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Acts: Part 5 - Ch. 15-18

4 days ago4 min read


The Missionary Journeys


As we move onto the second half of the book of Acts, we will now see what Paul does on his second missionary journey. The first missionary journey happened back in chapters 13-14 which we overviewed in our last post, and this second journey will take place in chapters 15-18 which we will cover today. These journeys are places that Paul and others venture to in order to evangelize to the lost and bring order to churches that may not be living to the standard of God’s Word thus far. As Got Questions mentions, “The purpose of all of Paul’s missionary journeys was the same: proclaiming God’s grace in forgiving sin through Christ. God used Paul’s ministry to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and establish the church.” Throughout these four chapters, we will see Paul doing just this. Many will come to faith in Christ while many others will grow in their faith as they learn to understand God’s Word better and function as the church that God designed them to be. Again, this is what makes the Book of Acts so unique. So much content is being covered from chapter to chapter in this book. While many books in the Bible are focused on one particular idea, the book of Acts covers the beginning of the Church, the first example of post-Christ preaching, the goal of evangelism, and so much more! With this in mind, let’s be sure to focus our attention on every verse that this book covers so that we don’t miss a thing. 


Peter’s Correction


To begin, chapter 15 kicks off with the council in Jerusalem discussing an issue in the local church. Some local leaders of this church were claiming that if you weren’t circumcised, you could not be saved. This obviously caused a stir amongst the church becasue they didn’t know if this was a true statement or not. This is where Paul and Barnabas are sent to Jerusalem in order to settle this debate. Ironically, it was Peter here who settles this debate in Acts 15:7-10 when he says “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. “Since this is the case, why are you putting God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our forefathers nor we have been able to bear?” As the Church is learning to function on this side of the cross, we can see that many of the members and elders are struggling to know what laws are still applicable and which ones Christ has fulfilled once and for all. This is why Peter makes it clear that this rule that originated for the Israelites has not only been fulfilled in Christ, but it no longer remains applicable to God’s people because they are under the New Covenant in Christ and no longer under the Mosaic Law of the Old Covenant. The rest of chapter 15 has James issuing a judgment for other elders being sent out to help Paul and Barnabas on their mission. Good thing this took place too because Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement that led to them separating with different partners and heading to different cities. Barnabas went with Mark to Cyprus and Paul took with him Silas and was eventually joined by Timothy. 


Evangelism & Discipleship 


As this journey continues for Paul and Silas in chapter 16, they eventually find themselves in prison after being accused of proclaiming customs that are not lawful. That night in prison, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God when an earthquake came and opened the chains and prison doors of the entire jailhouse! And while this is an amazing story, the beautiful part of all of this takes place with the jailer who was about to take his life after he saw that all the prisoners could escape. Acts:16:28-31 says “​​But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And the jailer asked for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas; and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” This is a miraculous story of how God can save anyone, regardless of race, position, or job. Paul and Silas continue with their journey through chapters 17 and 18 as they go through Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth. After all of this, Paul journeyed through Ephesus and the Galatian region to strengthen the disciples while a man named Apollos remained and was teaching the scriptures in Ephesus. 

Then a missionary couple named Priscilla and Aquilla who helped out Paul when he was in Ephesus helped Apollos understand God’s Word more accurately and teach better as well. Acts 18:26 tells us about Apollos “and he began speaking boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him.” This is what discipleship can really accomplish. As Paul preaches the gospel wherever he goes, he isn’t just making converts, he is also strengthening others who can build up other believers as well. The example of Paul’s missionary journey isn’t just one that we should follow for the Church, but one that we should follow in general as Christians. May we learn from these four chapters what the proper goal of evangelism and discipleship truly are. It’s not enough to just make converts, we must continue to teach and grow these disciples of Christ so that they may do the same for the Lord’s Church one day. 

 





Sources

[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/


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