More Noble, Pt. 2

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.  Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Acts 17:10-12

In these verses, we see three reasons that those in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica.  We looked at the first reason, that they “received the word…”, yesterday.  Today, we continue with that thought.

Not only did they “receive the word,” but they “received the word with all readiness of mind.”  They received the Word because they were ready to receive the Word.

Before they received the Word, they prepared themselves to receive it.  It’s one thing to do something, but fully preparing to do something is another thing altogether.  We usually like the doing part, but the preparing part sometimes takes some work.

They had a “readiness of mind.”  They were mentally ready to receive the Word of God.  I think that we could learn something from these people in this area.  How do we prepare ourselves mentally to receive the Word of the Lord?  How do we read the Bible?  How do we prepare for church?

When we read the Bible, we should try to eliminate as many distractions as possible.  We should do everything in our power to focus on what we are reading.  We should prepare ourselves.

When we get ready for church, we should again do everything we can to focus on the teaching and preaching of the Word of God.  We need to do everything we can to prepare ourselves to receive the Word.

When we have opportunities to receive the Word, do we concentrate on receiving it with “readiness of mind?”

More Noble, Pt. 1

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.  Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Acts 17:10-12

This passage identifies the Bereans as being “more noble than those in Thessalonica…”  It then identifies three reasons that those in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica.  We would be wise to consider these reasons and follow them, so we will spend the next couple of days looking at them one at a time.

The first thing that we see is that “they received the word…”

These people in Berea were commended because they “received the word…”  They took God’s Word.  That sounds simple, but it’s a powerful statement.  Their nobility was linked to their acceptance of the Word of God.  It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Bible in the life of a Christian.

The Word of God is what shows us the way of salvation.  It shows us how to live as Christians after we have been saved.  It shows us what to do and what not to do.  It shows us the beginning from the end.  It shows us how to get right with the Lord and how to stay right with the Lord.  It shows us hope.  It shows us the love, mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It shows us everything that we need to know.

The Bereans received the word.  Do we receive the Word?  What is our attitude toward the Bible?  Do we receive it, reject it or just ignore it?

Turning the World Upside Down

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.  And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.  But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.  And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also…

Acts 17:1-6

These verses tell the story of Paul and Silas doing what they did everywhere they went, preaching and teaching the Lord Jesus Christ.  It also gives us a glimpse into what others thought about them.

In verse 6, the people said this of Paul and Silas: “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.”

They recognized that Paul and Silas had “turned the world upside down.”  They may not have understood everything that Paul and Silas taught and preached about, but they did understand that, after these men came to an area, that area was no longer the same.  They turned the world upside down by turning each city upside down.  They turned each city upside down by turning the hearts of individuals upside down.  They turned the hearts of individuals upside down by preaching the Lord Jesus Christ to them.

The power of the gospel will turn things upside down.  Have we used it to turn our little worlds upside down?

Whole House Salvation

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Acts 16:29-32, 34

On of the greatest blessings and privileges of being a Christian is getting to see things like this.  Think of the day that Paul and Silas had here.  They started the day by getting arrested and thrown in jail.  They sang and prayed, and went through an earthquake that was sent by God.  They stayed in the prison, and were able to lead the jailor and his family to the Lord.  They finished the day in the jailor’s house, eating with his family and rejoicing and praising the Lord for His goodness and mercy.  That’s quite a day!

We may not get the being thrown in prison and going through an earthquake, but we can occasionally see a man and his family believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  That is a tremendous blessing.

It is, of course, a joy and blessing to see one person come to the Lord.  But it is especially nice to see one person come to the Lord and then see their family also come to the Lord, one by one.  I have had the privilege of seeing this a few times in my lifetime.  It just helps to give us a little better understanding of just how powerful the gospel really is.  What a wonderful Saviour!

Sirs, What Must I Do To Be Saved?

And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Acts 16:27-31

This jailor asked a simple question in verse 30: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  In verse 31, Paul and Silas gave him a simple answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

People have spent centuries searching for the answer to that very question.  They have gone to great lengths to earn their salvation.  They have done everything in their power to find out what they must do to be saved.  The answer is right in front of them and the answer is a simple one.

Just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.  We cannot earn our salvation.  It has already been paid for.  We cannot cleanse and forgive our own sin.  But Jesus went to the cross, was crucified for our transgressions and rose again that we might be forgiven and cleansed.  All we must do is accept this.  All we must do is accept what he has done for us.  All we must do is believe in Him.

There are likely people around us who are asking this very same question.  We need to make sure that we are always ready to point those people in the same direction Paul and Silas did, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”

Nothing But The Blood (Hymn)

Nothing But The Blood
Robert Lowry (1876)

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain
Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Now by this I’ll overcome-
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
Now by this I’ll reach my home-
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

Glory!  Glory!  This I sing-
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring-
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain

What more can be said about salvation than this song says?  I am going to one day stand before God with my eternal soul resting on verse three: “Nothing can for sin atone, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; Naught of good that I have done, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”  I am ever grateful to the Lord Jesus for shedding His precious blood that I might be forgiven in Him.  What a wonderful Saviour!

Saturday Psalm (1c)

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.  For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 1:1-6

Thus far in our look at the first Psalm, we have looked at the blessed man.  We have seen his habits and his blessings.  Hopefully, we have been encouraged and challenged to be more like him.  But there is another part of this Psalm.  The blessed man is contrasted with the ungodly man.  Everything that the blessed man is, the ungodly man is not.  He is the opposite of the blessed man.  It is said of the blessed man that “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”  But “the ungodly are not so…”

While the blessed man is like a deep rooted tree planted by a river of water, the ungodly is like some dry chaff that blows away in the smallest wind.  He has no root.  He has no fruit.  He has nothing that lasts.  In fact, there is nothing about him that lasts.  He lives and everything he lives and works for is immediately blown away and gone.

The ungodly man is a sad case.  We have the choice of which way we would like to go.  The directions are clearly laid out for us.  Which direction are we headed?

A Powerful Testimony

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Acts 16:25-30

This jailor must have heard Paul and Silas as they were praying and singing praises to God.  He must have seen them come into the prison, accused of nothing more than teaching and preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.  We don’t know what he was thinking before this great earthquake shook the prison, but surely he had noticed the testimony of these two Christians.

After the earthquake, Paul and Silas stayed in the jail despite the open doors.  They did the right thing.  And that was not lost on this jailor.  The combination of hearing their prayers and praises and their righteous actions caused this man to “come trembling, and fall down before Paul and Silas,” and ask this question that rings through the ages: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Had Paul and Silas sulked and complained in the prison, the jailor would have noticed that, too.  Had they made a break for freedom as soon as the doors opened, the jailor would have killed himself and never been saved.  But through the powerful testimony of these two men, he came to Christ.

How is our testimony?  Does watching our words and actions make people want to go to Jesus?  Or does it drive them away from Jesus?  That is something we need to watch every day!

Doing the Right Thing

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the door open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

Acts 16:26-30

Paul and Silas left a powerful example for us to see in this passage.  It is an example of the power of Christ within the Christian.  It is an example of the new man overriding the old man.  It is an example for us to follow.

Paul and Silas had been put in prison.  There then came a “great earthquake” that shook the foundation of the prison and opened the doors.  Naturally, one would think that a prison full of open would spell disaster for the keeper of the prison.  He certainly thought that, and drew his sword to kill himself.  Most men, myself probably included, would have literally jumped at the chance to escape the prison.

But Paul and Silas were different.  They comforted the jailor and told him that all of the prisoners were still present and accounted for.  In short, they did the right thing.  The people who put them into prison had done the wrong thing.  But that didn’t stop them.  They were determined to do right.  And their determination to do right was such a powerful testimony that the jailor (and his family) ended up coming to Christ because of it.

They simply did the right thing and it made all the difference.  And doing the right thing still does make all the difference.

Who’s Watching?

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

Acts 16:24-26

In this account of Paul and Silas being beaten and imprisoned, we immediately see the fact that they used it all as an opportunity to pray and to sing praises to the Lord.  In doing these things, they gave us an example to follow when we find ourselves in any difficult situation.  But as I was reading this passage, one other little phrase stood out to me.  It seems to have almost been included as an afterthought, but it is a powerful statement at the end of verse 26: “…and the prisoners heard them.”

Paul and Silas were not the only ones in this prison.  There were others with them.  When they saw that Paul and Silas had been beaten and were being thrown in with them, they no doubt wondered how these Christians would react to this brutal treatment.  When they started singing and praising the Lord, “the prisoners heard them.”  Paul and Silas might not have felt like singing and praising the Lord, but they did it anyway.  And they were right to do it.  Their testimony was a powerful witness to these other prisoners.

We never know who is watching us.  We never know who looks at us to see how we will react to different situations.  We probably have no idea how much influence we can and do have.  When we think about these things, I hope that it will help us to remember to praise the Lord and be thankful to Him even when we aren’t “on the mountaintop.”  We never know who’s watching us.