Acts 28:30-31


Sermon preached on March 18, 2007 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.newlifeop.org/.

John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester, was a great Puritan preacher. He was arrested for his Protestant beliefs soon after Queen Mary came to the throne. He was condemned to death and taken to Gloucester to be burnt Friday, Feb. 9, 1555. He was given the promise of a pardon if he would deny the Protestant faith. An acquaintance tried to persuade him to do this with the words, (Light from Old Times by J.C. Ryle. p. 25-26)

"Life is sweet, and death is bitter."



Hooper replied,

"Eternal life was more sweet, and eternal death was more bitter."



Later, at the place of execution, the box containing a full pardon was placed before him and he was told it would be his if only he would recant. His only answer was,

"Away with it; if you love my soul, away with it!"



He turned his back on it and died courageously. John Hooper was a brave man. Like many other martyrs, he taught us that Christians should face certain death courageously.

But certain death is not the only thing we should face courageously. We should also face the possibility or the threat of death without fear. One of the temptations that Satan will bring to bear on some of God's people will be for them to keep silent after they experience some persecution. Paul faced that temptation. Paul was in custody—under house arrest in Rome. At some point in the near future he was going to stand trial before Nero. I'm sure he was tempted to be quiet and not stir up any trouble until he was released. If he was silent about the gospel in Rome, when he finally came to trial before Nero, he could say,

"Look, I've been in Rome for two years and I haven't caused any trouble. This shows that I'm not a trouble-maker like they say."



But if he spoke courageously about the gospel, it might very well have stirred up violent opposition and given his enemies ammunition to use against him at his trial. In other words, if Paul spoke boldly, there was a danger that it would lead to his execution. John Calvin writes about Paul's situation,

"He was certainly not unaware of how much ill-will he stirred up for himself, and that it was to his best advantage, if he were to appease the hatred of the opposing faction by keeping silent."



But Paul didn't do that. Luke tells us about Paul's activity during his house arrest in Rome, (Acts 28:30-31)

"For two whole years Paul stayed there
in his own rented house
and welcomed all who came to see him.
Boldly and without hindrance
he preached the kingdom of God
and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ."

The great lesson we learn from Paul here is that

the gospel should be presented boldly.

As John Calvin says of Paul,

"he set fear aside… And so the sacred calling of God meant more to him than concern for his own life."



This is one of the themes in the book of Acts. The book of Acts is about the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to Rome. It's about the Spirit being given to the church to enable it to carry out this task. On of the connections that Luke makes in Acts is the close connection between being filled with the Spirit and being bold in speaking about Jesus. We see in on the Day of Pentecost. After the Spirit was poured out upon the church, some accused the Christians of being drunk. But the Eleven became very bold. In verse 14 of Acts 2 we read that the Eleven immediately got up in front of everyone. Peter raised his voice and started preaching. He said,

"Fellow Jews and all of you
who live in Jerusalem,
let me explain this to you;
listen carefully to what I say.
These men are not drunk,
as you suppose.
It's only nine in the morning!
No, this is what was spoken
by the prophet Joel:"

Peter went on to preach very boldly. Right after he quoted from Joel he said to them, (Acts 2:22-25)

"Men of Israel, listen to this:
Jesus of Nazareth was a man
accredited by God to you by miracles,
wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him,
as you yourselves know.
This man was handed over to you
by God's set purpose and foreknowledge;
and you, with the help of wicked men,
put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
But God raised him from the dead,
freeing him from the agony of death,
because it was impossible for death
to keep its hold on him."

What boldness! He didn't pull any punches. He confronted them with their sin in crucifying Jesus. It was very personal. I'm surprised that they didn't stone him. But they didn't and Peter went on to tell them about how they could receive the forgiveness of sins through Jesus. Peter was filled with the Spirit and he was very bold in his preaching.

We see the same thing in Acts 4. Peter and John had been brought before the Sanhedrin and asked about how they healed the man who was crippled. They said, (verse 7f)

"By what power or what name
did you do this?"

Luke continues this way, (verses 8-13)

"Then Peter,
filled with the Holy Spirit,
said to them:
'Rulers and elders of the people!
If we are being called to account today
for an act of kindness shown to a cripple
and are asked how he was healed,
then know this,
you and all the people of Israel:
It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified but whom
God raised from the dead,
that this man stands before you healed.
He is 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.'
Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved.'
When they saw the courage [boldness]
of Peter and John and realized
that they were unschooled, ordinary men,
they were astonished and they took note
that these men had been with Jesus."

Notice the connection that Luke makes between being filled with the Spirit and boldness. The word that is translated 'courage' is the same as in our text. They saw 'boldness' in them. Later in that chapter when Peter and John were released, they went to the brothers and told them what had happened. They prayed and part of their prayer was, (Acts 4:29)

"Now, Lord, consider their threats
and enable your servants
to speak your word
with great boldness."

What was the result? We read,

"After they prayed,
the place where they were meeting was shaken.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
and spoke the word of God boldly."

Those who were filled with the Spirit proclaimed the Word boldly. They were not timid or fearful. Rather they were full of confidence and courage.

We see the same thing in Stephen in chapters 6 and 7. Although the word, 'boldness' is not found there, it's quite clear that Stephen was very bold in proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. He stood up to those that opposed him and preached Christ to them. He was very bold.

Paul also tells us in Ephesians 6:19-20 that the gospel should be presented courageously. Paul wrote,

"Pray also for me,
that whenever I open my mouth,
words may be given me
so that I will fearlessly make known
the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Pray that I may declare it fearlessly,
as I should."

You see, Paul was not timid about the gospel. As he wrote in Romans 1:16,

"I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God
for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew,
then for the Gentile."

In 2 Timothy 1:7-8 told Timothy to be bold with the gospel. He wrote,

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,
but a spirit of power,
of love and of self-discipline.
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord,
or ashamed of me his prisoner."

The second thing we see from our text about why we should be bold with the gospel has to do with the context of the gospel.

The content of the gospel compels us to proclaim it boldly.

There are some commercials on TV that I absolutely hate. They feature a guy by the name of Billy May. They're commercials for cleaning products. One of the reasons I don't like them is because his commercials start out too loud. You're watching a TV program at a normal volume and all of a sudden a commercial comes on and he says in a really loud voice.

"Hi, I'm Billy May."



Or,

"Billy May here."



The other reason I don't like those commercials is because he then goes on to tell you about how wonderful cleaning products and how great they are—and he's way too excited about them. He's over the top. They're only cleaning products. He shouldn't be that excited about them. But of course he's trying to sell something and he knows that if he's not excited about it—hardly anyone is going to buy it. But if he's excited about them he knows that some people will buy them.

The point is that Billy May is very excited about cleaning products and he puts many Christians to shame because they have the greatest thing in the world and yet they don't show excitement about it.

David Garrick, the noted English actor of the 18th century, was once asked how he and his fellow actors kept the listeners rapt attention, when Christian preachers tended to put them to sleep. He replied, (Brownlow North, by K. Moody-Stuart. p. 57)

"We speak as if our fictions were truth, they as if their truth were fiction."



Such should never be. It should never be for preachers, it should never be for Christians when they are telling others about the gospel.

What do we have to be excited about? Luke tells us that

Paul preached about the Kingdom of God.

God is establishing His Kingdom through the rule of His Son Jesus Christ. This is the greatest thing in the world. Everything else is vanity compared to it. The things that most people chase after—pleasure, money, power—they are all vanity. They don't satisfy. The don't bring contentment. They leave people empty. Yet that's what most people are devoting their time and energy to.

Again, do you notice how excited people get about politics? Next year is an election year and the Democrats are excited about the possibility of recapturing the White House. The Republicans are excited about the possibility of retaining the White House and having another four years of power. The Libertarians are excited about… actually I don't know what the Libertarians are excited about because they're not going to win anything.

Many people are so excited about politics because it's important to them, because they want to see a certain kind of government for our nation and they think that it'll make a big difference. There is certainly some value to getting involved in politics and what kind of leaders are elected is important. But in the long term does it make for any lasting difference? Not unless people's hearts are changed. The Puritans had absolute power in England in the 1650's and yet it didn't last.

How can earthly politics compare to the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is about God's power, about the coming of Jesus the Messiah to absolutely destroy Satan's power.

John the Baptist told people to repent because the Kingdom of God was at hand. When Jesus cast out demons, he said, (Luke 11:20)

"But if I drive out demons by the finger of God,
then the kingdom of God has come to you."

With Jesus' coming the Kingdom of heaven has broken into this world. The power of Satan over the world has been broken. Jesus said that He saw him fall like lightning from heaven. Jesus has tied up the strong man and is plundering his house. The power of the age to come has broken into this fallen world to redeem it.

There is both a present and a future aspect to this. The future is when there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein will dwell righteousness. We will be with God, enjoying Him, being blessed by Him. There will be no sin, nothing to defile. There will be no more death, or crying or mourning or pain. Christ will have saved us. Satan and the evil ones will be overthrown completely and cast into the lake of fire. God will be honored and glorified. His people around Him adorning and praising Him, rejoicing in Him, enjoying Him, His presence, His rule forever and ever.

But there is also a present aspect to this kingdom—as Jesus declared when He said that He cast out demons by the finger of God. But it is not here in its fullness. This requires patience and steadfast endurance for us. As Jesus said in Matthew 11:6,

"blessed is the one
who is not offended by me."

The offense lies in the partially hidden character of the Kingdom at present.

But what we must realize is that it is still present. Christ rules. Jesus is working in and through His people. He is exercising His rule, in part, through the preaching of the Word and through the operation of the Holy Spirit. He has send us to make disciples of all nations, teaching them and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. For those who believe the power of the kingdom is present in their lives. They live according to the Spirit of the life to come. We are being transformed with ever increasing glory. (2 Corinthians 3) Through the power of the Spirit we are becoming like Christ. We have joy and peace and confidence before God. We have the forgiveness of sins and the righteousness of Christ. There is nothing greater than this.

Are you excited about the gospel of Jesus Christ? Are you excited about the Kingdom of God and it's implications for you? Are you excited about the Kingdom of God and how others could share in its blessings? You should be. There is nothing like these things. It is the greatest reality in the world. As the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:12,

"Therefore, since we have such a hope,
we are very bold."

But even more than that, the content of Paul's preaching was also about,

"the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul taught about Jesus and His work.

The gospel is about God's great love for sinners. As we read in John 3:16,

"For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus came to earth to save sinners. How He loved them! What abuse He endured. He lived a perfect life and kept the law perfectly for them. What shame He endured. What suffering He endured. He died in their place, for their sins. Then He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He is ruling all things for His glory and for His people, the church. (Ephesians 1.) He is also preparing a place for us.

Christian, what is Jesus to you? He is your best friend. He is one who loves you greatly. He is One who will never leave you nor forsake you. He's the One, who John tells us, if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, who speaks to the Father on our behalf.

How do you talk to people about Him? Are you timid about Him? Are you ashamed of Him?

Such should never be. There's no friend of sinners like Jesus. Be bold in talking to others about Him. There's no One like Him.

Lastly, for those of you who are not Christians.

You should see Christians on fire for Jesus, excited about Him and His kingdom, His salvation. Get caught up in it. Go to Jesus. Trust in Him. He will give you life, life to the full.