Month: January 2017

But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
Acts 28:3-6

I can’t help but think of Satan as I read in our text above of the viper coming out of the sticks to latch onto the apostle. Paul was attacked while doing good (laboring and gathering wood for the fire) not evil! When we labor for the Lord, we put bulls-eyes on our backs. Satan’s not concerned with those practicing wickedness; he’s after the ones following the Lord! “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2Ti 3:12)

And, what drives the serpent out of hiding to attack Paul? The heat! Why does Satan attack? Because he knows where he’s heading. He can feel the heat of the lake of fire for which he’s destined, and he despises those who will escape his fate. He wants to take as many with him as he can. Rev 12:12 reads, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” His days are numbered, and the consciousness of that truth fills him with rage.

When the heathen idolaters of Malta see Paul being bitten by this venomous snake, they are sure he has committed some horrible sin and has been cursed by the gods. When are we going to get out of our heads the thought that things going well evidences God’s favor and things going badly does not? That’s heathen thinking not Christian thinking! We’re abandoning the central theme of the gospel when we think that way. We’re forgetting what Jesus said to remember every time we participate in the Lord’s Supper, namely His wrongful death! To think in that fashion is to mentally cast off the cross of Christ.

Job’s three friends thought, “How can this man know God and suffer this way?” One of the three, Eliphaz, said to Job, “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, and enters into judgment with you? Is not your wickedness great, and your iniquity without end?” (Job 22:4-5) He then proceeded to list out the crimes he was sure Job must have been guilty of. But we know that Job was being attacked by Satan himself because God had described him as “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil”. Men tend to see the attack of the enemy as evidence of being under God’s wrath. In Job’s case, however, it was evidence of God’s favor! They ridiculed Christ in the same way, mocking Him: “He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him…” (Mat 27:43) They questioned the Father’s favor for the Son, and yet there was no one else of Whom God the Father said, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mar 1:11)

We can’t take a snapshot and judge a person’s relationship with God. If you compare Job at the moment all of his children are killed (Job 1:18-20) with Haman, the enemy of the Jews in the book of Esther, when he is bragging of the multitude of his offspring (Est 5:11), you might draw a wrong conclusion about the way things are going to turn out. Snapshots can be deceiving. People put on smiles for the camera, but there’s no way to know what they looked like five minutes before or after. You have to wait to see how things turn out. The latter end of Job was better than his beginning. (Job 42:12), and in the end, justice was served Haman as he was hung and all his sons killed! (Est 7:10, 9:10)  We have in our main text a brief presentation of what may take years to be clear in the life of the child of God, but we are encouraged in our account to see that the enemy’s attack will not be fatal. In the end, we will shake him off into the fire and will suffer no harm. Satan’s attacks will only work for our good and will ultimately manifest God’s favor for us. “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.” (1Co 4:5)

Jamie

 

And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.” And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat. Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship.
Acts 27:33-37

We have previously seen that the reason these men were in these desperate circumstances which required them to not eat for fourteen days was because they had ignored the warning from God through the apostle Paul. Even though it wasn’t Paul’s fault they were in this mess, he had to suffer right along with the rest of them; however, as we see in our text today, in suffering with them, Paul’s faith was put on display, and others were encouraged by what they saw.

There are many stories about early attempts by missionaries to convert Native Americans. Some missionaries came pridefully, appearing high and aloof to their hearers. Others were determined to convert men by force. But there was another group which seemed to be most preferred because, as one Native American put it, “these go about poorly dressed and barefoot just like us; they eat what we eat; they settle among us; and their intercourse with us is gentle.” In other words, these missionaries were effective because they endured the same struggles as their audience but did so trusting in the true and living God!

In 1Pe 1:6-7, we find a Christian people who “have been grieved by various trials”. What is the purpose of these trials? Per this passage, the difficulties are present so “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” God is glorified when we endure these trials by faith, steadfastly resting in our mighty Deliverer! People will pay attention when we suffer in that fashion. All the men in the boat with Paul were still in the midst of a life-threatening experience, but he believed so much that God would save them just as He had promised that he “took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all” and “began to eat.” After this display of faith, these men who had previously been scared to death, “were all encouraged, and also took food themselves.” Christian, it’s not just THAT we endure. It’s HOW we endure! God gave the apostle a captive congregation of 275 people on stormy seas in order to put his faith on display.  I pray we are likewise willing to suffer so that souls might be saved.

Jamie

Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss…”
Acts 27:20-21

In the text above, Paul is under the care of a Roman centurion as he is on his way to stand trial in Rome. He had previously warned his traveling companions that they should not yet set sail due to the dangerous storms at sea this time of the year. He had told them in v. 10: “I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” However, the centurion relied on the word of the helmsman and the ship’s owner rather than the word from God by the mouth of the apostle. (v. 11) The result was a perilous and fearful journey, and at the point of our text, they had given up all hope of survival. At what seems like the most inappropriate time, Paul effectively says in v. 21, “I told you so!”

I don’t believe Paul’s statement in v. 21 to be mean-spirited but necessary in order for these men to understand the grave danger of ignoring God’s warning. After correcting them for their error, he speaks words of tremendous comfort, sharing with them that God’s angel told him that he would make it safely to Rome and that “God has granted you all those who sail with you”. And so he encouraged them to “take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.” (v. 24-25)

We have in a nutshell in this passage the manner in which we are to share the gospel with souls. They must first understand the grave danger they are in because of their disobedience to God’s word, i.e. because of their sin. Only against this backdrop of eternal condemnation do men come to appreciate the great mercy of God extended in the gospel! Did it work for Paul’s companions? Well, when some of the crew later attempted to abandon ship in the life boat and Paul told them God’s command was that everyone had to stay on board for all of them to survive (v. 31), they quickly cut the ropes to the boat and simply trusted in God’s promise (v. 32). In like manner, as we faithfully warn men that their sins have eternally condemned them but that God has extended mercy in Jesus Christ, we will see souls cut the ties to anything else they’re trusting in for their salvation and rely on Christ alone!

As Christians, we will find that rope-cutting has to happen more than once as we walk with the Lord. Even though we believe and trust God, there will be temptations to misplace our trust. We know as Christ said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” But just like the man Jesus was addressing in that statement, we at times must confess, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mar 9:23-24) So, do you have any ropes that need to be cut today? What are you leaning on besides the Lord? He alone is our Deliverer! Why would we ever look elsewhere? Hasn’t He assured us that He will always be there for us? “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32)

Jamie

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting…
Romans 1:28

This verse is a fearful one for it describes a people from whom God steps away, leaving them to their own devices. The surrounding verses list some specific sins of which these individuals were guilty, but our verse sets forth the origin of those sins–they simply didn’t want to think about God! Their downward spiral started at that point. They had no appetite for Him. The word “like” in the text means “test” and is at times translated “prove”. In other words, they had zero interest in even getting to the bottom of whether or not the assertions of scripture were true. They just didn’t care! Their attitude was like the wicked in Job 21:14-15 who said to God, “Depart from us, for we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?”

One definition of the Greek word “like” in our text is “to recognize as genuine after examination”. The point is that our verse includes not only those in open rebellion but also those with a causal approach to God. They have no real interest in digging deeper. Sadly, this definition reveals that some who sit on church benches are among these. They hear the truth but don’t consume it and grow in it. As in 2Ti 3:5, they are those “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” The sin that’s going to condemn men per Joh 3:19 is loving darkness rather than light, and that sin is not always outwardly apparent. Many we would call “decent” people inside and outside church walls are a part of this group. It’s not a matter of committing some terrible crime. It just boils down to living a life devoid of an appetite for God. Remember, the manner of life of those in Lot’s day and in Noah’s day was that they were involved in normal, everyday things (marrying, buying, selling, eating, drinking…) but with no consciousness of God! (Luk 17:26-30)

In contrast to these, if you are among those who like to know Him, who desire Him and seek Him, then a story you’ve probably been reminded of recently should be of great encouragement to you. The account of the wise men in Mat 2 reminds us that God will not abandon such souls. God will continue to lead and instruct us as we seek Him until we find Him. No wonder they rejoiced to see the star in v. 10. The point was that the star never left the wise men until they found the Lord! They were continually guided by God until they reached their destination where they enjoyed the blessing of worshiping Him. (v. 11) So keep knocking, keep asking, keep seeking. Our God rewards those who diligently do so! (Heb 11:6)

Jamie