Acts 11:19-20 (NIV) says, "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the goods news about the Lord Jesus."
When persecution broke out against the Church a number of believers fled Jerusalem and took haven in a vastly different and unusual place. Antioch of Syria. Jerusalem was the city of God. Jerusalem was the center of worship for Jews throughout the known world. Her magnificent temple was the pride of the Jewish people. By itself the temple had a way of calling the Jewish people beyond themselves.
There was no question to anyone entering Jerusalem that her people were deeply devoted to Yahweh. They worshiped the ancient of ages, the alpha and omega, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Moses and King David and Israel. The temple, the special holidays, the community celebrations, the marketplace, the educational system, and even the home life of the average Jerusalem citizen was centered on the God of Israel. The citizens of Jerusalem had a rich spiritual heritage. They had a shared history and a shared identity. They had the Law and the prophets and the Holy Scriptures.
They collectively embraced a morality that was deeply rooted in the character and holiness of God. There were universal imperatives. There were standards of right and wrong. There was truth. There was accountability for righteous living. Blasphemy against God was worthy of death, which is why Stephen was put to death.
The contrast between Jerusalem and Antioch was striking.
But then there was Antioch of Syria. Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman empire and was reputed to be one of the most modern and innovative cities of its time. She had stunning architectural features including colonnades, city-wide plumbing and heating systems, and a resplendent system of lighting. Antioch was a prosperous community. As the seat of administration for the province of Syria, she was known for her fine roads and lines of communication and for being an international commercial hub, receiving desert and sea trade.
Antioch was known for her diversity. She was home not just to a sizable Jewish population, but also to Syrians, Greeks, and Romans. She was known as a center of brilliant scholarship and artistic refinement where Greek culture reigned supreme. Antioch was where tolerance was preached, new currents of thought welcomed and embraced, and where morality was an idea to be debated. There wasn’t any single, unifying belief in a creator, but rather a collage of mismatched intellectual and religious opinions. There was great interest in the mystery cults. The traditional morals and values that permeated the city of Jerusalem were not highly regarded among the people of Antioch.
In fact, morality was relative. The citizens of Antioch, with their public bath houses and chariot races, had gained a reputation for being pleasure seekers. They were known for loose and lustful living and for their lax morality. Instead of having a temple where people practiced holiness and valued purity, Antioch had a shrine in which a cult of prostitutes openly defiled themselves.
We live in a culture that is closer to that of Antioch.
Of the two cities it is more difficult for us to imagine the city of Jerusalem. We don’t live in Jerusalem anymore. We have been living in a modern day Antioch. We live in a city that is the seat of government in Illinois, a city which influences the whole state. We have the ability to communicate around the world at the speed of light. We can buy, sell, and trade anything internationally at the click of a mouse.
We live with the conveniences of plumbing and heating and elaborate lighting systems. We have the finest roads in the world. Even the poorest among us live in prosperity. We live in a city of ethnic and intellectual diversity with people from around the world. We have public schools, colleges, and universities that continually fill our minds with new ideas and which pursue new currents of thought, whether in scholarship or in art.
We live in a city which preaches and practices tolerance. Tolerance for everyone and everything and every belief and every lifestyle and every religion. In our city, morality is an idea that is to be debated. There are no universal imperatives and no moral absolutes on which to stand. Notions of right and wrong are antiquated and disregarded. Traditional values and beliefs are snickered at. In our city there is no single, unifying belief in the God of scripture, but rather a collage of confusing beliefs pieced together from television sound bites, forsaken traditions, world religions, and the internet.
And what about morality? Instead of getting married, couples just live together. Instead of staying married and working things out, couples divorce. Marriage is being redefined from being between one man and one woman to include homosexual relations. Instead of giving birth, mothers are aborting life in record numbers. Human life is just another choice and the murder of innocents is an inalienable right. Instead of administering justice, our courts are activist. They reinterpret laws, remove consequences for choices, bifurcate personal responsibility, and excuse immorality.
In our city we don’t have public bath houses. You just have to turn on the television or surf the internet to fill your heart and mind with lust. You just have to look out the window at the billboards or stand in the checkout line at the grocery store. You just have to go to the mall or any other public place to notice how people disrespect themselves by the way they dress.
What do we value today?
The question must be asked, what do we value today? Do we value God’s character? Do we value personal holiness? Do we love what is pure? Do we love truth? Justice? Do we value generosity or even sacrifice? Or do we value the pursuit of pleasure? The pursuit of what feels good in the moment? The pursuit of whatever our appetites desire? Or the pursuit of what makes us happy?
We have the same reputation as Antioch for having lax morality. For being loose, for being entertained by violence and impurity, for carousing, for drunkenness, orgies, fornication, adultery, and lustful living. You name it. Listen to the stories people tell about their weekends! Listen to your children tell about the MTV youth culture of our public school system.
We didn’t flee to Antioch. Rather, we have been living in Antioch since birth. Jerusalem is the furthest place from our imaginations. To say the least, we are affected.
What is our response to our culture?
The early Church in Antioch faced the same situation that we face right now in Springfield. It is interesting to note that the early Church didn’t talk about survival. The early Church members didn’t cocoon or isolate themselves from Antioch's culture. They didn’t become judgmental and use guilt and condemn their culture. They didn’t try to position themselves politically or legislate morality. They didn’t turn to slick marketing techniques, advertising campaigns, or rely on gimmicks.
All these things are advocated by Christian leaders today. But you know what? They don’t work! For decades, the cause of Christ has been pushed back in our culture. Who we are is a joke for most people. We aren’t a revolution. We are not even status quo. We are a relic of yesterday. We are a minority. A lot of people could care less if there was even a single church in town. Even among our own people every single activity under the sun including work, sports, recreation, gatherings, or a bad hair day, trumps joining with God’s people and being part of what God wants to do in our world. We're in Antioch!
What did the early Church do when they were faced with this new culture?
In Antioch the early Christians could have made themselves irrelevant. But they believed Jesus Christ was going to transform their culture and advance his cause in their city. The early believers postured themselves in their culture in four different ways. Those four ways are listed in Acts 11:19-29 (NIV).
"Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. When Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea."
First, they passionately loved Jesus Christ.
The first thing the believers did in Antioch was to remain true to their identity in Christ. They knew Jesus Christ personally. They knew he was God’s Son. They knew what the Old Testament scriptures prophesied about him in detail and that he had fulfilled the prophesies of the Holy Scriptures. They knew he had lived a sinless life. They knew that he had died for their sins and is Savior to all who believe. They knew he had been buried in a tomb, raised on the third day, and exalted to the right hand of God. They knew he was the way, the truth, and the life. They knew that Jesus Christ was always with them to the very end of the age. That he had been with Stephen at his death in Jerusalem and that he had appeared to Saul, a man who had zealously persecuted the Church.
The early believers remained centered on Christ. They were true to their inner core. Together, they resolved whatever doubts, unbelief, or fears they had. They deepened their knowledge of Christ. They grew in their faith. They boldly stood for the name of Christ wherever opportunity presented itself. They remained strong in Christ despite the cultural resistance they encountered.
They didn’t apologize for their faith in Christ. They didn’t deny the name of Christ. They didn’t retreat. They didn’t become politically correct. They told people of their relationship with Christ with precision and clarity of thought. In Acts 11:19-20 they're telling everyone about their Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was their very identity. They couldn’t be quiet about who they were!
Second, they passionately loved God’s Holy Spirit.
In Acts 11:23 we learn that news about the church in Antioch reached Jerusalem. When Barnabas was sent to Antioch he saw evidence of the grace of God. Last week we used the two poles of a magnet to show how as our hearts turn toward God, the Holy Spirit draws us deeper into fellowship with God. There is this undeniable magnetic pull that tugs on us and causes us to desire God’s will. And when our hearts are away from God, the sinful nature pushes us away from God. Like opposite pulls on a magnet, we resist any connection with God.
Although we cannot see the Holy Spirit, his presence and force in our lives is undeniable. At first, the Holy Spirit brings us under conviction for our sin. He calls us to trust in Jesus Christ, to confess our sins and repent, and to pledge our lives to him forever through water baptism. And then the Spirit really begins his work of transforming our lives. At first, we practice loving God and loving people. We experience big and small victories. In time, we develop consistency in living Christ’s lifestyle of loving God and loving people. Ultimately, we become models of the Christian life.
But all along the way, from start to finish there is this evidence of God’s grace. There is evidence of the transforming power of God’s Spirit in our lives. Like the early Church, our job is to yield to the influence of God’s Spirit, obeying his will, loving God, loving people, embracing God's purpose, and being changed.
Instead of becoming like our culture, we are to become like Christ. If salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It’s the contrast of righteousness to unrighteousness. It’s the evidence of God’s grace in our lives that transforms a culture.
Third, they passionately loved God’s family.
In Acts 11:26 (NIV) we are told that, "the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." In John 13:34-35 (NIV) Jesus told his disciples, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Part of the evidence of God’s grace in the early Church was how they loved one another. In Acts 11:23 we find Barnabas encouraging the Christians to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. In Acts 11:26 he and Saul taught the whole church. In Acts 11:29-30 (NIV) according to their own ability each of the disciples provide financial help to their brothers in Judea who were facing a severe famine.
These were just a few of the many ways the Christians in Antioch loved one another. They didn’t attend church. They became a church. They invested deeply and sacrificially in each other’s lives. They encouraged one another. They served one another. They welcomed new life into their fellowship. They spoke truth into each other’s lives. Their love for one another earned them a nickname, Christians, or "little Christs". What a terrific honor it must have been for their culture to call them by the same name as that of their Lord and Savior. They were first called Christians in Antioch.
Fourth, they passionately loved God’s world.
The early Church loved the world that Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior died for. In Acts 11:20 the believers' passionate love for Jesus Christ spills over into their culture. They tell people everywhere about the goodness of Jesus Christ. As a result it says in Acts 11:21 (NIV), "The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord."
In Acts 11:23 the believers' passionate love for God’s Spirit spills over into their culture. There is evidence of God’s grace in their lives. They are yielding to the Spirit. Barnabas encourages them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. As a result Acts 11:24 (NIV) says, "...a great number of people were brought to the Lord."
In Acts 11:25 the disciples' passionate love for God’s family spills over into their culture. The church met together under the ministry of Barnabas and Saul. In Acts 11:29 the disciples generously give to one another according to their ability. The result is that Acts 11:26 (NIV) says, "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch."
The city of Antioch was transformed by the early Christians.
Slowly but surely God transformed the city of Antioch through the ministry of the early Church. A hunger and thirst for knowing Jesus Christ began spreading through the city. An ancient morality, grounded in the character of God himself, became evidenced in a city known for its immorality.
A peculiar kind of love found only in Jesus Christ sprung up throughout the city. In the name of Christ people began loving God and loving one another sacrificially. And best of all, a love for God’s world emerged that sent shockwaves throughout the known world. Antioch became the home base through which the apostle Paul and the early Church would launch countless missionary journeys.
The fact that we live in Antioch is no excuse to become like the people who live in Antioch. God has a vision for this church and it is that we become a dynamic, life-giving fellowship that changes the world in which we live, starting with Springfield.
Springfield can become transformed by us.
Where do we start? We start by loving God’s Son, hungering and thirsting for his righteousness. We get to know him, start loving him, stand tall for him, and remain in him always. We start by loving God’s Spirit, yielding to his pull on our hearts as he draws us deeper into the purposes of Christ and fellowship with God. We yield to the dramatic changes he wants to make in our lives as we more fully love God and love people. We start by loving God’s family, not merely attending church but by intentionally putting ourselves in a position where we can serve one another, give, love, sacrifice, share, accept, admonish, teach, rebuke, correct, train, and confess.
We start by loving God’s world, caring about the world for which Christ died. This means telling people about Christ. Bringing people to Christ. Being a spiritual guide to others. Multiplying new life through evangelism and world missions.
God’s vision is that we do for Springfield and our world what the disciples in Antioch did for their city and their world.