Last Wednesday I read to the church a prayer letter from one of our missionaries in Mexico.
I deliberately didn’t look up as I was reading, because I didn’t want to see anyone’s expression.
This brother talked about the visit of a team of doctors and nurses, which spent a week with the missionary, treating the sick in a poor part of town.
While people were waiting to see the doctors, some of the local Christians were talking to the patients about their spiritual needs.
And then in the evenings, if I understood correctly, they had evangelistic services.
From the report that we received, the week was greatly blessed of the Lord and there were quite a few people who believed on Christ as their Saviour.
That report raises the question of the purpose of missions:
What is it that a missionary is supposed to do?
And what was it that the Apostle Paul, the foremost of the first missionaries, did in Berea?
Is it the task of the Biblical missionary to heal people of their coughs, colds, leprosy and TB?
Is it his commission to instruct the natives how to farm or to better care for their livestock?
Is it the job of the missionary to save the world from socialism and to propagate democracy?
In fact we don’t find this sort of thing anywhere in the New Testament – or do we?
Other than the fact that a miracle was involved, were those healed people any more physically healed than if an ordinary physician or surgeon had healed them?
Didn’t more people become believers as a result of the healing work of Christ through Peter?
He knew that his FIRST responsibility was spiritual and not physical.
He was a preacher of Christ before he was a healer of disease.
And yet the ability to treat the sick opened the doors for him to stay and to minister Christ in Rhodesia.
I’m not suggesting that every missionary should be a tent-maker or a physician, but the two can work together.
When Acts 17:12 says that many of the people of the Macedonian city of Berea believed, there is the possibility of some misunderstanding.
Those people believed – but what was it that they believed?
Paul was not going from town to town as a missionary of some sort of new philosophy.
He wasn’t trying to get people to change their opinions or their outlook about anything – except the Lord.
Neither was he trying to make people stop sinning, change their lifestyles, or call themselves “Christians.”
The work of the Biblical missionary, whether in the Book of Acts or twenty centuries later,
is to simply repeat the gospel story about the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is to be used by the Holy Spirit to convince sinners of their sinfulness and of their need of deliverance.
It is to prove that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
in order to die as God’s vicarious substitute for sinners like us.
Those verses distinctly declare what Paul was all about, his preaching; his ambassadorship:
Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.”
And the next verse says that “some of them believed.”
that I keep getting the two muddled in my mind.
In my notes last week, I was prepared to say that Paul stayed in the house of Jason while in Berea.
Oops; that was in Thessalonica.
But this is a statement which can mean a great many different things:
It might mean that they AGREED with Paul that CHRIST MUST NEEDS HAVE SUFFERED AND DIED.
That doesn’t save souls any more than the huge statue of Mary on the mountain just east of Butte, Montana can save the people of that city.
When Luke tells us that many of the Bereans believed, he was assuming that we knew what that meant.
And elsewhere in the New Testament we learn that believing on Christ means far more than assent or agreement with the facts about the Lord Jesus, the Saviour.
When the New Testament speaks about believing on Christ, or faith in Christ, it is speaking about agreeing with the truth AND RESTING IN or TRUSTING the One about Whom that is true.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
But as many as RECEIVED him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
God has said that there is a link between believing on Christ and BECOMING SONS OF GOD.
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
God has said that there is a link between believing on Christ and POSSESSING ETERNAL LIFE.
And apparently only those who are the children of God possess eternal life.
When Jesus heard that the Jews had expelled a man from the temple – one whom He had healed,
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.”
To be JUSTIFIED is to be DECLARED RIGHTEOUS in the sight of God;
It involves FORGIVENESS of sin.
And Paul declared that justification and forgiveness were linked to faith in Christ.
The Lord Jesus commissioned Paul:
Apparently FORGIVENESS OF SIN and the INHERITANCE OF GOD are linked to faith in Christ.
When Acts 17:12 tells us that some of the people of Berea believed,
It means that they entrusted their eternal souls to the Saviour of souls, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It wasn’t an intellectual transaction, but a spiritual one.
And in trusting Christ, they were born a second time; they were spiritually born; born from above.
They became CHILDREN OF GOD through their faith in Christ Jesus.
When verse 12 uses the pronoun “them,” I assume that it is referring to the people of the synagogue.
That means that there were many of the noble Jews of Berea who believed on Christ.
And as I’ve said several times, we should not be surprised at this; because they should have already been spiritually prepared for this message.
the soil in those synagogues should have been fertile and ready for the seed of the gospel.
These were probably proselytes; children of Japheth the son of Noah, rather than his brother Shem.
And yet there is no respect of persons with God.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
and there was a bigoted Pharisee who looked down his nose at the publican.
But that tax-collector was repentant before God, and cast himself upon the Lord’s mercy,
so Christ Jesus said that he was the only one to return to his house justified before the Lord.
There are going to be a lot of bigoted people, Christians, who are soon going to learn to bow before the Lord while next to Jews, Koreans, Chinese, Navaho and Sioux Indians, Russians and death-row inmates.
The Lord has no more reason to save a wretched American than the most filthy Indian from the Pandanal of Brazil.
Isn’t it interesting that Luke specifically referred to HONOURABLE LADIES?
Why is it that women and children are often more quick to receive the gospel than men?
Why is it that in many churches there are twice as many ladies in attendance as men?
Is it something in their natures which makes them more religious?
Is the gospel more attune with their emotional being than with macho men?
Could it be that women are generally more “noble” than men?
Could it be that women have more reason for becoming Christians?
Could it be that they have fewer worldly distractions when it comes to spiritual facts?
Praise God for the salvation of ladies, which also often means the eventual salvation of their children.
But the fact remains that there is no difference in the spiritual needs of men or women.
A lost MAN is no more hell-bound than a lost WOMAN or a lost CHILD.
The Lake of Fire will not be less terrible for the one than the other.
And eternity without the Lord will not be longer or shorter for women or for men.
“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
The wages of sin is death for children as well as for grandmothers.
As Jesus said to Nicodemus, He might have said it to anyone else, “Ye MUST be born again.”
Many of the people of the Berean synagogue believed,
“Also of the honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.”
Their white lies as well as their perjury in court when they brought false witness against their neighbor.
They were forgiven for their former idolatry and for their unbelief.
In a sense their sins were cast into the depths of the sea,
But more accurately, they were covered and even washed away in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Into what did they step as they believed on Christ?
Into eternal – they were RAISED from spiritual death . . .
The Bible says that they were QUICKENED.
In addition to being born again, they were adopted as full-fledged children within the family of the Lord.
Let’s turn once again to Ephesians 2:
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
Not only to enjoy the Lord but to rule and reign with him for all eternity.
If from that point they were persecuted and tortured “their light affliction, which was but for a moment (so to speak) worked for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
If they became infirm, infected, impoverished or incoherent, nothing could take from them the eternal blessing of the Lord.
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
that when they believed the message of the Apostle Paul, it was the greatest thing that they ever did.
And if you would believe on Christ, after a moment in glory you will be saying the same thing.
There is nothing greater on earth than to be a servant of the God of Heaven.
The world has nothing to offer the child of the world that is greater than to be a child of God.
If you from sin are longing to be free, look, as these Bereans did, to the Lamb of God.