Turn Back to the Living God (Acts 14:8-18)
A. A healing and a misunderstanding
1) Faith that is worthy of healing?
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. (8-10)
2) The mechanism of idol worship
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.(11-13)
B. Let's follow the Creator God not the gods we created
1) Created gods
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. (14-15a)
2) Creator God
We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. (15b-18)
Summary
The healing that had come through faith resulted in idol worship. Idolatry, in this case, involved people seeking the favor of someone who has something that they desired or needed in order to make their lives better. People thought that Paul and Barnabas would help them so they decided to treat them as gods. Idolatry is something that our Creator despises. Even if we claim to believe in God, if our chief focus is on our own profit and gain, we have turned God into an idol. God does not merely respond to our wishes in response to our prayers and offerings. He loves us and knows how to make our lives happy and fulfilled. Happiness comes, not to those who desperately seek to be happy, but is given to those who follow Jesus.
For Discussion
1) Why did people want to make Paul and Barnabas into gods?
2) What is idolatry?