Scripture: Acts 19:1-22
How
many people know the name “Jesus”, but have never accepted a relationship with
the LORD? How many people speak the name of “Jesus”,
but never in a glorious or even respectful way?
How many people are Christians, but are more apologetic about it than
joyful?
There’s
an old story about a man who was asked “If you were taken to court, charged
with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
I
would guess that, if the truth were known, that there would be a lot of folks
who would cringe at the very thought of having to share what the Christian
faith is really all about! Think about
it – would you be comfortable in explaining the significance of the Triune God,
of the importance of Christ’s crucifixion, or the power that comes through the Blood
atonement? Would you be comfortable in
telling others what faith in Jesus Christ means for their eternal future, or
even more importantly, what a lack of faith will mean for them?
Today,
in this, our 14th lesson from the Book of Acts, we will be
considering these last two issues - what understanding, and what the lack thereof,
mean for Christians of today, and what they will mean for this world’s people
when the Lord Jesus returns.
Read Acts 19:1-7
So
the first part of today’s lesson is this – is there really a difference between
simply a water baptism, and a baptism of faith that brings the Holy Spirit into
our lives? (John 3:3-6)
John
took baptism as a sign of repentance, of turning away from the worldly and
sinful life. It signified the cleansing of
evil from a person’s life in preparation for the arrival of the Kingdom of God,
and as he learned more about the truth of Jesus, it became a preparation for
receiving him into a person’s heart and life.
In Matthew 3:1-6, we read that the people “confessed their sins”, repenting of the life they had been living, and it was only then
that they were immersed in the Jordan.
But as
Paul explained to the Ephesians, John’s baptism was only the beginning - it was
only about repentance, it was only preparation for receiving the baptism
that faith in Jesus brings.
John Wesley
would agree. He wrote “baptism is not the new birth: … for what can
be more plain than that one is an external and the other an internal work: that
one is a visible, the other an invisible thing, and therefore wholly different
from each other. … There may sometimes be the outward sign, where there is no
inward grace.”
And this
is what Paul was describing for the people, that baptism by water must be the outward sign of new birth that comes only
from Jesus. 2
baptisms – one by water for repentance, one through Christ for spiritual gifts. This is the problem with immature and
insufficient teaching – you can so easily miss out on the fullness of baptism!
Water is the outward sign, the Spirit is the inward
gift, and without faith and surrender to the way of Jesus, baptism will always
be incomplete.
Read Acts 19:8-12
Paul
was still encountering persistent and adamant opposition to Jesus as the door
that leads us into the Kingdom of God.
The New Interpreters’ Bible tells us that “… the hardened heart not
only symbolizes the steadfast refusal to repent but also the loss of divine
blessings that results”. One of the
hang ups that the Jewish leadership had was that they were still focused on the
outward signs, on the things they had to do, on the Law of Moses,
instead of faith in the Christ.
So
Paul decides that the synagogue, even after a couple of attempts, is still not
the place to teach about Jesus, so he leaves for a more neutral venue – the hall
of Tyrannus – a school of sorts. He had
spent 3 months in the synagogue with practically no success, but would stay for
2 years at the school, where he had access to both Jews and Gentiles
alike.
And
as the word of Jesus began to spread, so did the miracles that the LORD
was able to accomplish through Paul.
Even touching objects that had touched the apostle were sufficient to
heal, and cure, and free the people.
Sound familiar? In Matthew 9:18-22 a woman was healed from a long-term issue of
blood by believing that if she just touched the hem of Jesus’ cloak, she would
be well.
Second
lesson for today - Jesus works by faith, not by the Law.
Read Acts 19:13-16
The
issue at play here is that some were attempting to accomplish the same miracles
that Paul was able to be part of, but these others were trying to do it without
a relationship with the Christ. This is
a similar problem to the one surrounding water baptism without the baptism of
Jesus – their efforts are inadequate and incomplete!
And
the sons of Sceva weren’t just attempting exorcism without faith, they were fostering
a lie to create the illusion of a discipleship with Jesus! - no faith, no relationship, and therefore, no
authority! And without the authority of
Jesus at work, the demons take matters into their own hands!
Interestingly,
the demon knew who Jesus and His apostle Paul are, but doesn’t know the sons of
the High Priest! And for some
unexplained reason, the demon takes control and exacts punishment on the 7
men. But the question is this – why would
the demon know and acknowledge the One he opposed, but not the ones who were
already in his grasp? Apparently, they
knew the One who had once been their Master, the One who had cast them out of
heaven when they chose Lucifer instead of God!
And because they know Jesus, they also know who His disciples are,
including us!
The
sons of a High Priest were an especially choice target for the demon, and they
are chased away – not from Satan, but from even pretending to be disciples of the
LORD. A shallow faith is, apparently, too much for
evil, but it is never enough for God! It’s
no good for anyone!
Read Acts 19:17-20
It
would appear that the demon’s attack on the sons of Sceva backfired! Instead of diminishing the influence that
Jesus, and His man Paul, had on the populace of Ephesus, it only served to
heighten it! When faith grows, the
desire to follow the LORD more closely will also become stronger in our
life. And when our trust in Christ is
firmly established, we develop a desire to turn away from the old ways that had
always attracted us.
For
the people of Ephesus, Christ had become so strong within them that they began
confessing their sins, and repenting of those past lives. The problem with repentance is that it is so
easy to fall back, but the LORD was so powerfully established within the
people that they even began destroying the tools of sin that had been such an
important part of their trade. Remember? First repentance, then a commitment to the
way of Jesus.
So
the final lesson for today is this – that if the understanding that the demon
had of Jesus could have such a far-reaching effect on these lives, think about how
much more we could do by faith! Repentance
is the start, but faith in Christ brings the power of the Holy Spirit to bear. That is the difference – the demons only know
about Jesus, but we can believe in Jesus as the Son of God, as the
Savior for all the earth, as the hope of eternity for all who will trust enough
to put their lives in the love and glory of God’s presence.
Don’t
just know who Jesus is – believe in all that He can do through faith!
