6  Evangelism  the Right Way  (Acts 15:36–16:10)

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (15:36–16:10)

The Lord Jesus Christ defined the church’s mission when He commanded believers, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). Throughout its history, the church has sought to carry out that mission.

While there is general agreement on the necessity of evangelism, there is wide diversity as to methods. There are many different approaches, from simple presentations of a few basic verses to sophisticated multimedia events; from one-on-one encounters to citywide evangelistic crusades. Countless books, tapes, and seminars exist to train Christians in how to share their faith. Schools of evangelism, training centers, Bible colleges, and seminaries all offer courses in evangelism. There is a bewildering plethora of tracts, booklets, and other evangelistic literature, everything from “One Way to Heaven,” to “Four Spiritual Laws,” to “Six Steps to Peace with God,” to “Thirty-nine Steps to Salvation.”

What is often overlooked in the emphasis on methodology are the essential, foundational principles undergirding all truly biblical evangelism. This passage illustrates that evangelism calls for the right passion, the right priority, the right personnel, the right precautions, and the right presentation at the right place.

THE RIGHT PASSION

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return …” (15:36a)

After the interlude of the Jerusalem Council, where the crucial issue of salvation by grace was decided, the Antioch church resumed its evangelistic outreach. Specifically, this passage marks the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey. His ministry, too, had been interrupted by the controversy with the legalists and his visit to Jerusalem. With that behind him, he was ready to move ahead with the task of reaching the lost.

The phrase after some days denotes an indeterminate period, during which “Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching, with many others also, the word of the Lord” (15:35). At the end of that time, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return….” It was not as if Paul was bored in Antioch. Helping pastor a large, growing church is challenge enough for most men. But Paul always felt keenly the call of unevangelized regions. It just was not in him to remain in one place very long when so many thousands still had not heard the gospel and he had been commissioned to reach them. He was a passionate man, driven by a desire to preach the gospel especially where it had yet to be proclaimed (Rom. 15:20). That passion was the result of love for God and commitment to obedience. It led him to write, “I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16). No one who lacks that concern for lost souls will ever be effective in evangelism. That lack of internal motivation is something no amount of training or mastery of techniques can overcome.

Everywhere Paul found himself, no matter how long he remained, was merely a step to somewhere else. For many years he longed to visit Rome (Rom. 15:22–23). One would think that Rome would be Paul’s ultimate goal, and he would be content to minister there the rest of his life. After all, Rome, capital of the greatest empire the world had ever known, was the most strategic city in the world. It had a vast population and was visited by thousands from every corner of the known world. Yet even mighty Rome was merely another stopping place for Paul. To the church in that city he wrote that he planned to visit them “whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while … I will go on by way of you to Spain” (Rom. 15:24, 28). He was a man compelled to reach out to the lost, and he could not rest from that burden for long, even in the company of fellow believers.

Paul’s passionate concern for those without Christ found an echo in the heart of J. Hudson Taylor, the nineteenth-century English missionary to China. He wrote:

Such passion cannot be learned by studying evangelistic methodology. It comes from knowing and loving Christ so deeply that some of His love for lost sinners becomes our own. And knowing Christ comes from studying His Word. It is through that study that “we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

THE RIGHT PRIORITY

“… and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” (15:36b)

Although Paul was the greatest human evangelist the world has ever known, he certainly did not fit the twentieth-century stereotype. The modern conception of an evangelist is someone who travels from city to city preaching the gospel, leaving his converts to be followed up by others. Paul, however, was a biblical evangelist. He saw his responsibility as not only proclaiming the saving gospel but also establishing churches and maturing the new converts in their faith. It is not surprising, then, that he planned for his second missionary journey to retrace his first one. His goal was to visit the brethren in every city in which they had proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they were. Paul understood clearly that the ultimate priority in evangelism is discipleship—teaching believers to obey all that Christ has commanded (Matt. 28:19–20).

What motivated Paul, apart from his desire for their maturity, to revisit the converts from the first missionary journey? First, he loved them as his spiritual children. He expressed that love to the Philippians when he wrote, “God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:8). He told the Thessalonians, “We, brethren, having been bereft of you for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face” (1 Thess. 2:17).

That is an element frequently missing in contemporary evangelism. There is too often failure to show enough love to those led to Christ. As a result, the evangelist does not accept responsibility for them. Paul’s evangelism suffered from no such lack of love, however. To the Corinthians he wrote, “If you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). Paul viewed himself as a loving father, responsible for the spiritual well-being of his children.

A second motive for revisiting his converts was Paul’s commitment to the most effective evangelistic strategy of all—building mature believers, not spiritual infants, who are capable of reproducing. Paul’s commitment to maturing believers mirrored that of our Lord, who spent most of His time with only twelve men. Paul knew that, as an apostle, he was given to the church

Paul expressed his philosophy of ministry in Colossians 1:28, where he wrote, “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ.” He was no hit-and-run evangelist. During his ministry at Ephesus, “night and day for a period of three years [he] did not cease to admonish each one with tears” (Acts 20:31).

In the long run, the work of a well-taught, mature, spiritually strong local congregation has a far greater impact than massive evangelistic crusades.

THE RIGHT PERSONNEL

And Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him; (15:37–16:3a)

God uses the right people, the people of His choosing, for the tasks He plans for them. To that end, He can and does use even the most negative circumstances to produce the most positive results. He did so in the case detailed in this text.

As they embarked on their renewed journey, Paul and Barnabas stumbled coming out of the gate. Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also. The imperfect tense of the Greek verb translated was desirous shows that Barnabas was persistent. Equally adamant, Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work (cf. the discussion of Acts 13:13 in chapter 1 of this volume). After John Mark’s earlier failure, Paul had no confidence in him. The tough, battle-hardened soldier of Christ had no use for deserters. On the other hand, gentle, encouraging Barnabas insisted on giving his cousin (Col. 4:10) a second chance.

Eventually, there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another. Paroxusmos (sharp disagreement) is the root of the English word paroxysm. Their partnership dissolved not amicably but with violent emotions, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus (Barnabas’s home—Acts 4:36).

The question arises as to who was right, Barnabas or Paul. Although the Scripture does not explicitly say, the weight of the evidence favors Paul. He was an apostle, Barnabas was not. Therefore, Barnabas should have submitted to Paul’s apostolic authority. Also, Paul and Silas, but not Barnabas and Mark, were commended by the church (v. 40). Finally, Barnabas should have realized that it would have been unwise and difficult to have Mark along if Paul did not trust him.

Although they apparently never again ministered together (this is the last mention of Barnabas in Acts), we know Paul and Barnabas eventually reconciled their differences, because Paul later wrote approvingly of Barnabas’s ministry (1 Cor. 9:6). Even John Mark, the cause of all the trouble, later became one of Paul’s valued co-laborers (Col. 4:10; Philem. 24; 2 Tim. 4:11). He also became a close associate of the apostle Peter (1 Pet. 5:13) and was privileged to write one of the four gospels. Barnabas did a remarkable job in helping to turn around the life and ministry career of his young cousin.

After his split with Barnabas, Paul chose Silas and departed, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. Yet another of Satan’s attempts to hinder the spread of the gospel backfired. Now there were two missionary teams where before there had been one. Their impact had doubled.

Paul’s new partner, Silas, had been one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church (see the discussion of Silas in chapter 5 of this volume). He was in every respect a suitable man for missionary work. As a prophet (Acts 15:32), he was adept at proclaiming and teaching the Word. As a Jew, he had entrance into the synagogues. As a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37), he enjoyed the same protection and benefits as did Paul. And his status as a respected leader of the Jerusalem church reinforced Paul’s teaching that Gentile salvation was solely by grace. That was especially significant since part of their ministry involved delivering “the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem” (Acts 16:4).

On the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas had entered Asia Minor via the island of Cyprus. But with Barnabas and John Mark already there (v. 39), there was no point in Paul and Silas’s heading that way. Paul chose instead to travel through Syria and Cilicia, thus entering Galatia from the opposite direction. The significance of that will become apparent shortly. Syria was the region around Antioch, and the neighboring region of Cilicia contained Paul’s home city of Tarsus. Many of its churches had no doubt been founded by Paul himself. As Paul and Silas traveled through those areas, they were busy with their priority, strengthening the churches.

Having crossed the rugged Taurus Mountains through the Cilician Gates north of Tarsus, the missionaries came to Derbe and to Lystra. Paul and Barnabas had visited these cities on the first missionary journey (Acts 14:6ff.), and Lystra had been the scene of some remarkable events. It was there that Paul had healed a lame man (14:8–10). In response, the astonished crowd proclaimed the two missionaries gods (14:11–18). Following that, Paul had been stoned nearly to death by jealous Jews from Antioch and Iconium (14:19).

At Lystra, the missionaries were joined by a certain disciple named Timothy. Just as Silas had replaced Barnabas, so Timothy replaced John Mark. Now the significance of Paul and Silas’s entering Asia Minor from the opposite direction becomes apparent. Had they followed the same route as the first missionary journey, they would not have come to Lystra until the end. By adding Timothy at the beginning of the journey, they had his help for the entire trip.

Timothy was to play a key role in Paul’s life, eventually becoming his right-hand man (1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Thess. 3:2; Phil. 2:19). Timothy was also Paul’s “true child in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2; cf. 1 Cor. 4:17; 2 Tim. 1:2); he had been led to Christ by Paul when the apostle visited Lystra on the first missionary journey.

Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman (Eunice) who was a believer (as was his grandmother Lois, 2 Tim. 1:5), but his father was a Greek. The use of an imperfect tense verb, instead of present tense, to refer to Timothy’s father suggests he was dead. Being both Jewish and Gentile, Timothy had access to both cultures—an important qualification for missionary service at that time. He was a young man, probably in his late teens or early twenties, but he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. A key requirement for church leaders is that they be “above reproach” (1 Tim. 3:2, 10). Timothy, even in his youth, was qualified for service on that count.

Recognizing Timothy’s value and potential, Paul wanted this man to go with him. This was an important step for Timothy and a sacrifice on the part of his family. They knew all too well the dangers he faced as Paul’s companion. Eunice and Lois would still vividly recall the events of Paul’s last visit to Lystra, when he wound up bloody, battered, and left for dead. It was possible that Timothy might meet a similar fate. Nevertheless, they permitted him to go. After being commissioned by the elders of the local assembly of believers (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6), he joined Paul and Silas, and the course of his life was set.

THE RIGHT PRECAUTIONS

and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. (16:3b)

With Timothy’s father likely dead, and having been a Gentile in any case, Paul assumed the role of a father and took Timothy and circumcised him. Some have sharply criticized Paul for doing so, accusing him of falling into the same heresy he fought at the Jerusalem Council. But such criticism could not be further from the truth. Nowhere is it stated or implied that Paul circumcised Timothy so that he could be saved. The text clearly says that Paul circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. Circumcision was the sine qua non of Judaism. Had Timothy not been circumcised, the Jews would have assumed he was renouncing his Jewish heritage and choosing to live as a Gentile. Paul’s circumcision of Timothy had nothing to do with salvation; he did it for expediency’s sake, to avoid placing an unnecessary stumbling block in the way of Jewish evangelism. Timothy’s circumcision granted him full access to the synagogues he would visit with Paul and Silas.

Far from lapsing into legalism, Paul was being consistent with a principle he would later express in 1 Corinthians 9:19–22:

Significantly, Paul refused to circumcise Titus (Gal. 2:3). Titus, unlike Timothy, was a full-blooded Gentile. To have circumcised him would have been to capitulate to legalism.

From Paul’s actions concerning his two companions an important principle becomes evident. Missionaries must be sensitive to the unique characteristics of the cultures in which they work. As Paul did in circumcising Timothy, they should avoid giving any unnecessary offense. But like Paul in refusing to circumcise Titus, they must not compromise any of the timeless truths of Scripture.

THE RIGHT PRESENTATION

Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. (16:4–5)

Ultimately the key to effective, biblical evangelism is the right message. That message is the truth that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and it was that message Paul, Silas, and Timothy loyally proclaimed. As they passed through the cities of Galatia, the missionary team was delivering the decrees, which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. They were spreading the liberating truth affirmed at the Jerusalem Council, that salvation was wholly by God’s grace. Also, that new believers would not be hindered in their fellowship with their Jewish brothers, the missionaries informed the churches of the regulations imposed on the Gentiles. That is the twofold message of Christianity: salvation by grace and living by love.

Luke’s summary statement (cf. 2:41, 47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 9:31) shows the healthy effect of sound biblical evangelism and discipleship. He notes that the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily. The goal of evangelism is not to rack up huge numbers of converts. Yet it is true that strong churches, established in the faith, will increase in numbers.

THE RIGHT PLACE

And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (16:6–10)

Having passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, Paul decided to move further west into the province of Asia. That region was an important one, and there would later be churches in such cities as Ephesus, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Colossae, Sardis, Pergamum, and Thyatira. For now, however, God had other plans for the missionaries, and somehow they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.

With the way west blocked, the missionaries turned north into Mysia, the region north of Asia. But when they tried to go farther north into Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. There is no indication of how they were prevented, but with nowhere else to turn, they came down to Troas, a port on the Aegean Sea. They knew God would eventually reveal where He wanted them to go if they kept moving. At last, in dramatic fashion, He did so. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Macedonia was across the Aegean Sea on the mainland of Greece. In it were located the important cities of Philippi and Thessalonica. More significant, this would be the first entry of the gospel into the continent of Europe.

Having received the divine summons, Paul did not hesitate. Luke notes that when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. The missionary team’s experience illustrates a basic principle of knowing God’s will: to move ahead and allow Him to close doors until the right opportunity is reached.

Verse 10 is the first of the “we” passages in Acts. Luke, the writer of Acts, has now joined the missionary team. Like Timothy, he was to be Paul’s faithful friend and loyal companion for the rest of the apostle’s life.

This passage illustrates the foundational principles of evangelism: God uses people with the right passion and the right priority, with the right personnel taking the right precautions, to make the right presentation in the right place. Any evangelistic methodology must be evaluated in the light of such realities.