Study 28. Acts 14:1-28

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 1. The Lystrians reacted to the healing of the lame man like typical rural pagans of that time (see 14:8-13). What do you learn from this incident about the religious beliefs of those people—people—the assumptions that Paul and Barnabas had to overcome? (List as many observations as you can.)
  • They believed their gods could do miracles. 
  • They believed that gods could disguise themselves as men.
  • They believed in the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes
  • They believed in sacrificing to their gods
The apostles showed their grief and rejection of human worship
As with our unbelieving friends, the Lystrans had a framework of belief they were committed to that could not be immediately overcome.
 
2. Acts 14:15-17 gives us our first example of what Paul and Barnabas preached to purely Gentile audiences, as opposed to Jews, proselytes, and God-fearers. In addition to proclaiming Jesus, what did the apostles have to explain to pagans that they didn’t have to say to Jews and God-fearers?
  • They said that they were only men, like the Lystrans, they brought good news that should turn the Lystrans away from 'these vain things to a living God who made everything' - there is a God who is Creator of all things.
  • God in the past had allowed the nations to walk in their ways, yet he had left a witness of his goodness in the seasons and in providing for people.
 cf. 17:30 'the times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,'
and Rom 1:18ff  "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." 
 
Does this mean that in the past, people born before Jesus' time would all be saved?
 
 For Thought and Discussion: What do your non-Christian friends need to understand about God before they can begin to understand the gospel? Is 14:15-17 the place to start, or do your friends need to begin with something else?
God is creator and we owe life and accountability to Him. We could begin by testifying to God's reality and power in our lives
God is Savioue from guilt. We could start by speaking about forgiveness of sin and guilt
We coulD also talk about a coherent world view that explains origin, purpose, ethcs and destiny
 
3. What does 14:19-20 tell you about Paul’s character?
 He was mentally and physically tough cf. 2 Corinthians 11:25, 2 Timothy 3:11
There is no mention of a miraculous healing here, although one may have occurred.


Optional Application: a. Put yourself in the place of the apostles in 13:50 and 14:4-6, 19-20. Would you have kept going? What enabled the apostles to do so? b. Put yourself in the place of the new believers staying in those towns. Would you have withstood the pressure to abandon faith in Christ? What enabled the believers to stand firm?
They faced general discomfort and danger in travel , persecution and the risk of death, (2 Cor 11:23-29: ... far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
  • Good news of knowing the true God  (14:15)
  • Joy and the Holy Spirit (13:52)
  • Entry into the kingdom of God  (14:22)
 These are objective and subjective reasons for a future expectation of reward
 

4. When the apostles returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch to strengthen and encourage the infant disciples, they warned them, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (14:22). From 13:50 and 14:4-6, 19-20 and from your own knowledge of bigotry, discrimination, and hostility, what hardships could the new Christians expect?
Loss of regard from those well-placed in society, inability to settle down in one spot
Causing division wherever they went (cf. Mt 10:21)
Physical danger and threat to life


5. Despite all the hardships on their trip, what was Paul and Barnabas’s verdict when they reported back to the church in Antioch (see 14:26-27)?
They "declared all that God had done with them"
God had"opened a door of faith to the Gentiles"
God had been with them in their ministry. He had supported them, empowered them and used them.
Strategically, Gentile ministry was frutiful. Theologically, there was further support that God intended the Gentiles to come to faith.
 

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