Introduction
We were reading last week how the Holy Spirit guided Paul and Silas into Europe. So, when they wanted to go southwards into the Roman province of Asia, they were kept from doing so; and the Spirit led them northwards into the region of Phrygia and Galatia. And when they wanted to go eastwards into Bithynia, they were kept from doing so; and the Holy Spirit led them westwards to Mysia and Troas. And from there they sailed to Samothrace, which was a Greek island. And then they sailed to Neapolis, which was in Europe. And from there they travelled to Philippi which was a Roman colony in Macedonia.
And on the Sabbath day, they went outside the city, hoping to find a place of prayer by the river. And they spoke to the people who had gathered there. And Luke pointed out to us one woman in particular, whose name was Lydia. And the reason Luke pointed out this woman to us is because the Holy Spirit was at work in her, opening her heart to respond to Paul’s message about the Lord Jesus Christ. And that woman believed the good news and she and her household were baptised. And in this way, Lydia and her household became the founding members of the first Christian church in Europe.
And in today’s passage we discover what happened next in Philippi. And it’s a story that involves a demon-possessed slave girl and a prison and an earthquake and a jailer.
Verses 16 to 18
Firstly, there’s the demon-possessed slave girl. Luke tells us in verse 16 of a time when Paul and his companions were going to the place of prayer outside the city. And notice once again that Luke is saying ‘we’: ‘we were going to the place of prayer’. Luke is among Paul’s companions. And on this occasion, they were met by a slave girl. And Luke tells us that this slave girl had a spirit by which she predicted the future. Meeting this demon-possessed slave girl recalls all those occasions when the Lord Jesus was met by people who were demon-possessed. And those demons or spirits always seemed to know who the Lord Jesus is. And so, they would call out to the Lord, identifying exactly who he is. One called him ‘the Holy One of God’ and another called him ‘the Son of the Most High God’. And those spirits were terrified in the presence of the Lord. ‘Have you come to destroy us?’, one of them asked.
And the demon or spirit inside this slave girl knew exactly who Paul and his companions are, because the girl shouted: ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’ And Luke tells us that she kept this up for many days. So, we can imagine her, following Paul and his companions around continually, day after day, heckling them like this. When Paul and the others were trying to preach to the people, she was there in the background, shouting at them and creating a disturbance. And although what she was saying about them is true — because they were indeed servants of the Most High God who were telling them the way to be saved — it was not what Paul and his companions wanted. And just as the Lord Jesus silenced the demons who testified about him, so Paul silenced this demon who testified about him. According to verse 18, he turned to her and said to the spirit inside her: ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ And right at that moment, the spirit left the girl.
Application
The Lord Jesus came into the world as God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King to set his people free from their sin and misery in this world by conquering their diseases and by casting out demons. And here now is his apostle, Paul, doing the same kind of thing. But, of course, Paul has no power of his own, because he was just a man like you and me. And so, when he cast out demons, he did it in the name of and by the power of the living Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, who cast out demons while he was on the earth, was still casting out demons from his throne in heaven by means of Paul his apostle.
And when the Lord Jesus comes again in power and with glory, he will cast the devil and all his demons into the lake of fire to be tormented continually for ever and for ever. And not only will he cast the devil and his demons into the lake of fire, but he will also cast into the lake of fire all who sided with the devil in this life by not believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone who refuses to believe in the Lord Jesus will one day be condemned and punished forever for all that they have done wrong. But everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus as the only Saviour of the world will not be condemned and punished like that, even though it’s what we deserve for a lifetime of sin and disobedience. All who believe in the Saviour will be delivered from the lake of fire and will be brought into the presence of God where they will have perfect peace and rest and joy for ever and for ever as they gaze upon the glory of the Lord God Almighty.
Verses 19 to 24
However, when the owners of the slave-girl realised that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas. Luke provides in verse 16 the background information we need to understand this. This demon-possessed girl was a slave. And since she was a fortune-teller, she made a lot of money for her owners. But now that the fortune-telling demon was gone from the girl, their means of making money was also gone. And they were clearly not pleased about this. And so, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place to face the authorities. And they complained to the city magistrates about Paul and Silas, saying that they’re Jews and they’re advocating customs which are unlawful for us Romans to accept or practise. What they’re really saying is that Paul and Silas are introducing a foreign religion into Philippi and they’re destroying their way of life and they don’t belong here. It’s the same argument that is used everywhere against immigrants and foreigners. But the real reason they seized Paul and Silas was because their way of making money from this slave girl had gone, because Paul had saved her from the evil spirit.
And Luke tells us that the crowd joined in the attack. It’s the market-place, after all, and lots of people were there to see and hear what the slave-owners were saying. And they joined in the attack. And the magistrates ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten and severely flogged. And afterwards they were thrown into prison. And, of course, they haven’t done anything wrong, have they? All they’ve done is that they’ve delivered this girl from an evil spirit. But even though they hadn’t done anything wrong, they were thrown into prison, without a trial. And the jailer was told to guard them carefully. And he fulfilled his orders by locking them in the inner cell, which would have been the most secure cell in the prison; and it would have been the darkest cell, because there wouldn’t be any windows to let in the sunlight. And the jailor not only locked them in this dark, inner cell, but he fastened their feet in the stocks so that they could not move and therefore they could not get away.
Application
We sometimes complain about how difficult it is for the church today in places like Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, because it seems to us that people have no interest in the gospel or in the church. We now live in a secular society — in a pagan society even — and people have no time for Christianity. Church life was once the centre of community life, but it’s not like that any more. And some of us complain about this; and some of us mourn for the ways things used to be. And we worry that we don’t have the resources or the power to do anything about it.
But we forget that Christianity began in much more difficult circumstances than we face. Christianity began in a time when people were hostile to the faith. Just look what happened to Paul and Silas when they brought Christianity to Philippi! They ended up beaten and flogged and thrown into prison. In other places where they took the gospel, similar things happened to them, because those who did not believe stirred up trouble for them.
Christianity began in an unfriendly, unsympathetic, hostile and pagan environment. And yet Christianity turned the world upside down and godless pagans were converted through the preaching of the gospel and lives were changed. And not only the lives of believers were changed, but the lives of unbelievers were changed as well, because Roman society became more caring. I’ve mentioned before how the Roman Emperor Julian wrote to his pagan priests to tell them to set up welfare programs like the ones the Christians were running. He saw the good influence that Christianity was having on society. And while he didn’t believe the Christian message, he wanted to copy what the Christians were doing. Christianity changed the world for the better.
And Christianity began in a hostile environment and men like Paul and Silas faced all kinds of opposition to the things they were doing. But Christianity conquered the Roman world and changed it. And instead of complaining or worrying about the way society is now, we can get excited as we think and pray about the marvellous things the Lord is able to do today and how, through the preaching of the gospel, God is able to change lives and whole societies. And when things look dark and hopeless to us, God is able to intervene in surprising ways to accomplish great things for his glory. And that brings to the next part of today’s passage.
Verses 25 to 34
Luke tells us in verse 25 that about midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And isn’t this marvellous? Isn’t it marvellous how they were able to do this? We read in the psalms that God is our refuge ands strength and an ever-present help in trouble; therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. We read these things and we sing these things. But these are not just words. These are not just happy thoughts. These things are true. God is indeed our refuge and our strength. And look how he strengthened Paul and Silas and how he enabled them to sing and pray in the darkness of that prison cell. The Lord kept them from being overwhelmed by their ordeal. He kept them from despair. He upheld them by his mighty power. And we can count on him to uphold us too. In fact, many of you have been through ordeals. And you’ve wondered how you’ll cope. But God was with you and he held you up and he helped you and here you are today. And you’re here today because of God’s goodness and kindness to you and because of his great power by which he upheld you. In the face of trouble, we’re able to sing and pray, because God is indeed our refuge and strength and he’s with us always to help us when we’re in trouble and on all other occasions. He’s with us to help us and so we can face troubles and trials and ordeals.
Paul and Silas were praying and singing. The other prisoners were listening. And suddenly there was a violent earthquake. It was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken and the doors flew open and everybody’s chains came loose. And what a remarkable earthquake it was! So violent that their chains became loose and the doors flew open, but not so violent that it caused the roof to fall in on everyone inside. Luke doesn’t say that the Lord sent the earthquake, but that’s what we believe, isn’t it? God sent this earthquake at just the right time.
The jailer, when he saw that the prison doors were open, assumed that everyone had escaped. Now, none of the prisoners had escaped. We don’t know why not, but presumably the Lord kept them where they were. But since the jailer believed they had gone, he was ready to kill himself. It seems that it was the law in those days that if a jailer let his prisoners escape, the jailer had to pay for it with his life. And that might even mean he would be crucified. So, in order to avoid that painful death, the jailer was ready to kill himself quickly. But in the nick of time, Paul called out and stopped him.
And the jailer called for lights and he brought Paul and Silas out of the inner cell and asked them, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ I’ve mentioned the name J.H.Bavinck before. He was a Dutch missionary and theologian who wrote about mission. And after studying what lots of people across time and across cultures believed, he noticed that there are five ideas which people in every culture think about. He called these five ideas magnetic points, because it seemed to him that we are naturally drawn to these ideas the way metal objects are drawn to a magnet. And one of the magnetic points is the need for deliverance or salvation. So, after all his research into different cultures and religions, Bavinck saw that everyone possesses this sense that we need to be delivered. We need to be saved. People might differ on what we need to be delivered from, but what Bavinck found is that people often feel that they need to be saved from death and from evil. They understand that the world is full of evil and it’s not the way it’s supposed to be. And they long to be delivered from this world’s evil. And they understand as well that we all live under the shadow of death and everyone has a longing deep inside to be delivered from death. And if you put those two things together, you get a longing to be saved from death to enjoy a new and better life.
And here’s this pagan jailer and the earthquake that night has brought this longing in him to the surface. He understands that he needs to be saved: saved from all that is not right in the world and saved from death, which can come on us so suddenly and unexpectedly as it almost came on him that night.
And Paul and Silas know exactly what to say to this man. They replied to him and told him that he needs to believe in the Lord Jesus. Believe in him and you will be saved: you and your household.
The man probably didn’t know a thing about who the Lord Jesus is. Why would he, since he lived in a Roman colony in Europe and Christianity had only just arrived in Europe? We sometimes worry that we mustn’t use biblical words and concepts when we’re speaking to unbelievers, because they won’t understand us, because it’s all so strange to them. But Paul and Silas weren’t worried about that, because after telling this pagan man to believe in the Lord Jesus, they went on to explain what they meant by telling him and the members of his household the word of the Lord.
And according to verse 34 the man and his household believed in God. That is to say, they believed what Paul and Silas told them about God and about salvation. And according to verse 33, he and his household were baptised. That is, they received the sign of God’s promise to wash away the sin and guilt of everyone who believes in the Saviour.
And look at the change that took place in this man’s life. When we first heard about him in verse 24, he locked Paul and Silas in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. He didn’t care that they had been beaten and whipped. He did nothing to care for them. He didn’t bind up their wounds or help them in any way. He didn’t care for them or show them any compassion. But after he believed, he washed their wounds and he brought them into his house and set a meal before them. And do you know what the explanation is for this change in his attitude and behaviour? It’s this: having believed the good news, he received the Holy Spirit, who renews us in God’s image and who begins to display his fruit in our lives. And among the fruit of the Spirit there’s love and there’s kindness and there’s goodness and there’s gentleness. When God saves us from our sin and guilt through faith in his Son, he begins to renew us by his Spirit and to transform us into the people we were always meant to be: people who love other people; and who do what is kind and good to other people; and who are gentle towards other people. Amd so, we see the evidence of the Spirit, working in this man’s life. And, of course, another fruit of the Spirit is joy. And Luke tells us that the man was filled with joy because he and his the members of his household had come to believe the good news.
Application
Do you know what it means to believe in the Lord Jesus? Do you know what saving faith is? Our Shorter Catechism says that it’s a saving grace. That means God, who is kind and good, enables us to believe. Without God’s help, we aren’t able to believe or to have faith in Christ. But God, who is gracious and merciful to us, enables us to believe. He enables us to have faith in Christ. He gives us the ability to believe.
So, faith is a saving grace. And the Catechism goes on to say that by means of this saving grace we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation as he is freely offered to us in the gospel. So, the preacher, when he’s preaching the gospel, offers Christ to sinners: ‘Here he is. Here’s the only Saviour of the world. Here he is. Take him for yourself.’ And by faith we receive him and we rest on him. So, we take him as our Saviour. We regard him from now as my Saviour who died for me. And we rely on him for salvation. So, instead of relying on ourselves or on someone else, we rely on Christ the Saviour.
And so, when we go to God in prayer to ask him for forgiveness and for the free gift of eternal life, we don’t make our appeal to God based on anything we have done. We don’t say to God: ‘Will you forgive me and give me eternal life, because look at all the good things I’ve done.’ We don’t say to God: ‘Will you forgive me and give me eternal life, because, after all, I’m not too bad.’ And we don’t say to God: ‘Will you forgive me and give me eternal life, because my parents were good Christians.’ We don’t say any of those things. When we have saving faith in Christ, we rely on him and on him alone. We go to God and we say: ‘Will you forgive me and give me eternal life, because of Christ who died for me. Will you forgive me and give me eternal life, because Christ has paid for my sins with his life.’
Do you see? The person who truly believes relies on Christ and on what he has done for sinners by his life and death and resurrection. Instead of relying on ourselves, instead of relying on other people, we rely on Christ and on him alone. And whoever believes in him will indeed be saved, because through faith in him we’re pardoned by God for all that we have done wrong; and we’re accepted by God because of the perfect obedience of Christ, which he shares with his believing people. And because of Christ who died and was raised, we receive the hope that we too will be raised from death to live with God for ever.
Conclusion
The jailer believed in the Lord Jesus. And therefore the jailer was saved. And even though that jailer died around two thousand years ago, he is still alive today, because he’s now with his Lord and Saviour in heaven, awaiting the resurrection of his body when Christ comes again. And all who trust in the Saviour will live even though we die. We will live, even though we die, because Christ the Saviour once died for us and he offers salvation and eternal life to everyone who believes in his name.
Sermons and Stuff 