The baptism of Lydia’s household (Acts 16:1-12)

It is common for commentators to suggest that when Paul and his friends came to Philippi the gospel came to modern-day Europe. Of course, this is not the case geographically because he had already been to Cyprus. And it is not true historically because individuals from Rome were converted on the Day of Pentecost and they would have taken the gospel there when they returned home.

Paul and his colleagues came to Philippi through a special form of divine guidance, a vision given to them in Troas. It was during what we call Paul’s second missionary journey. But that seems to have been the only special guidance they were given at that time.

 Controlling the way to Lydia

The initial verses in the chapter reveal that they were travelling round Phrygia and Galatia (roughly the middle of modern-day Turkey). Where should they go next? Ephesus, in Asia? It would be a strategic centre for spreading the gospel in the area and we know that Paul did get to Ephesus some years later towards the end of this missionary journey. Yet the Lord would not even let them enter the province of Asia at this time. Why? Because they were going to meet Lydia and others in Philippi, and not people in Ephesus.

Then they came to a crossroads: go south west into Mysia, where they would have probably gone to Thyatira, or north east into Bithynia. Luke tells us that the Spirit of Jesus would not let them go into Bithynia, a description of the Spirit that points to Jesus working in a specific way through the Holy Spirit. The specific way included getting them to Philippi to see Lydia, who was not in her hometown of Thyatira, but in Philippi.

The only thing for Paul and his team to do was to make their way to Troas, a seaport on the Aegean Sea. Of course, when they reached a seaport there would be lots of options as to where they could sail to. So it looks as if the Lord sent specific guidance about where they should go – Macedonia. So they went immediately there, not spending any time in the port town of Samothrace because it was not located in Macedonia. Neapolis was the harbour of Philippi. So they were brought to the place where they would meet with Lydia.

A lot of things happened to the preachers in order for them to be in Philippi at the right moment. Those of us who are believers, have you ever thought what the Lord had to arrange in order for you to hear the gospel? All the different steps that had to be taken by others, some prevented from going here or from there. They did not always know why different doors were being opened or closed.

 Contacting Lydia personally

When Paul and his friends reached Philippi, they discovered that they would need to use different methods if they wanted to plant a church there. Usually, his method was to go to the Jewish synagogue and interact with those who understood the Old Testament to some extent. If some of them believed the message of Paul, a church would commence. I wonder what Paul thought when he discovered that there was not a synagogue in Philippi. He would have to use a different method, but the Lord knew this would be the way that the gospel would be brought to Lydia.

One possibility that Paul would realises was that there might be a gathering of Jews down by the riverside on the Sabbath. It was a common practice for such meetings to take place at riverbanks if there was not a synagogue in the locality a synagogue required ten male members. It is interesting that Paul and his friends did not receive any special guidance from God regarding this possibility and had to find out by going to look. When they went to the riverside they discovered that there was such a meeting composed of women. It all seems so uncertain from one point of view, yet the Lord was taking them without their knowing it to meet Lydia.

And Luke tells us what happened when they did meet with Lydia and her friends – Paul may refer to those women in Philippians 4:3. He describes her conversions and her consecrations, and since he spent a few years in Philippi after Paul and the others had left, we can sense in his words a degree of pleasure as he recalls what Lydia did for the church there. In Luke’s account, there are two expressions of conversion and two expressions of consecration.

Her conversions

Luke tells us that Lydia was a Gentile convert to Old Testament Judaism. At some stage in her life, she had decided to stop being a pagan idolater and instead decided to become a follower of the Jewish faith. She is described as a ‘God-worshipper’. (There were two kinds of Gentile converts to Judaism, sometimes called ‘God-fearers’ and ‘proselytes’.) The latter were probably stricter in keeping aspects of the ceremonial law. We are not told what initiated this search by Lydia, or how long it had taken. Yet she can be described as a seeker for truth. Of course, we have to remember that she was not the only one engaged in seeking. Jesus was seeking for her.

Lydia, for all her interest in and devotion to the Jewish faith, had not yet discovered the crucial point of the Old Testament, which was that the Saviour it had foretold had now come and done what had been predicted of him. So conversion number one was a step in the right direction, but it was not the destination designed for her. If she stayed where she was, she would remain a lost sinner.

So this seeking sinner was in for a surprise when she went to the prayer meeting at the riverside. There is no way to discover whether or not she had hoped for more. No doubt, she would have shared the general desire for the Messiah to come. The surprise she would hear was connected to what Paul would say about Jesus. Paul must have spoken about Jesus because Lydia refers to Jesus after her baptism.

The surprise that Lydia experienced came from Jesus himself. Luke tells us that the Lord opened her heart. At the beginning of the Book of Acts, Luke says that in his book he will describe what Jesus continued to do for his cause after ascending to heaven. And one of those activities involved opening the heart of Lydia. Of course, Jesus had his eye on her long before Paul and his friends came to Philippi.

Luke says that Jesus brought about her second conversion by opening her heart to pay attention to what Paul said about him. This description reminds us that conversion involves the affections and the mind. We can see the involvement of the affections in the words ‘opened her heart’ and we can see the involvement of the mind in the words ‘pay attention’.

What emotions are involved in listening properly to the gospel? Given that the gospel highlights that we are sinners, there should be an emotional response to our sinful practices. Before conversion, we enjoyed sinful practices; at conversion, we dislike them for what they reveal about us (we are sinful) and for what they caused to happen to Jesus on the cross. Listening properly to the gospel is an intensely emotional experience, and emotions are involved in repentance and faith.

At the same time, Lydia began to discover that she understood the message of Paul. Given that his message would have included details about the significance of the cross, an account that most people would regard as nonsense, it means that Lydia was grasping the details found in the message of salvation. She understood how to become a Christian and what was required of her in order to live as a Christian.

Her consecrations

Paul must have decided that it was appropriate for Lydia to be baptised quickly. There does not seem to have been a large time gap between the conversion and the baptism. Of course, this shows to us the confidence that Paul had in the power of the gospel to effect change in a sinner’s life. Today, we imagine that we are more careful. So we put in a period of time to see if the person’s change of life is genuine. We may want to wait three months or six months. But what happens if the person flops the day after our imposed time period? It would be far better to have faith in the gospel rather than in our periods of trial.

Lydia had two conversions and she also had two expressions of consecration. The first expression of consecration was her baptism and her second expression was her dedication of her property to the Lord’s service. So we can say that Lydia combined baptism and dedication, but in the correct order.

With regard to her baptism, it did not only involve her but her household. It is possible that household includes servants she may have had, but it is equally possible that it describes her children (she may have been a widow). The point is that others received baptism because the head of the house received it.

What was the main point of Lydia’s baptism? We don’t have any evidence that it was a public meeting in the sense of a witness to conversion, and neither was the baptism of the Philippian jailer primarily a witness to onlookers that he was converted. So informing others outside the family and the group of believers does not seem to be a reason for it. Instead, it may be better to recognise that baptism was a picture of her cleansing from sin and her entrance into the visible church of Jesus in Philippi.

Those two details are also the main features of what we are doing today in the baptisms that we will witness. Those receiving baptism become members of the Christian church in an outward sense because they have the name of the triune God on them. Moreover, their baptisms are for us a picture of cleansing from sin through the work of the triune God. It would be good if we were to pray for such cleansing when we come to the moment of baptism.

The second consecration involved her dedicating her property to the furtherance of the gospel. Right away she knew that such a response was most appropriate. She wanted to show fellowship in practical ways as well as in ways that would benefit her spiritually. After all, having Paul, Silas and Timothy in her home would only have been a blessing to her. No doubt, the church in Philippi met in her home as well because it would have had space.

Although Paul would not have known it at the time, the church in Philippi would became a faithful partner with Paul in his subsequent travels. The day he sat down and spoke to the women was when a marvellous relationship commenced. Paul when he baptised Lydia would have expected the Lord to bless her in the days to come. And his expectancy was rewarded in her devotion to the Lord’s cause.

Preached on Sunday, 9th October, 2016.