Introduction to Acts 16:11-18

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/14/2018 10:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Intro to Acts 16:11-18

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 16:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “11  So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis; 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. 14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.  16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.”

            I first want to mention that the name of this seventh chapter in MacArthur’s commentary on these verses is “Portraits of Two Women.”  As one reads through these eight verses they will be able to see that there are two very different women involved. 

            In John MacArthur’s introductory commentary he speaks of what has been going on in our country and other countries which are liberation movements which try to elevate those involved in them to a higher status.  I suppose that he is referring to the women’s movement that has been going on for many years in our country.  However do movements of this type actually bring real fulfillment to those who are attracted to them?  I think that those who have read different Spiritual Diaries know that one of the reasons that I write them is to tell the truth of what the Bible tells us and that is that because of the fall that is found in Genesis chapter three  all people that have been born since that happened, with the exception of One, are born with what the Bible describes as a “sin nature” and that means that everyone sins because they are born with this sin nature.  We sin because we are all sinners as Paul writes “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).”  I really don’t want to call salvation a movement, but when one becomes born-again they are elevated more than any liberation movement can ever hope to raise them.  We will be able to see this to one of these women that are described in these verses.  Jesus spoke of this truth of what happens to a person who accepts and understands what being born-again is all about in John 8:32 “you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’”  Every person who has been born-again knows the truth and that truth have set them free.

            John MacArthur concludes his brief introduction with the following two paragraphs, the last one giving us a blueprint of where we are going as we look what happens in these verses, and by the way there are only two main points from these verses, so it will probably take us some time to get through each point.

“There are, therefore, only two types of people in the world:  those whom ‘the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set free from the law of sin and death’ (Rom. 8:2) and those ‘dead in [their] trespasses and sins’ (Eph. 2:1).  There are only the slaves of unrighteousness and the slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:16-18).

“The women’s liberation movement is an example of a social effort that promises freedom and can’t deliver anything but bondage to sin.  In the portraits of the two women found in Acts 16:11-18, we find examples of both freedom and bondage.  Lydia, the first recorded Gentile convert in Europe was a truly liberated woman.  The nameless demon-possessed slave girl typified those enslaved to sin and Satan.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Samuel” (1 Samuel 12:23).

Today’s Bible question:  “In Revelation 22:1, John saw a pure river of water of life proceeding out from where?”

Answer in our next SD.