Acts 24:22–27

 Acts 24:22–27

As long as there is breath in a man’s longs there is still hope. Felix was a bad man, a bad man in the extreme, but we see a picture or a glimmer of hope. Maybe he has not gone beyond the point of no return, at least not yet. Felix had stolen Drusilla away from her former husband Azizus the king Emasa with the help of a magician. Felix and his wife Priscilla listen to Paul talk. Priscilla was Jewish and would’ve had a smattering of context about the law and Messiah. Felix is described as having a more “exact” knowledge of the way. The language here indicates a high level of information. He didn’t operate on hearsay or rumor but knew correctly some of the facts about Christianity. 

Paul stands before them the battered spiritual warrior of thousands of spiritual battles. He dialogs with them not in a trial but in a conversation about faith in Christ and he address three themes: righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come. Felix became afraid as Paul talked about God‘s standards as it relates to the mastery of passions in the context of judgment to come. The word here indicates an intense fear from the core of one’s being. Felix, afraid, is teetering in the balance. He has enough conscience and conviction to still have some fear of God. He doesn’t reject the message of faith in Christ and move on, he thinks about it. He was a mixed bag wanting a bribe but listening to the faithful witness teach. At about this same time he made a decision in a conflict between the Greeks and the Jews in Caesarea that was illegal. As a result of that decision he was recalled to Rome before his heart was changed. 

The powers of darkness will call a person wavering in their heart into sin in order to tip the scales into darkness. We must never assume that any breathing person is beyond repentance.  Only God knows when a person is beyond hope. Only God knows who might hear and be saved. The possibility is that anyone still breathing, even the most corrupt of pagan rulers, still has a connection that might draw them to grace, even a man like Felix.

“Lord, help me never give up on anyone. AMEN”

Acts 24:1-21

 Acts 24:1-21 

In this trial we see a contrast between the convoluted and exaggerated falsehoods of Paul’s accusers and the simple truth of Paul’s defense. Tertellus the lawyer begins with a series of flatteries toward the governor. To hear Tertellus speak one would think that Felix was a kind, benevolent, and well-loved ruler. He was in fact a corrupt, violent, petty man. Having risen from slave to governor by the Emperor‘s favor he had the power and vanity of office but the grasping and reaching heart of an urchin. He used local conflicts as an excuse to murder groups of people and take their property. He may have arranged the murder of Jonathan the high priest. He was even called a tyrant by the Romans. Before long he would be removed from office for his misconduct. This wicked and corrupt man is praised and flattered by Tertellus. Tertellus makes the charge of Paul being a ringleader of the Nazarenes.  This was not another name for the church.  This was a different group entirely and was viewed with suspicion by the Roman government for revolutionary tendencies. Tertellus is attempting to convolute the church and the Nazarenes, confuse Felix and then exploit that confusion. Finally he portrays what happened in the temple court as a lawful arrest. It was in fact a mob attempting to lunch someone. With lies and half truths Tertellus concludes with vague accusations.

In contrast Paul states the facts clearly and suggests that his accusers have not addressed the specifics of the case. Felix is unwilling to rule in favor of Paul likely because of his precarious situation politically. He is also eager to gain a bribe from Paul, possibly having heard of donations for the poor.  Perhaps he was hoping for a slice of that pie.

As disciples we can expect false accusations along with persecution. We should not expect those in authority will be committed to the truth. Often leaders have their positions because they have curried favor with the very ones who will bring the accusations. It is fruitless and hopeless, in many cases, to expect justice from people motivated by ulterior motives. We must state the truth of the gospel, our loyalty to it, and our conduct in it simply, clearly, and directly. We should also hold any hope or wish of justice on earth with open hands.

“Lord, help me to trust You as the source of all justice, and remember that all men have a tendency to seek their own will above Yours. AMEN”

Acts 23:12-35

 Acts 23:12-35

Nothing speaks of the depth of Jewish corruption more clearly than the plot to murder Paul. Within Jewish thought of the time, it was believed that in certain cases murder was justified. In this case, none other than the chief priest sanctions it. Neither religion, nor knowledge of the Bible, nor the participation in the rituals of worship is enough to protect us from the most horrific of evils when our hearts are turned away from the Lord. All those things that are designed to lead us to Him will become co-opted to support our trajectory toward evil. “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” is about more than cursing. It is about doing evil in the name of God. All things must be a means to know and love God. Never should we use God as a means to the things that we love or desire more than Him.

This passage is subtly significant as a point of transition. The Temple, Jerusalem, and the Jews will begin to fade in their significance in the Biblical narrative. Within about 10 years of Paul’s departure, the fanatical spirit of the Jews would rise up against Rome. False messiahs would pronounce themselves as the agency by which God would throw off the Roman oppression. Their followers would fight Rome and each other and bring the crushing might of the Empire against them. All the plans and intrigues of the high priestly family to keep and maintain power would come to nothing. The siege of Jerusalem, one of the most brutal in all of human history, by Titus would leave the city a wreck. Spiritually, Jerusalem was reprobate. In Revelation 11:8 it is referred to as “Sodom and Egypt.”. It was the very personification of sin and slavery.

The Lord wept over the city, wanting to gather her to Himself. Now Paul leaves her, and in 10 years she will be ruined and will play little or no part in God‘s plan of redemption. We must never lose sight that the fall from great to ruin is possible. When we reject the promises of God and use His name for our own agenda, we can be sure that we are following the course of Jerusalem.

“Lord, keep my heart pure that I will always serve You and never attempt to use You. AMEN”

Acts 23:1–11

 Acts 23:1–11 

In verse five Paul says he does not know that the person who ordered him to be struck was in fact the high priest.  Why was Paul unaware of who this man was? One possibility was that Paul genuinely didn’t know who the high priest was at the time.  It has also been suggested that he had a vision problem and couldn’t see clearly. Another possibility is that Paul is being ironic and even a little snarky. It is as if Paul were saying, “Your bad behavior makes your claims of religious authority unrecognizable.”

History tells us that Ananias was a supremely wicked man. His behavior was more like that of a mob boss rather than a spiritual leader. He would send his thugs with truncheons to collect what he felt was due him. Some of the lower ranking priests were nearly reduced to starvation while he became fabulously rich. Paul may have been, as the saying goes, “poking the bear”. With his Roman citizenship to protect him at this moment Paul was ready to call a spade a spade. Ironically, the passage to Paul refers to and quotes is Exodus 22:28 and is in that context a warning against greed. Ananias would have recognized this indirect rebuke immediately.

A couple of points need to be made about the application of this passage to our lives as disciples. First both in this instance and throughout the life of Christ there is greater scrutiny and sharper response to those who claim to be God‘s people. Those who are lost are constantly treated with great care and gentleness while the religious are challenged vigorously. As disciples we need to hold ourselves and other believers to the highest standards of ethical conduct. Part of that may be to speak to them in irony, hyperbole, or even a sharp rebuke, while at the same time treating lost sheep with the gentlest of care. The second application is even more obvious. Our behavior has to be of such high quality in character that there is never any doubt that we are followers of Christ. It is sad and telling that the church today has a reputation for being harsh toward the world of sinners while it is often unwilling to confront its own evil. The opposite ought to be the case.  If that were true her internal evil would be expunged and she would be more winsome as she reaches out to the lost world.

“Lord, help me hold myself and other believers to the highest of standards while, in holiness, being grace filled toward sinners.  AMEN”

Acts 22:22–30

 Acts 22:22–30

It seems that nothing will turn a pious audience into a violent mob quicker than the assertion that God‘s grace is available for those whom we hate. Paul’s presentation was listened to with attention until he talked about going to the Gentiles, then a riot ensued. We like the idea of God’s grace for the people we like and for those who are like us. But attempt to offer that grace to someone from any hated group and the hypocritical pious elite will say that you have gone too far. Sadly there are many people who, claiming to be Christians, but would rather certain other people in hell than see them in church. A church where this perception is present can hardly expect God’s Spirit to empower their ministry.

When the mob erupts into violence the Roman commander orders Paul taken to the barracks away from the chaos of the throng. We get a picture of the size of this disturbance when we see the title of the Roman officer. He is literally a “chiliarch” a commander of 1000 troops, this riot was so intense that the Roman regional commander has become personally involved. He is roughly equivalent to a one star general. Wanting answers and wanting them quick he has Paul stretched out with leather straps to prepare for a beating. Paul was bound very likely to the same post where Christ was beaten. But Paul claims his rights as a Roman citizen. If a Roman soldier, many of whom were not citizens, beat a Roman citizen the consequences could be most cruel.

Suffering for Christ is part of the life of a disciple, it is the cost of following. However, unnecessary suffering is simply foolish. If we suffer because of our own immature understanding, emotional issues or because of self-inflicted punishment we do not advance the gospel. If called to suffer for Christ we must do so. But if we can, with holiness, avoid suffering by all means we should. At this moment there is another, and perhaps final, break between Christians and Jews. And ironically for the moment the good guys are the Romans who have an idea of law and order even if they were pagan

"Lord, forbid that I would want to see anyone be lost. AMEN"

Acts 22:1-21

 Acts 22:1-21

We often misunderstand what happened to Paul on the road to Damascus. We talk about Paul’s conversion on the way to Damascus, but that has more to do with our lazy reading of Scripture than with what Scripture actually says. What happened on the road to Damascus was not a conversion but a conversation. There are three interesting points that we need to notice in this passage.

First, the Lord is highly committed to the ministry of His saints. On the road, Jesus introduces himself and then essentially tells Paul to go talk to a disciple. Why didn’t the Lord directly tell Paul what to do? Because it is the Lord’s designed plan to have disciples make other disciples. Jesus will not take from us, nor will He alleviate our responsibility to make disciples. No doubt Jesus could have done everything Ananias did and done it better, but He would not.

Notice also that Paul’s introduction to Jesus includes an expectation of service. We treat conversion as if it is signing up for a benefits program. Biblically, the occasion of conversion is also the occasion where we are called to service. Perhaps the reason the church is so weak today is that we have divorced the call to conversion from the call to service.  They must not, indeed, they cannot be separated.

Third, we need to look at when Paul was converted. Apparently Paul was still in sin, still stained by his sin when he arrived in Damascus because Ananias told him to submit to baptism so that his sins could be washed away. Clearly the work begun on the road was not yet complete. If we are to say Paul was converted on the road to Damascus, then we must say he was carrying his sins with him and he was un-forgiven after his conversion. It seems more reasonable to say that the removal of sin by washing of regeneration occurred at the same time as his conversion. At that moment he was calling on the name of Christ for his salvation and not any works of legal righteousness.

Never let us miss the high call of ministry for every disciple and the marriage of salvation and service and the marvelous change that occurs when our sins are washed away.

“Forgive me, Lord, for trying to separate my salvation from my surrendering to serve You.  AMEN”

Acts 21:27-40

 Acts 21:27-40

Few things are more consistent in history than the behavior of the unscrupulous as they oppose the gospel. We notice in this passage an attack on Paul, the elements of which we find repeated throughout the history of the church. There were opponents who were looking for an excuse to bring an accusation. The Jews from Asia may have followed Paul from town to town and now to Jerusalem, looking for opportunities to create problems for Paul. Every gospel worker will have someone who will look for opportunities to create problems for him or her.

When these kinds of people have no real reason to create problems, they manufacture an accusation out of thin air. One way to measure the authority of an accusation is the “private conversation-gossip continuum.”. The more the accusation is dealt with face-to-face, person-to-person, the more credible the accusation is. The more it is a matter of gossip, the more likely it is simply an attack.

Attackers depend on hyped-up emotion and sensational moments rather than thoughtful discourse. We may compare these people to a hysterical toddler throwing a tantrum, except that would be insulting to a toddler. One essential element for attackers, without which they cannot be attackers, is emotional immaturity and instability. They have a near-complete lack of the ability to detach their own emotional reaction from the situation.

Finally, there is the extreme overreaction solution they want. Rather than a measured response or investigation, they want to kill Paul. Attackers will never seek honest discourse, but they will take extreme measures to silence their targets.

The question we must answer as disciples is how do we respond to those attacks when they come. It is never a question of “if” they come. Paul used this, or should we say God used this occasion to proclaim the gospel in ways no one expected. How can we do that as well?

“Lord, give me grace to be faithful and Christ like when faced with opposition or attack. AMEN”