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Lydia's Conversion

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Lydia's Conversion Lydia’s conversion (Acts 16:14-15) Introduction: Paul told the Roman brethren that the gospel is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Rom. 1:16). The book of Acts records real life examples of God’s powerful word saving souls. Before Lydia of Thyatira obeyed the gospel there were those on Pentecost (Acts 2), the Samaritans and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8), Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9), Cornelius and his household (Acts 10), Sergius Paulus (Acts 13) and the Galatians (Acts 13:16ff) who all heard the saving power of the gospel and obeyed. This lesson shall examine the conversion of Lydia. I. Lydia’s background (16:14-15): A. Lydia was a “seller of Purple” (16:14). 1. “The purple dye was obtained from a conchylium, the shellfish Murex trunculus of Linnaeus, and the waters at Thyatira produced the brightest and the most 1 permanent hues.” 2. “Since approximately eight thousand mollusks were required to produce one gram of purple dye, purple cloth was extremely expensive, and the Bible refers 2 to it almost exclusively as used by kings or for cultic purposes.” 3. This purple “formed the trimming of the white Roman toga as well as of the 3 tunic; the rich wore purple (Luke 16:19).” B. Lydia was from the city of Thyatira (16:14): 1. Thyatira was one of the chief cities in Asia. Located within the province of Lydia it is likely that this woman received her name from her homeland. 2. The city of Thyatira is mentioned in Revelation 2:18 by the apostle John as having a church located there. C. Lydia was one who “worshipped God” (16:14) 1. Lydia was likely a Jewish proselyte having come to Judaism in Thyatira due to the fact that there were no synagogues in Philippi. 2. Her worship would have been that of Mosaic ordinances. 3. Lydia is not unlike Cornelius of Acts 10 or Apollos in Acts 18. All three of these individuals worshipped God; however, their worship was lacking. II. Lydia’s conversion: A. Lydia is said to have “heard” Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke preach the gospel (16:14). Hearing is the beginnings of faith (Rom. 10:17). B. The Lord “opened” the heart of Lydia that she would “give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul” (16:14): C. How did God open Lydia’s heart? 1 Lenski, R. C. H. Commentary on the New Testament; Acts, pg. 656 2 Irvin, D. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia; Vol. 3; pg. 1057 3 Lenski, R. C. H. Commentary on the New Testament; Acts, pg. 657 1 1. “The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Jehovah hath made even both of them” (Prov. 20:12). 2. The word “open” means “to open and explain” (LS 192). “To open the mind, the heart, so as to understand and receive” (Moulton 94). “To open the sense of the Scriptures, explain them, to open the mind of one, i.e. cause him to understand a thing, to open one’s soul, i.e. to rouse in one the faculty of understanding or the desire of learning" (Thayer 140). “Open the ears; make understanding possible, the heart; enable someone to perceive” (AG 187). a. Lydia heard the gospel preached by the evangelist. b. Through the process of hearing, one gains understanding. One weighs the things said and either accepts the words as truth or rejects them as rubbish. c. The scriptures reveal that Lydia did not reject the gospel message but rather “gave heed unto the things spoken” by Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke. 1. Consider the fact that in Acts 8:6 the people gave heed to the things Philip had preached! 2. Again, Paul told Timothy to “give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching…” (I Tim. 4:13). a. To give heed (prosecho): “to assent to, yield credence to, follow, adhere or be attached to” (Moulton 349). b. The message was preached, Lydia heard, she understood the words and yielded to the gospel’s demands. 1. The gospel preached to Lydia was the same gospel message that Peter preached on Pentecost in Acts 2, Philip preached to the Samaritans and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8. Lydia heard the same gospel Ananias preached to Saul in Acts 9 and Peter preached to the household of Cornelius in Acts 10. 2. Therefore she heard of Jesus, believed upon His name, confessed Jesus to be the savior of the world, repented of her sins and was baptized for the remission of those sins (Cf. 16:15). 3. Lydia’s baptism was a submersion in water (cf. Jn. 3:23; Acts 8:38). 3. Did the Holy Spirit come upon Lydia and physically open her mind against her will? 4. No! Her mind was opened because she first heard the gospel preached as in every case of conversion in the book of Acts! We often say, “have an open mind” when discussing an important topic. That simply means weigh the ideas and thoughts and make a decision. That which opened Lydias’ mind was the word of God. 5. God draws people to him through hearing, learning and teaching (Jn. 6:44-45). 6. The gospel message enlightened her to the truth and in this way God opened her mind to it. She now understood the truth because of revelation! III. Conclusion: A. Lydia became a Christian through hearing, believing, confessing the name of Christ, repenting of her sins and being buried with Christ in Baptism. 2 B. After the conversion of Lydia, she hospitably “constrained” (persuaded) Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke to abide at her house (16:15). 3.
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