Introduction

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at the church’s mission through the lens of Paul’s missionary journeys.

When we last saw Paul, he was defending the inclusion of Gentiles as full members in the church apart from the works of the law.

Following the Council of Jerusalem, he hits the road again, but with a new partner, Silas.

After visiting the churches he started in Asia Minor, Paul feels led to head to Macedonia (the northern part of Greece). He begins a ministry in the Roman colony city of Philippi.

While in Philippi, Paul has a fateful run-in with a slave girl that has serious consequences for himActs 16:16–24NIV

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. 19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

This episode reveals how the Kingdoms of this World interact when it comes into contact with the Kingdom of God.

When our lives are like Jesus (New Life) our way of living will result in hostility from people whose life follows the pattern of this world (What I call Old Life) In the same way Jesus’ life did. But also like Jesus, as we are obedient to God in how we respond to Old Life, God’s New Life gets a chance to spread where death reigned before.

Let’s look at how this works.I. New life will bring us into conflict with Old Life 

Acts is a study on the difference between New Life and Old Life

New life comes from submitting to God, who brings freedom and flourishing

Old life comes from submitting to authorities of this world (whether political, economic or spiritual). This leads to fear, exploitation and injustice.

We all submit to someone. The one we submit to makes a big difference.Paul’s Conflict with Old Life

This is demonstrated by comparing the slave girl (a slave to Kingdoms of this world) and Paul and Silas (Slaves of the Most High)

The slave girl has no name, and no voice (the spirit she has is thought to speak for her). She is the property of her masters who use her for their financial gain.

When she comes into contact with Paul & Silas, she calls them “Servants of the most high God”. Servant (doulos) means slave.

Paul & Silas are slaves to a different kind of master: to God. God doesn’t demand they profit him, but he uses them to bring freedom to others.

When Paul sets the girl free from the demonic spirit that controls her, her freedom inconveniences her masters who can no longer exploit her. New life comes into conflict with old life.

Paul & Silas are forcefully seized

They are brought up on false charges

Their accusers can’t tell the truth. How can they prove Paul cast out a demon?

So they make racist innuendos: They’re Jews, their customs aren’t lawful for Romans

That’s Old Life for you: Setting someone free is a no-no; but exploiting them is just fine

The crowd attacks them, because they’re swept up in the populist rage

Paul & Silas aren’t given a chance to address the charges, but are beaten with rods

Then they are thrown in the dungeon, locked up in stocks

Paul & Barnabas’ persecution seems extreme to people who live in a country with religious tolerance. But for most people, the hostility they face for representing Jesus isn’t surprising. As Jesus said:John 15:18–19NIV

18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.How We Come into Conflict with Old Life

While we may not get physically beaten up, we will face opposition, if we stand up for God’s Kingdom

This kind of thing might look like civil disobedience to call attention to unjust laws (like laws that criminalize homelessness)

This might mean choosing to not buy in to consumerism. People won’t get violent with us, but they might think we’re weird

Standing up for God’s Kingdom may bring hostility, but there’s no value to hostility if we don’t respond in a kingdom mannerII. New life requires us not to respond like Old Life

When people are hostile towards us, the most natural thing is to respond to that hostility with counter hostility.

The consequence of responding this way is often a tit-for-tat that can escalate into something terrible.

Rwandan Grievances: The Belgian colonial government left the minority Tutsis in charge over the majority Hutus when granted Rwanda’s independence. The Hutus eventually gained power and then sought revenge against the Tutsis, resulting in the 1994 Genocide. The conflict stopped when Tutsis regained control. The underlying issues haven’t been solved, so if the Hutus come back to power, things could get bad again.

When we have been wronged and we respond by wronging those who hurt us, we become locked in a never-ending conflict that brings death. Jesus shows us another way.

He forgives, even calling on the Father to forgive his executionersPaul Responds to his Mistreatment

Paul shows this same kind of forgiveness as our story continuesActs 16:25–28NIV

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

You might expect someone who had been mistreated like Paul to be plotting revenge in the middle of the night, instead of conducting a worship service

Paul understands the treatment that was supposed to humiliate him, gives him credibility in God’s eyes.

Jesus was similarly falsely accused and mistreated. Paul sees himself as being joined to Jesus in his suffering.

As he later will write to the Colossians:Colossians 1:24NIV

24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.

Paul isn’t saying that Jesus’ suffering was insufficient to save everyone, he’s saying that his suffering mirrors Christ’s. We are called to become like Jesus for the sake of the church.

We see Paul’s willingness to endure suffering for the sake of others by how he responds when given an opportunity to escape.

The earthquake makes it possible for Paul and Barnabas to escape

The Jailer sees the open jail and intends to commit suicide (his life would be forfeit for letting the prisoners escape)

Paul stays put out of concern for a man who participated in his humiliation and torture – he cares more for the man’s life than for his own freedom.How Do We Respond to Mistreatment?

How do we respond when we’re mistreated by others? Unfortunately, Christians have a reputation of seeking revenge rather than reconciliation

In the recent US elections, When Donald Trump’s main selling point was that I’ll get retribution on my enemies (who are also your enemies), Christians seemed to embrace the idea, rather than sending the message that we don’t need retribution.

This is contrary to the teaching of Jesus:Luke 6:27–36NIV

27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

The New Life response to mistreatment is meant to differ wildly from the Old Life.

Jesus imitates the Father who responds to our animosity with love (a commitment to our well being despite of our hostility towards him).

To be his children, we must also respond to others’ hostility with love

When someone belittles you (or your beliefs ) is your response counter-hostility or reasonableness?

When someone takes credit for what you did at work, do you look to get even?

When someone expresses disdain for empty-headed Christians, do you treat them kindly?

When our actions undermine the narrative they use to discredit us (Those Christians are only out for themselves) some people will be curious. In a good wayIII. New Life brings New Life to Old Life

When we embrace New Life, it throws Old Life people off balanceThe Transformation of the Jailer

We see this in what happens to the JailerActs 16:29–34NIV

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

The Jailer can’t understand 1) Why Paul & Barnabas didn’t escape and 2) Why they care about him when he was party to their mistreatment.

Paul and Silas’ behaviour has opened up a door to share their faith with the Jailer

His question seems strange to me. I wouldn’t expect that pagan Romans would be very concerned with how they could be ‘saved.’

Perhaps he had heard what the slave girl had been saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.”

Maybe Paul and Barnabas had been talking about the message of salvation.

Seeing how they responded, sparing his life, the man suddenly sees his relationship to them is upside-down from what he had thought.

He had thought they were the prisoners, and they were at his mercy.

Now he understands that he is the prisoner (in a spiritual sense) and is at their mercy.

But he has hope because he’s seen how they are merciful when he would not be.

What happens next shows a transformation in the man

He washes their physical wounds and they wash his spiritual wounds (in baptism)

They share a meal – an important symbol of hospitality and acceptance – communion?

His rejoicing because he had come to believe in God shows he has been made new. New life has taken root in the place of Old LifePlanting Seeds of New Life

The jailer would have died, rather than been saved if Paul & Silas had followed the ways of the world, but because of their kindness life took root where death had been planted

God sometimes asks us to endure what feels like unjust hardship, because our kindness or forbearance in the face of adversity can plant a seed of new life in those who see it.

Paradoxically it is often not our strength that draws people to new life, but our weakness – because it shows God’s power at work in us.

As Paul tells the church in Corinth:2 Corinthians 4:7–12NIV

7 But we have this treasure [the knowledge of God’s glory] in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Why does God ask us to endure hardship? When people see regular people—people like them—standing with courage and peace in hard times, they know that peace doesn’t come from the people.

If they saw remarkable people or people who lived charmed lives, they might conclude peace wasn’t for people like them.

But when it’s ordinary people—jars of clay—with the same problems they have it becomes obvious that the source of this hope is from God.

Our New Life becomes most obvious when we have a run-in with Old Life —when we are misunderstood, mistreated and maligned.

If we display love for those who mistreat us, or if we show peace in terrible situations, people wonder why.

This is the kind of curiosity we want people to experience

The real challenge, however, is that as individualists, many of us might not find the trade—my suffering for your benefit—one we’d like to make

It is natural for us to seek our own good when it comes over the good of others (except for family and friends)

Loving our enemies is hard because it seeks to give benefits to the one we’d least like to give benefits to.

It’s impossible unless God opens our hearts to see our enemy with compassion. This happens when we pray for them (hence, “pray for those who persecute you”)

We must allow God’s new creation life to take root in our hearts, and only then will we have the capacity to be compassionate towards the one who would hate or harm us.

This is the work of God, but we can do things that make our hearts more receptive:Praying For Our Enemies

Acts says Paul & Silas were praying and singing when the earthquake hit: was the jailer one of those for whom they prayed?

We need to make a point of praying for those you dislike the most

Jesus tells us:Matthew 7:1–2NIV

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

He’s not saying we should never judge, rather that we should do so with humility because God will apply the same standard of judgment against us that we use against others.

So pray for the same patience and mercy for them that you want God to apply to you on the day of judgment.Doing Good to Those Who Hurt You

A kind act done for a person you dislike is a hard thing to do, but it’s a wonderful Christian discipline

Rather than waiting for God to transform your heart so you can love your enemy, love your enemy and see God transform your heart towards them

Look for small ways to love them: being friendly when they don’t deserve it, a small act of consideration, and the discipline can change your heart

When we begin to practice enemy love, we’ll start to see the logic of love—I pay for your benefit—in a new way.

Then the difficulties we face will have new meaning because they’ll give us the opportunity to see new life grow in new placesConclusion

We may prefer a life of faith where everything goes our way

But in God’s faithfulness both to us and to the world, he doesn’t give in to our expectations

God’s faithfulness to the world means he sends his (adopted) children to give themselves for the sake of the world just as he did his begotten son. Our lives are meant to echo Jesus’

God’s faithfulness to us means that he will not leave us as we are, captive to the power of sin. The greatest blessing he can give us is that we could be conformed to the image of his son. As Paul says to the RomansRomans 8:28–30NIV

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

In his wisdom, God doesn’t accomplish this by waving a magic wand, but by allowing us to choose, one decision at a time, to become more like Jesus.

This is how New Life takes root in the world:

The Old life of fallen creation encounters New life, and the result is conflict

As New Life responds to that conflict with grace, rather than hostility, that hostility is disarmed.

With the hostility disarmed, New life can plant seeds in the old life. Our response to others’ hostility is what leads them to ask, “What must I do to be saved?”