Gtcotr/ss041915
Tell
the story of my continuing witness to a stairwell neighbor, (Terry Weiss), in
Germany and his subsequent conversion some years later followed by a letter to
me as to how my witness had never left him.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron
sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Somewhere
in about the year AD 52, the Apostle Paul was alone in the ancient city of
Athens waiting on Timothy and Silas to join him. Before they arrived Paul
decided to travel on a bit farther and made his way to the busy commercial city
of Corinth.
Acts 18
1 ¶ After these things Paul
departed from Athens and went to Corinth.
2 And
he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from
Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to
depart from Rome); and he came to them.
3 So,
because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by
occupation they were tentmakers.
4 And
he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy had
come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the
Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
6 But
when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to
them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean.
From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
7 ¶
And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man
named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the
synagogue.
8 Then Crispus, the ruler of
the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the
Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.
9 Now the Lord spoke to Paul
in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep
silent;
10 "for I am with you,
and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this
city."
11 And he continued there
a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Most likely about a year into Paul’s stay in
Corinth …
12 When Gallio was proconsul
of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him to the
judgment seat,
13 saying, "This fellow
persuades men to worship God contrary to the law."
14 And when Paul was about to
open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of
wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there would be reason why I should bear
with you.
15 "But if it is a
question of words and names and your own law, look to it yourselves; for
I do not want to be a judge of such matters."
16 And he drove them from the
judgment seat.
17 Then all the Greeks took
Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment
seat. But Gallio took no notice of these things.
18 ¶ So Paul still remained a
good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria …
19 And he came to Ephesus …
A
couple of years after Paul left Corinth , in the year AD56, Paul was living in
Ephesus and found it necessary to write a letter to those Christians in the
Corinthian Church. We know this letter as the book of 1st Corinthians.
Sosthenes
– It is uncertain as to who beat this man in Corinth, (perhaps it was some of
those “many people” God had in that city … A person does not have to be a
Christian to accomplish the work of God – take Judas Iscariot for example). We
don’t know exactly why he was beaten but we do know Paul continued his witness
a good while in Corinth not feeling any pressure to leave as he had in other
places. A couple of years later we find Sosthenes saved and serving the Lord
Jesus Christ along with Paul.
1 Corinthians 1
1 ¶ Paul, called to be
an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our
brother,
2 To the church of God which
is at Corinth …
Once
Sosthenes had tried to do harm to Paul and the witness of Christ but no Paul
welcomed him into fellowship as a brother in Christ. How did this happen? Paul
continued his letter to the Corinthian Church by revealing the strategy he used
when he first went to Corinth.
1 Corinthians 2
1 And I, brethren, when I
came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to
you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to
know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
3 I was with you in weakness,
in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
5 that your faith should not
be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1. Iron Sharpens Iron
·
We
embolden one another, just at Timothy and Silas encouraged Paul. (Acts 18:5)
·
Two
are better than one … (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
·
One
can put a thousand to flight …
2. More there be with us than be with them
·
2 Kings 6:16
·
2 Chronicles 32:7
3. There is no substitute for the message of the
Cross
·
I’m
not sure what changed Sosthenes but something happened
·
At
first he opposed the message of Jesus and later he supported it
·
Something
changed his mind … whatever it was
·
Paul
must have presented a clear and compelling witness
When
dealing with family, friends and even foes, simply keep the focus on Jesus and
Him crucified and let God take care of the rest.
Have
you heard the message of the cross?
