Thursday, June 30, 2016
Acts 23:1
Acts 23:1 says. And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. Paul addressed the chief priest and council with respect. I might have let anger rule, but Paul acted as a Christian should, even if they had badly mistreated him. He addressed them as men and brethren and said he had lived his life in all good conscience before God until that day. It would be wonderful to be able to make the same statement, and it be true. In his Jewish belief Paul was zealous and devoted to God through the Law. After his conversion, he was zealous and devoted to God through Christ. Verse two adds, And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. The high priest told those standing next to him to hit him in the mouth. They were still wanting to act in a violent manner, which is not how God expects His people to act. When we disagree with people about Christ, we need to act out of love instead of hate. Verse three continues, Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? Paul responded that God would smite Ananias, the high priest, calling him a whited wall. He basically called the high priest a hypocrite, not from anger but holy zeal or righteous indignation. When the people of God begin to act outside the will of God, we have a right to feel righteous indignation toward them, but not hatred. Paul was also warning the high priest that God would judge him. He was going to judge Paul about following the Law while himself was having Paul smitten against the Law. That would be a good description of a hypocrite. Verse four states, And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? They asked Paul if he didn’t know that the man he speaking against was the high priest. Religious leaders today should never believe that their position makes them infallible. Verse five adds, Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. When Paul was told that the man was the chief priest, he said he didn't know and that it was wrong to speak evil against the ruler of the people. Yet, if someone has to tell us that a person is a leader of God's people because his actions do not reveal it, then we, like Paul, might see their hypocrisy. Verse six continues, But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. Paul realized he was speaking to both Pharisees and Sadducees. These were two groups of God's chosen people who did not even agree as to what God taught. We have many groups of Christians today who cannot agree about things the Bible teaches. Paul then said, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." Verse seven states, And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. When Paul said this, his accusers were divided. Paul didn't lie about anything. That is who he was, and since they were questioning him about his teaching that Christ was the resurrected Lord, then his statement was true. The members of the council were teaching two different truths. Verse eight adds, The Sadducees taught there was no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit. The Pharisees taught that there were both. For the Sadducees, we have to wonder how they got so far away from the teachings of God. Yet today there are professed Christians who teach things that are not Biblical, and many disagree with other groups. Verse nine continues, And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. The Pharisees said they found no fault with Paul, that if a spirit or angel had revealed to Paul that they could not fight against God. Verse ten concludes. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. There was an uproar once again caused by the two groups, which would imply that the chief priest was the ruler of God's people in name only. Otherwise, he would have stopped the uproar. The chief captain, fearing for Paul's life, sent soldiers to take him by force from the Jews. It is a sad commentary when government officials have to save a Christian from a group professing to be God's people. Still, today we occasionally hear about fights breaking out at a church and the police having to be called to break it up, or one group within a church suing the other over some disagreement. This certainly does not glorify God.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Acts 22 :17
Acts 22:17 says, And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; Verse eighteen adds, And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. Then, when he came to Jerusalem and was in the Temple praying, he was in a trance. He saw Jesus saying to him to make haste and get out of Jerusalem, because they wouldn't receive his testimony concerning Christ. If people will not accept the gospel where we are, God may lead us somewhere else. If there does come a time when we need to move on because people will not hear our testimony concerning Christ, He will let us know. Until then, we are to witness to all men. Verse nineteen continues, And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: Verse twenty concludes, And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. Paul reminded God of what he had done to Christians, imprisoning them, and even holding the coats of those who had stoned Stephen. Like Paul, we may at times feel the need to remind God of all the bad things we have done to excuse following His will. Paul did not surprise God by telling Him what he had done, and neither will we. Verse twenty-one says, And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. Paul was then told to depart, that God was sending him to the Gentiles. Verse twenty-two adds, And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. Then, the crowd that was listening lifted up their voices and called for his death. They were willing to listen until what Paul said went against what they believed. People may listen to us today, until what we proclaim, Jesus Christ, crucified, resurrected, Lord, goes against what they want to believe. Then, they may act as Paul's audience did and say kill him. Even so, we must stay true to our faith. Verse twenty-three continues, And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The crowd that wanted to kill Paul begin to cry out, to throw off their clothes, and throw dust in the air. These sound like the actions of a mob, not the actions of God's people. Verse twenty-four concludes, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. The chief captain ordered Paul to be brought into the castle and be examined by scourging. In other words, he was to be whipped to get answers that he had already given. The chief captain was trying to maintain order no matter the truth or the cost to maintain the peace. Too often people today are willing to compromise the truth in order to maintain peace, especially if a large group is creating problems. Still, no matter how large or wild the group gets, we can never compromise the truth of the gospel to maintain peace with the world.
Acts 22:25 says, And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? Paul then asked a simple question. As they were binding him to scourge him, he asked if it lawful for the chief captain to scourge a man who is a Roman, and who has not been condemned. Sometimes, our best course of action is to simply remind people of who we are. Verse twenty-six adds, When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Paul was not a Egyptian as some had said, nor was he just a Jew. He was a Roman citizen and had certain rights. We should not be ashamed to claim the rights our citizenship brings us. Even if an angry mob threatens us, we are still endowed with certain rights, and we should make the most of them. Verse twenty-seven continues, Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. The chief captain asked Paul if he was a Roman and Paul answered yes. Verse twenty-eight states, And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. The chief captain said he had purchased his freedom with a great price, but Paul said he was born free. Our freedom was bought with the great price of Jesus’s death on the cross, but it is free to anyone who will accept it. Verse twenty-nine adds, Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. Those who were to examine Paul immediately left, and the chief captain was afraid, because he had bound a Roman. God sent the ideal person into this situation, a man who was a Jewish Christian and a Roman. When God sends us to a particular place, we can be sure He has sent the best person for the task. Verse thirty continues, On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them. Paul was freed from his bonds the next day. The chief captain wanted to know what the Jews were charging him with. He had arrested Paul, was going to scourge him, had kept him bound overnight, and now he wanted to know what Paul had done to deserve this treatment. We can hope if we as Christians are accused of some wrong that those who are in power over us will get the facts before acting. He called the chief priest and council in and set Paul before them. He realized it was a religious question and brought the parties together to resolve it. We would do well to come together in an orderly manner to discuss differences instead of resorting to mob tactics.
Acts 22:1
Acts 22:1 says, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. Paul began to answer the question of who he was as he gave the people his testimony. We should always be willing and ready to share our testimony with anyone, especially if they are accusing us of working against God. Verse two adds, (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) He spoke to them in Hebrew, which surprised them. Verse three continues, I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. He told them who he was by birth, a Jew born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia. He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers. He was a strict fundamentalist. He was zealous, as were they that day. Knowing the correct teaching and being zealous is not enough if we stop short of the full revelation of God, which came through Jesus Christ. Verse four states, And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. He persecuted Christians even to death, bringing men and women bound to Jerusalem. Verse five adds, As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. The high priest, and the elders could vouch for him since he had gotten letters from them persecute the Christians at Damacus. Sometimes, even those who are falsely accusing us can vouch for who we really are. Verse six declares, And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. Then, he told them about his experience on the road to Damascus. He saw a bright light and heard a voice. We may not have seen a bright light, and the voice might not have been audible, but as Christians, somewhere we had to have heard God's voice calling us. We cannot just suddenly decide to be a Christian. We must answer God's call to us. We cannot just compare religions and decide that Christianity is the best for us. Verse seven adds, And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? We must be called to God by God through Christ. This is what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. He encountered Christ, and it changed him forever. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we are never the same again. We are His, bought with His blood and sealed with His power. The Voice asked him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutist thou me." Verse eight continues, And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Paul asked Him Who he was, and He said, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom thou persecutist." Every Christian has had to answer that question at some point. We must first hear God’s call and recognize Who He is in order to be saved and religion will not answer that question. Paul was a devoutly religious man, but he did not recognize God’s voice when he called him. We either accept that Jesus is the Christ, or we continue persecuting Him. Verse nine says, And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. Those with Paul saw the Light but did not hear the Voice. We may see evidence of god’s existence, but we are all called individually to salvation. Verse ten adds, And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. Acknowledging that he had met the Lord and that He should direct his life, Paul was asked what he was to do and was told to arise and go to Damascus and he would be told. Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we should allow him to direct our life. Verse eleven continues, And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. He was led blind to Damascus. We have to act in faith sometimes without knowing everything that is going to happen, being blind to the total picture, but trusting God to lead us to where He wants us. Verse twelve states, And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Verse thirteen adds, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. Paul continues to share his testimony. We may not know every theological answer, but we always known our testimony. In Damacus, Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, having good report with all the Jews, came to Paul (Saul). He told him to receive his sight. To have physical sight restored is a great thing, but the real good news for Paul was that he had received his spiritual sight. We need to pray that our spiritual sight will never dim. Verse fourteen continues, And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. After his sight was restored, Paul was told that he had been chosen by God to know His will, see that Just One, and hear His voice. So have we if we only accept God’s call to salvation. Verse fifteen states, For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. Again, we need to be ready to share with the world what God has done for us, and we need not tarry. Verse sixteen continues, And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. The next question to Paul was why was he tarrying? Be baptized, washing away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Again, baptism did not wash away his sins, or ours, but calling on the name of the Lord did,