18 Months in “Sin City”

“Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking. Do not be silent. For God is with you.”
– Acts 18:9-10

According to recent figures from USA Today, the top five vacation spots in the U.S. are New York City, Florida, Hawaii, San Francisco ... and Number Five: Las Vegas, Nevada. Tourists spend a whopping $35 billion in Las Vegas every year. People love the guilty pleasures Vegas has to offer: the decadent food, the sensual shows and, most of all, the gambling. And they LOVE that advertising slogan: “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” No wonder they call it “Sin City.”

Las Vegas in our day has a lot in common with the city of Corinth in the Apostle Paul’s day. Corinth was the “Sin City” of the Roman world. And the Corinthian leaders would have adopted Las Vegas’ motto if they had only thought of it first: “What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth.”

After Paul wrapped up his ministry in Athens, Corinth was the next city where he chose to continue his ministry in southern Greece. Why did he choose it? Well, for one thing, it was a strategic city. Because of the way the land was laid out, most major trade routes had to pass through Corinth. For another thing, Corinth was a big city—one of the largest in the Roman world, with an estimated 200,000 residents. But most of all, Corinth was a wicked city. There were bars on every corner, so drunken orgies were common. And high above the city was a plateau with a temple to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and sex. Rituals to worship Aphrodite involved very little love and a whole lot of sex. The temple to Aphrodite employed hundreds of male and female temple prostitutes.

So, why did Paul take the good news of Jesus Christ to Corinth? Theologian John Stott put it this way: ““Paul must have seen its strategic importance. If trade could radiate from Corinth in all directions, so could the gospel.”

When Paul first arrived in Corinth, before his ministry partners Silas and Timothy joined him, he stayed with a couple named Aquila and Priscilla. Like him, they had been trained as tentmakers, so he lived and worked with them. During the workweek he made tents, and on weekends, he preached the gospel. According to verse 4, “Every Sabbath [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Then, once Silas and Timothy arrived, we read that he “devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ” (v. 5).

Unfortunately, some of the Jewish leaders opposed Paul fiercely. So, according to verse 6, Paul “shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’” He had told the Jews the plain truth about Jesus Christ and their need to believe in Him, repent of their sins and follow Him as Savior and Lord. Now the ball was in their court. And from this point forward, Paul was going to focus primarily on witnessing to Gentiles.

Paul must have been feeling discouraged, wondering if it was time to move on to the next town, because in verse 9 and 10, Jesus gave Paul a vision. He spoke these words to him: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” That vision was just what the doctor ordered. It filled Paul’s tank. It gave him just what he needed to persevere and keep preaching the gospel in Corinth. According to verse 11, Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and half—much longer than he stayed in the other towns where he had planted churches.

Here are three quick lessons we can take from Paul’s time in Corinth:

Lesson #1: There is no excuse for being lazy. Every Christian needs to work. In Paul’s day, Jewish rabbis didn’t accept money from their students. They earned their way by practicing a trade. So, at a young age Paul had learned a trade—tent making. And whenever possible, he paid his own way by making tents. We should follow his example. If you can’t work outside the home, work at home. If you can’t work at home, work at church. If you can’t work with your feet and legs, work with your arms and hands. Use what God has given you to do something productive for the good of those around you.

Lesson #2: God has called you to warn those around you of the coming judgment. In His grace, God has taken the blinders off your spiritual eyes and allowed you to see what your family and friends can’t see. You can see that millions of “good,” “religious,” “moral” people will miss out on heaven. Because those who the world calls “good,” “religious” and “moral” have rejected Jesus Christ. Therefore, you and I have a God-given responsibility to warn the people we care about: They are sinners in need of a Savior. They need to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Tell them.

Lesson #3: Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking. Do not be silent. For God is with you. Like Paul, you may be a little scared to share Jesus with those around you because they are a hostile crowd. Jesus tells you today, “Do not be afraid.” You may wonder if it’s time to shut up about Jesus and just keep the peace. Jesus responds, “Keep on speaking. Do not be silent.” You may wonder where God is as you’re out on a limb for Him. And Jesus answers back, “God … is … with you.”

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church in Victorville. Join us at Impact for Sunday services: in person at 9 a.m., or online at 10 a.m. on YouTube or Facebook Live. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc. 

Don’t Block the Doorway to God

“We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”

– Acts 15:19

You might find this hard to believe, but up until the early 1800s, most Christian leaders in Europe believed that missionary work was a waste of time. That was before God raised up a young shoemaker named William Carey, who grew up in an obscure, rural town in England. From a young age, William Carey felt a burden for sharing the gospel with people in other countries who had never heard the name of Jesus. One day he took some shoe leather and thread and made a crude little globe. He would often hold that globe in his hands and pray and weep over it. It broke his heart to think of millions of people around the world going to Hell without anyone ever having shared the gospel with them.

Carey attended a minister’s meeting one day, and he stood up and urged the church leaders to prioritize missions. But one of the older pastors shouted him down, saying, “Young man, sit down! When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.” Sadly, William Carey heard comments like these all the time. It was discouraging, but he pressed on. Not long afterward he preached a sermon which included the now-famous words: “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.”

Within a year of first speaking those words, William Carey moved with his family to India, where they spent the next 40 years bringing about 700 people to a saving knowledge of Christ. His inspiring example sparked the modern missions movement. Over the past 200 years, millions of Christians around the world have been inspired to do what William Carey challenged us to do. Despite the opposition, despite the criticism and despite the naysayers, they decided to “Expect great things from God [and] attempt great things for God.” 

These words could have been the motto of the Christian Church in Antioch—the first church to share the gospel with Greeks who didn’t have a drop of Jewish blood in their veins. Thousands were being saved, and everything was going so well … until we get to Acts 15:1: “Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’” We’re not given the names of these men, but verse 5 makes it clear that they were “believers” in Christ. They were saved. They were Christians. They were just very misguided Christians—the kind who could do more damage to the church from the inside than unbelievers could ever do from the outside.

When it came to following Christ, the new Christians in Antioch had been ALL IN. Then, suddenly, some brothers came along and told them: “You aren’t really saved. Believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior isn’t enough. Repenting of your sins and getting baptized isn’t enough. Walking in obedience to Christ’s commands isn’t enough. Unless your men undergo a circumcision surgery and you all start obeying all of the Old Testament laws, you’re all going to Hell.” Now the new Greek Christians were utterly confused in their new faith. Centuries later, Warren Wiersbe shared this great insight: “The progress of the gospel has often been hindered by people with closed minds who stand in front of open doors and block the way for others.” We pray for open doors. But just because God opens a door, it doesn’t mean that someone won’t block the doorway.

So, the church acted quickly. They sent Christian leaders, including Paul and Barnabas, to Jerusalem so that the apostles and church elders could render a final verdict. Once they were assembled together, Peter, Paul and Barnabas all made the case for rejecting the notion of circumcision and law-keeping being necessary for salvation. Then James made this great point in verse 19: “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” The Jews themselves had not been able to follow the Old Testament laws to the letter—why should they expect it of the new Greek believers?

Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” But so often Christians have made Jesus’ yoke out to be hard and his burden to be heavy. Many Christians, unknowingly, make the same mistake as the circumcision preachers in Acts 15. While trying to promote righteousness in the church, we heap burdens on new believers that do more harm than good.

Many of us hold strong opinions about matters of our faith and worship. We may hold strong beliefs about speaking in tongues, about free will, about end times prophecies, and about how a worship service should look on a Sunday morning—what kind of songs should be sung, how long the sermon should be, whether or not communion should be taken every week. These opinions can all be fine and good. But we have to be very careful about taking our personal convictions about areas that are not essential to salvation and requiring new believers to believe the same way. Because when we do that, we can muddy the simple message of grace in Christ. May we always pray for open doors of ministry and keep ourselves and others from blocking the doorway once God opens it.

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for our Grand Opening at 10 am Sunday, October 6^th at the new Ralph Baker School in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

A Savior for All People

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” 

- Luke 19:1-10

We hear the verse every year at Christmastime. It’s so familiar, sometimes the words might just slip by us. So now, in the middle of August, let’s take a moment to listen a little closer as an angel appears to the shepherds on that first Christmas night: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).  

Today I want to point out a tiny little three-letter word: “ALL the people.” Because that tiny little word makes ALL the difference. It’s at the heart of Luke’s gospel account.

You see, the Bible gives us four different gospels for a reason. Each of the four gospel historians presents a slightly different perspective. Matthew wrote to a Jewish audience and highlights Jesus as the King of the Jews. Mark wrote to a Gentile audience and presents Jesus as a powerful miracle-worker. John wrote his gospel account some 50 years after Jesus ascended into heaven, so he was writing to a generation that hadn’t personally walked or talked with Jesus. And he presents Jesus as the Son of God.

Luke intended for his gospel account to be read by both Jews and Gentiles, and he presents Jesus as the loving savior of the world—not just the savior of Jews, not just the savior of men, not just the savior of the rich or famous. Luke documents example after example of Jesus being a savior available for every man, woman and child.

Consider this: The word “salvation” isn’t used at all in Matthew or Mark, and it’s only used once in John. But it’s used six times in Luke. Luke also uses the word “savior” twice and uses the verb form “to save” more than any other gospel writer. So, Luke puts a big emphasis on Jesus as the world’s savior. Here are a few specifics:

#1: Jesus is the loving savior of NON-JEWS. There are a number of examples of this in Luke’s gospel account. For instance: the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3. When Matthew recorded Jesus’ genealogy in his gospel account, since he was writing to a Jewish audience, he only went as far back as Abraham. But when Luke records Jesus’ genealogy, since he’s writing to all people everywhere, he takes Jesus’ genealogy all the way back to Adam. It’s also worth mentioning that Luke is the only non-Jewish author in the entire New Testament.

#2: Jesus is the loving savior of WOMEN AND CHILDREN. Both Jewish and Gentile societies in Luke’s day were male-dominated. But Luke’s gospel proves that Jesus is an equal opportunity savior for men, women and children. From the very first chapter, women play a prominent role. Of the four gospel writers, Luke alone records the Angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Only Luke records Mary’s visit to Elizabeth after she received the angel’s message. In chapter 10, only Luke records the well-known account of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.

And Luke spends more time on babies and children than any other gospel writer. Luke records more details of Jesus’ birth than any other gospel writer. Only Luke records the dedication of Jesus at the temple when he was eight days old and the account of him staying behind at the temple without his parents’ knowledge when he was 12 years old. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record for us the account of Jesus blessing the children who were brought to him despite his disciples’ protests. But only Luke points out that people weren’t only bringing children but babies to Jesus.

#3) Jesus is the loving savior of the POOR and the NOBODIES in society. At Christmas time we often talk about how shepherds in Jesus’ day were nobodies. They weren’t counted in the census. They weren’t allowed in a synagogue. They were basically considered to be half-human. So, aren’t you thankful that Luke took the time to document that visit by the angel to the shepherds in the hills of Bethlehem? The angel told them, in Luke 2:11-12: “Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.” Isn’t that awesome!? “A savior has been born to YOU.”

In Luke 7:22, Jesus makes it clear that he didn’t come to earth to preach the good news merely to “the poor in spirit” as Matthew states. Jesus says he came to preach the good news to “the poor”—period. In Luke 14:13, as Jesus is teaching his followers how to throw a party that will please God, he tells them to invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind” to the party.

Jesus is the savior of all mankind: not just the savior of Jews, but the savior of non-Jews as well. Not just the savior of men, but also the savior of women and children. And not just the savior of the rich and famous, but the savior of the poor and the nobodies as well. So if you ever find yourself feeling like a nobody, this gospel is good news indeed!

Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.YourVictorvilleChurch.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.