“As [Paul] 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.’” [1]
“Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.” At least, that was what we said in years past whenever someone came close to winning in a contest but failed to win. “Close” does not win in any competitive sport. Second place means there is someone else in first place. “Close” does not count when testing to earn certification for licensure in the trades. You either pass or fail; there is no second place. When your child requires surgery, will you be content to have someone perform the act of cutting your child when that individual came close to passing the required medical boards, though he did not actually pass? And we know that “close” does not count when considering how we can be cleansed of our sin and made suitable for Heaven.
I’m speaking to someone who is religious, though that one is not saved. Perhaps the one to whom I’m speaking at this hour is a good person, someone whom none would suspect of being lost. You’ve attended the services of a church for a long time. You know the hymns of the Faith, singing them heartily with the congregation. You know the liturgy of your church, knowing just when to stand and when to bow your head. You have the rituals polished to such a high lustre that no one would ever suspect that you are unsaved. And yet, somehow you have been content to play games with the Living God.
Religious but lost, is the best description that can be applied to you if you are only “close” to salvation. It need not be that way, but that is the life you now have. When you permit yourself to think about what lies ahead, you know that one day you will die. And after that awful day when life on this earth ceases, you know that you will be called to give an account to the God Who gives you your being. When you think about that day, you know that you will be compelled to voice how you were a good person, how you observed the rituals of your church, how you believed there was a God, but you will not be able to say that you believed God or that you were transformed by His grace.
Though the message is intended to confront any unsaved who may listen, whether these dear souls are religious or irreligious is unimportant because they are nevertheless lost, I would not want any follower of Christ to fail to hear this message since it will be instructive for believers to hear. I pray the Spirit of Christ will use the message to create a compassionate heart in us who know the Lord; perhaps the Saviour will stir us to speak to a lost family member or to a friend we know to be outside the precincts of grace.
“PAUL, YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND!” Let’s admit an uncomfortable truth—the message of Christ that we who follow Him are appointed to proclaim does assail the intellect of the lost to whom we are sent. We sometimes forget that the Gospel of Jesus our Master does not lend itself to examination in the laboratory. The only test to which this message lends itself is the transformed life of those who receive the message. Paul accurately assesses the impact of this Gospel message with which Christians are entrusted when he writes, “Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn’t he? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching. Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach the Messiah crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah is God’s power and God’s wisdom” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:20-24 ISV].
Jewish leaders had relentlessly attacked the Apostle. These religious leaders saw their power, their influence, slipping away as an ever-greater number of Jews were embracing the message of freedom in Jesus the Messiah. Driven from his Jewish nation by the incessant threats and open hostility, this man went to the Gentiles where he had extraordinary success in expanding the numbers embracing this new sect. And it was Saul of Tarsus, now known by the Roman name, Paul, who was exercising an almost unstoppable and persuasive power that was turning Jews from their natal religion to this new religion centred around the man from Nazareth, Jesus. The religious emotions had been stirred for some time when this little man showed himself at the temple.
Determined to silence this driving force behind the new sect called Christians, some Jews circulated a rumour that he had even brought a Gentile into the holy precincts. Paul had returned to Jerusalem with gifts for the saints suffering during a famine. He had never forgotten his Jewish heritage, and he longed to bless the Jewish people. Recall how this same man had opined, “I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” [ROMANS 9:1-3].
Having brought gifts to relieve the suffering of the people, the elders of the Jerusalem congregation urged him to pay the Temple fee for four men who had taken a vow, purifying himself in the Temple at the same time. It would be a demonstration that he did not oppose the Jewish Faith, showing that he respected the Faith in which he had grown to manhood and in which he had eagerly served before coming to faith in the Risen Saviour. Of course, this well-meaning gesture didn’t work out as the elders hoped.
Accompanying Paul on his return to Jerusalem were some of the new believers who had come to faith in the Son of God. Among these new followers of the Risen Saviour was at least one Gentile named Trophimus. Some among the Jews had recognised Paul and noted that he was walking about the city in the company of Trophimus. These Jews began to bruit about an inflammatory tale that the Apostle had brought this Gentile into the temple. That lie, meant to fuel the raging hatred of pious Jews, ensured that the emotions of many would be stoked to a fever pitch. Paul had not disrespected the regulations of the Temple, but gossip is never meant to create an environment where things can be discussed calmly and debated rationally.
Paul’s reputation preceded him, and that was about to create a severe problem. When he returned to the Temple as the days for ritual purification were rapidly approaching, Jews from Asia saw Paul entering the temple. These Jews, in Jerusalem to fulfil their own religious obligations, assumed the Apostle had brought into the temple some of those who accompanied him, and that would include Gentiles. Immediately, these Jews began to assault Paul, stirring up the crowds at the temple! Grabbing Paul, these Jews began shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place” [ACTS 21:28]. That was enough to ensure transformation of the crowd into a mob. The mob was intent on killing Paul. Dragging him out of the Temple, it seemed as if everyone was shouting at once and anyone within striking distance was trying to hit him.
The uproar caught the attention of some of the soldiers who shouted to the tribune that a riot was starting. It is easier to halt a riot before it gathers strength, and the last thing these Roman soldiers wanted was to be forced to put down a riot. Under conditions of riot, the thin blue line is all that ensures society will survive. It was true then, just as it is true today. The tribune acted quickly to grab some centurions and a few soldiers and rush to where the turmoil was beginning. He arrived in time to calm the situation—more or less, for as soon as people saw the soldiers, they quit beating Paul.
Seeing Paul at the centre of the turbulence, the tribune seized him, ordering that he be bound with two chains. I know that people complain when police restrain people, arguing that they shouldn’t restrain anyone. Until they know what is going on, police can’t simply talk people through the situation when everyone is shouting and accusation and denials are flung about. And that was the situation this tribune faced. He may have averted a riot, but only barely. As his soldiers carried Paul, for they were still surrounded by the mob, people followed bellowing, “Away with him!” They weren’t shouting out a nuanced suggestion—they wanted Paul dead!
When he was about to be examined by a beating, Paul tacitly let it be known that he was a Roman citizen. He appeared before the Sanhedrin, only to throw the group into disarray when he laid claim to his heritage as a Pharisee. The Jewish leaders plotted to kill him, compelling the tribune to spirit him away to Caesarea where he would appear before the Governor. Held for an extended period because first Felix, and then Festus, couldn’t decide, primarily because he saw Paul as a pawn that would permit him to make nice with the Jews, Paul at last appealed to Caesar as was his right as a citizen of Rome. Reading the account Doctor Luke provides leaves the impression that in part Paul was tired of being a pawn for an indecisive government official
It was some time after he had made his appeal that Festus thought to inflate his resume showing his power by having Paul appear before Agrippa, Governor over Judah. Perhaps hoping to burnish his reputation, Festus inflated his own role in the affair, acting as if he wanted to be magnanimous but was debarred from doing so because of Paul’s appeal. Agrippa gave Paul permission to speak for himself, and Paul began reciting the events that had led to his incarceration. Drawing his account to a logical conclusion, Paul said, “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” [ACTS 26:22-23].
At this point, Festus, unable or unwilling to restrain himself at what Paul was saying, exclaimed, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind” [ACTS 26:24b]. The response of the Governor was not unlike the response of many who have never accepted the message of life in this day. We witness similar outbursts from those in authority who imagine themselves to be wiser than any others. They are tolerant of anything except someone failing to show them deference.
Rising to the challenge the king presented, the Apostle replied, “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” [ACTS 26:25-26].
Our Faith does not consist of some ritualistic acts imagined in the fevered dreams of a paedophile living in some backwater area of the desert. Our Master was publicly crucified at the insistence of angry religionists and with the consent of craven bureaucrats. And He openly triumphed over death, hell, and the grave by rising from the dead. We who follow the Christ did not initiate a secret society replete with a magic password that only allows in a select few notable people. This Faith to which we hold is an open society that calls all people to accept the free gift of life as they openly receive the Living Saviour as Master over their life.
Looking again at our text, you will note that Paul reacted quickly to this challenge from the governor. He was not about to allow this challenge to slip past without pressing the issue of the necessity for faith in the Risen Son of God, the very issue he had boldly proclaimed before both the governor and the king. We can almost see the feisty little man as he quickly shifts his gaze from Festus to Agrippa, boldly confronting the king. “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?” And without waiting for the king to give his answer, the wizened, balding, hunch-backed little man continues, “I know that you believe” [ACTS 26:27]! All that Paul held before the king and the governor were matters of recent history. The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, the empty tomb for which no soldier nor any officials had been held to account, the formation of this new sect known as “the Way,” all had occurred in recent history and under the watch of these officials!
Agrippa was well acquainted with the Jewish Faith, and Paul was certainly acting reasonably, and in keeping with the Faith of Christ the Lord, as he now pressed the issue with the king. Whether out of embarrassment or whether he was unwilling to position himself openly as one who believed what the prophets had written, Agrippa cut the conversation short with the curt retort, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily” [ACTS 26:28 CSB]? We can only speculate as to the king’s motive, but the response recorded is not unlike that made by many people to this day. Perhaps the response attempting to put off making a decision when the call of Christ is presented has marked your life. Perhaps even now as I speak you are internally attempting to dismiss the rightful claim of the Saviour on your life.
“IS THAT ALL YOU’VE GOT?” The answer Agrippa gave was in reality a complaint that Paul was insulting his intellect. Putting his response into colloquial language, Agrippa was saying, “You’re gonna’ have to try harder.” If he was speaking in this day, the king might well have said, “I ain’t gonna’ fall for such a ridiculous story.” Agrippa was too sophisticated, too erudite, too cool to allow himself to believe that he needed anyone to deliver him from sin. He didn’t need a Saviour; he was doing just fine as it was.
Most Christians at some point will have heard the statement Agrippa voiced as the Apostle presented his defense as rendered in many older translations of the Word of God: “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” [2] Rather than understanding that Agrippa was rejecting Paul’s personal plea for the king to believe, the older English translations leave the impression in the mind of modern readers that the king’s words were an affirmation delivered by someone who was on the verge of trusting Christ, though the individual was yet hesitating coming to take the final step of embracing Christ as Master. Throughout my early years in the Faith, preachers tended to cast their messages that were based on these verses as a plea for those who were hesitating to commit themselves to Christ. But that is not what the king was saying! Especially for those who didn’t read the original language, the message was made to appear as though the king was cavilling. But Agrippa was not debating in his mind whether he should respond to the Apostle’s appeal! The king was decisively rejecting what Paul was saying.
Underscore in your mind that people do not dismiss the claims of the Faith because there is inadequate evidence that Jesus rose from the dead; people refuse to believe that Jesus conquered death because they do not want to believe. If they allowed themselves to believe, they would have to humble themselves before their friends and their families, and that would hurt their pride. They would have to admit that they had been in error, and that would expose their errant thinking. They would have to give over control of their life to the unseen God, and that would mean admitting that they had never been in control of their own destiny. Refusal to believe that Jesus is God and refusal to believe that He is alive would mean that they would no longer be able to masquerade as intellectually superior to the simple-minded folk known as Christians.
And if you are one who has yet to believe the message of life, what evidence will persuade you? Think of how the religious leaders responded to the information that the man they had condemned to death was no longer in the tomb. Pilate had ordered that the guards were to ensure that those hanged on that dark day were dead. John records what happened, writing, “Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They will look on him whom they have pierced” [JOHN 19:31-37].
After Jesus had been laid in the tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, the Jewish leaders had petitioned Pilate to secure the tomb against anyone seizing the body of the man they had crucified. Matthew informs us that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to beg Pilate, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first” [MATTHEW 27:63-64].
Pilate granted their petition, giving them armed guards and sealing the rock that blocked entrance to the tomb with the seal of the Empire. There was no chance that the disciples, cowed by the events that had taken the Master from them and fearing their own lives were under threat of death, would even come near to the tomb. And yet, the tomb was emptied, forcing the religious leaders to suborn the guards to lie, saying that His disciples had taken Him from them by force.
Matthew relates what happened, writing, “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men” [MATTHEW 28:1-4].
But to cover the fact that the tomb was empty, we are told, “While [the women] were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, ‘Tell people, “His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.”’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day” [MATTHEW 28:11-15]. A fabricated story that is readily disproved if prejudice did not dispose people to believe the lie, much as politicians fabricate stories to support their shenanigans and illicit acts to this day.
If the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth was a myth, all the religious leaders or the Roman officials needed to do was to produce the body. But the tomb remained empty and they couldn’t produce a body! They could have seized the disciples and stifled the nascent Faith by extirpating these timid, frightened men. But those first disciples only grew bolder and more vocal in proclaiming that Jesus was alive. They began to spread the message throughout the world that this Jesus was the Son of God, that He died a sacrificial death and then rose from the dead. Their message was that Jesus was alive, that He walked among those who knew Him and then ascended into Heaven where He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. If the message was false, all that was needed was persecution to intimidate these disciples into silence. But threats, imprisonment, and beatings, and even judicial murders could not silence these first followers of the Risen Lord of Glory. And efforts to silence the faithful has not been able to stifle the message of Jesus to this day.
This is the message that we proclaim as followers of the Risen Saviour to this day. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10].
These facts were well known to Festus and to Agrippa. As Paul testified, “I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner” [ACTS 26:26b]. And just as these facts were well known to those civic leaders appointed by Rome, so these facts are known to all who allow themselves to think to this day. This Faith we embrace is not some secret society built upon myths concocted out of the fevered imaginations of people fearful of facing reality. We Christians have embraced the truth; we have not “mythed the boat” as have those who do not believe.
Why do Christians in Iraq, in Iran, in Syria, in Libya, in China, and in Turkmenistan refuse to surrender their faith in Jesus the Risen Saviour? Something compels believers to suffer persecution, loss of property, and loss of freedom rather than deny their Faith. And that something is the presence of the Spirit of Christ Who has taken up residence in them. If someone should counter by saying that some have given up clinging to the Faith, I would remind you that the exception only proves the rule. Of course some will have renounced the Faith, but we seldom hear of those who renounced faith in the Son of God only to return to that faith despite the hardships imposed by embracing the Faith that was once delivered to the saints.
Hugh Latimer, Nicolas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer were among the Oxford martyrs burned at the stake. The papal party were determined to compel these men to renounce their faith in salvation by faith in the Son of God. Latimer is reported to have said, “Peradventure, it may come in my days, old as I am, or in my children’s days, the saints shall be taken up to meet Christ in the air, and so shall come down with Him again. He will put down Satan, that old serpent, under our feet.” [3] Such faith would be required if he would answer the papists demands.
Each of these men, Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer, were found guilty of heresy and sentenced to death by fire. Given opportunity to speak after sentence was pronounced, Cranmer said, “From this your judgment and sentence I appeal to the just judgment of God Almighty, trusting to be present with him in heaven, for whose presence in the altar I am thus condemned.” [4]
Ridley, speaking after Cranmer, said, “Although I be not of your company, yet doubt I not but my name is written in another place, whither this sentence will send us sooner than we should by the course of nature have come.” [5]
After sentence to be burned at the stake, Hugh Latimer spoke to the commission, saying, “I thank God heartily that He hath prolonged my life to this end, that I may glorify God by that kind of death,” to which the prolocutor responded, “If you go to heaven in this faith, then I will never come hither, as I am thus persuaded.” [6] It was a dramatic demonstration of the incompatibility of the Faith espoused by the papists and by the Reformers.
As Latimer and Ridley were bound to the stake and the fagots lit, Hugh Latimer spoke aloud, saying, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as I trust shall never be put out.” [7]
I recited this history to point out that under the duress of incarceration and deprivation at Bocardo Prison, Cranmer recanted his Faith, submitted himself to the authority of the king and the queen, and recognised the pope as head of the Church. Queen Mary was determined to make an example of Cranmer, though recanting should have absolved him of all punishment under canon law. Thus Cranmer was to be burned in violation of Canon Law.
He was given opportunity to make a final recantation, but it was to be public during a service at University Church. “On the appointed day, Cranmer was brought to the platform to speak to the assembled crowd. He confirmed his faith in God and in the Bible. Then to the horror of the church dignitaries, he said, ‘As for the Pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy and Antichrist, with all his false doctrine.’ Amidst an uproar Cranmer was pulled off the platform, but he broke away and ran straight to the stake and stood resolutely to be burned.” [8]
It is reported by those who witnessed his execution, that Cranmer stretched out his right hand to the flame, never moving it but once to wipe his face, till it dropped off. He often cried out, “That unworthy hand!” which was consumed before the fire reached his body. The last words of the grieving man of God were, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” [9]
It is possible that under duress resulting from persecution, the saint may appear to turn aside from the Faith, but we must remember that it is Christ Who holds us, and not that we must hold to Him. This is the promise we are given when the Saviour says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” [JOHN 10:27-30].
An early female martyr confessed to those who were persecuting her, “Torture me if you will; but whatever the weakness of my nature may force me in my suffering to confess contrary to the truth of Christ, I will recall as soon as the torture is withdrawn.” [10]
Agrippa and Festus were well acquainted with the persecution of the people known as Followers of the Way; they knew how these people had suffered, and they knew that the more their persecutors tried to stamp them out, the greater their numbers. It was as though people attempted to stamp out a campfire in the midst of a dry forest. All that persecution accomplished was to spread the hot embers that found ample tinder all about as hungry souls consumed the message of life. After the death of Stephen, the Faith grew, even as we read when Doctor Luke writes, “There arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word” [ACTS 8:1b-4].
Recall how one writer encouraged the saints of that earlier era, writing, “Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised” [HEBREWS 10:32-36].
The Roman officials knew the truth of such accounts, just as they knew the truth that the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth was empty. The Apostle was not challenging them to a Faith that had no cost, for a Faith that has no potential for you to pay a cost has no value. To be sure, Jesus has paid the full price for our salvation, but the world may well demand a steep price from you because you do not embrace their error, just as Peter has taught when he writes, “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” [1 PETER 4:1-5].
Dear people, know for a certainty the truth of these words: “Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” [1 PETER 3:13-17]. History would indicate that both Festus and Agrippa avoided the scorn of the people of their world, having rejected Christ. But to gain the approval of this dying world, they gave up all hope of the world to come.
“EXCEPT FOR THESE CHAINS, YEAH, I WISH YOU WERE LIKE ME!” Agrippa shrugged off the call to believe, saying, “Can you so quickly persuade me to become a Christian?” And Paul responded with a testimony born out of the compassion of Christ that filled his heart, “Whether quickly or not, I wish to God that not only you but everyone listening to me today would become what I am—except for these chains” [ACTS 26:28-29 ISV].
Every mother who fears God and who also has a child who has yet to come to faith, will know what it is to plead with the Father to save her child. That mother is quite likely at some point even to have told God she would willing receive her child’s punishment if only the Lord would save that wayward child. Every father who walks with the Saviour and who knows the grace of God will know what it is to plead with the Father to save his lost child. It is a certainty that the father in question has even voiced something akin to the sentiment of the Apostle who confessed, “I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” [ROMANS 9:3]. And undoubtedly, each follower of Christ who has pleaded with some lost person has known something of this deep desire as that Christian pressed the claim of Christ on some someone who had yet to respond to the message of grace. We who are redeemed know the joy and the freedom that is integral to being saved, and we remember the fear and the slavery that marked our life when we were lost. No follower of Christ could ever rejoice in the condemnation hanging over the head of a lost family member, nor will a saved person be content with knowing friends who are distant from the Lord, neither can the one freed from condemnation approve of the judgement awaiting colleagues who even now face eternal condemnation.
Our world is confused and desperately ill. Now is not the time for the follower of Christ to retreat. Paganism is moving rapidly to reign over the land, just as paganism ruled during the days when Jesus came to present Himself as a sacrifice for mankind. Paul penetrated the darkness by declaring the Faith even in the darkness that enveloped that pagan world. And our own world has again turned to paganism. You see, we face two paths in our future, and both paths lead us back to the past. One path leads us back to the Faith of Christ the Lord, with all that that Faith means for society. The other path leads us back to an exaltation of human power and the worship of that power.
It we choose the latter path, we will not return to a religion that has multiple gods worshipped in temples and in sacred groves, at least not at first. But we will have a form of civic morality regardless of what religion is popularised throughout society, and that civic morality will be more focused on power over the weak and over the vulnerable, and all will be compelled by the state to pay obeisance to the power of the state. That was the essence of paganism which Paul faced. And his response to that paganism was to testify, “I wish to God that not only you but everyone listening to me today would become what I am.” Our response to the world that is shutting out the light and groping in the growing darkness is to be the light of Christ, declaring that Jesus Christ is God, that He gave His life as a sacrifice for sinful man, having conquered sin and death.
We who follow Christ must both declare this Faith and live our lives in such a way that we reveal this Faith. We must so live that Christ is seen through our lives and those living in darkness witness the light of life. We must heed the admonition given by Peter, “Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and exiles to keep on abstaining from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Continue to live such upright lives among the gentiles that, when they slander you as practicers of evil, they may see your good actions and glorify God when he visits them” [1 PETER 2:11-12 ISV].
And God will visit the pagans, either as they turn to life in the beloved Son through the witness and through the righteous life you are living before their watching eyes, or through the return of Christ the Lord when He comes to put down all rebellion. For our Master is coming again. Keep on living your life for the glory of Christ and not merely as a religious duty.
Know that the opposition you now face is evidence of the rightness of your Faith. It is, as the Apostle testifies, “evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed” [2 THESSALONIANS 1:5-10].
May God establish us as His holy people who are walking in the true Faith of Christ Jesus. May He enable each one to stand firm and to always speak the truth in love as we are given opportunity. Whether bound in chains of walking freely, let us determine to glorify Christ our Lord. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ? 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] ACTS 26:28, KJV
[3] Cited in Charles C. Ryrie, The Basis of the Premillennial Faith (ECS Ministries, Dubuque, IA 2005) pg. 26
[4] Thomas Cranmer, The Remains of Thomas Cranmer, Henry Jenkyns (ed.), vol. 4 (Oxford University Press, Oxford 1833) 77-78
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Sharon Rusten with E. Michael, The Complete Book of When & Where in the Bible and throughout History (Michael E Rusten, Wheaton, IL 2005) 237
[8] Ibid.
[9] Daniel Neal, The History of the Puritans: Or, Protestant Nonconformists (Volume 1), (William Baynes and Son, London 1822) pg. 87
[10] Thomas Robinson, Job, The Preacher’s Complete Homiletic Commentary (Funk & Wagnalls, New York: London: Toronto 1892) 162
