Walking in the Spirit

Rev. Mark C. Alvis, Union Congregational Church — Epiphany V, February 4, 2007

Click here for PDF Format

He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them (Acts 16:1-10 NIV).

This morning we are looking at verses 1-10 of Acts 16. Paul has begun his second missionary journey. In this section of Scripture we discover some important principles about God’s guidance and the leading of the Holy Spirit. I have spoken with some Christians who claim that with God’s guidance you breeze through life, with no bumps in the road. That certainly doesn’t describe the Apostle Paul’s life or a golfer I once read about who had played a certain golf course for many years. The eighth hole was not long, but it was surrounded by water on three sides and he had never played it without losing two or three balls in the water. He became so discouraged about this that one night, before bedtime, he prayed fervently to the Lord that just once in his life he could make it on that green without losing a ball. That night the Lord woke him from a sound sleep and told him, “Tomorrow I want you to play that golf course under My guidance.” The next day the man was on the course and playing his way to the eighth hole. His confidence was high and his trust in the Lord strong; but when he came to the eighth hole and saw all that water his faith wavered and he took an old, beat-up ball out of his bag and teed it up. A voice from heaven called out, “My son, where is your faith? Tee up a new ball.” With renewed faith and confidence he got out a new ball and teed it up. The Lord said, “Now take a practice swing.” The man took a practice swing. Then the Lord said, “You had better use the other ball.”

Because the guidance of the Holy Spirit is so emphasized in our passage for consideration, I want to draw out of this text some truths about what walking in the Spirit means — and what it doesn’t mean. Let’s first consider what it doesn’t mean. Last week we saw that Paul and Barnabas agreed to go back to the churches they had established during their first missionary journey. Their purpose was to strengthen these believers in God’s Word and warn them about the Judaizers, who taught that people must be circumcised in order to be saved. If you remember, these two spirit-filled evangelists reached an impasse concerning John Mark. Barnabas wanted to take him on the mission and Paul was convinced it would be unwise. They ended up forming two teams. Barnabas and Mark sailed southwest to Cypress. Paul, along with Silas, traveled northwest through Syria and Cilicia. It would be naive to think there was no pain involved in the separation of these two men who had worked so closely together for so many years. To be filled and guided by the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean we will never encounter stress or disappointments. But it does mean strength for the day, and comfort in our trials.

How was the Apostle Paul comforted in his painful separation from Barnabas? We learned in Acts 15:40, that Paul was accompanied by Silas, who proved to be a tremendous asset on that mission trip. Because Silas was a leader in the Jerusalem church and his name was on the letter sent out by the Jerusalem council, he could verify that Paul’s teaching about circumcision was correct. Silas was also a prophet of God and a Roman citizen. Very few Jews were Roman citizens. Paul also had this status and it saved his life a couple of times.

God also brought another cherished person into Paul’s life. His name was Timothy. Please look with me at verses 1-2 of Acts 16: “He [Paul] came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.”

There are some indications that Timothy’s father had died, and that it was because of Paul sharing the gospel at Lystra during the first missionary journey, that Timothy had become a follower of Christ. He was Paul’s son in the faith. These two men formed a lifelong bond and in their labors together impacted many lives for Christ. When Paul was led of the Holy Spirit to painfully separate from Barnabas, he was also comforted by the Holy Spirit through the friendships of Silas and Timothy and by the fruitful labors these men engaged in. Notice Acts 16:5, “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.” By the way, if churches do not grow in faith and knowledge of the Lord, we will not grow in our ability to reach others for Christ.

Acts 16:1 says something that many Jews today deny. It states that Timothy’s mother was a Jewess and a believer in Christ. In the minds of many Jews today, you cannot be both. If you are a follower of Christ, then you are no longer a Jew. A working definition of being Jewish today is, “Anyone who identifies himself with the Jewish culture.” Being a Jew in Israel today is not all about bloodline. And in Paul’s day Jewishness was more than a bloodline, it was a culture; and a central part of that culture was circumcision and eating a kosher diet. Keeping this in mind will help us understand what we read in Acts 16:3, “Paul wanted to take him [Timothy] along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.”

Because Timothy’s father was Greek he was not circumcised as an infant, even though his mother was Jewish. This was well known to the Jews in that area. Both Paul and Silas were born into Jewish families and were circumcised, which opened the doors for these men to share the gospel in Jewish Synagogues. However, if uncircumcised Timothy was with them, that door would be closed. Paul, Silas and Timothy all understood that physical circumcision was not the sign of being in the New Covenant — water baptism is. Physical circumcision was an Old Covenant requirement made obsolete by Christ when He ushered in the New Covenant through His death and resurrection. Timothy had already gained circumcision of the heart through faith in Christ (Colossians 2:11), and that was always the most important circumcision (Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4, 9:25). The physical circumcision of Timothy was merely a way of gaining access into synagogues.

What do we discover about walking in the Spirit from the circumcision of Timothy? (1) It demonstrates that Christians do not have to separate themselves from their culture in order to follow Christ. Paul teaches in I Corinthians 7:17, “each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God called him.” In other words, if a person was a banker when he became a Christian, he should remain a banker unless God clearly directs otherwise. If a person was a banker in Italy, he should continue to be a banker in Italy, observing Italian customs and traditions while influencing his culture for Christ by keeping God’s commands.

(2) Part of Timothy’s heritage and culture was Jewish. Timothy was willing to follow a part of that culture not required by God. Timothy did not have to be circumcised. It was his right not to be circumcised. But he gave that right up in order to reach Jews for Christ. Paul puts it this way in I Corinthians 9:22-23, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

(3) Was it risky to have Timothy circumcised? Yes. The Judaizers could have easily use this to support their false teaching that circumcision was necessary for all followers of Christ. Even today Paul has been accused of compromising the gospel by doing this. That is pure silliness, but Spirit-led people are willing to risk these kind of accusations in their service to Christ and in their ministry to people. In order to see that Paul never compromised on the issue of circumcision being necessary for salvation, all we need do is read verse 4, “As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.” These decisions are recorded in Acts 15:19-20. The letter drafted by the council at Jerusalem affirmed that circumcision is not necessary. The decision of the Jerusalem Council went on to lay out the following requirements: Gentile Christians must abstain from eating food sacrificed to idols (a violation of the first commandment), from sexual immorality (a violation of the seventh commandment), and from blood (which most likely focused on abstaining from eating meat not drained of its blood). That last requirement seems strange to us today, but it was for the sake of not needlessly offending Jews in order to create an opportunity for the gospel to be shared with them. This is also why Timothy was circumcised.

The most common way the requirements of the Jerusalem were being violated was when Gentile Christians attended the pagan feasts associated with various trade guilds. To be a member of these guilds required attendance at these feasts, which were held in honor of false gods and included sex with temple prostitutes and the eating of meat not properly drained of its blood. These feasts were clearly out of bounds to followers of Christ. The Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us into idolatry.

A final lesson we can learn about being guided by the Holy Spirit is found in verses 6-10:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia [southwestern Turkey, where the city of Ephesus was located]. When they came to the border of Mysia [northwestern Turkey], they tried to enter into Bithynia [further north], but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by [through] Mysia and went down to Troas [on the coast of the Aegean Sea]. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia [Greece] standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia [Luke, the writer of Acts, had now joined them], concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Some commentators believe that Luke was from Macedonia and had met with Paul and his companions to urge them to preach the gospel in that area. Macedonia was not where the team was planning to go. However, during the night, God showed Paul in a vision that Luke was God’s mouthpiece for directing the team into Macedonia. This is when the gospel came to Europe, the birthplace of Western civilization. Christianity has profoundly influenced Western civilization, which has profoundly impacted the world. How has Christianity influenced Western civilization? It was Christianity that helped to create modern science, hospitals, orphanages and universities.

Did you notice that the Holy Spirit prevented them from taking the gospel into Asia at that time? Exactly how the Holy Spirit did this we are not told, but it was probably a confusing and uncomfortable time for Paul and the team.

Every Christian must be committed to being controlled by the Holy Spirit and sensitive to His guidance. However, doing this will not make all our decisions easy or pain free. Nor does being guided by the Holy Spirit guarantee that we will never disagree with other Christians who are also committed to being guided by the Holy Spirit. Neither does it mean that some of our decisions won’t be misinterpreted and twisted by others. But it does mean that we will be comforted in our times of stress; that our labors will be made effective; that when one door closes another will open; and most importantly walking in the Spirit pleases God. And we cannot ask for any more than that. Let’s pray.

Sermon text ©2007 Mark C. Alvis
Bible text © as applicable