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We have finally come to the end of the book of Acts. Luke, the author of Acts, had recorded the beginning and the history of the early church. He talked about the church in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and how the gospel spread to Judea, Samaria, and throughout the Roman Empire. Through the efforts of the disciples of Christ, especially the Apostle Paul, churches were strengthened, leaders were ordained, and the word of God was preached, people were saved, and they went out to evangelize. Others were saved, and they in turn went out to evangelize, and the cycle went on and on. That was how the early church flourished.

But it was not without trouble. Paul's boldness, courage, and uncompromising stance earned him many enemies. He was arrested and imprisoned. He had to stand trial before Roman judges. When the Roman judges could not resolve the matter, he had no choice but to appeal to Caesar.

The gospel was propagated.

Now, back to our text. Paul had arrived at the capital of the greatest empire in the history of the world. In those days, Rome was not only the center of everything—power, commerce, technology, and so forth—but it was also the center of paganism. For most people, this was a city of all sorts of pagan practices, especially well-known for emperor worship. But for Paul, he saw that as a vast mission field. It was very significant that this man Paul, throughout his missionary journeys and evangelistic efforts, had traveled to all those pagan cities and would now end up in Rome, one of the most paganistic cities in the world.

Sometimes when we visit places and meet people, or when we have meals with our family members, relatives, and friends, most of whom are unbelievers, we feel as if we are burdened by their unbelief. Have they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? If not, they would be eternally lost. That should be our greatest concern.

The title of our message for tonight is “The Story Did Not Stop Here.” Let us consider Paul in this paganistic city of Rome.

Our first point is “Paul's Heart for Evangelism.”

Let us look at verse 17: “And it came to pass that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together, and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, I have done nothing against the people or customs of our fathers. Yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.”

Paul was not someone who would delay. After he had arrived in Rome, he immediately called a meeting with the chief of the Jews. These were the prominent religious leaders in the synagogues of Rome. It was the practice of Paul, whenever he reached a city to evangelize, to first reach out to the Jewish community. So he did the same thing in Rome. He assumed that these Jews had heard about him from Jerusalem, but he also anticipated that they would misrepresent him. So he needed to explain the real reason why he was made a prisoner.

Remember, the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had accused Paul of three things: that he was against the Jewish people, that he had defiled the Jewish temple by bringing in Gentiles, and that he had caused sedition amongst the people. Notice Paul did not mention the third charge of sedition because he knew that the Jewish leaders would not be interested in something that had to do with the Roman authorities. Sedition involves the government and the authorities, so he did not mention the third charge. He only quoted the first two and defended his innocence.

Verse 18: “Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me.” Paul stood before three Roman judges—Lysias, Felix, and Festus—and also King Agrippa. All of them had found that he had done nothing worthy of death or even imprisonment. But they were unwilling to release him because the Jews violently objected, and they did not want to risk a riot. Because of that, Paul had no choice but to appeal to Caesar. That is what verse 19 means: “But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained.” He was trying to defend himself. His action was purely defensive, not offensive. Remember, he was the accused, not the accuser.

Let us pause for a moment and consider this: Paul had appealed unto Caesar, right? All he needed to do was wait for the day to stand before Emperor Nero. Why did he call for all these Jewish leaders to explain his innocence? It was for the purpose of evangelizing to them. Paul always had a heart for his own people, the Jews, and he wanted them to understand that Jesus was truly the promised Messiah they were all looking forward to. So Paul says in verse 20: “For this cause therefore have I called for you to see you and to speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” The hope of Israel was a reference to the coming Messiah, which would include his resurrection and his kingdom. Paul had repeatedly said in the previous chapters that the reason why he was arrested and imprisoned was not because he was against the Jewish people or had blasphemed the Jewish temple. It was because he had antagonized the Jewish religious leaders through his preaching of Jesus as the resurrected Messiah. The Jews could not accept the truth that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah. Most certainly, Paul knew that if he were to preach Jesus as the resurrected Messiah, these Jewish leaders in Rome would also be offended. But he also knew that this could be the last time he would see all these Jewish leaders because he might not survive standing before the wicked Emperor Nero. Because of his heart for evangelism, because of his love for the souls of his own people, the Jews, he could not help but share the hope of Israel.

In a similar fashion, you and I love our unbelieving loved ones, right? We want them to be saved. But whenever we share the gospel, we run the risk of them being offended, angry with us, maybe refusing to talk to us, and being unhappy. But we cannot help it. We are willing to risk offending them because we understand the importance of evangelism and salvation. Once our unbelieving loved ones are lost forever, they would be lost. Deep down in our hearts, we know this might be our last meeting. I told my wife that we are about to visit my parents and her parents in Korea. This could well be the last time we would ever see our parents. Believers with a heart for evangelism will always look at people, situations, and things with a spiritual perspective.

Our second point is “Paul's Presentation of the Gospel.”

Verse 21: “And they said unto him, We neither receive letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee,” which means no one reported to us about you or spoke anything bad about you. The Jewish leaders denied any knowledge of Paul's case and had not received any official letters from the Sanhedrin Council in Jerusalem. It is possible they were speaking the truth because, if you remember, when Paul left Palestine for Rome, it was not a conducive time for sailing. He left on the last boat, and after the shipwreck, he was stranded on the island of Malta. He took the first ship from Alexandria to come to Rome. So it would not be possible for anyone from Jerusalem to arrive in Rome before Paul. So most likely, these Jewish leaders were speaking the truth; they had no knowledge of Paul's case.

So although they had no knowledge about Paul's case, verse 22 says: “But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest; for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.” They wanted to hear what Paul himself had to say, especially regarding Christianity, known as this sect, which by this time had spread throughout the Roman Empire. Christians and Christianity had faced much opposition.

But verse 23: “And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging, to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.” Jewish leaders had set aside a day to return and hear Paul. On that appointed day, many of them came to where Paul was housed. As usual, Paul took the opportunity to preach and explain the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God was not just a reference to the future millennial kingdom of Christ. Basically, the kingdom of God is a kingdom or a realm where God is king. So it includes the preaching of the gospel, the good news that God sovereignly calls and saves sinners from Satan, sin, and death to enter into his kingdom of salvation, life, and glory. Paul used the law of Moses and the prophets—a reference to the Old Testament—as a basis to preach the gospel. We can safely say he used the Old Testament to show them the gospel, the good news that Jesus alone saves.

Some people say that the Old Testament is no longer relevant today and that all we need is just the New Testament. That is absolutely untrue. Both the Old and New Testaments are part of holy scriptures. Both Old and New Testaments are equally important. In fact, without the Old Testament, it would be impossible for us to believe the gospel. Do you realize that? Without the Old Testament, how would we ever know that the Messiah would come? How would we ever know that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, that he would be born in Bethlehem, that he would be like a sheep going to the slaughter, to the cross? Without the Old Testament, we would not be able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah when he came. He came in the New Testament, so both the Old and the New Testaments are equally important, and together they form the holy scriptures. Paul himself, a scholar of the Old Testament, was able to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because he was very familiar with all the prophecies about the Messiah recorded in the Old Testament. So now he used the prophecies in the Old Testament to try to convince these religious leaders that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah, and he patiently preached to them from morning till evening.

Just take note of the time frame from morning to evening. Sometimes when we share the gospel and it takes us about two or three hours, we will say it is already a very long time. From morning to evening, he was preaching to them the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. As always, whenever the gospel was preached, some would believe while others would reject. Verse 24 says, "And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not."

You can imagine the situation when some had believed while others continued to reject. Those who believed would probably say things like, "Well, Paul was right. The Old Testament spoke about all these things concerning the Messiah, and they were fulfilled in the person of Christ. So, Paul was right." But those who rejected would surely fight back, and they would argue among themselves. The whole situation would be quite chaotic. That was why verse 25 says, "And when they agreed not among themselves," it means they were arguing, "they departed after that Paul had spoken one word," meaning one last parting word.

"Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers." When these Jewish leaders who had rejected the gospel started to leave, Paul gave them one last parting word, quoting from the prophet Isaiah. He said from verses 26 to 29, look with me: "Verses 26 to 29: Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."

Allow me to briefly explain this portion of Scriptures. This was a quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10. It was a passage whereby God had given to the rebellious Israelites, reminding them that He had given them opportunity after opportunity to listen to His Word. He had sent prophet after prophet, but they kept rejecting. Their willful rejection and their continual disbelief came to a point where they became unable to believe. It was like a judicial hardening, which means when you harden your heart and you harden your heart, it will come to a point whereby God Himself would harden your heart. And because of their rejection, the gospel was sent to the Gentiles so that they would hear.

This portion of Scripture was written by Isaiah more than 700 years ago, and it was fulfilled during the time of Paul, and it continues to be fulfilled even until today. That is how you and I—ENT—that was how you and I have come to believe in the gospel. Because the Bible says by the rejection of the Israelites, the gospel was sent to the Gentiles. According to Romans chapter 11, it will continue in this fashion until the last Gentile who believes in the gospel. Once the last Gentile believes in the gospel, then Israel will repent unto the Lord Jesus Christ, believe in Him, and Israel will be saved. That will be the time Christ will return again.

That was why I said it was like a judicial hardening because it was not permanent for the nation of Israel. It was for a particular period of time, for that particular group of people who kept rejecting the gospel, but not for the entire nation of Israel, because ultimately the nation of Israel will be saved. One day, Israel will turn to the Messiah whom they had pierced and crucified on the cross of Calvary. They will believe in Him, and they will be saved.

"And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had great reasoning among themselves," which means they had a great discussion amongst themselves.

Our last and final point is Paul's imprisonment did not stop him from preaching. Look at verse 30: "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him." In other words, Paul remained a prisoner two full years in his own rented house in Rome. He had the freedom to welcome all those people who visited him. Although he was not free to leave the confines of his house, Paul's imprisonment did not stop him from preaching the gospel. Prison could not stop him from preaching the gospel.

Look at verse 31: "Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him," which means no man, not even his imprisonment, could stop him from preaching the gospel. It was during this time that he wrote the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. So if anyone asks you, "What are the Prison Epistles?" there are four: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon.

Philippians 1:12-13 records for us a wonderful picture of what Paul did when he was in this house arrest. Maybe you can turn with me to Philippians 1:12-13; let me read for you. Philippians 1:12-13, Paul said to the Philippians, "But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places."

Apparently, at any one time, there would be at least one Roman soldier assigned to guard Paul. So you can imagine there would probably be three groups of Roman soldiers taking turns to watch over Paul. Paul would be sharing the gospel with each of those soldiers. They would return home, they would share the gospel with their family members and the other soldiers. It was a matter of time before the gospel of Jesus Christ was preached everywhere. That was what he meant when he said, "My imprisonment happened for this purpose, and through my imprisonment the gospel of Jesus Christ was made known in all the palace and in all other places."

Isn't it amazing that his predicament in prison or house arrest in Rome could not stop him from preaching the gospel, and it even spread into the palace of Caesar and in all other places? The Roman believers were encouraged by his boldness and courage. They went out to share the gospel, and many others were saved, and the cycle just went on and on. Nothing happens by chance or coincidence.

As I was preparing this message, I thought about Patrick and Joyce and their beloved Elana, whom the Lord had taken home. I thought about the doctors and nurses who had spent so much time with this family, helping throughout the whole ordeal. What did Patrick and Joyce do? Through their testimony as Christians, through inviting the doctors and nurses to the funeral service, they took the opportunity to share the gospel of Christ with them. Nothing happens by chance or coincidence.

Two days ago, I received a text from Reverend Ernest Stone asking for prayers because his church elder Harold and his wife Georgina were in the hospital. Georgina is in ICU at this moment, and elder Harold is in the major trauma unit. He's in a lot of pain, exhausted, and I was told that he was in some way frustrated too, but he did something very special. He has been sharing the gospel message with everyone who ministered to him. Isn't it amazing, even in the hospital, in such a situation, he was still glorifying God, sharing the gospel?

My friends, our life situations and circumstances do not happen by chance or coincidence. They are all God's will, purpose, and appointment. Maybe one of those situations may take us to our graves, but like the book of Acts, like Paul, like the disciples of Jesus Christ, our stories must not end here. They must continue with those people whom we have ministered to while we are still alive. The gospel story must continue, and it will continue with or without us until our Lord Jesus returns.

So I pray that all of us, as we take home tonight, this book has come to an end for us. For us, we will embark on a new book. But if you have forgotten whatever I've said, remember this phrase: the story did not end here. Because for the apostles, for the disciples, for the believers, they fought a good fight of faith. They lived and died and passed the baton to the next generation of Christians. And now that baton has been passed to us. It is our responsibility to pass this baton to the next generation, and for as long as our Lord Jesus will tarry in His return, they will pass it on to the following generations, all to the glory of our Almighty God.

Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for this opportunity for us to study through the book of Acts, and Thou hast sustained us, helped us to understand this book, and how the apostles, the disciples, the believers were faithful, and they went all over the place to preach the gospel of Christ. They lived and died; they fought a good fight of faith. We want to learn from their lives. Ultimately, we want to learn from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Can that be said of us too when we are called home? Oh Lord, we want to live and die fighting a good fight of faith. It is our responsibility to be faithful and pass the baton to the next generation of Christians. Like the book of Acts, like Paul, like the disciples, the story did not end here. Thy story, the gospel story, must continue, with or without us, until our Lord Jesus returns. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.