient literature a Corinthian was almost always dramatized as a drunk and a sexually immoral person. Corinth also had an extremely mobile population--sailors from around the world, Roman administrative officials, and business people from many countries--and it became known as the place to come for a good time.
The city boasted several temples, the most famous of which was the temple of Aphrodite, or Venus, the love goddess, built on the 2,000-foot-high Acrocorinth. In this temple there lived about one thousand temple prostitutes--”servants of God”--who would descend to the city each evening to ply their trade to those seeking excitement.
Corinth also was the host city for the Isthmian games, which took place every two years and were second only to the Olympian games. Like Syrian Antioch, Corinth was a cosmopolitan city whose population included Greeks, Jews, Orientals, Romans, and Arabs. Because it was a world commercial center, one could find in the marketplace of Corinth commodities such as Arabian balsam, Egyptian papyrus, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goats’ hair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves, and Indian spices.
At one time Nero tried to cut a canal through the Corinthian isthmus. He failed in his attempt, but in 1893 a canal was cut, and ships can now go from Egypt to the Adriatic, and from the Adriatic to the Aegean through the Corinthian canal. Before that, small ships would be taken overland on rollers from port to port, while large ships had to be unloaded on one side of the isthmus and reloaded on the other side with the cargo being carried overland between the ports.
Even though Corinth was so corrupt, God loved some Corinthians from all eternity. In due time God sent his messenger Paul from the university city of Athens to Corinth, the most corrupt, licentious city of that time, to preach the gospel.
Penniless Paul
The second point we need to note is penniless Paul. Paul arrived in Corinth without any money, so he immediately began to look for work doing manual labor. From the Bible we know that Paul was not a lazy man. In many places he says he worked all the time, and that was what he was trained to do. Every Jewish father was required to teach his son a craft; if he did not do so, he would be open to the charge of training his son to be a thief. Thus, every Jewish man, even a rabbi like Paul, could work at a craft to support himself.
Paul’s craft was tentmaking, partly, I am sure, because he was born and raised in Tarsus, which was famous for a type of cloth made out of goats’ hair called cilicium, with which people made tents, drapes and curtains and other items. Paul learned to make tents from this cloth as well as from leather, so he could support himself wherever he traveled.
When Paul arrived in Corinth, he went to the place where the tentmakers would gather and work together. He always traveled with his tentmaking tools as well as with the Bible. Among the tentmakers there was a couple, Aquila and Priscilla, who were originally from Pontus on the southern side of the Black Sea, but were more recently from Rome. Emperor Claudius had recently expelled many Jewish people from Rome because they were causing some kind of trouble, and it may be this trouble was related to Jesus Christ. Whatever the reason, Claudius expelled the Jews of Rome in 49 A.D., causing Aquila and Priscilla to travel to Corinth.
Like Paul, Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers, having businesses first in Rome, now in Corinth, and later in Ephesus. Paul attached himself to them and lived with them, paying for his food and lodging, putting into practice what he told the Thessalonians, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).
It appears that Aquila and Priscilla were already Christians when Paul met them. They probably had been members of the church of Rome, because there was a church there at this time. Paul was able to work and enjoy sweet fellowship with Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth, and this relationship lasted for the rest of their lives. Aquila and Priscilla probably returned to Rome later, for in Romans 16:3-5 Paul wrote, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house.”
Paul’s Preaching
The third point we want examine is Paul’s preaching in the licentious, corrupt city of Corinth. Although Paul could have asked people to take care of him while he preached the gospel--he was well born, highly educated and a Roman citizen--he was determined not to become a burden to anybody. Paul gloried in manual labor, so he worked daily making tents. Then, every Sabbath, as his custom was, he would preach in the synagogue in Corinth.
From accounts of his preaching in other cities, we know what Paul would have preached in Corinth. He would prove from the Scriptures that the Messiah, the anointed Savior promised in the Scriptures, is Jesus Christ, the one who recently died and rose again in Jerusalem. This same Jesus Christ personally appeared to Paul and appointed him to preach the gospel to Jews and Gentiles.
As Paul was working and preaching, Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia to Corinth. They brought a good report about the church in Thessalonica, saying that the new believers were growing in God and doing all right. This report encouraged Paul, and because Silas and Timothy also brought a gift of money from the Macedonian churches, as we read about in 2 Corinthian 11:9, Paul began to give himself to full-time preaching rather than tentmaking.
The Persecution of Paul
The fourth point we want to examine is the persecution of Paul. As Paul began to preach more frequently, he began to experience persecution from the unbelieving Jews in Corinth. These Jews turned against Paul and sought to prevent him from preaching the gospel in the synagogue. They also began to actively blaspheme Jesus, the Messiah whom Paul preached. They challenged Paul, saying, in effect, “Paul, the Jesus whom you are preaching is not the Messiah. Paul, the Jesus whom you preach did not rise from the dead. How can anyone rise from the dead? Not only that, he was a blasphemer because he claimed to be the Son of God and the King of Israel. Not only that, how could your Jesus Christ be the Messiah? He was accursed! We can prove it because he was crucified and the Bible says anyone who is crucified is accursed.”
The same gospel which was foolishness to the Athenians became a stumbling block for the Jews of Corinth. They insisted that a crucified Jew could never be the Messiah of the Jewish people.
Paul had begun his ministry in Corinth by preaching in the synagogue because he was compelled by God to preach the gospel first to the Jews, as he says in Romans 1:16. As a watchman for his Jewish brethren, Paul had a responsibility to warn them that God’s wrath was about to be poured upon all sinners, Jews as well as Gentiles. As he wrote in the first chapter of Romans, the wrath of God is being revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. But the righteousness from God has also been revealed in Jesus Christ. If a person believes in Jesus Christ, he will be saved from the coming wrath of God.
The only way of salvation for Jews and Gentiles is to trust in the Messiah, Jesus, who suffered the wrath of God in behalf of all who would hope in him. But most of the Jews of Corinth refused to do that. Their refusal is reflected in the words of a prayer called “Eighteen Prayers” prayed by Jewish people in the first centuries. In the twelfth prayer, which a Jew was supposed to pray three times daily, we find these words: “And for the apostates let there be no hope; and may the insolent kingdom be quickly uprooted, in our days. And may the Nazarenes and the heretics perish quickly; and may they be erased from the Book of Life; and may they not be inscribed with the righteous. Blessed art thou, Lord, who humblest the insolent” (Emil Schürer, The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.-A.D. 135), Vol. 2, rev. and ed. Geza Vermes and Fergus Millar [Edinburgh: Clark, 1973-87], p. 461, as quoted by Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Acts of the Apostles [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990], p. 652).
When the Jews began to oppose him, Paul removed himself from them according to what Jesus instructed had instructed his disciples to do. In Matthew 7:6 he said, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” As we preach the gospel, those who hear will identify themselves as chosen of God or as pigs by their response to the word of the covenant Lord. They will either believe it or reject it. When a preacher sees rejection, he must make up his mind not to keep on throwing the pearls of God’s word before those who do not honor the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 10:11-15 Jesus said, “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”
What did Jesus say we should do when people reject the gospel? Move out! Have no more relationship! Why? The wrath of God is abiding upon that person and that home. You have warned them, which is your responsibility, but now their blood is upon their own heads. We are not responsible when we have preached the gospel to people. That is why we who are parents should preach the gospel to our children regularly. (PGM) We cannot save them, but we should declare the gospel so that we can say, “I am not responsible. I am clean. Your blood is upon your own heads.”
Paul left the synagogue and moved next door to the home of a Roman citizen named Titius Justus. Just like the Roman Cornelius, Titius Justus loved the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was glad to offer his house as a facility where Paul could preach the gospel.
As Paul began to preach, many people, Jews and Gentiles, came to hear him rather than going to the synagogue. This was nothing new. Paul was known for emptying synagogues. Even Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue who was responsible for the building and services, believed Paul’s gospel and began to worship at Paul’s church rather than at the synagogue.
The Bible tells us many Corinthians believed and were baptized. As the gospel came to the licentious, wretched, morally corrupt Corinthians, they received it and were saved. The gospel can clean up anyone! It is foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews, but to those who believe, Jew or Greek, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation!
Christ Comforts Paul
The fifth point we want to examine is the comfort Jesus Christ himself gave to Paul while he was experiencing persecution in Corinth. In his introduction to the book of Acts Luke wrote, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach. . . .” Luke’s former book, the gospel according to Luke, spoke of what Jesus began to do and teach. This means Luke’s second book, the book of Acts, records a continuation of the ministry of the ascended Christ.
What Jesus began to do and teach during his earthly ministry he now continued to do and teach, even after his ascension and session on the right hand of God. Remember what Jesus Christ said in his great commission to his disciples? “Surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). Jesus was with his disciples in the book of Acts, and he is with us even now, to help, comfort, strengthen, protect, and enlighten his disciples.
No doubt the persecution of the Jews caused Paul to wonder what would happen next. He had already observed a certain pattern in his ministry of preaching the gospel. Usually when he went to a place and began to preach, many people would believe. Then opposition by unbelieving Jews and Gentiles would begin to manifest, and Paul would be driven out. This happened during Paul’s first missionary journey in Galatia, beginning in Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, and continuing in Lystra where he was stoned and left for dead by some Jews who pursued him from Iconium There God performed a miracle and after some time Paul rose up and went back into the city.
On his second missionary journey Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit to go to Macedonia. When he arrived in Philippi, he had a wonderful ministry until he drove out demons from a slave girl. That act of mercy resulted in Paul’s and Silas’ being beaten up, thrown in prison, and asked to leave town. Paul went to Thessalonica where, after some ministry, he was faced with this charge: “This man is preaching about another king, different from Caesar.” He fled Thessalonica by night and went to Berea, but his enemies pursued him to Berea also, so he had to leave Berea as well. Paul traveled to Athens where he preached to the philosophers and intellectuals of the city. But Paul encountered opposition in Athens as well, especially when he spoke about the resurrection. The people of Athens mocked him, calling him a babbler and a seed picker--one who doesn’t have any of his own ideas, but who picks up an idea here and an idea there--a plagiarist, in other words.
Now Paul was in Corinth and once again he was beginning to experience serious opposition to his ministry. I am sure he thought that eventually the Jews would drive him from Corinth. No doubt Paul was somewhat lonely, afraid, and depressed. He may have even wondered if he should stop preaching the gospel, and start preaching something that would be more palatable, such as philosophy, to his enemies, or if he should just leave town now and go somewhere else.
Paul spoke about this time of trial in 1 Corinthians 2:3, saying, “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.” And in 2 Corinthians 1:8 he wrote, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.”
Even though Paul was an apostle, he was affected by the severe trials he faced. Don’t ever think that ministers don’t experience trouble. It is just not true. Ministers are just like anyone else--subject to fear, anxiety, weakness, discouragement, and despair. But that is not all we can say about Paul. In his quandary he started to pray, and that is what I do also.
In Isaiah 40:29-31 we read, “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” As Paul prayed and waited on God, God gave him a vision to encourage him.
We find this idea of visions in several places in the book of Acts. The Lord Jesus Christ himself appeared to Paul in a vision several times, as we read in Acts 18:9, Acts 22:17-21, and Acts 23:11. At other times angels appeared to him in a vision and once a Macedonian person appeared to him in a vision. All these are characteristic of the Pentecostal times, as we read in Acts 2:17: “Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” The Spirit of God gives his people visions.
Stop Fearing
God gave Paul a vision in which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to him. The antidote for fear, despair, trembling, and weakness is to hear from God. The first thing Jesus Christ told Paul was “Do not be afraid.” In the Greek it is put in such a way--mê with the indicative--that it means “You are fearing; stop it!” Paul, the mighty apostle, was full of fear, so the Lord had to tell him, “Stop it, Paul! Stop fearing!”
In the book of Genesis we read about the great warrior Abraham, who defeated Kedolaomer and the other kings who came from the east. Yet later Abraham--this powerful soldier, this mighty king to whom the God of glory had appeared--became afraid, so God spoke to him. In Genesis 15:1 we read, “After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.’” In other words, God was telling Abraham what he told Paul, “Abraham, I am your shield and you will always be protected by me. Stop fearing!”
This same Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth is given, who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, is speaking to us today also. What is he saying? “Fear not! Stop fearing! Stop fearing the world. Stop fearing the devil. Stop fearing death. Stop fearing hell. Stop fearing!” Remember what Jesus told his disciples even before his death and resurrection? “Take heart, for I have overcome the world.”
What happened when Paul heard this word from the Lord? He was greatly encouraged. In fact, from the encouragement he received, he went on to encourage others, such as Timothy, to whom he wrote, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7).
Brothers and sisters, may we stop fearing whatever the future holds for us! God is our God and he will be our shield and help in every situation.
Keep Speaking
The second word the Lord spoke to Paul was, “Keep on speaking,” and this means speaking the gospel. Preacher, what are you speaking? Philosophy? Psychology? Sociology? Science? Or are you preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ?
In 1 Corinthians 2:2 we read what Paul preached: “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Preacher, you must preach Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was raised for our justification. You must tell people that if they believe in this Jesus Christ, they shall be saved.
In verse 3 Paul says, “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.” But then he adds, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with the demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Why do you think the Lord told Paul to keep preaching? Because he was afraid. Isn’t that the reason we don’t speak about Jesus Christ in public? We are afraid people will mock us, crucify us, vilify us, demote us or fire us. Don’t all these thoughts come into our minds? We can become so fearful that we don’t even want to preach the gospel in our own homes to our own children.
When you are tempted to be silent, hear the word of the Lord Jesus Christ that came to Paul in Corinth: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” Why should we keep on speaking? Because the only way of salvation appointed by God is the preaching of the gospel through human beings. Faith comes by hearing, which means hearing the word of God. All our speaking and preaching is a necessary link in the process of the salvation of a lost soul.
Reasons Not to Be Afraid
Have you ever experienced times when you are tempted not to speak to anyone about Jesus Christ? I have. There are times when we would rather be quiet, go and do our job, come home and not worry about anything. We may even think to ourselves, “If those people want to go to hell, let them. I am sick and tired of being mocked and vilified.“ But what is God telling us in this passage? Keep speaking.
What reason did God give Paul when he told him to fear not and keep speaking? In the Greek we read, “For I myself am with you.“ In other words, the great I AM, the eternal God--not an angel, not any other representative--is with us. God will be our shield. He is with us.
God told Joshua the same thing in Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” That is the idea. God himself will be with us--the eternal God. Jesus Christ will be with us--the one who died and rose again, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet, Jeremiah protested, saying he was not a good speaker and only a child. But what did God say? “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land--against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord“ (Jer. 1:17-19). What is the reason we can speak for God? The Lord is with us.
Are You Fearful?
What about you? Are you afraid, fearful, timid, withdrawn? Do you look around and think the whole country has gone to pot, that secularism has taken over, that conservatism is defeated, so what is the use of speaking to anyone about Jesus Christ? Do you just want to do your job and go home, choosing to seal your lips rather than risk being mocked and ridiculed? Do you think it is a waste to speak to your children about the gospel because they are in the public school, where the gospel is mocked, and you think they will not listen to anything you have to say?
“Stop fearing!” the Lord is telling you. But what else is he saying? “Start speaking! Be not silent!” That is the message of Jesus Christ to us all. But don’t speak about your troubles or your own philosophy or worldly things. Speak the gospel, the simple gospel, which is foolishness to the Greeks, a stumbling block to the Jews, but the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, even to those as wretched as the Corinthians were. Only the gospel can save people, wash them, justify them, sanctify them, and clean them up, as it did for the people of Corinth.
Why can we boldly preach the gospel? Because Jesus himself is with us. We are his chosen instruments, his messengers, and he will make us fortified cities, iron pillars, bronze walls. There will be enemies and troubles, but they can never defeat us because God is with us. And Jesus himself told us, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”
Gideon was so afraid of the Midianites that he hid in a cave. But God appeared to him and said what? “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die” (Judges 6:23). God told Gideon to go and fight the Midianites, and in Judges 6:34 we read that the Spirit of God came, clothed him with power, and the Midianites were defeated.
With the Spirit of God is inside and outside, we are totally shielded and protected. Jesus Christ has overcome the world, having defeated death, the devil, and the world and its ideologies for us so that we can do the job of preaching the gospel.
Why do you think God wants us to keep preaching the gospel? In Acts 18:10 he told Paul, “I have many people in this city.” In the terribly corrupt, licentious city of Corinth, God had some people whom he had chosen from all eternity to be saved. God was determined to save them through Paul’s preaching of the gospel and he is determined to do the same through us. God has appointed us as agents to speak the gospel to those around us, because no one can believe without hearing the gospel.
May God help us to believe these words of comfort from the Lord Jesus Christ, and may we begin to do the job he wants us to do. May we stop fearing, start speaking, and not be silent, for Christ is with us. May we take great comfort in his words that no one can attack us or harm us. May we take courage in the knowledge that God has many people who are depending on our preaching, and may we be faithful to preach so that those who are ordained unto eternal life will be saved. Amen.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
"NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
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