From
Acts to Revelation
Part
63 – Paul's Defense
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
Last week, we saw Paul arrested in the
Temple, as he prepared to take the Nazerite Vow. Remember we spoke about
perspective, and how God allows things in our lives we don't always understand,
but He has a plan, and He is in control, even when it may appear to us
otherwise.
After the Roman guards arrested Paul, and
took him to from the Temple to a guards tower, he stopped the captain and asked
if he may speak to the people who were still riotous over him being there.
The captain said yes, and in chains,
protected by armed Roman guards, Paul turned to the Jews outside the Temple and
spoke to them in Aramaic.
In looking at today's scripture, we will
see who Paul WAS, who he has BECOME, and the fears of returning to the world as
a NEW creation.
In parallel, we can look at ourselves, and
see how important it is for us to remember who we were, who Christ has made us,
and how we can be lead by His Holy Spirit to serve Him.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 22:1-21
Then
Paul said: 3 “I
am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this
city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of
our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are
today. 4 I
persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both
men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the
Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their
associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as
prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus,
suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell
to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute
me?’
“ ‘I
am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My
companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of
him who was speaking to me.
“ ‘Get
up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all
that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the
hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12 “A man named Ananias came to see
me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the
Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your
sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our
ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous
One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to
all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting
for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his
name.’
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was
praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking to
me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the
people here will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that
I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who
believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I
stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were
killing him.’
I.
WHO HE WAS (WE WERE)
a. Paul
begins his defense by explaining who he was
i. I am a Jew,
ii. born in Tarsus of Cilicia,
iii. but brought up in this city (Jerusalem).
iv. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly
trained in the law of our ancestors.
a.
Gamaliel was a
great Pharisee and leader of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.
b. Paul
then explains how zealous he was for God
i. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are
today.
ii. I persecuted the followers of this Way to
their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as the
high priest and all the Council can themselves testify.
iii. I even obtained letters from them to their
associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as
prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
c. This
was who I was
i.
Paul begins his speech to the Jews with a
description with distinction.
ii.
He gives details of himself, but in the
light of past-tense, speaking of who he once was.
iii. This is
the only way one can contrast who he has become in Christ Jesus!
iv.
If people do not know who you were, they
may miss out on the power of Christ in who you have become.
d. Who we
were
i.
When speaking to non-believers, are you
able to describe who you once were?
ii.
Are you able to give a detailed, yet
tasteful, account of the person you once were? The person you were before
Christ came into your heart and life?
iii. Can you
explain, as Paul does many times in scripture, that you were as lost a sinner
as there can be?
II.
WHO HE IS (WE ARE)
a. Now
that Paul has their complete attention, speaking in Aramaic
i.
He shifts from who he “was”, to who he has
“become” in Christ, and how.
ii.
Saying, “...as I came near Damascus,
suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to
me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’”
b. Next,
we can see two things take place.
i.
FIRST, Jesus reveals Himself to
Paul. Paul accepts Jesus as the Christ, and is saved, but blinded by the
intense light of Christ.
a.
Why? For the second lesson in this verse.
ii.
SECONDLY, We see Christ give
Paul a COMMAND.
a.
Remember, the Great Commission Jesus left
to the Apostles in Matthew just before His ascension.
1. Go into
ALL the world
2. Baptize
in the name of Father (The Law that Condemns Sin), Son (The Law that Frees
Sinners) & Holy Spirit (The Power of God to Serve Him).
3. Afterwards,
Teach them to OBEY all that I command!
b.
Paul was just schooled by Christ on the
great Commission.
c.
Paul already knew the Father (Law
Condemning Sin), and just accepted the Son (Law that Frees Sinners), and now
must receive the Holy Spirit, so he may serve the Lord.
c. So Paul
OBEYED the Lords Command
i.
By doing so, Paul was HEALED
ii.
and baptized, receiving the Holy Spirit so
he could serve the Lord
iii. Remember,
OBEDIENCE is HOW we love the Lord!
d. Now
that Paul was Saved, Fully Baptized, and Obeyed Jesus' Command, Receiving the
Holy Spirit and fully capable of serving, he could NOW be lead!
i.
And the Holy Spirit said to him, ““When I
returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a
trance 18 and
saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem
immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’”
e. Who we
are
i.
We MUST be baptized in the name of the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
a.
Knowing God's Law that condemns us because
of our sin.
b.
Knowing and accepting the sacrifice Jesus
paid for that sin.
c.
Being baptized in the Holy Spirit, so that
we may be lead by Him, and serve the Lord.
ii.
This is Salvation, and obedience is the
ONLY way described in the bible to “love” Jesus.
III. RETURNING
TO THE WORLD
a. Paul
was afraid of others reaction to him, now that he was transformed.
b. He even
feared retribution for the things he had done.
c. God
moved Paul to new surroundings.
d. God
will move us from where we were, to where we should be.
i. Raising
us up to be new creations.'
ii.
2
Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has
gone, the new is here!”
CONCLUSION
We
have seen in today's scripture the importance of acknowledging who we once
were, and recognizing who Christ has made us, as well as recalling this to help
minister to the lost.
Not
only does this help in ministering to the lost, but it can strengthen our
faith, seeing the strides we make as we grow closer to the Lord, and further
from the past.
Although
there are fears with returning to the world after salvation, we should remember
that God will lead us through His Holy Spirit, and we must be ready, and
willing to listen and OBEY, for this is HOW we love the Lord, and it is only
through obedience to all He commands that we will be able to serve Him.
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