19th Sunday after Trinity 2024

Father, as always, our perennial prayer is that we would be those that read your word and submit to it,

live underneath it, not to manipulate it, to say something it doesn't say, to fit our comfortability.

And this morning, Lord, it's no different. We pray that prayer.

And Lord, we also pray that as we explore Acts 14 and ask the question,

what is authentic Christianity, Lord, that you would help both to correct misunderstandings,

but also to bolster and strengthen our faith.

And Lord, we pray all of this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Amen.

One of the things that my parents did for my brother and I is that we're very thankful for

was start us working at a very young age.

We, my mom had a business and we both wore a sandwich board up and down the main drag of our town

with so much embarrassment, but whatever, $5 an hour from cash in your pocket,

you can get you over some embarrassment awfully quick.

But it started with the next job and the next job anyways.

As we, as, as we made money, my parents very wisely, now that I'm a parent, said,

listen, if you want stuff, you buy it. It's on you.

We're not buying you anything. Food, of course, shelter, of course, even some clothes.

But if you want something, it's on you.

So I get to high school. I want to play basketball, but I want to look the part as well.

So I find a pair of, of basketball shoes on eBay.

And this is like early eBay.

I asked my parents if they could use a credit card.

I would pay them back.

And I got these, I don't know, I think they were like Jordan sixes or something,

but they, they match our school colors.

They look great.

And then they arrived in the mail and I paid way more than I wanted to, but whatever.

Look good, feel good, do good.

And the logo for Michael Jordan, it's called the Jump Man, had a much bigger head than what it ought to have had.

And I think it might have even been like a mirror image.

So it was backwards.

I put on the shoes and instantly they cramped my feet.

I think I lost a toenail.

I was in denial.

I have, I have a pair of Jordans.

I'm feeling good about life until I bring them to school and I get torched because I have fake Nikes.

I bring up this story just to illustrate how there is a huge difference between something that is authentic and something that is fake.

And the fake could even look really good.

Fake things now are very hard to distinguish between real things.

There's a giant, massive online market for fake items.

And to tell the difference between real and fake, you have to go to the source, the authentic source, whatever that company is,

and basically see what they have created.

See their authentic product.

And then you can look at the fake one.

You can see the differences.

Authentic Christianity is found in the Acts of the Apostles.

We need to be careful, and I've said this in the past, we need to be careful that as we read Acts,

we don't read every story, every speech, every action of the Apostles as prescriptive in how to run the church

or how to live out the faith.

Some of it is descriptive.

But by and large, you can sit down over a couple days, read through Acts,

and get a pretty good idea of what the Christian faith is about.

And a core aspect of the authentic Christian faith is that it is costly.

It is not an easy ride.

It is not easy street.

It is costly.

I mean, there are other forms of Christianity that aren't costly.

Forms of Christianity that can be kind of tacked on to existing spiritual beliefs.

Christianity that ends up looking a lot like other spiritual beliefs.

Christianity that is really light on the Bible.

Light on the Old Testament.

Light on Jesus.

Light on morality.

Light on morality.

The type of Christianity like this is not an authentic Christianity.

It's a fake Christianity.

It's not authentic.

Because it is way too easy.

And it doesn't cost.

I think this is both a beautiful reality and a difficult reality for us.

Because on one hand, we live in a culture that values authenticity.

However we want to define it, by and large, we would still say,

we are people that value authentic things and authentic people.

Integral things.

Integral people.

Integral people.

One philosopher calls what we live in today as the age of authenticity.

But it's also difficult because we live in an age of hyper-individualism.

Where we can decide our own path.

Dr. Steve Griffin, he's in the new year, God willing,

he's going to lead us in a Sunday morning catechism,

distilling a four-part sermon series he did.

This past summer in the downtown church.

And he said one of the things that marks this type of spirituality,

this hyper-individualistic spirituality,

is that the journey is the one we make it.

It is less about the destination, but the path that we tread.

This is what matters the most.

So on one hand, we have this deep desire for authenticity.

But on the other hand, we don't want to be told what to do.

We want to chart our own path.

We want to curate our own life.

And these two things are exclusive to one another.

So we're going to jump into Acts 14 this morning.

And we're going to continue reading about the missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas.

We will see in this story what authentic Christianity is and what it does.

I've broken up the text into three different points.

Hopefully this helps us to understand and organize our thoughts as we read through it.

The first thing Acts chapter 14 will help us to understand is that authentic Christianity is disruptive.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

It disrupts existing belief structures.

The second thing is that it brings freedom.

But freedom from vain pursuits.

We'll see that this is called idolatry later on in the chapter.

And then finally, like I've mentioned before, authentic Christianity is costly,

but incredibly meaningful and joyful.

If you have a Acts scripture journal, you can turn with me to page 82.

And we will begin looking at Acts 14.

And if you haven't got one, if you want to grab one, go grab one.

You're not going to interrupt me.

You can just stand up and grab one from the welcome table at any time.

So just a bit of a background.

Our missionaries journey up to Iconium.

So if you remember, they went from Antioch, which there's many different Antiochs,

so it can get confusing, but this is Antioch, kind of in the southeast.

They sail up to Cyprus.

They spend time in Cyprus.

And then they sail a bit north into what is Galatia, what is modern-day Turkey now.

And they're doing a bit of a tour, so to speak.

They journey up now to Iconium.

Interestingly, Iconium is a Greek city in the Roman Empire.

So Rome is Latin, but there's still Greek pockets within the Roman Empire.

And this Iconium is an agricultural and commercial hub.

Today it still exists.

And it's not some kind of dinky town.

It is the sixth largest city in Turkey.

And it's known as Kanye.

I'm sure I'm not saying it properly.

But it has some 2.5 million people.

It's a huge place.

Similarly, it's an economic hub in the modern-day country of Turkey.

As a bit of a background, let's jump into it.

We'll look just at verse 1, and then we'll pause.

Now at Iconium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way

that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Actually, we'll read verse 2 as well.

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

That is, Paul and Barnabas and the other believers.

If you remember last week, Paul said in no uncertain terms that the mission of God is turning away from the Jews.

It's going to the Gentiles, and yet we find that the missionaries continue to proclaim the gospel to both Jews and Greeks.

They're proclaiming the gospel message, and they're doing it persuasively,

both in terms of communicating in a clear way, but also in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is what it is implied here in verses 1 and 2.

With a proclamation of the gospel, people believe.

Just pause really quick here.

The term here for belief is not something to quickly gloss over or to define it in modern-day terms.

Belief in verse 1 is referring to those that come to faith,

and it carries with it a changing of a worldview, a different way of thinking.

It carries with them not this trivial gathering of knowledge about the gospel,

but rather that they entrust themselves to a new reality.

True belief, as we see in the epistle that St. James wrote,

that true faith changes us.

It means that we do good works.

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We think differently.

We begin to think differently.

We entrust ourselves to the one true God and his rule and reign over our lives.

Because this is what this belief is talking to.

It's an active belief.

It's an active entrusting ourselves to the one true God.

As they heard the gospel message, it became real to them,

and therefore it required them to shift their allegiances from their previously held belief systems.

So again, we see that belief here.

It's not just described as the gathering of knowledge,

although it certainly is that.

But it is the gathering of knowledge that points us to God himself,

compelling us to entrust ourselves to him,

to bend a knee to his kingship,

and our allegiances, our values, our desires begin to shift and change.

Interesting.

The interesting thing here with...

Sorry, pause right there.

Look with me again at verse 2.

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles

and poisoned their minds against their brothers.

What's interesting, so in chapter, or in verse 1,

the disciples, or the apostles, proclaim the gospel.

People believe.

We've defined what that belief looks like.

But then it says that the unbelieving Jews,

the unbelieving Jews,

seek to poison the minds of those that have come to faith.

In the original language, I'm no Greek scholar.

In the original language, however, there's an interesting bit here,

because the language used...

The word used for belief in verse 1

is not the word that is used to describe unbelief in verse 2.

It's not the same root word.

And in this case, it rather emphasizes a disobedience,

which is to say they did not embrace the message.

They did not embrace the God who the message proclaimed.

For they knew in doing so that their currently held beliefs

and the system, their worldview, would be upended.

And it's not as if they considered this,

it simply wasn't for them.

What we see here is, again,

not a passive disobedience or a passive unbelief,

but an active one.

For these people, we see here,

are not satisfied that this message is false for them,

but it must be false for everybody.

And here is where we understand

the dynamic between a public and private faith

and how this idea is a very novel one

in the history of mankind.

Because as people come to faith,

it changes who they are,

it changes the things they value,

and social interactions begin to shift.

And for people that are choosing to not believe,

that are actively disobeying

and going against the gospel message

and who Christ is,

and ultimately who God is,

even though they would claim an orthodoxy themselves,

their entire world is being threatened.

And they're not standing for it.

So we see that in the previous chapter,

like in the previous chapter,

disobedience, disbelief,

and opposition to the gospel,

they're all connected.

They're interwoven.

And it's not as if they considered this,

this faith, like I said,

and it just wasn't for them.

There is no tolerance here.

Tolerance, interestingly,

even though it seems not the case anymore,

but tolerance is very much a Christian virtue.

They are intolerant.

There has to be a uniformity in their belief system.

And this just plays to,

or communicates to us,

the reality that the gospel is disruptive.

True, authentic Christianity

is a very disruptive proposition.

Because it isn't simply the forgiveness of sins

and a ticket to heaven,

although it certainly is that.

It's glorious and beautiful and wonderful,

having our sins forgiven,

promise of heaven.

But at its core,

the gospel and authentic Christianity,

it beckons us to die.

And I've said this a couple weeks in a row now,

but it beckons us to die.

To die to our old ways,

to our old allegiances,

to our old desires,

and to embrace, rather,

the freedom that is in Christ.

But,

that will be disruptive.

What ends up happening,

what ends up happening is that,

as Christ becomes king,

we become

still citizens of the country,

the region,

the state that we live in,

but our allegiances

do not find their end

in whatever government that governs.

It gets bumped up to the next level.

And when that happens,

it threatens the status quo.

It threatens the very social fabric

that we live in.

It beckons us,

this gospel,

to forsake all that which we hold dear,

that which we think will give us real happiness,

that which we think will give us

a comfortable religious experience,

that which we think promises us

a degree of happiness

and prestige

and recognition

and momentary joy.

Rather,

it calls us

to not participate

in the public

differently than in the private.

It says,

as we embrace God

through Jesus Christ,

it changes our heart

and it changes our lives.

It means we become citizens of heaven

so that we seek out

to live God's will

on earth as it is in heaven.

So there's opposition.

It causes a disunity,

so to speak.

It's disruptive.

We are told that this is actually

not the right way to go

and we find ourselves,

and if you've been a Christian

for a long time,

so maybe you've had

a wonderful experience with Christ

and then,

as they say,

reality hits

and Christianity becomes hard.

It's not as joyful anymore.

We come to see the faith

as still a beautiful thing,

but as a battle

and as a struggle

between what the predominant

ethos of our culture says

and what God's word says.

Influencers and elites

and cultural leaders

of today aren't much different

than the unbelieving Jews

in Iconium.

They say that we should

not follow Christianity,

that it is a lie,

and actually,

they are not going to be

indifferent to it.

Do not pursue the kingdom of God.

Instead, pursue pleasure

in this life above all.

This is the things

that we are told.

Keep church,

even enjoy a bit of religion,

but do not let it interfere

or infringe.

So don't be hardcore.

Don't be all in.

Don't be extreme.

Think about your job.

Think about your promotion.

Think about the things

you'll miss out on.

Think about your friends.

Think about how you'll be viewed.

Chase your dream at any cost.

Have your own heaven

here on earth.

And by the way,

I'll just say

it's very compelling.

It is a very,

very compelling message

that we are flooded with

day in and day out.

Our eyes

take in so much.

And we want it.

I want it.

But this is not true north.

This isn't a guiding star.

This is a broken compass.

This does not point us to life.

We just spin around

we have no destination.

We live for the moment

and the moment seems to

never fully deliver.

So how do we resist

such falsities?

When we know the truth

but struggle to live

according to the truth,

how do we embrace

the truth?

When we feel like our minds

are being poisoned

like the Iconians.

Look at verse 3 with me.

We'll touch on this

later on in verse 22,

but in verse 33.

So they,

that is Paul and Barnabas,

remain for a long time

speaking boldly for the Lord

who bore witness

to the word of his grace,

granting signs and wonders

to be done by their hands.

The missionaries remain.

They are building up the believers

by teaching them

and catechizing them

and helping them

to understand the faith

and understand

how to differentiate

between the authentic

and the fake,

the real

and the less than real,

the substance

and the shadow

that claims to be

the substance.

They remind the people

that God has saved them

because he is sovereign

and mighty

but that he is not finished

but instead

by his Holy Spirit

he will strengthen them

and guide them.

In verse 22,

if you want to turn there

really quickly,

we get a little idea

of how the apostles

will do this

in the power of the Lord.

It says that they will

strengthen their souls.

They will encourage them

to continue in the faith

which is to say

that it is really easy

to not continue in the faith.

It is really easy

to get burdened down

and to have our souls

get weak.

And here it is

and we're going to touch on this

with our last point.

And saying,

this is the latter part

of verse 22,

and saying that

through many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God

which is to say

it is a costly faith.

And that can wear

the soul

down to its nub

and we can be quick

to just say

I can't do this.

God,

again,

by inspiration

and guidance

of the apostles here

is bolstering his church

and helping them

to endure.

He is strengthening

their souls,

encouraging them,

reminding them,

uplifting them.

So as we believe

the gospel message

and as we entrust

our eternal future

to God Almighty,

we can be sure

that he will never

abandon us.

And this is where

we'll transition

to the second point.

The gospel will always divide

because it always calls

for a belief

and allegiance

to the ultimate authority.

And by the way,

that doesn't mean

we can't be good citizens.

I think that makes us

better citizens.

This section then ends,

and I'm not going to read it,

I'll just narrate it for you.

This section ends

with an attempted lynching

that causes the missionaries

to flee to the next town

where the gospel

continues to spread.

And as it does so,

we'll see that

authentic Christianity

also offers freedom

from vain things,

specifically idolatry.

Look with me,

verses 8 to 18,

and we'll just actually read

verses 8 to 10.

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

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.

This healing is similar

to that of Peter

and the lame beggar

in Acts chapter 3

Acts 3 · chapter mention

when the disciples

were still in Jerusalem.

The miracle was a sign

that confirmed

the gospel message.

Let's continue on.

Verse 11 and following.

And when the crowd saw

what Paul had done,

they lifted up their voices,

saying in Lycaonian,

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 garland

to the gates

and wanted to offer sacrifice

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?

I'll pause here.

Unlike King Herod,

who delighted in being called God,

Paul and Barnabas

are mortified by such a thing.

This is an example

of a prescriptive instance in Acts.

I don't know if anybody

has mistook you for a god.

If ever, this is the way you react.

Maybe not tearing your garments,

but it has to mortify you.

You have to scream out,

no, not I.

And that's what's happening here.

Clearly, they don't understand

the local language.

But soon as they see

the priests come out,

they understand what's happening.

They understand that they are seen

not as men, but as gods.

They are wanting none of it.

They cry out,

don't you dare.

We are men just like you.

This is blasphemy.

And then, all of a sudden,

there's an opportunity

to proclaim the gospel.

But what is interesting

is that unlike the recorded sermon,

Paul's recorded sermon in Acts 13,

you'll notice, as we read,

no mention of scripture,

no mention of the prophets,

no mention of the history of Israel,

no mention of Jesus

in the sermon.

What gives?

Okay.

Let's take a look at this.

Actually, before I go on,

I'll read it,

and then I'll comment.

This is Paul speaking.

We also are men

of like nature with you.

We bring you good news

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.

In past generations,

he, that is God,

allowed all the nations

to walk in their own ways.

Yet he did not leave himself

without witness,

for he did good

by giving you rains from heaven

and fruitful seasons,

satisfying your hearts

with food and gladness.

What we see here

is that Paul

is understanding his audience.

These people

have never heard

of the God of scripture.

If they did,

clearly it has not affected them.

It is not in the social fabric,

so to speak.

They don't understand

the history of Israel.

They don't understand Jesus.

They've never heard of him.

So Paul, understanding this,

he takes a couple steps back.

And then what he does

is he appeals to universals,

also gets on their level

and in their belief system.

Historically, in the church,

we've understood the word of God

as containing two books.

The scriptures,

what we have,

well, this is just Acts,

but the scriptures,

the entirety of the Bible,

Old and New Testament,

but also the book of nature,

which is to say

that God has revealed himself

in his creation.

You'll understand it

if you're familiar

with the beginning of Psalm 19.

The heavens declare

the glory of God

and the sky above

proclaims his handiwork.

This is not to say,

though,

that somebody can come

to a saving faith in Jesus

without hearing the name of Jesus,

but just that God has

sprinkled evidence

and woven evidence

of who he is

in his character

and in his characteristics

all throughout his created order.

that somebody who truly is not,

that dives deep into biology

or into understanding the cosmos,

it's not very long

before they're dumbfounded

at the complexity

and nature of how cells operate

or how vast the universe is

or how if one aspect

of the world's tilt

or a degree off

with its oxygen

or whatever it may be,

the gravity,

life ceases to exist,

that God's fingertips

are everywhere in his creation,

testifying to who he is.

The evidence of God

is seen everywhere,

specifically that he is transcendent,

all-powerful,

that he is sovereign,

and that he is limitless

with time and space.

So acknowledging a higher power,

like I said,

does not lead us

to salvation to Christ,

but what it does do

is it lays the foundation

to then appeal

to the scriptures,

that there is a God

and that he has then

revealed himself

in a very specific way,

not in a general way,

but in a specific way

to all them

that would hear

the gospel message,

all them that he would

draw to himself.

So this scene

is very instructive

for us in Canada,

I think,

for Christians,

because increasingly,

my generation,

millennials,

and the next generation,

Gen Z,

and I don't know

the generations after,

but there are some,

and there'll be more,

increasingly,

increasingly,

they don't know

the Bible.

There are no grandmas

who are taking kids

to church.

There's multiple generations

that have gone,

that have not darkened

a church door.

And it's not to say that,

and by the way,

I'll just say that

for new Canadians

and immigrants,

it's very similar,

especially people coming

from parts of Asia,

definitely in parts

of the Middle East

where there's misconceptions

about Christianity,

but by and large,

there's a huge

and ever-growing segment

of our country

that we can appeal

to Jesus,

we can appeal

to the scriptures,

we can appeal

to the history of Israel,

and it will be,

it'll be a different language.

It's not to say

that there isn't a place

to proclaim the Gospels

very specifically,

but it's important

that we know

who we're speaking to.

By the way,

this isn't to say

that Canadians,

by and large,

are not spiritual.

Canadians are very spiritual.

They're spiritual

in very new ways.

many Canadians

seek out religious experiences.

Many Canadians

have belief structures.

Many Canadians

are increasingly

interested in

a self-curated

spirituality.

Again,

I'm talking in

generalities here.

But what is common

is that the spiritual

landscape

increasingly has

little recollection

of the scriptures.

scriptures.

We come back to Paul

and his message.

We consider it

once more,

and we'll notice

two things.

First,

in proclaiming

this

pre-Gospel message,

if you want to call it that,

this foundational,

this spiritual foundational,

foundation message

that he is

proclaiming,

we'll notice two things.

The first thing

is that Paul

is making it clear

that all roads

do not lead

in the same direction.

That all roads

do not lead

to the same destination.

Existing roads

are like,

as I mentioned,

Steve Griffin says,

or the roads

we make

as we journey.

The worship

of Zeus

and Hermes

was no regional

religion,

but the state

religion of

ancient Greece,

which was adopted

by Rome.

Paul calls this

belief system

not a good way

to get to heaven,

but a vain way

to get to heaven,

which is to say

it is not a way

to get to heaven.

It is idolatry.

Paul says that

every belief

system

that does not

have a foundation

in the one

true God,

and later on

he will proclaim

the gospel,

but in the one

true God

it is vain,

and it is full

of empty promises.

A belief

that purports

to have power

to sustain

and make humanity

flourish,

it will only

come up short.

There's only one

creator

that is transcendent,

only one creator

who is all-powerful,

only one creator

that is just,

completely good,

benevolent,

who sustains

all life,

and everything

else,

the apostle Paul

says,

is vanity.

The second thing

is this,

that we can glean

from Paul's

short little message

here from verses

15 to 17,

it's this,

it is good news

to turn away

from vanity.

It is good news.

It's not a,

it's not like a

kind of good thing

to turn towards

Christ,

and to abandon

your existing

belief systems

that are vain.

No,

it is good news,

it's life itself.

It is a good thing,

and the only good thing,

to turn towards

the one true

living God,

which by implication

means other faiths

and spiritualities

are not good news.

There's good news

and there's not good news,

and Paul is,

he is leaving

no room for gray.

I'm going to throw

a term here,

and I've heard it before,

but I'll say

I came up with it

in my preparation.

This is gospel triumphalism.

Who wants to talk

about triumphalism?

I don't.

I want to say,

hey listen,

I'm a part of the

community of citizens,

I don't want to boast

about how I'm better

than other people,

or that my belief system

is far superior

than everybody else.

They're on a one-way ticket

to perdition.

But the Apostle Paul

is saying,

no, no, no,

gospel triumphalism

is a real thing.

It goes without saying

that this is not

a popular sentiment

in Canada.

It means that Islam

is not good news.

It isn't.

It means centering

one's chakra

is not good news.

It means salvation

through keeping the law,

the Mosaic law.

It is not good news.

It means indigenous

spirituality, friends.

It's not good news.

It means treating

politicians as saviors

and political movements

as salvific.

That's not good news.

It means embracing

expressive individualism.

It's not good news.

It means easy Christianity

is not good news.

It's heavy.

Apostle Paul is making

a case here that

gospel triumphalism

is real.

But just pause real quick

because before we go on,

this triumphalism,

it is not rooted

in bigotry or pride,

but rather in humility

and love.

Why?

Because the triune God

made himself known.

Not because he needed

us to know him.

Not because he wanted

us to love him.

But out of a pure act

of love.

Out of a pure act

of mercy.

That he did not want

to see us

thrash around madly

in a bottomless ocean

with no life preservers,

with no hope

of salvation.

He did not want that,

but rather

he extended salvation

to us.

It's not to say

that we are better

than our neighbors.

It's to say

that we're all,

apart from Christ,

hopeless.

Gospel triumphalism.

The very thing

that satisfies

our deepest

heart longings,

without which

we will never

be satisfied.

We will never

have hope.

However,

this will not come

without a cost.

I've talked about

costly Christianity

a bit already.

Now we'll look at it

in verses 19

and following.

As we have already seen,

authentic Christianity

is disruptive.

It chines light

into darkness.

The darkness

doesn't like having,

the things hiding

in the darkness

don't like having

the light shine on them.

There is,

there is opposition

and it will come

and it is guaranteed.

So we'll get into

our third point here

that authentic Christianity

is costly,

but I want to emphasize

but it is joyful.

Look with me

at verses 19

and following.

But the Jews,

that is the unbelieving Jews

from earlier in the chapter,

came from Antioch

and Iconium

and having persuaded

the crowds,

they stoned Paul.

They dragged him

out of the city,

supposing that he was dead.

But when the disciples

gathered about him,

he rose up

and entered the city

and on the next day

he went on

with Barnabas

to Derbe.

When they had preached

the gospel to that city

and had made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra

and to Iconium

and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls

of the disciples,

encouraging them

to continue in the faith

and saying that

through many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God

and when they had

appointed elders

for them in every church

with prayer and fasting,

they committed them

to the Lord

in whom they had believed.

The mob returns.

This is not a judicial group.

They are not trying

to put Paul

and Barnabas

on trial.

Rather,

they stone Paul.

They are filled

with malice

and anger

and greed.

The poison

that they are trying

to poison

the believers with

in Iconium,

it is raging

through their veins.

They are coming

for blood

and that's what

they're going to get.

Paul,

he is stoned.

They think he is dead.

They drag him

out of the city,

which is to say

that he is refuse.

He doesn't die.

Nowhere, by the way,

in this,

I mean maybe,

but this doesn't seem

to be a miraculous

healing of Paul.

It just seems to be

in their blood lust.

The mob didn't

finish the job.

So Paul and Barnabas,

they flee

as the crowd

failed to kill Paul

and they're on their way

back to Italia

to sail back to Antioch

to return back

to the church

that is there

to report

on what has happened

because the church

was the one

that commissioned them

to go on this

missionary journey

and as they return,

they're on the second

part of the journey,

which is to say

that they're going

to do a tour

all the way back

to encourage

the believers.

They want to

strengthen them.

They want to remind

them that the gospel

is costly

and by the way,

Paul here will say,

just in case you

don't believe me,

he himself testifies

to the costliness

of the gospel.

And why does the gospel

have to be costly?

Because we follow

a king who has paid

the entire cost

of all of our sins,

dying the death

we should have died

so that we might

live the life

we could never

have achieved

and we follow

after his footsteps.

And if it costs him,

it's going to cost us.

And friends,

this can be daunting,

but know that

you're not alone.

And here's where

the joy comes in.

Because later on

in the chapter,

they return to Antioch,

the sending church,

and they get to declare

all of what God

has done

and praise him

with their brothers

and sisters.

But just know

that you are not alone,

even though

real, authentic Christianity,

it's costly.

We come to this faith,

as I've said

a number of times,

and this is not

new to,

I didn't create this,

it's not original to me,

but we come to the faith

one by one,

but we walk it out

side by side.

You are not expected

to live out this faith solo.

You need each other.

Of course you need

the Lord's strength

in all of this,

but you need other people

to help you.

Notice here

that Paul and Barnabas

don't show up

to the churches

that they planted,

say a couple nice words,

say, you know,

have at it.

Rather,

they install elders,

which is to say,

church leaders

that will be

under shepherds,

people that will

proclaim the gospel

to them,

would administer

the sacraments,

remind them

that even though

it is costly,

that their eternal reward

is Christ himself,

that these elders

will strengthen

the church,

help them to endure.

I say this

just about my office,

not about me,

but friends,

you are blessed

because you have

an elder in the church

to do just that.

By God's strength,

I will try my best,

but just know

that God's grace

to you

is that somebody

will open up

the scriptures

week in and week out

on Sunday mornings

as we gather.

Somebody that will

lead us

as we gather

around his table

and we will be nourished

in a spiritual way.

Our souls will be

strengthened.

People that will

come up and read

scripture like Jack did

earlier and lead us

in intercessions.

This is all

for our benefit

to help us

to endure,

to strengthen us

and to build up

our souls.

This is a

gift from God

above.

And friends,

as we journey

this life together,

just know that

there will be

times of joy

and the times

of joy

will far,

far,

far,

far,

far,

both in quantity

and quality

outlast

any of

the difficulty

and struggle

that we may

experience in this

faith.

I'll close

by words

of another

minister,

a minister

that knew

very well

the reality

of costly

Christianity.

This is from

Diedrich Bonhoeffer

in a book

he wrote

on discipleship.

He says this,

he's juxtaposing

cheap grace

versus costly grace

or what we would

understand as

authentic Christianity.

This is what he says.

Cheap grace

is the preaching

of forgiveness

without requiring

repentance,

baptism without

church discipline,

communion without

confession,

absolution without

personal confession.

Cheap grace

is grace

without discipleship,

grace without

the cross,

grace without

Jesus Christ

living and incarnate.

Costly grace

is the treasure

hidden in the field.

For the sake of it

a man will go

and sell

all that he has.

It is the pearl

of great price

to buy

by that

which the merchant

will sell

all his goods.

It is the kingly

rule of Christ

for whose sake

a man will pluck

out the eye

which causes him

to stumble.

It is the call

of Jesus Christ

at which the disciple

leaves his nets

and follows him.

Costly grace

is the gospel

which must be

sought again and again,

the gift which

must be asked for,

the door

at which a man

must knock.

Such grace

is costly

because it calls

us to follow

and it is a grace

because it calls

us to follow

Jesus Christ.

It is costly

because it costs

a man his life

and it is grace

because it gives

a man the only

true life.

It is costly

because it condemns

sin

and grace

because it justifies

the sinner.

Above all,

it is costly

because it costs

God the life

of his son.

Ye were bought

at a price

and what has

cost God

much cannot

be cheap

for us.

Above all,

it is grace

because God

did not reckon

his son too

dear a price

to pay for our

life

but delivered

him up for us.

Costly grace

is the incarnation

of God.

Father,

help us to

know the

reality of

authentic

Christianity.

Help us not

to paper over

the hard stuff.

Help us not

to walk

in a delusional

state

thinking that

we can

tack Christianity

on

to

10%

of our life

and go on

with the rest

as if it has

no influence.

Help us to

not think

that

we can

privately

be your

children

but not

publicly.

Lord,

help us

to

value

Christ

and as

Bonhoeffer

said,

what costs

you much

ought not

to be cheap

for us.

So Lord,

help us

by your

strength,

by the

means of

grace,

with the

proclamation

of your

word and

the gathering

around your

table,

build up

our souls

and help

us to

walk out

this faith

authentically

in a

costly,

real

way

that we

would

do you

proud.

Not that

we need to

earn from

you,

you've already

given to us,

but that we

would,

as an

expression of

the goodness

and kindness

and grace

and love

and mercy

and salvation

and life

eternal that

you've given

us,

Lord,

that we

would

just give

you just a

small offering

that is our

life.

We pray all

of this in

Christ's name.