Acts 24
Accusations of the Jews against Paulverses 1-9
And after five days Ananias – the high priest
descended with the elders
and with a certain orator named Tertullus
who informed the governor against Paul
And when he was called forth – Tertullus began to accuse him
saying
Seeing that by you we enjoy great quietness
and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation
by your providence – we accept it always
and in all places – most noble Felix
with all thankfulness
Notwithstanding – that I be not further tedious to you
I pray you that you would
hear us of your clemency a few words
FOR we have found this man a pestilent fellow
a mover of sedition among all the Jews
throughout the world
and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes
who also has gone about to profane the temple
whom we took – and would have judged
according to our law
BUT the chief captain Lysias came on us
and with great violence took him away out of our hands
commanding his accusers to come unto you
by examining of whom yourself may take
knowledge of all these things
whereof we accuse him
And the Jews also assented – saying that these things were so
Paul defends himselfverses 10-21
Then Paul – after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak
answered
FORASMUCH as I know that you have been of many years a judge
to this nation – I do the more cheerfully answer for myself
BECAUSE that you may understand
that there are yet but twelve days since I went up
to Jerusalem for to worship
And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man
neither raising up the people – neither in the synagogues
nor in the city neither can they prove the things whereof
they now accuse me
BUT this I confess to you – that after the way which they call heresy
so worship I the God of my fathers
believing all things which are written
in the law and the prophets
and have hope toward God
which they themselves also allow
that there shall be a resurrection of the dead
both of the just and unjust
AND herein do I exercise myself
to have always a conscience void of offense toward God
and toward men
NOW after many years I came to bring alms to my nation – and offerings
whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple
neither with multitude – nor with tumult
Who ought to have been here before you – and object
if they had aught against me
OR ELSE let these same here say – if they have found any evildoing in me
while I stood before the council – except it be for this one voice
that I cried standing among them
Touching the resurrection of the dead I called
in question by you this day
Paul kept in custodyverses 22-27
And when Felix heard these things having more perfect knowledge
of that way – he deferred them
and said
When Lysias the chief captain shall come down
I will know the uttermost of your matter
And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul – and to let him have liberty
and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister
or come to him
And after certain days – when Felix came with his
Drusilla – which was a Jewess he sent for Paul
and heard him concerning the faith in Christ
And as he reasoned of righteousness – temperance – judgment to come
Felix trembled – and answered
Go your way for this time
when I have a convenient season – I will call for you
He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul
that he might loose him
wherefore he sent for him the oftener
and communed with him
BUT after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room
and Felix – willing to show the Jews a pleasure – left Paul bound
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 We accept it always, and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. (2169 “thankfulness” [eucharistia] means thanksgiving, the giving of thanks, the act of expressing gratitude or showing appreciation to someone, or to express gratitude for benefits or blessings)
DEVOTION: We have to guard our speech when we are dealing with people. There is a difference between compliments and flattery. Compliments are to be given when they are deserved. It is to say something about someone who has done something nice to us or others.
Flattery is something that is said not in honesty but to get something from someone who can provide us with what we want but really is not a very nice person. We are lying when what we say something about them isn’t true. We are doing it to get what we want but not caring that the person is really in need of constructive criticism instead of a compliment.
Here we find an orator speaking to a ruler in order to get the ruler to do what he wants him to do. He has ulterior motive. It is not to just state the truth about the person but to tell him what he wants to hear in order that he would give the right judgment regarding Paul.
The Jews really didn’t like being ruled by Gentiles. They wanted the Gentiles to give them their freedom to do what they wanted. They couldn’t at this time and so they wanted to say whatever would make the Gentile rulers happy. Many times the rulers liked to please the Jews to keep the peace.
We might fall into this type of speech sometimes. We might say things that are nice in order to get our way when we know our way is not what is right. When we get what we want it sometimes causes us to be sad the way we got our way.
Our speech should be honest at all times. Sometimes the advice given long ago is good:” if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all.”
CHALLENGE: Watch out for those who say only nice things to you and never confront you when you are wrong.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. (3061 “pestilent” [loimos] means pest, plague, troublemaker, public menace, nuisance, or any deadly infectious malady)
DEVOTION: How many of us have ever been called a pest while we were growing up or even as an adult. Sometimes it is a wife calling her husband a pest about something he wants to do as a family or a wife that wants something to happen.
Some of us might have even been called a troublemaker. Elijah was called a person who troubles Israel. He was a prophet who caused it not to rain for three and a half years because of the sins of Israel. He was a good prophet that a wicked king didn’t want around.
Achan was called by Joshua someone who caused trouble for Israel was they entered the Promised Land. He was a man who stole things that belonged to the LORD and because of that thirty six men died. He was guilty of greed.
Now we have Paul called a troublemaker because he believed in the Way that they thought was heresy. He was teaching that Jesus Christ was the Messiah which they didn’t believe, so it must have been heresy. They were wrong but they didn’t want to lose their standing with the Roman government.
I have been called a troublemaker for asking questions in Seminary about some of the things that were being taught to the young men who were there with me. I was older and had been in the Seminary years before earning another Master’s degree. I thought that these young men were accepting all that was being taught by men who had never been pastors in churches. Being a professor all of their life didn’t make them good pastors. My previous group of instructors had been pastors with many years of experience. Their teaching regarding how a pastor should pastor was good. When we think that we have something to say that is truth we should not worry about what people say about us. We should make sure that people know what we believe is found in the Bible not just in books. Practical experience in ministry helps us understand what needs to be done to cause the ministry of Christ to move forward.
Paul was preaching the truth but these individuals didn’t want to hear it and didn’t want others to hear it either. Should he have stopped teaching the truth about Jesus Christ? NO!! Neither should we. Make sure we are speaking the truth in love but always speaking the truth.
You are going to be called names if you are faithful to the LORD. Sometimes the names are accurate if we are not guarding our life as we should. Confession is necessary during those times to the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Otherwise tell it like it is and let the LORD deal with those who call you a heretic. That will happen.
: 14 But this I confess to you, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. (3000 “worship” [latreuo] means serve, to serve for hire, minister to, to perform sacred services, to offer gifts, or to worship and perform sacral rites following prescribed rules)
DEVOTION: Paul was honest in his statement to Felix. He stated what he believed. He told him that he was falsely accused of causing problems. He had just gone into the Temple to complete a vow.
He confessed that he did believe the teachings of this new group that was called the Way at the time. There has been other groups who have not be true followers of Jesus Christ according to the Bible who have called their group “the Way.” These are two different groups. The one in the first century were teaching according to the teaching of Jesus alone. The one in the twentieth century were not following the fundamental teachings of the Word of God.
Now Paul also stated that he worshiped the God of his father. This is the God of the Bible. He believed the teachings of the Old Testament. He believed that the teachings of Moses would cause people to realize that they were sinners and needed redemption through blood sacrifice. He believed Jesus blood sacrifice on the cross completed the sacrificial offering of the Old Testament. No more sacrifices were needed for redemption. Jesus did it all.
He also stated that he believed the Prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah. He believed Jesus fulfilled many of these prophesies at HIS first coming and would fulfill the rest at HIS second coming. This is what we believe as well today.
We can learn about God from Genesis to Revelation. Each book helps us understand who God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are in relationship to us. The triune God is one God in three persons. Each person of the Godhead has specific responsibilities in their relationship to us.
CHALLENGE: Find out what these responsibilities are and then apply them to your understanding of the ONE TRUE God you serve.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go your way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for you. (1256 “reasoned” [dialegomai] means made a speech, to say thoroughly, to ponder, discuss, dispute, preach, to think different things with one’s self, or to mingle thought with thought)
DEVOTION: Paul was not afraid to confront a political leader in his position. He was under arrest and still spoke with power from on high. He told the governor about a need to be righteousness in his life. The first point of his speech was that all have sinned and need a Savior. In order to live right there has to be confession of sin.
The governor had heard the testimony of the Jews. He had postponed any judgment on Paul until the chief captain came. He gave Paul personal freedoms. He wanted Paul to pay him a bribe, so that, he could set him free. Instead of paying a bribe, Paul preached.
He told the governor that he needed to have temperance in his life. Paul’s second point dealt with the present. Dealing with sin deals with the past. In the present there was a need for self-control. Felix was on his third wife. He had his present wife divorce her husband. He was out of control with his lust.
He told the governor there was judgment coming. With this message we know that he told the governor to repent and follow Christ. The governor trembled at the message. When anyone is confronted with the prospect of meeting God for his final judgment there is FEAR. Felix knew he would stand before God one day.
The only thing he could do was send Paul away and say he would call him back another time. We find that when we witness to some people, they want us to come back later. There might not be a latter. Those who are on our prayer lists that need salvation need to know they are on our list. We need to keep praying and talking to them about Jesus. The Lord will work in HIS time. We have the ONLY answer to their real need. WE have to give an account to the LORD for those who are in our world. If we have had an opportunity to witness and don’t listen to the Holy Spirit – we will answer for it. If we listen and witness, we are free of their blood. Do we have the courage of Paul?
CHALLENGE: Ask the LORD to guide you through the Holy Spirit on who you should witness to. Then do it!!! Don’t fear them.
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)
Alms and offeringsverse 17
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)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Temple verse 6, 12, 18
Worship verse 11, 14
Synagogues verse 12
Alms verse 17
Offering verse 17
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Law verse 6
Law and the prophets verse 14
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God verse 14- 16
God of my fathers verse 14- 16
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Christ verse 24
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)
Governor of Caesarea – Felix verse 1, 10, 22, 24- 27
Chief captain Lysias verse 7 , 22
Asia verse 18
Centurion verse 23
Drusilla (Felix’s wife) verse 24
Porcius Festus verse 27
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Accuse verse 2, 8, 13
Pestilent verse 5
Sedition verse 5
Ringleader verse 5
Profane verse 6
Violence verse 7
Disputing verse 12
Heresy verse 14
Unjust verse 15
Tumult verse 18
Evil doing verse 20
Waiting for convenient season verse 25
Bribe verse 26
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Cheerful verse 10
Worship verse 11
Confess verse 14
Believe verse 14
Follower of the Way verse 14, 22
Hope verse 15
Just verse 15
Clear conscience verse 16
Alms verse 17
Purified verse 18
More perfect knowledge of way verse 22
Liberty verse 23
Minister to each other verse 23
Faith in Christ verse 24
Reasoned verse 25
Righteousness verse 25
Temperance verse 25
Judgment verse 25
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Ananias – High Priest verse 1
High Priest verse 1
Elders verse 1
Tertullus = orator verse 1- 9
Jews verse 5, 9, 18
Jerusalem verse 11
Fathers verse 14
Council verse 20
Jewess verse 24
Church (New Testament people of God)
Paul verse 1, 10- 27
Last Things (Future Events)
Resurrection from the dead verse 15, 21
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QUOTES regarding passage
Paul spoke to Felix and his wife about the necessity of “faith in Christ Jesus” (v. 24). He also made it plain that this involved an ethical life, for he spoke of “righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come” (v. 25)—three subjects Felix and Drusilla particularly needed to learn about! His preaching touched the quick of their kind of living and Felix ordered him to stop. Apparently Drusilla was offended by what she considered Paul’s moralistic ranting, for Luke makes no mention of her having listened to him again. Felix also seems to have been unhappy at the shift in the discussion from divergent religious views to personal morality and responsibility. He was, Luke tells us, “afraid” (emphobos; lit., with the preposition strengthening the noun, “terrified”) in the presence of such preaching. Yet his cupidity and corruption led him to call Paul often before him in hope of getting a bribe for his release. Felix must have believed that Paul had access to some money—either from an inheritance from his parents, as Ramsay postulated, or through Christian friends who visited him (cf. 24:23; 27:3)—and he hoped to get his hands on some of it. (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. 542). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Was terrified (ἐμφοβος γενομενος [emphobos genomenos]). Ingressive aorist middle of γινομαι [ginomai], “becoming terrified.” Ἐμφοβος [Emphobos] (ἐν [en] and φοβος [phobos]) old word, in the N. T. only Luke 24:5; Acts 10:5; 24:25; Rev. 11:13. Paul turned the tables completely around and expounded “the faith in Christ Jesus” as it applied to Felix and Drusilla and discoursed (διαλεγομενου αὐτου [dialegomenou autou], genitive absolute) concerning “righteousness” (δικαιοσυνης [dikaiosunēs]) which they did not possess, “self-control” or temperance (ἐγκρατειας [egkrateias]) which they did not exhibit, and “the judgment to come” (του κριματος του μελλοντος [tou krimatos tou mellontos]) which was certain to overtake them. Felix was brought under conviction, but apparently not Drusilla. Like another Herodias her resentment was to be feared (Knowling). Go thy way for this time (το νυν ἐχον πορευου [to nun echon poreuou]). The ancient Greek has this use of το νυν ἐχον [to nun echon] (Tobit 7:11) in the accusative of time, “as for the present or holding the now.” When I have a convenient season (καιρον μεταλαβων [kairon metalabōn]). Second aorist active participle of the old verb μεταλαμβανω [metalambanō], to find a share in, to obtain. It was his “excuse” for dodging the personal turn that Paul had given. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Ac 24:25). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
24:24–26. Felix must have taken a brief trip with his wife, Drusilla. When they returned, Felix sent for Paul who spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. Felix was brought under conviction when Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. Well he should, for his marriage to Drusilla was his third and he had to break up another marriage to secure her. His regime was marked by injustices that contrasted with the righteousness of God. And he was a man grossly lacking in self-control.
The duplicity and greed of Felix is seen in his desire to be bribed by Paul.
24:27. To placate the Jews, Felix left Paul in prison even though he knew Paul was innocent. Felix eventually lost his position because he was cruelly intemperate in putting down a Jewish and Gentile conflict in Caesarea. (Toussaint, S. D. (1985). Acts. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 422). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Dr. Luke has given us only the three points of Paul’s sermon to this infamous couple: righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. But what an outline! Paul gave them three compelling reasons why they should repent and believe on Jesus Christ.
First, they had to do something about yesterday’s sin (“righteousness”). In 1973, Dr. Karl Menninger, one of the world’s leading psychiatrists, published a startling book, Whatever Became of Sin? He pointed out that the very word sin has gradually dropped out of our vocabulary, “the word, along with the notion.” We talk about mistakes, weaknesses, inherited tendencies, faults, and even errors; but we do not face up to the fact of sin.
“People are no longer sinful,” said Phyllis McGinley, noted American writer and poet. “They are only immature or underprivileged or frightened or, more particularly, sick.” But a holy God demands righteousness; that’s the bad news. Yet the good news is that this same holy God provides His own righteousness to those who trust Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:21–26). We can never be saved by our own righteousness of good works. We can be saved only through Christ’s righteousness made available by His finished work of salvation on the cross.
The second point in Paul’s sermon dealt with self-control: we must do something about today’s temptations. Man can control almost everything but himself. Here were Felix and Drusilla, prime illustrations of lack of self-control. She divorced her husband to become Felix’s third wife, and though a Jewess, she lived as though God had never given the Ten Commandments at Sinai. Felix was an unscrupulous official who did not hesitate to lie, or even to murder, in order to get rid of his enemies and promote himself. Self-control was something neither of them knew much about.
Paul’s third point was the clincher: “judgment to come.” We must do something about tomorrow’s judgment. Perhaps Paul told Felix and Drusilla what he told the Greek philosophers: God has “appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness” by the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 17:31). Jesus Christ is either your Saviour or your Judge. How do we know that Jesus Christ is the Judge? “He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31, nkjv). Once again, the Resurrection!
“Felix trembled” (Acts 24:25), which literally means, “Felix became terrified.” Roman leaders prided themselves in their ability to be stoical and restrain their emotions under all circumstances, but a conviction from God gripped Felix’s heart, and he could not hide it. Paul had diagnosed the case and offered the remedy. It was up to Felix to receive it. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 501). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
24:25 righteousness, self-control and the judgment. God demands “righteousness” of all people, because of His holy nature (Mt 5:48; 1Pe 1:15, 16). For men and women to conform to that absolute standard requires “self-control.” The result of failing to exhibit self-control and to conform oneself to God’s righteous standard is (apart from salvation) “judgment.” Felix became frightened. Living with a woman he had lured away from her husband, Felix obviously lacked “righteousness” and “self-control.” The realization that he faced “judgment” alarmed him, and he hastily dismissed Paul. when I find time. The moment of conviction passed, and Felix foolishly passed up his opportunity to repent (cf. 2Co 6:2). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ac 24:25). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
We read that as Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,” Felix shuddered. No wonder he shuddered, with another man’s wife sitting there beside him on the throne! When Paul reasoned of righteousness, he must have brought before Felix the fact that he had no righteousness. I fancy we get in the epistle to the Romans something of the line of reasoning that Paul would bring to show that the judgment of God was against all unrighteousness, and that all men everywhere were sinners and needed a Saviour. And then he would not hesitate to witness to the fact that Felix, instead of holding his physical passions in subjection, had allowed them to run away with him, to dominate his reason; so that, instead of living in self-control, he was controlled by evil.
And Paul went on to tell of judgment to come. It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment. There was no sugarcoating here. There was no palliating the message; no “soft-pedaling.” It took tremendous courage for this little Christian Jew to stand there before that Roman governor and his paramour, and press home upon their hearts and consciences the corruption of their lives and the wickedness of their hearts; then to insist that for all these things God was going to bring them into judgment!
And yet we do not read that Felix responded to it. He knew the truth of much of which Paul spoke, and he doubtless recognized the truth of the rest of it, and he shuddered. The memory of his sins rose up before him, and as he stood there facing God about those sins, he was in trouble and distress, but there was no repentance.
What folly it is to try to cover up and forget our sins! Remember, if unconfessed, God has never forgotten them. He says, “I will not forget any of their sins.” They are there in His books of record, and in His judgment day they will be manifested. We are told that “some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before them to judgment: and some men they follow after.” Whether hidden and covered here on earth or not, they will all come out there. You say: Well, is there no way of deliverance? Is there no way of salvation, for I have sinned? I have violated God’s holy law, but is there no forgiveness?
Ah, yes. And as Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, he must have put clearly before Felix the glorious message of the gospel. It is not necessary that the sinner go on to meet God in judgment—that is, if he is willing to judge his sins now, if he is willing to come now into the presence of God and face those sins. But men need to remember this: the first time that a man comes into the presence of God, he must come with all his sins upon him. If you never come into the presence of God until the day of judgment, you will stand there with all your sins upon you, and you will hear that Voice saying, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Ironside, H. A. (1943). Lectures on the Book of Acts. (pp. 580–582). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers.)
FROM MY READING:
Genesis 6
Man rebels and faces God’s judgment.
INSIGHT
Faith is believing what God has said, not merely hoping for something. It is not like wishing upon a star when, if you believe hard enough, your wish will come true. Faith is trusting God’s Word.
God told Noah to build an ark and save himself from the coming deluge. Noah had never seen an ark, but he believed God and was obedient to what he knew (Genesis 6:22). He believed the Word of God and acted on it. That’s faith. (Quiet Walk)
Scientists know our planet is precisely the right distance from the sun to benefit from its heat. A little closer and all the water would evaporate, as on Venus. Only a bit farther and everything would freeze like it does on Mars. Earth is also just the right size to generate the right amount of gravity. Less would make everything weightlessly sterile like our moon, while more gravity would trap poisonous gases that suffocate life as on Jupiter.
The intricate physical, chemical, and biological interactions that comprise our world bear the imprint of a sophisticated Designer. We catch a glimpse of this complex craftsmanship when God speaks to Job about things beyond our understanding. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?” God asks. “Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone?” (Job 38:4-6).
This glimpse of creation’s magnitude causes us to wonder at Earth’s mighty oceans bowing before the One who “shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, . . . [who said] ‘This far you may come and no farther’ ” (vv. 8-11). In wonder may we sing with the morning stars and shout for joy with the angels (v. 7), for this elaborate world was made for us that we might know and trust God.
(By Remi Oyedele, Our Daily Bread)
THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS A MIND
And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit.
Romans 8:27
The Holy Spirit clearly has a mind. In Romans 8:27 we read, “the mind of the Spirit”—this is in connection with prayer. He is also the one who loves, because we read that “the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22); and it is His function to shed abroad the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:5). And, likewise, we know He is capable of grief, because in Ephesians 4:30 we are warned not to “grieve” the Holy Spirit.
The ultimate doctrine about the Spirit, from the practical, experiential standpoint, is that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so that whatever I do, wherever I go, the Holy Spirit is with me. I know nothing that so promotes sanctification and holiness as the realization of that. If only we realized, always, that in anything we do with our bodies, the Holy Spirit is involved! Remember also that Paul teaches that in the context of a warning against fornication. He writes, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you…?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). That is why fornication should be unthinkable in a Christian. God is in us, in the Holy Spirit: not an influence, not a power, but a person whom we can grieve.
I am going through these details not out of an academic interest, nor because I happen to have a theological type of mind. No, I am concerned about these things, as I am a man trying myself to live the Christian life, and as I am called of God to be a pastor of souls, and I feel the responsibility for the souls and conduct and behavior of others. Wherever you are, wherever you go, if you are a Christian the Holy Spirit is in you; and if you really want to enjoy the blessings of salvation, you do so by knowing that your body is His temple.
A Thought to Ponder: If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is in you.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 11-12, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Declaring the Unknown God
“As I . . . beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” (Acts 17:23)
The people of Athens were known to be quite religious, worshipping a host of nature gods. They even had set up an altar “to the unknown god.” Paul pounced on this point of contact to declare unto them the God they didn’t know.
He starts by laying the foundation: This God, he claims, is the Creator. He not only “made the world and all things therein” (v. 24), but also is “Lord of heaven and earth.” To cause to exist and then to rule over all of creation, one must be omnipotent. He is much too great to dwell in “temples made with hands.” How ludicrous to think He might need anything, including the worship of men, “seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (v. 25).
This God “hath made of one blood all nations of men” and “hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (v. 26). To know all men, their race, futures, and details of their lives, God must be omniscient, eternal, boundless. He has done this so “that they should seek the Lord” (v. 27). He is not hard to find, for He is “not far from every one of us.” He is the sustainer and source of all life. “In him we live, and move, and have our being; . . . we are also his offspring” (v. 28), totally unlike gods of “gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device” (v. 29).
But mankind has not known this God. He has been patient, but hates sin and “commandeth all men every where to repent” (v. 30), to gain forgiveness based on the work of “that man whom he hath ordained” (v. 31) as a final sacrifice, or as righteous judge. We can be sure of this because, when the sacrifice was slain, God “raised him from the dead” (v. 31).
Some mocked at the declaration of this mighty God (v. 32); some refused to act; but others believed (v. 34). (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Saving yourself for marriage, staying sober on Friday night, turning down a promotion to stay at your church, refusing to say the -word, turning off the television – these are the kinds of things the world doesn’t understand. Don’t expect them to. The world provides no cheerleaders on the pathway to godliness.
(p. 37, The Hole In Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung)
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