Acts 26:1-18
~7 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
TRANSCRIPT
So although King Agrippa would accept the general Jewish belief in the resurrection like the rest of the Jews, he could not accept Jesus Christ was risen from the dead or his messiahship. That was the problem with the Jewish leaders too. Paul understood that, and the fact that he understood that was because previously he was just like that.
III. His Understanding
So this brings us to our third and final point: “Paul's Understanding”. Look at verse 9, “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.” That was exactly what Paul did. Before his conversion, he would put Christians into prison, if they refused to recant; he would put them to death. The literal meaning of “I gave my voice” was to throw my stone, which means to cast my vote. In those days, they would have a white stone and a black stone. A black stone would be used for conviction, a white stone would be used for acquittal. So Paul was given the authority to cast his stone, which means he was once a member of the Sanhedrin Council, a very powerful person. Remember, he was present to cast his vote on Stephen, the first Christian martyr in Acts 7. So all this we have learned about Saul, who was now called Paul.
Verse 11: “And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.” If he could not kill them, he would at least force them to blaspheme. In other words, he would force them to renounce their Christian faith. “[He was] exceedingly mad” means he was extremely furious with the Christians because he considered them as dangerous heretics. His madness caused him to persecute the Christians even unto foreign cities. It was during one of his enraged persecutions that he was converted, that he was transformed. That was his turning point.
Verse 12: “Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests”. The Jewish leaders gave him the authority to arrest every Christian whom he could find and then bring those Christians back to Jerusalem for prosecution. And Paul went on to describe what happened on the road to Damascus. So from verse 13 all the way to verse 18 would be how the Lord met him on the road to Damascus. Let me read for you verse 13: “At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest."
Verse 16: “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee”. Jesus appeared to Paul for a specific purpose – to appoint him as an apostle. To be an apostle, one had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ, not just of Jesus Christ but the resurrected Christ. And Paul saw the resurrected Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.
Verse 17: “Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee”. Jesus promised to deliver Paul from his persecutors so that he could be an apostle to the Gentiles. We have read the missionary journeys of Paul. Now we understand why Paul, throughout his missionary journeys, would visit all those pagan cities. Why would he do that? Why did he not just remain in Jerusalem in Judea and then preach around that area? Because he knew his calling. He knew that God had called him to be an apostle to the Gentiles. So he faithfully went, and he went to all those pagan cities. He met up with so much persecution, trials, afflictions to fulfil his calling.
Verse 18: “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me”. Most certainly, of his own, Paul had no power at all to open their eyes, whether physically or spiritually. But he had something that could open their spiritual eyes: the gospel. Through the preaching of the gospel, their eyes could be opened, and they could be turned from spiritual darkness into God's marvellous light, and from the kingdom of Satan unto the kingdom of God.
And through the preaching of the gospel, they could receive the two great blessings of salvation: firstly, the forgiveness of sin. My friends, do you know that the forgiveness of sin is such an amazing blessing that cometh with salvation? Without the forgiveness of sin, you and I will be eternally lost. That is why Romans 4:7 says this: “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” That is the blessedness that comes with salvation: the forgiveness of sins.
The second great blessing of salvation is the inheritance. This inheritance is the riches of eternal heaven. Maybe you can turn with me to 1 Peter 1:4. Okay, 1 Peter 1:4, allow me to read for you: “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away”. Where is this inheritance? “reserved in heaven for you”. This is the same inheritance that Paul was referring to in verse 18. My friends, take a moment and consider this. Like Paul, who was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles, you and I are called into different ministries. Some of us are called to be pastors, preachers, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers. Like Paul, who faithfully preached to the Gentiles, we must be faithful to our calling. We must not give up, no matter how difficult the situation may be. God will deliver us. He who has called us, He will give us the strength to accomplish the work. Once your work and my work are finished, he will take us home, or our Lord Jesus will come again.
Like Paul, we have a most powerful tool that could open the eyes of the people, turn their hearts, their lives, transform them from spiritual darkness onto God's marvellous light, from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. That is the gospel. Through the preaching of the gospel, by the grace of God, the people would receive the two great blessings of salvation: the forgiveness of sin and the eternal inheritance. You and I need to pause and consider this awesome responsibility we have. Think about this most powerful tool that we have. It is only through the gospel that the spiritual eyes of our unbelieving loved ones, our children, could be opened. It is only through the gospel that they can be transported from spiritual darkness into God's marvellous light, into His kingdom, receive His salvation, His forgiveness of sin, and the eternal inheritance.
How can we have the gospel and not share it? How can we have the gospel and not even dispense it to our own children? How can we play the fool with such a powerful tool that God has given to us that can save the soul of a person? How can we be so callous? How can we give up so easily? How can we not be committed to this work of gospel sharing? May the Lord forgive us. Learn from the Apostle Paul that God has drawn to our attention. He stood before a king, King Agrippa, and yet it was not to exonerate himself but rather to share the gospel that, by God's grace and mercy, this person could be converted. That was Paul's ultimate purpose, and we learn from this faithful servant of God. So I pray that we will always be faithful in our ministries, whether as pastor, preacher, teacher, elder, deacon. Let us share the gospel with every opportunity God has given to us. As I said, don't look at just the physical aspect of the gathering or the physical aspect of the party, the visitation. Look at it as an opportunity God has given to us to share the gospel. And this gospel is able to save the soul of a man.
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for enabling us to share and learn about this passage. It is not by chance nor coincidence that Thou hast led us. It is through our study in the book of Acts that we have come to Acts 26:1-18. Indeed, it may be a long passage, but Thou hast helped us to draw spiritual lessons as we study Thy Word. Help us not just to learn them for head knowledge's sake, but for heart knowledge and for life application. Teach us, empower us, that we may apply Thy Word into our lives. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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