LIVING IN GOOD CONSCIENCE

Acts 23:1 ... "Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, 'Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day'."

      On the day after Paul's arrest in the Temple the Roman captain brought him before the Jewish Council and the chief priests in the Temple court in order that he might ascertain what charges the Jews were bringing against him. When given an opportunity to speak, Paul opened with the statement quoted above. The high priest, considering Paul's declaration to be sarcastic, gave an order for him to be struck on the mouth. To save himself from such treatment Paul, who was an authority on the Mosaic Law, reminded them that to strike him before he was convicted violated the Law. Even this appropriate statement seemed like impudence to the officials standing around, who indignantly asked the apostle, "Do you revile God's high priest?" Paul replied that he did not know that the one there in the high priestly clothing was indeed the high priest. In effect, he was saying that he did not concede Ananias was fit to hold the office. Ananias was a notorious character, a glutton, a thief, a rapacious robber and quisling in the Roman service. By calling him a "whitewashed wall" (v.3), Paul compared him to a tomb painted white, echoing the words of Jesus in Mat. 23:28 to the Jewish elite, "Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." Outwardly, Ananias was garbed in the spectacular vestments of the high priestly office, but inwardly his heart was as rotten as the inside of a tomb.

      Paul's statement that he lived in all good conscience before God set his life in bold contrast to the high priest and his minions arrayed against him. There was no dichotomy in Paul's constitution. His inward life and his external life harmonized. Unlike his opponents, he did not project himself as a spiritual leader and expect people to defer to his sanctity and piety while in his heart he violated the canons of spirituality, integrity, purity, and sanctification. He wrote to the Christians in Corinth, "I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified," (I Cor. 9:27). The sincerity of this confession of Paul's inner struggle to be consistent in what he taught and what he practiced is evidence of his good conscience. One's conscience is a product of his moral and ethical education. It acts as an inner judge that approves of one's behavior if it conforms to his moral code, and it condemns his behavior if it violates that code. To violate one's conscience in and of itself is an offense against his own soul; i.e., it constitutes a sin against his own self, (Rom. 14:23; Jas. 4:17). A fundamental principle of a blameless life, therefore, is living in harmony with your own conscience.

      It is a serious matter to violate your conscience. When you do, you experience emotional pain that we refer to as a "guilty conscience" that is "hurting you." In time, however, that pain will pass if you choose to ignore it. But the result is a scarred, less sensitive conscience. After multiple instances of such treatment one's conscience becomes callused and totally unresponsive to unethical and immoral behavior. In I Tim. 4:3 Paul refers to liars who, by means of hypocrisy, "seared their own consciences as with a branding iron." A pained conscience is a spiritual warning that your behavior has strayed from the guidelines of your ethical and moral training. It is important that you never disregard such an alert, but act at once to correct the situation while there is still time and opportunity. Thus Jesus teaches in Mat. 5:23-24, "If you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." In other words, to rectify a situation your conscience is disapproving is more urgent than the need to worship, since worship from a guilty conscience being ignored is not acceptable to God.

BEING A WITNESS FOR CHRIST

Acts 22:15 ... "You will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard."

      In Acts 22:1-21 Luke records the speech Paul made on the flight of stairs that led from inside the Temple compound up into the adjoining Roman fortress. Moments before, Paul had been mobbed by angry Jews who assumed he had brought a Gentile into the Temple. He would likely have been killed by them had not the watchful Romans saw the trouble and rushed down with a squadron of troops to rescue him. When he got up the stairs, Paul asked permission from the captain to address the crowd. Surprisingly, the agitated people became quiet and allowed Paul to speak until he mentioned the word "Gentile" (v.21); then they again flew into a rage.

      While they listened, Paul recounted to them the event of his conversion to Christ at Damascus. After seeing Jesus in the sky above the road on the approach to the city, he heard His command to "arise and go on into Damascus" where he would "be told of all that has been appointed for you to do," (v.10). Later, a man named Ananias,"a man who was devout by the standard of the Law," came to Paul with the Lord's instructions about what was appointed for him to do. First, of course, there was the necessity of obeying the gospel. Ananias said to him, "Why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name," (v.16). Now that he was a Christian, Paul was ordained by the Lord to be the primary instrument by which His gospel of salvation was to be carried to the Gentile nations to the north and west. Unto this great purpose Christ appointed Paul to be an apostle, declaring that "you will be a witness for (Me) to all men of what you have seen and heard."

      Although these words were directed to Paul with respect to the monumental work as an apostle that lay before him, there is a sense in which they may apply to every Christian. Paul literally saw Jesus in His heavenly radiance in the noonday sky, and he clearly heard the very voice of Jesus speak to him from high above. In his years of ministry for Christ, Paul received a great number of special revelations from the Lord in visions and dreams; in II Cor. 12:7 he refers to them as "the surpassing greatness of the revelations." It was his appointed task to be a witness to the things he had seen and heard, for it was by means of his testimony that others were to be led to the faith, persuaded to obey its provisions, and be saved by its power, (Rom. 1:16). No one today receives revelations in dreams or visions; no one hears the audible voice of Jesus or is permitted a visual experience of His radiant Form. But we can, nevertheless, still be witnesses, and very important ones at that!

      Every Christian is to be a steadfast student of God's word, which contains an inspired description of Jesus' deeds and words of salvation. In our faith we can "see" Jesus as He performed great deeds and can "hear" His vital sayings, lessons, and sermons. In Jno. 20:29 Jesus pronounced a special blessing upon those who build faith in Him without having seen or heard Him in person like His apostles were privileged to do. It is therefore our mission also to be "witness(es) to all men of what (we) have seen and heard." We should always be eager and prepared to share these insights with others for their good unto salvation. With this divine appointment filling his heart, Paul later declared in Rom. 1:15, "For my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Christians today, motivated by their knowledge of Jesus and His gospel, should also feel this same eager desire to communicate their knowledge unto salvation to any and all whom they can get to listen.

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS

Acts 21:27-29 ... "The Jews from Asia, upon seeing him (Paul) in the temple, began to stir up all the multitude and laid hands on him, crying out, 'Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people, and the Law, and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled the holy place.' For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple."

      At the conclusion of his third missionary journey Paul, along with several Christians from Asia, including Luke the physician, went to Jerusalem. His visit there had a triple objective:  to report to the church on the progress of the gospel in Asia and Europe where he had labored, to bring gifts from the Christians in those regions to their poor brethren in Jerusalem and Judea, and to worship in the Temple. It was this latter activity that led the apostle into extreme trouble and danger. Paul was well known to the Jews from Asia who had come to Jerusalem to observe the festival of Pentecost, for he had preached in their synagogues and engaged in lively debates with them. They fairly hated Paul, for they understood his message to be an attack against orthodox Jews, against the integrity of the Law of Moses, and against the Temple with its sacrifices, rituals and priestly administrators. More than once in Asia they had tried in court to remove him from circulation, and failing that, had tried outright to kill him. With this loathing and rage pent up within them they simply lost control when they spotted their adversary right there within the sacred precincts of the Temple.

      No Gentile was allowed to pass through the gate into the Court of Israel within the outer Temple complex. Having earlier seen Paul somewhere on the city streets in the company of Trophimus, a Gentile of Ephesus, "they supposed Paul had brought (him) into the Temple." Their hatred of Paul immediately erupted in violence.  Starting a riot, they began to beat him with the intent to kill him, and would have done so had not a Roman police squadron quickly run down into their midst and pulled him to safety. As it turned out, Paul had not brought Trophimus or any other Gentile into the Temple, for he fully respected the rules governing the Temple and Jewish reverence for the sanctity of the Temple. The uncontrolled outburst of these people had been based upon a false presupposition. Groundless logic had led them to a false conclusion which almost cost an innocent man his life and made them guilty of murder. Had the Romans not restrained their fanatical zeal and foolishness, they would have spilled innocent blood in the Temple and polluted its sacred grounds far worse than Paul would have had he actually sneaked a Gentile inside.

      There is a most appropriate lesson evident in this account. How often do we size up someone, or an idea, or a situation when we know little or nothing about it? Do we not rush into conclusions when our grounds consist of rumors, appearances, or garbled and unsubstantiated reports? Sometimes we think we have the answers when, in reality, we don't even know the questions. Hardly a one of us hasn't once suffered disgrace and shame when we found ourself suspended in mid-air because we jumped to a conclusion, only to find no substance where we were sure a bedrock of fact existed. We should learn from such an awful experience to be more careful next time and gather more information before we set our mind and begin to act. Worse than our own embarrassment and personal chagrin, however, is the suffering inflicted upon the victim of our baseless, hasty judgments. That person is not due the catastrophe brought upon him, but the person who brings it by groundless, impulsive conclusions is due every part of the shame that comes back upon him when his error is exposed.

REMEMBER THE LORD'S DAY

Acts 20:7 ... "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message till midnight."

      As Paul made his way back to Jerusalem at the conclusion of a third missionary journey, he came to the city of Troas in Asia Minor. Evidently he arrived on Monday, and although he was in a hurry to move on toward Jerusalem, (v.16), he nevertheless tarried in Troas for seven days, or through the following Sunday. The purpose for his delay is indicated in the text, " ... on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together." Knowing it was the practice of the Christians there to assemble each Sunday, Paul knew that if he waited until then he would be able to meet with them. With the passing of the authority of the Mosaic Law, the sacred day of the week for God's people had changed. The Fourth Commandment, (Ex. 20:8), had decreed, "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy." For a period of about fifteen hundred years the nation of Israel observed Saturday as a day of rest, worship and devotion to God. During Jesus' ministry, which spanned the last days of the authority of the Mosaic Law, He faithfully observed this commandment, as He did every commandment. We read in Lk. 4:16. "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath." It was Jesus' custom (settled practice) to meet with fellow Jews on the Sabbath Day to worship God, "leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps," (I Pet. 2:21).

      When Jesus was crucified, He fulfilled the Law of Moses and terminated its authority.  We read in Col. 2:14 that Jesus "cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He took it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." At dawn on the third day thereafter, which was Sunday, (Mk. 16:1-2), Jesus came forth from the tomb. A new era had also dawned for mankind ... and on Sunday at that! The day is to be honored as the one on which our Lord was resurrected, proclaiming victory over sin and death, (Rev. 1:18). Sunday is also the birthday of the church. The church was established on Pentecost, which fell on Sunday. The day is to be honored as the one on which God swung open the door of His eternal kingdom for admittance to all who in faith will obey His gospel. Acts 20:7 is our approved example for gathering together to worship our Supreme God. As those under the Mosaic Law had to "remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy," it is necessary for Christians to "remember the Lord's Day (Sunday), to keep it holy." It is not optional for Christians to meet on Sunday to worship. In fact, it is not even a question open for discussion. To the contrary, it is a sin if we don't, (Heb. 10:25-26)!

      The focal point of the Christian assembly in Troas was "to break bread," that is, to observe the Lord's Supper. Paul had well taught these brethren just what he had taught those in Corinth: "The Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, 'This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way He took the cup also, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me'," (I Cor. 11:23-25). Acts 20:7 is our approved example for determining the time of "as oft as you drink it." Those Christians, who were under the supervision of the apostle Paul, who in turn was under the supervision of the Holy Spirit, met "on the first day of the week" to observe the Lord's Supper. As each week arrives, it begins with a "first day," Sunday. As often as that happens, about 52 times a year, it is the duty of Christians to assemble together in their congregations to memorialize their Lord's death for their sins in this sacred meal.

CONTRADICTORY RESPONSES

Acts 19:9a,18 ... "Some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude. ... Many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices."

      On his third missionary journey Paul came to Ephesus and for the span of three months preached in the Jewish synagogue where he managed to convert several of its members to the Way of Christ. Most of them, however, responded differently in the manner described in the text above. As a result of the mounting opposition it became necessary for the apostle to separate the disciples from the synagogue. Thus the church of Christ in Ephesus assumed its own identity and became visible as a religious organization separate from Judaism. For the next two years Paul continued in Ephesus. teaching daily in the School of Tyrannus, so that "all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks," (v.10). It seems that it was during this period that the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3 were established, either by Paul himself or by men he trained in the School of Tyrannus and then sent out into the surrounding province to evangelize. As the months of this great spiritual activity continued, great numbers of people, mostly Gentiles, believed the gospel, confessed faith in Christ, and publicly repented of their evil deeds, especially the practice of magic, (v.19). The victory of Christianity over heathenism was so great that v.20 exults, "So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing."

      The two verses juxtaposed above vividly highlight contradictory responses to the same preaching. Paul and his assistants preached the life and doctrine of Christ as God's outreach to save man from sin and its destructive course in human life. They revealed God's love, concern, and grace for those who had been unaware of His existence and of their rebellion against Him. But there were two different reactions to this wonderful good news. Some hardened their hearts, refused to believe, and spoke evil against the Way of Christ in public. Others, however, put their faith in Jesus, confessed Him as Lord, and repented of their sins to live new lives of righteousness. We are made to wonder what caused this difference, for it still occurs among people when the gospel is preached today. Why do some people see Christ as Savior and as The Way to a better life in this world and then to eternal life hereafter, and others see Christ only as a nuisance, an enemy to be resisted, and a threat to the kind of world they want to live in, (disregarding, I might add, any serious consideration of another existence beyond the present one)?

      The answer has to lie in the nature of the human heart. We all know that the sun melts solid ice into easily flowing water, while it bakes wet clay into bricks so hard that houses can be built with them. The nature of a substance determines what effect the sun will have on it. In something of the same way the nature of our hearts determines what effect Christ and His gospel will have on us. The human spirit that is full of pride, self-will, arrogance, and bitterness will probably only be irritated and provoked when the gospel is proposed to it. But the human spirit, though otherwise sinful, that is not controlled by these attitudes is much more likely to be persuaded by the gospel to believe, repent, and render obedience. The next logical question is what set of factors produce these differences in our mental construction. It seems that the answer lies in the nature of our early education, when the basic constitution of human personality and character is being formed. It this be the case, it emphasizes all the more how essential it is for parents to "bring (their) children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord," (Eph. 6:4). The greatest "soul-winning" that the average Christian can do is to train young minds to be receptive to the gospel when they reach the stage of maturity to be accountable.

ENCOURAGEMENT TO A TROUBLED SOUL

Acts 18:9-10 ... "And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.'"

      Having established congregations of the Lord's church in Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica in Macedonia, Paul proceeded on south into Greece as far as the great commercial city of Corinth. He made this trip alone, for Timothy and Silas stayed in Thessalonica to help the church there become stronger. A strange mood seems to have seized Paul's mind as he reached Corinth, for later, when he wrote an epistle to them and reflected on the beginning of his ministry there, he said, "I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." That mood of apprehension and fear became an impediment to his work for the Lord, so much so that it appears he was reluctant to preach in his usual manner of courageous boldness. The Paul who was fearless to face down an angry mob in Ephesus, (Acts 19:28-31), was afraid to speak out for Christ in Corinth where it seems there had been no resistance or threat against him at all. The text above is the inspired record that the Lord saw the need to speak to Paul in a night vision to boost him out of this trench of fear and encourage him to resume his ordinary style of aggressive evangelism.

      We do not know what came over Paul to induce this fearful paralysis. Like Peter walking on the water to Jesus, did he suddenly become self-conscious and begin to think about the waves of potential trouble sweeping all about him? Having disregarded awful dangers in Thessalonica, Philippi, Lystra, Jerusalem and Damascus, did he fail to remember that the Lord was always his companion in spirit? at least until the Lord reminded him in the vision at night? Sometimes God's servants are suddenly gripped by fear for reasons which they themselves do not understand. After a long time of working boldly for the Lord, even against hostile forces, they one day lose courage to do even easy tasks when no opposition faces them. Perhaps it is just a manifestation of our human weakness, facilitated by deepening humility, as we grow in the Christian graces.

      The Lord, however, does not want His servants to be hindered by fear for long. A brief bout with this paralyzing emotion is beneficial in teaching the Christian that he ought not "to think more highly of himself than he ought to think," (Rom. 12:3), but when that lesson is learned the mood should be overcome. Something of this sort happened to the prophet Elijah. After a most courageous public ministry in opposition to the king and queen and the prophets of Baal in their promotion of idolatry, Elijah was suddenly terrified when Queen Jezebel threatened his life. In fear he fled Israel and did not stop until he had crossed a barren desert and taken refuge in a cave at Sinai. Then the Lord took measures to snap Elijah out of his mental oppression. "What are you doing here, Elijah?" the Lord twice asked him, (I Kgs. 19:9,13), as though to say, "Elijah, I did not commission you as My prophet to hide in a cave four hundred miles from home!" Then He commanded, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Syria," (I Kgs. 19:15). Although this was a commission to strike fear into the prophet's heart, since Syria was Israel's mortal enemy, Hazael was her military commander, and Elijah was, in effect, inducing a man to overthrow the reigning king and seize his throne, the prophet proceeded to do it fearlessly. The Lord's encouragement indeed "put his heart back into him." The same was the case with Paul in Corinth. And the same will be the case with the timid Christian today who takes his fear to Jesus in prayer.

THE TERMINAL POINT OF TIME

Acts 17:31 ... "He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed."

      It is said the ancient Greeks believed in what is called a "circular view" of time.  After the passage of a vast number of years, an "aeon," history begins to repeat itself. The events of an aeon duplicate those of the preceding one. When Paul came to Athens and spoke on Mars Hill before the assembly of Stoic and Epicurean philosophers, he introduced them to a new concept of time, which is called the "linear view." According to it, time moves in one direction along a line from a definite incipient point to a definite terminal point. The initial point is the creation of the universe by God, (Gen. 1:1); the terminal point is that referred to by Paul in the above quotation. Its occurrence will be marked by the appearance of "a Man," Jesus Christ, in the zenith of the sky with a host of accompanying angels, (I Ths. 4:14-17). Cataclysmic events immediately follow, including the resurrection of the dead, (Jno. 5:28-29), the dissolution of the universe in "intense heat," (II Pet. 3:7-12), and God's judgment of both men and angels, (Rev. 20:12; Jude 6). From the beginning of time backward was eternity past, and from the end of time onward is eternity future. Eternity signifies infinite duration. What we call "time" is therefore only a finite segment of the infinite line of unmeasured eternity.

      Paul's revelation to the Greek assembly did not explore the details of this novel truth in opposition to their former understanding, for he made only this single statement regarding it. Rather, he called attention to the need of everyone to make preparation for this climactic "day," which God has already "fixed," when He will judge each and every human life. We are now somewhere moving along the timeline toward that special day, and are much closer than 2000 years ago when Luke wrote these words of Acts 17:31. Our forward course is inexorable; nothing can alter the progression thereof but God, who will terminate it. Human infidelity, doubt, and denial cannot stop it. Neither our ignorance of it nor indifference toward it can change it. In Acts 17:30 Paul said that "having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent." The End is coming whether we know it or not, whether we admit it or deny it, whether we ignore it or seriously contemplate it.

      The present age is one of lack of faith and denial of Biblical revelation, but even universal accord in such denial in no way changes the substance of reality. There is this admonition given in II Pet. 3:3-4, "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'" Scoffing at Biblical revelation and public questioning of divine announcements does not make them null and void. It is easy and simple to deny any proposition, especially if spoken by one who is noted for great mental ability. A denial of truth, however, does not make it false. The future in becoming the present will prove which is real, the proposition or the acclaimed denial. Many people resolutely deny there will be a Final Judgment, because there is great relief in the conclusion that they will never be held accountable for how they behaved in this life.

      The choice of whether to believe anything is an ability God has granted us the liberty to exercise. But God has also endowed us with a mental capacity called WISDOM; and when allowed, wisdom will counsel you to believe that this earth will not always be here and that its dissolution will come with God's judgment of man. Wisdom urges you to live each day with a view toward the time when "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad," (II Cor. 5:10). This spiritual sensitivity will guide you in thought, in speech, and in conduct. It will motivate you to interpret life within the context of God's grace and then reverence God whose Presence is all pervasive. It will also regulate your interaction with people about you, (Mat. 25:31-40). It is the ultimate tragedy of human life to wait until the Final Judgment to concede that it is, after all, a reality, (Rom. 14:10b-12), for then it will be too late to prepare for it. In lovingkindness and great mercy God has revealed to us the approach of this Terminal Point of Time.