SERMON TITLE: Words at War
TEXT: Acts 14:1-7 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 10/10-11/20
You can watch the sermon here.
It’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshipping with us in person at our North Main or Bowling Green campuses — or are worshipping with us online — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.
We are continuing our series in the book of Acts this weekend. And — if you’re just joining us — what we’re seeing in Acts are some various barriers that the early Christians had to overcome in order to fulfill the mission that Jesus had given them — the mission of taking the news about him — the gospel — to the whole world.
And we’ve already seen how the early church overcame some potential barriers to their joy. Then we saw how they overcame the barrier of being fearful of persecution. Next, we saw how even men like Barnabas and Paul submitted themselves to a local church as they were called and sent out by the Spirit of God to do a specific task of ministry.
And — last week — we saw the importance of knowing our Bible — and particularly — knowing our biblical history — the stories of God’s faithfulness to his people as we find throughout the Bible. But today, we’re going to discover something else we glean from God’s Word — there’s something more for us to know beyond the facts and the stories of history found in the Bible. And that is — what’s called in our verses — the word of grace. So let’s discover what this word of grace is and why it’s important by turning to our passage for today.
If you have your Bible please turn with me to Acts chapter 14. We’ll be looking at verses 1-7. We’re in Acts chapter 14. Beginning in verse 1.
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. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they remained 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. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel. (Acts 14:1-7 ESV)
Before we look at the word of grace, I first want to point out the obvious — something obvious in our verses for today but also obvious from what we’ve already seen in Acts — and the obvious is that we will face opposition.
We see the opposition Paul and Barnabas faced in verses 2 and 5 and the results of the opposition in verse 4.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers…(the results?) But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. (And more opposition.) 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them... (Acts 14:2, 4-5 ESV)
So we have this war going on — a battle between Paul and Barnabas and the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles. And it’s not the kind of war we typically think of for this is a spiritual war of words. A war of words is causing division in this town.
Now — before we get to what happens — here in Acts — I want us to think about how we respond to people who we disagree with. Now — maybe this isn’t how you respond — but — generally speaking — what’s the default position of many in our country when it comes to disagreements? Well I’ll tell you what it seems to be. “Oh, we disagree on this? Well that means I’ll just reject everything else you say as well.” It’s as if upon hearing the slightest of disagreements with someone else that we begin to stuff our fingers into our ears and stop listening to the other person.
Now — and I don’t want to go down a rabbit trail — so I’ll just mention this briefly. But the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma — well — if you haven’t watched it yet — go watch it. But here’s why I bring it up. The documentary reveals how social media — and my guess is that the rules apply beyond social media — but how companies use algorithms to manipulate all of us with the content we consume on the internet. And one of the startling connections is between the political polarization in our country — how we have few moderates these days — how more and more people are to the far left or far right — a startling connection is how the radical polarization in our country and the inability to have civil discourse with those we disagree with — how this polarization has a direct link with social media and our smartphones. The algorithms — these companies use — figure out what kind of content will keep us glued to our screens — which is how the companies make money, by the way — so they keep feeding you content — not that’s necessarily true — to consume — they feed you content that will keep you on their site — and that’s usually content that reinforces our extreme views. And we all need to wake up to this. Why?
Because we no longer know how to disagree with each other — just look at the political debates going on in our country. Are we not embarrassed at how — because one of these men will be our next president — are we not embarrassed at how these men are acting on the debate floor? And yet — the culture we live in thrives on this kind of polarization — this kind of talking over one another and interrupting one another and putting each other down — instead of talking about things that matter. And — again — websites thrive on this. So do the news channels that you watch — regardless if it’s Fox or CNN. And this has all resulted in us pitting one group of people against another group of people. And what we now have is a clash of extreme worldviews that’s only exacerbated by the racial tensions going on in our country, COVID-19, and the presidential election.
But — as followers of Jesus — we’re to step out of this culture that thrives on conflict and putting down the other guy. And we’re to show people an alternative to rejecting others simply because we have a differing opinion. Why? Because we cannot allow these things that are polarizing the people in our country to be a barrier for us accomplishing what Jesus has called us to do. And our primary mission is to proclaim a word of grace to the world. And — yet — we do so knowing that the message we have is a message that will be rejected by many people and yet we’re commanded to love them even if and when they reject our message. Thus we’re to live in a polarized culture knowing that our message will be met with mockery and rejection even as we continue to show those who mock and reject us what it means that God loves them and that we — God’s people — love them.
So we know that — as God’s people — we know that we’re in a spiritual war — but we can’t forget that it’s also a war of words. And the word we have is the word of grace. But — before we look at it — the word of grace — I thought it’d be helpful for us to recognize two words of opposition that we face.
Two words of opposition — that we face — are the word of the world and the word of religion. And both of these words oppose the word of grace — the gospel — that we’ve been called to proclaim.
What is the word of the world? Well — in many ways — I’ve already covered this. It’s the polarization going on in our country. It’s the idea that — if we disagree — we cut each other off. You insult them. You cancel them. You do everything you can to make them look incompetent. And — if that fails — you flat out attack them with below the belt verbal punches.
The word of the world is a godless word — it’s a jealous word. Jealousy runs deep in our culture as we constantly compare ourselves and our accomplishments to others. In our verses in Acts, we see the word of the world in how the Gentile leaders in the town stir up opposition against Paul and his companions — even to the point of being willing to take their lives.
That’s the word of the world.
Now the word of religion is a bit different — but kind of the same. We see Paul encounter the word of religion through the Jewish people in Iconium — and in most of the places he travels. This word is just as godless as the word of the world, but it clothes itself in religion making itself appear to be holy and righteous when it’s unholy and unrighteous. Almost always, the word of religion is a word of works based righteousness. Where what you do is what makes you right with God. It’s where morality is taught — “here are the right behaviors” — as if a person can change the way they live without first being changed by God. It’s a therapeutic word — meaning — it gives a false sense of peace to those whose consciences should be shaken so they awaken to their need for a Savior. And it’s a word that acts as if God exists but is not concerned with what’s going on in the world today. He’s the big man up in the sky — not a personal God who is involved in our lives and in his creation.
And this kind of religious word has been prevalent in our country for decades. But it’s not the message of grace — the message of the gospel that we’re called to proclaim — though the word of religion has often been confused with the gospel.
And here’s the crazy thing about the word of religion. It’s a jealous word — just like the word of the world. This kind of religious jealousy can be found in churches who see other churches as competition rather than as on the same side of this spiritual war we’re in.
And both of these words — the word of the world and the word of religion — both of these words oppose the gospel because people who hold either of these words despise being confronted by their sin. Two biblical examples. When John the baptist confronted Herod about his sin with his brother’s wife — well — John ended up with his head on a platter. That’s the word of the world. And when Jesus confronted the Pharisees about how their religion was actually leading people to Hell — instead of to God — well — the Pharisees had Jesus killed.
And both of these words will oppose us because they’re fearful of who and what God’s people represent. For we are sent out to represent Christ to the world and we can’t forget what Jesus told us. For he said, ““If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 19 The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 20 Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 21 They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.” (John 15:18-21, NLT)
And here’s a sobering thing to remember — especially with the season our country is in. Some who speak the word of the world and the word of religion will oppose us because of political pressure. When John the baptist was killed, it was partly due to Herod wanting to save face in front of a variety of political folks who were at the party he was throwing. The Pharisees used their influence to persuade those in political power to have Barabbas released instead of Jesus — resulting in Jesus’ execution. And I give this sobering reminder because none of us are beyond being influenced by politics in ways that put us in opposition to the mission Jesus has given us to accomplish. That goes for those of us who are registered Democrats and those of us who are registered Republicans. All political parties are influenced by sin — including your party. And all political parties speak words that are in opposition to the message of grace that we’ve been entrusted with. Thus we should be very careful in showing such strong allegiance to a political party — for — our allegiance to Christ must always come first. And we must be careful to not be deceived by the words of religion and politics so that we believe that Christ is for our party and against the other. Sort of like when Joshua ran into the commander of the Lord’s army — in Joshua 5. Joshua asks the man, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” And the commander says, “No.” I — think — if God’s people were really listening today and if we were brave enough to ask, “God, are you for my political party or are you for the other one?” We’d hear him say, “No. That’s the wrong question. The question is are you for me or are you for your political party?”
That’s the war we’re caught up in — a war of words — a war where we will face opposition.
So how should we respond to this opposition? How should we respond to those who oppose us by speaking the word of the world or the word of religion? First, we shouldn’t be surprised. Opposition isn’t new. It isn’t strange. In fact, opposition is normal. What’s not normal is for God’s people to think they’re living in a time of peace when they’re living in a time of spiritual war. So don’t be surprised by the opposition.
Second, be calm. The opposition displays outrage and anger and we’re not to fight their outrage and anger with our own outrage and anger. And — yet — all too often this is where we find ourselves. If you listen to our podcast, we recently did an episode on a book titled Unoffendable and in that episode I mentioned that anger isn’t one of the fruit of the Spirit — not even righteous anger. God’s people haven’t been given the command to be angry — we’ve been commanded to love — even to love our enemies — even those who oppose us. So, stay calm.
Third, there will be times when we need to repent. Sometimes the opposition makes a point that hurts — but is true. Many in our country don’t respect Christians and — if we’re honest — many don’t respect us because we’ve earned their disrespect. And we should repent of our behavior. Sometimes we’re called hypocrites and our response should be, “You’re right.” Words of repentance are an often unused — but powerful weapon — in this war we find ourselves in.
And, finally, keep loving one another. When we face opposition from the outside, it’s easy to be tempted to turn against one another on the inside. And this year has been full of reasons for us to turn against each other and — yet — each of these reasons is also an opportunity for us to practice loving one another — to grow closer together — instead of turning against each other. But as we face opposition, we must be determined to not turn against each other, but instead to show the world that we are Jesus’ disciples. For as he said, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35, NLT)
So those are the words of opposition — the word of the world and the word of religion and how we’re to respond to both. And now we turn to the word of grace. This is our word — the word we proclaim. Let’s begin back in verse 1.
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. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So they remained 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. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel. (Acts 14:1-7 ESV)
So let’s talk about this word of grace that we’re to be witnesses of. Three observations about our word.
First, what we say matters. What we say matters. In verse 3 we read that they “bore witness to the word of his grace.” So what is the word of grace?
The word of grace is another name for the gospel. The Good News. We see this connection in verse 7 where “they continued to preach the gospel.” The gospel is the good news that God saves sinners. Paul explains it this way to Christians living in the city of Corinth. He writes, “Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you — unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
Paul basically just told them, “If you believed in the gospel you better still be believing it now.” Meaning, don’t abandon the gospel as if there’s something else for you to move on to now that you’re a Christian. Christians are saved by the gospel, are being saved by the gospel, and will be saved by the gospel for all eternity. Stick to this word of grace. Don’t abandon it for another word — that of the world or of religion. For if you do, your belief in the gospel was never true to begin with. So — Paul says — the gospel is the Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you. And here’s that message.
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, NLT)
This is the message of grace — the gospel — in its simplest form. And — this is great news for all of us — because our message isn’t about us or how remarkable or awesome we are. As it’s been said, “That I have something to say is not a personal achievement. I have something to say because I am a Christian.” (Stanley Hauerwas) And you and I are Christians — not because of something we’ve accomplished. We’re Christians because of what Christ accomplished. So the word we have to share isn’t about us, but is about Christ. And — this word about Christ — is what the world needs to hear from us. Meaning if your social media pages are filled more with political stuff, or COVID stuff, or racial stuff instead of the gospel — then you’re spreading the wrong word. Does the sheer quantity of what you post show that you’re primarily committed to the word of grace or to another word?
Now — for many of us — this word about Christ excites us. You love to tell others about Jesus and I’m so thankful for you. Your words show what your heart truly loves. But for others of us, for some reason, we get all afraid about telling others about Jesus. And — first — know that I so sympathize with you because I can relate to this. And — second — though I can relate — this makes absolutely no sense to me — which is why I wonder about this in my own life. Because there are so many things we’re not afraid to talk about. Our political opinions. Our favorite sports team and why you should be a fan. If we like a movie, we tell someone about it. Same with our favorite podcast or a new recipe we love. And we know that — when we share these things — we know that not everyone is going to agree with us. For example, you may love that fish recipe but if you share it with me you will see a grossed out face because I do not eat seafood. Period. It’s not up for debate. You’re not going to convince me. And you Ohio State fans know you’re not going to convince Jon McKanna — our North Main campus pastor — to abandon his love for the Wolverines.
But isn’t it crazy how we’re still willing to talk about politics or sports teams or recipes — even though we know we’ll face those who disagree with us — and yet we often give into fear — this barrier — of someone disagreeing with us when it comes to sharing the word of grace with them?
And what’s most likely the biggest barrier to sharing the word of grace — of sharing the gospel with others — is feeling unprepared to do so. And do you know what the solution to being unprepared is? To get prepared. Listen to the apostle Peter’s words. He told Christians living in a culture hostile to their faith, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:14-17, ESV)
Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that you have. But make sure the words you use — in making your defense — are words that are gentle and respectful — not like the words of the world and religion.
Which leads us to a second point about the word of grace that we’re to be witnesses of. And that is this: the way we speak matters. The way we speak matters. How did Paul and his companions speak? In verse 1 we read that they “spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.” And in verse 3 we read that they spoke “boldly for the Lord.” The words we speak matter but we can’t dismiss the importance of our delivery.
Now you may hear all of this “speaking with boldness” andthink, “This sounds great!” Maybe you’re more of an extrovert type. Or you may think, “This sounds like my worst nightmare!” And you’re more of an introvert. To my fellow introverts, listen to what author Adam McHugh writes. “Introverted seekers need introverted evangelists. It's not that extroverts can't communicate the gospel, either verbally or nonverbally, in ways that introverts find appealing, it's that introverted seekers need to know and see that it's possible to lead the Christian life as themselves. It's imperative for them to understand that becoming a Christian is not tantamount with becoming an extrovert.”
What we say matters. How we say it matters. And, finally, what we do matters. What we do — in addition to what we say — matters. We find this in verse 3 where we read that signs and wonders were done by the hands of those who were speaking. Now — we don’t have time to talk about the miraculous in this sermon — whether or not signs and wonders are something to be expected today. But what I want us all to notice is that the signs and wonders — in and of themselves — weren’t convincing enough to get the opponents to believe. But the words we speak must be accompanied by action. Why? Because our actions prove that the message we proclaim — the message of grace — has changed us — has made us different than those who don’t believe the message. And this change is seen through what we say and what we do.
We’ve already mentioned some of the change that the gospel brings into our lives once it’s been believed. Instead of being offendable, God’s people allow God’s Spirit to work in them an unoffendability. Instead of being angry, we’re kind. Instead of being greedy, we’re generous. Instead of being selfish, we look out for the interests of others. Instead of demanding our own way, we ask, “What does love require of me?” Instead of being timid and afraid, we speak boldly the word of grace to a world that needs to hear it — and we speak knowing that we do so entering into a war of words.
We’re all living in a world at war — a spiritual war of words. A world that rejects those with whom they disagree. Who talk about — instead of talk to — those who have a different opinion. We live in a world that’s slow to listen, quick to speak and quick to get angry, though James told us to be “quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19)
And — yet — there’s one final part to this story in Acts I don’t want us to miss. Because we may hear all of this talk about speaking boldly in the face of opposition and feel like losers at the end of it all. Did you notice what Paul and the others do when they heard news that people in the city were out to get them? They fled. Paul and the others left Iconium and fled to some other cities.
What’s up with that? Were they acting cowardly by running away? Possibly. Were they acting with common sense knowing that there were people who were going to cause them harm? Again, the answer is possibly.
There’s much that we don’t know — but here’s something we do know. We know that fleeing from the city — leaving the city to go out into the wilderness — was also a kind of suffering. (Craig S. Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013), 2128.) The trip from Iconium to Lystra and Derbe was most likely very hard and unpleasant. They would’ve travelled through a cold, poorly watered landscape with very few trees for protection from the elements. And this journey was over 25 miles long.
All that to say that they weren’t fleeing from conflict to a place of comfort. They weren’t fleeing from opposition to a warm bed with a roof over their head. Their commitment to the gospel — the word of grace being proclaimed to the ends of the earth — caused them to leave one conflict only to face a different kind of barrier. Yet Paul and his companions refused to let any barrier keep them from proclaiming the word of grace that had been entrusted to them. And — like them — we’re to be people who are committed to proclaiming the word of grace — the gospel — no matter the barriers we face. Whether that be the barrier of the word of the world or the word of religion. Whether that be the barrier of our own fears of the opposition or people who are within the church. We are — together — to prepare ourselves now — so we’re “always ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope we have” — hope we have because of the word we have believed in — a word that we’ve been entrusted with to proclaim to the world. The word of grace. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your word of grace to us. The gospel. The Good News that Christ has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. Help us to believe your Word, trust your Word, obey your Word, and be devoted to proclaiming your Word above all other words.
Jesus, thank you for your commitment to the word of grace — your commitment cost you your life. May we — who have believed — respond to your commitment to us and the word of grace with a renewed commitment to live for you and for your word. May the word that we’re known for be the word of grace. May your word of grace be what others hear out of our mouths and see on our social media feeds. May there be no doubt in what word we are committed to — your word of grace.
Finally, Spirit of God, give us wisdom and discernment in knowing when we’re confusing the word of the world or religion with the word of grace. We know we won’t always get it right, so show us when we’re wrong and may we respond in humble repentance. Help us to always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope we have. And help us to speak our words in a way that is gentle and respectful — in a way that demonstrates to others that you and we love them.
And for any who desire to respond to your word of grace today — Father, Son, and Spirit — may you show them your love, shower them with your grace, call them to repentance, and give them life. And we pray all of these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
May you always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you have — prepared to share with them the word of grace. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
You can find the sermon notes here.
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