Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders

Transcript

GR 1378
9/21/2008
Paul's Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
Acts 20; II Timothy
Gil Rugh

We have been preparing ourselves for a study of the book of II Timothy, Paul's second letter to Timothy. And as preparation for the study of that book, we've been looking at the background and founding of the church at Ephesus, for Timothy is at Ephesus when Paul writes his letters to him. In I Timothy 1 Paul addresses Timothy and tells him, I left you at Ephesus and tells him the things he was to do there at Ephesus. When he writes the second letter to Timothy, while he doesn't mention his being in Ephesus, the illusions and people mentioned in the letter and so on would indicate that Timothy is still in the city of Ephesus. So we've been looking at the establishing of the church in the city of Ephesus as it's recorded in the book of Acts.

And I want to pick up where we were in that study, if you turn back to Acts 20. As we look at what is recorded in the book of Acts, and we work through that material, I believe you will have a greater appreciation for what Paul has to say to Timothy as we work through the letter. Because many of the things which Paul deals with and are recorded by Luke in the history in Acts are issues that are before us as Paul writes to Timothy. Remember Paul's ministries in Acts are built around his three missionary journeys that encompass Acts 13-20, three particular trips Paul took to carry the gospel to new regions out and beyond the land of Palestine. His starting point, his home base if you will, is Antioch in Syria. We mention Antioch in Syria to distinguish it from Antioch in Galatia where Paul visited on his first missionary journey. And that first missionary journey took him up into the region of Galatia, later he'll write a letter to the churches of Galatia. We have the Galatian letter, what is now our present day Turkey. His second missionary trip ultimately carried him to Greece. The gospel comes to Europe and Paul is privileged to bring the message of Christ to cities in Greece.

In Acts 18 as he is returning from Greece to go back to Palestine and then Antioch, we are told in Acts 18:19 that he stopped at Ephesus. And he entered the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews, they wanted him to stay a little longer, he didn't consent. But in verse 21 he said, I'll return to you again if God wills. And he went on his way back through the Galatian regions and ultimately to Antioch on that particular occasion.

Paul did return to Ephesus on his next missionary journey. He leaves, verse 23, and went on his way. He goes through Galatia, he's going to ultimately come to the city of Ephesus in Acts 19 and there we looked and saw he has a tremendous ministry. Three months in verses 8 and following are spent in the synagogue of the Jews. And there he was, verse 8, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God, explaining to them about the work of the Messiah, how He would have to come and suffer and die to fulfill Old Testament scriptures and be raised. And then He would come again to establish His kingdom on the earth. The Jews are antagonized after a period of time as the Word of God is presented again and again, people who do not want to submit to the Word become hardened and disobedient, overtly antagonistic to the Word, so Paul leaves his ministry in the synagogue and moves to a room in what is called the school of Tyrannus. And there for two years he is teaching the Word of God. Verse 10 tells us that for two years all who lived in Asia heard the Word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. From Ephesus the Word of God is being carried out to other places. Paul has those ministering with him and they, while Paul stays in Ephesus, go to cities—Colosse, Laodicea, Hieropolis, Philadelphia, many of the cities of Asia that later we find had churches. There people come to know Christ.

Miracles are being done, dramatic miracles in verses 11 and following. Striking things take place. The Word of God continues to go forth powerfully. We are told at the end of verse 17, the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Down in verse 20, the Word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. The Jewish opposition is there. Now opposition from the Gentiles is stirred up. And you remember the account, the silversmiths of the city, it is a center for the worship of Artemis, and they made the artifacts, the trinkets, the items for sale. People came from all over the world because the temple of Artemis or Diana in Ephesus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The temple of Artemis was a banking center, so Ephesus is a commercial center for a variety of reasons—shipping, trade routes that crossed there and then you have this major center with the worship of Artemis or as she is known in Latin, Diana.

The end result of that is great opposition from among Gentiles. A riot takes place. When that is settled down, chapter 20 opens up, after the uproar had ceased Paul sent for the disciples. When he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them he left to go to Macedonia. Now he's going to Macedonia, remember, to pick up money that was collected for poor believers in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the center of Christianity still. That's where the apostles are located, so that's the doctrinal center of Christianity at the time. Paul will be going to Jerusalem to take money. Because of the persecution from the Jews, poverty overwhelmed the church. People lost their jobs, didn't have any income, no way to provide for their families. Jews wouldn't hire them. They were closed out. So in the impoverished situation, Paul has Gentiles collecting money, Gentile believers, because they have benefited from the Jews—the Jewish scriptures, the Jewish Messiah, and so on. So he's going to go to Greece, collect the money that has been gathered in the churches there and then take it with him and go to Jerusalem.

So that's why he is going to Macedonia. And he crosses over, goes up the coast, and crosses over into Macedonia. That's northern Greece, that's where the church at Philippi was established. The church in Thessalonica, he ministered in Berea even though there is not a church mentioned there. That's what he does.

Verse 2, when he had gone through those districts, the districts in Macedonia, had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. Now we're referring here to southern Greece, the city of Corinth. So it's all Greece, but here it's referred to Macedonia where he went through those cities and then to the southern part where he spends three months in Corinth. Now remember earlier in his second missionary journey he had spent a year and a half ministering in Corinth, establishing a church there. Later after the establishment of that he wrote two letters—I Corinthians and II Corinthians to the church at Corinth.

After about three months, verse 3, when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. Now evidently what happens here is the Jews in Corinth so opposed Paul with his ministry, they have plotted to have Paul killed. Now Paul is planning to board a ship and go back to Palestine up to Antioch in Syria. Evidently the plan of these Jews is to have Paul murdered on that ship and then his body thrown overboard. Opportunity to commit the perfect crime. Everybody goes to bed, the next morning nobody can find Paul. Maybe he didn't feel well and got up and leaned over the side rail and fell overboard and drowned. We don't know what happened to him, he just disappeared. The reason that seems to be the plot, it's connected with he was about to set sail, he changes his plans and returns up through Macedonia. So he doesn't take the ship as he had planned, evidently thwarting the plot of the Jews. He goes back up by land through the northern part of Greece through Macedonia.

And he's accompanied by various individuals in verse 4. And what we're doing then, he is going to cross over, make his way down the coast on Asia Minor both by ship and by land, and he is going to ultimately come to Miletus, 30 miles south of Ephesus on the coast. There is an interesting event that happens in verses 7-12 with Eutychus, a young man. Paul is in Troas ministering the word and he kept preaching and preaching and we get past midnight. And one young man sitting on the windowsill falls asleep, rolls out the window, falls three stories and is killed. Paul goes down and raises him from the dead, and everybody is greatly encouraged.

Just a side note, we did this when we studied Acts. But I remind you, Paul did miracles, healing the sick and so on in Ephesus back in Acts 19:11ff. Here at Troas he raises someone from the dead. Now he's going to end up at Miletus. But you know Paul didn't just go around healing people and raising the dead all the time, it's in the context of special ministry of the Word that occurred. But you know we're going to read at the end of II Timothy 4 that he left one of his faithful servants in Miletus sick. Well Paul, if you can raise the dead, you can heal the sick, why did you leave him at Miletus sick? When we study II Timothy as well as Paul's references in I Timothy that support it, Paul has to tell Timothy, you have a lot of infirmities. And one of the things you can do is have a little wine for your stomach ailments and your often infirmities. Why didn't he just heal him? I mean, Timothy is a faithful servant; certainly he could do a lot more if he weren't sick so much of the time. We have to be careful that we don't read this and think, being with Paul would be great because then you'd get healed all the time. No, that's not the way it works. The Spirit did enable Paul and other apostles to do miracles, but they are focused for special purposes. The Word of God, particularly, is going to new areas and validating the revelation that God is giving.

Well Paul sails down and he bypasses Ephesus and comes to Miletus. Verse 15 is where he comes to Miletus. And the reason he sails past Ephesus, doesn't go to Ephesus, is he didn't want to spend time in Asia for he is hurrying to be in Jerusalem if possible on the day of Pentecost. So he has to get to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. So if he goes to Ephesus, it will take time. We're only about 30 miles, if you could go directly from Miletus to Ephesus, but you had to go around waterways there and so on, so it would take about two days to walk from Ephesus to Miletus. So if you're going to spend two days going in and two days coming back, then if I get to Ephesus where I ministered just recently for three years, I know I'll get mired down and I won't be able to get out of there and on my way in time to get to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.

So what he does is stop at Miletus and from there he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church, verse 17. So how long since Paul left Ephesus and had gone over to Macedonia and Corinth and then back? Some figure out the ministry there, three months in Corinth, the ministry on his way down and then coming back, it would have been probably a year. Roughly a year since he left Ephesus. So these weren't things that just happened overnight, travel took time and so on.

So he's back now and he wants to meet with the leaders of the church at Ephesus and give them some final instructions before he totally leaves the area. Because at this point Paul doesn't expect that he'll be back. He's going to make reference to that. One thing we note here that was not mentioned in the previous history at Ephesus. Paul ministered there three years; all of chapter 19 was about his ministry there. But nothing is said about appointing elders in the church at Ephesus. But obviously that happened during Paul's three-year ministry. And we know from a prior reference that it was Paul's practice, time permitting and so on, to appoint elders in the churches. Now here you have elders in the church at Ephesus. The church at Ephesus is only about four years old, a little older. Paul's ministry there took place for four years, was established a little earlier, maybe through the ministry of some other faithful servants. But it's a relatively young church, but it has elders.

Turn back to Acts 14. In Acts 14 we are talking about events on Paul's first missionary trip. In Acts 20 we are on his third missionary trip. So, on his first missionary trip he is in Galatia where he wrote the letter to the Galatians later. Note what he says. What he did was he went through this region and then he retraced his steps going back. And so verse 21 tells us, after he had preached the gospel to that city, made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, to Antioch. There is Antioch in Galatia, distinguished between Antioch in Syria. So he's revisited the cities where he has preached the Word and established churches. And note what he does. He tells them, the end of verse 22, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. So he doesn't see them as in the kingdom, but the trials and troubles they are going through are preparing them for the time when Christ will establish the kingdom and they will be privileged to go into the kingdom.

Note verse 23, when they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. Now these are new churched. He just preached the Word and established these churches a short time earlier, now he returns, elders are appointed in those churches. And the qualifications for elders are laid out in I Timothy and Titus. Some people ignore those qualifications and just appoint someone who has been in the church a long time or a friend of an elder. Other people go so far and see the qualifications as so high and so stringent that really nobody can meet them. But you know the qualifications are basic qualifications. I've thought about this often as I've worked through the qualifications of elders. One of the qualifications to be an elder is that you can't beat up people with your fists, you can't be a brawler, a fighter. We say, why would he even put that in? Of course, we're not going to put elders in who are street brawlers. But you understand these are new Christians. I mean, these Christians in these churches in Acts 14 haven't been Christians for ten years. The elders hadn't been believers for ten years, these are new believers. So it's all relative. You have to meet the qualifications scripture sets down. Understand, these are not men that arrived at perfection, but they are godly men. And of course these qualifications, it depends on the age of the work. A ministry that has been in existence for fifty years ought to have more mature men to occupy that role. A church that is only three years old still needs elders, but obviously they can't have the maturity of people who have been believers for fifty years, forty years, thirty years, ten years. So we need to be sure that we keep a biblical perspective.

Here Paul is meeting with the elders in the church at Ephesus. And we just assume that that was his normal pattern. And if he didn't have time to get the elders appointed, he would leave someone there. And we read that in the Pastoral Epistles. Paul wrote to Titus about that so that he could finish up work that didn't get done. And part of that is to have elders in the churches. So this is God's established order. And you'll note the plurality—appointing elders, plural, in every church, singular. They are responsible for the oversight of that local church.

So the elders from Ephesus are called. Paul is going to give them instructions on the proper care of the church at Ephesus. When they had come to him he said to them, you yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews. You know where Paul starts out and what he is going to do, down through verse 24, is remind them of his godly character and conduct when among them. Because what has already been going on at Ephesus are the assaults on the character and conduct of Paul. One of the ways you discredit a ministry is you try to discredit the person doing the ministry. And the devil is called the slanderer, and even he accuses the brethren before the throne of God. And those who serve him slander believers. So Paul here is dealing with an issue. He leaves an area; people begin to attack his character. He functions out of pride and arrogance, greed. He didn't behave himself properly, and on and on. And in doing so they try to discredit the message that Paul preached. He's not a man to be trusted. What Paul does is remind them, just stop and think. Because you know what? We give our ear to these kinds of things, pretty soon we say, maybe they're right, maybe he is arrogant, maybe he was functioning selfishly, maybe he was doing it for the wrong motives. Paul says I want to remind you now, stop and think what my ministry among you was like and how I conducted myself. And we go from there.

Verse 18, you yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia how I was with you the whole time. So day 1, when I came to your city, Ephesus is what he is referring to here. Serving the Lord with all humility. You know it's always hard to defend yourself against accusations of pride, isn't it? People say, I think you're proud, you're not humble. What am I going to say? Oh yes I am, I'm the most humble man I've ever known. You see, how do you argue your humility? Paul here declares I serve the Lord with all humility. Did I come around asking you for money? Did I enrich myself? I served with humility. Did I promote myself? Did I declare myself to be some unique, powerful person that ought to be given special honor? I was with you in all humility, with tears, with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews. Understand, my ministry among you wasn't an easy one, it had hardship, it had heartbreak, and it had intense opposition. I was there because I loved you and wanted you to hear the truth and be nurtured in the truth. Some of the people just need to be reminded.

Paul has to do this on other occasions. Turn over to I Thessalonians. He does it more often than you would think would be necessary. I Thessalonians is a letter written to the church at Thessalonica that he established in Macedonia. Paul hadn't been gone from there very long, but you know what his opponents who had successfully driven him out of that city, but he still wasn't able to start a church there. They are already attacking his character. So chapter 2 opens up, for you yourselves know, brethren that our coming to you was not in vain. But after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition, for our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit. Just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not as pleasing men, but God who examines the heart. Sometimes people take boldness with the Word of God and the declaring the truth of God with authority as arrogance. Paul said I unashamedly and boldly preach the Word of God to you. But that's not arrogance, I did that in humility. God's Word is authoritative. That's different than Paul declaring authority for himself in and of himself. His authority was in the word that he preached.

I didn't do this by way of impurity or deceit, God examines our hearts, the end of verse 4. We never came with flattering speech, as you know, or with a pretext for greed. We didn't seek glory from men, even from you or others, even though as apostles we might have asserted our authority. They didn't come barging in, we're apostles everybody must listen. But I do have authority as an apostle, but my authority was in the preaching. We prove to be gentle. Verse 8, having a fond affection we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives. He's going to mention this in Acts 20. So remember this statement. You have become very dear to us. You recall our labor, our hardship. We worked night and day; he even supported himself in the early days of that ministry so no one could say he was there for their money. He didn't go to present the gospel to unbelieving people and ask for them to support you in doing it. It's different when people get established in the Word, come to appreciate the ministry of the Word and realize that it is the work of God that is supported that way.

So on he goes. Verse 10, you are witnesses and so is God how devoutly, uprightly, blamelessly we behaved towards you believers. And on it goes. Paul had to do the same thing writing his second letter to the Corinthians. At the end of that letter he defended himself, reminding them that he faithfully preached the Word to them, that many of them were saved through his ministry and grew through his ministry.

So you come back to Acts 20, good to keep in mind, you can expect those who teach the Word, whether it is me in my position or others that teach you the Word, one of the ways the slanderer works, the devil, is to try to constantly undermine confidence in them. Raise doubts about them so that you no longer, then, are open to their ministry, if it's a ministry of truth. In our pastor's meeting this week, one of the pastors, as we were talking about different men going through intense opposition in their ministry, a pastor spoke up and said, you understand the issue here. The Word of God is being presented in clarity like it was not before, and people are reacting against that. That's exactly what happens. So Paul is reminding these leaders of the church, because if the confidence in Paul's ministry is undermined, then the message that Paul preached will be cast into doubt. Then the church will be without the apostolic doctrine as its foundation.

I was serving the Lord, back in Acts 20:19, with all humility, tears and with the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. Verse 20, you know how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house. He'll later refer to it as the whole counsel of God. I didn't shrink from you to declare anything profitable; I taught you whatever God had said. Old Testament scriptures, new revelation from God, I gave you everything. I didn't shrink back. Now there is much opposition, but I didn't even hold back the message in the face of opposition. Paul could have made his ministry easier by knowing I won't teach this, because that antagonizes the Jews. I won't teach this because that's only going to offend Gentiles. And in the midst of much opposition I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable. And this went on teaching you publicly and from house to house. When I taught you in the synagogue, when I taught you in the school of Tyrannus, when I came and visited you in your homes and I taught you the scripture, I taught you everything that was biblical. I didn't veer from that. That's the indication of whether it is pride or not, whether it's done for self or not. If I stayed focused on the truth, that's what is being presented.

I was solemnly, verse 21, testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Solemnly testifying. Down at the end of verse 24 he was to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. It's a normal word to testify, to bear witness. We get the English word martyr from this Greek word. Only this time it has a preposition on the front, so it gives it more intensity. So you have it translated solemnly testify. There is seriousness in this ministry. I was solemnly testifying when I was teaching you, both Jews and Greeks. There is only one message; there is no alteration in the message. The church has totally lost its grip on this in our day. We don't have to decide how do we reach our culture? There is only one message, Jew or Greek, they lived in different worlds, so to speak. Same planet, different worlds. I solemnly testify the same thing to Jews and to Greeks. We have the same message, no matter what the day we live, whether we are ministering to the post moderns or the moderns, or to this group or that group. We are solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks, to all people of repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the message of the gospel. You know we've had some confusion come in on this, some people have asked me, well if you tell people to repent, that's a work, so you've corrupted the gospel. We want to be careful that the gospel we're talking about is the biblical gospel, not one that we've narrowed down from the biblical gospel. Paul says, when I solemnly testify of the gospel of the grace of God, at the end of verse 24 that is solemnly testifying of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. You have to come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit of God, the One who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. And as an unregenerate people we were part of that world. And when you are convicted of your sin and guilt, if you are under the condemnation of the righteous judge, the Spirit of God works with that truth, you will repent, change your mind from your self-confidence, your pride and realize your guilt before a holy God. There is no salvation apart from repentance. People who think they got saved without ever coming to real conviction of their sin, have never experienced real, saving faith. You have that true repentance. Why are you placing your faith in Christ? I want to have a happy life, I want to be successful. We have people going around giving seminars on why Jesus will make you successful and things like that. If you've placed your faith in Christ to become successful, it's worthless. It's only connected to the recognition of sin and repentance over that sin. That doesn't mean you have to shed so many tears or go through certain contortions as acts of penance, as Roman Catholicism originally mistranslated repentance to do penance. And when they got the translation right, they still kept the doctrine of penance. Repentance basically is to be of another mind, you change your mind because you realize the reality of your sin, the reality of the holiness of God and you turn from that to place your faith in Christ. Now you trust Him.

Turn back to Luke 24. Incidentally, Luke is the human author, human penman of the book of Acts, the beloved physician who traveled with Paul. He would have been a great comfort to Paul and been able to minister to Paul with physical help as well. But in Luke 24 Jesus Christ is speaking to His disciples after His resurrection from the dead, after He had just eaten fish with them, after He had had them grab on to Him to see that He is not a spirit, but He has real bones, real flesh. The body that was crucified has been raised. He shows them from the scriptures, from the books of Moses, from the prophets, from the psalms that the Messiah must suffer and die and be raised from the dead. Then He will come and establish His kingdom.

So Luke 24:45, then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures and He said to them, thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day. Now note this, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Now Paul has joined that chorus of witnesses and that's what he solemnly testified to at Ephesus. You must repent before the living God; repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Oh, God, I am a wretched, guilty sinner without hope, helpless. But I believe your Son died for me to pay my penalty, my trust and confidence is in Him alone. That's the message of salvation. That's not a work, that's a work of God, that's not a work I do.

Ephesians 2:8-9, a letter that Paul would later write to the church at Ephesus. He said for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. And the word that refers not back to the faith alone, but to the salvation. For by grace are you are saved. And that salvation is not of your own doing, but it is by grace. Not of works, lest any man should boast. And repentance is part of that salvation, as faith also is. It does not originate in me. It is a result of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that brings me to the point of understanding the truth, repenting of my sin and believing in the Savior.

Turn to Acts 11. In Acts 10 Peter for the first time has preached the gospel to the Gentiles. And they believe the gospel and are saved. In Acts 10:42 Peter says, Christ ordered us to preach to the people. Now note this, and solemnly to testify. Same thing Paul is doing, solemnly testifying, that this is the One who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. And the Holy Spirit falls upon them as they believe.

Look at Acts 11:18. Peter reiterates this to the Jews in Jerusalem. And when they heard this, verse 18, they quieted down and glorified God saying, well, then, God has granted to the Gentiles also, in addition to us Jews, the repentance to life. You see it happened in the context, they heard that God is the judge of the living and the dead. The conviction of their sin connected to the message of the finished work of Christ. And all who believe in Him receive forgiveness of sins, Peter declared. And they believe and they are saved. The Gentiles can repent of their sins and turn and believe in our Messiah, too. That's a shocking thing for them. Think of it, dirty, filthy, defiled Gentiles can repent of their sin, believe in our Messiah and be saved. Marvel of marvels. You'll note the repentance that is part of that.

Stop in Acts 17:30, therefore, having overlooked times of ignorance God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent. Why? Because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. That's Paul preaching in Athens on Mars Hill. Repent. Judgment is coming. And the judge is the One who is the Savior. The proof of all this is the resurrection from the dead.

So you come back to Acts 20. We have all kinds of plans and programs of how to reach our culture. You reach our culture by solemnly testifying to all that they must repent and believe. You can get big crowds with other messages; you cannot get true salvation with any other message. Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then Paul goes on to say, verse 22, behold bound in spirit I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies. He's dealing with what God revealed, this is serious business. This is not entertainment time. The Holy Spirit has solemnly testified to Paul saying that bonds and afflictions await me. I'm leaving now, I'm going to Jerusalem. I don't know what the future holds for me there, but there is no light at the end of the tunnel, no relief from opposition, from affliction. I don't expect to be back at Ephesus because the Holy Spirit has revealed to me that my future holds nothing but trouble and trial. We say, well Paul is probably depressed. That doesn't deter him. You know we think that if we faithfully serve the Lord, do our best, we all do it. We've done our best to be faithful to the Lord, use our time wisely to honor Him, to give Him the best of what we have. Tragedy comes into our lives and our first question is why? It's like a disappointment. I thought if I were faithful you would keep me from the trial. You know how Paul's trials are going to end? He's going to be beheaded by Nero. I mean, Nero? A leader so repulsive his own people drove him to suicide, they couldn't stomach him any longer. Paul, a man of God, bonds and afflictions. But cheer up, Paul, after the bonds and afflictions you'll get beheaded.

What does Paul say? Verse 24, I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself. The most important thing to me is not my physical life. The most important thing to me is that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. You'll note how his last letter, II Timothy, ends, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Now I'm ready for the reward. It will come after the beheading. But I don't make my decisions on how this will impact this physical body. So knowing that bonds and afflictions await me doesn't discourage me. I am driven by something greater, as a slave to fulfill my commission. Which is what? Solemnly testifying of the gospel of the grace of God. It doesn't sound like you'll be very successful, Paul. And all your solemn testifying of the grace of God does is result in bonds and afflictions? Maybe you ought to change your methodology. Why? God has entrusted me with the gospel. The measure of my success will be that I present the gospel. My life is not dear to me, but fulfilling what God has called me to do is dearer to me than life. You know that's the way we are to live our lives as believers. That puts it in a totally different perspective. It's all about the gospel of grace.

Now what Paul does is turn from his own experience to apply it to them, here's what you have to do. Transition, here, really. Verse 25, now behold I know that all of you among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent from the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. My hands are clean. I gave you the message that God gave me.

Ezekiel 33:7, God speaking to Ezekiel. Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel, so you will hear a message from my mouth and give them warning from Me. When I say to the wicked, oh wicked man, you will surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity. You'll note, there is no excuse, no passing off your guilt. Even if no one tells you, you will die in your iniquity. But his blood I will require from your hand. Ezekiel, I gave you a message to tell him to repent. If you don't tell him, he'll die in his sin, but I'll hold you accountable. But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity. But you have delivered your life. You see, Ezekiel needs to constantly remember, my responsibility is to give them the Word of God, whether they believe it or whether they reject it. If they die in their iniquity, my hands are clean, if I have told them the Word of God.

So when you come back to Acts 20, Paul is picking up on that. My hands are clean from the blood of all men. Why? God gave me His word, and I gave His word to you. We need to remember that, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. We've been entrusted with the Word of God, we know it. But we talk to unbelievers all the time and never think of telling them the gospel. They'll die in their sin if they don't hear and believe the gospel. And some day I will stand and say, well, I gave you my word, I hold you accountable. What was the message that Ezekiel had? To tell them that they are in their iniquity. What's the message we have? You're lost in your sins, judgment is coming, you must repent and believe the gospel, believe in Jesus Christ.

I am clean from the blood of all men. Why? I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. God has not called me to be successful He has called me to be faithful. And faithfulness is true success in the sight of God, as He evaluates His servants. The whole purpose of God: It's all about the truth of God. Declare to you the whole purpose of God. He didn’t say I have to fill all the seats, He says I have to declare the whole purpose of God. He doesn't say people have to like it, has to declare the whole purpose of God. That's what we are called to do.

Now he tells them, be on guard for yourselves. He's given himself for an example, how he's delivered himself before the Lord by his faithfulness, now you be on guard for yourselves. We'll see him tell Timothy this. And for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Reminder, you are shepherds, overseers of the sheep of God. They are not yours, they're not mine. It's the church of God. He purchased it with His own blood. You are not your own, you are bought with a price, Paul wrote to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 6 and again in chapter 7. This is not my church. People say, I go to Gil Rugh's church. I understand what they mean, he is the shepherd there. But it's not my church; it's not your church. People tear the church apart as though it is theirs. My family built this, my family did that, I've been pastor here a long time. Not mine, not yours. I didn't purchase it, you didn't purchase it. He purchased it, it belongs to Him.

Reminder to these overseers, the Holy Spirit appointed you. Our responsibility is to recognize those men that the Holy Spirit has set apart to serve as elders, and then to recognize His will in the matter and we place them in the position of elders in the church. Paul is an elder because they liked him. Better not be, better be as a result of prayer, consideration carefully in light of scripture and so on, that we seek those men that the Lord has appointed, the Holy Spirit has appointed. They are now in the position of elders. That is a serious responsibility. They are accountable to be on guard for themselves so that they don't get turned away in any way from the truth, and then to protect the flock. Why? I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. You know, Paul, you are a pessimist. Nothing in your future but bonds and affliction; nothing in our future but trouble. I'll be glad to see you get on the boat. But it's reality. After I go, the battle continues on. People say, get Paul out of here, he's the center of their opposition. When he is gone, things will quiet down. Don't believe a bit of it. When I am gone savage wolves, following the analogy, remember, you are shepherds, these are God's sheep, and savage wolves are going to come in from the outside, attempting to ravage the flock and destroy it.

And that's not the worst of it. From among your own selves men will arise. There are going to be those who have been infiltrated among the body by the devil. They are going to have given every appearance of being Christians. They may have taught for awhile, but they begin to move away from the truth, they begin to speak perverse things; they attempt to lure disciples, the sheep away from the truth of God. And they become followers of men.

Therefore, be on the alert be on guard, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. Now I commend you to God and the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up, to give you inheritance among those who are sanctified. Then he reminds them again of his ministry. Elders have this solemn responsibility with the flock at Ephesus. And it's all about the Word. I commend you to God and the word of His grace. That's what is able to build you up, that's what will give you the inheritance among the sanctified. It all comes back to truth, to truth, to truth. The devil's tactics don't change to attack the truth, weaken the hold on the truth.

Jude had to write, I was going to write you about our common salvation. What happened? Then the Spirit of God impressed him, I felt the necessity to write you. To do what? To go to battle for the truth. Why? Certain men have crept in unnoticed, ungodly men, turning the grace of God into licentiousness, denying the Lord. Same thing as II Peter 2:1-2 say. Already it's begun; the apostles are still on the scene, the devil trying to infiltrate the church from the outside and from the inside, to corrupt the truth. Because once you've corrupted the truth, what does the church have? It's the Word of God which is alive and powerful, it's the Word of God which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. And the devil relentlessly is attacking.

You know it won't be over for years. Years later Paul is going to write to the church to Timothy at Ephesus. Things haven't changed. Thirty years later Jesus Christ is going to adjust the church at Ephesus. The battle isn't over. You know it is relentless. The greatest strength of the devil is he is a master counterfeiter, master opposer, and he doesn't stop. He continues to attack, to do his work until finally Christians say, I get tired of the conflict, I get tired of disagreements, and I get tired of people saying negative things about us. And he wears us down. We need to remember the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly weapons, we need the strength that God provides, and we need the armor of God, as Paul will write to the Ephesian church. Because we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, not just human beings. They're just instruments in the devil's hands. Its principalities and powers, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.

So Paul writes to Timothy, as we'll begin his second letter, picking up right where he is here. The battle is engaged, some of those who had stood with him from Asia have abandoned him, can't take it any longer, have to retreat. Timothy, you can't go back. God doesn't give us a spirit of timidity that spirit doesn't come from God. That's the work of the devil. So I appreciate the context in which these ministries take place, and the ministry that we have in our day. Same calling, to be faithful, honor God by being true to His word.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your Word. Lord, indeed it is a word worth dying for, a word to live for. It's the truth entrusted to us, the truth that saves the souls of the lost, and the truth that is able to build us up and prepare us for the inheritance that you have provided for those who have been sanctified by the truth. Lord, may we find our strength in you, may we never grow weary of being faithful to you. May we not forget we are but slaves, slaves of the living God, called to do your will.