As we come to the final chapter in the book of Acts, I am struck with the example of boldness we see in the apostle Paul. The final phrase of our passage says that Paul spent two years in Rome “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (v. 31).
That final phrase, “with all boldness and without hindrance” (v. 31) may not seem to be super significant at first, until you survey everything that happens in this final chapter, keeping in mind that Paul has just experienced a deadly shipwreck. Just think about what happens after the shipwreck on the little island of Malta.
1After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta. 2The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, because it had begun to rain and was cold. 3When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. 4When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
7Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery. And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him. 9And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. 10They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to set sail, they put on board whatever we needed.
11After three months we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria, with the twin gods as a figurehead. 12Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13And from there we made a circuit and arrived at Rhegium. And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15And the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. 16And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him.
17After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews, and when they had gathered, he said to them, “Brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty, because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case. 19But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar – though I had no charge to bring against my nation. 20For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you, since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.” 21And they said to him, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. 22But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.”
23When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. 24And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. 25And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: 26“‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 27For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
28Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”
30He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
#1: PAUL’S MINISTRY ON THE ISLAND OF MALTA (VV. 1 – 10)
Despite being shipwrecked, shackled in prison chains, and bitten by a deadly viper, Paul ministered to the natives on the island of Malta once they figured out that Paul was neither a murderer nor a god. Then, after healing the chief’s father, Paul continued to minister as he healed many others who were sick, which caused the island natives to honor and bless everyone who were with Paul as they left the island three months later.
When I think about this little episode, I kind of have to shake my head in disbelief. Paul had just endured a nasty two-week shipwreck at sea, he gets tossed up on the beach of some unknown island, gets bitten by a deadly viper, gets mischaracterized as a murderer, and then subsequently gets mischaracterized as a god. Personally, I am thinking it would be a good time to take a nap or take a week off to recuperate!
But Paul was a fighter; there was no “quit” inside of him because the Lion of the Tribe of Judah was alive inside of him. The Spirit of the resurrected Christ was compelling him to keep on keeping on in the ministry of the gospel with all the boldness and tenacity of a blood bought sinner turned saint. Where did this boldness come from? Think about it, what causes a man to dust himself off after nearly dying and then to continue ministering in such a powerful way?
There were no chains big enough to stop Paul’s ministry. No shipwreck could apparently stop Paul’s ministry. No deadly viper bite would stop him. No kind of character assassination would stop him. He does not even appear to be affected by the momentary worship of those who thought he was a god. Where did this kind of tenacity come from? Why didn’t Paul just tap out?
We could learn a lot from this episode in Paul’s journey towards Rome. Think about what it takes to stop or hinder you from proclaiming the gospel. Loss of friendship, being made fun of, not having all the answers, being too busy, being overwhelmed by your own painful circumstances, etc., etc., and the list could go on and on. Our excuses for not boldly proclaiming the gospel typically do not even come close to the circumstances that Paul endured. What made this man continue pressing forward when most people would have tapped out?
#2: PAUL’S FINAL JOURNEY INTO ROME (VV. 11 – 16)
While traveling the final leg of the journey into Rome, Paul was encouraged by the brothers who went out of their way to welcome him and to give him shelter. Some of the brothers even invited Paul to stay with them for seven days (v. 14) and some of the other brothers came from many of the surrounding towns to greet Paul; Luke even tells us that “upon seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage” (v. 15).
I am certain that most of us have experienced the encouragement we get when another brother or sister in Christ reaches out to us during difficult times. Is it possible that the encouragement Paul received on this final leg of the journey to Rome is part of what kept him going; part of what contributed to his boldness? I think it is highly probable but let us look at the last portion of the text to see what we can see there too.
#3: PAUL’S MINISTRY IN ROME (VV. 17 – 31)
In verses 17 – 31, we see, that upon arriving in Rome, Paul wasted no time whatsoever in establishing his case and proclaiming the gospel in front of the Jews. Some of them listen to him while others do not, but that does not stop Paul from boldly quoting Isaiah, which causes some hurt feelings among the Jews but also draws a sharp line between those who receive the gospel and those who reject it.
One thing is for certain, I would not want any of us to be guilty of the indictment that Paul lays forward from Isaiah when he says: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet… you will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed; lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them” (vv. 25 – 27). After these harsh words, Paul essentially says that God will send his message of salvation to anyone who will listen even if those listeners are considered to be outsiders by the religious folks who seem to have some spiritual hearing problems and some spiritual blindness; it is intriguing to think about how blind religious people who are deaf to the Spirit of God seem to think they have any qualifications to decide who the outsiders are anyways.
I pray that this indictment will never be true of any of us. My hope is that we would all hunger and thirst for the straightforward, unvarnished, bold message of the gospel. My prayer is that we would never give into the temptation to water the gospel down with softer words, more quote unquote practical teaching, more culturally relevant messages, or better public speakers.
There are so many things in this world that compete with the unvarnished, oftentimes harsh, straight forward, uncompromising, in your face, sometimes offensive, bold preaching of the gospel. The world teaches us to water things down, to get divisive over minute details, to divide against others because we see secondary issues differently, to thirst for entertainment over truth, to seek out better public speakers, and to reject those who preach the gospel to us because it offends our cultural sensibilities.
Paul boldly proclaimed the gospel amidst those very same worldly threats and more because he was not concerned with making friends; he was concerned with making disciples. He was a fighter who came out of his corner of the ring swinging with every ounce of gospel infused energy he had so that others would have the opportunity to hear the gospel, believe the gospel, and begin to proclaim the gospel with the same zeal that he did.2
SO WHERE DID PAUL’S BOLDNESS COME FROM?
It still takes my breath away when I think about how God took this blood thirsty terrorist who was hell bent on the destruction of the early church and transformed him into a blood bought evangelist who boldly proclaimed the gospel and expanded the early church across the known world until his untimely death in Rome. Much could be said, and much has already been said about how Paul’s radical conversion would have fueled his boldness for Christ. But what do we see in our current passage that would help to answer the question? Is there something in our text today that helps to explain where his boldness came from in the final years of his life and ministry?
I have often said this, Paul was a man of immense tenacity; death was the only thing that was going to shut him up or stop him altogether. It was as though he literally had a deathwish; he desired to die like Jesus, for Jesus, so that the gospel would advance. He may very well be one of the boldest men in the history of the Christian church. But where did that boldness come from in his final years of ministry while in prison in Rome?
I think the answer lies within the final phrase of the chapter that we looked at briefly at the beginning of this message. As I said earlier that final phrase, “with all boldness and without hindrance” (v. 31) may not seem to be super significant at first, until you survey everything that happens in this final chapter. Think about what we surveyed in this chapter and take note of the fact that absolutely nothing hindered Paul’s ministry; nothing whatsoever!
The shipwreck did not hinder Paul’s ministry. The chains did not hinder his ministry. An island full of natives calling him a murderer and then a god did not hinder his ministry; he even got to heal the sick on that island without hindrance. In his final journey into Rome, he was completely unhindered from receiving encouragement from his friends and even in being visited by his brothers, he would visually see that the gospel was working in and through them without hindrance.
Once in Rome, even though some people rejected his message (as thousands had done before), he still witnessed the power of God through the gospel, saving many as he would later attest to in his letter to the Philippians when he noted that many within Caesar’s palace were beginning to follow Jesus! The gospel was advancing into the farthest regions of the known earth, unhindered, and Paul was witnessing its effects.
CONCLUSION…
In conclusion, what kind of boldness would you and I possess if we truly believed that we too could experience or witness the unhindered effects of the gospel in our lives and ministries? If you have trusted in Jesus, then you have been called to boldly proclaim the gospel in and out of season. It is true that all of us should be about the proclamation of the gospel within a yard of hell.
The reality is that ministry to the ends of the earth – within a yard of hell – requires boldness, and we will only possess a level of boldness that matches our level of belief in the unhindered nature, the unchained nature, the uncontrollable, unstoppable, unquenchable, unmatched, power of the gospel of our crucified, risen, and returning King! Your level of boldness will match your level of belief in the unhindered nature of the God you serve. Small god = small boldness!
Do you truly believe that the opposition is absolutely no match whatsoever to the power of the gospel? Do you really believe that there is nothing that can hinder you in seeking to proclaim the gospel within a yard of hell? As I thought about these questions, I remembered all the times I wanted to throw in the towel. Planting a church for nearly twelve years has been one of the most difficult, painful, and fearful things I have done. Starting a motorcycle ministry to minister to outlaw bikers has definitely been no walk in the park.
You know what has kept me from tapping out and throwing in the towel? Every time I nearly quit, God showed up in miraculous ways and proved to me that all of this is his from beginning to end and that he is totally unhindered in his pursuit of the lost.
$500 in the bank with no way to get paid, therefore we might as well shut the church down? A donor calls out of the blue the day before we shut the doors with a $20,000 check. God cannot be hindered! A powerful club threatens us and tells us to stop trying to build a motorcycle ministry, so we seriously consider the value of our lives and our families’ lives, and within a few months, representatives from two of the most powerful clubs in the entire world call me and tell me not to give up, to keep on going, we have their blessing, and that they will protect us.
Only God does these kinds of things because he cannot be stopped, nothing can hinder him when he decides to do something, and he certainly does not let humans dictate when and where he will advance his gospel!!! Satan, Sin, and Death have been trying to hinder God since day one, but he crushed their power with a bloody cross on a dark and lonely hill, and an empty tomb three days later, and a promise of eternal salvation that cannot be revoked.
Have you been struggling to live your life boldly for Jesus? Have you given into the mundane motions of dead religious activity that brings no life? Have you resigned yourself to being bored with God and finding more pleasure in your secret sins? Have you lost sight of the unhindered life that is promised to you in the gospel?
Get a vision for the unhindered nature of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and you will begin to live your life with all the boldness of a blood bought saint because you will understand that you are serving the God who is absolutely, one hundred percent, seeking and saving the lost through the power of a bloody cross, the victory of an empty tomb, and the trustworthy promise of heaven… without hindrance! – Amen!!!
1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).
2 Kent, Hughes, Acts: The Church Afire, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 1996), 342 – 345.