Acts 16:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice."

NIV: by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."

NASB: and they are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are Romans.'

CSB: and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice."

NLT: They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.'

KJV: And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

NKJV: and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”

Paul, Silas, Luke, and Timothy are in Philippi planting a church. The city apparently does not have enough Jews for a synagogue, so the missionaries meet with God-fearing women by the river. Over the past several days, a possessed girl has been following them, crying "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). Her influence is either distracting or deceptive enough that Paul becomes annoyed and expels the demon from the girl (Acts 16:18).

This causes problems. The demon has given the girl the ability to know things she wouldn't otherwise. She is a slave, and her owners realize she can no longer bring in money through her ability to tell fortunes. Her owners tell the magistrates that Paul and Silas are breaking the law (Acts 16:19–20).

"Advocate customs" means to teach people to worship a god that is not authorized by the Roman government. Cicero, in De Legibus, ii.18 said, "No person shall have any separate gods, or new ones; nor shall he privately worship any strange gods, unless they be publicly allowed." Judaism was legal, but the magistrates might not know too much about it. Jews would quietly worship an "invisible" God, but Paul and his team are talking about worshiping a man from Galilee. In addition, Philippi was a Roman military outpost, so the laws may have been enforced more strongly.

In response, the crowds and the police beat and imprison Paul and Silas. Of course, God works their hardship for good. First, the jailer and his family come to faith in Jesus. Then the magistrates discover their "criminals" are Roman citizens—whom they have illegally harassed. The must officially apologize (Acts 16:22–39). Roman law protected citizens as much as gods.

Acts 16:16–24 shows that religiously confused Gentiles can hinder Paul's ministry as much as Jews. Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke are in Philippi on the border of Macedonia and Greece. When Paul expels a demonic spirit from a slave girl, her owners accuse Paul and Silas of illegally promoting a foreign god. The crowd and the city magistrates beat and imprison the pair. Only later do they realize their mistake: Paul and Silas are both Roman citizens (Acts 16:37), and you can't punish Roman citizens without a trial.

Acts 16 follows Paul and Silas as they take the letter of Acts 15 into modern-day Asia Minor and Macedonia. They collect Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas. In Philippi, they meet Lydia and baptize her family. After expelling a demon from a fortune-telling girl, city officials illegally beat and imprison Paul and Silas. An earthquake frees them of their chains, but they stay and bring the jailer and his family to Christ. The next morning, Paul and Silas refuse to leave quietly, politely insisting that their civil rights have been violated. The officials apologize, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy go to Thessalonica.

Acts 15 ends with Paul and Silas spreading the news that Gentile Christians don't have to be circumcised. Acts 16 begins with Paul circumcising a Jewish man, Timothy, to prevent difficulties in preaching to older Jews as the boy grows into church leadership. Paul's second missionary trip finds the church growing east, into Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth (Acts 16:11—18:18). On his way back to Syrian Antioch, Paul will stop by Ephesus and soften the Jews for the extended ministry of Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos. During his first trip, Paul planted churches and ordained elders; in his second, he commissions more missionaries.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.