A Study of the Book of Acts
Sermon # 36
“A Study On Giving Advice”
Acts 21:1-15
Dr. John R. Hamby
Advice can be a wonderful thing or an absolute disaster. Given a moment or two I am sure that each of us can think back on some bad advice that you have received or perhaps some bad advice that you have given.
“Norma Bombeck writes the following about advice;
1. Never have more children than you have car windows.
2. Never loan your car to someone to whom you have given birth.
3. Pick your friends carefully. A "friend" never goes on a diet when you are fat or tells you how lucky you are to have a husband who remembers Mother’s Day--when his gift is a smoke alarm.
4. Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.
5. Know the difference between success and fame. Success is Mother Teresa. Fame is Madonna.
6. Never be in a hurry to terminate a marriage. Remember, you may need this man or woman someday to finish a sentence.
7. There are no guarantees in marriage. If that’s what you’re looking for, go live with a Sears battery.” (Erma Bombeck. www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/a/advice.htm)
In our text Paul is given advice on two different occasions by people who had a considerable influence in his life. These were people who cared deeply about Paul and did not want to see him suffer therefore they urged him not to go to Jerusalem.
Not everyone agrees on how to interpret Acts 21. Some see this as an example of Paul’s bravery while others see this as a grave mistake on the part of the apostle, arguing that Paul went against the Holy Spirit’s clear directions not to go to Jerusalem. Paul was of course human and made mistakes but I do not see this as a mistake on the part of Paul.
Paul had just experienced a heartrending farewell with the Ephesian elders. This experience was intensified by Paul’s statements to them that they would never see his face again (20:38). The Holy Spirit had previously revealed to Paul that the road ahead held “chains and tribulations.” (20:23).
Knowing that danger lay ahead, he trusted in God and did not fear the consequences. In Acts 21 we read, “Now it came to pass, that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course we came to Cos, the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. (2) And finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. (3) When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload her cargo. (4) And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.”
Verses 1-4 take us from Miletus, where Paul met with the Ephesian elders, to Tyre, where Paul and his party look up the believers and stay with them for seven days. It is here that Paul gets his first advice and I would like for you to notice three things about advice.
1. Some Times Good People Can Give You The Wrong Advice.
When he landed in Tyre he went looking for some Christian companionship. We are told that these brethren warned Paul, “through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.”
(v. 4b). The word “through” (dia) is not the word used previously (13:4, hupo) to speak of the direct agency of the Holy Spirit. Here it is better understood as “in consequence of the spirit,” that is because of what the spirit said. The Holy Spirit had not forbidden Paul to go to Jerusalem but according to Acts 20:22 had constrained Paul to go. [Ralph Harris. Ed. The New Testament Study Bible: Acts. (Springfield, Missouri: The Complete Biblical Library, 1991) p. 503]
The Holy Spirit had revealed that Paul would undergo suffering for Christ. The Holy Spirit did not tell them to inform Paul not to go to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit predicted persecution for the apostle and their love for him caused them to beg him not to go.
Christian’s today are just as inclined to give advice today as they were in Paul’s day. Unfortunately often the advice which is given today is well-intentioned, but wrong. We cannot avoid the sad fact of life that even some Christians will not understand the path we are taking when we follow the Lord. Some parents will be opposed to the decision their children take to follow the Lord if it is along a difficult path.
Paul obviously did not heed the advice offered him, because when the ship was ready to sail, he was on it.
2. Sometimes the Advice We Offer Others Can Be Based More On What We Desire Than What The Will of God Is.
Beginning in verse five we travel with Paul from Tyre to Caesarea, where Paul and the others will stay at the home of Philip the evangelist.
“When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way; and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city. And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. (6) When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home. (7) And when we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed with them one day. (8) On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. (9) Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. (10) And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. (11) When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
A man by the name of Agabus predicted Paul’s immediate future in a rather graphic way, he tied himself up with Paul’s belt. What Agabus did not say may be as instructive as what he did say. There is no evidence that Agabus interpreted this prophecy or gave Paul any instructions as to whether or not he should continue his journey to Jerusalem. But Paul’s friends sure did. The text says in verse twelve, “Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.” It appears from the use of “we” that even Luke joined those who were pleading with Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
Why has Paul received these warnings? There are several possibilities. 1.) These warnings are intended to convince him not to go to Jerusalem and in pressing on he is “out of God’s will. 2.) These warnings are to prepare him for what awaits him in Jerusalem. 3.) These warnings are intended to test his resolve and his pressing on is a sign of his obedience and faith.
It is my belief that these believers are right in their understanding that Paul would be imprisoned in Jerusalem but wrong in their conclusion that Paul should not go. Please note that these saints were wrong, even though they seemed to be unanimous in their conclusion. As Americans we even think democratically, you go with the majority. But the majority can be wrong.
3. Some Times Our Advice Rather Than Encouraging People To Follow the Will of God, Discourages It.
The pressure on Paul must have been considerable. For Paul acknowledged that they were tearing him apart by saying in verse thirteen, “Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? “Breaking the heart was a phrase used to mean breaking the will, weakening the purpose or causing a person to ‘go to pieces’ so that he could accomplish nothing.” [Ralph Harris. Ed. The New Testament Study Bible: Acts. (Springfield, Missouri: The Complete Biblical Library, 1991) p. 509] Paul is saying, “Why are you doing this to me? I need your encouragement to follow the Spirit’s leading. Instead you are crippling me with your grief.”
But Paul revealed his determination not to be deterred from following what God had revealed as His will for Paul’s life. “For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus”(13b). He willing to suffer for the Lord and if necessary to give his life. He reveals in his heart in his letter to the Philippians (1:20-25), “according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. (21) For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (22) But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. (23) For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (24) Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (25) And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,”
Paul says, “For I am ready.” In fact three times in scripture Paul says about himself that he is ready. In Romans 1:15, he says he is ready to serve. In our text we see that he is ready to suffer. In 2 Tim 4:6 he state he is ready for sacrifice. But the question is, “Are your ready?”
How can Paul face eternity and death without fear? Paul was not afraid of death because he knew that his sins had been forgiven. Paul affirmed this in his first letter to the Corinthians (15:54-57) “then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (55) “O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? (56) The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. (57)But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul understood that to be present with the Lord it was necessary to be absent from the body. Paul knew that for him death held no terror, for his sins were forgiven. Paul understood that the safest place that a Christian can be is in the center of God’s will.
Paul did not argue or spend time discussing divine guidance he simply followed what he knew to be God’s will for his life. It is only after Paul courageous statement of purpose that his friends were able to say what they should have been saying all along. Verse fourteen, “So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.” (15) And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.” Since Paul would not allow the people to have it their way, they were willing for the Lord to have it His way.
Application
While we may wonder about Paul’s friends and there advice we should take the time to reflect on how we should both give and receive advice.
1. Paul’s friends demonstrated the common inclination of being quick to point out God’s will for someone else’s life.
2. Although Paul’s friends no doubt meant well they were trying to make God’s will conform their preconceptions.
“To choose to suffer means there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not.” [Oswald Chambers. My Upmost For His Highest. (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 1992) p. 223.]
3. Paul’s friends in urging him not to go to Jerusalem were
actually being used by the enemy to discourage him in following the Lord. We have no trouble following the guidance of the Lord, as long as it is leading through blessings and ease. But we can not imagine that God’s will leading us or anyone we love through difficulties or trials. The truth is that neither the present nor absence of trouble is an indicator of God’s will.
