Acts 16:16-21: Just tell the truth

1) 16:16-19 – The problem

A) v. 16 – “divination” = Gk.: python

1) BDAG - the serpent or dragon that guarded the Delphic oracle; it lived at the foot of Mt. Parnassus, and was slain by Apollo.

2) Apollo took over the oracle of Delphi and communicated through her.

B) vv. 17-18

1) This might seem like free advertising, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen this.

(a) Lk. 4:33-35

(b) Lk. 8:28-29

2) I’ve always considered these to be situations where I don’t want to be endorsed by demonic sources. This is comparable to how politicians don’t want certain people endorsing their campaign.

3) “The story is not about a true proclamation come from a dubious source, which is how most commentators have understood this scene. Paul is disturbed because the message being proclaimed was at the very least misleading. He was troubled about the content of her proclamation. The very word ‘salvation’ without further explanation would often connote health or healing or rescue to a pagan, just as the phrase ‘Most High God’ would not suggest monotheism to a pagan, but rather would suggest the deity one saw as being at the top of the pantheon of all gods.”[1]

(a) When the girl said, “these men are servants of the Most High God” that was true, BUT it can also be deceitful. The Most High God could refer to Zeus or Jupiter, or to any god among many other gods.

(b) And when she said they “proclaim the way of salvation” that was also true, BUT this could also be deceitful.

(i) CSB / YLT (also NET Note) – “who are proclaiming to you A way of salvation” (There is no direct article.)

(ii) What salvation is she describing?

(a) e.g. vv. 27-30 – The Philippian jailer was not asking about forgiveness of sins. He was saying, “How do I avoid being put to death for letting all the prisoners go.”

(b) This is not the salvation that Paul is preaching about, and he doesn’t want this girl misleading people about the Gospel of Jesus is all about.

C) When Paul preaches the Gospel, he wants clarity and truth that wasn’t watered down or mixed together with other popular things to make the medicine go down smother. He wasn’t interested in using vague religious cliché language from a viral TikTok video that simply adds Jesus to an already crowded shelf of other gods and framing his message as how he’s going to fix all your problems and make your life great.

2) I did not initially plan to dwell on this point, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how I constantly see this same kind of watering down the Gospel and compromising the truth today.

A) Examples. I’m not just talking about “those people out there.”

1) Who is a Christian in the first place? We just call anybody “Christians” today, and there are all kinds of ways of dodging the truth about someone, but making it sound nice. “They are a believer” or “They love Jesus.”

2) Jesus’s message (Mk. 1:14-15) – “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

(a) How do people talk about sin, and repentance and judgement?

(b) What happens when we say that certain behaviors are sinful, and people need to repent of that sin or they will be judged and condemned to eternity in hell?

3) It’s not uncommon to hear people talk about “cheap grace” without any mention at all about discipleship. “Cheap grace” is a free ticket to heaven that does not require transformation, obedience, or any cost at all in our daily lives.

4) POINT: I don’t see how this is any different from a demon-possessed girl vaguely describing “the Most High God” and ambiguously pointing people to “A way of salvation” and maybe not even describing what that salvation is. This annoyed Paul, and he cast that demon out.

B) Let’s compare this kind of ambiguity with the clarity and truth of the Gospel.

1) Jesus is the ONLY way to be right with God. He is the ONLY hope of salvation for the world.

(a) Jn. 3:36

(b) Jn. 8:24

(d) Acts 4:11-12

(e) 1 Tim. 2:5-6

(f) 1 Jn. 5:11-12

2) Just because a person SAYS they are a Christian, or SAYS that they believe in Jesus does NOT mean that they are right with God.

(a) Matt. 7:21-23

(b) Titus 1:16

3) We don’t get to make up our own religion.

(a) Matt. 15:7-9

(b) Matt. 23:27-28

4) There are people who call themselves “servants of the Most High God” who talk about “A way of salvation.”

(a) 2 Cor. 11:13-15

(b) 2 Tim. 3:5

C) We need to cast out the demon of watered-down ambiguous “religion” and be willing to tell the truth about who Jesus is and what that means.

3) I want to do one more thing in this lesson that is not completely connected to this point, but is a really good example of what it looks like when people don’t tell the truth about things.

A) cf. v. 16, 19

1) Truth: The slave girl’s owners were mad because Paul messed with their income.

2) There’s a neat play on words in the original text:

(a) v. 18 – “come out of her” = exelthein

(b) v. 18 – “it came out” = exēlthen

B) vv. 20-21 – This isn’t why they’re so mad.

1) They dressed up their selfish financial motives in righteous and patriotic language.

C) Example: Tile vs Apple

1) In 2013, a startup named Tile invented the Bluetooth tracker market.

2) Apple saw a chance to make money, so in 2021 they came out with the AirTag.

3) Then, Apple put out an iOS update that kneecapped Tile on iPhones, and they said it was because of “User Privacy and Safety” issues. It’s funny how there were no privacy and safety issues for the last 8 years until they had their own product that they were competing with.

4) The situation is about money, but you frame it up as something else instead of just telling the truth.

D) POINT: I have this kind of behavior.

1) I hate it when people don’t just tell the truth about the situation.

2) This is exactly why Paul kicked the demon out of the slave girl.

3) And it is exactly what happens when we refuse to say the truth about Jesus and Gospel.

[1] Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998), 495.

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