Background For the Corinthian Letters

Transcript

GR 1785
10/12/2014
Background for the Corinthian Letters
Acts 15:36-18:17
Gil Rugh

What I'd like to do is start a study of 2 Corinthians with you. You can say of all the books of the Bible, they are great books, 2 Corinthians' uniqueness is the most personal of Paul's letters. In an extended way he unveils his heart and soul as he did the ministry. So I want to look at that book with you. But today we are just going to do some background on the church at Corinth to remind ourselves of how God established it, some of the challenges there and something about Paul's ministry as he took the Gospel there.

One thing we learn from Paul's ministries and following his travels is that the ministry is hard work. We talk about needing workers, the opportunities. Ministry is inconvenient in the sense it demands your time, it demands your attention, it demands your energy. Many of you are involved in a variety of ministries here and all of them are inconvenient in the sense they take time, they take energy, they are done in addition to other responsibilities you have. They become among the most important things that we do. Difficulty in the ministry is the challenge of time and energy and compounded by the fact that we are in a spiritual warfare. We do battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, the spiritual forces of this darkness that have their capital, if you will, in the heavenlies. The devil and his hosts are opposed to all that God is doing in the world. Those hosts are opposed to everyone who is serving the living God. So that compounds the challenges that are before us. That means there are going to be times of disappointment, discouragement, times of fear, and trepidation. Yet as God's Word is faithfully given out, as we faithfully serve Him, He works in miraculous ways. We'll see that as we move through the study of 2 Corinthians, the theme of which is considered by some to be strength in weakness. And Paul reminds us again and again of his weakness and he is mindful of his own frailties. But God's power is not limited. And so it is with us.

We are on the Second Missionary Journey of Paul when we talk about establishing the church at Corinth. And I just want to remind you of the background for the Corinthian letters, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. And they are letters written very closely to one another.

So turn in your Bibles to Acts 15, and then we're going to put up, if you would, the map on Paul's Second Missionary Journey. I don't have the one for his First Missionary Journey, but this is the Second Missionary Journey. You see it is a large map there. All the journeys start out at Antioch. You can see Antioch there on the very right hand side of your map. Now on the first journey Paul went across to Cyprus and then straight up into the region you have as Pamphylia there, established what we call the Galatian churches, the churches to which the letter to the Galatians was written. Then he circled around and came back to, basically, Antioch. Retraced his steps and then came by ship back to Antioch. This is the Second Missionary Journey.

Now on the First Missionary Journey when Paul went to Cyprus and then crossed over to go into Pamphylia, he had a young traveling companion named John Mark. Barnabas was the more senior traveling companion joined with Paul. When they got to Pamphylia, John Mark bails on Paul. He went back home to mama. It was just too tough, too hard, just can't do it. It's too difficult, too discouraging. That is significant because as we begin the Second Missionary Journey after Paul returns to Antioch, Acts 15:36, “after some days Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let's return and visit the brethren.'” So you see on this journey he'll leave Antioch and he'll journey over through the region that would have had the Galatian churches. There would be Lystra, and Iconium. And he can visit them and encourage them. But Paul is never satisfied just to redo what he has done. He is driven to carry the Gospel to Gentiles who have never heard, so he will be going on westward.

Now you get the idea of something of the difficulty that is going to face him because before this trip ever gets started, there is a conflict. And a conflict that can be of the most discouraging kind. It's one thing when you have opposition and problems caused by people who are opposed to the Gospel in your ministry, but this conflict comes with Barnabas. He was Paul's closest associate on that first journey and shared with Paul the trials, the difficulties, the sufferings. Now as they prepare for the second journey, Barnabas says, let's take John Mark. Let's give him another chance. Paul says, absolutely not. And the disagreement among them is so strong, verse 39 says, “there was such a sharp disagreement” they part ways. And Barnabas takes John Mark and goes a different route. Paul takes Silas as a new traveling companion, and they'll pick up another young man to replace John Mark shortly.

So you see how difficult it would be. Here you are, going back to visit the churches you established together to encourage those brethren. And you have internal conflict. These two great men of God can't agree on who was right, who was wrong. In one sense maybe both were right. Barnabas takes John Mark and later he will be greatly used of the Lord. Paul will write in a later letter that he wants John Mark to come to him because he is of great profit. John Mark will be used to write the Gospel of Mark. So a failure doesn't undo him. But at this stage Paul cannot have someone traveling with him that he can't have full confidence will be there through thick and thin, so to speak. And he can't take a chance. Paul knows this is going to be a difficult ministry, he doesn't think the Second Missionary Journey will necessarily be easier than the First. The trials and oppositions won't necessarily be less, they may be worse. He needs someone he can count on. So they part ways. And Acts follows Paul, we don't follow Barnabas. Paul becomes the key figure as you are aware.

Now as Paul was traveling through the regions of Galatia where he had previously established churches, he wants to go further west to carry the Gospel to further regions. You see the pin that marks Ephesus there. Paul wanted to go to Ephesus but he can't. Now when he was traveling through the regions where he had established churches, he picks up Timothy in the opening verses of Acts 16. So Timothy will become his traveling companion and become a key person in Paul's life and ministry, really from this point on. And he is the recipient of two of our New Testament letters—1 and 2 Timothy.

So they go on and they pass through these regions, Paul is thinking he will go into Asia Minor to Ephesus. But verse 6 tells us, “he was forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia,” referring to Asia Minor there, where you have Ephesus, Colosse, some of the other churches of Asia Minor that we are familiar with later. So he thinks he'll go more north, but he is forbidden of the Spirit. Verse 7, “we are trying to go into Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them.” We don't know how the Spirit told him—maybe in a dream, maybe in a vision—something made clear to Paul the Spirit of God did not want him going there. That didn't mean He didn't want him to continue in ministry. So if you are hedged in, you don't want to go back to where you came from. You can't go north, you can't go south, you keep going west. And he comes to Troas. You can see Troas there, it's up at the top where the arrow goes. You can see it even if you can't read the town there. That's where that arrow goes, right on the water. And there he has a vision from God. Verse 9, “a vision appeared to Paul in the night,” Acts 16:9, “a man of Macedonia standing and appealing to him saying, 'come over to Macedonia and help us.'” Macedonia is the northern part of Greece. You can see Macedonia written across the top. And then down the bottom will be Achaia, where Athens and Greece are, where Paul is going to go. So when we talk about Macedonia, we're talking about the large region, the county like we might think of it. Bigger than that, obviously, a Roman province. And then the southern part of that will be the province of Achaia which will have cities like Athens in Greece. The northern part had cities like Philippi, Thessalonica that we are familiar with.

So in the night this Macedonian man, this Greek man is calling Paul to come over. Paul realizes this is the direction of the Lord. We are going to cross into Europe. We're taking the Gospel to Greece. And so they put out to sea and they are on their way into Greece and Europe. He is going to proclaim the Gospel in the cities there. The Spirit of God has called them here, closed the door to other places Clearly indicated, this is where God wants you. That does not mean it's going to be easy or pleasant. It is going to be a battle all the way. He comes to Philippi and there he is going to minister the Word. Verse 12, “from there to Philippi,” a leading city of Macedonia, a Roman colony, as will be Corinth. The Roman colonies were established by Rome, they have a special identity to be a miniature of Rome so that in their empire they could promote their values, their thinking, their religion and so on. And Philippi is such a city. We'll see about that with Corinth also.

And they go out by the riverside where they knew some Jews would be praying, and they find women there. Here we have the first convert. And many of you are familiar from the book of Acts with Lydia. Verse 14, “she was a worshipper of God,” she is an Old Testament saint, we might say, but she hears the Gospel and believes it. And you'll see that statement at the end of verse 14 becomes key, “the Lord opened her heart.” So she is the first convert in Europe and here at the city of Philippi.

Paul stays there, continues ministry, there is a demon-possessed slave girl, and we are told here demons can promote good theology, and this demon-possessed girl is proclaiming, verse 17, “these men are bond servants of the Most High God, proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” That is good theology coming from demons. Paul is not willing to accept any connection with the demonic world. So finally Paul casts the demon out of the girl. You'd think that would make a great, good impression, but the opposite is the case. Verse 19, now this demon-possessed girl has lost her supernatural powers. Her masters are really upset so they haul Paul and Silas before the authorities. And everybody is in an uproar and then Paul and Silas are beaten with rods. And that was such an unpleasant punishment, it was not to be administered to a Roman citizen. So here in a Roman colony they should know better. This is a place where Rome is honored, Roman citizens are honored. They are not just the ordinary run-of-the-mill people. And here Paul is beaten along with Silas.

“Struck with many blows, thrown into prison,” and you are aware they are put in the stocks, their feet in the stocks in the prison. Very unpleasant. You've just been beaten with rods, your back is beaten and sore and now your feet are in stocks. And then Paul and Silas start to sing in the prison. And then there is an earthquake, the prison is opened miraculously by God, and the end result of this is the Philippian jailer is saved. One of the more familiar accounts in the book of Acts to most of us. When he asks Paul and Silas, verse 30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? They said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.'” And his whole family believes, they are baptized as a testimony of their faith. That doesn't mean there were children baptized. Some read into these things since it says household we can assume there were infants and so that is a reason for infant baptism. That's not the case.

In the morning when the magistrates say, you can come out of prison, Paul says, like fun. I'm a Roman citizen, beaten. Verse 37, “Paul said to them, 'They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and thrown us into prison.'” Now they want us just to come out and go away? Let them come and bring us out. And everybody is afraid. The end of verse 38, “they were afraid when they heard they were Romans.” They are begging, please leave and don't cause any more trouble. They realize they are in danger. The judgment could be severe on the leaders of this Roman colony for mistreating Romans. That's an affront to Rome and you are supposed to be representing Rome here and you treat a Roman citizen this way.

So you see how this Second Missionary Journey is going? It is difficult. It started out with conflict between Paul's closest companion. Now he gets to Philippi and he thinks, God has brought us to Greece. Wonderful. We saw a lady saved. Next thing you know they are being beaten and thrown into prison. But out of that somebody else is saved. Paul leaves. Acts 17, they come to Thessalonica, another city up there in Macedonia and Paul goes into the synagogue. This was his practice because he is a Jew, he was a Pharisee. In the synagogues traveling Jewish teachers could come into the synagogue and teach. So he comes in, explaining to them their Old Testament scriptures. Verse 2, “he reasoned with them for three Sabbaths, three Saturdays, from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead.” Showing them from their Old Testament scriptures, maybe passages like Isaiah 53, that their Messiah had to suffer and die and then be raised from the dead. And Jesus of Nazareth is that Messiah. Some of them were persuaded, joined Paul and Silas, there were a number of them. There is going to be a church at Thessalonica, just like at Philippi, and Paul will later write a letter to the Philippians. And he'll write two letters to the Thessalonians. So we become familiar with these believers.

But the conflict is not over. The Jews become jealous, they raise a mob, and I love the statement at the end of verse 6, wouldn't you like this reputation as a believer? “These men who have upset the world have come here.” Oikoumene as you have it in your margin, the inhabited earth. The whole inhabited world has been upset with them. Everywhere you go there are people who have been, I mean, obviously that's an exaggeration. You can see where Paul has been. This is the farthest out he has been, but the impact of the message they are proclaiming and the exaggeration here. But what a testimony of their faithfulness.

And so the whole city is stirred up so they have to leave in the middle of the night for the good of the believers there as well. Because you understand everybody who comes to believe the message now becomes the enemy also. And Paul doesn't want to make it any more difficult for the believer at Thessalonica. He's not afraid in that sense, he's not bailing out on them, but it'd better for everybody. At least when Paul and Silas leave, something of that focal point for opposition will be gone. There is a church established here, a church established in difficulty and pressure and Paul is terribly concerned for them. So concerned that by the time he gets down to Achaia, Athens, the city of Athens which is in Achaia, he's going to send Timothy and Silas back up into Macedonia to check with the Thessalonians and the church to see if they are doing all right.

Turn over to 1 Thessalonians 1:6, you see the context in which Paul said they heard the Word, “you also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the Word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit.” They were thrilled and excited to have trusted Christ and know the joy of the salvation they have in Him. But that Word came to them in much tribulation. When Paul left, those who were professing faith in Christ had to stay there now with friends and family who now are their enemies.

So when you get to chapter 3 Paul says, “therefore, when we could endure it no longer we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone.” We haven't gotten to Athens yet, we'll get there in a moment. “We sent Timothy our brother and God's fellow worker in the Gospel of Christ to strengthen and encourage your faith so no one would be disturbed by these afflictions. For you yourselves know we have been destined for these. For indeed when we were with you we kept telling you in advance we were going to suffer affliction. It came to pass as you know. For this reason when I could endure it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith for fear that the tempter might have tempted you and our labor would be in vain.” But Timothy brought back good news—they have remained faithful. The persecutions, the troubles, the trials haven't caused them to turn away from Christ, which would have been an indication they weren't genuine, that Paul's labors had been in vain. You see Paul said, I warned you, I told you this is what to expect.

Important for us as we look into this. We get the idea that our life ought to be safe and comfortable and easy and don't ruffle feathers, be careful. And we want to use wisdom, but we should not be silenced. They received the Word with much tribulation. The idea that we're going to go out and share the Gospel and everybody is going to welcome us and say, thank you for coming and telling me that. Some people are going to close the door in your face, some people are going to view you as an enemy because you told them they were lost and needed the Savior, that He is the only hope for their salvation. And they are offended. And you understand there is no middle ground, the children of God and the children of the devil. There is no peace. The devil has no tolerance. Never think he is giving ground and think you've become a believer but that's not so bad, that's okay, you're still a nice person. You are his enemy, he will do all he can to destroy you. That's what is going on.

So that's what Paul's ministry is and it's so serious that it's better that he and Silas leave and Timothy, he'll send Timothy and Silas back shortly. He comes to Berea, they are open and there is an open door of opportunity. No record of a church established here, but there may well be, but they respond and many believe, verse 12. But what is that followed with? The enemies come down from Thessalonica and stir up the people and soon the city is in a turmoil and Paul and his traveling companions have to leave again.

Down in verse 16, Paul comes to Athens and the city is full of idols. He is reasoning in the synagogue and he is debating the philosophers. And the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers there, the intelligentsia of the day here demonstrating their wisdom, debating these things and interacting about these things. Sort of like an academic environment. But Paul was an oddity, he didn't come there to debate philosophy. He was preaching Jesus and the resurrection, the end of verse 18, not an acceptable message among these Greek philosophers. No place with that bodily, physical resurrection stuff.

So Paul's sermon on Mars Hill, and you note how quickly he picks them up where they are. I see you have these temples and idols and everything and you are afraid you left out a god, the unknown God. And Paul picks that up. You don't know the true and living God but I can tell you about Him, I can tell you what He is like. And you don't make Him out of stone. And what does he go on to tell them? Verse 30, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent because He has fixed a day when He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Wait, Paul, don't bring that up. The Greeks don't like that talk about bodily resurrection, that's foolishness. I know, the Greeks love wisdom, the Jews want signs. I preach Christ crucified. That's what I like about Paul, he gets right to the point, always have to get to the point. We are not going to have an endless discussion here, we are going to take this discussion right to the basic issue—Jesus Christ crucified and raised from the dead and He is the judge of all men. And you better bow before Him, trusting Him as your Savior, or you will be condemned. There is no doubt about the reality, He was raised from the dead. We don't believe in the resurrection of the dead. Well, you better start because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the guarantee that someday the resurrected Son of God, the Savior of the world will judge all who do not believe in Him.

Some are saved, many mock. There is no record of a church established in Athens, either. So after these things he left Athens. He doesn't have Timothy and Silas with him, they won't join him until verse 5.

Now Paul comes to Corinth. You ought to note something about Corinth. We talk about our city and how terrible it is. Corinth is another Roman colony. Corinth is about 50 miles west of Athens, and you can see the arrow where it is going across. And you see the little white arrow there, that is Corinth and he moves over there from Athens, about 50 miles so not that long of a trip.

Corinth at this time was a city only about 100 years old. Now it had reached its zenith, the height of its power and influence in the 7th century B.C. But it had been on decline and then in 146 B.C. it revolted against the Romans and the Romans sent their general, Lucius Loomius. In 146 he came to Corinth and brought the devastating hammer of Rome down. All the men were executed of the city. All the women and children were sold into slavery. We look around at what is going on in the world today and you realize there is nothing new under the sun. That's how the Romans dealt. Then they leveled the city. So for 102 years it was just the ruin. So in 44 B.C. Julius Caesar decides to rebuild Corinth, repopulate it and make it a Roman colony, like Philippi. So he rebuilds the city. It's going to be a Roman colony so it is to be, if you will, a little Rome, a center of Roman influence, Roman thinking, Roman values, Roman religion. He populates it to a large extent with freed slaves, slaves who have gotten their freedom one way or the other. Much of the rest of the city are those who are still slaves. In fact sometime after this one of the early writers said he didn't like to visit Corinth because there was such a gap. The rich were so wealthy and depraved in their behavior, and the poor were so abjectly poor and miserable, there was such a spread. Sort of like we hear today—the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Nothing new under the sun.

But Corinth did become a profitable city. By the time Paul visits there it has been in existence again about 100 years. So you look around, all the buildings are new. It has been a rebuilt city. It is a Roman colony. It is commercially prosperous. You can see where we are over there. It has a good seaport at Cenchrea. It's a connecting point for shipping to come in and then land connection, shipping connection. So it does prosper. That's where you get the rich, but you have all these slaves and people brought in from other parts of the empire. It is quite a city. I've shared with you before, when you talk about somebody being Corinthianized, it meant they had been depraved, corrupted.

So Paul comes into this city and here he is, his two close traveling companions, Silas and Timothy, aren't with him. You come to this city, and the estimates on it are from a low of 200,000 to a high of 1 million people. A lot of commentators say perhaps 500,000 people would be a reasonable estimate. So it's not just a little port town, this is a metropolis. And Paul comes in here basically by himself because Timothy and Silas won't come down from Macedonia until verse 5. And we think of Paul as fearless Paul and he is to a large extent.

But turn over to 1 Corinthians. He is fearless in the sense, not that he was never afraid, but his fear did not keep him from doing what he believed God would have him do. There is a difference. We talk about being paralyzed by fear. I used to like to go off high dives, the higher the better. That was great. I hadn't done that for a number of years. I remember we had our kids at a huge high thing here in Lincoln. I said, I'll show you how to do it. I climbed up the ladder, then you turn around and you go up another ladder, another ladder. I walked out to the end of that board and I looked down and said, what kind of fool am I. I'm not going off here. I just had everybody get off the ladders, I'm coming back down. That's letting your fear control your behavior, wisely so. But don't get the idea Paul was never afraid, but his fear never kept him from doing what he believed God would have him do.

Look at 1 Corinthians 2:1, “When I came to you brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or pf wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Now note verse 3, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” Here comes Paul into the city of Corinth, and what has this trip been like? He had been severely beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, had been run out of town in Thessalonica, been mocked and made fun of in Athens. Now he doesn't even have his companions so we can encourage one another. Here I come into the city and what did Paul say as he later writes back to them? “I was with you in weakness, in fear, much trembling.” Paul was shaking in his boots. Here I am, what is going to happen to me here? What is going to be the response of this pagan city, committed to its own gods?

I read in one of the national newspapers with the issue on immoral conduct. Some of the responses that were sent in, and I tell you it's amazing. People bring up the Bible and God and the animosity that is there. And here Paul comes into a city, the whole city is religious but it is not open to Christianity. And Paul comes in and 1 Corinthians 2:4 will tell us, “My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power.” That's why that theme will pervade 2 Corinthians—power and weakness. Power as we really unfold something of his weakness. His enemies turned it against him, but Paul knew as he gets to the close of that letter, when I am weak, then I'm strong. Good reminder. We'll see as we move through 2 Corinthians, just because you are afraid—I don't know if I could go share the Gospel—jump in on Monday night with somebody who is doing it. I'm afraid, I'm trembling. Good, it's good to be afraid, good to have a proper fear. That's not bad. Just don't let it keep you from doing what you should do. Too many people don't get to hear the Gospel because we were afraid and that fear kept us from doing what we should do. That fear should just cause us to realize nothing is going to happen here, Lord, if you don't give me the strength. If your grace does not enable me, I'll collapse right here on the spot.

So come back to Acts. He finds he has to make a living. He doesn't even have any money. No wonder John Mark bailed on the First. You like to find characters you identify with. I hate to think I'm the guy bailing with John Mark on the First Missionary Journey, but what future is there with Paul? You're not the most impressive person in town, everywhere you go there is trouble and often you end up with your own physical problems of one kind or another. Then you don't even know how you are going to finance the trip.

So he finds a Jew named Aquilla and his wife Priscilla. We are familiar with them somewhat. They are in Corinth, and do you know why? Claudius is the Roman Emperor and he has decided he doesn't want any Jews in Rome. So Aquilla and Priscilla have to leave Rome, so they come to Corinth. That helps us in dating things because we know from secular history that Claudius gave that decree in 49 A.D that the Jews had to leave Rome. And that fits because this Second Missionary Journey of Paul's is going to take place maybe from the middle of 49 A.D. to 52 A.D. There will be another date that comes up here in a moment. So he goes to them because they are tent makers or leather workers. They are sometimes identified, they make tents and they can make other leather things. So every Jewish father trained his son to have some kind of trade so he could always fall back on that, no matter what he was doing, no matter what trouble comes, there is something they will always be able to do. And that's what Paul does.

So here he comes to Corinth and the first thing he has to do is get a job, and the Lord directs him to these two Jews who are evidently believers at this time. He stayed with them; they were working their trade. Later he'll have to tell the Corinthians, when I came, I didn't take any money from you. I supported myself with my own hands. That's another thing. Even when you do good things for people, they turn it against you. Paul's enemies said, he wasn't even worthy of being paid. When he talks about his weakness, they say, he's weak. Wait until you see him, he's nothing.

But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, verse 5, do you know what? Those churches up there, difficult as it was, challenging as it was, they insisted on sending a material gift to Paul to help support him in his ministry because they knew he only had what was given him. So later when Paul writes to the Philippians in Philippians 4 he says, more than once you sent a gift to me. I didn't need the money, I appreciate it and it was good you did it because it pleased the Lord. We give because it pleases the Lord. They responded.

So Paul is encouraged, so it says, “he began devoting himself completely to the Word.” He didn't have to be working during the day in a trade, then out all evening into the wee hours of the night sharing the Gospel. He is testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. He always started with the Jews, but now they create such an uproar and blaspheming the message he says in verse 6, “your blood be on your own hands. I am clean, from now on I will go to the Gentiles.” He's not leaving town, he's going to be here for eighteen months, but he'll focus on the Gentiles.

Come back to Ezekiel 33, a reminder. And this is what Paul is doing when he says, “your blood be on your own hands.” The background for this would be a passage like Ezekiel 33. Good for us to remember. And the picture here in Ezekiel 33, “the Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel saying, son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say, if I bring a sword upon the land, the people of the land take one man from among them, make him the watchman. He sees the sword coming upon the land, blows the trumpet, warns the people, he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning and a sword comes and takes him away, the blood is on his own head. If he heard the sound of the trumpet, did not take warning, his blood will be on himself.” If he had taken warning, he would have delivered his life. “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned and the sword comes and takes a person from him, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from the watchman's hand.”

So the picture, here is a man appointed to be a watchman of the tower. When he sees the enemy coming, he blows the trumpet. Some people take it seriously and get protection, get into the city and so on. Others don't, they die and that's their own fault, they bear the judgment. The watchman has done his duty. But if the watchman is on the tower and sees the enemy coming and doesn't blow the trumpet, maybe he just goes on or runs and hides, the people are still going to die and they are still accountable for their death. But the watchman is accountable for failure of duty.

The application of that to Ezekiel, verse 7, “Now as for you, son of man,” that's the favorite name for Ezekiel, “I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. You will hear a message from my mouth and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, oh wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.” You see the dual responsibility here. The wicked are still responsible for their own sin, they'll be judged for it. But the watchman will be judged by God for his failure to be faithful to God and carry out his commission.

Verse 9, “If you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity. You have delivered your life.” And the picture of the watchman, the end of verse 6, “his blood I will require from the watchman's hand or I won't.” You see that's what Paul picks up. Then down in verse 11, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways. Why will you die oh house of Israel?”

So you can see Paul picks it up. Back in Acts 18:6, “your blood be on your own heads.” Why? I have told you of the salvation of God, I have told you that you must turn from your sin, I have fulfilled my responsibility. You see we need to be clear and careful and understand. I am not responsible for the response to my message, I am responsible to be faithful in giving the message. That's our responsibility. How many people do we come in contact with that are lost and on their way to hell? I have been entrusted with the message, I don't tell them, they will go to hell and be accountable for their own sin. But I will be accountable for not saying anything. You see it's not an option for the watchman just to stay uninvolved. You can't be a follower of Jesus Christ and sit on the sidelines, so to speak. It's not an option.

That's what Paul is saying here. That's the background of “your blood be on your own heads.” I am clean. Why? I told you, I've been telling you that Jesus is the Messiah. We are to be presenting the fullness of the Gospel as he elaborates what he told them in 1 Corinthians, particularly in those opening chapters. “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” I didn't give you wisdom, I gave you the truth. And we keep that in mind. We think, I'm just not good at talking to people. What does that mean? Can you be a believer and not know the Gospel? Isn't it amazing how tongue-tied we can become with that? We can be fluent in talking about what happened in the game yesterday or other things, but when it comes to the Gospel it's like sometime when you have something and your tongue gets like cotton. We get that way with the Gospel. Or we'll say something general about God or Jesus and then think,. “What's the Gospel?” You ought to look in a mirror every day and tell yourself the Gospel out loud, not silent. You have to hear it. The first time you do you say, is that really my voice telling them they are sinners? That God is a God of love and salvation, but you are a sinner and unless you turn from your sin and place your faith in Him, you are lost forever. To this day I still sit in my chair, close the door to my office and tell that person who is sitting across the desk in the chair, walk through the Gospel with them, out loud so I hear it. It ought to be on the tip of our tongue.

Paul doesn't wait for them to come up and grab him by the lapels and says, would you tell me how to be saved? He goes and tells them they must be saved. And most of them don't want to hear it. But then again I am a watchman. I can't change your heart. All I can do is tell you the message God has given me, the message that brought salvation to my heart and life.

There is trouble but Paul gets a word of encouragement, and we'll be ending with this. Verse 9, “The Lord said to Paul by night in a vision, don't be afraid any longer. Go on speaking, do not be silent. I am with you, no man will attack you to harm you for I have many people in this city.” You see God is sovereign. Why does He put you where you are? Because He wants the light there in the darkness. That's what we are, lights in the darkness.

It doesn't mean Paul is not going to have trouble. Paul is going to have trouble. He is going to have opposition. But he is not going to be beaten at Corinth. He's not going to be thrown into prison in Corinth. So that's the harm that he is protected from, not from trouble. He was there eighteen months, verse 11, “teaching the Word of God when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia.” That's the southern part and Macedonia the northern part. The Jews bring Paul before Gallio. Now Gallio is interesting, we know something about Gallio, he was the proconsul of Achaia from July 51 A.D. to June 52 A.D. How is that for getting right down to the month we can identify?

Now you may not be familiar with Gallio much, but familiar with the Roman name Seneca, a more well-known Stoic philosopher, dramatist, politician. Seneca was the brother of Gallio, Seneca was the tutor of Nero when Nero was young. In 65 A.D. Nero forced Seneca to commit suicide and then executed Gallio and another brother. Real interesting what you know about these.

When Paul comes before Gallio, Paul says this is just an inter-Jewish conflict. I don't care, I don't have anything to say about it. Now that helped Paul because this is the Roman authority and while Christianity was not at this time an approved religion among the Romans, here you have the Roman governor, so-to-speak, saying I have no problem with what this man is preaching. I don't see it as a threat to Rome, I see it as a problem you Jews have among yourselves. You handle it. So the Jews began to beat on Sosthenes who evidently became a believer. He was the leader of the synagogue. Gallio couldn't care less, you Jews resolve it. If you have to beat up one of your leaders, go ahead, I don't care. They don't beat up Paul, Paul is a Roman citizen, he could have claimed that here. So there is a cover given.

Interesting, when all is said and done, who is the most important person here? Not Gallio, sitting on his judgment seat. It's that little, weak Jew, proclaiming a message that will change the world. Remember that. You go and carry the message of Christ. What you are doing, the position you have as a servant of the living God, a representative of Jesus Christ is far more important, far more significant in the context of eternity than the pittances going on politically and otherwise in the world. We have a great message, it's a message of salvation. People must hear it. Sadly, many will choose not to believe it, but that should not keep us from telling them, and telling them, and telling them wherever we are, whatever we are doing.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the riches of Your Word, the power of the Gospel. Thank You for men that You raised up like Paul, Silas, Timothy, the salvation of that first convert in Europe, Lydia, faithful couples like Aquilla and Priscilla. Lord, Your work is done, not by the great and the mighty, but by the faithful weaklings. Lord, how blessed we are to be instruments of Your power, despised by the world, been called by You to belong to You and serve You. I pray that we will be faithful. We pray in Christ's name, amen.