No Other God

15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
Act 24:15-16

The reason Paul lived as he did in v. 16 was because of what he believed in v. 15. He lived his life in constant awareness of eternity. He knew there was an afterlife, and the experience in that life was dependent on his experience in this present life. It will truly change the way we think and act if we realize our actions now have eternal consequences!

Paul was, first of all, concerned about living without any offense to God. Only a man who believes in the resurrection will carry such a burden. He encouraged the men of Athens to repent and turn from idolatry because God “has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Act 17:31) Paul warned them that there would be of a day of general resurrection, a day when men would be judged. But he didn’t stop there. He also pointed them to the only hope a man will have in that day–the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who had already been raised from the dead because He was approved of God!

In addition to being concerned about offending God, Paul was also concerned about offending man. This mattered to him for two reasons. First, he knew that, like all of us, he would be judged according to what he did in this life, including how he treated his fellow-man, especially the saints of God. Remember the basis for Jesus dividing the sheep from the goats in Mat 25? It was based on how they treated “the least of these My brethren”. (Mat 25:40) We are not saved by our works (Tit 3:5), but our works will certainly be the evidence to prove whether we belong on the Lord’s right hand or His left. (Mat 25:33) We will be judged based on what we do. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” (Mat 16:27)

The second thing that motivated Paul to be free from offense to men was that he didn’t want to do anything to hinder his gospel message which he knew had the power to free their captive souls. The reality is that the gospel itself will offend some. If some refuse it, let it be the message of the gospel that offends and not the messenger! Let them see in us a desire for their eternal well-being. Knowing that there would be a resurrection in which “God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ” (Rom 2:16), Paul desired that men would face eternity having a Savior, “an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”. (1Jo 2:1) His instruction to Corinth in 1Co 10:32-33 makes this clear: “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.”

In like manner, may Paul’s goal of service without offense to God or man be our own desire. May we be obedient to Pro 3:3 to “let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart” in order that v. 4 be accomplished: “And so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.” May it simply be said of us as it was of our Lord that they “went about doing good”. (Acts 10:38)

Jamie

But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.
Acts 23:11-13

The account above is the norm for the believer, not the exception. No sooner has God promised to get Paul safely from Jerusalem to Rome than he finds out 40 men are plotting to kill him! Don’t be surprised, dear Christian, by resistance to the promises God has made to you. Expect it! God didn’t give us faith for it to be dormant. He expects us to use it, therefore it must be tried. In fact, Peter writes that this trying of our faith is necessary so that it “may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ”. So, “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you”. (1Pe 1:7, 4:12)

It’s important to note how Paul reacted when he learned of this plot. He didn’t respond to his nephew (who told him of the planned assassination), “Don’t worry about it! God’s promised to get me safely to Rome so everything will be okay.” He did what any normal human being would do. He instructed him to go tell the police! (Or, in this case, the Roman soldiers in Act 23:17) Now, some would condemn Paul for such an action, claiming he was weak in believing God’s promise. But, trusting in the promises of God doesn’t mean we throw reason and logic out the door nor does it mean we will have nothing to do with the fulfillment of those promises.

The account of Noah reveals much concerning the natural means the Lord uses to bring His promises to pass. In Gen 6:17-18, God exposed his plan to destroy every living thing but promised to preserve Noah and his family; however, the fulfillment of this promise would require tremendous human effort on Noah’s part! For years (scholars believe it took 50-75 years), Noah and his sons would labor to build a boat of such magnitude that it would be the late 1800’s before an ocean-going vessel of that size was constructed again! In addition to actually building the ark, they had to see that all the animals had enclosures appropriate for their unique requirements as well as collect enough food to sustain the animals and themselves for the year-long journey. (v. 19-21)

Noah’s faith in God’s promise didn’t prompt inactivity. It called him to action! And so, per Heb 11:7, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” Remember, inactive faith is dead faith. (Jam 2:26) May the certainty of the promises of God encourage us to labor fervently, knowing that nothing and no one can prevent them from coming to pass! “For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise”. (Heb 10:36)

Jamie

Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Acts 21:27-29

As we saw in last week’s post, the apostle Paul was attempting to appease the Jews during his visit to Jerusalem, not to infuriate them. He had taken a vow to show them he was not against the law of God and was now entering the temple to complete his days of separation. But when the Jews spotted him there, things escalated quickly. The people seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and were about to kill him in v. 30-31. What really stands out to me in our text today is that all of this hostility was based on an assumption. The Jews had “supposed” that Paul had taken a Greek with him into the temple, and this false assumption had such power over their minds that they were willing to kill him because of it! So, just how dangerous is supposition? Let’s consider a few texts that highlight the damage supposition can do.

1) It will cause you to miss the work of God happening right before your eyes.

“And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased…” (Mar 6:49-51) In this passage, the disciples were toiling in rowing and making no progress in crossing the sea. As they labored, the One who could make the wind cease and guide them safely to the other side came passing by, but their supposition led them to fear instead of rejoicing in their Deliverer coming to them. The Lord was performing a mighty miracle as He walked toward them upon the boisterous sea, but they never imagined He would approach them that way. They limited Christ by their assumptions and were missing the amazing work of God happening right before their eyes! Supposition will cause us to do the same.

2) It will provide excuse for disobeying and rejecting the Lord.

“Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph…” (Luk 3:23) In this text, such a supposition may seem harmless enough, but when we get to the next chapter, we see just how deadly it really was! As Jesus preached His first recorded message, everyone “marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth,” but instead of receiving Him as the promised Messiah, their supposition made them ask, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (v. 22) By the time Christ was done speaking, they had led “Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff”. They rejected His glorious word and were attempting to kill the Son of God, fully justifying their actions because they supposed He was merely a man just like them, simply “Joseph’s son”! Supposition will lead us to also disobey, excusing our sin because we assume God is just like us. That attitude was at the heart of the rebellion God rebukes in Psa 50: “You thought that I was altogether like you…” (v. 21)

3) It will encourage you to get ahead of the Lord, to move before He does.

“For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” (Act 7:25) Moses’ assumption in this text led him to move before God did. In fact, he acted about 40 years too soon! The Lord had indeed chosen Moses to deliver the children of Israel, but first, Moses had to learn the humility that a wilderness experience brings. I can’t help but think of what we considered last year when we read about the doors of the Philippian jail flying open while Paul and Silas were prisoners. Because they did not assume an open door meant they should walk through it, the jailer along with his entire house was saved! (Act 16:25-34) Supposition will cause us to move before God says to do so, but when we wait on the Lord, we save ourselves much trouble and are able to enjoy the fullness of the blessing He has prepared.

4) Finally, it will justify you in condemning the guiltless.

This point most closely resembles our text today as “they supposed that Paul had brought [a Greek] into the temple. The Jews had condemned Paul for his wrongdoing, but he was totally innocent of such a crime! In Mat 12, the Pharisees had their assumptions about what God expected as they watched the disciples pick grain on the Sabbath, but as they passed judgment on these hungry men, Jesus rebuked them for a sinfully motivated supposition: “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (v. 7)

How often have we overheard a conversation or observed something from a distance and drawn our conclusions? We pass judgment without knowing all the details! Perhaps our hearts are in the wrong place and we assume something about someone or about some event that simply isn’t true. I hope these texts make clear the great damage that can be done when we allow ourselves to be guided by supposition. May we take the time to investigate, get down to the heart of a matter, all the while examining our own hearts instead of judging based on superficial observation. Remember, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” (Pro 18:13)

Jamie

“The assembly must certainly meet…”
Acts 21:22

Our verse today involves an interesting set of circumstances. Completing his third missionary journey, the apostle Paul had made his way to Jerusalem on his quest to eventually reach Rome. His heart was longing to see the brethren in this Jewish community, but upon entering town, he heard of the many reservations that some of the Jewish brethren had with him. The impression of some was that Paul had rejected his Jewish heritage in favor of Gentile life and was on a mission to destroy the law and anything connected with it. (v. 21) In an effort to foster unity, James, the leading elder in the Jerusalem church, urged Paul to enter into a vow along with a handful of other Jewish Christians.

Now, it is the particulars of this vow which make an appraisal of this situation difficult. We know Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law but rather to fulfill it. (Mat 5:17) However, in fulfilling it, the ceremony of the law which pointed to Christ is no longer necessary. In particular, animal sacrifice has been abandoned because it was merely a picture of the true Sacrifice that has now been given. The author of Hebrews labors in this point in Heb 10:1-14, concluding that “by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”. (v. 14) The vow in which Paul participated appears to be the vow of the Nazarite, a vow which ended with sacrifice being made on behalf of those completing it. (Compare Act 21:23-26 with Num 6:1-21) So the question which perplexes me is, should the apostle have participated in this vow? After all, this man is the same one who warned the Galatians against those who would rob them of their liberty and entrap them in the law, stating, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (Gal 5:4)

If you compare commentators on this incident, you’ll find a variety of opinions. Some condemn Paul while others excuse him. Some don’t even touch the matter! I believe Paul’s intentions were pure, though his course of action may not have been the best way to prove his allegiance to the God of the Old Testament. Based on Act 21:4, I can’t help but wonder if Paul should have never gone through Jerusalem at this time. The Christian disciples in Tyre “told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem.” Maybe he should have waited to visit another time. Either way, I think Paul was trying to live what he wrote to the Galatians: “to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law…I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1Co 9:20, 22) His goal in participating in this vow was to remove any unnecessary hindrances to the Gospel so that he might win souls to Christ.

Did it work in Jerusalem? Well, not at this time. The response to Paul’s actions infuriated the Jews in that region who assumed he had carried Gentiles into the temple contrary to the law of Moses. Rather than refuting the accusations against him, Paul’s actions actually generated more! He was ultimately taken into captivity by Roman soldiers when the Jews tried to kill him. Was it all for nought then? A couple of chapters earlier in Act 19:21, we read, “Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, ‘After I have been there, I must also see Rome.’ ” Paul got his wish! He made it to Rome as planned, but due to the events in Jerusalem, he was taken there as a prisoner of the state. The Spirit had laid it on Paul’s heart to preach the Gospel in Rome, so whether taking the vow was the right decision or not, there is a glorious truth revealed in our text. God is big enough to accomplish His will in our lives in spite of us and those around us! I tend to think Paul struggled with the right course of action in Jerusalem. Sometimes the path isn’t too clear, but if we examine our hearts to make sure our motives are pure, God is able to steer us in the right direction through His providence. Keep planting and watering the seeds of the Gospel with a sincere heart, and it will be clear that we are not the ones who make it prosper but rather it is “God who gives the increase.” (1Co 3:7)

Jamie