THE JOY OF CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP

Acts 13:52 ... "And the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

      The thirteenth and fourteenth chapters of Acts relate the events that highlighted the missionary tour of Paul and Barnabas across the island of Cyprus and into the southeastern part of what is now Turkey. John Mark, a nephew of Barnabas, accompanied them as far as Perga, the seaport where they entered the mainland. There he left them and returned to his home in Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas, however, proceeded inland to Pisidian Antioch and preached the gospel in the Jewish synagogue there. From v.5 through v.41 of this chapter Luke records in some detail the sermon Paul delivered, one that seems to have particularly affected those who were proselytes to Judaism. A week later when they convened for the Sabbath service, "nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of God," (v.44), which Paul again proclaimed.  Envious of the large audience, the Jews began to contradict and blaspheme Paul. They continued this hostility day after day until it became necessary for Paul and Barnabas to move on to another city, but not before "the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region," (v.49).

      When they departed, the two evangelists left behind a church of Christ in Antioch to continue the work of the Lord and radiate the light of truth and salvation to the country about it. At this point the inspired writer reports that "the disciples were continually filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." Born in the fire of adversity, and with their mentors driven away, these young Christians were nevertheless enthused and buoyant with joy. Their response to the reception of the gospel is common in the New Testament and should likewise characterize anyone today who experiences the benefits of the gospel.

      These people had lived in ignorance of the true God, but now they had learned about Him. With this knowledge they saw for the first time that the idols they had been worshiping were imaginary, vain, and impotent. These new disciples discovered that they had been living in sin, estranged from the God who loved them, and doomed to eternal destruction. But Paul had announced to them that "through Him (Christ) forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things," (vs. 38-39). Upon hearing this, they had put their faith in Christ, and in that faith had obeyed the gospel unto the remission of their sins. For these young Christians of Antioch it was as though a dark night of ignorance had suddenly passed and a bright new day of truth had dawned upon them. It was as though lost children had found their Father and been reunited with Him. It was as though they had been between the teeth of a lion (Satan) and then snatched way to safety at the last moment. As these realizations became ever clearer to them, the joy that could not be disturbed by hardship filled their souls.

      The experience of the Christians in Pisidian Antioch in the mid-first century should be the same for Christians anywhere at any time. To this writer there is a difference between joy and happiness. The word "happiness" is derived from the root "hap," which expresses chance, something occurring at random. As good fortune comes to you by chance, you are made happy; but when it is followed by misfortune, as so often it is, you become unhappy. Happiness will rise and fall with the tide of daily experience. But true joy is the product of blessings bestowed by God upon those who believe and obey His word revealed by Christ. These blessings are invariable; they do not operate by chance, because their source is God with whom there is "no variation or shifting shadow," (Jas. 1:17). In war or in peace, in hunger or in fullness, in want or in plenty, Christians can still be filled with joy when they consider the great spiritual treasures and privileges they have in their Lord Jesus. It is from this perspective that Paul wrote Php. 4:11, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." With much or with little he always rejoiced that he had a Savior to secure him, a Father to love and claim him, and an eternal home in heaven awaiting him at the end of this earthly sojourn, (II Tim. 4:6-8).

HOW THE WORD OF GOD GROWS

Acts 12:24 ... "But the word of God continued to grow and to be multiplied."

      The first years of the church of Christ were a time of rapid growth in many ways. The increase in the outpouring of God's grace was the most important of them; it was, in fact, the basis of all the others.  Through God's involvement in human affairs there was a great advance in society of all that is good and true and righteous. The realm of evil had to retreat before the progress of God's power through the preaching and teaching of His word, through the extension of His kingdom, and through the great improvement in the lifestyle of converted sinners. Those early years were a period of glory, triumph, and joy for those who loved the Lord. Even today, after the passage of almost two millennia, Christians still look back upon the church's youth with pride and gladness, and then yearn for the restoration of such results in the present.

      One might wonder, however, in what sense we may understand the report by Luke that "the word of God continued to grow and to be multiplied." Does it refer to growth in substance? That is, was God continually revealing more of His holy message to the apostles, so that the body of the gospel was growing? There is no doubt that progressive revelation of divine truth was taking place. Paul, for example, once referred to "the surpassing greatness of the revelations" given to him, (II Cor. 12:7). Indeed, the light of knowledge from God was becoming brighter as time passed until the apostles had completed their earthly mission.

      Careful consideration leads this writer to conclude, however, that Acts 12:24 presents another view of the growth and multiplication of God's word. Rather than growth in substance, it refers to a growth in effect. As the apostles and other evangelists preached the message revealed to them, it had tremendous effect upon those who heard it. The reason for this is clearly stated in Rom. 1:16-17, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith.'" When the word of God was preached in its truth, simplicity, and power, it convicted sinners, showed them the way to a better life, and induced them to obey in faith its requirements. This is the effect reported in Acts 6:7, "The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem." The same results are reported concerning the people in Thessalonica: "Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. ... You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, ... so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia," (I Ths. 1:5-7).

      In the present we do not witness the same effects we read in these reports in the New Testament, and we are made to wonder why. Although the reasons are many and complex, surely a major cause is our failure to preach the word of God as they did in the beginning. Today we impose constructions on the gospel that pervert its message, although the gospel needs no modernization to address the situations of contemporary life. We hear much about adapting the gospel to meet our current needs and life conditions. Our real need, however, is to adapt our lives to conform to the standard of God's word. We need to realize that, if the New Testament can be made all things to all people, it finally becomes nothing to anyone. The average mind can understand that God's word clearly forbids certain lifestyles that have recently become popular. So, when those who present themselves as ministers of that word give their sanction to those forbidden lifestyles, mixed messages come across to the masses of people. Confusion results, respect for the divine word diminishes, and its preaching does not have the effect it should. But the power to change lives yet resides in that word to anyone who will take it as it is simply written!