Thought on This Chapter
ACTS 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of
repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should
come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Here we see that repentance is connected to belief.
Paul said that John baptized with the baptism of repentance and then he explains
that John preached that they should believe on Jesus. The word repentance
means a turning from and a turning to. Repentance is a change of mind.
You need to change your mind about your sin. You need to change your mind
about needing to get saved. You need to change your mind about who Jesus
is and what He did for you on the cross. A repentant heart is a necessary
part of getting saved.
Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord;
Again repentance is not a works matter, it is a heart
matter. John's baptism of repentance was an outward symbol of what had
taken place on the inside. The people believed John's preaching about
Jesus, they repented in their heart and believed, and then they were baptized
thus showing forth that they had identified with the gospel.
I hope that you have called upon the Lord to save you
with a repentant heart. If you do, you have His promise to save you.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.
Thought On This Chapter
ACTS 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed,
and shewed their deeds.
Here we see the normal progression; the normal result
of getting saved. After they believed is says they came. Assembling
with other believers is what new Christians should do. Then they confessed
their salvation openly in public. The Bible says that Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. You find someone who is ashamed to be a
Christian and you have very good grounds to believe that they are not a
Christian. And then they shewed their deeds. They already had fruit
in their life. The change could already be seen. Salvation makes you
a new creature. That means that you should be different after you get
saved. Your values change, what you think of as important changes.
Look at what these new Christians did.
ACTS 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts
brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted
the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
They brought their books of wickedness, in this case
witchcraft and burned them. And they did it before all men. They
were not doing this in a corner. It was a public declaration of a truly
changed life. What they valued before had no value to them now. In
fact it was repulsive. They would not sell these wicked books to someone
else. They did not want to be a part of corrupting someone else.
Instead they destroyed them. The books were worth 50,000 pieces of silver.
Money did not matter when it came to following God. This kind of devotion;
this kind of change in their lives made an impact.
ACTS 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and
prevailed.
These new Christians were changed people. It
showed in their lives. People could see how their priorities have changed.
What they valued was different. These were sold out Christians. They
did not just talk the talk; they walked the walk. People saw that their
Christianity was for real. The result was that the word of God grew
mightily and the word of God prevailed. Many more people came to know the
Lord.
The way Christians live makes a difference.
People still need to hear the gospel to get saved. However, it helps for
them to see a real life example of a changed life. It helps them to see
the reality of the saving power of Jesus.
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King James Bible Main Index:
ACTS 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
ACTS 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
ACTS 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
ACTS 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
ACTS 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
ACTS 19:6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
ACTS 19:7 And all the men were about twelve.
ACTS 19:8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
ACTS 19:9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.
ACTS 19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
ACTS 19:11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
ACTS 19:12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
ACTS 19:13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the LORD Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
ACTS 19:14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
ACTS 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
ACTS 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
ACTS 19:17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
ACTS 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
ACTS 19:19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
ACTS 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
ACTS 19:21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
ACTS 19:22 So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
ACTS 19:23 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
ACTS 19:24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
ACTS 19:25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
ACTS 19:26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
ACTS 19:27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
ACTS 19:28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
ACTS 19:29 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
ACTS 19:30 And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
ACTS 19:31 And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.
ACTS 19:32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused: and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
ACTS 19:33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
ACTS 19:34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
ACTS 19:35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
ACTS 19:36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
ACTS 19:37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
ACTS 19:38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
ACTS 19:39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
ACTS 19:40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
ACTS 19:41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
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ACTS 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and
finding certain disciples,
Paul runs into some religious men. Instead of
just accepting whatever they believe, Paul asks them a very important question.
ACTS 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy
Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Paul asks them a doctrinal question. He asked if
they have received the Holy Ghost. Now to be able to understand what is
really going on here, you must know when does a Christian receive the Holy
Ghost.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye
believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
The order is you hear the gospel, you believe, then the
Holy Spirit seals you. This all happens at salvation.
You get the Holy Spirit at salvation.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
If you do not have the Holy Spirit, then you are not
His.
You receive the Holy Spirit at salvation so if you have
not received the Holy Spirit, then you are not saved. The teaching that
you get saved and then get the Spirit later is not Biblical.
And just so you do not miss understand me. I
am not talking about this unbiblical flopping on the floor junk.
So Paul in a round about way is asking them if they are
saved. Paul now knowing that they are not Christians asks them about
their baptism. Paul wants information about what they believe so he can
witness appropriately to them.
ACTS 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye
baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
They tell Paul that they were baptized unto John's
baptism. Paul now knows how to work with them.
ACTS 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him
which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Paul then explains what John's baptism was really
about. Paul exposed their error. He taught them the truth. He
told them that they needed to believe on Christ Jesus. And then look
at what happens next.
ACTS 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus.
They got baptized again. Baptism is for saved
people. Their first baptism did not count because they were lost when they
got baptized the first time. One of the things that baptism is for is
to show forth and identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of
Christ.
Now that they are saved they can now follow the Lord in
believers baptism.
In Acts Chapter 19 we have an example of re-baptizing
someone who was not properly baptized the first time.
To have scriptural baptism you must be saved, be
baptized with the right method, and with the right authority.
The only correct method is to go under the water and
then back out of the water. This is the only method that shows the death,
burial, and resurrection. You cannot show death, burial, and resurrection
with sprinkling or pouring.
The only correct authority is a scriptural Bible
believing New Testament church.
If you were baptized before you were saved, then you
need to follow the Bible's teaching and get baptized again.
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