Synod Emphasis - ONA


And after the word from the Lord to Paul, we read that “he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” (from Acts 18:11) When there was an at- tempt on Paul, the proconsul Gallio, but ultimately, the Lord, protected him. (see Acts 12-16)


I Have Many In This City


Photo by Alexis Presa on Unsplash By James Ritchey W 14


hen Paul is in Corinth, we read that the Lord told him in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in


this city who are my people.” (from Acts 18:9-10) That promise that was given to Paul in the book of Acts reminds us too, that the Lord still has many people who have not yet come to faith in His Son. As noted, Corinth was a city that was, by and large, hostile to the Gospel. And many among Paul’s kinsmen, the Jews, had been hostile to Paul. We read that “When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed him and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.’ (Acts 18:5-6) And yet through the witness of Paul, “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8)


Paul was in a city that was un- friendly to the Gospel, and yet the Lord blessed his ministry. His min- istry there, we might say, was really rather ordinary. He was “teaching the word of God among them.” It was the ordinary preaching and teach- ing of the Word that the Lord was pleased to bless and to call His “many people” to Himself. And that word “for I have many people in this city” is of great encour- agement to us as we embark on the work of preaching, of church plant- ing, and of church strengthening. Our hope in church planting and in home missions is that the Lord is sov- ereign and that He is pleased to call His elect out of darkness and into light. Far from undermining the zeal of missions, the doctrine of His un- conditional election undergirds and empowers mission. The Apostle Paul had entered Corinth, an idolatrous city, and one with hostility to the Gos- pel of Jesus Christ. How did Jesus en- courage His servant? By reminding him that He was with him, and that there are many in that city whom the Lord has chosen. Perhaps at times we fear to en- ter upon the work of church plant- ing or church revitalization, because let’s face it–this work is hard. And as hostilities at times seem quite high to the Gospel, we fear rejection from the culture or worse. Yet, with the coming of Christ, a new age has  white to harvest (see John 4:35). This is a crucial time for church planting in the ARP, as there are a number of plants seeking a planter, and as there is a great need for the church to con- tinue to plant Westward. There are so many cities and small towns without a Reformed presence, and there are even many without a Gospel-preach- ing presence at all. There are many ARP churches without pastors which


The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


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