Bill Acton :: Acts 18 - The Witness on the Second Missionary Journey (Part 3)

Sermon Outline for Acts 18

The Witness on the Second Missionary Journey (Part 3)

1. The Witness in Corinth – Act 18:1-17
   1. The city of Corinth
      1. A political center – Capital of Achaia
      2. A commercial center
      3. A pagan center
         1. The temple of Aphrodite, goddess of sex
         2. The mystery religions
      4. A wicked center
         1. Prostitution in the religions
         2. Homosexuality in the city
         3. The problem of drunkenness
   2. Paul’s new friends – Act 18:1-4
      1. Aquila and Priscilla
         1. They were Jewish
         2. They had to leave Rome due to anti-Semitism under Claudius
      2. They were tentmakers
         1. They were faithful workers
         2. They helped the Apostle Paul
   3. The ministry of Paul – Act 18:4-11
      1. In the Synagogue
         1. He reasoned with them
         2. He persuaded them
         3. He appealed to mind and to will
      2. The arrival of Silas and Timothy
      3. The stubborn resistance of the Jews – Act 18:6
      4. The turning to the Gentiles – Act 18:6
      5. The new converts – Act 18:7-8
         1. They heard
         2. They believed
         3. They were baptized
      6. The new encouragement – Act 18:9-10
         1. The promised presence
         2. The promised protection
         3. The promised people
            1. The sovereignty of God in salvation
            2. The sovereign election - “I have many people in this city”
      7. The response to the Lord – Act 18:11
         1. Paul continued preaching
         2. He stayed a year and a half
   4. The attempt to silence the witness – Act 18:12-17
      1. The occasion – Act 18:12 - A new pro-consul came to Corinth
      2. The accusation – Act 18:13 - That Paul persuaded men to worship God contrary to the Law
      3. The failure of their attack – Act 18:14-16
         1. Gallio threw the case out of court
         2. He ruled that it was a Jewish religious matter and not a Roman concern
      4. The rage of the Jews - they beat their own leader, Sosthenes
2. Observations and Applications
   1. Paul wrote his first epistles from Corinth - 1 and 2 Thessalonians
   2. The decision of Gallio gave freedom to preach the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire without being charged with breaking the Roman law
   3. Sosthenes became a believer – 1Co 1:1
   4. From Athens to Corinth, from intellectual pride to sensual lust
   5. The message proclaimed – 1Co 2:1-5
   6. The church in Corinth