Acts 28

Please take out your copy of God's Word and turn to the book of Acts chapter 28.

Acts 28 · chapter mention

While you're getting there, let me just say a few unscripted things about music.

I appreciate Jordan kind of prompted this in my mind as he talked about how we don't come together to praise performance,

but to praise the living God.

Particularly if you're new to us, the way we do music on a Sunday morning

may feel strange to you.

And I just want it not to.

I think the way we do music on a Sunday morning,

and this is not me saying that we're more right than anybody else,

but I think it ought to feel familiar to Christian people.

When you go in amongst other Christian people to sing songs to God,

I think it ought to feel more the same.

And I don't mean lead from a guitar with a banjo and keys or any of that.

I'm not talking about style and preferences of style.

I'm talking about content.

So we have a criteria for the songs that we sing together on Sunday morning,

and that is as follows.

First, the songs are true.

So we want songs to be lined up with the truth of Scripture.

In your time singing with us, if the words are odd to you,

if the strangeness of it rings out,

you probably don't read your Bible enough.

Because the songs we sing are Scripture-saturated.

There's so many direct Bible references in the songs that we sing together.

So the songs need to be true.

The next criteria is that the songs need to be deep.

Now, I'm okay with a good repetitious chorus.

Please know that.

There may be a really great time for that.

But we have a limited amount of time together.

So how much depth of truth can we pack into our time?

So most of the songs, not all,

but most of the songs we sing together are wordy.

And they're wordy for that reason.

We want you to know the truth so that you can be changed by the truth.

Have it dwell deeply within you.

I'm really horrible at remembering song lyrics.

I hope you're not like me in that way.

But I will get a tune stuck in my head on a Sunday morning,

which will force me to go look up the lyrics so that I can sing it,

not just hum the same thing over and over and over again in my head,

which presses me to biblical truth.

And typically what I tend to do is go,

oh, that's a reference.

I know that's a reference.

I've read it somewhere.

And I begin to look up all the references that are found in this great hymn

that gets stuck in my head.

So songs should be true and they should be deep.

And then lastly, they should be singable, right?

Which is just really practical.

We want to be able to sing songs together.

And so I appreciate, if you've been here with us for a while,

you know Wes and Liz Shelnut led us for many years

and they've just recently moved to Utah.

But the guys that have stepped in are doing the same thing.

They're not trying to amaze us with their musical talent.

And they have musical talent.

But simply leading us to sing songs together.

So true, deep, and singable.

That's why we don't turn the music up too loud.

There's a time and a place for a rock concert.

I enjoy it as much as the next person.

But you need to hear your neighbor.

That's why we keep the lights on and we have windows.

I didn't build the building, but we didn't cover them up.

You'll note.

We left them that we might sing and rejoice together

and be God's people together, praising God in song.

So, brief and off script.

I want to encourage you though to join us and to sing well with us.

Our text for today is Acts chapter 28, verses 1 through 16.

Acts 28:1–16

We're getting very close to the end of our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts.

This will be my last sermon in Acts next week.

Clay is going to finish it up for us.

And this morning, as I did the last little bit of note preparation,

I took this stack of commentaries that's been living for the last...

Anybody know off the top how long we've been in the book of Acts?

A year and a half?

Does it seem about?

Something like that?

I took it and I put them all up on my shelf.

There's this weird void on my desk right now that will soon get filled with other commentaries.

But I'm grieving it a little bit this morning to leave the book of Acts.

So, let's wring it out together.

Before we read the text, you need a sweeping summary to get us to where we are in Luke's second narrative.

So, beginning...

We'll go back to chapter 21.

We've observed Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, his various trials before various prominent men,

his exercise of his Roman right to appeal to Caesar.

So, he makes this appeal to go to the highest court as a Roman citizen.

They grant that to him.

So, his departure from Caesarea for Rome via a ship.

And then we saw last week in chapter 27 this storm that leads to this shipwreck.

On the island of Malta.

So, our text today picks that story up as Paul and the other 275 souls that were on the ship are washed up on the beach.

Before we read, beloved, this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and for our good.

Which means we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

Acts chapter 28, beginning in verse 1.

Acts 28 · chapter mention

After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta.

The native people showed us unusual kindness for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all because it had begun to rain and was cold.

When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out and because of the heat and fastened on his hand.

When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another,

No doubt this man is a murderer.

Though he escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.

He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead.

But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island named Publius,

who received and entertained us hospitably for three days.

It happened that the father of Publius lay sick for fever and dysentery.

And Paul visited him and prayed and putting his hands on him, healed him.

And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

They also honored us greatly.

And when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island,

a ship of Alexandria with the twin gods as a figurehead.

Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days.

And from there, we made a circuit and arrived at Regium.

And after one day, a south wind sprang up.

And on the second day, we came to Pute...

Excuse me.

I practiced this one.

Puteoli.

There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days.

And so we came to Rome.

And the brothers there, when they heard about us,

came as far as the Forum of Appius and three taverns to meet us.

On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage.

And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

So for many chapters now, we've been waiting for this fulfilled promise that Jesus spoke to Paul and said,

you will arrive at Rome.

You must speak the gospel in Rome.

And so we see that promise fulfilled here.

But before we get into any part of this text, which I find meaningful for us this morning,

we must first address the incident with the snake and then the healings that are happening on the island as well.

We must ask about such implications of these kinds of events for our day.

So what's the deal, right, with Paul gets bit by this venomous snake?

Interestingly, there are no venomous snakes on the island of Malta today,

but that doesn't mean that there weren't in that day.

The people there seem to be convinced that he's going to die as a result of this particular snake bite.

Nothing happens to him.

He shakes it off into the fire.

And then he goes and heals Publius' father.

And the record is the rest of the people on the island who had diseases.

So it would seem that at least for a period of time that the island of Malta was entirely disease-free.

How does that apply to us today?

Are there a whole spectrum of beliefs concerning the present nature of spiritual gifts?

Are the gifts of prophecy and healing and tongues still active today?

And I'll tell you honestly,

that's a question I thought that I was going to have to answer definitively as we preach through Acts.

And if you've been with us, you'll know that I have not.

So I'm going to get into it a little bit more this morning to clear the field for you.

But to simplify the matter, let's just consider healing, right?

Which is what we see happen in our text today.

Just consider healing this morning.

Now, in the spectrum of beliefs,

there are two most commonly held beliefs with some variations of them in between.

They range from what are called continuationists.

I think all of these gifts are still active today, right?

Continuationists, the gifts have continued.

To cessationists, which means they've ceased.

Those gifts have ceased.

So cessationists all the way to continuationists.

And then just about every little variance you can think of in between

someone has held at some point in history.

Cessationists will say that the gifts of prophecy and healing in tongues ceased when the apostolic age ceased.

As they were used, those gifts were used to validate the message that the apostles taught.

You remember that the early church did not have the New Testament scriptures.

They had the Old Testament.

They had the text that attested to Christ's coming, right?

But they did not have the New Testament that gave the full expression of his coming,

told the story of his coming,

and walked out for us the way we're meant to live in light of his coming.

And so the apostles, these gifts accompanied them.

We know for sure they accompanied them to give affirmation to the words that they taught.

But did they stop when the apostolic age ceased to exist?

Cessationists base their belief on a couple of texts.

For me, the ones that are most convincing begin in 2 Corinthians 12.12.

Well, Paul writes,

The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience,

with signs and wonders and mighty works.

So Paul is saying,

Paul, as an apostle, is saying,

The signs of an apostle, a true apostle, were performed amongst you.

Now, an apostle is someone who had walked with Jesus,

had seen him after his resurrection,

and were personally charged by Jesus to be an apostle.

So, not just anybody that lived around Jesus and saw him after his resurrection.

There's others in the scripture who are called disciples.

Acts chapter 1, we see a group of disciples gathered.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

The apostles were a very specific group of men who met these criteria,

walked with Jesus, seen him after his resurrection,

and they were commissioned.

Jesus said to them,

You are an apostle.

So, these gifts accompany these men to give affirmation to them and to their teaching.

We can also look at Hebrews chapter 2, verses 1 through 4.

Hebrews 2:1–4

The writer of Hebrews says,

Therefore, we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard,

lest we drift away from it.

For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable,

and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,

how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

It was declared at first by the Lord,

and it was attested to us by those who heard, apostles,

while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles,

and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

So, the writer of Hebrews says the same thing.

This message of salvation declared first by Christ,

attested to us by those who heard,

he's referring specifically to the apostles there,

God gave witness to their witness in accompanying it with signs.

Now, here's the challenge of cessationism.

The Bible nowhere definitively says that the gift of healing or tongues or prophecy will cease.

This definitively suggests, but doesn't definitively say that anywhere.

However, we do only ever observe the apostles' healing.

Consider that in the book of Acts.

We don't see a record as it concerns healing of anybody other than an apostle healing.

And because of these things, right, the evidences of this,

and because throughout church history,

the largely held view of the church has been that of cessationism.

In fact, continuationism has really been on the rise in the past hundred years,

but prior to that, at least most Baptist confessions were cessationist.

But because it doesn't definitively say that the gifts stop,

this is where I'm at.

So, you ready?

I'm priming you to know where I stand on the matter,

at least for right now.

I like to call myself a cautiously open cessationist.

How about that?

It's kind of like saying I'm a cessationist.

Sort of that way.

Which means I hold the cessationist view generally,

but I'm willing to be wrong,

and I'm willing to be shown that I'm wrong.

But I'm going to do so with a great deal of skepticism and care

in hearing about the telling of things that have happened,

supposedly in the name of our Lord.

Now, wherever you may be on the matter,

possibly just confused,

and there's a really brief presentation of those things,

here's what I think becomes more important for us.

Two things that I believe that we can know.

With a confidence, we can know.

Number one,

the apostles did not go about seeking to heal people.

This wasn't the thrust of their ministry.

They seized opportunities when they were presented to them,

but they didn't have, quote-unquote, healing ministries.

They didn't hold, quote-unquote, healing services.

This was not the thrust of what they were doing.

What was the thrust of what they were doing?

Preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, right?

That's what they did, right?

Their mission statement for their organization,

I don't think would have even included healing.

They would have been all about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let me show you some places,

just to Acts chapter 3, verses 1 through 8.

Acts 3:1–8

This is the first healing that we see in the book of Acts.

Now, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer.

Instead of going up to pray, the ninth hour.

And a man lame from birth was being carried,

whom they had laid daily at the gate of the temple,

that is called the beautiful gate,

to ask alms of those entering the temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple,

he asked to receive alms.

So he just simply says,

Can I have some money?

And Peter directed his gaze at him,

as did John, and said,

Look at us.

And he fixed his attention on them,

expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said,

I have no silver and gold,

but what I do have I give to you

in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Rise up and walk.

So he seizes this opportunity,

verse 7,

and he took him by the right hand and raised him up,

and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

And leaping up,

and he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with him,

walking and leaping and praising God.

And we'll talk about what happens next in just a moment.

So again,

seizes an opportunity,

but doesn't go out seeking to do this activity.

And then in our text today,

Acts 28,

Acts 28:8

verse 8,

Luke says,

It happened that the father,

right?

So they're invited to stay with this man named Publius,

and his father is sick.

And after he heals him,

what happens?

People keep showing up

and want to be healed.

And Paul obliges.

So,

they didn't go about seeking it.

Secondly,

when someone was healed,

the gospel was always preached.

When someone was healed,

the gospel was always preached.

Remember,

healings were just meant to give credibility

to the message that was being preached.

And so you'll find today,

if you want to fall into the black hole,

people of YouTube,

type in miracle healings,

and start paying attention to what's happening,

recorded,

many,

now I'm not,

I haven't gotten too deep into that black hole,

but many of those things

are not accompanied by gospel proclamation at all.

Not at all.

When someone was healed,

the gospel was always preached.

Now,

Luke doesn't make record of that reality in this passage,

which could trouble you.

But there's a really clear pattern of this

throughout the book of Acts.

And we've seen this pattern together.

I've talked about it on multiple occasions.

Let me give you a few examples

in case you've forgotten that

or you just haven't been with us

for the entirety of our study.

So,

going on in Acts chapter 3,

Acts 3 · chapter mention

the story we just read about the lame beggar.

Peter heals the lame beggar,

and a crowd gathers,

verses 11 through 26,

and because of this,

right,

this man is leaping,

everybody recognizes him,

says he was laid daily

at this gate called beautiful.

Everyone recognizes this man who was lame,

who's now miraculously jumping around.

And what does Peter do?

He preaches the gospel.

He gathers a crowd,

and he preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Acts chapter 5,

Acts 5:12–14

verses 12 through 14,

Luke records this for us.

Now many signs and wonders

were regularly done among the people

by the hands of the apostles.

And they were all together

in Solomon's portico.

None of the rest dared join them,

but the people held them in high esteem.

And then verse 14 says,

And more than ever,

believers were added to the Lord

multitudes of both men and women.

How were they added?

By believing in the gospel preached.

Right?

They were believing the gospel

that was being preached

as they're also performing

signs and miracles.

Another example,

Acts chapter 14,

Acts 14 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 8 and following.

Now at Lystra,

there was a man sitting

who could not use his feet.

He was crippled from birth

and had never walked.

He listened to Paul speaking.

He's already preaching the gospel.

And Paul,

looking intently at him

and seeing that he had faith

to be made well,

said in a loud voice,

Stand upright on your feet.

And he sprang up

and began walking.

And when the crowd saw

what Paul had done,

they lifted up their voices,

saying in Lithuanian,

The gods have come down to us

in the likeness of men.

Barnabas they called Zeus

and Paul Hermes

because he was the chief speaker.

And the priest of Zeus,

whose temple was at the entrance

to the city,

brought oxen and garlands

to the gates

and wanted to offer sacrifices

with the crowds.

But when the apostles

Barnabas and Paul

heard of it,

they tore their garments

and rushed out into the crowd,

crying out,

Men, why are you doing

these things?

We also are men

of like nature with you.

And we bring you,

what?

Good news.

The gospel.

That you should turn

from these vain things

to a living God

who made the heaven

and the earth

and the sea

and all that is in them.

So at Lystra,

they healed a man

and they preached

the gospel.

So we should not go about

seeking to heal people,

but we should go about

preaching the good news

of Jesus Christ.

And I'm really comfortable

with that,

whether cessationism

or continuationism

or something in between

and it's the proper view.

Whether I've got it right

or not,

I'm really comfortable

seeing clearly

that what we ought

to be focusing

our attention on

is going about

preaching the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

We ought to seek

to see the most

miraculous of things

that has ever happened.

Dead people,

brought to life,

cold hearts,

warmed to God

through His preached word.

Don't neglect that.

When somebody places

believing faith

in Jesus Christ,

it is more miraculous

than a lame man

from birth

being able to walk

because God has changed

their heart.

It's an incredible thing

that people gather

to hear God's word preached.

All of you,

little miracles

this morning,

here,

using your Sunday morning

for this rather

than something else.

So,

these are the things

that we can know

about this type

of stuff happening.

Someday,

maybe one of you

will prove me wrong

and I'll be glad

to hear your story.

Now,

Luke has been so careful

to record

gospel proclamation

as the point of healing.

Why doesn't he do so

in today's text?

It bothered me

a little bit.

Why did he not

do it in today's text?

Now,

I contend

that the gospel

did get proclaimed,

that it did,

in fact,

happen,

not only because

we've seen it patterned,

but church tradition

also holds

that a church

began on Malta

while Paul

and his companions

were there.

Traditions say

that a church

began when

he was there

and the wonderful

fruit of the gospel

being preached

is that churches

begin.

So,

why does Luke

not make that

the big deal?

That's what he does

all throughout

the book of Acts,

right?

He's all about

telling us the story,

right?

The second account

of his,

of the risen Christ

working by the power

of his spirit

in the lives

of the apostles,

primarily Peter

at the beginning,

now Paul

is the main character,

right?

Proclaiming the gospel

of Jesus Christ,

people coming to faith,

churches beginning.

Why does he not

make that the big deal

of this three months

spent on Malta?

Believing that Luke

wrote this account

under the inspiration

of the Holy Spirit,

we must believe

that there is

something else

that our attention

is meant to be

drawn to.

And I believe,

at least today,

at least in part,

it's meant to be

drawn to two things

from this text.

Number one,

hospitality,

and number two,

justice.

Number one,

hospitality,

number two,

justice.

So let's take a brief

look at these two

things this morning.

First,

hospitality.

Note the hospitality

of unbelievers.

Verse two,

the native people

showed us unusual kindness

for they kindled the fire

and welcomed us all

because it began to rain

and was cold.

And then verse seven,

now in the neighborhood

of that place,

the general area

of that place

where lands belong

to the chief man

of the island

named Publius

who received us

and entertained us

hospitably

for three days.

And then verse 10,

so notice the theme

working through

Luke's narrative.

Verse 10,

they also honored us

greatly and when

we were about to sail,

this is three months later,

they put on board

whatever we needed

for that journey.

So the 276 castaways

were shown

unusual kindness

as they were cared for

immediately

with a fire.

Think about the time

that they're traveling in.

It's past the fast.

We saw that last week.

This is going to be

late September.

It's starting to get cold.

It's starting to get windy.

They've just been

in the ocean.

They're all sputtering

up onto the beach

and the native people,

the people of the area,

build a fire for them.

And then they were hosted

for three days,

hospitably,

Luke says,

so probably very generously,

by Publius,

who was the Roman governor

of Malta.

And let us not miss

that they wintered

on the island.

So we see that they were there

for three months,

so they must have been

hosted further.

And so they stay

at Publius' house

for three days.

He hosts 276 people.

I imagine at some point

he said,

okay, that's a lot of people

to be at my house.

But then they had to go

somewhere for the following

three months, right?

They're wintering there.

It's getting very cold

and very harsh.

And so people of the island

must have put them up

for that time.

Now, I believe that many

of the people of Malta

were saved in this time, right?

Because church history holds

a church was started there.

Healing was happening.

Paul must have been preaching

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So the line between

unbelieving hospitality

and believing hospitality

may be a bit blurry, right?

Maybe a mixture of the two.

But all the same,

the people of Malta

just may put you and I

to shame in keeping

the command to hospitality.

Here's a few of those commands.

We're to show hospitality

to one another.

Romans chapter 12,

Romans 12:13

verse 13.

Paul says,

contribute to the needs

of the saints

and seek to show hospitality.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 4, 9,

show hospitality

to one another

without grumbling.

So what is hospitality?

What are we talking about

when we say that?

It's the making someone

feel welcome.

So we could do that

on a Sunday morning here

in our gathering together

for people to feel welcome.

We have a hospitality team

which predominantly makes coffee.

But I feel very welcome

when there's coffee

ready to go for me

when I meet with someone.

They're the crew that scrambles

and tries to help you with seats.

Everyone in the back.

Somebody, I hope,

helped you with seats

this morning.

We can show hospitality

to our neighbors, right?

Inviting them over for dinner.

Somebody knocks on your door

unexpectedly.

You don't slam the door

back in their face

and go clean the house up

real quick.

You invite them in

and you make them feel welcome.

Sam and I are always

very tempted

to clean up our tiny house

before somebody

steps inside.

Showing hospitality

means giving of ourselves

to make others feel

like they are important.

That they belong

in the place

that we are.

And we're commanded

to it.

Not only are we to show

hospitality to one another,

those inside the church,

but we're to show

hospitality to others.

Those outside.

Hebrews 13.2.

The writer of Hebrews says,

Do not neglect

to show hospitality

to strangers,

for thereby some

have entertained

angels unawares.

Which is such a great word

that I feel like

doesn't belong in my Bible,

but it's there

all the same.

They have entertained

angels unaware.

So do not neglect

to show hospitality

to strangers.

But we are not always

to be hospitable.

Did you know that?

We are not to show

hospitality to those

who claim to be Christians,

but do not teach

what is orthodox

or practice righteousness.

How about that?

John writes in 2 John

verse 10 and 11.

If anyone comes to you

and does not bring

this teaching,

the gospel of Jesus Christ,

do not receive him

into your house

or give him any greeting.

For whoever greets him

takes part

in his wicked works.

Paul writes in

1 Corinthians 5.11,

But now I am writing

to you not to associate

with anyone who bears

the name of brother

if he is guilty

of sexual immorality

or greed

or is an idolater,

reviler,

drunkard,

or swindler,

not even to eat

with such a one.

And what Paul is saying

is if somebody professes

to know Jesus Christ

and then their life

lives in direct opposition

to that,

don't greet them

as a brother.

Don't show them

the hospitality

that you would show

to those who are

inside the faith.

So we're to show

hospitality.

And we see that

expressed even

by unbelievers,

which should be

an astounding thing

to us,

the way they're greeted

on the shore

of that island.

Second,

note the hospitality

of believers.

And in this case,

we can say

definitely believers.

We know that these

people are believers.

Verse 14

in Pudioli.

I got it right

the first time

that time.

we found brothers

and were invited

to stay with him

for seven days.

And so we came

to Rome.

So Paul

and his companions,

we have to assume

the Roman centurion

Julius,

who's been accompanying

Paul all along,

upon arriving

on the Italian shore,

drop in

for a seven-day stay

upon being invited

to stay

for such a time.

And likely

for such a time

because they

needed to gain strength

for their further

journeying on

to Rome.

So we have this

gracious extension

of the brothers.

And then verse 15.

And the brothers there,

the brothers in Rome,

when they heard

about us,

came as far

as the forum

of Appius

and three taverns

to meet us.

On seeing them,

Paul thanked God

and took courage.

The forum of Appius

was a marketplace.

It's sometimes called

the Market of Appius

and it was 43 miles

south of Rome.

So these believers

heard that this Paul,

he had written his letter

to the Romans already,

had sent that on

ahead of himself.

But the believer Paul,

the apostle Paul,

was coming to Rome

and they traveled

43 miles

by foot

or by some kind

of equestrian means

to go and to meet him.

And the three taverns

was a location

just 10 miles closer.

So it's 33 miles

south of Rome.

Perhaps these brothers

heard the news later

or they just got

a later start.

They had to wait

for somebody else

to show up

and meet them

in the parking lot

before they could

take off.

Right?

What a picture

of Christian love

this is.

Roman brothers

hearing that Paul

was arriving,

extend this great hand

of hospitality

in accompanying him

which we see

made Paul thankful

and encouraged him.

The end of verse 15

Luke records,

On seeing them,

Paul thanked God.

What did he thank God for?

For the brothers.

For the hospitality

of the brothers.

That they came

to meet him

and accompany him

to Rome.

Don't forget

what Paul was headed

to Rome for.

He was to stand trial

before Caesar.

That's what he was headed

to Rome to do.

And he's greeted by

a band of his family

that escorts him

back in to Rome.

So he thanks God

and he takes courage.

He took courage.

He was encouraged

by their hospitality.

Hospitality has distinguished

the Christian community

throughout the ages.

New Testament scholar

Abraham J. Moherbe

points out

that among early Christians

hospitality was not merely

a practical consideration.

It wasn't just about

providing for need.

But it was a theological one.

He wrote this.

The Christian practice

of hospitality

was not viewed simply

as a means of overcoming

practical problems.

Theological statements

by different authors

in the New Testament

show that it was

frequently viewed

as the concrete expression

of Christian love.

So if we love one another,

we'll be hospitable

toward one another.

Beloved,

let hospitality

distinguish

Christ Family Church

to Lonega.

Be hospitable

when we gather

on Sundays,

but not only on Sundays.

Open up your homes,

feed people meals.

College students,

you can pull this off too.

Mac and cheese

and hot dogs,

get it done.

Seek out ways

to show people

concretely

that you love them.

may we not be outclassed

by the unbelievers

of Malta.

So we see hospitality

in the first part

of chapter 28.

We also see

some expression

of justice.

Secondly,

justice.

Verse 4 says,

When the native people

saw the creature

hanging from his hand,

they said to one another,

No doubt this man

is a murderer.

Though he was escaped

from the sea,

justice has not allowed

him to live.

Now the assumption

of the Maltons

was that Paul

had done something

to deserve the bite

of the snake.

It is unclear

if Luke means

to tell us

that the Maltons

had a God

named Justice.

The ESV

capitalizes the word

for that very purpose.

Or merely that they

had a concept

of justice.

But either way,

they understood

vengeance

and believed

that Paul,

having escaped

from a shipwreck,

was still being

pursued unto death

by fate

or by a God

or whatever.

Why is this noteworthy?

It is worth our attention

because it is an example

of the law of God

being written

on men's hearts.

The native people

of Malta,

which, by the way,

only means

that they didn't

speak Greek or Latin,

not necessarily

that they were

uncivilized.

You don't need to see

on Malta

people in grass skirts.

It was being ruled

by Publius, right,

who was a Roman governor.

It just simply means

they didn't speak

Greek or Latin.

But these people

had an idea

of right and wrong.

They had no doubt

that Paul was a murderer.

Throughout history,

morality has taken

very similar shape,

hasn't it?

Why?

Because God's law

is on men's hearts.

In Romans chapter 2,

Romans 2 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 14

and following,

Paul writes,

for when Gentiles

who do not have

the law

by nature

do what the law

requires,

they are a law

to themselves

even though

they do not

have the law.

So track what he's

saying there, right?

Gentiles,

those who are outside

of Israel,

who weren't given

the law,

still do things

that are consistent

with the law,

right?

Still live morally

to some degree,

right?

Still obey.

So here we see

the native people

of Malta

seeing that murder

is wrong.

They know this

to be true.

Verse 15 says,

they show that

the work of the law

is written on their hearts

while their conscience

also bears witness

and their conflicting

thoughts accuse

or even excuse them

on that day when,

according to my gospel,

God judges the secrets

of men

by Christ Jesus.

Now, if you're a student,

you may have taken

or will take a class

that will suggest to you

that morality is subjective

and will cite

some obscure example

of a civilization

deep in a jungle

that does not find

anything wrong

with, say, murder.

Have any of you

been in that class

already?

Two of you.

All right.

Maybe that's good

that you're avoiding

such classes.

It will likely happen

to you at some point,

some small, obscure

example of a

little tribe

that doesn't find

anything wrong

with murder.

Be really careful

when those things

are presented to you

when people want to say

that morality

is entirely subjective.

Their evidence

for such claims

is extremely weak.

The interviewing process

for these people

is almost nil.

In most cases,

they don't even speak

their languages.

They make assumptions

that they think

murder is right.

And it's at very best

anecdotal.

So you've got

one small group

of people.

Show me a nation state

that has taken morality

and made it

an entirely subjective

thing.

Could be the U.S. soon.

We're kind of heading

in that direction,

aren't we?

But deep down,

people know.

People know

what is right.

They know

what is wrong.

Paul tells us

and in our text

we see

that people

without the law

still by nature

do what the law

requires.

And therefore,

having kept the law

imperfectly,

even with the law

written on our hearts,

we don't keep it

perfectly,

their condemnation

is just.

God will

dole out justice

and He will

be right

in doing so.

Paul wrote this.

If you back up

into Romans 1,

Romans 1:18

verse 18

and following,

For the wrath

of God

is revealed

from heaven

against all

ungodliness

and all

unrighteousness

of men

who by their

unrighteousness

suppress the truth.

So the wrath

of God

will be delivered

to unrighteous

men.

Those who aren't

found perfect,

the wrath

of God

is due them.

It's a weighty

thing.

Verse 19,

For what can be

known about God

is plain to them

because God

has shown it

to them.

For His invisible

attributes,

namely His eternal

power and divine

nature,

have been clearly

perceived ever

since the creation

of the world

and the things

that have been

made.

So they

are without

excuse.

The native

people of Malta,

God's word

on their heart,

they had evidences

in the creation

that a God

exists who

gave them

such instruction

and so they

were without

excuse.

The native

people of Malta

needed the

gospel of

Jesus Christ.

They needed to

believe in Jesus

Christ and to be

clothed in His

righteousness,

to be found

perfect in

Christ because

without Jesus'

righteousness,

they would one

day stand before

the God of

justice and receive

their due

punishment.

God,

but praise God

that by faith

in Christ,

they,

I believe,

they,

I hope many

of them,

and you and

I can stand

before God

and be seen

as keepers of

the law because

Jesus kept

the law for

us.

Praise God

that by faith

in Christ,

they and you

and I can

stand before God

having our sins

cleansed from

us because Jesus

bore God's

wrath on our

behalf.

And now,

as followers of

Jesus Christ,

we boldly

proclaim the

good news of

His saving

faith.

This is what it

means to believe

in Jesus,

to believe in

His person,

that He is in

fact the Son

of God,

God Himself,

incarnate,

sent to earth,

and that He did

this work on our

behalf.

He lived a

perfect life,

fulfilling righteousness,

that He might

give that to us,

and He died a

sinner's death,

taking our

punishment in

His flesh.

This is what it

means to believe

in Jesus.

Place your

faith in

that.

Recognize your

sinfulness,

your just

condemnation.

God will

bring justice,

and He will

bring it to

those who

haven't placed

faith in

Jesus Christ

by pouring

His wrath

out on them.

He will

bring it to

those who

have believed

in Jesus

Christ because

He poured

His wrath

out on Christ.

Christ.

We escape

His wrath

because Jesus

suffered in

our place.

Beloved,

this is the

gospel of

Jesus Christ,

and your soul

is in a

desperate state.

If you

couldn't stand

before God

now,

clothed in

Christ's

righteousness,

there's nothing

we can do

to earn our

way to

heaven.

How will

you be

justified

before God?

You stand

before Him,

what will

be your

answer?

The only

answer that

will be

sufficient is

I am

clothed in

Christ.

I have

placed my

faith in

His

person and

in His

work.

So for

those of us

who are in

Jesus,

we need to

join with

Paul,

Romans 1

16,

for I am

not ashamed

of the

gospel,

for it is

the power

of God

for salvation

to everyone

who believes.

Let's pray

together.