Evangelism and Sacrifice
Published by Stanley Pouw in 2023 · 29 October 2023
Acts 20 is expressive of the great love of Paul for the Church. While 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter in doctrine, Acts 20 is Paul’s love in action. Here he expresses his love for the Lord and his love for the Church by the sacrifice of himself and his dedication to his ministry. This is a time when methodology is a marketable commodity. And we look so often at success in terms of method.
But the success of Paul had nothing to do with his methods directly. Indirectly, the methods grew out of what he was. The one word that spells leadership and the one word that spells success is the word “example.” It’s expressed throughout the Scriptures. The Lord Jesus Christ taught repeatedly by example. Again and again Jesus Christ manifested what they were to do by doing it Himself.
And the reason Paul was so successful was, he was an example. There was no credibility gap between what he said and what he did. And people patterned their lives after him. He said, “Be you followers of me as I am of Christ.” The Christian life boils down to example, and biblical leadership is living by example. This is true even in this secular world, but monumentally true in the spiritual.
But there’s one little dimension that just gives us an insight into Paul’s mind. In verses 17 to 27 we have Paul’s view of the ministry. He saw it in four different dimensions. He saw his ministry as it related to God, to the saved, to the lost, and to himself. And they were all spiritual perspectives. And that’s true of your life as well. Because these four things, are the heart of the success of a person.
Now, the setting is Miletus, verse 17. Paul is completing his third missionary tour. The Church is being planted around the world. By this time, it has reached the Gentile world. Paul established churches all over the Mediterranean area. Now, under great persecution, he lands at Miletus, heading for Jerusalem. He’s got a lot of money to give to the saints in Jerusalem from the Gentile churches.
He wants to tie the two together and show their love. And he also has some other men with him who represent the Gentile churches, and they’re trying to make it in time for the feast of Pentecost. But he has a couple of days layover in Miletus, right near Ephesus. And so, he calls for the elders of the Ephesus church about 50 km away, because he has a few more things to say before he leaves.
Then in verse 18, he announces to them the subject. “When they came to him, he said to them, “You know, from the first day I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time.” In other words, “You know my lifestyle. You know the patterns of my living and ministry.” And then he says, “I will remind you of those patterns, for they must become the patterns of your life and ministry.”
Real leadership is a question of setting an example. We saw the last time, Paul saw his ministry as service to the Lord. “I’m not serving the whims of people; I’m serving the Lord. Whatever the Lord tells me to do; I do. He didn’t just serve God externally but also internally. He saw himself as a slave. And he uses the word doulos over and over again, and that word means a slave in bondage.
So, the mentality of Christian ministry has to be obedience. God gives the orders, and I carry them out. I don’t worry about what the reaction’s going to be; I don’t worry about what people are going to say; I don’t try to please men. In Galatians 1:10, Paul said, “If I try to please men, I am not the servant of Jesus Christ.” But Paul didn’t just do it on the outside; he loved it on the inside.
He had the spirit of obedience, as well as the actual obedience. He never changed his message; and he never altered his plans because of what men did. However throughout the history of the Church, the Gospel often has taken a backseat because of the whims of men. They watered it down so that they don’t offend people. Sometimes we alter the gospel so much that it loses its meaning.
Now, he said that in verse 19 there are two ingredients in this. Toward God he says, “Serving the Lord.” But here are two ingredients: with all humility of mind and many tears and trials from the plotting of the Jews. He said there are two things that go with service: humility and suffering. And the suffering comes from two things: inside and outside. Inside tears, outside persecution.
Secondly, he saw his ministry toward the Church, too. His ministry was seen as teaching. Toward God it was service, toward the Church it was teaching. Verse 20, “You know that I did not hesitate to proclaim anything to you that was profitable and to teach you publicly and from house to house. It isn’t just saying it, it’s being it. So, every Christian is not what he says, it is what he is.
He says, “I kept back nothing that was profitable.” Well, what’s profitable? 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable.” So, Paul taught publicly, and from house to house. And the Word was profitable. Paul wrote later on to Timothy and said, “Preach the word in season and out of season.” Preach it when you’re supposed to and when you’re not.
The ministry is communicating divine truth. Paul expressed this in another verse, in 1 Corinthians 4:1 he says, “A person should think of us in this way: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” A mystery is something that was hidden and is now revealed. What’s the Bible? It’s a whole lot of mysteries revealed. We’re stewards of the Bible. What’s a steward?
The person that did your business when you were out of town. He managed the whole thing. And Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:2, “In this regard, it is required that managers be found faithful.” And that’s why the Lord dealt so seriously with the servant who was given the stewardship of one talent, and he buried it. He didn’t multiply that which he was given. He was unfaithful in his stewardship.
I’m a steward of the mysteries of God in the Bible. With this book, feed those people in the church. That’s your stewardship. Jesus says, I’m going to be in heaven. I’m going to put My Spirit within you, because you need the Spirit to do it, but it’s your stewardship, and you’re going to be responsible for the carrying out of it. And I want you more than anything else to be faithful.”
Every Christian is a steward. And you’re in the ministry. You may not be a pastor, but you’re a servant of the Lord, aren’t you? Don’t you have spiritual gifts? And the dispensing of those spiritual gifts is your stewardship. If you don’t do it faithfully, you’re an unfaithful steward. We have been entrusted with goods that don’t belong to us; they belong to the Lord to dispense to other people.
Maybe you’re a Christian father. You’re a steward of the mysteries of God for your family. This is the Bible that you’re to teach your family. If you don’t, you’re an unfaithful steward. The only way to approach a ministry is to preach expositionally, because you’re going to study all that God gives you. Paul said in verse 27, “I haven’t failed to declare to you the whole plan of God.”
I want to create followers of Jesus Christ. And if you can’t see through me to Him, then I haven’t done my job. The Christian preacher is best satisfied when his person is eclipsed by the light which shines from the Scripture, and when his voice is drowned out by the voice of God.” So, the skilled steward, dispenses a balanced diet. I taught it and I lived it.” That’s the key example.
Thirdly, toward the lost it is evangelism. Verse 21 says, “I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” There you have the Gospel: repent from sin and put your faith in Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:16 says, “For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
Paul really had a burden for the lost people. In Romans 1:14-16 he said, “I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
The Gospel is the story of the cross, the resurrection, and the message of salvation. But not everything is the Gospel. But that’s what Paul told the unbelievers, “Repentance from sin and faith exercised toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now, the word “testifying” there is a compound verb, and it means thorough, complete testimony. Paul’s presentation of the Gospel was always thorough and complete.
Now, there’s two sides to the Gospel message. The positive side is believing and the negative side is repentance. Well, it means to change your mind totally. It means to be thinking one thing and to go and think the opposite. It doesn’t mean, “Well, he repented; he went ten degrees.” No, it means 180 degrees. To change your mind; to make an evaluation about Christ and reverse it.
And this is the first aspect in man’s experience of salvation. It is not the first aspect in salvation. The first aspect in salvation was the call of God. But the first aspect in man’s experience is when he actually turns away from sin toward God. Jesus says, “You preach repentance and forgiveness to all nations.” And if repentance wasn’t a part of salvation as forgiveness, He wouldn’t have said it.
Jesus in Luke 13:3 said, “I tell you, unless you repent, you shall all perish.” Now, that shows that repentance has to be there. Now, repentance then, is the conscious act of the sinner whereby he turns from his sin toward God. He realizes it. And I think it involves three things: intellect, emotion, and will. First, repentance starts with the intellect. You got to change your mind.
You said He was not the Messiah; the evidence says he is. And that’s where it all begins. Repentance starts when you say, “I think that Christ is who He claimed to be.” Then there’s the emotional part. Acts 2:37 says, “When they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts. And they said, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” They were torn up because they had executed their Messiah.
It is the awareness emotionally that you have been living in rebellion against God. And then the third is the will. You have to activate your will. So, repentance involves the intellect, where you know you’re in the wrong position; it involves the emotions, where you’re hurting because of that; and it involves the will, where you turn and go the other way. Do not confuse repentance with remorse.
Remorse is sorrow for the consequences of sin. Remorse is, “I’m sorry I got caught.” Repentance is, “I’m sorry I did it.” True repentance is what Paul preached, that man in order to be saved, must show intellectually that he is living in rebellion against God. That’s why we must preach the Gospel. John 16 says, the Spirit of God moves in and convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment.
Paul’s view, then, of the ministry toward God, service; toward the Church, teaching; toward the lost, evangelism. Lastly, toward himself, sacrifice. He saw his ministry in terms of a sacrifice of self and self-will. Verse 22, “And now, I am on my way to Jerusalem, compelled by the Spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there.” And the term “compelled by the Spirit” is interesting.
He was under strong pressure. Paul was compelled to go to Jerusalem, “not knowing what I will encounter there,” verse 22 says. He had this money that he had to give it to the saints there. He knew that it would help to tie the Church together. And he knew that things were going to be rough. Verse 23, “except in every town the Holy Spirit warns me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me.”
I know that I’m about to get persecuted again.” In Romans 15:31, Paul said, “Pray for me. I’m heading for Jerusalem, and I know what’s going to happen when I get there.” And he says, “I go bound, and the only thing I know is that everywhere I go, the Spirit keeps telling me I’m going to get persecuted.” In Acts 21:10, he meets a prophet Agabus, who gives him an object lesson.
Agabus takes his belt and ties him up and says, “That’s what’s going to happen when you get to Jerusalem. The last thing on Paul’s list of priorities was self-preservation. That’s a combination of faith and confidence. Verse 24, “But I consider my life of no value to myself, my purpose is to finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.”
The whole view toward self and the ministry for Paul was sacrifice. When’s the last time you made a sacrifice? If you really believe that God has given you the ministry, and that he’s in control of your life, you’re not going to worry about dying; you’re not going to worry about anything. I never knew anybody who died from overwork in the service of Christ who didn’t die right on schedule. Let’s pray.