Discover biblical truths concerning the most important issue of our day: the enemies of Christianity. Our six-part sermon series, Enemies, delivers valuable insights on spiritual warfare and how Christians can be on the winning side:
Enemies, Part 1
Enemies, Part 2: The Enemies of All Righteousness
Enemies, Part 3: The Enemies of the Lord
Enemies, Part 4: Who is the Enemy?
Enemies, Part 5: Friends and Enemies
Enemies, Part 6: How to Deal with Your Enemies
Enemies, Part 2: The Enemies of All Righteousness sermon teaches us about the spiritual battle between good and evil. There is spiritual warfare, and it is a battle for the eternal souls of human beings.
Key Verses:
Acts 13:1-13
Turn with me to the book of Acts, the book of the Apostles, or more commonly called the book of Acts chapter thirteen. To begin with, we will read the tenth verse. After we read this tenth verse, I am going to ask you to keep your Bible open to Acts chapter thirteen and we will get back to look at verses one to thirteen as we said, but I want to lay a bit of groundwork before we get into all of that.
Acts 13:10: “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
I call your attention to the middle of the verse where it says “enemy of all righteousness.” I want to talk to you this morning on the enemy of all righteousness. Who is that and what does that mean? What does it mean here “the enemy of all righteousness.”
God Creates Mankind
There is at the most foundational level of human existence, a difference between right and wrong. Today, we have people calling things wrong, right, and things that were right, wrong. And in other cases, trying to blur the lines between the two. You cannot say it is necessarily right or wrong. It is a kind of “gray area” that is a term that is often used.
But there is a battle between good and evil. There has been a war that has been going on and that war has been going on for at least as old as mankind. It was first pictured for us in the very beginning of the Bible, Genesis chapters one, two, and three. In Genesis one, verses twenty-six and twenty-seven, we learn that on the sixth day, the final day of creation, the Lord God crowned His creation with a being that was unlike any other, not like the animals, not like any other part of creation.
Genesis 1:26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” – God said this about nothing else. “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” – this is the crown of God’s creation.
Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
This is God’s plan to form man in His own image and to make them male and female. We will say more about that in a moment. That is chapter one.
Genesis 2:7: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Drop down to verses eighteen through twenty-four and we are introduced to the completion of mankind. Was it completed when man was created? No. God looked at it and said it is not good for man to be alone. The completion of mankind was the creation of woman.
Genesis 2:18: “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”
Genesis 2:19: “And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.”
Genesis 2:20: “And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
Genesis 2:21: “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;”
Genesis 2:22: “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”
Genesis 2:23: “And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
A pastor friend of mine wrote a book, he wrote a number of books, but he wrote a book called “Woman, the Completer.” He said man was incomplete until God gave him woman and women complete men. It was a good book, I read it. Not too long after that, his wife wrote a book and the title of her book was “Woman, the Assembler.” She was not arguing what her husband wrote, she was adding to it saying men are like a jigsaw puzzle in a box and it takes a woman to put all the pieces together. I thought it was a pretty good point that she made there.
The Serpent
In Genesis chapter three a new person appears. How many of you took hermeneutics? Hermeneutics is the study of Bible principles. There are certain principles you should use when you study the Bible. One of them is the first mention principle. When something is mentioned in the Bible for the first time, it sets a pattern and precedent for every other time it is mentioned.
And so, what it is saying here in Genesis, the book of beginning, and throughout the book of Genesis, there are many occasions of first mention. We have in the very first verse the mention of God. We have the first mention of the Spirit of God, we have the first mention of the Trinity, the first mention of creation, the first mention of Heaven and earth, the first mention of animals, we have the first mention of human beings, we have the first commandment of God, we have the first mention of serpent or Satan, and many other things.
The first mention of sin and the result of sin is included with death, not limited to death, but other results of sin. Then, there is the first mention of sin and sacrifice, the first mention of blood atonement for sin. We have the first mention of a Savior for mankind.
Genesis 3:14: “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
“It shall bruise thy head” is a death blow. “Thou shalt bruise his heel” as would have happened during the crucifixion. Here we have the first promise of a redeemer, the first promise of a savior for mankind, this is in Genesis.
Things that Were and Will Be
Let me fast forward to the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. I will be sharing with you chapter twelve verses one through nine. While Revelation is a book of prophecy of things to come. This section is not of things going to happen, this is a description of what already has happened and is given to us in chapter twelve to help us understand what we would be reading in chapter thirteen and forward.
Revelation 12:1: “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:”
The twelve stars are very important. Twelve is an important number in the Bible. There are twelve tribes of Israel. There were twelve apostles that Jesus called and other indications. Twelve is three times four, three is the number of the Trinity, etc. The woman pictured here is the nation of Israel.
Revelation 12:2: “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”
Revelation 12:3: “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”
Revelation 12:4: “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Do you remember the story of when Jesus was born? The wise men came to King Herod and they wanted to know where the new king was, but Herod had not heard about the new king. He called his religious leaders in, and they told him that Bethlehem is where he needed to go, and he sent the wise men there. He said to them that when they find it to come back and give him word so that he can go and worship. But he had no intention to go and worship him. After those men had left and returned to their own country, Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem and they killed all the baby boys, two years old and under. I will read again:
Revelation 12:4: “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Revelation 12:5: “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”
I do not think there is any doubt about that. “Rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” – That is none other than the Lord Jesus.
Revelation 12:6: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”
That is approximately three-and-a-half years. Somebody really quick is going to do the math and say that it is not quite three-and-a-half years. Understand that the Bible is not written on our calendar. It is written on a lunar calendar and is a little shorter than our 365 days a year. If you do the math from that viewpoint, it is about three-and-a-half years. What is significant about that? It is half of what we call the Tribulation period.
Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”
“There was war in heaven” – cannot imagine that, can you? It is difficult for me to imagine. Who is this dragon?
Revelation 12:8: “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
Revelation 12:9: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
“That old serpent” refers to that serpent you read about in Genesis chapter three. Do you mean a snake? Obviously, the word “serpent” means snake. Do I think it was a real snake in the Garden of Eden? I do. But it was not just any snake, it was one that had been possessed. Let me read this to you again, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan.” It is pretty clear, isn’t it? Who is this serpent? “The Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Let me make a very important point here. He was cast out into the earth. There is an image that many people have, that the Devil is the king of Hell, has a kingdom in Hell, and sits on his throne in Hell and plans his evil plots in Hell and sends his demonic minions to earth to cause problems for the rest of us. And every once in a while he pops up on earth himself and so forth. That is the picture many people have. That is not the picture the Bible paints, it isn’t. Where do we get that from? From epic poetry is where we get it, but it is not from the Bible. Listen again, “he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Where did Satan go when he was cast out of Heaven? Earth. Where is he today? On earth.
The book of Revelation is a book of “the things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.” So, it is a book of prophecy but the things I have read to you is not prophecy, these things have already occurred.
Battle for the Souls of Mankind
That brings us to Acts chapter thirteen. Remember in Revelation twelve there was war in Heaven:
Revelation 12:7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”
Revelation 12:8: “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
What we are about to read in Acts chapter thirteen is a story of spiritual warfare. The account is from the early ministry of Saul and Barnabas. Understand as we work through these thirteen verses, this is a true story. This is not a fiction story made up to illustrate a point. These are the events as they actually happened. The people in the story are real, the events are real. This is what happened. It is an accurate narrative, but it also gives us a wonderful picture of what spiritual warfare is, what it is all about, and what it looks like.
Make no mistake about it. God created man in His own image, breathed into man the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Spiritual warfare is the battle for the souls of mankind. That is what it is about. Satan has already fought against God, and we read that in Revelation chapter twelve, and he lost. He realizes he cannot dethrone God. Isaiah chapter fourteen tells his goal is to dethrone God and take over the universe. But he cannot do that, he has already tried that, and he has been defeated.
Satan is a terrorist, and might I add, terrorism is satanic. They go together. What a terrorist does is not take an army and attack another army and battle it out on the battlefield. The terrorist knows that he cannot succeed that way. So, what the terrorist does, and by the way, the reason they are called a terrorist, is that they attack that which an enemy loves, their homes, their schools, their children, they attack that which the enemy loves. Their goal in doing that is to terrorize the enemy into submission. That is Satan’s tactic.
So, since he has already battled God and lost, he attacks that which God loves. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” What is it that God loves? Who is it that God loves? The answer is that it is you. Again, the battle is a battle for the souls of mankind.
The Second Major Church
The first church was the church in Jerusalem. No question about that. I have been to Jerusalem decades ago and met there with the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem. I enjoyed talking with him and meeting him. I said, “You call yourself the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem. Are you descendants of the first church here?” He said, “Absolutely not.” He was honest about that. He is not saying that they do not believe the same thing. He is not saying they do not follow the same doctrine. He is saying there is no physical lineage that can be traced back. Why is that? The church in Jerusalem came under heavy persecution. So much so that many of them left and spread out to other areas.
So, the account we are about to read here in Acts chapter thirteen begins in the second major church. Understand that there were many churches started between Jerusalem and this church, but this was the second most prominent church in the early days. It is a great church, and it is found in New Testament terms, in the unlikely land of Syria. Why is that unlikely? Well, then and not now is it known to be particularly friendly to Christians. But this part of Syria, the kingdom of Syria is no longer in what we call Syria. Today, it is in what we call southern Turkey, and it is a place called Antioch. Antioch was a major city dating back to when the Greeks invaded what we call the Middle East.
Alexander the Great conquered so much but Alexander the Great died relatively young. He had four generals who divided his empire, and it came to be known as the Seleucid. One of them was Antiochus, who founded more than one city that he named after himself. We have this one Antioch, then Antioch the city mentioned elsewhere in the book of Acts. Why did he name more than one city after himself? He was a pretty egotistical fellow. It is because of him that the people of Israel celebrate Hannukah, a direct result of him.
So, the city was named after him, and it was a major city. It was very prominent in that day with a large population, very wealthy, very influential. In Roman times, it was the capital of that region. This church had many prominent preachers and teachers in it.
Take a look at verse one:
Acts 13:1: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets [preachers] and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”
He had been brought up in Herod’s household. It says he was brought up, but it does not say that he was his brother. But he says he was brought up with him so there is some connection there. “And Saul” – Saul is a common name in the Bible. There were two major people in the Bible who were called Saul. Saul was the first king of Israel and this Saul is known as Saul of Tarsis.
Back in the 1980s, there was a term used about certain people and they called them “yuppies.” What is a yuppie? A yuppie was a young up-and-coming individual. They were young but they were already making an impact in the world, they were headed for success. That was the definition of a yuppie. In Saul of Tarsis’s day, he would have been considered a yuppie. He was a young man moving forward, pressing toward his goals, already had a name and a reputation, and was successful at what he determined to do.
One day, as Saul of Tarsis, you read this in Acts chapter nine, moving out to persecute believers in Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, which by the way, Syria again, he met in person the resurrected Christ. He fell on his face as I suspect anyone would in that situation and he cried out, “Who art thou, Lord?” I think the answer rocked him to his very soul. Because the answer was, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.”
You see, Saul did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior. He believed that he was a fraud. He knew Jesus had been crucified, but he did not believe in the resurrection. And there he met the resurrected Christ. What was the next thing he said? “Lord, what would you have me to do?” And he spent the rest of his life doing what the Lord would have him to do. So, these preachers were at the church in Antioch.
Commissioned to Another Battlefield
In verse two and this is very significant, we have the first mention of something God sets forth. Let me lay a few thoughts for you. As you read the New Testament, if you are a member and a part of a New Testament, Bible-believing, Gospel preaching church, one that is serving the Lord, why do I say all that? Honestly, and I am not saying this to attack anybody, but not all the churches fit that description.
I will give you an example. This was in the news this week. I do not know if you saw it. Harvard University, by the way, Harvard University was founded as a Christian school. It was founded to train men in the ministry. They still have a seminary there. I would not give a dime for it, but they have one and a tremendous library. Harvard University is one hundred years older than the United States of America. It goes back to the days of the colonists.
I found this ironic with what I am about to tell you, but the motto of Harvard is “Veritas,” which is truth. Harvard University just appointed a new chaplain. They had a chaplain throughout their existence. Their new chaplain, stay with me here, Veritas is their motto, their new chaplain is an atheist. I am not making this up, it was in the news this week. Can I ask you something? What is the point of having a chaplain if he does not believe there is a God? There is so much more we can say about that, but that should give you food for thought.
So, when I say there are churches that are not Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches, there are. Again, I am not attacking anybody, I am not attacking Harvard University, I am telling you what was in the news this week.
What I am saying is this. If you are a member of a Gospel-preaching, Bible-believing church, the New Testament only gives two reasons for you to leave that church other than death, obviously. Two reasons and they are valid reasons, both of them.
One is, and we will not see it in this passage, but one is if the church goes into doctrinal error. What does that mean? It means they are no longer Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching, they no longer hold to the truth of God and proclaim it. You try to correct that error and cannot. The Bible and the New Testament tells us to separate from that.
The other one, and the first mention principle, is right here in Acts chapter thirteen in verse two. Let’s read verse one again to get the flow of thought:
Acts 13:1: “Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets [preachers] and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”
Acts 13:2: “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
All the fellows mentioned in verse one ministered to the Lord. That is what they are supposed to do. Notice what it says next. The Holy Spirit said to separate Barnabas and Saul. What do you mean by separate? They are going to leave this church at Antioch, a great, growing church, Gospel-preaching, Bible-believing, doing great work for the Lord. And two of the most prominent teachers of the church, Barnabas and Saul, the Holy Spirit says that they need to leave.
What did they do wrong? They did not do anything wrong. Remember what we told you a moment ago when Saul meets the Lord and realizes who he is and says, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” Well, that is what is going on here. The Holy Ghost comes and says, “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
What the Holy Ghost is saying to the church at Antioch is that they have wonderful work there, keep doing what they are doing, but need Barnabas and Saul to go serve somewhere else. That is the first instance in the New Testament of somebody leaving a church. It is a very honorable situation, very honorable. All of the passages we are looking at, do not miss this, is about spiritual warfare. When the Holy Spirit comes to the church at Antioch and says that Barnabas and Saul are needed to serve somewhere else, what is said here is that they are doing great here but they are needed to deploy in another battlefield. That is what He is saying. So, what did they do? They did what they should have done. Look at verse three:
Acts 13:3: “And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
When the church fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them away. When it says they laid their hands on them, what I am saying is, that they commissioned them, and they ordained them for this work that the Lord had called them to do. They are going to leave this great church and the Lord is going to send them somewhere else to do His work. The spiritual battle is raging in Antioch. Victories are being won there but there is more to be done.
Did not the Lord Jesus tell the church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature? Why is that? We are talking about spiritual warfare. The battle, again, I told you this before and I will tell you again and again before we finish this morning, the battle is over the souls of mankind. And so, are they preaching the Gospel and winning souls for the Lord there in Antioch? They are, but there are more people to be reached.
Were they preaching the Gospel and winning souls in the church in Jerusalem? Read the book of Acts chapters two through five and you cannot miss that. They were. The Lord told them to go out. It is interesting. When the Lord gave at the church in Jerusalem the Great Commission, He says, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me,”:
Acts 1:8: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
In Jerusalem refers to the city, and Judea, the surrounding area, and Samaria, a place that they probably would not have gone if the Lord had not told them to, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Do you know what happened? As we said earlier, the church in Jerusalem came under heavy persecution. They were in Jerusalem and doing wonderful things. God was blessing tremendously, but they stayed in Jerusalem. But then the persecution came and you know where they went? Out into Judea, and then Samaria, and then the uttermost part of the earth where God told them to go.
So, that is what we have here, they have been ordained and commissioned for this work. Look at verse three again:
Acts 13:3: “And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.”
Acts 13:4: “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.”
“So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost,” stop right there. In verse three it is the church that sends them out, but in verse four, who sends them out? The Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God is moving in all of this. It is His work, it is His will and he is moving them out. “So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia,” – I mentioned earlier the Seleucia Empire, the Seleucid Kingdom, remnants of Alexander the Great’s kingdom. Alexander at this point has been dead for centuries.
Acts 13:5: “And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.”
The verse says, “And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews,” but let’s stop right there. This is their first time, Paul and Barnabas, to go out on what we call mission work, missionary work, because that is what they were commissioned, to be missionaries. I thought this was about spiritual warfare. That is what missionaries do. They are going out and what do they do? They get to Salamis and they start preaching at the synagogues there.
Why did they go to a synagogue? Reason number one, they were Jewish. You see that church in Jerusalem is 100% Jewish folks. Later on, they would have people who were not Jewish as part of it, but not at this point, it is 100% Jewish. So they went to the synagogue, number one because they were Jewish. Number two, they go there because that is where people met to worship. Why didn’t they go to a church? There were no churches in that area. They had just left the nearest church and by now, they are hundreds of miles away from it.
So, they went to synagogues because that is where people gathered to worship God and that is where the scriptures were. Understand, unlike the advantage you and I have, not everybody had a full copy of the scripture in their own possession that they could read. They would have portions of it, but they would not have all of it. And by all of it, I mean all that was written up to that point.
So, where did you go to hear the Word? The synagogue. Where did they go if they wanted to read the Word? The synagogue. It was the most logical thing in the world for Barnabas and Paul to go to the synagogue and begin preaching. So, they go there and preach the Gospel, read verse five again:
Acts 13:5: “And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.”
The first time I was reading through this passage decades ago, I saw that and thought wow, that was really great. They had the apostle John going and being their preacher. But that is not what it means. That is what I thought it meant. He was not even there. This is talking about another fellow you heard of. We do not call him John, he is called John in this passage, we call him by his surname, Mark. This is John Mark, author of the Gospel of Mark. When it says that he was their minister, it means he was their servant and not their preacher. He took care of their needs.
The Deceiving Sorcerer
Acts 13:6: “And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:”
Let’s work through that verse a little bit. There is a lot there. They go through the isle of Paphos and they find a certain man there and the first thing we are told is that he is a sorcerer. The sorcerer in your English Bible comes from the Greek pharmakeia from which we get our English word “pharmacy.” A sorcerer in the Bible is one who dealt with drugs.
You read in Acts chapter eight where a sorcerer deceives people with his sorceries. Do you know what that means? It means he gave them drugs, probably hallucinogenic drugs which caused them to see wonderful things that they had never seen before, so I am told. I have never taken a hallucinogenic drug and I do not regret that. I certainly have known many people who have, and I have seen what it did to them and that is what convinced me that I did not want to do it. I was physically injured by a person because they had taken hallucinogenic drugs. The sorcerer was a deceiver and pushing drugs on people, most likely hallucinogenic drugs.
The next thing we learn about this fellow is that he is a false prophet. That means he is a preacher, but he is not called by God. God did not send him to be a preacher, he just decided to be a preacher. You might think there is nobody like that today, but there are. There are a lot of folks who get into the ministry and why have they gone into the ministry if God has not called them? You will need to ask them because there is no one reason for that. There are many reasons why people do that.
I heard one fellow say that where he lived there was not very much employment going on and the preacher seemed to make it alright, so he decided to become one. Is that why everybody does it? Certainly not and by the way, there are some preachers who are very, very wealthy. Let me share with you, they are the exception, not the rule. Most are not wealthy. Most are not in a position to be wealthy. So, when you think of a wealthy preacher, again, that is the exception, that is not the rule. But, most fellows and ladies, they get into a certain position, they can do OK.
Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. There is a denomination, I will not name it, but if you join that denomination, and you train and go to seminary school, all you have to do to be a minister, if you get a bachelor’s degree, they will assign you to a church. They will assign you to a certain size church. If you get a bachelor’s degree, you will get a church about the size of this one. If you have a master’s degree, they will move you to a bigger church. If you get a doctorate, you get a big church. They do not really do that! They do. What about what you believe and what you practice? Let me give you an example of that.
Many years ago, when I was in north Georgia, my father, my brother-in-law, and a friend of mine, the four of us. It was a Sunday, and we were going to go later that day to a family reunion. But it was Sunday morning and we wanted to go to church. So, we went to the town where the reunion was to be held, we found a church, and we went to it. I was still a young preacher at this point, I had heard of preachers who did not preach the Word, but I never encountered one.
We got out of a car, and we walked to the church and a man in a suit, I suppose he was an usher or deacon, stopped us and said, “Men, if you are a pulpit committee,” – now, let me tell you what that is. In that group, if a church needs a pastor, they will put together a pulpit committee and go around other churches in the denomination and listen to the preachers and if they like them, they will invite them to be a candidate to be their pastor. That is who this fellow thought we were. He says, “You are too late, this is our pastor’s last Sunday here.” We said that it was OK and that we just wanted to go to church, we were not there for anything else.
We went in and sat down to service. There was a pretty good size congregation, they sang hymns, and all seemed well. In the bulletin that they hand out, I noticed that the pastor’s sermon that morning was on the topic of world hunger, and at periods throughout the sermon, we will hear a drumbeat, and every time you hear that drumbeat, somebody died of world hunger. I got that and it was fine.
We were sitting there, and it got to the point that the pastor was beginning his sermon and I did not hear a drum, I heard a loud thump and thought what in the world was that? What happened, did a chair fall? I did not see anything and a little while later, another loud thump. That was their drumbeat, it sounded like someone smacking wood.
I will give the man credit, one point during the sermon he quoted John 3:16. He did not explain it, he just quoted it. Other than that, there was no reference to scripture. It was all on the subject of world hunger, I think all of us would like to see world hunger end, wouldn’t we? There was nothing based on the Bible, it was astounding.
As we left that church, I saw that man who greeted us along the way and said, “Brother, let me tell you something. Today is that man’s last Sunday here?” He said, “Yes.” And I said, “You are doing you a favor.” The truth of the matter is, that is a false prophet and that is what it is talking about here.
So, this fellow we find is a sorcerer, a false prophet, the next thing he tells us is, he is a Jew. Why doesn’t he tell us that first? Because that is not the most important part of it. It is a part of who this fellow was, but they are not attacking Jewish people here. Thus far in this story, it is about to change, but everybody in this story is Jewish. So, they are not attacking Jewish people but just pointing out that he is also a Jew.
Notice this, isn’t this interesting, his name is Barjesus. “Bar” or son of Jesus. That is this guy’s name, son of Jesus. Was he claiming to be the son of Christ? I do not think so. Jesus was a very common name in those days. Barjesus was his name which means his father’s name was Jesus, not Jesus of Nazareth, not Jesus Christ, but Jesus. If you read your New Testament, and I hope you do, you will find a number of people named Jesus.
The Spiritual Battle Challenge
Going into verse seven, this fellow, who is a sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Barjesus:
Acts 13:7: “Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.”
“The deputy of the country,” what does that mean? It means he was appointed as a regent over that country. He was not quite the governor of the country but there was no governor present immediately so he served in that role. He was a very important man from a governmental viewpoint.
So, he was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, the first fellow we come across in this story who is not Jewish, and it tells us a little about him. What did it tell us about Barjesus? That he was a sorcerer and a false prophet and a Jew. What does it tell us about Sergius Paulus? First, he is a prudent man, which means he was a wise man. Secondly, he called for Barnabas and Saul. He heard of them, and he wanted them to come and meet with them. Why? He desired to hear the Word of God. So, he heard about Barnabas and Saul, he wants them to come and preach to him. This is the guy with the highest government office in the area. Then it brings us to verse eight:
Acts 13:8: “But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.”
Elymas is a different name, but it gives us an explanation. He stood up against Saul and Barnabas. Why did he do that? It tells you why he did it, but what it says is that he stood up and challenged them, it is a spiritual battle. How did he think he could do that? Remember that he is a sorcerer and a false prophet, he challenged them in a spiritual battle.
What are they fighting over? It tells you right here, His goal is to turn Sergius Paulus away from the faith. What does that mean? To turn him away from the truth. It means to turn him away from Jesus Christ. It means to turn him away from the Gospel. It means to turn him away from being saved. Do not misunderstand. What he wanted to do was to get this man’s soul condemned forever. That was his goal. That sounds like the work of Satan. If you think that, you hit the target. That is exactly what is going on. This is spiritual warfare, this is what spiritual warfare is all about.
The fellow, Barjesus, or Elymas, uses the power and position he has. He is not a part of the government but is associated with Sergius Paulus. What is the nature of their association? It seems to be pretty close.
I assume it is something like this. A few years ago, I was in a courtroom in West Palm Beach as a witness in case — you are wondering what I was charged with, I was a witness. The judge opened the proceedings and pointed to a man who was seated. The man was wearing garments that would lead you to believe he was a priest. And he just introduced him to the court and said, “This is my spiritual advisor.” I think that is what Barjesus, or Elymas was to Sergius Paulus.
Another fellow like that, you may remember the Romanov family, the czar in Russia before the Bolshevik revolution, he had a spiritual advisor and not the guy you would want to advise you spiritually. It is a similar situation. So, he sought to turn away the deputy from the faith, verse nine:
Acts 13:9: “Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,”
“Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,)” – now, I emphasize it like that because this is the first time, he is called Paul. Up until now, he is Saul, Saul of Tarsis, but now from this point on, he is called Paul. It is very important that you understand that Paul was filled with the Holy Ghost. He was filled with the Spirit. He already had the indwelling of the Spirit, he is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and he “set his eyes on him,” – he looked at him intently.
Then in verse ten, Paul says, “Well, Elymas, you are in the ministry, I am in the ministry, we are co-laborers, and we can sit down and talk shop. You tell me about yours and I will tell you about mine, and we can compare notes.” Is that what he said? Nothing like it. Here is what he did:
Acts 13:10: “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
“O full of all subtlety,” now stop and think about that. Go back to Genesis chapter three in your thinking. Genesis chapter three verse one, “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” This man is full of subtlety, Paul says, and all mischief, and then he just gets right to the point, “thou child of the devil.”
Do you want to know who is a child of the devil and who is not? Read the gospel of John chapter eight, the whole chapter. If you do not understand it after you read it, go back and read it again. It explains exactly who is and who is not a child of God and who is and who is not a child of the devil.
“And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness,” – it says you are against all righteousness. “Wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” – child of the devil, it is an either-or situation. Either you are a child of the devil or a child of God. There is no gray area in between. And this man did not want Sergius Paulus, the governmental leader of the area to become a child of God. That is what he is fighting against. Paul says, “thou enemy of all righteousness,” – he is satanic in his behavior, and “wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” – stop perverting God’s ways. Paul continues speaking:
Acts 13:11: “And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.”
Many times, you think that it is good that God’s hand is upon you. You would not have wanted to be in this man’s position. Paul says, “and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.” Now, he should be thankful that it is for a season, which means it is temporary. “And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.” – He was struck with blindness and could not see, he was already lost in spiritual darkness, now he is lost in physical darkness, and he looks for someone to lead him through the darkness.
That is the last we are told about this man. Did he ever come to be a believer? I do not know, it does not say. If I had to guess, I would probably say no, but we do not know that for sure. But this is the last mention of him.
Acts 13:12: “Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.”
When Sergius Paulus saw what was done, he believed. He was “astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.” Who won that spiritual battle? Hear me carefully, it was not Barnabas, it was not Paul, but God won that battle. Because this man, the enemy of all righteousness has tried to turn away from the faith, tried to turn away from the truth, tried to turn away from the Gospel, tried to turn away from that which would save his soul for all eternity, lost, and went out in his darkness. Sergius Paulus believed and when he believed he was born again.
Acts 13:13: “Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem.”
Spiritual Warfare Continues
We mentioned leaving a church. Saul and Barnabas were called by God to leave the church at Antioch and go serve the Lord elsewhere, and they did. And because of them, many other churches were started, and the great missionary movement begins here.
They continued in that work, but John Mark went back to Jerusalem. John Mark simply went home. Maybe he was tired in the battle. Maybe there was something else going on, but he went home. This became a point of contention between Barnabas and Paul, so much so, that went they started out again, Barnabas wanted to take Mark with him, but Paul said he was not coming, and they separated.
Later on, near the end of his life, Paul calls for John Mark and says he needs him and to bring him to him. Do you know the sad part? We never read that Paul and Barnabas got back together again. Why? Because he was one young man, and he would have been young at this point and decided to quit. That was not the end of his story. He comes back and did God use him? Well, let me ask you this, did you ever read the gospel of Mark? Yes, God used him. His life was not over. But why didn’t Paul want to take him on a second journey? Because he quit, he had gone back home.
So, there is a spiritual battle. There is spiritual warfare, and it is a battle for the eternal souls of human beings. That is what it is all about, do not make a mistake about it. Well, war is about real estate, power, and money. Yes, that is true, humanly speaking. But this is a battle for eternal souls. We know who wins in the end. Victory is secure, we sang that earlier. That raises a question. Each of us has to choose a side of the battle. Barjesus, or Elymas chose a side. Sergius Paulus chose a side. Before all that, Paul and Barnabas chose a side.
Folks, what I am telling you is, the battle is real, it is spiritual, it is for the souls of people. That is what’s at stake. We are not out to conquer nations, we are not out to get real estate, we are not out to get money, we are not out to get power, all of that belongs to the Lord. We are out to keep souls from going to Hell, we are out to keep souls coming to Christ where they can be forgiven and saved. If you trusted the Lord as your Savior and you have been born again, don’t you want that for other people? I think you do.
Watch the prerecorded live version of the entire service and sermon, Enemies, Part 2: The Enemies of All Righteousness, on Facebook.
Enemies, Part 2: The Enemies of All Righteousness — Related Sermons
Discover biblical truths concerning the most important issue of our day: the enemies of Christianity. Our six-part sermon series, Enemies, delivers valuable insights on spiritual warfare and how Christians can be on the winning side:
Enemies, Part 1
Enemies, Part 2: The Enemies of All Righteousness
Enemies, Part 3: The Enemies of the Lord
Enemies, Part 4: Who is the Enemy?
Enemies, Part 5: Friends and Enemies
Enemies, Part 6: How to Deal with Your Enemies
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About the Speaker
Dr. Michael L. McClure
Senior Pastor
Dr. Michael L. McClure, our lead pastor, is known for his in-depth knowledge and effective teaching style of biblical truths applicable to everyday living.