Deciding with God

 Acts 19:21 (ESV) – Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

  

Long before Zondervan published How to Make Big Decisions Wisely, I started the study of how the Apostle Paul made decisions as recorded in the Bible book called, Acts of the Apostles, or just, Acts, for short. I wanted to discover if all of Paul’s decisions were made in response to supernatural direction. Of course, the writer, Luke, often clearly showed Paul deciding in response to an appearance or vision of Jesus, a dream, or a prophetic word. Yet, I saw that a slight majority of the time Luke used words indicating that Paul decided based on his own reasoning or desires without any obvious divine direction. This discovery freed me from feeling like a second class Christian because, even though I had “heard from God” on several occasions throughout my life, divine direction was not a daily occurrence for me.

 

However, some passages do not clearly show if Paul decided on his own or had been directed by God. Acts 19:21 is one of those. Even Bible translators and commentators disagree on how to interpret this interesting phrase translated, “resolved in the Spirit,” in the English Standard version. The Greek word translated resolved here, etheto, is actually common in the New Testament, occurring over 300 times. It usually means to put, lay, or place something. That meaning developed further in secular Greek even before Jesus’ time to imply establishing or instituting, like our expression, “lay down the law.” Paul is clearly the subject of this verb and his resolution in our verse stresses the magnitude and his ownership of his decision. The second part of this short phrase is less clear. Paul resolved “in the S/spirit.” Most English Bibles capitalize Spirit assuming that the writer Luke was referring to the Holy Spirit. However, the earliest Greek manuscripts used capitals for every letter, so we cannot say for sure Luke meant the Holy Spirit rather than Paul’s internal spirit. The Greek word pneuma often connoted the human soul or life. Luke occasionally used the word this way (see Luke 8:55 & 23:46, and Acts 7:59), but far more often he clearly meant the Holy Spirit.

 

I wrestled with this verse as I tried to decide if it belonged in the human decision column or the divine direction column. The NIV simply translates it. “Paul decided,” but most other translations bring the Holy Spirit into the process. I finally realized that this can be a both/and. Paul is clearly the subject of etheto – the one putting down the decision, but the Holy Spirit was actively at work in the process. We see in Acts 21:13-14 that Paul clearly attributes his return to Jerusalem (first referenced in Acts 19:21) as the will of God.

 

Many of the decisions I have made in my life and ministry have that same sense of both my resolve and the work of the Holy Spirit. Even as I wrote the book, there was a strong sense of Holy Spirit direction to do the writing, but many of the words emerged from study and my own decisions. You may find that to be the case in your own life, as well. I believe God is often at work when we think we are making up our own minds. Whenever possible, let’s do all of our resolving in partnership with the Spirit.

What if Someone Does Not Get it All Right?

Acts 18:24 (ESV) – Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.

Have you ever heard someone you respect publicly say something you knew was not completely true? How did that affect your attitude toward that person? For many, this would be an automatic disqualifier of any authority. They might say, “If people are not completely accurate in everything they say, they cannot be trusted in anything they say.” What should we say about the hundreds of Christian denominations around the world who vary in what they say and believe about different elements of the Christian faith? Are they all heretics if they don’t get everything right?

In the Book of Acts, we meet a man named Apollos who did not get everything right initially. Yet, Luke describes him in very positive words anyway: “He was an eloquent man.” “[He was] mighty in the scriptures.” (NAS) “[He was] fervent in spirit.” He had received some teaching on the Christian faith. He spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. (Acts 18:24-25) Each of these statements is praiseworthy for any preacher. He was so effective that many of the Corinthian Christians created a fan club, saying, “I am of Apollos,” (rather than Paul). (See I Corinthians 3:4)

Yet, for all the good words Luke used of him in Acts 18:24-25, there were some aspects of Christian doctrine he did not get right. He did not explain water baptism the right way, and he never encouraged the Ephesian Christians to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Was Apollos really a good teacher if he messed up such important concepts?

The words in Acts give some important insight to these questions:

1)    Apollos got the most important things right. There is a Greek word in verse 25, akribos, that means accurately and describes specifically what Apollos said about Jesus. We need to remember that Jesus Christ is the center of the Christian faith. What we believe about him is absolutely essential.

2)   Apollos was willing to grow in understanding. When Paul’s friends Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak, they quickly recognize some things Apollos did not get right and they privately and respectfully pointed those out to him. Luke used the comparative form of that same word, akributeron, to describe how they helped Apollos understand the way of God more accurately. Apollos was willing to listen to them and changed his teaching accordingly.

3)    God can use imperfect preaching. Somehow, Priscilla and Aquila’s correction was also incomplete, as Paul had to clarify how the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer when he came back to Ephesus some time later. However, Luke still describes those people in Ephesus disciples and Paul recognized them as believers. (Acts 19:1-6) Apollos may not have taught them everything or taught it perfectly, but lives were still changed by the message of Jesus. Yes, the New Testament is clear that doctrine does matter. There is a point at which wrong teaching does great harm. (See Acts 20:30) You do not have to wait to complete a Master of Divinity to start sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

4)  Apollos stayed humble. His huge following in Corinth started to split that young church between those who would follow him and those who would follow Paul. Yet, Apollos did not fuel that fire. He traveled back to Ephesus when Paul was there and got to know him personally. They developed a mutual respect for one another and sought to build unity in Christ rather their individual celebrity status. (I Corinthians 3:5-6 and 16:12 and Titus 3:13)

Doctrine does matter. As a young Christian I carefully studied the scriptures before deciding the movement I believed best taught and lived out the Bible’s teaching. Yet, I know the Kingdom of God is much bigger than the Assemblies of God. I have many brothers and sisters in Christ with whom I disagree on one point or another, but I have seen God change lives through their ministries. One thing, though, matters more than any other: what we teach and speak concerning Jesus. (Acts 18:25) We are all sinners in need of a savior and the incarnate Jesus Christ is God’s provision for forgiveness and eternal life for all who believe in Him. (John 3:16)

 

 

What is Your Reputation Worth?

 Acts 18:8 (ESV) – Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

Most of us care what others think of us. There are some positions in society that are bestowed on those loved and respected by the majority. These always indicate real influence and usually come with power to make decisions on behalf of others. They sometimes come with significant financial remuneration, too. As synagogue leader, Crispus had a position like that. He was seen as the leader by the Jewish people of Corinth. He had probably dreamed of holding that position since he was a boy. He worked hard to show himself a trustworthy, credible leader. That must have been worth a great deal to him.

Then one day he heard something that he wanted even more. When Paul came to his city and told him and the rest of the synagogue about the life changing forgiveness and power and eternal life available through the long promised Messiah Jesus, he believed. Unfortunately, though, most of his Jewish friends did not. It was not that they just did not believe, they fought against Paul and those who chose to believe in Jesus (Acts 18:6, 12-17). Suddenly, Crispus found himself with a choice: Would he renounce the Christian message so he could hold onto his cherished position of influence in the community of his birth or would he give it all up to follow Jesus? He chose the latter.

Paul mentions Crispus’s faith and decision to believe and be baptized in a letter he wrote to his church a few years later (I Corinthians 1:14). He chose eternal life over popularity. It looks like his successor Sosthenes did, too, as he was beaten by his fellow Jews (Acts 18:17) then later traveled with Paul to Ephesus (I Corinthians 1:1) to help share that good news he received that was worth more to him than the accolades of the crowd. Whose approval do you value more?

How to Speak to Those Who Are Different from You

Acts 17:28 (ESV) – ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Not everyone thinks like you do. Many people trust different sources and have a different view of the world. They may or may not accept or even understand what is most important to you, at least initially. They will be more likely to listen to you if you start the conversation with things they care about and believe then take evidence they accept as reliable to support your argument. This pathway will be more likely take them to the place of understanding and, possibly, embracing your perspective.

This is just what the Apostle Paul did with the Athenian philosophers on Mars Hill. Unlike his other messages to primarily Jewish audiences, he did not choose to start with the ancient Hebrew prophecies (in what we now call the Old Testament) that Jesus fulfilled. The Athenians did not know about them, understand them, or accept them. They would not likely have followed Paul’s discussion or responded.

Paul did not accept their view of the world. Luke records Paul was not at all happy seeing all their idols (Acts 17:16), but he found one he could use as at a starting place in his talk that was dedicated to an unknown God. He used that as a connection with the one true God who “made the world and all things in it.” (Acts 17:24) He even cited the Greek poets Epimenides and Aratus who would have been known, understood, and accepted by the Athenians, though not on the same level as the Jews would have accepted their scriptures as God’s authoritative word. (Acts 17:28) Next, he showed the weakness in believing that any human created image could have created the universe. (Acts 17:29) He then culminated his talk with the main point, bringing them to Jesus and his resurrection. (Acts 17:31) Several believed in Jesus that day and even others invited him to discuss this message further again. (Acts 17:32-34)

It is usually best to speak to others in ways they will understand and be likely to accept as much as possible without compromising your message.

Check Before Cancelling

 Acts 17:11 (ESV) – Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

We have seen a new phenomenon explode in 2020. The pandemic-induced isolation has forced people online and brought Twitter, Facebook, and other media into a place of greater influence. Election campaigns are increasing the vilification that is dividing the world and protests at a level unseen for decades. As the emotion increases, dividing lines sharpen, and the question of “in or out?” determines whether you will have the support and respect of those who were once your friends. A new label has emerged for this reality: “Cancel Culture.” It seems there is a new “orthodoxy” for each side of any issue. If you do not embrace every aspect of that orthodoxy, you will be cancelled – excommunicated – by the rest in the group.

The intimidation is strong. The fear of rejection can drive many accept, without question, every tenet of the new orthodoxy of whatever group they consider themselves a part of or aspire to join.

Although Cancel Culture may be a new buzz phrase for 2020, the concept itself is much older. As the biblical book called Acts of the Apostles describes the Apostle Paul’s second journey, he faced opposition from the established Jewish community in city after city until he arrived in Berea (now known as Veria and still a center of regional influence in northern Greece). The writer, Luke, uses an interesting description for those Jews. “They were more noble than those in Thessalonica.” There was something that set them apart from the rest of their generation. They did not embrace the Cancel Culture of their day. They took what they heard and they checked it out against the most authoritative source possible – the Holy Scriptures. They found what Paul said was true, and they received it gladly.

Let’s be more like these Bereans and check things out before accepting or rejecting something for fear of being canceled. When we do, let’s make sure we compare it against something trustworthy. When we can, let’s take it to the most trustworthy source of all: the Bible.

Some

Acts 17:4 (ESV) – And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

I have a weakness. I want everyone to be happy. I am tempted to believe I have not succeeded unless everyone agrees with me, but that is not usually a realistic expectation. Most of the time, some people will not accept what we say. However, if we do our part, some will believe.

Paul, Silas, and Timothy arrived at what is still Greece’s second largest city, Thessalonica, and immediately followed their pattern of going to the Jewish synagogue and showing from the Jewish scriptures (what most Christians now call the Old Testament) that Jesus was the long promised Messiah and he needed to be crucified and rise from the dead (Acts 17:3). There is solid evidence for his claim, but as he reflected on this time in his first letter to those who did believe, Paul said there was more than just his own human words at work in the persuasion process. The Gospel came “not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit with full conviction.” (I Thessalonians 1:6) Yet, in spite of all Paul’s humanly persuasive power and, more significantly, the Holy Spirit’s full conviction, only some believed. Yet, some did believe.

Although we may want everyone’s approval, we cannot use the rejection by some as a sign of failure or falsehood. It seems Paul and his friends were only able to be in Thessalonica for a few weeks on that first journey before those who rejected their message drove them out of town (Acts 17:5-9), but those who did believe experienced lasting life change and together became a great church. The mission was accomplished.

Not everyone will probably accept you and what you have to say, but some will. Say it.

A Female Leader

Acts 16:13-15 (NAS) – On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

One of the most controversial questions in American Christianity today is the place women should have in leadership. Two passages in Paul’s letters (I Corinthians 14:34-35 and I Timothy 2:11-15) have led many well-meaning Bible believing Christians and some entire denominations to assume Paul wrote these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to restrict all women in all churches in all times and all places from senior leadership in the church. Yet, a review of the entire New Testament’s dealing with the question shows that those two passages are best understood as restricting certain individual women who were divisive, distracting, and undermined the health of the churches in Corinth and Ephesus. Both of those books actually speak of women in public leadership and teaching roles in other passages. (See I Corinthians 11:5 and note than women spoke publicly and I Timothy 3:11 where Paul describes character traits necessary for church leaders and specifies “women” in that list in verse 11. Some translators chose to make this “deacons’ wives” instead. Although gunaikos can mean either woman or wife, there is no compelling reason to go with the latter and there is no “deacons’” in that verse explicitly or implicitly. These women led.)

A strong argument against prohibiting women from leading is the positive example of many female leaders throughout the New Testament. Lydia is one of those. Although we only read about her in three verses, in his insightfully efficient way, Doctor Luke tells us a lot about her in these few words.

1. Lydia’s name was Greek and not Hebrew - It meant “beautiful” or “noble” and traced its roots to the name of the Empire of Lydia that dominated what is now Western Turkey from about 1100 to 543 BC, when it was conquered by the Persian Emperor Cyrus. This was an appropriate name, given the location of her hometown in the land of that former empire.
2. She was away from her homeland – Thyatira was on the far side of the Aegean Sea from Philippi, and Lydia was on a working trip.
3. She was a successful businesswomen – Archeological findings substantiate Thyatira as a leading center of the dye trade in the Roman Empire, and purple was the most expensive and luxurious dye of all. The dye was historically derived from shellfish shells only found near the city of Tyre. It was so expensive that wearing purple cloth became a way to demonstrate wealth and power. To be traveling as a saleswomen of these expensive products and owner of a household indicates she was likely a woman of wealth herself.
4. She sought God – It seems Lydia was a God-fearing Gentile hungry to meet her creator. She had already been coming to the Jewish prayer gatherings by the river outside of Philippi.
5. She was open to learn more – She did not need to become a Jew or a Christian to enhance her business. She came because she sought a greater purpose for her life than any amount of wealth could provide.
6. She responded to the Gospel of Jesus with full commitment – As Paul spoke, “God opened her heart,” and she and her whole household (likely children, servants, and, perhaps, her husband) believed in Jesus and were baptized (Acts 16:14-15).
7. She led – Note that verse 15 stresses her whole household was baptized but verse 13 implies only women heard Paul’s first message. The best explanation is that after Lydia’s conversion, she led those in her influence to hear the Gospel from Paul, as well, and they responded for themselves. Verse 15 goes on to use specific leadership-oriented words to describe how she even led Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke to do something other than what they had planned: She “urged” (parekalesen) and “prevailed upon” (parebiasato) them to stay in her house.
8. She is the first named leader of the church Paul founded he seems to have treasured the most – As you read all the letters Paul wrote to the churches he founded, note their tone and the overall health of the churches, as well as Paul’s relationship with them. None has the depth of tenderness and appreciation as the Letter to the Philippians. Although that church had some struggles (as all still do today), there is a true sense of maturity and commitment to Christ of the first readers. Although she was not mentioned in that letter, Lydia’s leadership was likely part of setting that tone. She may have returned to Thyatira by that point, but her legacy lived on, and the Letter to the Philippians mentions two or three other female leaders by name, as well (Philippians 4:1-2). 

In my role as dean and professor at Southeastern University, I have seen hundreds of women God has gifted and called to lead step out and fulfill their callings in life changing ways. God’s mission is far too large to be limited to half of his team.