Tag Paul

Radical Forgiveness

Todd R Leave a comment

Sometimes in the Bible events are simply recorded without much commentary on their significance, but if we look hard enough, there’s often context somewhere else in the book.  An example of this is Acts 21:8, which says:

“On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.”

Here Acts is telling us about one of Paul’s last missionary journeys, and the “we” included a few people, including Luke, the author of the gospel by his name and of Acts, and Paul, who we know as the author of much of the New Testament and as founder of many of Christianity’s first churches.  Luke doesn’t seem to think of the verse above as very significant since he spends so few words on it.  There’s really no further comment on this living arrangement.  However, there’s more to it.

The apostle Paul didn’t always go by that name and if we investigate his past, we uncover more of the meaning in Acts 21:8.  The first time he appears in Acts is as Saul, who presided over the death by stoning of Stephen, a prominent Christian disciple.  After Stephen gave a public sermon to a Jewish crowd in Jerusalem, the crowd took what he said as blasphemy, and then Luke wrote this: “Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.”[1]

While we don’t read of Saul actually casting stones, he approved of Stephen’s death and likely saw it as a great victory because at this time, Saul was a zealous Pharisee and persecutor of the young church.  Just a bit later in Acts (and right before his conversion) we read of Saul “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord.”[2]  Saul certainly would have loved to get his hands on one of the 12 apostles, but others close to them would be fine as well.  Killing Stephen, as one of the 7 original deacons of the church, would have pleased Saul.

Who were these deacons?  We learn, also in Acts, that the widows of Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists) “were being neglected in the daily distribution.”[3]  The apostles had stretched themselves too thin, so distribution of food and other aid was being neglected.  The solution was to name “seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”[4] as deacons to better handle the distributions, allowing the apostles to focus on their preaching ministry.  These seven men were “Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.”[5] [bold mine]

So, Stephen, who Saul/Paul was pleased to see martyred, and Philip served together as deacons in the Jerusalem church.  We don’t know if they knew each other before this or how long they served together, but there must have been some kinship there.  Serving together creates bonds of fellowship.  And this brings us back to Acts 21:8.

“On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.”

Luke doesn’t describe what was going on in Philip’s head, but from the rest of Acts above we know that Philip was welcoming a murderer into his house who oversaw his associate’s death.  Luke records no tension, no confrontation, no hard feelings.  Just that Paul (no longer Saul) was able to stay with Philip for some time.  What he doesn’t explain is that these two evangelists love Jesus and are able to forgive each other any sin because of the forgiveness Jesus gave to them.  Instead of bitterness, Philip may have instead felt joy that God was able to work so powerfully in Paul’s life.  The former murderer of Christians was now a Christian missionary.

This reminds me of a saying I found online (unsourced):

“The apostle Paul entered heaven to the cheers of those he martyred.
That’s how the gospel works”

In the gospel, all sins others commit against us are forgivable, just as Jesus can forgive us any of our sin because He paid the price for all of them.  In Philip’s case, even though Paul murdered his friend, God gave enough grace that Philip could forgive, and Luke can record Paul moving in without any additional comment.  Also, even Stephen is able to forgive Paul.

It’s hard to love someone if you can’t first forgive them, and we’re commanded to love everyone.  So, is our ability to forgive as radical and complete as Philip’s?  Are we willing to welcome into the church, and into heaven, our worst enemies?  Maybe we have someone specific in mind as we read this who drives us nuts.  Can we forgive them?  For most of us, these are very hard questions, therefore, pray that God can show us more of His grace and enable it to share it with others.  Whoever they are.

We know it’s possible with God’s help.

[1] Acts 7:58
[2] Acts 9:1
[3] Acts 6:1
[4] Acts 6:3
[5] Acts 6:5

Hypocritical Bread

Todd R 3 Comments

One of the reasons Jesus encountered so much opposition was that He could see many of the religious leaders of His time as they really were – sinners condemned by the law and in need of a Savior – and was not afraid to call them out on it. Once when some scribes and Pharisees were crowding Him, trying to catch Him in an error, Jesus said to His disciples:

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”[1]

Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites, which means someone deceitfully playing a part, using leaven as a metaphor.  Leaven is yeast, but how is yeast like hypocrisy?

Beware the nooks and crannies of the Pharisees! Photo by Debbie Widjaja on Unsplash

Looking at leavened bread and unleavened bread from the outside, they might look the same: they both look like solid loaves of bread.  However, in the process of making bread rise, yeast creates gas bubbles that form holes inside the bread (or “nooks and crannies” as in an old English muffin ad).  So, when you break or cut open a piece of leavened bread, it does not look solid on the inside like it does from the outside.  It is full of holes.  On the other hand, unleavened bread tends to be more solid, such as many flatbreads or tortillas.

Yeast is like hypocrisy because the hypocrite is not the same on the inside as they are on the outside.  The image they carefully craft for themselves fails inspection to One who can see inside.  In the case of the Pharisees, who wanted to appear superior in their knowledge of, and observance of, Jewish law, Jesus revealed that they were “like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.”[2]

Later in the New Testament, in 1 Corinthians 8:1, the apostle Paul wrote: “we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ This ‘knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.”  Paul’s warning was that knowledge, if not used in love, puffs us up as yeast puffs up bread, making it full of air bubbles, and hollow inside.  Knowledge can make us proud and inflate our own sense of importance if we aren’t careful.  Love, on the other hand, seeks to build up others in humility.

Therefore, whose who seek to walk in integrity before God, to live an unleavened life, must reach out to the only One who can see all of our inner nooks and crannies, yet still loves us.  Though we are still sinners, by His blood we are justified in His sight and being made whole by our Maker.  We should pray as David prayed in Psalm 139:23 –

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
            Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
            and lead me in the way everlasting!”

He can supply everything we lack.

[1] Luke 12:1b-2
[2] Matthew 23:27

Don’t Kick Against the Goads

Todd R 4 Comments

The Apostle Paul, author of much of the New Testament, was first called Saul and was a very different person before meeting Christ.  As Saul, he saw no contradiction between persecuting his religious enemies (the new Christian church) and being righteous under the law.  He also may have seen Christianity as a political threat, a new religion that would upset the balance of power between the Jews of the first century and the occupying Romans by demanding loyalty to a higher power above Rome.  From this perspective, he may have thought his religion required persecution of those who disagreed.

Luke, author of Acts, describes Saul’s pre-Christian life like this:

“But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” – Acts 9:1-2

Paul himself does not deny this past, writing to the church in Galatia:

“For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it” – Galatians 1:13

But when confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus as referred to in Acts 9 above, the Lord asked him to his face: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26:14).  This is a strange expression for us, but to “kick against the goads” meant that by fighting against God’s will (including His grace for His people in any nation or tribe), Saul was only hurting himself.  Goads were sticks that were pointed on one end and used to prod oxen to move where a farmer wanted them to go.  A stubborn ox who decided to resist would “kick against the goads,” only leading to more pain.  Persecuting the absolute Lord of the universe is not a good idea.

Saul learned his lesson and after that confrontation, changed his name to Paul, a man transformed in how he treated those he might consider enemies.  He went from “breathing threats and murder” against Christians, to wishing for the salvation of the Jews, and anyone who would listen:

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [the Jews] is that they may be saved.” – Romans 10:1

In Christ, His hate for the “other” became compassion.  Saul wanted to put his enemies to death; Paul wanted to put his own sin to death.  He never shied away from his brutal past, but he also began nearly all of his letters to the early churches with a greeting like this one at the beginning of Galatians:

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” – Galatians 1:3

Dear fellow travelers let’s strive to bring grace and peace to every encounter we have as we travel through this world.  Even with those we might consider enemies.

Sola Gratia

We Will Not Live in Tents Forever

Todd R 1 Comment

The apostle Paul was likely one of the finest Old Testament scholars of his day, and sometimes draws on existing imagery to make a point.  One example might be Proverbs 14:11-12, where the second verse is more widely known than the first, but not unrelated:

“The house of the wicked will be destroyed,
            but the tent of the upright will flourish.
There is a way that seems right to a man,
            but its end is the way to death.”

Physically, it seems obvious that a house is far more durable than a tent, but both of these Proverbs tell us not to judge by appearances.  Looks and reputation may suggest otherwise, but it is righteousness that determines eternal destiny, specifically acceptance of Jesus’ righteousness.

In 2 Corinthians 5:1-3, Paul gives an example of why we should focus not on what “seems right”, but instead focus on the unseen things that matter for eternity, drawing on the tent image:

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.”

Photo by Hendrik Morkel on Unsplash

Paul, defending his apostleship to the Corinthians amidst his suffering while other false apostles lived in ease, knew that an upright tent was better than a wicked house in God’s eyes, and therefore being less comfortable was entirely worth it, since there was an eternal reward waiting in heaven.

Commenting on 2 Corinthians 5, Warren Wiersbe notes that “Heaven was not simply a destination for Paul: it was a motivation.  Like the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, he looked for the heavenly city and governed his life by eternal values.”[1]

When frustrated by your earthly limitations, or frustrated by discomfort in this world, know that we will not live in these tents forever.  For His faithful, God is preparing an eternal dwelling for us.  While it “seems right to a man” to think a house is better than a tent, every tent and house in this world is temporary.  Hebrews 1:12 says of all creation, the earth and all the heavens, that:

“like a robe you will roll them up,
            like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
            and your years will have no end.”

Do we long for our new, eternal heavenly dwelling?  Does this longing motivate us to live for God?  Let us keep Driving Toward Morning today!

[1] Wiersbe, Warren.  Be Encouraged (2 Corinthians) (1994).  P. 69.

The Economic Solution?

Todd R 1 Comment

What if only one verse from the Bible could solve all of the world’s economic problems?  If one could, it would probably be Ephesians 4:28, where Paul wrote:

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

What if everyone followed the three rules suggested by this one verse?

A fig tree. Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

First, imagine if there was no crime.  “Let the thief no longer steal.”  The Bible tells us that in a perfect world, God’s people “shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid”[1]  Every person will reap the rewards of their effort – their own wine and figs – with no concern for it being taken away from them.

Next, imagine if everyone’s job was productive and meaningful; that each person did “honest work with his own hands.”  What if everyone approached their job as an act of worship, offered to God who sees and knows all?  No dishonesty, no scandal, no nasty office politics, no slacking.

Last, imagine if everyone’s needs were taken care of from the surplus of others.  Imagine if we had the mindset that working in order to have more to share is better than working in order to accumulate for ourselves.

What a world that would be!  So, let’s make these rules into law, enforce them strictly, and we will have a perfect society, right?  Wrong, because rules and laws are not the solution to the world’s problems.  People don’t consistently follow rules, especially when they require that we abandon our selfish ways.  At the root of Adam and Eve’s sin – the sin that taints us all – is that they wanted to do things their own way, making their own choices between good and evil, rather than trusting God to know it for them.  When rebellion is the problem, more or better rules can’t solve it.  Rebellion against God can’t be solved from the outside of us, only from the inside.

However, while sin will always taint us in this world, Christians are called to, and able to, live differently.  Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  The principles of Ephesians 4:28 apply to God’s people now.

Christians are called not to follow this world’s economic models and incentives, but to “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”[2]  Because in heaven the thief will “no longer steal” and we should desire that God’s “will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we should no longer steal now.  We should know that in any job we should “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men”[3] and we should share with those in need because Jesus told us “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”[4]

Is this possible?  Yes, and Paul modeled some of this for us in his own life.  In Acts 20:34 he said, “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.”  While as an apostle he could have asked each church he founded to fully support his ministry and cover his costs, instead he worked as a tentmaker to show us the principles of Ephesians 4:28 at work.

Maybe one verse can solve all of our economic problems, but only when everyone lives like God knows best.  Our Savior Jesus offers us a world just like that.  All good things are possible.

“Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

[1] Micah 4:4
[2] Matthew 6:20
[3] Colossians 3:23
[4] Matthew 25:40