2 Enemies of the Gospel

Passion Creek Church

2 Enemies of the Gospel

September 15, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Acts 15:1–21

As good, true, and beautiful as the gospel is, there has always been resistance to it. In Acts 15, we see the natural human inclination to fight against the reality that God forgives us simply because of our faith in Jesus — some Jewish leaders began forcing extra rules on new Christians. Peter, Paul, and the rest of the apostles give a wise response to these new Christians: they tell them to guide their hope back toward Christ alone, but also to guard their lives by following a way of life. The church today faces a similar issue. We’re either tempted to try and earn something that’s already been freely given, or we’re tempted to accept what’s been freely given without reorienting our lives in response. To follow Jesus is both to receive a free gift and to reorient our lives in response. We choose to put our trust in the person of Jesus and allow his free gift of grace to transform us as we submit more of our lives and desires to him.

Paul vs. The Philosophers

October 13, 2024 • Caleb Martinez • Acts 17:16–34

In https://ref.ly/acts%2017;csb?t=biblia, Paul finds himself in a city very different than what he’s used to. Grand temples, pagan altars, and false idols fill the great city of Athens. When he begins sharing the good news of Jesus with the people of the city, he’s mostly ridiculed. But eventually, he’s invited to share his beliefs in front of a small crowd in the Areopagus court. As Paul explains who the true God really is, he confronts and dismantles the pagan idolatry that fills that city. He proclaims the good news that God is bigger than any temple, can’t be contained in any statue, but is also nearer to us than our very breath. Today, our world is the same as Athens. We can be tempted, like the Athenians, to share devotion that solely belongs to God with other worldviews, religions, and ideologies that oppose the way of Jesus. But to truly seek first the Kingdom means we too must confront and dismantle the idols in our lives and give all of our worship and devotion to the King.

The Making of a Model Church

October 6, 2024 • Trey Van Camp • Acts 17:1–15, 1 Thessalonians 1:1–8, 1 Thessalonians 2:13

As a church planter, Paul was always on the lookout for “foxes” that can ruin the good soil of the Kingdom — things like cynicism, gossip, and bitterness. But when he meets the Thessalonians and the Bereans, he encounters something different. Rather than brushing him off or blindly accepting his message, the Bereans model healthy skepticism. They are students of God’s Word who orient their lives around His truth. Similarly, the church in Thessalonica is later commended by Paul because of their response to the gospel. Rather than simply believing the right things, they commit to living the right way. Today, we can learn from both the Bereans and the Thessalonians. Being students of God’s Word means we have the right theology and the right practice. By reorienting our daily lives in response to the gospel, we too can become a model healthy church free of evil “foxes.”

A Businesswoman, A Slave Girl & A Jailor

September 29, 2024 • Acts 16:15–40

In https://ref.ly/acts%2016;csb?t=biblia, Paul and Silas finally reach Europe. As they arrive, they encounter three different people in different seasons of their lives, yet all in need of the gospel. Lydia, a successful businesswoman, reorients her wealth and resources toward God and his Kingdom. A demon-possessed Slave Girl is set free by the power of Jesus. A Roman Jailor about to take his own life finds both physical and spiritual salvation. In each of these encounters, the outcome is the same: the Kingdom breaks into their everyday lives and changes everything. Like these three people, all of us are in need. Some of us need literal and physical saving, and others of us simply need hope. Regardless of our status, financial situation, or season of life, Jesus promises to meet our needs. But to allow him to do this requires us to surrender our lives, our needs, and our resources to him.