The Enemy's Attack

Introduction

Paul had done exactly what was asked of him in an effort to encourage unity between the Jerusalem church and the Gentile churches but the plan ultimately backfired due to the presence of a group of Jews from Asia who were all too familiar with the apostle Paul’s ministry.

We will come to recognize that though our plans may sometimes seem to fail, God ultimately has a plan that is bigger than ours. This is certainly true in the life of the apostle Paul. What seemed a failure would ultimately bring about unexpected new ministry opportunities for the apostle.

In this passage we see the lengths that the enemies of the gospel are willing to go to when their way of life is threatened and their sights are set on the servant of God.

The first thing that we find in this passage is:

The Enemy’s False Accusations (Vs. 27-29)

The Jews who were the instigators of the riotous scene that unfolds here just outside the temple gates had no legitimate accusations to bring against the apostle Paul so they concocted false accusation to tear down Paul’s character.

We must be careful to never give the enemies of God ammunition that can be used to attack us. The enemies of the gospel are always on the lookout for something that will serve their agenda and advance their cause.

Illustration-”Very fine people” even though the president has condemned white supremacists this phrase continues to be repeated over and over again to attack his character. This illustrates the importance and caution we must exercise in choosing our words and guarding our actions.

I Peter 3:15-16- we must be sure that we are living above reproach so that the enemy must turn to false accusations because they have not legitimate accusation to make.

Philippians 2:14-15- blameless and harmless/Matthew 10:16- wise as serpents and harmless as doves in the midst of wolves.

We must expect that the enemy will attack us as we strive to proclaim the gospel and the truth of the Word of God because it will bring confrontation with those who are lost.

We must also understand that the enemies of the gospel will not engage in a fair fight. There is nothing off limits when they attack the servants of God.

The enemy will seize on even the appearance of evil in our lives they will twist our words and our action to make us appear hateful and bigoted but we must continue to stand on the truth of the Word of God with boldness and at the same time love and compassion.

We must also remember that their attacks are not against us but against the message that we proclaim. We must remember the words of our savior John 15:18-21- remember that the attacks of the enemy come because they do not know Christ. We cannot allow their attacks to harden our hearts or cause us to lose our burden to reach them.

These Jews from Asia used these false accusation to stir up the other Jews in the community against Paul. In this we can see:

The Enemy’s True Intentions (Vs. 30-32)

The Jews from Asia who initiated the attack against Paul were determined to see him put to death for the perceived crimes that he had committed turning many away from Judaism to Christianity.

Paul’s enemies would not be satisfied until his voice and testimony were silenced once and for all. They were intent on killing Paul because of the impact that he had made and because they did not want to turn from their way of life.

Paul’s preaching and teaching had upset the status quo and many had come to Christ and Asia had been changed forever as a result. These Jews were intent on things going back to the way they were before Paul came on the scene.

We must recognize that the enemies of the gospel today are no different. They are also intent on silencing any voice that dares to confront their sin and immorality.

The enemies of God will stop at nothing to keep things as they are and to remove those who would seek to advance the kingdom of God.

Just as God has an agenda to reach the world with the gospel, Satan also has an opposing agenda to silence those who would preach Christ and seek to bring about the transformation of society by the preaching and teaching of the Word of God.

We must not think that we can forge friendships and alliances with the world for these will only serve to hinder the cause of Christ and the proclamation of the gospel.

James 4:4- friendship with the world makes us the enemy of God.

Many Christians have willingly remained silent so as to not come into conflict with the world but we must speak up and speak out for the sake of the gospel and the truth of the Word of God.

We cannot be silent but we must also expect that as we proclaim the gospel and the truth of the Word of God there will be those who will determine to silence our voice.

As Paul is being attacked it draws the attention of the Roman soldiers who then come to Paul’s rescue. In this we can see:

Supernatural Intervention (Vs. 31-40)

The Roman soldiers would have been on high alert during this season in Jerusalem, especially in the area surrounding the temple as this was the most likely area where trouble would arise.

As they are keeping watch they see the crowd come together to attack the Apostle Paul and it is at this point they decide it is necessary to intervene.

The people are still apparently intent on harming Paul but now he is under the protection of the force of the Roman military. He in essence has his own private guard detail.

Paul then appeals to the chief captain for an opportunity to speak to the people. We find out that this man had mistakenly believed that Paul was someone else likely explaining why they intervened.

Then Paul is given license to speak to the people, and at this point they can no longer attack Paul or oppose his message. They have basically no choice but to listen to what he had to say.

We must recognize that many who were involved in this attack had little or no prior knowledge of Paul and were simply defending their faith against someone they believed had committed terrible indefensible acts against it.

Now Paul has the opportunity to speak to the entire group without fear of attack or harm because of the Roman guard.

What Paul does next is remarkable. He begins to simply share his own personal testimony of how he became a Christian.

The plan of the Jerusalem elders seemingly backfired as Paul was falsely accused and attacked but in reality Satan’s plan backfired because now Paul is given the opportunity to witness to the entire crowd of the power of the gospel and of salvation.

This is only the beginning of the remarkable opportunities Paul will have to carry the gospel message to soldiers, to prison guards, and even to royalty in the days and months that follow.

It was no accident that Paul was taken captive and we shall see that this actually served not to silence the gospel but in reality to further the gospel.

God is able to intervene in a supernatural way in the affairs of men.

Conclusion

We must have the courage to follow God even when it seem contrary to reason. We must be willing to face the consequences of following God knowing that God has a purpose and plan that is yet unfolding.

We must live above reproach so that the enemy’s of the gospel do not have any legitimate accusations to make against us. We must not allow them to silence our voice or keep us from proclaiming the gospel and the Word of God.

We must trust that God is able to intervene and that even if He chooses not to (Daniel 3:17-18- but if not) we must be faithful to follow His will for our lives.

Will you be bold in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word to a world that needs to hear it, even when they falsely accuse and threaten, even when you find yourself and your family under attack, will you trust God and leave the outcome in His hands?