Son of the devil
Notes
Transcript
Confrontation
Confrontation
I want to start by reading a few scriptures from the Gospels.
John the Baptist to the religious leaders
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Jesus, after the Pharisees accused him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Jesus warns the people about the danger of listening to the scribes and Pharisees.
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
Jesus in a confrontation over his identity with the Pharisees
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
What do these stinging accusations have in common? Who are they directed to? Why are they spoken?
If anyone stands in the way of the Gospel, especially as a guide or false teacher, we must stand against this.
As we begin the first missionary journey of Barnabas and Paul they face a confrontation. Today, we are going to talk about what these confrontations are about.
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4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.
6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.
7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.
8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him
10 and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?
11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Mission to Cyprus
Mission to Cyprus
They were sent by the Holy Spirit
1 Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
Barnabas and Paul travel 16 miles to Seleucia and then sail to Cyprus.
Cyprus is where Barnabas is from:
36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
There first stop is Salamis
5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them.
In Salamis
In Salamis
Began at “the” Synagogue.
Proclaimed to the Jews and Gentiles who were familiar with the O.T.
John Mark was there to assist them.
In Paphos
In Paphos
Bar-Jesus (Elymas)
Bar-Jesus (Elymas)
Magician
Jew
False Prophet
Opposes the Gospel and tries to lead Sergius Paulus away
Sergius Paulus
Sergius Paulus
Proconsul: governor appointed by the Senate
Gentile
Intelligent
Wants to hear the Word of God
Saul is called Paul and confronts Bar-Jesus and proclaims the Gospel
Saul is called Paul and confronts Bar-Jesus and proclaims the Gospel
Filled with the Holy Spirit
Stinging rebuke
Son of the Devil (as opposed to son of Jesus)
Enemy of all righteousness
full of deceit
full of villainy
making the path to God crooked
Paul blinds Bar-Jesus
The gentile believes and the Jew rejects the Gospel
The gentile believes and the Jew rejects the Gospel
Key transition in the book of Acts. Although they began by preaching in the Synagogue the only recorded convert was a gentile ruler.
Saul goes by Paul
Paul assumes the position of leader
How do we handle confrontation surrounding the message of God?
How do we handle confrontation surrounding the message of God?
Never be ashamed of the Gospel but be active in proclaiming it. Romans 1:16-17
16 For 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.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Always be prepared even if you are opposed. 1 Peter 3:14-16
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
Know the Scriptures so well that you can refute their lies with biblical truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Be alert to subtle lies mixed with truth. This has been the devils tactic since the beginning. Matthew 16:12
12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Examine all teaching against the scriptures. Acts 17:11
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Do not over react or react too quickly in the case of a fellow believer. Take the time to loving correct if possible. Philippians 1:9-10 and Ephesians 4:14-15.
9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment,
10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
When confrontation is necessary. Titus 1:10-16
10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party.
11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.
12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.
15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
If a person is adding to the scriptures
If a person is standing in the way of the Gospel.