The Conversion of Lydia Acts 16 14 15

The Conversion of Lydia Acts 16: 14 -15

Her wonderful character • She is described as a "worshiper of God. " • She was worshipping on the Sabbath (zeal). • Lydia worshiped even though there was no synagogue. • Lydia was a hospitable woman. Just like Cornelius, Lydia was a wonderful person - yet lost in her sins.

“whose heart the Lord opened” • In some sense, her heart was previously closed. • Not depravity – She was inclined to be worshipful • Probably had a typical view of the Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 1: 23) Her heart was opened as all hearts are opened, through the preaching of the gospel of Christ

“To understand why Luke would record, ‘whose heart the Lord opened, ’ we need to carefully consider the context… “…The hand of God was working providentially to bring them to Philippi in answer to the prayers of these godly women. When Luke looked back on the circumstances which led to the conversion of Lydia, he wrote, ‘whose heart the Lord opened. ’” Mike Willis quote, 2/87 GOT

Lydia’s obedience to the gospel • Heeding “attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul” (KJV) leads to obedience (Romans 16: 25 -27) • Why was Lydia baptized? The most obvious answer is that Paul’s preaching commanded it! (Mark 16: 15 -16) When she heard the conditions for salvation, she attended (heeded) unto them.

A case of infant baptism? • Too many assumptions! (And this is the best argument that advocates have!) • This argument disregards that baptism is the outgrowth of faith! (Acts 2: 41) Infant baptism is not authorized in the New Testament. It is a man-made practice.

Conclusion We are inspired by Lydia to attend to the things which God would have us to do! Lydia accepted and obeyed the gospel, will you?