Paul knew that God had destined him to meet with Ceasar. Through a tumultuous journey, he continued to be a witness with a confidence in God’s hand and assurance of God’s plan to be accomplished.
Paul understood God’s plan and it affected how he responded to the circumstances that were presented to him. One way or the other, Paul knew he was going to be a witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ, one way or another. Through surviving imprisonment, storms, starvation and even a shipwreck, Paul remained confident that God would deliver him safely to his destination.
If you understood God’s plan, how would it change your response to your circumstances?
In Acts 23 we find Paul being brought before the Sanhedrin in much the same manner that Jesus had been handled. You the legalistic Jewish establishment enraged by a believer to the point that they want him killed. They are so eager to have Paul killed that they will plot to kill him without giving him a trial. Paul finds himself being protected by the Roman army of all people. Once Paul has testified before the Jews, God assures Paul that he is not done and in fact will need to do a repeat performance in Rome. Meanwhile a plot is developing wherein the Jews intend to murder Paul right under the nose of the Roman Army. Paul’s nephew learns of the plot and tells Paul. Paul tells his nephew to tell the Roman commander who transports Paul that night to Caesarea to be tried there. I am not sure what Paul thought when God spoke to him and told him that he would go to Rome, while also finding out about the plot on his life. Meanwhile his nephew shows up and then the Romans transport him at night out of the city a sizeable force to another location away from his adversaries. This just shows how God can work in unexpected ways. Just when we think we know how God is going to deliver us from point A to point B, we come to realize that the means of getting there is completely different than we anticipated or that there may be a stop along the way. Nevertheless, God takes care to see that we fulfill his mission.
Even after being arrested, Paul was looking for every opportunity to proclaim the good news of Jesus to people. He was presented the chance to defend himself but he was not about leveraging it for his personal freedom but for the eternal freedom of those gathered around him.
They were amazed and became quietly attentive when they heard Paul speak to them in their own language. Paul caught their attention because he was able to speak to them in such a way that respected their identity. This is still an important aspect in effectively communicating the gospel today. People still want to be respected and valued for who they are. As followers of Jesus, it’s important for us to convey God’s value of people as much as we desire to convey God’s message. God’s greatest command to his followers is to love Him and love people. There is no greater way to establish that you understand the gospel message than through loving people, where they are for who they are. Paul states that truth offered without love is like a clanging cymbal and nobody wants to be around you or hear what you have to say. Your delivery has said all they need to hear.
We must learn how to love people more effectively by learning how to communicate the love of God in the language of the people. But effective communication goes beyond the words we use. It involves understanding their culture, customs and values. We may not always have the privilege of time to develop a better understanding of people. There will always be those opportunities where time is short and the best way to love them in that moment is cut to the heart of the matter. But most often, it will take a more involved approach to helping people hear and see the gospel reflected in your love for them over time.
Though Paul experienced acceptance of his message, he also experienced its rejection as well. God’s principles of living can stand in direct opposition to certain cultures, customs and values. This happened to Paul as he explained how God sent him to the Gentile people to communicate God’s value to them and offer them the opportunity to respond to the gospel. This was offensive to the Jewish leaders because they considered themselves as God’s chosen people, favored above all the peoples of the world. Gentiles were considered unclean and rejected by God.
Religious and non-religious alike can be blind to their own customs, culture and values, especially those that are at odds with God’s truth and purposes we find in scripture. It’s can be difficult to help people see and understand the differences. But as we continue to live and speak with grace and truth over time, God is more than able to open hearts so they can respond to his invitation through the gospel.
May God give us the ability to speak the language of the people we are trying to connect with the message of Jesus. Whether we’re giving a single moment or entire lifetime, may we be prepared to share God’s love and grace with them as God presents the opportunity. May we be faithful to live and show they way of Jesus as an overflow of the life Jesus brings.
Acts 18 has a couple of lessons that jump out at me as believer. First, God will always prepare the way for us to do his will, no matter how daunting the task may seem. Second, we are to help fellow believers when their understanding of essential doctrine is inaccurate or incomplete.
As a little background, Corinth was a center of great wealth and power because it was a vital trade route in several directions. They say power corrupts. Well Corinth was no exception, it was known for its immorality and corruption. In Paul’s other writings (see I Cor. 6:9-11) he lists the many types of sins that the people of Corinth are known to practice. Corinth was a vast city with many corrupting influences from wealth to the widespread worship of Aphrodite. Paul had the daunting task of setting up shop and sharing the gospel with the people of Corinth. I only use the word daunting because when you look at the situation through a worldly view it would seem virtually impossible to convert people in such a situation. However, when viewed through God’s eyes this is just a walk in the park (if we trust him). It wasn’t long after Paul started preaching that God spoke to him in a dream and told him to continue boldly preaching and nobody would harm him. As has become routine throughout Acts, unbelievers cause trouble for Paul and seek to have him brought up on charges of breaking the law. The Roman officials want nothing to do with this dispute because it appears to them to be a disagreement involving the observance of the Jewish law versus the observance of Jesus Christ as the new law by which everyone should live. God knew trouble was coming. He reassured Paul in case he would have any doubt that God would take care of him. When we, as Christians, are living out our Christian mission there may appear to be roadblocks or hindrances to what we are doing. We are to trust in God and press ahead with the mission. If we have learned nothing else from Acts, we have learned that when we are doing God’s work we will meet with resistance, however, perseverance and faith in God will bring about wonderful results.
We have an obligation to our fellow believers to be doctrinally sound so that we can explain our faith to unbelievers, defend our faith against critics, and provide correction for false doctrine or teachers. In Acts 18, we see Apollos a man of faith and education who knew the story of Jesus as told by John the Baptist. He knew that John had taught that we should turn from Sin, but he did not know that we should put our faith in Jesus Christ and he did not know about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Apollos spoke with great conviction. Priscilla and Aquila having heard Apollos speak and recognizing that he did not know all of the story, invited him to their house whereupon they shared the rest of the story. Apollos became even more effective at debating the Jews through the use of scripture that Jesus was the Christ. The scriptures don’t say how they educated him, but it does say that they invited him to their home where they shared with him. I would suspect that this was done with a humble spirit and compassionate spirit. Correcting fellow believers can, unfortunately, become a dangerous sport that leave many with emotional and spiritual injuries. We are to ensure that we, as believers, are as knowledgeable of correct doctrine as possible. If we have doubts about certain aspects of our faith, we should talk with a pastor or elder in the church. We need to fulfill the obligation of being doctrinally sound so that we can explain the faith, defend the faith, or provide clarity about the faith as necessary.
TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.
This inscription found by Paul on a religious altar in Athens reveals the longing of humanity to know God. With the many altars filled with graven images representing many gods, they made another one just in case they left one out. What it really says is that there may be another god out there that they just haven’t come to know yet. This situation, along with many others revealed the hearts of people and helped Paul and other followers of Jesus understand how to convey the life of Jesus.
This is the essence of ministry. We know who God is because He has revealed Himself to us and we in turn ask God to use us to make Him known through our lives. We come from a place of understanding and have a supernatural ability to look into the hearts of people and see what God is doing in them on their journey of faith. It’s an incredible experience to be used by God to convey what people need to know about the life of Jesus, meeting them right where they are.
May we have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to comprehend how God is moving in the hearts of those around us. May we have the sensitivity, grace and boldness to lovingly proclaim what people need to know and trust God to move their hearts according to His will.
Thank you God for the privilege You have given Your followers to proclaim what we know to others about the “Unknown God” – Jesus Christ!
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