SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/16/2018
9:50 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Attitude
of Paul
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts
22:24-29
Message of the verses: “24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the
barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find
out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they
stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by,
"Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and
uncondemned?" 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the
commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is
a Roman." 27 The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a
Roman?" And he said, "Yes." 28 The commander answered, "I
acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said,
"But I was actually born a citizen." 29 Therefore those who
were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was
afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in
chains.”
We
mentioned in our last SD that this riot had begun again and the issue of why it
had started was no where closer to be understood than when it began, and so the
commander in charge decided to find out on his own the reason that the crow was
wanting Paul’s blood. His way of finding
out was through scourging, something that Paul was familiar with as this
happened to him in Philipi, where it should not have happened to him because he
was a Roman citizen. John MacArthur
writes “Scouring by the Roman flagellum
(a wooden handle to which were attached leather thongs tipped with bits of
metal and bone) was a fearful ordeal from which men frequently died (from loss
of blood or infection). Jesus endured it
before his crucifixion (John 19:1). Such
a beating would have surpassed anything Paul had previously experienced. In preparation, the guards ‘stretched him out
with thongs’ to make his body taut and magnify the effects of the flagellation.” (I stand corrected in that this was not what
Paul went through at Philipi as it must have been a beating, but not like this
one.)
As
mentioned Romans were not to go under such punishment and so Paul reminds those
who were about to do this that he was a Roman citizen, which sent fear through
the centurion and later on through the commander, as they could have been in a
large amount of trouble if they would have done this to Paul. We learn that Paul was born a citizen of
Rome, while the commander actually paid a large amount of money to become a
Roman citizen.
According
to verse thirty the commander decided to bring Paul before the Jewish judges,
which is the Sanhedrin, something we became familiar with when we studied both
the gospel of Mark and John as they had much to do with the crucifixion of our
Lord.
In his
closing remarks on this whole section we have been looking at over the past few
days John MacArthur writes a rather lengthy conclusion on how Paul handled
himself throughout this whole ordeal, something that believers can learn from
and so I have decided to quote the following six paragraphs in order for all of
us to learn from it.
“Paul’s
conduct throughout his ordeal provides an example for all believers of how to
give a positive testimony in negative circumstances. Several principles can be noted.
“First,
Paul accepted the situation as God ordained it.
Facing persecution never caused him to be unfaithful to God’s plan. He had known for some time that he faced
arrest when he arrived at Jerusalem (20:22-23; 21:4, 10-13). He calmly accepted that as God’s will,
telling those trying to dissuade him from going to Jerusalem, ‘I am ready not
only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus’
(21:13).
“Second,
Paul used his circumstances as an opportunity.
The crowd had not gathered to hear him preach but to beat and kill
him. Paul, however, used that occasion
to proclaim to them how God’s saving power had transformed his life.
“Third,
Paul was conciliatory toward his persecutors.
He did not threaten the hostile crowd or seek revenge. Instead, he courteously addressed them as ‘brethren
and fathers’ (22:1) and even assigned to their vicious beating of him the noble
motive of zeal for God. Paul practiced
the command he had earlier given to the Roman Christians: ‘Bless those who persecute you; bless and
curse not’ (Rom. 12:14). He was like his
Lord Jesus, who ‘being reviled…did not revile in return; while suffering, He
uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously’
(1 Pet. 2:23).
“Fourth,
Paul exalted the Lord. His defense to
the crowd focused not on his impressive credentials and achievements but on
what God had accomplished in his life.
That was consistent with his words to the Corinthians: ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord’ (1
Cor. 1:31). Exalting the Lord also
served to exonerate Paul and put the crowd in the position of opposing God.
“Finally,
and most important, Paul maintained the proper attitude—one of selfless
love. It was his love for other
believers that brought him to Jerusalem (to deliver the offering). It was his love for his weaker brethren and
desire for unity in the church that brought him to the temple. It was his love for his unsaved countrymen
(cf. Rom. 9:1-3) that led him to evangelize the hostile crowd. And it was his love for God that motivated his
love for people and caused him to give glory to Him.
“Believers
who practice these principles will, like Paul, be able to give a positive testimony
in the most negative of circumstances.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Those are very big shoes to fill.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: By God’s grace, do a better job in this area of my
life.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Three” (Genesis 4).
Today’s Bible question:
“Paul desired for men to come unto what after they were saved?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/16/2018 10:24 AM
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