Acts 22:1-30
This is the beginning of the end of Paul's freedom to roam freely and preach Christ from city to city. However, I think that we will be surprised at how often he ends up preaching the Gospel while he is in prison. He will write some of our favorite books while in prison. He refuses to quit no matter what he faces. Even at his arrest, he takes the opportunity to preach.
PAUL DEFENDS HIMSELF WITH HIS TESTIMONY: This is not the first time, nor will it be our last time to hear Paul give his testimony. Paul reviews his life as a persecutor of the church and then explains how Christ appeared to him and saved him from his sin and revealed the truth to him. Basically Paul is telling them that he was once doing to others the exact thing that they were doing to him now. But Christ changed all of that. You can hear him pleading to with them to open their eyes and hearts to see Christ. Paul is not mad about having been beaten, his heart is broken for these men that continue in the blindness with which he once suffered. His greatest concern is that they heat that Christ is available to them should they choose to repent and trust Him. May this always be our priority. No matter how poorly we may be treated by unbelievers, we must maintain as our priority to reveal the love of Christ to them.
PAUL OFFENDS THE JEWS WITH HIS MINISTRY: The Jews, surprisingly, were listening to him share about what God had done in him through Christ, but as soon as he let them know that God had also told him to take the message of hope to the Gentiles, they were done with him. The thought of Gentiles being acceptable to God was repulsive to them and a sin that they considered worthy of death. This is the danger of an internal religion as opposed to a vital relationship. God's intention from the very beginning was that the Jews bless all nations. However, as time went on, the Jews had their focus more and more on themselves. We will suffer similar problems when we ignore our obligation to spread the fame of Christ to all nations and begin to worry about building and protecting our own kingdoms. When churches close themselves off to the needs of the World, and their own community for that matter, to hear the message of Christ, they will eventually become antagonistic to the true cause of Christ.
PAUL CONTENDS WITH THE ROMANS WITH HIS ANCESTRY: Just as the Romans were getting ready to give him another whipping, Paul lets his tormentors know that he is a Roman and that he does have rights. Paul's citizenship opened doors to him that would have been closed to the majority of People. We never know what God will use in our lives to equip and prepare us for the job that He has set before us. Paul saw no need to suffer another beating when he could escape from it without hurting his testimony for Christ. We must not think that God has called us to some for of masochism where we suffer for suffering's sake. We must also not allow our feat of suffering to cause us to shrink from that which God would have us do. We can trust that God has prepared us and the situation we face and that He will work in out for our good and His glory.
PAUL DEFENDS HIMSELF WITH HIS TESTIMONY: This is not the first time, nor will it be our last time to hear Paul give his testimony. Paul reviews his life as a persecutor of the church and then explains how Christ appeared to him and saved him from his sin and revealed the truth to him. Basically Paul is telling them that he was once doing to others the exact thing that they were doing to him now. But Christ changed all of that. You can hear him pleading to with them to open their eyes and hearts to see Christ. Paul is not mad about having been beaten, his heart is broken for these men that continue in the blindness with which he once suffered. His greatest concern is that they heat that Christ is available to them should they choose to repent and trust Him. May this always be our priority. No matter how poorly we may be treated by unbelievers, we must maintain as our priority to reveal the love of Christ to them.
PAUL OFFENDS THE JEWS WITH HIS MINISTRY: The Jews, surprisingly, were listening to him share about what God had done in him through Christ, but as soon as he let them know that God had also told him to take the message of hope to the Gentiles, they were done with him. The thought of Gentiles being acceptable to God was repulsive to them and a sin that they considered worthy of death. This is the danger of an internal religion as opposed to a vital relationship. God's intention from the very beginning was that the Jews bless all nations. However, as time went on, the Jews had their focus more and more on themselves. We will suffer similar problems when we ignore our obligation to spread the fame of Christ to all nations and begin to worry about building and protecting our own kingdoms. When churches close themselves off to the needs of the World, and their own community for that matter, to hear the message of Christ, they will eventually become antagonistic to the true cause of Christ.
PAUL CONTENDS WITH THE ROMANS WITH HIS ANCESTRY: Just as the Romans were getting ready to give him another whipping, Paul lets his tormentors know that he is a Roman and that he does have rights. Paul's citizenship opened doors to him that would have been closed to the majority of People. We never know what God will use in our lives to equip and prepare us for the job that He has set before us. Paul saw no need to suffer another beating when he could escape from it without hurting his testimony for Christ. We must not think that God has called us to some for of masochism where we suffer for suffering's sake. We must also not allow our feat of suffering to cause us to shrink from that which God would have us do. We can trust that God has prepared us and the situation we face and that He will work in out for our good and His glory.
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