Gtcotr/ws010820
When
last we left the Apostle Paul, he was under arrest in Jerusalem accused by a
mob of breaking the Jewish Laws. The crowd was so violent against Paul that the
Roman commander took Paul inside the Roman garrison. The commander wished to
question Paul further under scourging. It was, and in many places still is, a
practice to question those accused under threat and violence.
When
the commander ordered Paul bound, stripped and beaten, Paul spoke up and
informed the Roman centurion in charge that he was a Roman citizen. This news
was immediately taken to the Roman commander who hastily withdrew the soldiers
and untied Paul in fear this would be reported against him for it was unlawful
to bind or beat a Roman citizen without due process, before a judge, in a court
of law. Paul had only been accused, he had not been convicted of any crime by
law.
So,
the next day the Roman commander, wishing to cover himself, ordered the Jewish
council to convene so that they could establish what crimes Paul was accused of
and how he should be charged. We pick up in Acts 23 with Paul being brought
before his accusers where they could make a formal complaint and so the Roman
commander would know what charges, if any, he should present to the Roman
court.
Now
get this picture: Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem and has spent the night
in jail. The Roman commander has called the Jewish high council to gather and
present evidence of the crime they are accusing Paul of committing. Paul is
brought in and he is standing before this council of approximately 70 Jewish
religious leaders.
Paul
is 52 or 53 years old and it has been about 25 or 26 years since Paul lived and
attended religious school in Jerusalem. As well, Paul has not been a practicing
Jew or participated in Jewish worship in Jerusalem in a quarter century. So,
Paul is unfamiliar with these men, but they all know him. And, they don’t like
him, but not as much as they don’t like each other.
Acts 23 NLT
1 ¶ Gazing intently at the
high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a
clear conscience!”
·
A clear conscience – that’s easy to say … who
wouldn’t say that or believe that about themselves.
·
Proverbs 12:15 & 21:2 both say that
“every way of man is right in his own eyes,” even a fool thinks he is right.
However, God is the One who will decide if you’re right or not … and He does so
by His Word.
·
Let’s see if Paul is just defending himself
or if he is describing himself … it won’t take long to see how a person really
is when they get into a stressful situation.
·
What is really inside the heart comes out.
o
Love; joy; peace
o
Anger; bitterness; resentment
o
Repentance
o
Stubbornness
o
Humility
o
Pride
·
What’s in a person will come out under
pressure, and Paul is under a lot of pressure right here, and he is about to be
under even more …
2 Instantly Ananias the high
priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth.
3 But Paul said to him, “God
will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the
law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”
·
Paul is incensed, and perhaps hurt to be hit
in the mouth, even if it’s a judge giving the order.
·
Paul said – “Hey judge, that’s wrong! You
can’t do that. You’re suppose to be a judge who protects the law and you order
someone to hit me in the mouth which is against the law!” “You’re a hypocrite and God’s going to repay
you for that.”
4 Those standing near Paul
said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?”
·
Oh my … Paul thought this guy was a judge …
turns out he had just insulted the High Priest who was the leader of all the
Jews … this guy was like the Pope.
·
What is Paul going to do now? Let’s see if he
has always lived his life with a clear conscience or if he is just another
prideful preacher defending himself with no real principles and no convictions
beyond what he wants or what he feels he deserves.
·
Let’s see if it’s all about Paul or all about
God and His Word.
·
What will Paul choose? His rights or the Word
of God …
5 “I’m sorry, brothers. I
didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say,
‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’ ”
Personal
convictions … The Apostle Paul was not merely defending himself; he was
accurately describing himself. He evidently had strong personal convictions
which came straight from the Word of God, principles which everyone knew but
few were committed to actually live.
When
Paul was confronted with a personal hardship or being done wrong, he still
submitted to the Word of God and let it correct him. This is the same man who,
inspired by the Holy Spirit, gave us God’s Word and told us that rather than
damage relationships or take a brother to court, legal or otherwise, just to
suffer the wrong realizing there are bigger things at stake than your personal
comfort, rights or feelings.
This
is the same Apostle Paul who admonished us to not even eat meat or drink wine
in the presence of a brother or sister in Christ if it offends them or
emboldens them to go against their personal convictions. These admonishments
were not words to the offended but to the one who felt they had a right to feel
or do whatever they want without consideration as to how it affected the
greater body of Christ.
Paul
is our example. When we are faced with being done wrong, we protect our rights
by going against the Word of God. There are some things that are just wrong
every time you do it for any reason you do it and there is no one else who can
correct you but you.
It
is vital in life that we embrace Principles before
Problems.
If
we do not establish principles to which we are committed, which speak to us and
which govern our lives, our speech and our decisions, then we will fall prey to
the oldest trick in the world … issue-oriented lies and deceptions … the same
old trick the devil used to deceive Eve, King Saul, King David, King Solomon,
Lot’s two daughters, Jonah, Peter and a myriad of others even until today. We
must be committed to the key principles of God’s Word above the issues we may
one day face in life.
If
you feel someone has done, you wrong – slapped you on the mouth or told someone
else to slap you on the mouth:
· Jesus said, turn the
other cheek.
· The Word of God says
vengeance belongs to Him and He will repay.
· The Bible says, do not
speak evil of the leaders of the church.
· Scriptures encourage
you to simply suffer the wrong to preserve relationships within the family or
within the Church.
· The Holy Spirit’s
advice is to go to that person alone and do not discover the matter to another
person in hopes of reconciliation.
Now,
if you believe yourself to be spiritual, a greater responsibility falls at your
feet.
Romans 15 NLT
1 ¶ We who are strong must be
considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just
please ourselves.
2 We should help others do
what is right and build them up in the Lord.
3 For even Christ didn’t live
to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you,
O God, have fallen on me.”
The
Apostle Paul gave us a fine example of a Christian under pressure. Paul did not
allow his hurts, disappointments, personal attacks or being done wrong move him
from what was best for God. He was a man of personal convictions. His
principles dictated his conduct. When his conscience convicted him, he didn’t
try to defend himself or his actions; he didn’t try to point a finger at others
who had done him wrong; he didn’t just shut up … Paul repented openly.
Like
David when he cut off the edge of King Saul’s garment … his heart smote him,
and his personal convictions made him repent openly. Let’s live like Paul, with
a clear conscience!
