Conversions of Contempt
Conversions of Contempt
Acts 16:11-40
Stephen Lungu was the oldest son of a teenage mother married off by her parents to a much older man living near Salisbury, Zimbabwe. When he was three years old, his mother ran away abandoning him, leaving his reluctant aunt to care for him. Stephen was resented by his aunt and treated with contempt. He often had to sleep in the chicken coop because his aunt did not want him near her. At the age of 11, Stephen ran away preferring to sleep under bridges finding food from the trash bins of the wealthy whites in his town. Stephen would join an urban gang, the Black Shadows, whose desire for revolution from “white oppression” led to a life of crime terrorizing people with street muggins and vandalism. A large tent gathering of evangelical Christians came to town and Stephen was sent to the event with a bag of bombs ready to unleash his own contempt against Chrsitians. Instead of throwing the bombs, he stayed to listen.
Stephen lived a life of contempt. He was treated as a worthless thing, beneath consideration of any respect, but only deserving scorn and hate. Living as a child of contempt, he held contempt and hatred for others. He felt worthless, unloved, and unworthy of life. He even attempted to take his own life at 11 years old, but the branch broke leaving him even more ashamed and broken. He believed he was unlovable until he walked into a tent full of Christians he wanted to destroy. As he sat in the back of the tent waiting for the opportunity to unleash his fury and hate, God saved him. The world looked at him with contempt, but God looked at him with compassion for he was harassed and helpless, like a sheep without a shepherd.
There were three different groups of people held with contempt by the Jews: women, slaves and Gentiles. In Philippi, God will flip the script on those held with contempt by sending his compassion through the gospel to bring conversion. God’s compassion crossed all gender, ethnic, and social barriers through the power of conversion. The birth of the church at Philippi is a microcosm of the birth of every church. People who were dead in their trespasses and sin who God saved by his mercy. Three beautiful stories of conversion which adorn the beauty and power of the gospel of grace.
Conversion of a Pious Woman
Paul set sail for Asia but the Holy Spirit hindered him from speaking a word in Asia. Paul and his companions were led to Macedonia through a vision in the night with a man pleading for them to come and help them. They concluded that God had called them to preach the gospel to the people of Macedonia. Acts 16:11-12,
[11] So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, [12] and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.
Notice Luke is now traveling with Paul and Silas. Luke was a historian who gathered facts from eyewitnesses and wrote the story of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke and the story of the early church in Acts. In Acts 16:10, Luke begins to write not only as a historian but as an eyewitness.
Philippi was not the biggest city, but it was a leading city due to its wealth with copper, silver and gold deposits. Philippi was a “little Rome” as it “had an autonomous government, freedom from tribute and taxation, and legal-ownership rights like those in Italy.” The Jews probably had little presence in the city. (Also in excavations there were more Latin inscriptions implying it was heavily Roman). Paul, Silas and Luke remained in the city for “some days” as they looked for an opportunity to share the gospel. They learned there was a prayer gathering outside of the gate for with little Jewish presence there most likely was not a synagogue in the city. Acts 16:13,
[13] And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
They sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. We may gloss over this verse, but there is much significance here. They were following the example of the Lord Jesus who sat by a well and spoke to a woman about her life. If you want to build a movement of significance, you would not go to speak to the women of the town, but the gospel is for all people, male and female. They sat down and took time to teach and explain the gospel. Acts 16:14,
[14] One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.
The disciples were speaking to all the women but one woman in particular paid attention to the gospel. Lydia was from Thyatira. She was a seller of purple goods which is an indication she worked with the fine cloths for the wealthy. She was also a worshiper of God. She was a woman who followed Yahweh but did not follow the law.
Lydia was open to hearing about God and his word. When we encounter Lydia here, we must remember she has had a lifetime of experiences before this moment. The text says, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” Everything in her life was bringing her to this moment. God opened her heart to pay attention, but God had been working on her heart to pay attention to him for years. She was raised in a polytheistic culture, but turned to Yahweh, the God of the Jews. The Lord had been working in her life for years. It is important to remember this in our own evangelism. When we encounter people, the Lord will open people’s hearts to pay attention to what we say. They will pay attention because God has been calling them for years. Pastor Andy Davis compares our salvation to the tumblers of a combination lock for when the knob is turned in the proper position in success, one tumbler after another is put into place then the lock is opened. He writes,
So an encounter with a godly grandmother at age six, with a Sunday school teacher at age eight, with a street corner evangelist at age fourteen, and with a Chrisitan dorm-mate at age eighteen, can all be used by God to prepare the lost person for their eventual conversion at age twenty. The tumblers are all getting put in position step by step and nothing is lost or wasted. This is the drawing process by which God is calling to the sinner to come to Christ.
The tumblers were getting into position for Lydia’s life and at that moment when Paul spoke the gospel, the lock of her heart was opened and she believed. Beloved, God is calling people all around us through us.
Lydia believed in the gospel and responded in baptism. This is the pattern of the New Testament. Someone hears the gospel, they believe then they are baptized. The first public step of obedience upon conversion is to publicly declare faith in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through baptism. We do not merely say we believe, but we show it. We identify with Christ’s death through the symbolic watery grave and with his resurrection as we come out of the water cleansed from our old ways to walk in the newness of life striving to walk just as Jesus walked. And we see an immediate sign of Lydia’s conversion in her hospitality. God opened her heart and Lydia opened her home. Acts 16:15,
[15] And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Many of the unsung heroes of church history are those men and women who have opened up their homes for the advance of the gospel.
Conversion of a Profitable Slave
Paul and his companions would make it a regular practice to go to the place of prayer. And as they went, they were encountered with young slave girl who needed conversion. Acts 16:16–17
[16] As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. [17] She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
This slave girl had a spirit of divination and could predict the future. She followed Paul and the others crying out the truth, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” She was lost but speaking the truth. Almost everyone in the town would have heard of this young girl’s predictions and how time after time she was accurate. God was using this young girl to proclaim the truth. These men are servants of the Most High God and you should listen to them as they proclaim the way of salvation. She kept doing it for many days and finally Paul had enough. Acts 18,
And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
It does make me smile that even the Apostle Paul became greatly annoyed. We all have our limits. Am I right?
Paul, given authority over demonic spirits, cast this spirit of divination out of the young girl. We do not know anything else about the girl’s future but we know she at least experienced the grace of deliverance from his spirit. She may have been happy, but her owners most definitely were not. Acts 16:19–24,
[19] But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. [20] And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. [21] They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” [22] The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. [23] And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. [24] Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Imagine how quickly life changed for Paul and Silas. They were going to the place of prayer, day after day, sharing the good news of the gospel. They deliver a young girl from an evil spirit through the name of Jesus Christ and then the world turns on them. Why? Money.
The owners who saw their hope of gain was gone appealed to the government to do something about these men creating their own false native. “These men are Jews and they are disturbing our city.” It is a claim that does not have a lot of validity. Paul and Silas would go outside the gate every Sabbath to talk to women about the gospel. It doesn’t seem like they are causing much trouble. “They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” What customs are they advocating? Baptism? Surely in a polytheistic society this would not have been unusual. I do find it interesting they classify this as a custom which is unlawful for Romans to accept or practice. They speak directly to the fears of the magistrates whose job is to keep order for the Roman government. Any threat to Rome was a threat to their livelihood. Again, it comes back to money.
The crowd started attacking them and the magistrates gave the order to beat them with rods. I see so many similarities to today with the abortion industry. The culture of death in America wants to frame the conversation as a battle for reproductive freedom or fighting for a women’s right to choose. Some may believe that, but the abortion industry is not about reproductive freedom. It is about money and sexual rebellion. Beloved, there is nothing new under the sun. The same principles we see in the Scripture, we see in our society today. There was a leak about the Dobbs case which is before the Supreme Court. The ruling implies that Roe vs. Wade will be overturned as unconstitutional. And what do we see happening? The leaders of the abortion industry who see their hope of gain may be closing, are going on the attack against Christians saying, “These Christians are disturbing our nation. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Americans to accept or practice.” They are trying to vilify those in the Pro-life camps as hateful and unloving of women. They are trying to bring the pro-life advocates before the magistrates to be attacked and threatened.
They can craft any narrative they want to the public, but they cannot discount their motivation is money and the promise of sex without consequences. It is evil. Notice how slavery and the using of a young girl is completely ignored, Acts 16:19, “But when her owners saw that their hope for gain was gone.” They did not care about the young girl, but only about their pockets. It is the same today. Our cultural elites craft certain narratives against christian beliefs because of their fear of losing money. It does not appear that these owners even considered what the young girl was saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” These owners did not care about salvation and eternal life, but merely about bigger barns and more comfort and pleasure now. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, Luke 12:15–21,
[15] Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions…The land of a rich man produced plentifully, [17] and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ [18] And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. [19] And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ [20] But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ [21] So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Friend, what are you living for?
The truth was given to these men but they rejected it because they wanted to continue to live for themselves. I wonder if that is you this morning. Are you suppressing the truth because you are afraid of what you will use? Are you ignoring the way of salvation because of the potential cost? Friend, we are all sinners and need Savior. God has made way for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. If you believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and was raised from the dead, and if you repent and trust in Jesus Christ fully as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved! Do not dismiss or neglect the gospel because you may lose your hope for gain or pleasure. True gain and true pleasure is only found in Christ.
Conversion of a Prison Gentile
The magistrates were merely following the crowd. They were afraid that their own comfort and pleasures would be threatened if they allowed anything to happen that was against Rome. They ordered the jailer to keep Paul and Silas safely. One can only imagine how intense this command was in the midst of a riot of mob justice. The jailer responded by putting them in the inner prison, the most secure place in the prison, and put their feet in stocks, doubly securing them. Yet no matter how the world tries to secure and silence the gospel, it cannot be stopped. Acts 16:25,
[25] About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
Paul and Silas were locked in prison with their feet in the stocks and they were praying and singing hymns to God. They were demonstrating their faith and trust in God in the midst of their suffering. Early church father Tertullian said, “The legs feel nothing in the stocks when the heart is in heaven.” Beloved, this is a wonderful example for us to follow. I do not know what suffering you are experiencing, but whatever it is, trust in God. This is what the Lord Jesus modeled for us1 Peter 2:23,
When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
And what we are called to do 1 Peter 4:19,
[19] Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
And this is exactly what Paul and Silas were doing. We do not know the specific content of their prayers or their songs, but we can assume they were about Christ and his glory. And as they sang and prayed of Christ, the other prisoners were listening. Before the jailer fell asleep, we can also assume he was hearing them sing about Christ and this glory. Acts 16:26-30,
[26] and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. [27] When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. [28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” [29] And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. [30] Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The jailer thought his life was over. He was given orders to keep the men safe and secure but when he saw the doors were opened, he feared the worst. He took a sword to kill himself as he believed he was going to be killed by the magistrates for dereliction of duty. He was going to take the sword to cover his shame. Paul must have sensed something was going to happen or if he may have seen the jailer, we are not given all the details, but either way, Paul yelled, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”And then it gets very interesting.
The jailer does not respond with relief, but with urgency for his soul. I believe God had been working on the soul of this jailer far before Paul and Silas entered his prison. We do not know all the details of this man’s life, but we know moments before he ran in and fell on his face before Paul and Silas, he was confronted with eternity. It was in that moment when he stared death in the face that he realized he was not right with God and he was under judgment. He may have heard of salvation in Paul and Silas’s prayers or hymns, but he was ready and willing to listen. Luke uses the divine “dei” here translated as “must.” Luke uses it strategically through Luke/Acts to communicate importance. And nothing could be more important than salvation.
Notice the difference between the wealthy magistrates and wealthy slave owners and the middle class correction officer. They all encounter the message of the gospel, but only one is willing to pursue it. He fails before Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they answer, Acts 16:31-34,
[31] And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” [32] And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. [33] And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. [34] Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. R.C. Sproul comments on this verse,
In modern evangelism, people are invited to come to Christ, but God never invites people to come; God commands people to come to Christ. An invitation is something you can decline with impunity, but God does not issue an RSVP because our only hope in life and death is Christ.
How are we saved? We believe in the Lord Jesus. It is that simple. And it is necessary. The jailer believed in the Lord Jesus and was baptized. And again, after God opened his heart, he opened his home. And he and his family rejoiced that he believed in God.
In Acts 16, there have been two of the household baptisms in Acts. Some believe there were infants in the house as one of the reasons for the practice of infant baptism today. It is an argument from silence. What we do see is faith then baptism. One of the reasons we practice believer’s baptism as a church is we see this as the practice of the New Testament. We are commanded by Jesus to baptize believers (Matthew 28) and we are commanded throughout the New Testament to be baptized as a sign of faith. The jailer believed and was baptized. And he was baptized that same night. Why don’t we practice spontaneous baptism? I believe in our American context that is pastoral malpractice to baptize someone before we are confident of their profession of faith. Americans do not always view baptism with the same significance as other parts of the world. In muslim countries, baptism comes with a real threat for their lives and people would not enter it that decision casually or flippantly. Much of American evangelicalism is driven by the emotion of the moment and people need more time to understand the decision. But just because we do not follow spontaneous baptism out of prudence, doesn’t mean we want to delay baptism for years because we want all Christians, young and old, to be faithful to the Word of God.
Conversion of the Powerless Church
A night of sleep may have cooled the heads of the magistrates so when it was day they decided to release Paula and Silas.Acts 16:35–39,
[35] But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” [36] And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” [37] But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” [38] The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. [39] So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.
Paul and Silas were accused of advocating customs that were against Rome, but the magistrates were the ones who actually were going against Rome. Roman citizens were never supposed to be punished without a trial which is exactly what happened to Paul and Silas. And the magistrates were afraid. Again, they were afraid for themselves and how this would affect them. They were not actually concerned with violating Roman law.
Why did Paul want a public apology? Paul was identified with Christianity and his public shaming was a public shaming of the faith. Paul did not merely want himself to be vindicated but the church and the gospel to be vindicated so that the church would be able to thrive in Philippi. When Paul entered the city gates there was no church. But now, because of the faithfulness to the gospel those who were once held in contempt, women, slaves and gentiles, are now set apart, blood bought sinners, resurrected saints, and servants of the Host High God who proclaim the way of salvation. Acts 16:40,
[40] So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
It appeared that Lydia had opened her home for the brothers to gather as a church. Paul and Silas and Luke encouraged them to continue in the faith before they departed. We do not know the what Paul said, but as I have been thinking about the church at Philippi, I have been meditating on the words Paul spoke to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 1:26–31
[26] For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. [27] But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; [28] God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, [29] so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. [30] And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, [31] so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
God chose those treated with contempt to show his compassion to the world. God’s salvation transcends gender, ethnic and social barriers. Because of God’s kindness to us we have the great privilege to be in Christ Jesus, adopted as sons and daughters of God who make their boast in the Lord.
We boast in the Lord because he alone saves. We boast in the Lord because we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We boast in the Lord because we were under God’s wrath. We boast in the Lord because he saved us. We boast in the Lord because he opened our hearts to believe. We boast in the Lord because he has opened our homes for those who believe. We boast in the Lord, because our salvation begins and ends with Him.
Stephen Lungu was sitting in the back of tent revival with bombs under his jacket ready to kill Christians he view with contempt. Until that preacher started sharing about Christ and the gospel. After the message Stephen came forward to the preacher and the preacher told him a story. He said,
Many years ago there was a 14 year old girl who became pregnant. People asked her who was responsible, and she pointed out the young man. But he refused all responsibility. He did not want the child. After nine months the child was born. The girl did not want it either. Two weeks later she wrapped the baby in a towel and stuffed it into the toilet and ran away. A woman heard little sounds and found the baby drowning in the toilet…I was that child. I never again saw my mother. I have no idea who she was. And I have no idea who my father was. Like you, neither of them ever wanted me. I want to read you something that sums up people like you and me. It is a promise from God and his Son, Jesus Christ to people like us. Psalm 27:10, “Though my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. In 1947 when I found Jesus, I was given a new name,
Shadrach, by the missionaries. Shadrach was a man in the OT whom God saved out of great tribulation, when everyone else had forsaken him. And I have learned that Jesus does not reject me. The Lord has taken me up.
Stephen was stunned and changed. He felt for the first time in his life that God loved him saying, “I am here for you and I will take you up. I love you. Stephen cried out to the Lord as young 11 year old,
God, I have nothing. I am nothing. I can’t read. I can’t write. My parents don’t want me. Take me up, God, take me upp, I’m sorry for the bad things I've done. Jesus forgive me, and take me now.
Stephen would learn to read and write. He would be forever changed. The lock of Stephen’s heart was opened and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved. God would use this powerless young man rejected by the world to take the gospel of hope to millions of young African men and women.
Remember how God worked in your life to bring you to faith and know God is working in the hearts of your children, your grandchildren, neighbors and coworkers to overcome their objections and open their hearts to believe. God worked in Philippi to bring salvation to those the world held with contempt. And God is still working to bring salvation for the glory of his name.
Beloved, Jesus is building his church. The one who was rejected and despised, a man of sorrows, smitten by God and afflicted. The one who was pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities. This Jesus is building his church with the powerless, the foolish, the weak, the low, and those held in contempt for the glory of his name. As the great hymn of the faith,
Hallelujah! He has saved me.
Sin and Death shall reign no more
Christ has made a way for Sinners
Hallelujah, What a Savior!
What a Savior, indeed!