In Peter Allison's sermon titled 'The Persuaded Joiners', the focus is on Acts 17 and 1 Thessalonians 1. He explores the concept of believers being 'persuaded' and joining Paul and Silas, highlighting how true persuasion in faith leads to action. The sermon emphasizes that persuasion is not due to human rhetoric or personality but is a result of the Holy Spirit's work. Allison argues that joining a church is biblically supported, countering modern claims that it is unnecessary. He discusses the responsibilities of church leaders and members, illustrating the mutual covenant through submission and care. The sermon also addresses the potential risks and rejections believers face when joining the church, suggesting that true courage comes from a heart devoted to God and a focus on eternal rewards rather than worldly acceptance. Ultimately, Allison calls for believers to be committed to the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and unmoved by earthly consequences.

Our scripture reading is Acts 17. I'd like to read two verses there, and then a couple more verses in 1 Thessalonians, beginning in chapter 1. This letter of Thessalonians ties very closely with the events that are recorded here in Acts 17. We'd like to look at them together this morning. Acts 17 verse 4, and some of them were persuaded and a great multitude of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women joined Paul and Silas.

But the Jews who were not persuaded becoming envious took some of the evil men from the market place, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people." And then in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 5. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance as you know What kind of men we were among you for your sake and you became followers of us and of the Lord having received the word In much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know. We were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict, for our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, even so, we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our heart. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness. God is witness.

Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the Gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you have become dear to us. For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil for laboring night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. May we rejoice at this word as one who finds great treasure.

Heavenly Father, we want to know your word, to love this word, and also to obey it. And we ask that you would accomplish this in us this morning. And I ask that you would sanctify my sinful lips, that they might proclaim the riches of your grace, and that you might preserve me from error. In this I ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, Leonard Sagan, I don't think any relation to Carl, the astronomer, wrote a fascinating book about 35 years ago called The Health of Nations, the True Cause of Sickness and Well-Being.

He was an epidemiologist and that's a big word for a doctor who specializes in the branch of medical science that investigates all the factors that determine or go into the presence or absence of illness and disorders in a society. I say it's a fascinating book because he reaches many counter-intuitive conclusions from his study of all the research in this area. And I'll give you just one example, for instance, is the idea that improved sanitation is one of the causes for reduction in mortality in the 20th century. His conclusion is the data doesn't seem to support that for a number of reasons. One of which being that when you look at the data in detail, the drop in death rates preceded the improved sanitation in each area.

But The reason I bring this up this morning is there was one section titled Church Membership in this book. Now the author I should say is not a Christian. If anything, he was an ardent evolutionist and an atheist. But the first paragraph in that section titled, Church Membership, reads this, Quote, According to studies of the health of people belonging to an organization, almost any kind of organization, joiners, show remarkably better health than non-joiners. There is no difficulty, he goes on, in demonstrating this advantage.

The difficulty lies in understanding whether this advantage is a consequence of self-selection, or it's one of the benefits of membership." Now I think the Scriptures give us a clear answer to that. It's no surprise that as we walk in God's ways in obedience to His Word, we will enjoy better health than those who don't. Just look at all the many curses listed in Deuteronomy 28 on those who break His covenant. Just look how many of them pertain to health, our physical health. The Scriptures say it is God who heals all of our diseases in Psalm 103.

And so Luke records in our passage this morning that those who believed joined Paul and Silas. That those who believed were joiners. Now we live in a day when many voices are claiming that joining a church is never taught in the Scriptures, or never required of Christians. But this text teaches otherwise. Luke says that these people were persuaded and they joined with Paul and Silas.

And so this morning we want to examine what it means for these believers to join with Paul and Silas. And we'll be drawing from Paul's letters to this church that was established during his short stay here in Thessalonica. To be persuaded is, first of all, to be convinced of the truth. These believers are those who were persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, that He suffered and died to pay the penalty for their sins and that He rose from the dead on the third day. And this persuasion came as the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts as Paul was reasoning with them from the Scriptures, as we saw last week.

He reasoned with them from the Scriptures. These believers, you see, were not persuaded by the cleverness of Paul's rhetoric or the force of his personality. Those are two things that can draw and hold a crowd. And sometimes we see those used today in the church. But Paul says to the 1 Corinthians 2, I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.

You didn't say I came with great force of personality and rhetoric, but I was there in weakness, trembling, fear. He says, in my speech and my preaching, we're not with persuasive words of human wisdom. Now these people were persuaded, but Paul says it wasn't his persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that our faith should not be in the wisdom of men, but it should be in the power of God. So Paul doesn't use strong rhetoric or his personality. He told the Thessalonians in the passage that we just read, for My gospel did not come to you in word only.'" He did speak.

He did reason with them from the Scriptures. But it wasn't word only, but it was in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. As you know, what kind of men we were among you. And what kind of men were they? Well, Paul says they labored at their own trade so as not to be a burden to anyone.

There was no profit motive in their venture here. They worked to provide for themselves and they took from the gifts of other churches so that they wouldn't be a burden on the people that they were seeking to evangelize. There was also no trickery or manipulation in this persuasion. He didn't use manipulation of any kind, whether it be flattery as a strong manipulator or psychological guilt. You can put a guilt trip on people.

Or bait and switch. We see that used sometimes in order to get people in or to get them to listen or to get them to make a decision. But Paul doesn't use any of these means in his persuasion. He says in 1 Corinthians 2, in what we read, "'For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit." No bait and switch. No clever tricks.

No asking misleading questions. In his evangelism. He says, "'But we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, even so we speak not as pleasing men, but God who tests our heart. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness. God is witness.

Nor did we seek glory from men or from you or from others." They didn't use this as a cloak for covetousness. They weren't getting wealthy off of their evangelistic efforts. They weren't charging anything. They weren't asking even for any money. But notice also that in conversion, the Holy Spirit works through our minds.

Yes, we know that God is sovereign, in whom He predestines to save. And in when and how He saves. And we know that no one can come to the Father unless the Father draw him. And we know that no one can believe without the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit irresistibly subduing our rebel hearts to Him. But it's also true that The Lord uses the mind.

As our mind hears the truth of God's Word, sinners are persuaded of that truth and enabled to willingly embrace Christ. And the Holy Spirit did this work as Paul reasoned with these people from the Scriptures. But He worked through their mind. The result is that these people, these Jews and God-fearing Greeks, these would be, the text says devout, but they would be God-fearing. These are people who weren't Jews, they weren't circumcised, they weren't proselytes, They didn't have the proselyte baptism, but they recognized a lot of the truth of the Scriptures and they were in some way worshiping with them.

People like Cornelius, They were God-fearers. They weren't saved probably, but they were God-fearers. And so these people, and there were some Jews, and the text says not a few prominent women, The result is that all these people, having been persuaded, come to Christ willingly. They willingly choose to follow Christ. See, Jesus told the unbelieving Jews in John 5, 38, But you do not have his word abiding in you, because whom he sent, him you do not believe.

You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are those they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to me that you may have life." And as he was coming into Jerusalem the week before the crucifixion, he said the same thing to the Jews in Matthew 23, how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." You were not willing. You see, sometimes the scriptural doctrine of irresistible grace is misrepresented as God forcing people to believe against their will. But nothing could be farther from the Scriptures. God irresistibly subdues unwilling hearts to Himself and makes sinners willing to embrace Him and believe in Him.

And we sang about that this morning. See, this is what is unique in Christ's reign from every other king. Every other king can only impose his will on people by force. He can make them obey because he's forcing them. He makes them obey against their will.

But Christ subdues our wills and makes us willing. He persuades us. As the Catechism says, He persuades us and enables us to embrace Christ so that we do it willingly. Philippians 2.13 says, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. And notice persuaded is in the passive voice.

They were persuaded. But they were persuaded. They came willingly. Now to be persuaded we see is also means that we act in the light of that truth. And that's why this word persuaded is often translated fact I would almost say usually translated obey.

Because to be persuaded means that we act in the light of that truth. We act according to the knowledge, according to the truth of which we are persuaded. If we don't act according to that truth, then we haven't really been persuaded of it. Paul talks in Romans 2, 8 about those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness. And that word for obey there is the same word as our word persuaded here.

Those who were persuaded of the truth act in the light of that truth of which they were persuaded and they join Paul and Silas. These were Jews who were in the synagogue. They were devout Greeks who probably had been going to the synagogue and now and these and and among them are many prominent women and Now they leave the synagogue and are joined to Paul and Silas and there's a lot that's implied In that little statement they joined Paul and Silas That word join means to be in close association with, close association. Some might even say they were allotted to Paul and Silas. Now, some translations see this as merely consorting with Paul and Silas, spending a lot of time with them.

A few translations put it that way. But it's a lot more than this. They were allotted. They were allotted. It's actually a passive verb.

They were joined with Paul and Silas. They were joined to the church that Paul and Silas was planting in Thessalonica. We know that they planted a church there because Paul talks about, Paul writes a letter to this church a little later this same year. This is probably the beginning early of AD 51 in the middle of his second missionary journey. He's come to Philippi, He's been caned there and has kicked out or left there.

And now he's come 100 miles away to Thessalonica, another prominent city. And he writes a letter to them from Corinth, so it's a little bit later, this same year. And he writes to a church that's there. So he is planting a church here, and these people are joined to that church. Now Paul and Silas had to abruptly, and from a human perspective, prematurely leave Thessalonica due to the events that are described in the next few verses, and we'll look at that next week, Lord willing.

But he's only, so he's only been here at most a couple months. We know he's been at least three weeks because he reasons for three weeks in the synagogue with the Jews. But he's probably a little bit longer than just three weeks, because there's a number of things that happen. But it's not much longer than three weeks because of a number of things that have to happen after he leaves. So some of the things that happen while he's there, he writes to the Philippians that when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but only you.

For even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities." So the Philippian church in this time, in the short time he's there, has had an opportunity to send him help twice. So it probably is a little longer than three weeks. But it's not that much longer because when he writes the letter, it's apparent that some people have already died at Thessalonica, maybe from the persecution. And so there has to be enough time that's passed after he writes this letter for it to be that it can't be much longer than a couple months that he's there. So in this short time that he's there, he plants this church, and he has a large multitude of converts from this ministry.

And God is certainly able to do that. Some people have preached for decades with no converts. And other times we see, as Paul here in Thessalonica, he preaches a few weeks and he has multitudes of converts. And these are primarily Gentile converts because it says just a few Jews joined and the rest of the Jews that didn't that weren't persuaded that weren't obedient persecuted the church. So, Paul, this is Paul's pattern.

He reasoned in the synagogue for 3 weeks and then and then continued evangelizing for a little while longer and in that time, there are the number of converts and they are brought into the church. This is the pattern throughout Acts. In Acts 2, the Pentecost, the Lord added, sorry, those who received His Word were baptized, And that day about 3, 000 souls were added to them. That is, they were added to the church, to the 120 that were the nucleus of that church. And a little later in that chapter, it says the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

And in Acts 5, the believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of men and women. See those who believed are baptized and joined to the church. Now Luke doesn't give all the details in this passage. In Acts 16, the previous chapter, he focuses on baptisms, how these new converts were baptized and added to the church. And we know that he started a church in Philippi where there was no synagogue because he wrote the letter to them there.

So these new believers are baptized and then joined to the church. And if there wasn't a church there, then one was planted. Now this chapter doesn't speak about the baptism, but it does speak about their joining to the church. Church membership is today questioned as something that's optional, or even something that's made up by church leaders who simply want a chance to exert control over people and collect money. There are people that say that.

But church is commanded in the Scriptures and it is taught. Hebrews 13, 17 says, obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as those who must give an account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." And so we can ask two questions of that passage. What souls must elders give an account for? And the second question is, what elders are we supposed to submit to?

Are we supposed to submit to all elders? Are we supposed to submit to anybody that says, hey, I'm an elder, and hangs a shingle on his front door? Are elders accountable for the souls of every believer in that world? Are they accountable for the souls of every believer just in the city? I think to answer this question is to define church membership.

How is this relationship established? Elders who are accountable for souls and people that we are called to submit to. How is that relationship established? Is an elder accountable for someone's soul just because that person walked into the church and said, hey, I'm here, you have to be accountable for me? Are people supposed to be in submission to elders just because some elders said they are no I think we can easily understand that this is a bilateral thing This is this is something that both parties have to consent to And both parties have to agree to and understand that they are entering into this relationship.

And this is the significance then of joining Paul and Silas. They are being added to the church and brought under their leadership and their shepherding and looking out for their souls. See, and this is why, this is a covenant, and this is why Every covenant is always joined by vows. The covenant of marriage is entered into by vows. The church covenant is entered into by vows.

Where both parties are consenting and vowing to enter into this relationship. The sign of union with Christ and of joining His church is baptism. See, these new believers are baptized and joined to the church. And in Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, We see both aspects of this joining illustrated. We see their submission to Paul and we see Paul's great care for their souls.

Just look at some of these passages that we read. We see their submission to Paul. Paul writes to them, and you became followers of us in verse 6, and of the Lord. You became followers of us, disciples of us and the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit." So that's one aspect of being joined to them. But we also see in this letter Paul's great concern for their souls.

His recognition, implicit recognition of his accountability. In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul said, You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe. As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His Kingdom and into His glory. There you see Paul's great concern for this church. He loved them as a father loves his children.

He exhorted them. He comforted them. He charged them that they would walk worthy of the Lord. This was a man who recognized he was accountable for these souls. And a little later he writes in that same letter for Thessalonians 2.19, For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing?

Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? Paul's saying what the thing we most rejoice over is that you would be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. He says, for you are our glory and our joy. These are the words of a man who is exercising care of these souls. A man who realizes he's accountable for these souls to the Lord.

He says in the next chapter that we wanted to come to you, but Satan hindered him. And we'll look more at that next week. And He goes on to say, when we could endure it no longer, when we could endure this separation from you no longer, we thought it good to be left alone, to be left without support so that you might have Timothy to minister to you. Paul gave up his right arm, his right hand man, his assistant, in order that this church might have somebody to tend to their needs. And he sends Timothy back.

And then later on when Timothy comes back with a good report, Paul is very joyful. To join with Paul and Silas is to become members of the church at Thessalonica. It is for Paul and Silas to become accountable for these souls and for these disciples to follow Paul and Silas. But to be joining with Paul and Silas is also to risk the rejection of others. They were joining men who had just been caned in Philippi.

And so it's not trivial for these people to join Paul and Silas, especially the Jews. What happens if somebody becomes convicted of a crime? What's the natural tendency? If somebody is charged even with a crime, what happens? They lose all their friends.

Nobody wants to talk to them. That happened to Paul. He says in one case, everybody deserted him. It's what happened to Christ when he was arrested. All his disciples deserted him.

These are people who are turning the world upside down. These are people who are angering the unbelievers. And so to join with them is they're willing to risk rejection. They had to have courage. And courage is not the same thing as the absence of fear.

Courage is pressing forward in faith despite the fear. They risked the anger of the Jews who did not believe. These are people who are going to be leaving the synagogue. And you remember what happened to the people in Jerusalem that left the synagogue. They were cast out.

They were excommunicated. They were cut off. I'm sure these people are well aware of what happened to Paul and Silas in Philippi, how they were dragged before this mob, caned, thrown into stocks, driven out of the city. And Paul alludes to this in his letter to them. He said, you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Paul recognized that it was costly for them to join him. Calvin wrote that no man does truly believe in Christ save only he which does give over himself to Christ and does freely and willingly fight under his banner." They endured persecution. We don't pray for tribulation and persecution, But we do count it a joy when it comes. He sent Timothy to them, so that no one could be shaken by these afflictions that they were joining. For you yourselves know that we are appointed to these afflictions.

For in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we should suffer tribulation just as it happened, and you know. For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you and our labor might be in vain." Paul was concerned for these souls for which he was accountable that in the midst of this affliction, in the midst of this persecution, they might fall away. It happens. It happens. And he rejoiced when he got back word from Timothy that they hadn't fallen away.

Willing to risk rejection means I think these things it means that we have a heart that's weaned from the world. No one can serve two masters. We hate one, and we love the other. We can't serve two masters. And being willing to suffer affliction, being willing to risk rejection as these saints were enjoining themselves to Paul and Silas means that their heart is weaned from the world.

It means to be devoted to God. And that means a willingness to be rejected by men, even by our own family. These Jews that joined may have had relatives, their own family members who were still in the synagogue. And these are the people that are stirring up the crowd, the mob. Do you think they got together for Sunday lunch?

Jesus said in Luke 14, if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father or mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, He cannot be my disciple. These believers risked the rejection by their own family. And Jesus doesn't mean there that we hate, but that it's a sense of loving less. We're not willing to forego those relationships for the sake of Christ, Jesus said we're not willing, we're not able. We cannot be His disciple.

It also means to be purged from sin. Courage comes from the fear of God. We need to put more weight on what God says than we do on what other people say. That's the essence of what it means to fear God. Lust destroys courage.

The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life cannot exist with the fear of God." And I think lastly, being willing to risk rejection means that we have a regard for the things to come more than a regard for the here and now. Paul said to the Philippians, brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching toward those things which are ahead. What is ahead of us? The prize. The crown of righteousness.

Eternal life. Being made perfectly blessed to fully enjoy Jesus Christ for all eternity. That's what's ahead of us. And Paul says, I forget the stuff that's behind, even if that means my family. And I press forward for the goal, the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

May the Holy Spirit enable us to be joiners of His Church in all the fullness of that word. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Holy Spirit that enables us to do the things that we could never do otherwise. For we are children of the flesh. And our flesh is weak, though our spirit is willing.

So we ask for your strength to be joined to your people and to your church, to be joined to you, without regard for the consequences of that. Lord, may our eyes be fixed upon You, the author, but also the finisher of our faith, who gave to us the example of one who despised the shame for the prize. Strengthen us, Lord, through your word this morning in this that we might walk in this world before men unashamed as your servants, unashamed of your word and not in fear but in faith. Through Christ we ask, Amen.