ACTS CHAPTER 26
KJV
WEB
See
previous page
Act 26,1-18
(148i) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Obligation to preach the gospel >> Ambassador in
chains -- These verses go with verses 24-32
Act 26,1-3
(72j)
Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More authority the more
responsibility >> The strong shall help the weak -- These verses go with verses
30-32. Paul stood before Felix and then before
Festus, and now he was making his defense before King Agrippa, and they all
increased in authority and in knowledge of the Scriptures regarding ancient Jewish
beliefs and customs. This is uncharacteristic of our politicians today, where the
higher in authority, the more they claim to be Christians but the less evidence they show in their character and the less they seem to know
about the Bible. This is to suggest that the governors in Paul’s day were
better than the governors in our own time, and these were Romans who were
pagans, in fact the entire Roman empire collapsed under the weight
of their debauchery. If they were better than us,
then what does that say about our future?
Act 26,4-20
(193e) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Turn from sin to God >> Repent >>
Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance >>
Testimony of Paul’s life – Paul showed how foolish the Jews were for
persecuting him for teaching the fulfillment of the very Scriptures they loved
and embraced and studied and taught their whole lives. When he drew a straight
and definitive line from the teachings of the Old Testament to the things he
now believes, it answered every question in King Agrippa’s mind, and
demonstrated that the Jews should believe in Jesus with him, and in fact there
were many Pharisees who did believe in Jesus, coming to Christ mostly through
Peter’s ministry. This line Paul drew showed the
consistency between the old and
new covenants without wasting the king’s time interpreting scripture or stretching
doctrines from their original meaning, but spoke emphatically about the
highpoints of his faith in Christ, explaining that these Old Testament
concepts literally prophesied the new covenant into existence, offering his
personal testimony as a supplement to the Scriptures.
Act 26,4-15
(201e) Denying Christ
>>
Jesus is an offense >> Truth offends error >>
The truth offends the religious establishment – King Agrippa was mostly concerned whether
Paul had fabricated this new teaching; if he did, the Jews were right in persecuting
him. Anyone who would advocate
abandoning circumcision that God instituted as a sign of the ancient faith of
Abraham and desist from the customs of Moses should be stoned to death
according to the Old Testament, unless these changes came from God, and
this is what the Jews didn’t believe.
Act 26,4-11
(175m)
Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance
>> Ignorant of God – Rational thought would normally lead one to
think that the Jews who persecuted Paul didn’t personally know him, but in fact
many of them grew up with him in
Jerusalem, possibly going to school together from childhood to adult and attending
the equivalent of seminary training together. These were some of Paul’s closest
friends who were now persecuting him, and it never once entered their minds to
question why he converted to Christianity. This is the epitome of close-mindedness,
a way of thinking that denied the possibility that they could be wrong. They
thought they were right about everything because they were an authority on the
subject, spending more years studying these things
than others and studying under astute professors. Their religion was not an aspect of their
culture but of their very essence. Paul and the other Pharisees
were leaders of their nation's faith as teachers of the doctrines that Israel
believed, so they were held in high honor among the people, which added to
their confidence, still they were wrong.
Likewise for us, it doesn’t matter how many good reasons we have for
believing what we know; we too could be wrong. There is no excuse for close-mindedness, because the
possibility of being wrong always exists, no matter how strongly we
believe. We should always keep an open mind and listen even to our
enemies. People are
afraid to do this because of the frailty of their faith. As a cover-up they
claim to be convinced of the truth, so there is no need to be open-minded, but
this is a pharisaical mindset. See
also: Blasphemy
(Accusing God of evil); 1Jn 4-5,6; 219g
(185b) Works of the devil
>>
The origin of lawlessness >> Mystery of
lawlessness >> Having no grounds for your hate >>
Hating Christ without a cause – The Jews were afflicting and terrorizing
Paul, which is what he used to do to Christians before he got saved, and then
he asked God to deliver him from these people, and God said, ‘No, you
are going to take your own medicine.’
Despite God’s incorruptible love for Paul, and despite Paul’s willingness
to go anywhere and do anything for Him, God's righteous judgment took
precedence over His love. God loves us, but He also judges us. Many
people don’t believe the Jews were Paul’s thorn in the flesh in 2Cor
12,7-10. They probably don’t want to believe this because it would indicate
that God’s righteous judgment precedes His love for us, and they can expect
this when they sin. Instead, they want God to love, love, love. We want the
freedom to do whatever we want and get God's love in return, but these are not
the ways of God. Rather, He judged Paul and then turned his judgment into good. Not only was God
satisfied that Paul got what he deserved, but Paul was strengthened and
benefited by it and more prepared to preach the gospel in times of adversity, so it was a win-win
situation. Even in some of the most debauched
circumstances, God can find ways to turn evil into good if we follow Him, but
He can do nothing with us outside of repentance, anymore than improving a town is a good idea before repairing the dam that is upstream from it.
See also: Paul's thorn; Act 26,4-7; 99c /
Judgment has increased
through the law/through Christ; Rom 7,7-11; 22a
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,4-9
(19k) Sin
>>
Actions that contradict your words will twist your mind
Act 26,4-7
(99c)
Thy kingdom come >> Endurance (Thorn in
the flesh) >> Enduring the will of God >> Enduring people
(patience)
– These religious fanatics who persecuted
Paul followed him
around trying to hinder the gospel from
going forward through him. They didn't bother the other apostles as much as
they bothered him, why? He was once one of them! Religious fanatics are not defined by how strongly they believe, but by what they
do. That is, fanatics would have committed their crimes whether or not they
were religious. In
other words, criminal behavior of fanatics is not the result of their beliefs but of their criminal minds, and they
use their religious beliefs to excuse their behavior. Paul was once a
religious terrorist of the Church, but then he got saved and upset the world for Jesus, but
he wasn’t the one causing the ruckus; rather, it was the religious fanatics. He was once the ringleader of the very people who
terrorized him; he was once a thorn in the side of the Church, but now the
fanatics were a thorn his side (2Cor 12,7-10). God refused to do
anything about them, allowing him to receive the same treatment that he
divvied to Christians in the days of his fanaticism, and as a result of
attracting persecution to himself his anointing grew and he relieved pressure
off the Church, like a mother bird pretends to be injured to lure away predators
from her babies. The
same thing will happen in the last days with the Two Witnesses (Revelation
chapter 11), whom the world will persecute, relieving pressure from the
Church. God
uses fanatical terrorism to judge nations who have rejected Him, using
evil to judge evil, as He has done so often in the past. See also: Paul's thorn; Act 26,4-11;
185b
(142a)
Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness
to the new >> Prophesy about the dispensation >> The end times
– The early church had a Bible that God had
provided them in
the Old Testament that was written long before any of these things took place, which was extremely persuasive, capable of creating strong
faith in those who studied and believed it, capable of creating the Church in
the world. Now 2000 years later these ancient
manuscripts are more ancient than ever, yet they are just as true and relevant. Since
then, the early founders of the Church furnished us with an updated Testament,
which has become another whole battery of prophecies yet to be fulfilled
relating to the last days, so now we have these things “made more sure to
which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until
the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts” (2Pet 1-19). When
endtime prophecies are fulfilled, we will have great assurance, even as
the early disciples hoped in the Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled
in their time about Jesus and His required sacrifice and subsequent
resurrection.
(165a) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world is at
enmity with God >> The world rejects God
(176e) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Zeal without
knowledge (Spirit w/o the word) >> Devotion
without direction
Act 26-4,5
(143b) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >>
Having a bad reputation
Act 26,5-8
(53i) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> Contradicting their own standards >> Accusing Jesus in whom they believe
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,5-7
(151c) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears
witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >>
The sons of Abraham
Act 26-8
(39c) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death >> Preaching the
resurrection -- This verse goes with verse 23. Paul met a lot of resistance regarding the
resurrection. The concept was so brand-new, no one had heard or even
imagined such a thing before Paul preached it among the towns and villages
that he visited. Death was such a concrete thing as it is to us,
knowing that when our family members die, we will not see them again in this
life. The Old Testament hinted at a resurrection, but it wasn’t a major
doctrine until the New Testament made it a new
covenant idea, emerging from the deep shadows of the Old Testament. Jesus went
around preaching a gospel that centered on the concept of eternal life as the
thrust of his ministry. Had Jesus’ message centered on anything else, it
would have been a downgrade to His gospel, since you cannot top the promise of
the resurrection and eternal life. There are many things against us, and in
the end we will die, which candidly is the worst thing that could possibly
happen to
our mortal flesh. There are many things that cause us sorrow, but over
time we could rise above it, get passed it and live beyond it, but we can’t
live beyond death, unless there is a resurrection. So, why weren’t people
more willing to believe in it? It was like Paul entering a town and promising
everyone they could win the lottery if they just bought a one-dollar ticket.
Our mortal flesh has all kinds of
incentive to believe in the gospel of the resurrection leading to eternal
life, yet the reason the teaching of the resurrection often fell on deaf ears was
that the people didn't want to live by faith, so in their
case the resurrection would become a curse, for there is also a resurrection
of the wicked. If they refuse to believe in Jesus, then they will partake of
the resurrection of the wicked, and "this is the second death, the lake of fire"
(Rev 20-14). God will judge them for not believing in His
Son and send them to hell forever. Ignoring these facts do not
make them go away, yet it is how most people deal with skeletons in their closet, and Paul was raising these issues as though corpses they
had previously buried in their earlier days, which opposed their effort to
forget the past. Without Christ we have no future.
(213b) Sovereignty
>>
God is infinite >> God is all powerful >>
All things are possible with God
Act 26,9-11
(25e) Sin
>>
Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Murder >>
Persecution to the death >> Kill your neighbor
for God’s sake –
The Old Testament teaches in the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 13,1-5) that if
anybody tries to persuade us to worship other gods or dissuade us from serving
the true and living God, he was to be put to death. This is where Paul got his
idea to silence the dissent of Christianity. Then after his conversion he essentially reworded
Deut 13 in Gal
1-8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel
contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Prior to
his conversion, Paul was in full conviction about the word of God in fighting to preserve his nation’s
heritage according to his
understanding of Scripture. However, Israel was completely lost, so that
Saul was trying to preserve an idea that was utterly skewed, not even in the
ballpark. Over a period of centuries Israel slowly and methodically meandered
from the purity of Scripture and fell into human error, which transformed the
Scriptures into arbitrary precepts and the traditions of men. He was
convinced that he knew the truth and dedicated his life to what he
believed, but when Jesus revealed Himself to Paul, he then dedicated his life to Christ instead.
(243f) Kingdom of God
>>
Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >>
Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecuting the Church of God – Note the word usage Paul used, “…and
being furiously enraged with them.”
This is Paul's self-portrait from his former manner of life as an
unbeliever, and his description sounds like the Scribes and Pharisees who
hounded him from city to city after he was saved, preaching the same gospel
that he once hated. The
words Paul used were nearly the same words that
the book of Revelation uses to describe the antichrist assaulting the woman
and her children (the Church) in Rev 12-17, “The dragon was enraged with the
woman.” This makes Paul appear to be a very evil man prior to his
conversion, but he was only doing what he thought was right. However, this
will not be the case with the antichrist, who will be a man without conscience,
though he and Paul once had the same sentiments about the Church. Paul said that he was furiously
enraged with the saints, trying to do harm to the name of Jesus Christ, and
the only way he could do that was to attack those who believed in Him. We know that the antichrist and Satan
hate God and His people; though
Paul did not hate God, and he didn’t know that Jesus was
God’s Son. Saul loved God but hated Jesus, whereas Satan hates
Christ in full knowledge that He is God's Son. Paul used the same words to describe himself that Revelation
uses
to describe the antichrist, but they both hated Jesus for different reasons. Although Paul acted like the devil, he had
different motives, so when he came to the revelation of Jesus Christ as the
Son of God, it changed his whole life. See also: Antichrist; Act 26,11-14; 1i
/ Antichrist (Anti-Semitism);
Rom 4,11-17;
210ia
Act 26-9,10
(67h)
Authority >> Jesus delegates authority
>>
Sacrificing your life for the name of Jesus
Act 26-10,11
(164b) Works of the devil
>>
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >>
Entertaining demons by persecuting the Church
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,11-14
(1i)
Responsibility >> Avoid offending God
>>
False burden of serving God in ignorance – This is Paul’s testimony
standing before King Agrippa. Jn 16-2,3 says, “They will make you outcasts
from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to
think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because
they have not known the Father or Me.” It says that Paul punished
Christians in the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme, being
“furiously enraged” with them. This sounds like the antichrist, who
will behave in the same manner according to Revelation chapter 12. When we
study Paul's life,
whatever made him angry at Christians will also enrage the antichrist when
he comes. It could be there is much confusion surrounding the
antichrist because there is
more than one of them. 1Jn 2-18 says, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as
you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” The Bible doesn’t actually talk about “the Antichrist,” though it
does refer to a man of lawlessness in 2The 2-3. So there will be
“a man” eventually come to deceive the world, but there will be
others that will come before him, who will have the same spirit, hence the
reason people
can’t seem to agree about “this man” because he
is many (Mk 5-9). All antichrists differ from each other, yet
they all have one thing in common: they all hate God, and they all deny
that Jesus came in the flesh (1Jn 4,1-3), and they all
hate Christians who follow Him. This goes for Saul too, prior to his
conversion, whom God apply renamed Paul. See also: Antichrist; Act 26,9-11; 243f
(2k)
Responsibility >> Avoid offending God
>>
Get out of His way >> Do not touch the apple
of His eye >> Do not oppose others –
Paul before his conversion with the Lord ferociously
opposed the Church. There were Jews before him who persecuted Christianity,
often throwing Peter, James and John in prison, and the angels kept
setting them free and commanding them to go back to the synagogues and
preach the gospel to the people and prove to the Jews that Jesus is the
Christ. There was a point when the Jews finally gave up their efforts and
maybe even wondered if they actually were
fighting against God; however when Paul came along, he did not care about such
concerns, and with more rage and determination than the Jews before him,
relentlessly persecuted the Church without mercy. What was God’s response
to Saul? Jesus Himself met with him, and as a result he was converted to
Christianity so God both stopped the persecution and used Paul's zeal to
further spread the gospel. God didn’t do
this for the gospel's sake only but also for judgment. Had
Paul resisted, his life would have been completely ruined. Instead of
scales falling off his eyes, he probably would have remained blind, which
would have ended his ranting against the Church, but more than that, his
soul would have been destroyed. As it was, Paul was a man of conscience and
integrity; he was also deceived, being a former student and
proponent of his religion without asking questions. He simply received
the teachings and believed in his heritage and the interpretation of their
ancient manuscripts. This move to convert Paul to
Christianity acted both as a judgment and as the greatest blessing the world
has ever known. The gospel of Christ simply
would not have gone around the world without him. In God’s mind on the
road to Damascus, He both called and chose Paul, but in Paul’s mind a decision had to be made, though a simple
one that Jesus was real and that he had to admit being wrong about virtually everything.
Act 26,12-20
(32a) Gift of God
>>
God is our Father >> Grace >>
God’s grace seeks man – It is a fair assumption that God called Paul
apart from all the other people and the Pharisees who persecuted Paul. Had God
called anybody else, would he have become as great an evangelist as Paul?
This is highly unlikely, suggesting that God’s choice of Paul was for the
express purpose of harnessing his natural abilities. Paul said that he had
lived his life with a clear conscience even prior to His conversion. This was
his greatest strength and is what got him nominated along the road to
Damascus. Who does more to instill a clear conscience in a person? His mother!
This means God called Paul from his mother’s womb. He had other things going
for him, such as a broad knowledge of the Old Testament and mastery of several
languages, which helped him along his missionary journeys. Valuable tools
as these were, they all took a backseat to his conscience that God used to fashion
his relationship with Jesus and shape his love for God's people.
(117i) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing visions –
It seems Jesus appeared to Paul more than once. Along the road to Damascus was
the only recorded appearance, but Paul implied that God appeared to him on other occasions. When we think of Paul’s accomplishments,
he no doubt received a lot of grace; he was given a lot and he did a lot with
it. Some of the revelations that Paul received from the Lord were the things
he wrote in his epistles that we read today, namely that the gentiles are
included in the grace of God. Paul said that this was the greatest revelation
he had ever received from the Lord, yet think of the many other revelations in
Ephesians that he has intimated with us, such as that we will sit with Jesus on
God’s throne.
That is pretty big, but apparently it was not as big to Paul as the simple fact that God has
accepted the heathen, something we often take for granted. This became the
very center of his ministry.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,12-18
(112c) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Light >> Jesus’ light overcomes darkness >>
The light of His truth
Act 26,13-15
(224b) Kingdom of God
>>
Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of
heaven >> Describing the kingdom after he makes
all things new >> Description of the ascension
Act 26,14-17
(29b) Gift of God
>>
God delivers us from those who want to silence the word –
Paul was enraged with the Christians, just like the Jews were enraged at him
(namely his fellow Pharisees). Paul understood his enemies, because he once
acted just like them. In fact, he was more committed to stamping out Christianity than any
of those who persecuted him, so Paul couldn’t complain too much about his thorn in the
flesh and what they were trying to do to him. He couldn’t complain
about their false perspective, because he had the same views that they had
before he met Jesus.
Act 26-14
(190d) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Separation from the old man >> Masochism
(Self-made martyr) >> Self-afflictions that are against the will of God
–
Goads are like needles on a cactus; try kicking a
saguaro cactus with bare feet and you will get the point of what Paul was doing to himself while
trying to destroy Christianity. Nothing happens to the cactus but needles break
off in our toes and swell our feet. They get infected progressing to
gangrene and possibly amputation, preventing us from walking again, which was the
general mode of travel back then. This is what Paul was doing when he met the
Lord on the road to Damascus; he was only hurting himself. He was there when
Steven was martyred, so he was hurting other people too, but according to the
analogy of goads that are not damaged when we kick them, Christianity as a whole
was unaffected. He actually did more for Christianity than he did against it by
persecuting the saints.
Act 26,16-18
(71j) Authority >>
Ordained by God >>
God ordains us through His commandments
(169e) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world is
blind to God >> Darkness has a blinding effect
Act 26-16
(144d) Witness >>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> The Church bears witness of Jesus >> It
bears
witness of His word
Act 26,18-20
(88e) Thy kingdom come
>>
Faith produces works >> The function of works in
faith >> Faith doesn’t move men until it is
manifested in the spiritual realm –
Paul went from city to city demonstrating the vision he received on the
road to Damascus, which initiated his faith and ministry. Without His vision,
Paul probably wouldn’t have been saved. When he preached the gospel, he was
reproducing the vision he received directly from Christ and was
essentially introducing the natural world to this spiritual realm. People don’t want
someone preaching
to them without spiritual motivation; they want to know what spiritual
experiences the preacher has had that motivates him to preach the gospel in
the first place. Paul’s authority to preach was driven by the vision he received from the glorified Christ in
person; his ministry flourished and his anointing grew through his
experiences with God. People want to know if God has visited us
in some way, and if He has they will be more inclined to listen to our message.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26-18
(118c) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >>
Eyes of your spirit >> Seeing through the eyes
of your spirit
(120b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >>
God forgives us when we become accountable to Him >>
When we repent
(164d) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >>
Satan rules the world >> Satan is a tyrant over
the world – This statement if people really
believed it would create a paradigm shift in their thinking about the world. We live in a
secular reality, yet this reality is actually the work of Satan, in that man
is primarily a spirit. This is what Satan doesn’t want us to know. Man
focuses his understanding and wisdom on the fact that the earth belongs
to him; in fact, Genesis even states this. Although secular humanists do not
concede to the Bible, yet Gen 1-28 correlates with their thinking, "God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Secular humanists don't believe in any so-called spirits, thus negating the existence of
Satan in their minds. Now that Satan is eliminated as a
working component of this world, he is free to do whatever he wants with no
repercussions tracking to him. Of course there is nothing anyone could do
about him anyway, but if people realized that Satan was the origin and
perpetuator of sin, it would cause people to run to God for help and safety.
Man may have dominion
over the earth, but Satan has dominion over the world. That is, the earth is the
physical expression of the world, and the world is the spiritual entity of the
earth, similar to the hardware and software of a computer. Man can do whatever he wants on the earth that God has given him,
but all our activities contribute to the formation of society and culture,
which falls under Satan’s domain. Jesus
said in Jn 14-30 that Satan is the ruler of the world; Paul called him the
"prince of the power of the air" in Eph 2,1-3. He does his work incognito,
determining for whole societies how people should think and act in a world
seemingly without God. As a result, to study history is to study
war. Satan would love nothing more than for us to outright worship him,
but he can’t seek that without blowing his cover, so he makes the world
worship him indirectly by worshipping his attributes consisting of the elementary principles of the world, namely greed, lust and pride. Satan stands behind
the idol of “self” and
receives the world’s adoration of self-worship, but in the last days he will
replace that idol with “himself” and the world will worship him directly. We worship the pleasures that money
can buy, and we sacrifice extremely valuable things for
it, while Satan controls the process and outcome. Paul is calling us to come out of this perverse system
and open our eyes, turn from darkness to
light, “and from the dominion of Satan to God,” and live and
walk by His principles that are rooted in faith and love.
(184c) Works of the devil >>
The origin of lawlessness >> Darkness >>
Hiding behind your own imagination >> Hiding
from the truth –
God called Paul to preach the gospel that people might turn from darkness to
light, and so he pierced a very dark world entrenched in
mythological superstitions and paganism with the light of the knowledge of
Christ. Many people turned
from vain idols of their previous beliefs and embraced the gospel,
which was highly successful in His day, though it saved only a fraction of the
world's population. Enlightenment comes before repentance. People seek forgiveness after they
realize their sins tie them to a world that is controlled by
demons. They seek forgiveness of sin and subsequent repentance and sever all ties with the
world that stops the engine that drives the production of
sin.
(191k) Die to self (Process of substitution)
>>
Result of putting off the old man >> Set apart >>
Set apart by faith in the truth
(237k) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Transferring the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom
>>
Transferred from darkness to light –
There is a difference between guilt and conviction. The world condemns
Christianity for their feelings of guilt. Actually, they have a point, for we are the conscience of the world. They hate us for
it, but if it weren’t for us being God's testimony in the world, it would have annihilated itself long
ago. They are miserable because they have rejected the remedy of their sin, whereas we
Christians readily admit we're sinners and have applied God’s remedy of
forgiveness and have received the power to repent through the blood of Christ. Guilt means the
world is still under condemnation, but conviction indicates we are forgiven
but need to repent. This is the gospel that Paul taught, and it
all begins with enlightenment, which is the heart of Christianity. Repentance
without enlightenment is like a shoe without a foot. We preach the gospel to people and make them feel guilty, so
they try to change their ways, yet without ever seeing the light. This
doesn’t last long before they go back to their old ways and blame us for feeling
guilty, as though it were our fault they were sinners. People in the word
don't want to believe they're sinners but want to believe they are good
without God, but if they die without Christ, they cannot go to heaven. Sin really bothers
people in the world, because they have no remedy for it except to get saved,
but they don’t want to believe in Jesus. If it weren’t for sin, the world would
probably be happy to believe in the gospel, but if they must admit they're
sinners, they refuse to hear it.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,19-23
(90g) Thy kingdom come
>>
Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >>
Had they kept the law, they would not have persecuted the Church –
The Jews trying to kill Paul was illegal according to the Romans and it was sin according
to their Old Testament law in that Paul had not committed any crimes against
Caesar or Moses, and so they were violating their law that they were trying to
preserve.
They were not allowed to put anyone to death but had to appeal to the Roman courts.
No doubt this played into the timing of the
Father sending His Son when He did; He played Israel and Rome against each other
to keep Jesus and His apostles alive long enough to fulfill their ministries. For the Jews to make an attempt on
Paul’s life in the temple was both a crime and a sin. Moses said, “A man [who] acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to
kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die”
(Exodus 21:14). The Jews were no doubt thinking about this verse when they tried
to kill Paul when he was in the temple (Act 21,27-31), yet they were blind to their
Old Testament teachings to walk humbly before their God (Micah 6-8). Had they heeded
their own law, it would have led them to believe in Jesus, as it says in Jn
6-45, “It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.'
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.”
Act 26-19,20
(149b) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Three key messages in evangelism >> Repentance –
We can talk about Jesus every week in church, but “repentance” has become
a dirty word, and talking about it will almost certainly decrease church
attendance, and for this reason it is rarely mentioned, but if we don’t
preach repentance, it is the first step in agreeing with New-Age Gnosticism
and so many other false religions of the world who don’t believe repentance
is one of God’s expectations for mankind. People have stopped believing that
"repentance" is a real subject of the Bible, because they believe in
other doctrines that make repentance obsolete, such as fixating on Eph 2-8,9,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,
it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Anybody who has rejected repentance for their lives has proven they
don’t understand the teachings of Jesus, Paul, the other writers of the New
Testament or of the Gospel as a whole.
Act 26-20
(11a) Servant
>>
Standard for a servant >> A changed lifestyle – Whatever
Characteristics of Satan’s kingdom, we must
repent of it, for his kingdom is built on sin, whereas
God’s kingdom is built on faith and love. God commands us
to repent of our old ways and establish a new way in Christ, where we love
one another and even our enemies.
(120f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Forgiveness >>
Forgiveness is an act of mercy >> God passes
over our sins –
Paul
was making his defense, talking to King Agrippa, who was the most
knowledgeable of all the magistrates regarding his faith, and he said that
men everywhere should repent, performing deeds appropriate to repentance,
repentance being a subject that the Church doesn’t like to mention,
preferring to stay with matters of faith, as though that will get us in the
door apart from repentance—neither will repentance get us in the door
apart from faith. Paul taught that the two of these together are the true
gospel of the Kingdom. In verse 18 it says, “to open their eyes, that they
may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that
they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are
sanctified by faith in [Jesus].” When we put these two together: faith in
Christ and repentance from dead works, we will have embraced the true
teachings of the Bible, but one without the other is useless. Nevertheless,
go to most churches, and the word repentance is treated as slang; we
almost never hear it. Even the word obedience is rarely mentioned, because
the pastor doesn’t want to scare away tithers who are making him look
successful. This problem is systemic in the Church; it is set-up in a way
that if the pastor preaches the truth, the Church will go out of business.
It seems, then, that there needs to be a systemic change from the bottom-up.
The layout of the Church today follows the format of Catholicism; that
is where the Church got its ideas. We need to go back to the First Century
and discover how they conducted church in their day and pattern our services
after them. It turns out that their service-design is more in line
with most Bible studies, where everyone has an opportunity to contribute.
(156f) Witness
>>
Validity of the believer >> Evidence of
salvation >> You will know them by their
repentance –
Repentance should take on a way of life that is appropriate for
communicating with God. Without repentance it is impossible to make a
covenant with Him, especially when that covenant is about forgiveness of
sin. We could thank God for His forgiveness, but it would be better to let
our repentance say that for us. We all know the difficulty of
repentance, especially regarding those sticky sins that we can’t
seem to shed. Life can be so frustrating that most of us keep some sins as a
means of coping with our circumstances, and on some level God accepts that,
depending on the coping skills we use, until He gives us grace to
rise above them. God paves layer upon layer of grace upon us,
which we use to let go of sin after sin. It doesn't happen all at once. We are forgiven of every sin we
have committed or will ever commit, and we begin a campaign of repentance
from every
temptation that seeks our attention, keeping us from a closer relationship with Christ. Repentance is a lifelong process. When we first get saved,
there are some sins that immediately shed, namely the sin of unbelief that
God replaces with the realization that we live in a world
that is controlled by Satan and that God has just adopted us into His
kingdom, so we are no longer a part of this world, though we still live in
it. However, when we step into a crowd of worldly people, their secular
worldview wants to creep back into our minds. These mental and social
environments, laced with demonic spirits that promote secular worldviews,
seem to hang in the air, until we step into the assembly of the
righteous and suddenly remember to whom we belong. However, there are other
sins that are far more difficult to evade, many becoming
lifelong problems.
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26-21,22
(28c) Gift of God
>>
God is our advocate >> God protects the Church from the world –
When we look at the story of Paul, feeling it necessary to enter
the Jewish temple to worship God and the Jews extricating him (Act 21,9-29), this story should
make us wonder about Paul’s motive for entering the Jewish temple in the
first place. God was behind the scenes, creating the circumstances to protect
him from being killed. God spared Paul’s life so he could go on “testifying
both to small and great stating nothing but what the prophets and Moses said
was going to take place.” God was not finished using Paul; he was slated to
go to Rome, and nobody could stop God from sending him there, especially not
these Jews. When God does something to spare His people from death, invariably
He has a purpose in mind for them to promote His gospel in this
world, which has eternal ramifications potentially for many people in the
future.
Act 26,22-29
(110c)
Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit speaks through us
in times of persecution
(158i)
Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Divide and
conquer >> Division (Cliques) >> Satan is the origin of division – We have Festus on one side and king Agrippa
on the other; one thinks Paul is mad while the other is about to become a
Christian. So we have two opposing perspectives, which is very
common. People go to school to learn mathematics, and they all come out
thinking about the same thing with very little discrepancy. Someone can do calculations and
others can decide they are wrong and discus it, and they can actually go into
the world and prove their theorems, go back to the drawing board and
recalculate their equations, so we can see there is a right and a wrong in
mathematics. When it comes to Christianity, though, everyone has their own ideas. People’s
perspectives can be radically different from each other, and what makes it
worse, people won’t change their views even after we have proven our point through
the Scriptures. It
is not because of religion that people are resistant to change; rather, people
won’t change because Satan is controlling them. Satan doesn’t care about
mathematics, so there is no dispute, but when it comes to Jesus and the
resurrection and eternal life, we could have ten people with ten views and
every one of them would be different, and no one can agree on anything, which
stifles unity in the Church.
Act 26,22-28
(141g) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears
witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >>
Prophesy about Jesus’ resurrection
Act 26-22,23
(149a) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Three key messages in evangelism >> The
resurrection
Act 26-22
(41b) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Jesus is without sin >> He fulfilled the law
(90d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >>
It takes Jesus’ place until He arrives -- This verse goes with verses
These verses go with verse 26-28
Act 26-23
(39c) Judgment
>>
Jesus defeated death >> Preaching the
resurrection -- This verse goes with verse 8
(112b) Thy kingdom come
>>
Faith >> Light
>>
Jesus’ light overcomes darkness >>
The light of His power
(210ha) Salvation
>>
Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Salvation
is from the Jews >> The Jew first >> Jesus was a Jew
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,24-32
(148i) Witness
>>
Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >>
Obligation to preach the gospel >> Ambassador in
chains -- These verses go with verses 1-18
Act 26,24-29
(6k) Responsibility
>>
Protecting the Gospel >> Persuade men that Jesus
is the Christ –
Paul was making a very strategic move, being led
by the spirit to convert to Christianity the leaders of the highest
authorities on earth at the time, the Roman empire. He knew reaching
them would make the government sympathetic toward Christianity, so
instead of having a role in persecuting the Church, they would prohibit such
actions, passing laws making it illegal to harm anyone who professed
faith in Christ. Unfortunately, as history tells, they went too far and passed
laws making it illegal to not be a Christian, and then went on crusades
of murder to extinguish the infidels who didn’t believe. It took centuries for their faith to distort this far, so
prior to these years of folly there was peace as Paul had hoped, which gave
Christianity a reprieve and an opportunity to sink its roots deeply into the
human conscience, Jesus becoming a household name with a good reputation.
(77f)
Thy kingdom come >> Humility >> Refusing the glory of man >>
Rejecting the worship of men
– King Agrippa most likely kept his promise and
became a Christian. He was a man of conscience contrary to Festus. What made
the sin of Festus greater was his knowledge of the Scriptures, being
better acquainted with the law and the prophets than Felix. Paul was influencing kings
by now, and he
was on his way to Rome to meet Caesar, based on the word of the Lord that he received regarding this
fact (Act 19-21; 23-11; 27-24). Although the Holy Roman Empire became the seat of faith
in the days that Catholicism ruled the world
alongside the king, it doesn’t speak much about Paul; instead,
his influence was downplayed. Paul had churches named after him, but
he is not nearly as big a name as the apostle Peter, because Paul was not a likeable person. In fact we don’t see anyone worshipping Paul, yet he
was one of the greatest and most influential men who ever lived. He rubbed
people the wrong way; remember he was a Pharisee.
(90c) Thy kingdom come >>
Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >>
It prepares your heart to receive Christ –
Note the contrast between Festus and Agrippa with respect to their knowledge
of the Jewish
Scriptures and note
the word-choice that Festus used, confirming a dead man (Jesus) but questioning
whether he was alive (Act 25-19). This suggests that anybody who would assume Jesus died but questions He
is alive again doesn’t know much
about the Bible. Festus was unprepared to believe in the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, and to this day the world feels the same way. Festus had the mindset of the world, who by no means was an
expert in the Law and the prophets and rejected the gospel, while king Agrippa was very
knowledgeable about the Jewish faith and was about to become a Christian.
Therefore, the more a person knows about the Bible,
the more likely he will believe in Jesus. See also: Bible leads to faith; Act 26,27-29; 86d
(122k)
Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Boldness in adverse
circumstances >> Go in places of adversity – Paul was a fanatic and God converted him to the
truth, yet his fanaticism never died, but maybe
it wasn’t supposed to die; it transformed in ways that God could use
him. Those in the Church who knew him best loved him
most, but those who rejected the gospel that he preached brought out hatred in
his enemies from the threat Paul was to the world. There was nothing that
could stop him; he was like a locomotive with an engine that ran full-bore
continuously. He was afraid of nothing and no one. When God told him
something, he knew it would happen and he didn’t have to worry about dying,
and for that reason, he was bold in Jerusalem; he took on the whole city by
himself. Paul looked at all those fanatical irate hate-mongers in the face who
dreamed about killing him; they wanted to wrap their fingers around his
throat and squeeze the life out of him, yet he dared to come to their city;
they just couldn’t believe he showed his face, and
now he was influencing kings with the gospel. His boldness was based on faith, knowing the word of God and
trusting whatever He said. He knew that God was capable
of protecting him in any situation, that God was able to do anything and
perform any miracle.
Act 26,24-26
(155d)
Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Witness of the believer
>> Conscience >> An evil conscience keeps us from believing God
>> Knowledge of evil testifies against our deeds
– Paul said to Festus in Act 25-10, ‘You know
I’m telling the truth,’ with no argument from him. Festus was a man with
little
conscience, who said, “Paul, you are out of your mind!”
Festus said this because he was under conviction of the Holy Spirit,
resisting Him. The
tactic of virtually every lawyer is to attack the credibility of the witness, so
he told Paul that he was mad. If anyone was insane it was Festus, insane with
conviction and guilt for leaving Paul in prison knowing he was innocent of all
charges. He figured that if he could give an answer, he could evade guilt, but it didn’t work with King
Agrippa.
Act 26-24,25
(107i) Thy kingdom come
>> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Church is of the truth >>
God’s people speak the truth
(168j) Works of the devil
>>
Manifestations of the devil >> The world has
deaf ears to God >> Deaf from a hardened heart
Act 26-24
(175f) Works of the devil
>>
The religion of witchcraft >> Ignorance >>
Dodging the issue (willful ignorance) >> Evading
the word of God
(200i) Denying Christ
>>
Excuses for rejecting Christ >> Using
irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God >>
Trying to talk your way out of accountability
(202h) Denying Christ
>>
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >>
Running from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the witness of God
–
This is what somebody says when he starts hearing the Holy Spirit
speaking in his heart about sin. Festus had absolutely no respect for
Paul’s knowledge, yet instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to him,
Festus open his big mouth and spoke over God’s voice in his heart.
Knowledge and education doesn’t drive a person mad; a person could have
three Ph.D.s and they wouldn't make him crazy. Festus was not about to admit that Paul was a highly leaned man or
complement him in any way, yet he did suddenly for no apparent reason pay Paul a complement as a diversion just when God was getting His way. How
interesting it is that the world thinks we’re stupid for believing in Jesus
until the Holy Spirit convicts them of sin; then they think we’re crazy.
They think it is just a game until God personally invites them to join His
family; then they go to war with God. For Festus to accuse Paul of
being “mad” was something in himself that he projected onto Paul.
He finally saw that His sinful nature was insane in the eyes of God. He
suddenly realized that he lived on a planet that God owned and ate food that
God grew, and incarcerated a man who belonged to God, yet he made decisions
exclusively for his own betterment, and multiplying that sin, he affected thousands of people as governor
without thinking twice about anybody, and he lived in total disregard of his Maker. The only
thing he could say in accusation against Paul was the thing he was thinking
about himself,
that he was insane.
See also:
God has sown judgment
into the earth; Rom 2,9-11; 166g
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26,26-28
(70h)
Authority
>> Sin of familiarity >> Familiar with the truth (enemy of discernment) >> Familiar
with Jesus in the Spirit
(90d) Thy kingdom come
>>
Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >>
It takes Jesus’ place until He arrives --
These verses go with verse 22
(97h) Thy kingdom come
>>
Attention >> Facing the direction of God’s
will >> Focusing your attention on what matters
to you
(232e) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Seeking the kingdom >>
Count the cost >> Assess
the property before
you buy it – The gospel of Jesus Christ was not done in a
corner because God is not bashful. He is not the kind who avoids
attention. On the contrary, He is the kind of God that if we don’t worship
Him, He wonders why; in fact, He finds fault with us if we don't. God is not timid to demonstrate His gospel in front of everybody. The gift of God was intended
for all those who are willing to receive it, and for this reason they deserve
to hear it, and for this reason they also deserve to be judged for rejecting
it. See also: Boldness;
Act 13,42-48;
143d
Act 26-26
(121l) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in God as you
fulfill your ministry
Act 26,27-29
(86d)
Thy kingdom come >> Belief demands a response – Paul spoke in his own defense, starting with
the Roman council, then before Felix, then before Festus, and finally before king
Agrippa. Each ruler was more familiar with the customs of Israel than the first,
making King Agrippa the most acquainted with the Old Testament writings and
teachings of the prophets. Hence, it was not from ignorance that king Agrippa
said to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a
Christian.” That was king Agrippa’s statement of faith based on knowledge,
indicating that he probably did become a Christian. All the other rulers were unconvinced
because they were unaware. The more a person knows about the Bible, the more
likely he will believe the gospel and be saved. Conversely, the more a person knows about the Bible
without becoming a Christian, the more his heart is hardened. The Holy Spirit is
the persuader of truth; He uses the word of God to persuade people to believe in
Jesus. See also: Bible
leads to faith; Act 26,24-29;
90c
Act 26-28,29
(43f) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Conform to me as I conform to
Christ
(53g) Paradox
>>
Opposites >> Preaching freedom in bondage –
This is an example of freedom and bondage of those who belong to Jesus. A
person can own a company and have thousands of employees as a saved person,
and there can be an employee under him who has the lowest position in his
company, also as a saved person, and the two of them are the same to God. He
doesn’t distinguish between them in their worldly status. Paul was fitted in
chains, and King Agrippa stood over him about to affirm his faith in Jesus
Christ, and the two of them were the same to god, equally in need of Jesus.
Hopefully for King Agrippa's sake he followed through with his statement of
faith.
(90a) Thy kingdom come
>>
God convicts us >> Conviction leads us in the
way of righteousness
(119f) Thy kingdom come
>>
Manifestations of faith >> Freedom >>
Fences of freedom >> Being a slave to freedom – Paul
professed his freedom while
bound with heavy chains. It is easy to understand freedom when we want to convert the drug addict, for we see him obviously
in bondage, but what about the rest of us, why do we need freedom? Every
unbeliever is in bondage to unbelief, and unbelief brings with it a suitcase
of other bondages. Most people’s concept of freedom is something to be spent,
rather than protected and cherished. People spend their freedom like
they spend their money, fast as possible. Jesus defined freedom as free
from sin. This
has nothing to do with a government-sanctioned privilege. Unbelievers have no choice but to
serve “the god of this world,” and there is
nothing straightforward about him; his goal is to put people in bondage to
sin. In contrast, Paul
desired king Agrippa to come under bondage to the will of
God rather than bondage to the world, because there is no benefit to
serving the flesh, but the benefit of Christian service is eternal life.
(247c) Priorities
>>
God’s priorities >> God’s interests >>
God is interested in His people >> God is
interested in our freedom –
God values freedom more than we do, and we value freedom more than anything
else, or at least that is what we claim. We fight for it, insisting that all
the wars we have fought in the past were for the cause of freedom; therefore,
"freedom" is a
word that people associate with war. Look what we have done in attempt to
secure freedom - millions of young men have given their lives for it! God
tries to make us value His freedom from
the tyranny of sin, yet man prefers his own freedom that refers to being free
from the tyranny of his fellow man. Our definition of freedom comes short of
the true significance of freedom; for example, God values freedom so much that He had Paul
imprisoned for years for the sake of setting other people free. Paul was a
prisoner of Christ Jesus, though he claimed to be free while he sat in his
cell, being freer than the people who put him there. King Agrippa understood
the history of Israel and the Jewish people better than any of the other
governors who examined Paul. He made a statement of faith proving that having a
firm grasp on the Old Testament is essential for understanding the New
Testament. It also indicates that Jesus did not terminate what God was
doing with Israel. That is, though He was the embodiment of a new covenant, it was a
covenant the Old Testament prophets foretold.
Act 26-29
(5e)
Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause
>>
Disciples preach the gospel – King Agrippa’s statement of faith must have
sounded to Paul like the voice of an angel, being that Paul was an evangelist
and the only thing that mattered to him was saving souls. Nothing gave Paul
pleasure like a new convert. On so many levels this was King Agrippa saying:
‘Paul, I find no guilt in you.’ Note also that Paul had been severely
abused, yet he said and did no wrong, that he might not cast a shadow on the
gospel of Christ. This should be our attitude too, that no one have anything
bad to say about us, that the gospel may not be hindered.
(58l) Paradox
>>
Two implied meanings >> The Lord is warning Paul
/ The Lord is promising Paul
(246b) Kingdom of God
>>
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >>
Literal manifestations >> Literal bondage to
Christ – Paul talked about being the prisoner of the
Lord and the slave of Christ. Also in his teaching he talked about being
slaves of sin, that either we will serve Christ or serve the passions and
desires of our flesh. So when he wished King Agrippa to be like him, “except
for these chains,” he wished for the fetters of Christ to incarcerate his
sinful nature that he might be free to believe and serve Christ.
Act 26,30-32
(29e)
Gift of God >> God is our advocate >> Delivered from wicked rulers
(72j)
Authority >> Hierarchy of authority >> More Authority The More
Responsibility >> The strong shall help the weak -- These verses go with verses
1-3
KJV
WEB
/ Navigation Bar
Act 26-31,32
(1a)
Responsibility >> Avoid offending God and man by respecting
authority
(18c) Sin
>>
False Judgment lacks evidence >> Charges not
defined as crimes
>> Accusing Paul without formal charges
(42b) Judgment
>>
Satan destroyed >> Be like Jesus >>
Blameless before men
(42d) Judgment
>>
Be like Jesus >> Innocent >>
No evidence against you in a court of law
(44k) Judgment >>
Transformation process >> Fulfill your ministry
in evangelism >> Complete your mission
(62f) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Being clever >>
Lure in your prey – We have Paul’s motive; they didn’t have a
prisoner; rather, Paul was using them to get to Caesar. King Agrippa was insightful and critical of
Festus' lack of conscience,
complaining under his breath that he should have released this man years
ago, and now he was appealing to Caesar. Based on the word that God spoke to
him, ‘As you have testified of My grace in Jerusalem, so you will also
testify of Me in Rome’ (Act 23-11), Paul knew he was going to Rome and he
knew he wouldn’t die in the process, and that these people who acted as
Paul’s superiors were mere pawns in the hand of God, who were
inadvertently doing His will.
(63b) Paradox
>>
Anomalies >> Righteous deception >>
Church deceive their enemies
(152b) Witness
>>
Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the
father >> Apostles >>
Commitment to the cause proves apostleship –
Paul was trying to fulfill His calling from God (Act 27-24). Caesar was
ruler of the known world, according to the saying, “All roads lead to
Rome,” being the hub of all commerce, and these roads also led away from Rome. If
Rome gets christianized, those who enter it would be influenced by
Christianity and then take the gospel home with them to the far reaches of
the earth and help spread the word, and so
Christianity spread through Rome. Apparently God wanted Paul to talk
to Caesar and if not convince him to become a Christian, least make
him a sympathizer of Christianity, so he wouldn’t persecute the Church.
The last thing God wanted was a top authority figure making it his aim to
destroy the Church, and so three hundred years later Christianity became the
official religion of Rome. This is why Paul appealed to Caesar, not just because
he thought it was a good idea but also because God thought it was a good
idea, though Scripture doesn’t say he actually spoke with Caesar. We are
left to assume he did (Phi 4-22); what we do know is that Christianity had a
strong impact on Rome. We should wonder why God thought is was a good idea
to influence Caesar with the gospel if it didn’t turn out very well, since
the Catholic Church was hardly a positive influence on the Church and the
world, and neither was joining Church and State a good idea. Isn’t talking
to kings about Christianity in hope that they might be converted to
Christianity with their influence rippling through society the very concept of
fusing church and state? There needs to be separation as God said, “Come
out from their midst and be separate” (Isaiah 52-11,12). It makes us
wonder if God predestined the Roman Catholic Church to come into existence,
as though it were His will, or maybe He had other reasons, such as using
Rome as a distributor of Christianity, or perhaps He allowed it so He would
have someone to judge in the last days in order for all the endtime
prophecies to occur. When it comes to predestination and the mind of God and
His reasoning and His sense of justice, we have to back off and let Him do
His thing, because we are not in a position to understand it, and we
probably never will fully understand God. Why God wanted Paul to go to Rome
is a question for the
ages.
See also: Catholicism (Fusing Church and state);
1Jn 4-2,3; 64h
(216j)
Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> God’s will
over man >> God Is Independent Of His Creation >> You cannot
control God’s desire for you >> man is not in control of his own
destiny – Paul tweaked
his circumstances with a
little comment he made in Act 25-11, appealing to Caesar, keeping on course with the
word that he heard from God. It is okay to nudge the circumstances in order
for prophecy to be fulfilled. If we can fight against God to thwart the
fulfillment of prophecy, then we can also work with him to ensure it comes
to pass. It’s the difference between destiny and pre-destiny; destiny can
be tweaked, whereas predestination is a done-deal. It was Paul’s destiny
to go to Rome and he had power to influence that fact, but we have no power
in God’s predestination of the future. For
example, the prophecies we read in Scripture pertaining to the last
days are based on God’s predestination of things that are yet to happen;
these events are written in stone; they are predestined to occur,
but the prophecies that are not in the Bible but God personally speaks to us are things we can
control whether they come to pass or not. According to God’s perspective
the future has already happened, but the fact that we don’t know the
future nullifies the significance of predestination from our limited standpoint.
That is, the fact that God knows the end from the beginning is irrelevant to
us. We have a destiny and we should be involved in its fulfillment, for our
destiny is not something that must happen; rather, it is something that
should happen, as Eph 2-10 says, “We are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should
walk in them.” This verse says that God has prepared a trail of good works
for us, but we must walk on it before these works can become a reality. When God said to Paul, ‘You’re going to Rome,’
he was obedient and did his small part to ensure this happened, suggesting
that had he not performed his small role, it might not have happened. Many
people fight against the will of God, creating a destiny that is apart from
the will of God, but Paul was a man that God could trust to do His
will. Therefore, we must work with Him to make sure that the good He has
spoken over us will come to pass, for these are the things that define us as
His children. See also: Life along the trail of good works; Lk 16-12;
48j
(234h) Kingdom of God
>>
Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >>
Sold out >> Placing no boundaries on your
commitment to God >> Going to any extreme to
fulfill the will of God
See
next page
|