Acts 22
Silent crowd listens to Paul verse 1- 2
Men- brethren – fathers
hear you my defense which I make now to you
(And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue
to them they kept the more silence – and he said)
Training and ministry in Jewish religion verse 3- 5
I am verily a man which am a Jew – born in Tarsus
a city in Cilicia
and taught according to the perfect manner of the
law of the fathers
and was zealous toward God
as you all are this day
And I persecuted this way to the death
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women
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
to Jerusalem – for to be punished
Conversion on way to Damascus verse 6- 13
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
and I fell to the ground
and heard a voice saying to me
Saul – Saul – Why persecute you ME?
And I answered
Who are YOU Lord?
And HE said to me
I am Jesus of Nazareth – WHOM you persecute
And they that were with me saw indeed the light – and were afraid
BUT they heard not the voice of HIM that spoke to me
And I said
What shall I do Lord?
And the Lord said to me
Arise and go into Damascus
and there it shall be told thee of all things which are
appointed for you to do
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
And one Ananias – a devout man according to the law
having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there
came to me – and stood – and said to me
Brother Saul – receive your sight
And the same hour I looked up on him
Training in Christianity verse 14- 16
And he said
The God of our fathers has chosen you
that you should know HIS will
and see that Just One
and should hear the voice of HIS mouth
For you shall be HIS witness unto all men of what you have
seen and heard
And now why tarry you? arise – and be baptized
and wash away your sins
calling on the name of the Lord
Paul warned to leave Jerusalem verse 17- 21
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
and saw HIM saying to me
Make haste – and get you quickly out of Jerusalem
for they will not receive your testimony concerning ME
And I said – Lord – they know that I imprisoned
and beat in every synagogue them that believed on YOU
and when the blood of YOUR martyr Stephen was shed
I also was standing by – and consenting to his death and kept the raiment of them that slew him
And HE said to me – Depart
for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles
Crowd responds to his testimony verse 22- 23
And they gave him audience to 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
And as they cried out – and cast off their clothes
and threw dust into the air
Paul reveals Roman citizenship verse 24- 29
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
And as they bound him with thongs
Paul said to the centurion that stood by
Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman
and uncondemned?
When the centurion heard that – he went and told the chief captain
saying
Take heed what you do
FOR this man is a Roman
Then the chief captain came and said unto him
Tell me – Are you a Roman?
He said Yea
And the chief captain answered
With a great sum obtained I this freedom
And Paul said
But I was free born
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
Paul released to appear before Jewish council verse 30
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
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 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 you all are this day. (2207 “zealous” [zelotes] means enthusiast, nationalist, adherent, eager, patriot, or seek to imitate)
DEVOTION: Have you ever reviewed your history to someone? Could they understand why you act the way you do right now from a review of your upbringing and training?
Here is Paul [Saul] in front of a group of people who wanted him killed. They had listened to their leaders and started to kill him for his beliefs. They thought he had entered the Temple area with a Gentile. They were looking for any excuse to kill anyone who believed in Jesus.
Now he is allowed to state his case to the crowd with the soldiers standing guard over him, so that, the crowd could do him no harm.
He starts at his birthplace to show that he was born a free man. He was trained by one of the great scholars of the time in Jewish religious practices. He was “perfect” in the manner in which he practiced his faith in front of all the religious leaders. He was so enthusiastic in his following of the teachings he received that he condoned the stoning of the first martyr Stephen. He was there holding the garment of those who were throwing the stones.
He was converted on his way to Damascus. His testimony has remained the same throughout the book of Acts. Nothing had changed but the audience.
Our testimony has to be the same each time we tell it to those who ask. I became a believer at summer camp when I was twelve years old. It was called at the time Niagara Bible Conference. It was during the showing of a movie regarding the end times. They asked for a raise of hands of those who wanted to commit their life to Christ. I raised my hand and one of the trumpet players talked to me about the LORD. I returned to the camp when I graduated from high school as a counselor. It was great to return. Now many years later the LORD still uses this sinner for HIS service and glory.
I like Paul can say “For the good that I would, I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” I think it would have been good for the LORD to allow all those who became believers to stop sinning the moment they became a believer but that doesn’t happen. HE wants us to depend on HIM the rest of our life – otherwise we would think too highly of ourselves. Some didn’t learn this lesson. They do think that they are better than other believers. Paul never thought those thoughts.
Remember your beginning in Christ. Remember that each day confession is necessary for the sins of the day.
CHALLENGE: Treat others as you would want to be treated if you are having a sinful day. Be enthusiastic toward the LORD in spite of your sinful condition. Heaven will be different!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 And I answered, Who are you, Lord? And HE said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. (1377 “persecute” [dioko] means pursue, to subject to systematic harassment and attack due to one’s religious beliefs, chase, seek after, to cause to flee, hunt, or cause to suffer)
DEVOTION: Wouldn’t it be easier to explain our belief in Jesus if we had the same experience as Paul? Here is a man who was against Jesus and wanted to either kill or imprison all those who believed in HIM. He had the authority to put them in prison. He had the authority to lock them up. He had the power and the men to cause this to happen.
Then he sees a bright light and a voice talking to him that the other men with him don’t hear but they see the light. They are probably wondering what is happening. They were there and didn’t understand what was happening.
Paul meets Jesus for the first time. Jesus speaks to him. Jesus gives him personal instructions. He is to go into Damascus and wait for a man to come to him and explain what was happening. This same man was to open his eyes and instruct him regarding baptism.
If we had this story to tell those that we witness too would it have the same effect as the testimony of Paul? It probably would not today. They would think that you were crazy. Yet if it really happened it would change you.
Our conversation experience is one that we can tell others. We can tell them what Jesus means to us. But no one can have the same experience that you had. Each person meets Jesus their own way and in their own time.
Our responsibility is to give the message that we know to be true and let the Holy Spirit work in the lives of those who are listening to us. We are to do it in love and grace. They will answer to the LORD for their response. We will answer to the LORD if we don’t even talk to them if there is an opportunity.
CHALLENGE: Paul’s experience was unique but true. Our experience is unique and true also.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 15 For you shall be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. (3144 “witness” [martus] means martyr, record, or of anyone who can and should testify to anything)
DEVOTION: Each time we read the Bible we learn new things or are reminded of things we have forgotten. This occasion gives Paul a time to tell of his conversion to Christ and his call to the ministry.
Ananias brought him word from the LORD. He told Saul/Paul that he needed to get up and be baptized. He told him that his sins were washed away. How did this happen? Paul called upon the name of the LORD.
Paul was instructed at his conversion as to what his life was going to be like from that time forward. Paul knew at was ahead of him was to suffer for the Lord.
The word from the verse means martyr. He was to tell everyone about his conversion and in the future that would mean that he would die for his faith.
There were many occasions when Paul suffered for the Lord. This might be one of them. All he was required to do was to tell everyone he met what happened to him on the Damascus road. Here he is telling a group of angry Jews. He was being protected by the soldiers as he gave his testimony. As part of his testimony he relayed the fact that while he was in Jerusalem praying in the Temple, he had a vision from the LORD. In the vision the LORD told him to get out of Jerusalem because they were going to kill him. He was also told that his ministry was going to be to the Gentiles. When the Jews hear that word – they reacted in anger. They were casting off their clothes and throwing dirt in the air. The Jews didn’t like his testimony. He was off to jail.
God has an assignment for all of us once we are followers of HIM. Each assignment is different. Peter found that out when he asked Jesus about what was going to happen to John. Jesus told him it was none of his concern he was to just do his ministry for the Lord. John has a different ministry.
We need to not look at other Christians and compare ourselves with them. They have different ministries for the Lord. Too often we are caught up in the comparison game. God has at least one ministry for each of us to fulfill. Are we fulfilling our ministry or trying to do someone else’s ministry?
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD what your ministry is and do it. Don’t wait for HIM to physically tap you on the shoulder. There is no retirement with the LORD except death. Our ministry is for a lifetime.
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: 25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? (178 “uncondemned” [akatakritos] means punished without being tried, without trial, having not yet been subject to a legal trial (or investigation), one who is condemned unheard, or not having proper judicial process)
DEVOTION: Courage under fire is hard to do. Here we have Paul arrested for causing a riot in the streets. He is given an opportunity to speak to the people regarding his upbringing and conversion.
He explains to them all that had happened to him since his conversion. He had a wonderful conversion where he met Jesus and talked with HIM. He is supposed to be a missionary to the Gentiles.
Now he comes to Jerusalem and goes into the Temple to please the Jewish Christians and he gets arrested. It is all part of the plan of God but it still seems strange.
Now he is about to be scourged by the soldiers and speaks up regarding his rights as a Roman citizen. God knew all this was going to take place. HE called a Roman citizen to become a believer for this purpose. HE wanted Paul to witness to the people in Rome. He was going to get an expense paid trip to Rome without any worries of being killed because he had Roman soldiers all around him all the way.
God had a plan and it worked. Paul was going to go to Rome and win people to Christ from a jail cell. What a wonderful God we serve.
CHALLENGE: HE as a plan for our life. It was established before the foundation of the world. HE knew our decision regarding salvation and what our service was going to be for HIM.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Paul prayed in the temple verse 17
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Temple verse 17
Synagogue verse 19
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Law of the fathers verse 3
Law verse 12
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God verse 3, 14
God of our fathers verse 14
God’s will verse 14
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Lord verse 8, 10, 16, 19
Jesus verse 8
Jesus of Nazareth verse 8
Just One verse 14
Name of the Lord verse 16
Believe on Jesus verse 19
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Damascus verse 5, 6, 10, 11
Gentiles verse 21
Paul asks for his legal rights verse 25
Chief captain verse 24- 29
Centurion verse 25, 26
Roman verse 25- 29
Freedom verse 28
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Killing Christians verse 4
Putting Christians in jail verse 4
Persecuting Christians verse 7, 8
Afraid verse 9, 29
Sins verse 16
Not receive Paul’s testimony verse 18
Killing Stephen verse 20
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Defense of the Gospel verse 1
Appointed verse 10
Devout verse 12
Good report verse 12
Healing verse 13
Chosen verse 14
Know God’s will verse 14
Witness verse 15
Baptized verse 16
Wash away your sins verse 16
Call on the name of the Lord verse 16
Prayer verse 17
Believe verse 19
Martyr verse 20
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Hebrew language verse 1
Jew verse 3, 12, 30
Taught of Gamaliel verse 3
Zealous toward God verse 3
High Priest verse 5
Elders verse 5
Jerusalem verse 5, 17, 18
Synagogue verse 19
Chief priests verse 30
Council verse 30
Church
Defense of the Gospel verse 1
Paul (Saul) speaks to group verse 3- 30
Born in Tarsus
City in Cilicia
Feet of Gamaliel
Zealous toward God
Persecuted the way
Great light in Damascus
Receives sight back
Chosen
God’s witness
Baptized
Sent to Gentiles
Brought to castle
Scourging
Bound
Free born
Set before chief priests and council verse 3
Ananias – devout man verse 12
Martyr Stephen verse 20
Paul sent to the Gentiles verse 21
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
25 Roman citizens were exempt from examination under torture. The Valerian and Porcian laws, confirmed and amplified by the Edicts of Augustus, prescribed that in trials of Roman citizens there must first be a formulation of charges and penalties, then a formal accusation laid, and then a hearing before a Roman magistrate and his advisory cabinet. Therefore as the soldiers “stretched him [Paul] out to flog him”—on the stone floor or at a pillar or post, or perhaps by suspension from the ceiling or a hook—he said to the centurion in charge, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” (Longenecker, R. N. (1981). The Acts of the Apostles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 528). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House)
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When they had tied him up (ὁς προετειναν αὐτον [hos proeteinan auton]). First aorist active indicative of προτεινω [proteinō], old verb to stretch forward, only here in the N. T. Literally, “When they stretched him forward.” With the thongs (τοις ἱμασιν [tois himasin]). If the instrumental case of ἱμας [himas], old word for strap or thong (for sandals as Mark 1:7, or for binding criminals as here), then Paul was bent forward and tied by the thongs to a post in front to expose his back the better to the scourges. But τοις ἱμασιν [tois himasin] may be dative case and then it would mean “for the lashes.” In either case it is a dreadful scene of terrorizing by the chiliarch. Unto the centurion that stood by (προς τον ἑστωτα ἑκατονταρχον [pros ton hestōta hekatontarchon]). He was simply carrying out the orders of the chiliarch (cf. Matt. 27:54). Why had not Paul made protest before this? Is it lawful? (εἰ ἐξεστιν; [ei exestin?]). This use of εἰ [ei] in indirect questions we have had before (1:6). A Roman and uncondemned (Ρομαιον και ἀκατακριτον [Romaion kai akatakriton]). Just as in 16:37 which see. Blass says of Paul’s question: Interrogatio subironica est confidentiae plena. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Ac 22:25). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
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His special calling (vv. 17–29). After his conversion, Paul had ministered in Damascus and then had gone to Arabia, perhaps to evangelize and to meditate on God’s Word (Acts 9:19–25; Gal. 1:16–17). When Paul did return to Jerusalem, the church leaders did not accept him until Barnabas interceded and got him in (Acts 9:26–29). Note how Paul again emphasized the Jewish elements in his experience, for the Jews would be impressed with a man who prayed in the temple and had a vision from God.
The Lord told Paul to leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people would not receive his witness. By obeying this command, Paul saved his life, because the Hellenistic Jews had plotted to kill him (Acts 9:29–30). But first, Paul debated with the Lord! He wanted to show the Jews that he was a new person and tell them that Jesus was the Messiah, and He was alive. If Paul won some of them to the Lord, it would perhaps help to compensate for all the damage he had done, especially in the killing of Stephen.
The Lord’s command was, “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles!” (Acts 22:21, nkjv) Paul was about to explain why he was involved with the Gentiles, but the Jews in the temple courts would not permit him to go on. No devout Jew would have anything to do with the Gentiles! Had Paul not uttered that one word, he might have later been released; and perhaps he knew this. However, he had to be faithful in his witness, no matter what it cost him. Paul would rather be a prisoner than give up his burden for lost souls and for missions! We could use more Christians like that today.
When Claudius saw that the riot was starting again, he took Paul into the barracks for “examination by torture.” The apostle had already mentioned that he was born in Tarsus, but he had not told them that his citizenship was Roman. It was unlawful for a Roman citizen to be scourged. We do not know how people proved their citizenship in those days; perhaps they carried the first-century equivalent of an ID card.
Claudius must have been shocked that this little Jewish troublemaker who spoke Aramaic and Greek was actually a Roman citizen. “With great sum I obtained this freedom,” Claudius boasted, indicating that he had gotten his citizenship by bribing the Roman officials, for it could not be actually purchased. But Paul was ahead of the Roman captain, for he had been born into freedom and Roman citizenship, thanks to his father. How Paul’s father obtained his freedom, we do not know. We do know that Paul knew how to make use of his Roman citizenship for the cause of Christ.
The soldiers had made two mistakes, and they were quick to undo them: they had bound Paul and had planned to scourge him. No doubt Claudius and his men were especially kind to Paul now that they knew he was a Roman citizen. God was using the great power of the Empire to protect His servant and eventually get him to Rome.
Paul’s entire time in Jerusalem was one filled with serious misunderstandings, but he pressed on. Perhaps at this point some of his friends were saying, “We told him so! We warned him!” For Paul and his associates, it may have looked like the end of the road, but God had other plans for them. Paul would witness again and again, and to people he could never have met had he not been a Roman prisoner. God’s missionary did get to Rome—and the Romans paid the bill!
That’s what happens when God’s people are willing to be daring! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 492–493). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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22:25 stretched him out with thongs. This was done in preparation for his examination by scourging. Stretching Paul taut would magnify the effects of the flagellum on his body. centurion. See notes on 10:1; Mt 8:5. There would have been 10 centurions in the 1,000 man Roman garrison in Jerusalem. who is a Roman. Roman citizens were exempted (by the Valerian and Porcian laws) from such brutal methods of interrogation. Paul now exerted his rights as a Roman citizen. His claim would not have been questioned, because the penalty for falsely claiming Roman citizenship was death. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ac 22:25). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 25. And as they bound him with thongs, &c.] To a pillar, in order to be scourged, according to the Roman manner. Nor was the Jewish form of scourging much unlike, and perhaps might be now used, which was this; when they scourge any one they bind both his hands to a pillar, here and there—and they don’t strike him standing nor sitting, but inclininge; for the pillar to which be was bound was fixed in the ground, and so high as for a man to lean upon; and some say it was two cubits, and others a cubit and a half highg: and the word here used signifies an extension, or distension; perhaps the stretching out of the arms to the pillar, and a bending forward of the whole body, which fitly expresses the stooping inclining posture of the person scourged, and was a very proper one for such a punishment: now as they were thus fastening him with thongs to the pillar, and putting him in this position, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by; to see the soldiers execute the orders received from the chief captain: is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? Though the apostle puts this by way of question, yet he knew full well what the Roman laws were in such cases; he did not put this through ignorance, or for information, but to let them know who he was, and to put them in mind of these laws, and of their duty; for, according to the Porcian law, Roman citizens were not to be beatenh. Hence, saysi Cicero, “it is a heinous sin to bind a Roman citizen, it is wickedness to beat him, it is next to parricide to kill him, and what shall I say to crucify him?” And, according to the Valerian law, it was not lawful for magistrates to condemn a Roman without hearing the cause, and pleading in it; and such condemned persons might appeal to the populace. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 359). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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Paul was no stranger to beatings. He had been beaten with lictors’ rods, and he had been lashed by the Jews, but the scourge was something else. The scourge was a fearful thing. It consisted of leather straps weighted with bits of iron, bound to a handle. In the hands of a brawny soldier, it could tear out great lumps of flesh. A flying thong could blind or cripple a man for life. It took a very tough man indeed to survive a thorough scourging.
At the tribune’s command, Paul was seized and bound and the instrument of torture brought out of its case. Then Paul played his trump card, one kept in reserve against such a moment as this. He produced his Roman citizenship. To bind a Roman citizen was serious enough, but to scourge him was wholly illegal, and to do either to an uncondemned Roman was worst of all. The centurion was thoroughly alarmed. Off he went to apprise the tribune of this new and unexpected factor in the equation.
There are times for a believer to claim his civil rights. A believer should be willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, but there is no virtue in suffering merely for suffering’s sake. Where protection of the law exists and can be invoked without compromise or complication, it can be invoked. A believer ought not to resort to the law for every petty offense, but in matters where the alternatives are serious and the means of legal redress exist, it is not wrong to seek protection of the law. (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Acts: An Expository Commentary (Ac 22:25–26). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
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FROM MY READING:
Quote from Les (WV): A member of the church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.
It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember’s flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I will be back in church next Sunday.’ We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen! Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken.
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An oft-repeated but, in my view, ultimately misguided self-critique by Christians, is that we are better known for what we are against than what we are for. I fully agree with the spirit of the comment. As Chuck Colson liked to say, Christians should not just resist the bad stuff but always propose a better way.
Today, however, that statement is too often used as a way of saying Christians should be more positive, as if Christians should be known for what we are for, and not known for what we are against. But Christians just can’t choose between those approaches. To put it bluntly, Christian faithfulness in a culture like ours demands that we be against many things even as we embrace the hope of the invading Kingdom of God. Otherwise, we will only offer the world a sort of moral confusion.
Case in point: Just before Christmas, Christianity Today editor Mark Galli suggested that, given the conclusion of the impeachment hearings in U.S. House, Christians should support the removal of President Trump from office, either by impeachment or in the next election.
So much has been said and written about Galli’s piece already, I’ll only focus on his two main and most problematic points: First, that supporting the removal of Trump from office is a mark of Christian faithfulness, and second, to not support his removal would harm the reputation of Christ and Christians. In other words, Christians should be against the president.
It’s always a weighty thing to bind the conscience of other Christians, and it should only be done with clarity and discernment. This piece, unfortunately, displayed neither.
Moral clarity today demands we be both for personal integrity in our leaders as well as for the conscience protections of citizens. It demands that we stand against the taking of innocent, preborn life and, at the same time, for civility and strong character. Moral clarity in our time requires being against the mistreatment of people on Twitter and, even more so, against the sexual experimentation on children by radical ideologues.
This is the moral complexity of the world we live in. It’s for us what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “the tempest of the living.” So we must be very careful before we demand all Christians adhere to our conscience, especially if by doing so, their consciences are made complicit in not sufficiently standing against the grave evils of our day.
At the same time, Gospel faithfulness cannot be delivered by mere political calculation. To stand against the evils of our day, we need not overlook, or much less, justify the moral failings of our leaders. Whenever we do that, we become, as Chuck Colson warned in his own Christianity Today article more than twenty years ago, “just another political interest group.”
Simply put, we must be clear about what we are for, and what we are against.
And, most importantly, the tough decisions that Gospel faithfulness demands of Christians, especially in this cultural moment, cannot be made based on a concern for reputation. After all, we would only need to join the choruses of support for abortion and the sexual confusion of children if we wish to improve our social standing, or at least we should lower the volume of our moral outcry, as far too many Christians have. That, of course, is an abdication of our responsibility to God and His truth.
As Chuck so clearly exhorted, “Our task is to serve as society’s conscience, seeing all of life from God’s perspective and interpreting that vision in prudential terms for our fellow citizens. We don’t seek power; we seek a society where government promotes justice in all spheres of society and protects the public good.”
That task has not changed, nor is it simply a political one. In all of life, in every sphere of society, the challenge and the opportunity to proclaim Christ and promote what is true and good remains.
Especially now, as Paul prayed for the church at Philippi, Christian love requires knowledge and discernment. We’ll need that kind of clarity and courage to call balls and strikes and, to mix metaphors, to walk and chew gum at the same time. We’ll have to be clear about what we are against, and we’ll have to be clear about what we are for. Christ is our King. His causes are our causes.
So, let’s be known as people who are for the proclamation of the Gospel. Let’s be for truth and for goodness and for beauty. Let’s be against the taking of innocent life and the sexual exploitation of children. Let’s be for those ideas that align with God’s general and special revelation, and against those ideas that confuse self-determination for freedom. Let’s be against covering up sin, and for God’s good gift of repentance. Let’s be for the freedom only found in Christ and against all attempts by political or corporate forces to bind our conscience. Let’s be ruthlessly against ideas that dehumanize, and at the same time fiercely for those being dehumanized.
We can be appropriately for and appropriately against, but only if our love is shaped by knowledge and discernment. We will often find ourselves, in the New Year and beyond, against the world. But when we are, let it be because we are actually for the world, empowered by and in service to the One whose world it is. (BreakPoint)
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Adam and Eve rebel against their Creator.
INSIGHT
You may have heard the old saying, “For want of a nail, the shoe is lost; for want of a shoe, the horse is lost; for want of a horse, the king is lost; and for want of a king, the kingdom is lost.” It is a clever way of saying that little things matter. Little things lead to larger things–often with disastrous consequences.
We see the first example of this in Genesis 3:6. First, Eve “saw” the forbidden fruit. No transgression yet. Then she “desired.” Still no transgression–but a step closer. Finally, she “took and ate.” Transgression.
The “look” seemed harmless. It was a small thing, but it led to “eating.” Are there things in your life that you are “looking” at? They seem harmless now, but they lead to larger things. Spare yourself–give them up now. “For want of a nail . . . the kingdom is lost.”
(Quiet Walk)
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WHY IS THE HOLY SPIRIT CALLED HOLY?
But ye have an unction from the Holy One. 1 John 2:20
Why is the Holy Spirit called holy? Surely, the explanation is that it is His special work to produce holiness and order in all that He does in the application of Christ’s work of salvation. His objective is to produce holiness, and He does that in nature and creation, as well as in human beings. But His ultimate work is to make us a holy people, holy as the children of God. It is also probable that He is described as the Holy Spirit in order to differentiate Him from the other spirits—the evil spirits. That is why we are told to test the spirits and to prove them and to know whether they are of God or not (1 John 4:1).
Then the next great question is the personality or the personhood of the Spirit. The personhood of the Holy Spirit is not only forgotten by those whom we describe as liberals or modernists in their theology, but we ourselves are often guilty of precisely the same thing. I have heard most orthodox people referring to the Holy Spirit and His work as “it” and “its” influence and so on, as if the Holy Spirit were nothing but an influence or a power. And hymns, too, frequently make the same mistake. There is a confusion about the Holy Spirit, and I am sure there is a sense in which many of us find it a little more difficult to conceive of the third person in the blessed Holy Trinity than to conceive of the Father or the Son.
Why is there this tendency to think of Him as a force or an influence or an emanation? There are a number of answers to that question, but they are not good reasons. His work seems to be impersonal because it is a kind of mystical and secret work. He produces graces and fruits; He gives us gifts, and He gives us various powers. And because of that, we tend to think of Him as if He were some influence. I am sure that this is a great part of the explanation.
A Thought to Ponder: His special work is to produce holiness
(From God the Holy Spirit, p. 8, Dr. Marrtyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Hardness of Heart
“Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.” (Mark 16:14)
Apparently many people—even Christians—are afflicted with “spiritual cardiosclerosis” (hardening of the heart), for there are some 40 references in the Bible to this malady. The first was in reference to Egypt’s unbelieving Pharaoh. Concerning him, God told Moses: “I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go” (Exodus 4:21).
But when the children of Israel did escape Pharaoh’s persecutions, they also contracted this debilitating attitude: “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work” (Psalm 95:8-9).
Even the very disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were rebuked by Him for their hardness of heart. In spite of the Old Testament prophecies, and in spite of His own repeated promise that He would rise from the dead, the disciples forsook Him and fled into hiding when He was arrested. Some were even skeptical about the first reports of His resurrection until they saw Him for themselves. His rebuke (see our text) essentially equated their unbelief with “hardness of heart” (Greek sklerokardia).
If this heart of hardness and unbelief could attack the 11 disciples, it could surely happen to us, if we allow it. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. . . . But exhort one another daily . . . lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. . . . To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:12-13, 15). Instead, we should heed Christ’s first great commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart” (Matthew 22:37).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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There is a gap between our love for the gospel and our love for godliness. This must change. (p. 21)
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On the last day, God will not acquit us because our good works were good enough, but HE will look for evidence that our good confession was not phony. It’s in this sense that we must be holy. (p.29)
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“Can those be saved who do not turn to God from their ungrateful and impenitent ways? (p. 29)
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Any gospel which purports to save people without also transforming them is inviting easy-believism. If you think being a Christian is nothing more than saying a prayer or joining a church, then you’ve confused real grace with cheap grace. (p. 30)
(The Hole In Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung)
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