Boice mentions the work by Rudyard Kipling that was written for
the Jubilee honoring Queen Victoria. It was part of his “Recessional” of 1897
and he wrote:
The tumult and the shouting dies;
The captains and the kings depart:
Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
I love the way this verse stresses the truly important over the
tumult, shouting, captains, and kings. However the English people didn’t think
it did a good enough job of honoring the Queen and he may have missed out on
being poet laureate as a result. However, assuming he heard what he wrote, then
his heart being right before God was worth far more than any honor the English
people may have given him. We shouldn’t forget the ancient sacrifice of a
humble and contrite heart and we can pray like Kipling that God would be with
us so that we don’t forget. The Apostle Paul had a heart that was humble and
contrite.
Acts
26:1-8 ... So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for
yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense: “I consider
myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my
defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, especially because you
are familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews. Therefore I
beg you to listen to me patiently. “My manner of life from my youth, spent from
the beginning among my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews.
They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according
to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I
stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our
fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship
night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it
thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
Paul begins with establishing that he was a faithful and devout
Jew. This was a legal religion in the Roman Empire and he was a member. He was
a Pharisee and very strict in observing the practices of the religion. He then
points out that the Jews have an belief and expectation of the appearance of a
messiah and they also they believe in resurrection of the dead. He then asks
the rhetorical question of why anyone would think it incredible that God would
raise the dead. All of the Pharisees would have needed to nod and say well that
isn’t incredible since God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and God is
the God of the living and not the dead. However, all of the pagans there would
have found it incredible. So Paul’s arguments are likely finding more traction
with Agrippa than Festus at this point.
Acts
26:9-11 … “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing
the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up
many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests,
but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished
them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in
raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Here Paul establishes that he was an agent of the chief priests
and worked to condemn and kill them in accordance with Jewish law. Notice that
Paul uses the word “saint” here. The word means the holy ones or, in other
words, those who are sanctified. We need to be careful in our usage and
understanding of the word. The word “saints” brings our attention to our status
of God’s people (e.g., Rom. 1:7). We are meant to be “sanctified” as we live
out our Christian life. This is a realistic goal because God has already
changed, and will continue to change, our hearts (Rom. 6:1–14; Gal. 5:24, 25).
Sanctification is a work of grace. We are renewed in our minds
and souls in this process so we can die to sin and live a life of
righteousness. God works in us to remove
sinful habits and develop Christlike affections, inclinations, and fruits of
the Spirit. Sin is not instantly eradicated but it is not simply repressing sin.
Sanctification is a real transformation, not just the appearance of one. God claims
us and works to conform us “to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29) through the
work of the Holy Spirit living in us (Rom. 8:13; 12:1, 2; 1 Cor. 6:11, 19, 20;
2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 4:22–24; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13; Heb. 13:20, 21).
From the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message we see the Ordo Saludis
or order of salvation from regeneration, to Justification, to Sanctification,
to Glorification. They are defined for us as:
Regeneration,
or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new
creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit
through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable
experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God.
Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire
personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
Justification
is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of
all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer
unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
Sanctification
is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set
apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual
maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.
Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.
Glorification
is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of
the redeemed.
At this point in Paul’s story he isn’t saved. He is telling about
the time at which he had the facts (Noticia) of the Gospel but did not accept
them as true (did not have Assensus) and therefore of course couldn’t have
faith (did not have Fiducia). Some people have both the facts and know they are
true and still sit on the fence for a longtime. It is an uncomfortable position
but love of the world can make it seem better than to place your faith in Jesus
as Lord. Now we’ll see Paul move rapidly through to saving faith.
Acts
26:12-18 … “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and
commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light
from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who
journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice
saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand
upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as
a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in
which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the
Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn
from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith
in me.’
Paul, being familiar with the facts of the Gospel, is moved
rapidly by this vision and the Holy Spirit to accept the facts as true and
confess Jesus as Lord. Paul had part of his testimony already (“in which you
have seen me”) and he would gain the rest of his testimony later (“in which I will appear to you”). The
testimony is always about glorifying God and not Paul. Notice that Jesus said
that the core of the testimony was deliverance from Jews and Gentiles. Paul was
then sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light,
and from Satan to God (Regeneration) so they can have forgiveness of sins
(Justification) and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me
(Sanctification). Glorification isn’t specifically mentioned but since God is
God of the living and not the dead it isn’t necessary to mention it every time.
Paul continues:
Acts
26:19-23 … “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly
vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and
throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should
repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For
this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day
I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to
small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come
to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from
the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Paul’s point is that all he did was preach the Gospel with God
protecting him. He really didn’t say anything except what the prophets and
Moses said would come to pass. These things were clear in the Old Testament
including the extension of salvation to the Gentiles. I mentioned that these
ideas would have more traction with Agrippa than Festus and Festus finally
explodes.
Acts
26:24-29 … And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a
loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you
out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent
Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about
these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these
things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King
Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” And Agrippa
said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” And
Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also
all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”
Festus the pagan is lost and Paul sounds crazy but Festus knows
that he is highly educated. Paul realizes that he would need far more ground
work to explain to Festus all he needed to know. He spent time with Felix
before him. Paul simply says that his words are true and rational and directed
to Agrippa and not Festus. Paul drives home the point by asking Agrippa to affirm
that he believes the prophets. Agrippa will not go there and rather than answer
the question he is asked – like a good politician – he answers a different
question. Agrippa says, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a
Christian?” That is someone who believes in a Christ and looks for a Christ?
There is some serious irony here. Agrippa’s great grandfather was Herod the
Great … and he sure believed in a Christ. So much so that he killed all the
male children in Bethlehem. But Agrippa II didn’t believe in the Gospel.
Acts
26:30-32 … Then the king rose, and the governor and Bernice and those who were
sitting with them. And when they had withdrawn, they said to one another, “This
man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.” And Agrippa said to
Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
God had revealed that Paul needed to go to Rome and to Rome he
would go.
No comments:
Post a Comment