THE CHALLENGE OF CHRIST-LESS CIVILIZATION

“Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things of the kingdom of God.  But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.  And this went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message about the Lord.” (Acts 19:8-11 HCSB)

There was a time when most people I spoke with had at least a rudimentary knowledge of the Gospel.  There were certainly non-believers, but most were respectful.  They may not have trusted Christ, but the majority knew they needed to do so, and even knew what they ought to do to be saved.  After thirty-eight years of sharing the Gospel, it is no longer the case.  Our culture is increasingly ignorant of and indifferent to the Gospel—and in many cases, downright intolerant of it.  We are rapidly becoming a pagan culture—little different than what Paul encountered in Ephesus.  The church today is facing the challenge of Christ-less civilization.

What do we do about this challenge?  The nineteenth chapter of Acts shows us the proper response.

We respond by noting that CIVILIZATION WITHOUT CHRIST AFFORDS OPPORTUNITY (v.1-12).

Paul’s heart beat evangelism.  He saw each day as an open door to proclaim the grace of God in Christ. 

The Lord has sent us as missionaries.  We don’t have to go far or look long to find lost sheep—they are everywhere!  We are called to go into the world, and in many ways the world has come to us.  We can fight it as culture soldiers—and there is a place for speaking against evil—but, that battle seems lost, and in the meantime people still are lost too!  We can flee it as cloistered saints—and there is a place for separation from evil—but, light is not meant to be hidden under a bushel and salt does no good in the shaker.  What we must do is face it as courageous servants, speaking the truth in love, as we embrace the opportunity before us. 

     

This requires A DECLARATION OF GOD’S WORD (v.1-10)

Opinions about religion are as diverse as the culture we are immersed in.  What is needed is a Word from God—and it is our responsibility to take that message to all.

     

It is A Word Bringing Conversion (v.1-7).

“Paul said, ‘John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.’  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (v.4-5)

As Paul arrives in Ephesus, he finds some disciples of John the Baptist who I think it safe to say knew about Jesus, but didn’t know Jesus.  The knowledge they had wasn’t incorrect, just incomplete.  They needed God’s Word and the Apostle shared it.  The result was that they committed themselves to Christ and were baptized in water, as well as the Holy Spirit.  This is regeneration and without it we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven (read John 3).  It is the Word of God which is the implanted seed which brings the new birth.

The Gospel is also A Word Bringing Condemnation (v.8-10)

“Then he entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, engaging in discussion and trying to persuade them about the things of the kingdom of God.  But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.” (v.8-9)

The same sunlight that softens wax, hardens clay.  The word that brings conversion to those who receive it, brings condemnation on those who reject it.  Notice these would not believe—it was a willful choice to reject the truth and they were hardened to the message.  This hardness gave rise to outright hostility.  Gospel truth is the great dividing line.  Jesus is the most polarizing figure in history.  Not all will want what we offer, but our responsibility is to give out the Gospel.  Those who hear will be held accountable for their response to it.

The Gospel opportunity is further seen in A DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S WORK.

“God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, so that even facecloths or work aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them.” (v.11-12)

It wasn’t a faith-healer that was performing the miracle—it was God.  This was extraordinary—not to be expected as commonplace occurrences.  These cloths were given freely not dispensed for a “donation.”  I say all this because there are many charlatans lining their pockets with loot by preying on the suffering with promises of hope—a hope that can only be found in Christ.

Having said that, it is absolutely the case that God’s work is miraculous!  These sign gifts attested to the authority and authenticity of Paul’s preaching.  While we cannot demand such, there are reports of such signs, especially in the Islamic world and among animistic cultures that have such resistance to the Gospel.

Our duty is to share the Gospel and God can confirm it as He pleases.  Is there a greater miracle than the healing of a sin-sick soul from the eternally terminal disease of sin?  Is there a mightier demonstration of God’s power than the routing of demonic spirits from a soul and the regeneration of that person, now free in Christ?  That is the power of the Gospel!

Civilization without Christ affords opportunity and CIVILIZATION WITHOUT CHRIST NEEDS OUTREACH (v.13-22).

As Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, he now commands His followers to go and do likewise.  Too many churches have an inward focus—it is all about the few that attend the meeting inside the social club with a steeple.  God has called us to engage our culture—to have an outward focus.  The church that doesn’t evangelize will fossilize.  The first-century saints were committed to outreach.

Observe that THE OUTREACH OF THE GOSPEL EXPOSES FALSE RELIGION.

“Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!’  Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.  The evil spirit answered them, ‘I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul — but who are you?’  Then the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded.” (v.13-16)

These exorcists were exposed—literally!  Their religion was inadequate.  They knew the vocabulary; they just didn’t know the Lord.  That is true of many in America where “spirituality” is still pervasive.  There are militant atheists, more numerous and increasingly strident in their tone—more than ever.  But, their numbers will never be large, for humans are inherently religious.  Few folks you meet will not claim to be “spiritual.”  But, these are just as lost as the atheist or agnostic.

Gospel truth is the litmus test.  Jesus said His way is narrow.  You cannot water the message down and reduce it to the lowest common denominator.  Despite the claims, Mormonism is not Christianity, Romanism is not the true church, Judaism has rejected the Messiah and Mohammedism does not acknowledge the same God.  All religions are roads leading to the same destination—hell.  Only in a personal relationship with Christ can one be saved.

People will brand me as narrow-minded, thinking I believe that only Baptists are going to heaven.  I am more narrow-minded than that—I don’t believe all of them are going!  Irrespective of what local church roll has your name recorded on its member list, you better make sure your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!

On that day, will God recognize you?  Or will He say, “Depart from me, I never knew you”?  By the way, if your name is known in heaven, it is known in hell.  You develop a reputation among the infernal imps when you stand up for Christ.  The demons that pounced on these exorcists knew who Paul was!  When we wake up each morning, the Devil ought to say, “Oh no!  He’s up!  Now, what trouble is he going to cause us today?”

The outreach of the Gospel exposes false religion and it PRODUCES TRUE REPENTANCE (v.17-22).

“This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.  And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone.  So they calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver.  In this way the Lord’s message flourished and prevailed.” (v.17-20)

America is a place where our form of government allows us to influence the laws of the land and impact culture through that.  We should be grateful, and it has some value in restraining evil.  But, ultimately, it has no power to change the culture in a dramatic form.  So, while not neglecting our responsibilities as citizens, what we must pour our resources of time, energy and money into, is outreach with the Gospel.  Only that can change a heart and only as hearts are changed can the course of the culture be altered.

There was a Bible bombshell that went off in the heart of Ephesus!  The witness of the Gospel brought people to their knees.  The evidence of their repentance was not that they added Christ to their pantheon of gods, or even gave Him the highest station.  They turned from idolatry to the Lord, and the evidence seen was their willingness to burn their occult materials, expensive though they were.  Why do you need a lie, when you have the truth?  This is true repentance.

This powerful strike into pagan culture brought retaliation from the enemy.  Here is another reality CIVILIZATION WITHOUT CHRIST PRODUCES OPPOSITION (v.23-41).

We can’t expect the Devil to whimper off into a corner.  He didn’t in the first century and he won’t in the twenty-first century.

Think about THE REASON FOR THE OPPOSITION.

“During that time there was a major disturbance about the Way.  For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.  When he had assembled them, as well as the workers engaged in this type of business, he said: ‘Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. You both see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods!  So not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin — the very one all of Asia and the world adore.’” (v.23-27)

These Christians were upsetting the social order.  If you want to get someone’s attention, then just hit them in the pocketbook!  It was bad for business.

The false god of Mammon is a dominant force in culture.  Sin is not only practiced for the momentary pleasure it brings but promoted for the monetary profit it bestows.  Abortion is a multi-million dollar industry.  Planned Parenthood isn’t about the philosophy of helping women, but about the profitability of merchandising baby-killing.  The alcohol industry flourishes because of the dollars it rakes in—all the while taking its toll on those who succumb to it.  Pornography is profitable.  Sex sells.  This segment of the economy takes in billions annually.

Yet, when the Gospel is proclaimed in power there is a direct confrontation with Mammon and a pushback.  When our state was considering a Constitutional ban on gay marriage, one of the arguments against it was the adverse economic impact.  Dire warnings were delivered that businesses would not want to locate here and conventions would not be held here.  Tourism would decline.  We would be pariahs of prejudice and it would cost.  No matter about right and wrong, the bottom line is the bottom line—that’s the way the world thinks.

See then THE RESULTS OF THE OPPOSITION (v.28-41).

“When they had heard this, they were filled with rage and began to cry out, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’  So the city was filled with confusion, and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.” (v.28-29)

Rage and rioting resulted from the impact of the Gospel.  We must never forget that a world that rejected Christ will never love us.  There is no excuse for being obnoxious—and these witnesses were not.  But reason yields to irrationality among those who are blinded by sin when it comes to the Gospel.  A Christ-less world is largely that way because they want it that way.

Such a hostile climate seems utterly inhospitable for planting a church.  But, the very decay makes fertile soil for a church to bloom.  That would happen in Ephesus.  One of the greatest churches in the New Testament would spring up in that cesspool of carnality!

Let us make sure we plant churches in the great metropolitan areas of our Christ-less civilization.  There we will encounter great hostility to the Gospel, but that makes for abundant opportunity—plenty of prospects!

As the world grows darker, our light can shine brighter.  In these most challenging days in America, may this be the church’s finest hour!