Acts 23:1-11
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The source of hope
The source of hope
Since the last time I saw y’all there has been some change,
and change is hard....
Daylight savings time,
why is it even a thing still?
Anyone else tired this morning??
Let’s shake off the tiredness and dive into God’s Word.
Open your Bibles to Acts 23.
There is only one source of hope in this world.
I was talking to a student at the college recently,
and when I asked her where she is at spiritually
her response was “I am kinda a wiccen”.
What do you believe then? I asked
She said, well…
I don’t really see a reason why all religions can’t be right.
She grew up in a Christian home,
and in her teens she started down this path of
depression and anxiety
and didn’t really see the point of believing in Jesus
She, by her own admission,
is overtaken by depression.
She battles it every single day.
In her conscience,
she believes all religions are correct
and it is up to us to choose what we want to practice.
Despite the clear evidence of Jesus being alive,
she doesn’t have a care in the world for Jesus
simply because she hasn’t seen the afterlife.
And she lives every day of her life with no hope.
She suffers.
But, in her mind she is doing the right thing.
Sharing that she thinks everyone can
“Coexist”
And we don’t actually have to believe in the one true God to go to Heaven.
She considers herself a good person morally,
she says she supports the poor and needy,
she says she is a good student and a good friend,
and she says “I don’t act like I am better than anyone just because of my beliefs”
She chooses to go with her conscience,
saying “it will be all right.
there are many different ways,
but they all lead to Heaven”
But, her conscience
Uninstructed by the Word of God
has led her to
have no hope.
Without hope in the resurrected Christ,
we seemingly walk through this life alone.
As Paul stands in front of the Jewish Sanhedrin,
and all the religious leads,
he awaits to hear the judgment upon him.
Alone.
Paul knows the source of hope
Paul knows the source of hope
He is put on the stand for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
And we will pick up in
Read Acts 23:1
And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”
What a claim to make..
V1 “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day”
Notice, he didn’t say
“Since I became a Christian”
But he looks back on his whole life.
His life as a Jew persecuting the Way
and his life since he was straightened out on Straight Street.
How did he live in good conscience
even when he was persecuting the Church?
Conscience needs instruction.
Paul thought he was doing the right thing.
He thought it was right to try to destroy Christianity.
He thought “this is the way that leads to Heaven”
But, his conscience…
uninstructed by the Word of God led him to do unscriptural and evil things.
Just like the girl at the college,
so many people live every day,
thinking they’re doing great things,
consciously denying the Lord Jesus Christ
and wonder why they continue with no hope.
As far as Paul knew,
He was doing the right thing,
until he learned the truth.
“Conscience”
is one of Paul’s favorite words.
In fact, he uses it over 20 times in his letters.
Conscience - The inner “judge” or “witness” that approves when we do right and disapproves when we do wrong
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them
Conscience doesn’t set the standard
it only applies it
Conscience may be compared to a window
that lets in the light.
God is the light
and the cleaner the window
the more the light shines in
As the window gets dirty
the light gets dimmer
and ultimately the window gets so dirty
it gets dark.
A pure conscience is one that lets God’s light in
to the point that allows us to be properly convicted
if we do wrong
and encourages us to do right
If we defile our conscience,
it will get to the point where it is so dark
that we end up with an evil conscience.
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
With a pure conscience
then we can be convicted of what is right
instead of what is wrong.
So you’re like
“Pastor, where are you going with this whole conscience talk???”
In Paul’s conscience,
he thought he was doing the right thing.
In the girl at the college’s conscience,
she thinks she is doing the right thing.
The difference?
Paul came to believe God’s own word.
In all that he had done wrong against God,
he had the hope of everlasting life
because of the knowledge of the promises of God.
The girl…
she has the knowledge,
but she lacks the hope
because she fails to believe in Jesus himself.
Nevertheless, they both find themselves in the midst of problems.
Paul’s conscience is clear,
the girls is not.
What purified Paul’s conscience?
Faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The girl…
she lives with no hope,
and is overtaken by depression and anxiety.
She does not see that
she can trust God
through any problem.
And she does not see that God always keeps His promises
Ultimately, she does not see that He always has a purpose.
So here is Paul’s problem,
he has been drug out of the temple.
The Jews in Jerusalem got tired of hearing his testimony,
so he is drug to the front of highest court in Jerusalem.
Paul is accused of two things
1. He is accused of telling people
to forsake the law of Moses
Which he has not done
2. And he is accused of taking non-jewish people
into the temple.
Which he also has not done.
So, Paul is innocent…
but what does Paul say before them?
He says “I have lived in good conscience before God”
The best defense when someone tries to slander you,
is when you can stand on a good conscience.
You maintain your integrity.
You can say anything about me,
but in good conscience, I can say I am innocent of the claims that you make.
Paul knows,
before God
He has done the right thing.
He has a clear conscience.
Apparently that frustrated the high priest,
Ananias…
And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
Jesus had been treated the same way, mind you…
What an insult.
Can you imagine?
Paul has done nothing wrong,
and he gets slapped.
I wouldn’t take that very well.
Would you?
Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”
That’d make me angry, too.
Paul says “you hypocrite!”
“You punish me before I am even found guilty!”
He says
“From the outside, you look perfect.
but on the inside, you’re full of evil”
Whitewashed wall
He says
“you just think you’re so good,
on the outside you look so perfect
but on the inside you are dead.”
That is the temptation for a lot people, isn’t it?
We can clean ourselves up so nice for church on Sunday on the outside,
but on the inside we might be dead.
Jesus said something similarly early in the Gospels.
He called the scribes and pharisees “whitewashed tombs”
Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
Okay, that Paul might have had a strong reaction…
He admits to being a little out of line
But, I love Paul’s reaction here…
He realizes he said something wrong,
and he immediately condemns himself.
But was he right in what he said?
My mother always said
“Its not what you say,
Its how you say it”
Paul said the truth,
but he said it in the wrong way.
But, he doesn’t lose hope
Paul knows the source of hope
Others deny the source of hope
Others deny the source of hope
Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
Paul says “Hey pharisees, I am one of you”
He chooses a side,
he could tell there was no unity in this group.
and what do you know it?
His plan works.
And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
The Pharisees almost have everything right.
They believe in Heaven and Hell
They believe in Spirits - Angels and demons
They believe in the Resurrection
Pharisees are spiritual people
But the Sadducees are earthly people
They are lawful people
They deny the afterlife
They deny all of what the Pharisees believe.
What a terrible way to live!
To believe, this world is all there is???
This world is evil!
There is pain, and sickness, and it isn’t glorious at all!
Paul remembers the words of Jesus
“A house divided against itself can never stand”
to his advantage
This division is key to tearing down just about any group of people.
Look at our country,
One side throws shade
and dissension arises amongst parties
and boom… here we are, a country divided.
It didn’t take war,
just took a little bit of division.
Paul knows that a house divided can’t stand.
He says “I am a pharisee”
and uses that to his advantage
So check out what happens:
Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?”
They don’t even hear his side!
They just go with him,
because he says “I am one of you”
But what they missed…
It wasn’t an angel or a spirit that spoke to Paul!
It was the risen savior they crucified!
This doesn’t solve the problem for Paul,
it just makes it worse.
And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
One group wants him dead,
one group wants him alive.
Either way, Paul is on the brink of getting tore apart.
He’s got a problem, I’d say
Lemme say something here...
Every Christian can take the same stand as Paul here.
He stands and says he believes in the hope of the resurrection.
Despite the consequences...
He takes a stand for the sake of the gospel.
For the same reason we will be here in a few weeks
commemorating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.
That is all he needed to know.
That he has the hope of the resurrection.
Do you think Paul knew God was going to save him from this?
He might not know God’s plan,
But you know what he does know?
He knows God.
He knows that God has made promises
Recall Acts 18:9-10
And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.”
And in the midst of trouble,
a person of hears God say
“Trust ME!”
When we are walking with the Lord
and face hard times
we can find comfort
in the one creator
Paul knows the source of hope
Others deny the source of hope
But, Jesus… He is the source of hope
But, Jesus… He is the source of hope
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
When the problems just seem to be getting worse
and they don’t seem to go away
The men outside those barracks want him dead.
The whole city of Jerusalem wants him dead.
And the Lord says
“Take courage”
Wow
When Paul was discouraged in Corinth
and contemplated going elsewhere,
Jesus appeared to Him
and encouraged him to stay.
When Paul is apparently in the midst of a big problem,
there’s the Lord.
Where he always is.
Standing beside him.
Saying “take courage”
Take heart, take courage,
be of good cheer.
Jesus spoke these words a lot.
And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
He shouted them to the disciples in the storm
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
He repeated them in the Upper Room
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
And in every situation,
as God’s people
we can always take courage
especially in times of difficulty
because
Matthew 28:20 (ESV)
behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The Lord is with us,
always!
The Lord is standing with Paul.
And showing His purpose in the midst of the problem.
Jesus is revealing HE IS THE SOURCE OF HOPE
Jesus didn’t get after Paul for going to Jerusalem.
Instead, he encouraged him.
He celebrated the witness he had given
even though it wasn’t received!
From the outside,
it seems as if Paul’s days in Jerusalem
failed miserably
He failed to win over the legalistic Jew for Christ.
He failed to bring clarity to the Sanhedrin.
and as a result of his witness there were riots
and now he is facing death.
But, Jesus
He was pleased with Paul’s testimony.
But, God…
He was encouraging Paul.
God is there in the midst of the problems,
and there is confidence!
Paul is going to Rome!
Even though his time in Jerusalem made him think he wouldn’t make it to Rome,
his desire would be fulfilled.
Leaders may have lied about him
Fanatics may have tried to kill him
The Government ignored him
But the Lord was with him
and fulfilling the plan
perfectly.
When Jesus says
“Take courage”
you can trust that!
In the midst of pain,
In the midst of suffering,
In the midst of trials,
He is there.
Take courage.
Trust in the Lord.
He will see you through it.
Have a clear conscience
Paul’s life had been in danger ever since he began his ministry.
When he witnessed for Christ in Damascus,
The first time he visited Jerusalem,
the Hellenistic Jews tried to kill him.
In Antioch the Jews drove him out.
He was stoned in Lystra.
They tried to arrest him in Corinth.
They planned to kill him in Ephesus.
Paul suffered at the hands of his own people
for the sake of the Gospel.
because of that,
Paul’s words take on a special meaning in
For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
40 fasting men
and scheming religious leaders
had forgotten that Paul
was bought by the blood of Christ
and Jesus was watching.
When Paul got saved,
the Lord told him that he would suffer.
But He also promised that he would deliver him from his enemies.
Paul held to that promise
Paul knew the source of hope
and God was faithful.
Paul never sought the easy way out.
He looked for the way that would
honor the Lord
and win the lost.
Even in the midst of problems,
he knew the Lord’s promise.
He may have been all by himself up there on the stand,
but he was not alone.
“Let us trust in God, and be very courageous for the Gospel and the Lord Himself will screen us from all harm - Charles Spurgeon”
We can afford to take courage in the midst of problems
when we are within His will
Because we know our Savior is perfect
and holds true to His promises.
When we are sharing His truth,
we know
He is with us always, until the end of the age.
When we can stand up and say
I have lived my life before God in all good conscience
We know, Jesus is standing there right beside us.
We are not alone.
There is hope in Jesus Christ
Invitation