Every preacher will have a mixed reception when it comes to his sermons (teaching). Some people will enjoy the message and others will dislike, reject or even hate the message. Some will be neutral. In modern days many people are Churched … meaning they attend Church because it’s the right thing to do, without listening to the message. We understand that. Think of those who listen. Some do so intently. They understand exactly what is being preached yet some don’t accept the argument of the exposition.
As a preacher I have found this difficult to come to terms with … one hears, understands and believes whilst another hears, understands and does not believe. Having said this, I have come to understand that I, like all my brother pastors stand in good company. The same thing happened with Paul, be it in Jerusalem of any one of the Gentiles countries where he planted Churches. It even happened in Rome with the Jewish leaders.
1) The Jewish leaders of Rome wanted to hear Paul’s defense of Christianity. They knew the followers of Jesus as a sect and wanted to know more about who they were and what they believed because “Christianity” flowed from Jerusalem and Judaism. On this second visit to Paul they brought along more people to listen to his claims. Yesterday we considered verse 23 where Luke wrote … From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.
Now we find:
Ac 28:24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.
(1) Convinced. Although this word implies faith … belief … as it is used here means to “begin to be persuaded.” Their hearts were ready, the Spirit had caused understanding and they realized Paul’s teaching from the Law and the Prophets made sense and was believable. At the same time, it seems as though the sentence construction implies a willingness to believe. Paul had proved to them that the Lord Jesus who was crucified at Calvary was the one Isaiah spoke about in chapter 53 (and other places) … which included His resurrection. As mentioned yesterday, the Holy Spirit makes the teaching real to the hearer but the preacher needs to prepare and deliver the Truth because the Holy Spirit only takes the Truth of God (the Word of God which He inspired) and applies it to hearts eager for Truth. What is Truth? Truth is the message of the Bible and the message of the Bible is Jesus, God’s rescue plan for man. That beloved is the main point of Paul’s message to these Jewish Leaders … and whenever he preached or taught, Jesus was the main point. This is how it ought to be with all preaching and teaching.
(2) Disbelief. Others would not believe the message about Jesus as the promised Messiah. The text says … others would not believe. They would not believe the message being preached. They prevented themselves from accepting the message. Their hearts were hard. They would not allow the Holy Spirit to take the Truth and apply it to their hearts. This was willful, stubborn refusal to receive Jesus Christ as Messiah.
Throughout the Gospels, we saw this with the Jews who were ritualists and legalists following the teachings of the “elders” and not the Word of God. In love, I want to say this about the Roman Catholic Church … they have the Bible available to them, yet they persist in believing the teachings of the “church”. Their doctrines, formulated many years ago are flavored with the Bible but are not Biblical Christianity. Due to the indoctrination that has been passed down through the many years of their existence, those committed to Catholicism are so brainwashed that they cannot believe the plain Gospel as presented by the Bible.
The same is true of the Jehovah Witnesses and the Mormons and many other sects of Christianity. Allow me to state once again … If the salvation message preached in any Church or sect does not conform to Paul’s Gospel, it does not meet the standard God requires. As soon as the focus is placed elsewhere (on the Church or a man or a strange belief) other than of Jesus, the Godman and His substitutional sacrificial death and His substitutional resurrection … it is not the Gospel of God!
2) A musical expression.
Ac 28:25 They disagreed among themselves.
I took piano lessons as a child, but because we did not have a piano at home, I could not practice and therefore dropped out. Although I know a few notes, when I try to put them together on a piano, the sound is harsh, unpleasant and annoying to those listening. The word for disagreement is a musical expression meaning the sound is unfriendly, lacking harmony, is harsh and without the needed smooth sounding flow that ought to bring soothing, sweetness, relaxation and calmness. The picture one gets from the Jewish leaders is a loud, unpleasant disagreement as they shouted at each other. Some started to believe Paul’s explanation of their Scriptures proving Jesus as Messiah whilst others refused to accept it. This was a nasty ending … but Paul said what he needed to say to them. Due to the terrible commotion being made, Paul referred to God speaking through the prophet Isaiah … see verses 25 to 29. We shall get there tomorrow. There are some lessons to learn here today.
(a) Withdraw from conflict situations. Naturally Paul could not because he was under house arrest. For us though, we must remember that people watch us and even if we are not involved in a dispute about the Gospel or the Bible, just being there is seen as our participation.
(b) Do not argue with the cults or sects. As an example, if you cannot remain calm when speaking to the Jehovah Witnesses or to a Muslim, remove yourself from the conversation. It is one thing to be a Christian Apologist and another thing to be seen as an angry person. If those you speak to refuse to understand the Gospel, let it go. You have done your part. Leave the rest to the Holy Spirit … perhaps He will convict them at a later date and perhaps after what you said they are without excuse on the Day of Judgment. Don’t argue. The devil wants you too and should you, it gives coal to the fire in the opposition. Don’t give them the privilege of messing with you.
(c) Do not get into heated conversations with other Christians belonging to another Church. You might be right in your position and the other might be wrong … rather agree on the main issues of the Gospel and agree to disagree on that which is peripheral. Satan wants to promote disharmony. He cherishes it when brothers and sisters fight about issues that are not salvific.
Ps 133:1 How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
Our Father, help us to stand up for Truth, yet help us not to bring dishonor to Your name through arguing with unbelievers about the Bible. May we be people who live in harmony with all people, especially the people of God. Amen.