Atos 16

H.A. Ironside · Citado em PreceptAustin

Atos 16

Ironside - "Young people sometimes hear a fervent missionary from a distant field tell of the need of young men and young women for work in Africa or China or in some other country. They say, 'I must answer the call.' They arrange to leave everything here and go out to the mission field, only to find that nobody wants them. And they say, 'Isn't that queer? They were pleading that we come, and instead of wanting us they are ready, in some instances, to kill us.' Was the missionary wrong? Did he give a false impression of conditions? Not at all! The heathen do not realize their need often until the preaching of the true God gives them a sense of their real condition, but it is that need, nevertheless, which calls for someone to help." I will praise you among the nations, O Lord. - Psalm 18:49 TODAY IN THE WORD Several days ago (see November 8), we read Moses' great song of praise after the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. Then we read how God called the Israelites to be a holy nation that would bear witness to God. Sandwiched in between these passages is today's account of Moses' father-in-law. Notice Jethro's response when Moses recounted God's actions: “Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods” (v. 11). This is a confession of faith! In other words, Jethro came to know who the Lord truly is because of Moses' gratitude. In today's passage from Acts, we see a similar connection between thanksgiving and witness. Yesterday we read that Paul wrote to the Philippians while in prison. This was certainly not Paul's first imprisonment. Paul had even been in the jail in Philippi! In Acts 16, we read about the first convert in Philippi, Lydia. As Paul and Silas continued to share the gospel, they were followed by a girl possessed by some spirit that enabled her to predict the future. After several days of being followed by her, Paul rebuked the evil spirit within her. Although this poor girl was set free, those profiting from her were very angry. Eventually, Paul and Silas were flogged and bound in leg irons. For many people, such circumstances would not prompt praise songs! But this is exactly what Paul and Silas were doing. Under Roman law, the jailor could have been executed had any of the prisoners escaped. This is why Paul assured him that none have fled (v. 29). The jailor's question to Paul about how to be saved reflects his understanding that his own life had been spared because the prisoners were all present. It seems that he had also been affected by Paul's and Silas's praise. Like the example of Jethro and Moses, gratitude to the Lord opened the way for others to respond to the Lord. TODAY ALONG THE WAY - Several days ago, we suggested that sharing your gratitude for something that the Lord had done in your life with a nonbeliever might be a good way to share the gospel. Today's passages, especially Acts 16, also encourage us that when we respond to our circumstances, particularly the difficult ones, with gratitude to our Lord, we bear witness to others around us of His existence and His goodness. For many, gratitude to God and hardship do not go together, so our unexpected attitude offers food for thought. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. - 1 Peter 4:9 TODAY IN THE WORD The “domestic arts” have become big business. Magazines and books focused on cooking and home improvement have experienced soaring sales, and millions of viewers tune in to the Food Network and Home & Garden Television (HGTV) for dining tips or decorating insights. One downside to all this homey preoccupation relates to reported levels of contentment; increasingly Americans cite their own homes as “inadequate” and describe themselves as “overwhelmed” at the prospect of having family and friends invited into their homes. Scripture gives several exhortations to believers regarding hospitality. Of course, God does not expect all of His children to live in homes that could be featured on television or cook like award-winning chefs. Our notions of hospitality must be shaped by God's Word rather than the definitions given by our culture. The example of Lydia in our passage today can help us. When Paul and Silas came to Philippi, they discovered no synagogue—apparently the city didn't have the minimum number of Jewish men required. Instead, they found a group of women gathered by the river to pray on the Sabbath. One of these, Lydia, is described as a businesswoman from the city of Thyatira; she was a dealer in purple cloth. While purple cloth was considered a luxury (see Luke 16:19), scholars note that it's not clear whether Lydia herself was wealthy. The Greek word for “dealer” could include both rich merchants as well as poorer tradesmen. The most important facts about Lydia, however, were God's work in her life and her response to it. “The Lord opened her heart” and she accepted the gospel (v. 14). She and her household were baptized, and then she immediately offered hospitality to Paul and his companions. Lydia's invitation to her home was more than just a cultural politeness; her offer was motivated by her belief in the Lord and desire to serve others. Lydia's house became the meeting place for the growing number of believers in Philippi (v. 40), and the basis of the church in that city. APPLY THE WORD Lydia connected the practice of hospitality with her faith in the Lord Jesus. Also consider the link between hospitality and the gospel in Romans 12:13 and 3 John 8. How can you extend hospitality to others? The purpose is not to impress others but rather to meet their needs, whether the need is for shelter, food, companionship, relationship, or a safe place to feel cared for and loved. Ask the Lord to shape your attitude toward hospitality and to give you opportunities to offer this blessing to others. Acts 16:12 And from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. KJV Acts 16:12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. NET Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days. GNT Acts 16:12 κἀκεῖθεν εἰς Φιλίππους, ἥτις ἐστὶν πρώτη[ς] μερίδος τῆς Μακεδονίας πόλις, κολωνία. ἦμεν δὲ ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ πόλει διατρίβοντες ἡμέρας τινάς. NLT Acts 16:12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days. ESV Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. CSB Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for a number of days. NIV Acts 16:12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. NAB Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some time in that city. NKJ Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. NJB Acts 16:12 and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that district of Macedonia. GWN Acts 16:12 and from there we went to the city of Philippi. Philippi is a leading city in that part of Macedonia, and it is a Roman colony. We were in this city for a number of days. NRS Acts 16:12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. YLT Acts 16:12 thence also to Philippi, which is a principal city of the part of Macedonia -- a colony. And we were in this city abiding certain days, Philippi : Ac 20:6 Php 1:1 1Th 2:2 Ph colony : Ac 16:21 Acts 16 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries See Map of Second Missionary Journey Neapolis > Philippi PHILIPPI "ROME AWAY FROM ROME"

Atos 16

Ironside wrote that "You may think it far-fetched, but I have an idea that if there were more joy in tribulation, more triumphing in trouble in our own day, we would see more shaking by the power of God. The unsaved people of the world are watching Christians, and when they see Christians shaken by circumstances, they conclude that after all there is very little to Christianity. But when they find Christians rising above circumstances and glorying in the Lord even in deepest trial, then the unsaved realize the Christian has a comfort to which they are strangers. (ILLUSTRATION) You may have heard the story of the Christian who one day met another believer whose face was long as a fiddle and asked, “How are you?” The man replied, “Well, I am pretty well under the circumstances.” To which the other replied, “I’m sorry you are under the circumstances. Get above the circumstances! Don’t allow yourself to be under them. Christians should never be under the circumstances.” Paul and Silas were not. They were above them." (Acts 16 Commentary)

Atos 16

Ironside - Bishop John Taylor Smith used to tell how, when he was a Chaplain-General of the British Army, the candidates for chaplaincy were brought to him and given a hypothetical situation to deal with. “Now, I want you to show me how you would deal with a man. We will suppose I am a soldier who has been wounded on the field of battle. I have three minutes to live and I am afraid to die because I do not know Christ. Tell me, how may I be saved and die with the assurance that all is well?” If the applicant began to beat around the bush and talk about the true church and ordinances and so on, the good Bishop would say, “That won’t do. I have only three minutes to live. Tell me what I must do.” And as long as Bishop Smith was Chaplain-General, unless a candidate could answer that question, he could not become a chaplain in the army. I wish that were true of our own army. What answer would you give to a man with only three minutes to live? Can you find a better one than this?-“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” There are so many who say, “I do not understand which is the true church.” Never mind! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then some say, “I do not understand the true nature of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper.” Never mind! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “Yes, but my life has been so wicked. I feel I ought to make restitution first for the sins of my past.” Never mind! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. “I am so afraid I might not hold out.” Never mind! This is God’s message to any poor sinner today: Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your house. The same offer is for your house as for you. When God saves you, it is evident He wants to save your whole house. ILLUSTRATION - The story is told of a wealthy man who, although he was outwardly religious, was not a Christian. He had in his employ an old gardener, a true believer, who tried to show him the emptiness of mere religion without Christ. Now it happened that there was one tree on the rich man's estate which never bore any fruit. However, one day as the owner was walking in his orchard, he saw some beautiful apples hanging on it. Imagine his surprise, especially when he went to pick some and found them to be tied on! The gardener by this simple illustration wanted to point out to his employer the difference between real Christianity and pious sham. Religion without Christ is like a barren tree on which the fruit is merely "tied on"! Have you ever actually trusted Christ, or are you simply going through the motions? Are those so-called "good works" of yours just "tied on," or are they the genuine fruit of a new life? W. P. Loveless says it well "The only "works" of unsaved men that will endure in Heaven are the nail prints in Christ's hands! MacDonald wisely comments that "This question must precede every genuine case of conversion. A man must know he is lost before he can be saved. It is premature to tell a man how to be saved until first he can say from his heart, I truly deserve to go to hell… Many people today seem to have difficulty knowing what it means to believe. However, when a sinner realizes he is lost, helpless, hopeless, hell-bound, and when he is told to believe on Christ as Lord and Savior, he knows exactly what it means. It is the only thing left that he can do! (Believer's Bible Commentary:) Salvation comes when a person recognizes their personal state of sinfulness and certain judgment and thus their need for salvation. David

Atos 16

Ironside says "So the gospel entered Europe, and we can be thankful that from that day to this the message of grace is still going out in that continent. Although we live on a different continent, we enjoy the message today because it was brought to Europe so long ago." (Ibid) Larkin reminds us "Persecution will not end with Paul and Silas's departure, for that is the Christian's lot..." Acts 14:22+ strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” Philippians 1:27-30+ Only conduct yourselves (THE CHURCH AT PHILIPPI WHICH IS BEING PLANTED HERE IN ACTS 16) in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents–which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. 2 Ti 3:12+ Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Jack Arnold - The supreme question is, "What must I do to be saved?" Rationalists would say, “Salvation is a piper's dream and supernaturalism is a fairy tale, so they deny salvation of any kind and have no answer to the supreme question. Liberals and modernists would say that salvation is living the best life one can and then God will accept everyone ultimately, but this reduces Christianity to a works system. Cultists say that salvation is attained by accepting their doctrines which are contrary to the Bible. Papists say that salvation comes when one is water baptized as a child, belonging to the church and acknowledgement of the Pope. Libertines say that Christianity cannot be proven; “therefore, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” and don't even think about salvation. Existentialists say, “If you need the salvation kick as a crutch to live, that is fine, but everyone doesn‘t need it and must be left alone to do their own thing.” What does God in the Bible say the ultimate answer is to the supreme question, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” Will you believe men or God? Will you trust the Word of God or the word of demons? Trust, commit, lean upon, abandon to the person of Jesus Christ alone for salvation and you shall be saved. (Sermon) TIMOTHY Greater Men and Women of the Bible James Hastings And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy.… The same was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.—Acts 16:1, 2. AMONG the friends of St. Paul there is no one who appeals more to our interest and sympathies than Timothy. For not only was he associated with the Apostle during a longer period than any of his other companions, but he was evidently regarded with an altogether peculiar affection and esteem. Following the example of the fourth Evangelist, Timothy might have called himself “the disciple whom Paul loved.” He shared his spiritual father’s outward labours and intimate thoughts. He was with him when the Apostle could not or would not have the companionship of others. He was sent on the most delicate and confidential missions. He had charge of the most important congregations. When the Apostle was in his last and almost lonely imprisonment it was Timothy whom he summoned to console him and receive his last injunctions. All, therefore, that we can learn regarding Timothy is significant for the light it throws upon the character alike of the pupil and of the master. I WITH LOIS AND EUNICE 1. The early home of Timothy was at Lystra, and owing to the general Græcizing tendency of the district, we are not surprised to learn that while his mother was a Jewess, his father was a Greek. We do not, however, know even the latter’s name; and as there is no further reference to him in the Acts or the Epistles, it is probable that he died during his son’s infancy. It was to his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, that Timothy owed the moulding of his character. St. Paul in his Second Epistle to Timothy speaks with warm appreciation of their faith, and “from a babe” the boy was instructed by them in the sacred writings of the Old Testament. There was never a time in his whole experience when the majestic words, the wonderful cadences, of psalmist and of prophet were unfamiliar to the ear. The Book was no less a part of the growing lad’s daily life than the sky above him and the earth beneath his feet. He was in living touch with grace as with nature before the ripening intelligence had learned to harmonize the messages that fell upon the attentive ear. The wistful eyes looked up into the loving face of her who taught, and lo! the words of Scripture on the lips of the believer became, as is their wont, a sacrament of the love of God, and the faith of Eunice, the faith of the aged Lois, passed as through an open door to the heart of their little son. Happy he With such a mother! faith in womankind Beats with his blood, and trust in all things high Comes easy to him; and tho’ he trip and fall, He shall not blind his soul with clay. It was so with Timothy. He had inherited the religious instinct from Eunice, and through her influence he remained true to it. ¶ “We must make up our minds,” said Mrs. Booth, “that our children shall not be wicked”; but the misery of to-day is that, in so many cases, it is left to the children to make up their minds, while father and mother look helplessly on. There are mysteries in human character, and sometimes after real care and patience, there are outburstings of passion which baffle all a mother’s hope. Temptations, against which nothing could guard, lay hold of some element in a boy’s inheritance, and carry him away; but even then the case may not be lost. George Meredith, in one place, says very nobly, “My boy, if he fall, will fall from an actual region of purity. He dare not be a sceptic as to that. Whatever his darkness, he will have the guiding light of a memory behind him; so much is secure.” ¶ Lowell’s boyhood was spent in an atmosphere of refinement and culture. His father’s library of nearly four thousand volumes included, besides theological treatises, an excellent representative selection of literary classics, ancient and modern, and among these he was allowed to browse at his will. This early miscellaneous reading laid the foundations of the remarkably broad and sound scholarship of his later life. It also gave that distinctively bookish bias to his mind which, amid all the distracting crowd of other interests, he never afterwards lost. 2. St. Paul visited Lystra in the course of his first missionary journey. A work of healing which he wrought so impressed the people that they wished to worship him and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes. But before long St. Paul’s bitter enemies pursued him from Antioch and Iconium; they turned the fickle crowd against the Apostles, a riot ensued, and St. Paul was stoned and left for dead. To the surprise, however, of his friends, he quickly recovered, and, as further work in Lystra would be impossible, left on the next day for Derbe. Although no mention is made of them, it seems certain that Eunice and Timothy were converted and baptized during this first visit, and it is interesting to put together the evidence for this point. In writing his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul declares that he can address them as “my beloved children.” “For though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel.” In other words, he limits the use of “children” to describe those of whom he is the spiritual father, who owe their conversion directly to him. Immediately afterwards he adds: “I have sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord.” This seems to imply quite clearly that Timothy also was converted by the Apostle himself. But when did it happen? Not during St. Paul’s second visit to Lystra, for when he arrived Timothy was already a disciple “well reported of by the brethren.” Wherefore the evidence seems to show that the conversion of Timothy and Eunice must have been among the unrecorded events of St. Paul’s first visit to Lystra. Again, it is probable that Timothy was an eye-witness of St. Paul’s stoning in that city. Many years later St. Paul appeals to him by his remembrance of “what things befell me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra”; and indeed the scene would make a lasting impression upon this sensitive youth. In bygone days St. Paul as a youth had witnessed the stoning of Stephen; now he himself was stoned, while another young man, destined also to work nobly in the ministry of the Church, stood by. ¶ One of Millais’ freshest and most delightful pictures is termed “The Boyhood of Sir Walter Raleigh.” An adventurer who has sailed and fought in the Spanish Main is recounting his travels and exploits in the West. The animation in his face and his dramatic action show that he is calling into service the powers of a vivid imagination. His audience is composed of two boys, one of whom is the youthful Raleigh, who has ceased now to listen to the sailor’s romance and is gazing down the “vistas of a dream.” His heart leaps within him, and his youthful fancy conjures up a glowing picture of romance. “He sees El Dorado, and the palaces of the Aztecs and Incas, temples of the Sun where the sun’s face burns in gold, hidden treasures, fair Indian captives, and the fountains of eternal youth.” The call has come to him; the little old-fashioned toy which, before it came, constituted his world, now lies neglected in the corner. In an hour he has grown into youth, and has put childish things away for ever. The end of it all he does not see—the scaffold and the axe—but if he did they would not appal him. He has heard the call, and he must “go out, not knowing whither he goeth.” 3. Timothy was a lad of about fifteen when St. Paul converted him at Lystra, in or near 45 A.D. Seven years later St. Paul, on his second missionary journey, came again to Lystra. He had just passed through the crisis of his separation from Barnabas, and, while Silas served as a faithful travelling-companion, he was not an intimate friend, as Barnabas had been. The Apostle must have regarded it as a direct gift of Providence that, while thus bereaved, he came once more upon Timothy. For he chose him as his comrade, with the result that the loss of Barnabas was felt no longer. The Apostle had lost a brother, but he gained a son. His personal good opinion of Timothy was strengthened by the testimony of those who knew him well—his fellow-Christians in Lystra and Antioch. So “him would Paul have to go forth with him.” The conduct of the Apostle of the Gentiles on this occasion has sometimes excited surprise. St. Paul, the great proclaimer of the abrogation of the Law by the Gospel, circumcised the young evangelist. The inconsistency is more apparent than real. It was an instance of his becoming “all things to all men” for the salvation of souls, and of his sacrificing his own convictions in matters that were not essential, rather than cause others to offend. Timothy’s father had been a Gentile, and the son, though brought up in his mother’s faith, had never been circumcised. To St. Paul circumcision was a worthless rite. The question was whether it was a harmless one. That depended upon circumstances. If, as among the Galatians, it caused people to rely upon the Law and neglect the Gospel, it was a superstitious obstacle with which no compromise could be made. But if it was a passport whereby preachers who would otherwise be excluded might gain access to Jewish congregations, then it was not only a harmless but a useful ceremony. In the synagogue Timothy as an uncircumcised Jew would have been an intolerable abomination, and would never have obtained a hearing. To free him from this crippling disadvantage, St. Paul subjected him to a rite which he himself knew to be obsolete. ¶ It is respectful to bow to the King of England, it is disrespectful to bow to the King of France; it is the rule to curtsy to the Emperor; and the prostration of the whole body is required by Eastern Monarchs. These are established ceremonies, and must be complied with; but why they were established, I defy sense and reason to tell us. It is the same among all ranks, where certain customs are received, and must necessarily be complied with, though by no means the result of sense and reason. As for instance, the very absurd, though almost universal custom of drinking people’s healths. Can there be any thing in the world less relative to any other man’s health, than my drinking a glass of wine? Common sense, certainly, never pointed it out; but yet common sense tells me I must conform to it. Good sense bids one be civil, and endeavour to please; though nothing but experience and observation can teach one the means, properly adapted to time, place, and persons. This knowledge is the true object of a gentleman’s travelling, if he travels as he ought to do. By frequenting good company in every country, he himself becomes of every country; he is no longer an Englishman, a Frenchman, or an Italian; but he is an European; he adopts, respectively, the best manners of every country; and is a Frenchman at Paris, an Italian at Rome, an Englishman at London. 4. Then followed the ordination, performed with great solemnity by the laying on of the hands of all the elders of the congregation. This we learn, not from the Acts, but from St. Paul’s Epistles to Timothy. The Book of Acts simply says of Timothy, “Him would Paul have to go forth with him.” But then when we turn to the Epistles written to Timothy, we find that it was not as an ordinary companion that Timothy was taken. He went forth as St. Paul himself had gone forth from the Church of Antioch, a duly ordained and publicly recognized messenger of Christ. Every circumstance of that day lived in the memory of St. Paul; many years later it is by the remembrance of the gift bestowed by the laying on of hands, by the good confession witnessed, by the prayers and prophecies of the assembled Church, that he appeals to Timothy in his letters. Spirit of Remembrance, come, Quickening Spirit, strong and wise, Bid the slumbering soul arise, Wake to speech the conscience dumb. Bring to mind the dreams of youth, Ere the world our tempter proved; Show again the things we loved, And the vows we meant in truth. II BY THE SIDE OF ST. PAUL The young evangelist now leaves his home and his mother, and goes forth with Paul and Silas to preach the gospel. The parting from her son would be a sore trial to the widowed Eunice. He had been so much to her: she, stronger tie of love still, had done so much for him. Nor could she shut her eyes to the hardships and perils which now lay before him. But, like Hannah of old, she recognized an even higher call than that of earthly affection: “I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord.” 1. The progress of the three missionaries through Asia Minor is traced in Acts 16:4–8, till at Troas they stand on the seashore and look across the Ægean Sea towards Europe; and the vision of the “man of Macedonia” calls them thither. They have now become a party of four, as we find by the word “we” occurring for the first time (verse 10), showing that they had been joined by Luke, the beloved physician, who writes the narrative. But he is with them only a little while. The “we” occurs again at Philippi (verse 16), but after that we find “they” as before. Only Paul and Silas are mentioned by name, but Timothy is with them, as we find a little later; and a passage in the Epistle to the Philippians, written years after, reveals Timothy’s presence at Philippi on this first occasion: “I hope … to send Timothy shortly unto you … Ye know the proof of him, that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel.” At Philippi St. Paul and Silas were imprisoned. At Thessalonica a fierce attack was made upon the house in which the travellers lodged. Their enemies followed them to Berœa, whence St. Paul left for Athens. Timothy and Silas remained for a while, but their companionship was much needed by their leader, who sent word that they should come to him with all speed. But no sooner did Timothy arrive than he was sent away again on an important errand. For the first time in his experience as a Christian missionary he was given independent work. The persecution of the Church in Thessalonica had not ceased with St. Paul’s departure, and its members were in sore need of encouragement. Of course St. Paul, as his urgent message had shown, longed for the companionship of Timothy in Athens. Yet his spirit of unselfishness triumphed. Hearing of the state of things in Thessalonica, to use his own words, “we could no longer forbear”; “we thought it good to be left behind at Athens alone; and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s minister in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith; that no man be moved by these afflictions.” In this task Timothy was successful, and was able to bring back good news. “But when Timothy came even now”—i.e. immediately before the writing of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians—“unto us from you, and brought us glad tidings of your faith and love … for this cause, brethren, we were comforted over you.” On his return from Thessalonica Timothy found St. Paul at Corinth. At Corinth, as at Lystra, Iconium, and Philippi, Timothy became prominent for his zeal as an evangelist: and then for about five years we lose sight of him. We may think of him as generally at the side of St. Paul, and as always working with him; but of the details of the work we are ignorant. Yes, while on earth a thousand discords ring, Man’s fitful uproar mingling with his toil, Still do thy sleepless ministers move on, Their glorious tasks in silence perfecting; Still working, blaming still our vain turmoil, Labourers that shall not fail, when man is gone. 2. We next meet with Timothy at Ephesus, in that long period of “three years” during which St. Paul worked in that great city. From here he is sent, with a companion, Erastus, into Macedonia, where he would no doubt visit the Churches of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berœa. He is also to go on to Corinth. His mission to the last place was evidently a very delicate one, and, fearful of the result, St. Paul bespoke for his envoy a kindly welcome, in a letter in which he explained the object of his coming. “I have sent unto you,” so he writes to the Corinthians, “Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church.” And in a later passage in the same Epistle he earnestly calls upon the Corinthians to respect Timothy’s timidity, and to set him forward again on his journey in peace. Timothy was evidently of a shy and sensitive disposition, and St. Paul, whom “anxiety for all the churches” never made forgetful of the courtesies of everyday life, desired that nothing should be done to wound or annoy him. But the appeal, so kindly meant, would seem to have been in vain, if, as many scholars hold, we are to identify Timothy with the wronged sufferer of 2 Cor. 7:12. His mission was not successful; he brought back news which caused St. Paul great anxiety and necessitated a mission of Titus. When St. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia later in the year, Timothy was again with him, for his name is coupled with St. Paul’s; and he was still with him when the Apostle wrote to the Romans from Corinth, for he joined in sending salutations to the Roman Christians. 3. From Corinth Timothy crossed over to Troas, where, along with other brethren, he awaited the arrival of St. Paul, who had been making the longer circuit through Macedonia. But we are left uncertain whether he accompanied the Apostle from thence on his last visit to Jerusalem. We do not know what he was doing during St. Paul’s two years’ imprisonment at Cæsarea; but he joined him during the first imprisonment at Rome, for the Epistles to the Philippians, the Colossians, and Philemon are written in the names of Paul and Timothy. From certain passages in Philippians we may conjecture that Timothy went to Philippi and returned again before the Apostle was released. At the close of the Epistle to the Hebrews we read, “Know ye that our brother Timothy hath been set at liberty.” It is possible that the imprisonment to which this notice refers was contemporaneous with the first imprisonment of St. Paul, and that it is again referred to in 1 Timothy (6:12) as “the good confession” which he confessed “in the sight of many witnesses.” III ALONE IN EPHESUS 1. The few additional facts respecting Timothy are given us in the two letters to him. Some time after St. Paul’s release the two were together in Ephesus; and when the Apostle went on into Macedonia he left his companion behind him to warn and exhort certain holders of erroneous doctrine to desist from teaching it. There were tears, on the younger friend’s side at any rate, to which St. Paul alludes at the opening of the Second Epistle; and they were natural enough. The task imposed upon Timothy was no easy one; and after the dangers and sufferings to which the Apostle had been exposed, and which his increasing infirmities continually augmented, it was only too possible that the friends would never meet again. 2. It is worth while trying to conceive to ourselves the situation at Ephesus, the atmosphere in which Timothy was called upon to discharge his Christian ministry, for the evidence goes to show that his was a nature likely to be keenly sensitive to the conditions under which his work had to be done. To begin with, Ephesus was the seat of the worship of Diana; her temple was a magnificent building dominating the entire city, and on it wealth and taste had lavished their utmost. Everything was done to attract the eye, to inspire with awe and wonder. Its courts were daily thronged with worshippers from every quarter of the Roman Empire. Perhaps it was under the shadow of the great temple, and in the presence of all this splendid pageantry of worship, that Timothy had to shepherd the flock of Christ, to lead the unadorned worship, and to administer the austerely simple ordinances of the primitive Church. It must have required a firm courage, an eye undimmed for spiritual things, for a man with Greek blood in his veins, and trained from childhood to think with reverent delight of the Temple at Jerusalem, to hold on unabashed, and not sometimes to be visited with a sort of undefined wish that in some way or other he might be able to blend together the body of a splendid ritual with the soul of a spiritual Christian service. One can imagine him, not exactly ashamed of Christ, but feeling like a dissenter in a cathedral city. He believes himself to be right, but he wishes that he had not to breathe so much of the chilling air of social contempt. Perhaps his position might find a modern parallel in that of a native Christian teacher, whose work shall lie, say in Benares, the metropolis of Hinduism, if the supposition be added that India were not under British but under native rule. If this was the condition outside the body of Christian disciples, there were elements at work inside that body with which Timothy had to reckon. Oriental speculation had its chosen home at Ephesus, and the Judaizing tendency, which had been rampant in Galatia, was not wholly absent. These two influences, apparently so diverse, conspired against the simplicity that is in Christ. It was beginning to be a cherished dream with certain minds that a sort of eclectic religion might be developed out of a union of philosophic speculation, Jewish ritualism, and the gospel of Christ. These people did not mean to deny the gospel, but only to enrich it; they would rid it of its barrenness, and, in a non-apostolic sense, adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour. In addition to these religious, or quasi-religious, elements of Ephesian life, we may be sure that there was, ever present, the abounding licentiousness which distinguished populations in which the Greek and the Oriental mingled; the darker vices of the Asiatic were partly veiled by the flashing splendours of the Greek imagination, and, becoming less repulsive, were the more dangerous. Timothy seems to have been by nature one to whom opposition would always mean distress and pain, to whom firmness would often be difficult and expensive. He was not a man who, when things seemed to be going against him or getting into confusion, could shrug his shoulders and refuse to be harassed. Rather, he seems one to whom antagonism, insolence, isolation, would mean sharp suffering; one whose heart might grow sick as he looked at a gathering storm of hostility and danger; one on whose courage and constancy such a storm would break with a severe if not a staggering shock. His was a character deficient somehow in that useful sort of obstinacy which is an element in some men’s power of endurance, and stands them in good stead in hard times. The traits of moral beauty on which St. Paul elsewhere lays stress, in speaking of Timothy, are such as might well consist with this deficiency; they are the attractions likeliest to be wrought by the grace of God in such a nature. Eminent unselfishness; the capacity for generous self-devotion; warm-heartedness and loyalty in personal affection; a spiritual sense which made the care for others’ welfare seem instinctive;—these are the features which, as we read the First Epistle to the Corinthians and the Epistle to the Philippians, appear to supplement the impression of Timothy’s character which we get from the Pastoral Epistles. There is often in such men an unfailing charm of delicacy and gentleness; they seem as though there had been more summer than winter in their lives; while, with some characteristics which may be misnamed effeminate, there is in them a really womanly power of patience and self-sacrifice. Surely, if we may form any such idea of Timothy, we cannot wonder at St. Paul’s intense affection for him, as a constant presence of tenderness and sympathy in the midst of much antagonism and disappointment and anxiety. We cannot wonder that St. Paul should have trusted him largely, and believed that he would rightly bear his high charge as Apostolic delegate over the Church of Ephesus; nor yet can we wonder that, as the Apostle thinks of him in the isolation, the perils, the tangled difficulties of his position, as he thinks of the subtlety of error, the restlessness of idle talk, the malignity of moral corruption, the brutality of persecution, all besetting, or likely to beset, that sensitive temperament, a fear should be continally haunting him lest the strain prove too great. ¶ We may say of Newman, as he said of himself, that he had a “morbidly sensitive skin,” and this is about as bad an equipment for active life in a world of struggle as nature can bestow. That a pre-eminently sensitive man tastes more keenly than others the choice delights of life is probably true, but it is certain that he suffers a thousand miseries which tougher natures never feel. An acute sensitiveness may be allied with, though it is by no means a synonym for, keen sympathy with the sorrows of others, and so may gather round a man a band of grateful admirers; but it will never disarm an opponent, or turn a foe into a friend. Still less will it enable a man to force his way through clenched antagonisms, or to crush resistance as he marches towards his end. Then again a sensitive nature is Wax to receive, and marble to retain. It may forgive, but it cannot forget, slights and injuries, buffets and bruises. Forgetfulness of injuries is the blessed lot of those who have inflicted them. 3. It was to encourage Timothy in his hard task that St. Paul wrote to him the two Epistles. The First Epistle was sent from Macedonia some time after the Apostle had left Ephesus. Fearing that his return may be delayed he writes this letter to press his original charge more solemnly on Timothy, to encourage him in his work, to guide him in his teaching and dealing with various classes in the Church, and to regulate certain points of Church order which needed organization without delay. The Second Epistle was written from Rome when the aged Apostle was imprisoned for the second and last time. In the interval between the letters the sky had darkened. The Neronian persecutions had broken out and the Church was threatened by a new danger. St. Paul knew that his own days were numbered, and in his loneliness his heart went out to the young evangelist who had been to him more than a son. In both these letters, but especially in the second, St. Paul seems never tired of enforcing, with every sanction, every appeal, every encouragement that he can use, the paramount duty of unflinching steadfastness. Again and again that duty is impressed on his disciple’s conscience, that it may be safe from all risks of forgetfulness or surprise: “God hath not given us the spirit of fearfulness”; “Be not thou ashamed”; “Take thy share of hardship”; “Hold fast the form of sound words”; “Be strong in grace”; “Continue, abide in the things which thou hast learned”; “Be instant in season, out of season”; “Watch thou in all things”; “Endure afflictions.” ¶ When Luther was in the hall, about to be ushered into the presence of the assembly, a veteran knight, George Freundsberg, commander of the guard, touched him on the shoulder, and said kindly, “My poor monk, my poor monk, thou hast a march and a struggle to go through, such as neither I nor many other captains have seen the like of in our worst campaigns. But if thy cause be just, and thou art sure of it, go forward, in God’s name, and fear nothing! He will not forsake thee!” A noble tribute from a brave soldier to the courage of the soul! 4. The authenticity of the Pastoral Epistles has been called in question: Renan, in his bold way, calls the writer of them a forger, who perhaps incorporated some authentic notes of St. Paul in his apocryphal composition; and the school of Baur, as might have been expected, gives them short shrift, rejecting the whole of them. Such criticism can be met on its own ground, but is there not another method? Forgery stumbles, not when it sets itself deliberately to delineate character, but when character is not so much carefully outlined as taken for granted, and made the groundwork (almost invisible) of the superstructure. And if we can discover in these letters a character consistent with itself and with its circumstances, if a score of delicate suggestions make us feel that we are dealing with a living man, who is being dealt with by one stronger than himself, whose words vibrate with the personal element, then we feel that we have got into that atmosphere in which the mere literary actor and the forger cannot live, and we gain a new evidence that these two letters are rightly entitled the First and the Second Epistles of Paul the Apostle to Timothy. 5. The Second Epistle to Timothy closes with a pressing and repeated entreaty to Timothy to hasten to St. Paul. The aged Apostle was alone, save for the faithful Luke. Demas had forsaken him, Crescens and Titus had been summoned elsewhere. His friends among the Roman Christians were timorous; not one of them had dared to stand by him when he appeared to make his defence in court. Not thus, he knew, would Timothy act. And so he is entreated to come with all speed, and to bring with him Mark, whose former difference with St. Paul was now happily at an end. And then we notice the little personal touches: the homely directions to bring a cloak and some books which St. Paul needed. Perhaps they would give him some comfort in prison, perhaps he wished to give them to his friends to be kept in memory of him after his death. Above all he needs Timothy himself—Timothy, who had wept when last he parted from him. And yet, despite the repeated bidding that he should come at once, St. Paul seems to feel a presentiment that he must arrive too late. Therefore he speaks words of farewell, infinitely tender and pathetic, yet without a trace of weakness, to his “beloved child.” Whether Timothy was able to comply with St. Paul’s entreaties we have no means of knowing. We like to think of the beloved disciple as comforting the last hours of his master; but, although the conjecture may be a right one, we must remember that it is conjecture and no more. With the Second Epistle to him ends all that we really know of Timothy. Tradition and ingenious guesswork add a little more, which can be neither proved nor disproved. More than two hundred years after his death, Eusebius tells us that he is related to have held the office of overseer of the diocese of Ephesus; and five centuries later Nicephorus tells us that he was beaten to death by the Ephesian mob for protesting against the licentiousness of their worship of Artemis. It has been conjectured that Timothy may be the “Angel” of the Church of Ephesus, who is partly praised and partly blamed in the Apocalypse, and parallels have been drawn between the words of blame in Rev. 2:4, 5, and the uneasiness which seems to underlie one or two passages in the Second Epistle to Timothy. But the resemblances are too slight to be relied upon. All we can say is that, even if the later date be taken for the Apocalypse, Timothy may have been overseer of the Church of Ephesus at the time when the book was written. 6. In the relation of St. Paul to Timothy we have one of those beautiful friendships between an older and a younger man which are commonly so helpful to both. It is in such cases, rather than where the friends are equal in age, that each can be the real complement of the other. Each by his abundance can supply the other’s want, whereas men of equal age would have common wants and common supplies. In this respect the friendship between St. Paul and Timothy reminds us of that between St. Peter and St. John. In each case the friend who took the lead was much older than the other; and (what is less in harmony with ordinary experience) in each case it was the older friend who had the impulse and the enthusiasm, the younger who had the reflectiveness and the reserve. These latter qualities are perhaps less marked in Timothy than in John, but nevertheless they are there, and they are among the leading traits of his character. It is difficult to estimate which of the two friends gained most from the affection and devotion of the other. No doubt Timothy’s debt to St. Paul was immense: and which of us would not think himself amply paid for any amount of service and sacrifice, in having the privilege of being chosen friend of such a man as St. Paul? But, on the other hand, few men could have supplied the Apostle’s peculiar needs as Timothy did. That intense craving for sympathy which breathes so strongly throughout the writings of St. Paul found its chief human satisfaction in Timothy. To be alone in a crowd is a trial to most men; and few men have felt the oppressiveness of it more keenly than St. Paul. To have some one, therefore, who loved and reverenced him, who knew his “ways” and could impress them on others, who cared for those for whom St. Paul cared and was ever willing to minister to them as his friend’s missioner and delegate—all this and much more was inexpressibly comforting to the Apostle. It gave him strength in his weaknesses, hope in his many disappointments, and solid help in his daily burden of “anxiety for all the churches.” While his other friends were St. Paul’s “brethren in the Lord,” Timothy became to the childless and wifeless Apostle his “beloved son.” We are right, surely, in thinking that not Barnabas, Luke, Apollos, or any other of his companions, was quite so dear to St. Paul, or was admitted so far into his confidence. The friendship between these two men, so unequal in years and so different in powers, is one of the most suggestive episodes in the early history of the gospel. It was apparently the one mellowing affection that toned down the impassioned vigour of St. Paul; that bound him tenderly to life, and, when he would spring to grasp the heavenly crown, recalled him with a sigh; that mingled a constant human image with his prayers and brought them trembling on his voice; that, homeless as he was, made him feel amid his wanderings, the sadness of absence and of loneliness. ¶ Friendship requires that rare mean betwixt likeness and unlikeness, that piques each with the presence of power and of consent in the other party. Let me be alone to the end of the world, rather than that my friend should overstep, by a word or a look, his real sympathy. I am equally balked by antagonism and by compliance. Let him not cease an instant to be himself. The only joy I have in his being mine, is that the not mine is mine. I hate, where I looked for a manly furtherance, or at least a manly resistance, to find a mush of concession. Better be a nettle in the side of your friend than his echo. The condition which high friendship demands is ability to do without it. That high office requires great and sublime parts. There must be very two, before there can be very one. Let it be an alliance of two large, formidable natures, mutually beheld, mutually feared, before yet they recognize the deep identity which beneath these disparities unites them. ¶ In the church of San Paolo at Rome a gorgeous baldacchino surmounts the traditional tomb of Paul the Apostle. In immediate juxtaposition with it, in front of the high altar, is a shrine of more modest pretensions, on which is inscribed the one name, which tells its own touching story— “TIMOTHEI.” Here the ashes of the Apostle Timothy are said to rest. Strong is the temptation, for once, not too exactingly to demand or scrutinise authority for the truth of a legend in itself so beautiful, that these two honoured servants of Christ, who had loved and laboured, wept and prayed, sorrowed and rejoiced together, are now resting side by side, a true “family burying-place,” the father and his “own son in the faith CALVINISM VERSUS ARMINIANISM Tony Garland uses this passage to give a discussion comparing Calvinism and Arminianism... (click for his full article) Luke informs us that God took the initiative that led to Lydia’s salvation. Where angels fear to tread: Calvinism and Arminianism. An ongoing in-house disagreement among Christians concerning the roles of God and man in salvation. How are we to understand issues of sovereignty, independence, and responsibility—of man in relation to God? Calvinism - based on theological ideas of the French Reformed theologian Jean Calvin (1509–1564). Arminianism - based on theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609). A student of Theodore Beza (Calvin’s successor) at the Theological University of Geneva. Arminianism and Calvinism in a nutshell. Different views concerning the role of God and man in salvation. Ultimately, it is about who chooses whom? Does man choose God (Arminianism)? Does God choose man (Calvinism)? Common ground: the nature of fallen man. Adam and Eve, untainted by a sin nature, disobeyed God. Men and women today are conceived with a sin nature—we start out in a vastly-inferior condition than Adam and Eve. Total depravity — all aspects of man’s nature are tainted by sin. TOTAL - speaks of breadth, not degree. NOT DEGREE - The thoughts and motives of mankind are not always depraved to an extreme degree. BREADTH - No aspect of man, such as the mind, will, emotion, is untainted. Man’s totality was twisted by the fall into sin of Adam and Eve. The fall affected everything about mankind. Somehow, in this fallen state, men and women are able to do what Adam and Even did not: obey God and respond in faith. This is the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit — both in Arminianism and Calvinism. As we’ll see, Arminianism and Calvinism differ in their understanding of how the Holy Spirit goes about that work. Arminianism in a nutshell: man chooses God. Salvation All men are fallen. All men are drawn equally, making all men equally capable of “choosing God.” The sole determining factor in salvation is whether the individual responds—or rejects. Some people, for whatever reason, are more able or willing to exercise faith while others are not. The determining difference in who gets saved resides within man, not in God. A key difference between Arminianism and Calvinism: the nature of God’s foreknowledge. How are we to understand Romans 8:29-30 which describes the “chain of salvation?” For whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom. 8:29-30). Both agree the passage describes a sequence of actions by God: Foreknowledge → predestination → calling → justification → glorification. Arminianism and Calvinism differ in their understanding of the first link in the chain: God’s foreknowledge. The Arminian position: God’s foreknowledge has no determinative aspect: it is simply “knowledge,” decoupled from the influence of His will. God’s foreknowledge concerns which people, down through time, will choose Him—exercise saving faith. God knows, in advance, who will choose Him. God then predestines, calls, justifies, and glorifies those individuals4 Before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5), God looked down through the corridor of time, saw who would respond in faith and choose Him, then, based on that knowledge, predestined, called, justified, and glorified those individuals5 The Arminian position decouples foreknowledge from predestination and understand it as simply “knowing”, but not “determining” or “influencing.” More on this later . . . The work of the Holy Spirit In both systems, the Holy Spirit is able to overcome the darkness of the individual fallen nature making it possible to exercise faith in God and be saved. The Holy Spirit in the Arminian perspective The Holy Spirit draws all people equally enabling every person to potentially chose God and be saved6 What then, prevents all men from doing so—if the Holy Spirit is both willing and able to overcome man’s inborn bent to reject God? Man is able to resist God’s will, the drawing of the Holy Spirit, to remain in darkness. Although God desires all men to be saved, He is unable (or unwilling) to effectively draw all. Man’s will can thwart God’s desire and ability, by way of the drawing of the Spirit, to save all men. Since man’s will is the determining factor in salvation: having believed, Christians remain insecure—we could fall away from the faith and lose our salvation. You might have eternal life now—but lose it next year. You can fall “in and out” of salvation. You can avoid hell, but only if you happen to be “in” at the moment you die. This is why Arminianism is sometimes characterized as being a “man-centered gospel.” Motivation Theodicy - God is neutral and fair. The desire to rescue God from the charge of unfairness if He were to choose some, but not all, for salvation. The Arminian view of salvation, from the perspective of limited human logic, God seems fair and well-intentioned — He is simply responding to man. BUT: Arminianism has its own problem trying to justify God’s actions. God knew, in advance—before mankind was created—who would respond to Him and be saved. Yet, He still created those who He knew would not respond—to wind up eternally damned in hell. Why did He allow those to be born who He knew would would not respond? Is God not sovereign over fertility and conception? Evangelism: the belief that every person is equally able to come to faith in God—if they would simply respond. Human Logic: a desire to make the means of salvation acceptable to human logic. If God desires all men to be saved (1Ti. 2:4), then He must draw all equally Some doctrines are highly complex and become distorted when we force them to bow to human logic Trinity Limited atonement / particular redemption (when Calvinism falls prey to this error) Calvinism in a nutshell: God chooses man. Salvation Like Arminianism, all men are fallen. God “elects” some men and women from among all people throughout history for salvation. Others are passed by—left in their fallen condition (Rom. 9:22-24). Only the elect are capable of exercising faith and “choosing God.” The sole determining factor in salvation is God’s election. Back to the “chain of salvation” of Romans 8:29-30 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to be] conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom. 8:29-30). For the Calvinist, no portion of this chain depends on human response. Calvinism rejects the circular choosing “slight of hand” of Arminianism which prepends an additional link prior to foreknowledge where men choose God Who, knowing their upcoming choice in advance, backs up in time to call and choose them in advance of their choosing Him. Calvinists believe the chain is strictly in-sequence within time and (truly) begins with God’s foreknowledge. The Arminian position detaches foreknowledge from predestination, understanding foreknowledge as simply “knowing” without “determining” or “influencing.” The Calvinist believes the Bible to teach that God’s foreknowledge includes God’s willful determination and influence, not just simply knowing (e.g., Acts 2:23). Two lexicons discuss the Greek terms behind God’s foreknowledge: ginōskō is used in the NT first of all of the divine foreknowledge, in relation to which the idea of election is always present. . . . this foreknowledge is not simply knowledge without participation, but rather a “creative willing” . . . In the introduction to 1 Peter (1:1) the readers are addressed as “chosen” in accordance with God’s foreknowledge (v. 2). This election is based on God’s decree . . .7 In sum, both the verb and noun speak primarily of God’s action toward Christ or toward humans, witnessing to that activity as planned and directed.8 The connection between God’s foreknowledge and purpose is made explicit in Acts 2:23 Him [Christ], being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death (Acts 2:23). The work of the Holy Spirit As with Arminianism, the Holy Spirit is able to overcome the darkness of the individual fallen nature making it possible to exercise faith in God and be saved. The Holy Spirit in the Calvinist perspective. The Holy Spirit draws the elect, enabling them to exercise faith in God and be saved. The elect cannot thwart the drawing of the Spirit. All the elect—every last one—WILL be saved. Only the non-elect miss salvation. Since God is the determining factor, once we believe, Christians are eternally secure in the faith. This is why Calvinism is sometimes characterized as being a “God-centered gospel.” Motivation Faithfulness to Scripture Predestination, election and calling are “all over” the NT. God’s foreknowledge cannot be simplified down to “simply knowing” without a determining element of His will. The salvation experience is everywhere attributed to God, not man. Time permits only a tiny sampling of verses on this huge topic. “born again”, or “born from above” (John 3:3, 7; 1Pe. 1:3, 23) Whoever brought themselves to conception and birth? “born of God” (John 1:13; 1Jn. 5:1, 18) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13) Given/granted by the Father. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out (John 6:37). Not all have been given by the Father. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” (John 6:65). Not all have been granted by the Father. Called/appointed of God. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.(Acts 2:39). All who are called are saved—not a general call. Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed (Acts 13:48). The ones that were appointed, from among those which heard, were the ones who believed. The ones who did not believe were not appointed. Arminians read these same passages, but make the initiative of God (birthing, giving, granting, calling, appointing) subject to only those God knows in advance will choose Him. But if He knows they are going to exercise saving faith, where is the need for all this business of birthing, giving, granting, calling, and appointing? This is the Arminian “chicken and egg” dilemma. Biblical evangelism The sophistication and cleverness of our evangelistic schemes is not the determining factor in the effectiveness of evangelism. We can share the hard truths of Scripture without fear of “offending or losing possible converts” because our faithfulness to proclaim truth is what the Holy Spirit will honor and use. We don’t know who the elect are, so predestination and election are irrelevant in determining when and whom to preach to—we assume every person we come in contact with may be among the elect. Famous evangelists include committed Calvinists: George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, David Brainerd, William Carey. Judicial hardening: a difficult aspect of God’s evangelistic purpose is that our faithfulness to preach the unvarnished truth serves to harden and condemn those who God knows will never come to faith. Theodicy - Calvinism does not attempt to sanitize God’s sovereignty. From man’s perspective and limited logic, God seems unfair in that he passes over some. Like Paul, we recognize the charge men will level against God: accusing Him of unfairness or unrighteousness. What shall we say then? [Is there] unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! (Rom. 9:14) You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” (Rom. 9:19) Like Paul, we rest in God’s sovereignty and character — He doesn’t need our defence against the limited conclusions of human logic. But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed [it], “Why have you made me like this?” (Rom. 9:20) Arminianism and Romans 9 If you want to cut to the chase when discussing these aspects with someone of the Arminian persuasion, ask them to explain why Paul wrote these statements in Romans 9? “Is there unrighteousness with God?” (Rom. 9:14) “Why does He still find fault . . . who has resisted His will?” (Rom. 9:19) The thorny questions Paul raises in Romans 9 would never arise if man’s will, rather than God’s, determines who is saved. If the Arminian view of salvation is true and God’s predestination of an individual is in response to the faith of that individual, there is no reason to accuse God of potential unrighteousness or unfairness. Arminianism wants to side-step these difficult questions by re-ordering what the Bible teaches concerning the process of salvation. In the end, Arminianism’s misplaced desire to “sanitize God” also subverts Biblical truth concerning the extent of God’s sovereignty. Summary Key differences Election Arminianism - based on God’s foreknowledge in history of who will choose Him. Calvinism - based on God’s sovereign will, some are passed over. Work of the Holy Spirit Arminianism - all are drawn, enabled to believe, but some are able to resist the Spirit and reject God. Calvinism - only some drawn, those who are drawn are irresistibly drawn: guaranteed to come to faith. Arminianism: salvation is by the Spirit’s enablement combined with the ability of a subset of men to respond. Calvinism: salvation is by the Spirit’s enablement, period. (Tony