Evidence of Faith (Continued): Acts 21

"Then Paul answered, 'Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.'"

Acts 21:13

            Sacrifice. A sincere offering. A sanctified surrendering. A humble submission. The willingness to part with something precious, even one’s life, in order to glorify the legacy of Jesus.  
        For believers, the exhibition of a sacrificial spirit confirms that Christ is our definitive inspiration and that we desire to honor His example by placing the needs of others before our own. Sacrifice encompasses many areas that daily impact us: finances, relationships, physical needs, time allocation, and so forth. When we understand that this earthly journey is not about satisfying the selfish longings of our heart, we discover an outward focus that seeks to give continuously and generously. The meaningfulness of sacrifice became more apparent to me when I discovered some amplifying information about a sizeable investment my parents made in my education.
      I never really counted the tangible cost of receiving a diploma when I was in college. Perhaps because I grew up in a home setting that encouraged the pursuit of continued learning (both my parents received extensive schooling, each earning undergraduate degrees, as well as graduate degrees) I initially took the scholastic opportunity for granted somewhat. In high school, Mom told me that if God opened a door for me to attend an undergraduate school, and I obediently submitted to His direction, then God would help our family overcome any financial impediments. Therefore, I entrusted the outlays associated with university instruction to the Lord and to my mother’s prayerful administration. After high school, I devoted four years of intense study to a private college. Truly, it was amazing academic experience, which yielded an undergraduate degree that I still hold in great esteem. 

Two years later, I became a newlywed, just after I was hired into an entry level position with the federal government. My wife, Dawn, and I were both working towards diplomas. Dawn was a couple of years away from completing an undergraduate degree while I was a couple of years away from completing a graduate degree, a graduate degree that was made accessible though nighttime satellite campus courses. Dawn and I quickly realized our fiscal situation was a strained one. Because we were determined to pay for school without incurring student loans, we stretched our makeshift budget as best as we could. But there were many days when I worried we would not have enough to satisfy the monthly bills, much less our college fees. 

One day, I told my mother how difficult it was to afford educational costs in conjunction with everyday living expenditures. Immediately, I was curious as to how Mom and Dad had managed to send both me and my sister, Karen, to college without incurring debt. My mother said it was not easy, especially considering for two consecutive years Karen and I were attending college at the same time. But what Mom went on to say floored me. Because my grandmothers had passed away in my late teen years, my parents were bequeathed inheritance allotments. Mom and Dad decided to use a considerable sum from those estates to fund my higher education, as well as Karen’s. The moment this truth was revealed to me, a wellspring of gratitude poured through me. It was a tremendous sacrifice. Where some parents might have been inclined to exhaust newfound capital on themselves via a new house, car, vacation, or the like, my parents chose to dedicate a substantial portion of it for me and Karen’s undergraduate studies. Knowing that my parents would choose to sacrifice so much for my academic development continues to motivate me. In fact, their sacrificial blessing is so impactful that Dawn and I have committed financially to offer it to our children, should they desire it. 

Sacrifice brings believers to a state where they are prepared to surrender themselves and their belongings for the cause of Christ. The trappings of this world hold little sway over people wholeheartedly devoted to the considerations of the Lord. When God’s redeemed and eternally adopted children come to the point that they are ready to lay down their lives for Christ (should it be required), material objects and possessions become much easier to give away.  

Ultimately, sacrifice is about giving in a heart and spirit that is representative of God’s benevolent nature.  Few knew this better than Paul. After his call to missions, he sacrificed much vocationally, relationally, physically, personally, and financially. Prior to Acts 21, the apostle was maligned, mocked, beaten, and imprisoned. Amazingly, the worst was yet to come. Per God’s directive, Paul’s ministerial road was destined for Jerusalem (Acts 20:22). The apostle did not know what he would encounter, but he knew it would be difficult for it would entail prison and adversity. Emboldened by the courageousness of the Holy Spirit, Paul set out for Jerusalem.

    According to Acts 21, Paul and fellow disciples traveled to Jerusalem, making several interim stops along the way, which was customary for sea travel in the ancient world. Paul made good use of the momentary sojourns in the various cities en route to Jerusalem by fellowshipping with brethren in the faith. The church in Tyre, in particular, supplied the apostle a moving sendoff, similar to the passionate farewell recorded in Miletus at the end of Acts 20. It would seem that the Christians in Tyre sensed (through the revelation of the Holy Spirit) the severe pain and suffering that would soon befall Paul. Hoping to see the saint avoid brutal tribulation, the Tyre disciples pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul was resolute. He would not veer from the course God had chosen for him. Paul knew obedience requires sacrifice and he was ready to pay the greatest cost.    
Paul’s group eventually landed in Caesarea (the nearest seaport to Jerusalem), where they lodged at Philip the evangelist’s home. This is same Philip that was introduced in Acts 6:5, when he was appointed one of the seven financial overseers in Jerusalem. In Caesarea, the Holy Spirit reaffirmed Paul’s pending affliction through a prophet named Agabus (likely the same Agabus mentioned earlier in Acts 11:28), who predicted that the apostle would be incarcerated in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles. This staggeringly specific forecast alarmed the disciples. Out of deep concern for Paul’s well-being, the believers implored Paul to avoid his Jerusalem-bound expedition.  
The resistance to Paul’s mission, although expressed with the noblest of intentions, was not God’s desire. Paul’s captivity would be used for the Lord’s grand purpose and achieve something no other apostle would have been able to accomplish: witnessing to the highest civil authorities in the Roman government. When the believers in Caesarea realized that Paul could not be dissuaded from his sacrificial destiny, they left the matter to God, asking that God’s will be done. The interplay of human and divine volition is a topic echoed throughout the book of Acts.
When Paul reached Jerusalem, he was received by James, the half-brother of Jesus, and the entire church elder body. Luke’s isolation of James from the elder body in Acts 21 intimates that James had become the leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul reported in great detail to James and the elders what had occurred in his ministry, a ministry that had reaped a large harvest from the evangelical seeds planted in the Gentile population. When the disciples heard Paul’s encouraging testimony, they rejoiced. The elders, in turn, shared with Paul that many thousands of Hebrews had embraced salvation through Jesus. Although Paul had experienced much opposition from his kinsmen during his exploits, James and the elders informed the apostle that some Jewish people were gradually turning to Christianity. The church body addressed the fact that many of the new converts were still very zealous for the traditions and tenets of the Old Testament, perhaps indicating that many Pharisees, the Mosaic law-minded stalwarts, had become believers.
To the elders, Paul’s presence in Jerusalem was potentially troublesome because two erroneous rumors had been widely circulated regarding Paul’s doctrine, both of which were gross distortions of the truth. The first false rumor stated Paul taught Jewish people to turn away from the Mosaic law. Paul never discredited Moses and never endorsed neglecting the historical or spiritual significance of the Old Testament. However, Paul did promote the understanding that Christ’s offer of salvation was superior to Mosaic sacrifice because it satisfactorily fulfilled the requirements of it. Therefore, Paul was not an adversary of Moses; he was a champion of Jesus. But to some, Paul’s refusal to exclusively teach the ancient covenantal precepts in order to wholeheartedly preach the new covenantal precepts was essentially an act of blasphemy. The second false rumor claimed that Paul did not condone the observance of ancient Jewish customs, such as circumcision. Recall that Paul requested Timothy be circumcised in Lystra so that Timothy’s future testimony to Hebrew audiences would not be hampered on account of the young man’s partially Greek bloodline (Acts 16:3). Paul’s primary emphasis on this subject was that Old Testament ceremonies were not essential to redemption because redemption comes through faith in Jesus.
To help confirm there was no shred of legitimacy to the rumors connected to Paul, the elders asked him to participate in a public Jewish-centric proceeding. Paul was to enter into a seven day purification process, a process that would symbolize the apostle’s humility and cherishment of the Hebrew legacy. Not only was Paul beseeched to partake of this ritual, but the church elders recommended Paul take along four other men and cover the cost of their sacrificial offerings, thus signifying receptiveness to Jewish practices. Paul accepted the advice of the church body and purified himself, along with the four men the church body endorsed, the very next day. A continual theme presented throughout Acts is the need to address and appease the concerns of mankind so that peace might prosper, provided the human-identified concerns do not compromise the content or character of the gospel. Even though Paul did not have to authenticate his Jewish ancestry through the seven day sacrament, he embraced the guidance of the elder body for the prospective sake of unity in the Jerusalem church.  
When the week of purification was nearly complete, some Jewish individuals from the province of Asia noticed Paul inside the temple complex. Because Paul had been seen earlier in the week associating with Trophimus the Ephesian (who helped accompany Paul to Jerusalem per Acts 20:4), the people postulated that Paul had brought Trophimus into the interior part of the temple, an area reserved for Jewish believers. Trophimus’s Ephesian designation implies that he was a Greek man, and presumably uncircumcised. Even though there was no evidence corroborating Paul advocating Trophimus’s engagement in temple services, people began disseminating word throughout Jerusalem that Paul was in the temple, the holy and sacred Hebrew worship center, to defile it.  
Jerusalem was instantly thrown into mad chaos. People went rushing in to the temple from all directions to apprehend Paul. They forced the apostle out of the innermost part of the temple to the exterior area and closed the temple gates behind him. Surrounded by a violent mob, the rioters began striking Paul, intending to kill him. When news of the uproar reached the commander of the Roman guard in Jerusalem, he took a small battalion of soldiers to neutralize the situation. The military’s close proximity to the temple (in the Antonia Fortress) helped facilitate a quick response, which almost certainly spared Paul’s life.  

       Upon the appearance of the armed forces, Paul’s beating stopped. The Roman military commander posted in Jerusalem, who will later be revealed as Claudius Lysias (Acts 23:26), subsequently arrested Paul and bound him in chains, assuming he was a criminal, or, at the very least, a rabble-rouser. When Lysias asked the crowd about Paul’s perceived transgression, the people shouted over each other to such a degree that no unifying charge could be ascertained. The commanding officer decided to deal with the matter in a private fashion and ordered the apostle be rushed to a nearby barracks. Incredibly, the wrath of the mob did not subside when Paul was removed from the temple grounds for the Jewish people followed Paul and the soldiers to the barracks. As the soldiers attempted to escort Paul inside, the bystanders reignited their fury and became violent, so-much-so that Paul had to be carried into the complex by the guards for his protection. 

As Paul was being transported up the steps of the barracks he asked Lysias if he could speak to him. The apostle posed the question to the military commander in Greek, the cherished language of Roman society, which caught the officer by surprise. To this point, Lysias had surmised that Paul was a radical from Egypt who had steered four thousand people into the desert some time ago. Paul refuted that allegation by citing his Tarsus birth, which, to Lysias, meant Paul was not a wayward terrorist, but rather a man of sound heritage and education. Paul solicited the opportunity to address the hostile crowd, a query the officer granted. Having just undergone a ferocious, senseless attack, Paul lovingly longed to appeal to his clansmen. His message did not contain any hint of resentment or desire for his assailants to suffer for their barbarous behavior. At the core of Paul’s testimony was a yearning for the Jewish people to know that Jesus is the Messiah and that Christ was doing a miraculous work in his life. 
The warnings the Holy Spirit had given Paul, Agabus, and the Tyre disciples about the apostle’s travails quickly came to fruition. But Paul’s spirit was undaunted, as confirmed by the devotion he exhibited in his statement in Acts 21:13. The apostle told the believers in Caesarea that he was ready not only to be bound in chains in Jerusalem, but die for the name of the Lord Jesus. His earnest loyalty to God, a loyalty that yielded an unwavering readiness to sacrifice himself for Christ, identifies three elements of a sacrificial heart.

      One, a sacrificial heart is a conditioned heart. Paul’s heart was so firmly fixated on God that he was able to submit to the direction of the Holy Spirit. On many occasions, the Holy Spirit had warned Paul that he would encounter misery and setbacks in his sacrificial labor. Paul received it and accepted it, revealing that a conditioned heart is a listening heart. It listens for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and obeys His commands. It does not place restrictions on what holy mandate it will surrender to. It allows the Holy Spirit to govern, no matter what. 

      In a world that promotes self-centered motives and aspirations, it is quite remarkable to behold Paul’s selfless temperament. His ability to maintain a humble perspective was fostered by his continual consideration of Jesus. Paul knew that his many physical and spiritual aches did not compare to the strain and sacrifice Jesus underwent at Calvary. As a result, he had authentic admiration and praise for the Messiah. Paul’s conditioned heart contained ceaseless motivation to submit to the Lord’s autonomy. 

Two, a sacrificial heart is a committed heart. Paul was committed not only to go wherever God might choose to send him, but to allow whatever fate may accompany it. When Paul spoke to the believers in Caesarea about his preparedness to be arrested and die a martyr in Jerusalem, he proved the depth of his commitment to Christ. There is no clearer example of one’s allegiance to a cause than giving your life for it. Even Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Paul sought to honor the model, character, and commitment of his Redeemer. Christ, the Savior, displayed a committed heart, going so far as to sacrifice Himself for a defiant, hardhearted creation. In doing so, Jesus revealed a love that is not easily shaken and a dedication that is not easily broken. Clearly, commitment entails more than intentions, it entails action. It does not relent, even under threat of pain. Paul’s mindset was to imitate the unrelenting, sacrificial standard set forth by Jesus. 

     Three, a sacrificial heart is a convicted heart. Paul told the disciples in Caesarea that the impetus of his service was to bring glory to the name of the Lord Jesus. There was simply no other incentive. Paul respectfully wanted to do whatever was necessary for advancing Christ’s kingdom. If that meant he would be persecuted, so be it. If that meant he would absorb immense assault and excruciating torment, so be it. If that meant he would be killed because he professed Christ to be the Son of God, so be it. Paul’s candid confession exposed his consecrated conviction. 

  Paul summarized this contemplation when he later wrote an epistle to the believers at the church in Ephesus, urging them to emulate God and to live a life of love because Christ loved them and had given Himself as a fragrant offering and sacrifice (Ephesians 5:1-2). Paul’s Christ-emulated passage produced many sacrifices, including his very life (by way of execution). But the apostle was not burdened by such matters. To Paul, to die was gain for in death comes the promise of meeting Jesus, the mighty Rescuer, and worshipping Him forevermore (Philippians 2:21).   

What are you willing to sacrifice for Christ’s glory?

Evidence of Faith (Continued): Acts 20

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace."

Acts 20:24

        Mission. A specific benchmark. A definable objective. A clear expectation. A standard that outlines someone’s or something’s principal purpose. 
Over the last few decades, mission statements have become an integral resource for communicating corporate strategies. Mission statements document companies’ business aims and summarize what their fundamental objectives are. Interestingly, mission statements have a religious origin. The word “mission” means “to send out”. Mission mirrors the description and role of the New Testament apostle (“one sent”). Apostles were called exclusively by Christ (the Holy Spirit in Barnabas’s case) and uniquely blessed and gifted by Jesus to herald His glory and purpose. Hebrews 3:1 refers to Christ as the apostle God sent from heaven to earth. In today’s application, missionaries, like apostles, are believers charged to go throughout the world in order to preach Christ and propagate the gospel. 

In recent years, churches, like industries, have implemented the usage of mission statements. Such religious fellowships understand that the short written declarations are not just motivational slogans - they are guiding pledges that encourage believers to seek God’s vision and honor His Word. They hearken Christians to stay true to the sacrificial spirit that accompanies service within the kingdom of God. I had the privilege of helping redevelop a church’s mission statement when I served in a congregation that underwent a revamp of sorts. It was not a physical makeover, with brick and mortar, but rather a spiritual makeover. All of which began when the pastor of the church was convicted to address areas that urgently needed to be reevaluated, specifically the church’s name and its mission statement. 

When the church was originally founded its title drew upon the community in which it was located. But the district was eventually renamed. The church, for some reason, never followed suit. Over twenty years had elapsed and the church still bore the designation of a nonexistent area. When new residents visited our fellowship, they often inquired how the church derived its name. It was a source of confusion and a topic that was continually brought up. Therefore, the pastor wanted to establish a church name that reflected its relevance and association with the present community.

There were many longtime members who were fiercely opposed to changing the church’s name. Some people had been in the congregation for almost thirty years. They had never known the church by any other title than its inaugural one. Altering a church name may seem like a simple thing, but when you factor in people’s visceral and emotional reactions to such a move, it becomes a much more sensitive issue. It took some time but the pastor was able to convince the church body that a revision of the church name was necessary. 

In conjunction with the title change, the pastor reassessed the church’s mission statement. He enlisted the assistance of the church staff to update it. Because I was the part-time music minister, I was included in the effort. At a meeting, the pastor provided a working version mission statement. He asked the staff to review it and give him feedback. He explicitly instructed us to include biblical justification for anything we wanted to add, modify, or remove from his draft. He composed both a short form mission statement and a long form mission statement. His document cited numerous passages of Scripture to substantiate the core tenets of his article. I thoroughly examined his outline and then assembled one of my own. Delving into God’s Word, I constructed a synopsis I felt conveyed the mission God wanted the church fellowship to embark upon. My foundational precept was the responsibility to exercise God’s love. I recorded my convictions along with corresponding biblical mandates. The following excerpt is what I provided to the pastor:

Short form mission statement: Loving God and Loving One Another

Reasoning: To me, the bedrock of the church is love – pure and simple.  Love is not natural to man; it is supernatural because it flows from the throne of God.  1 John 4:8 states “God is love”. God authored it. Believers can only hope to actualize it by surrendering to God’s will, allowing the saving grace of Jesus’ sacrifice to take hold of our lives and open up our heart for the Holy Spirit to dwell within it forevermore. 1 John 4:9 proclaims that Jesus came to this world so that mankind might live through Him.  This is how man is able to love - the supernatural merges with the natural. To put it another way, the Creator inhabits the life of His creation. 

If we, as a church, love God then we will be motivated to follow His commandments, such as:

John 13:34
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

1 Thessalonians 3:12
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 

1 John 3:23
And this is his command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he has commanded us.

1 John 4:8-9
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 

Therefore, if love is the foundation then it is exercised through four primary components:
Worship 
Fellowship 
Discipleship 
Ministry

Notice how each of the above mentioned components touches on loving God and loving each other. 

Long form mission statement: God’s Word compels mankind to accept the sacrifice Jesus Christ offered through Calvary. In that mindset we, as a church, respond by loving God through worship, and loving one another through fellowship, discipleship, and ministry. 

Breaking down the elements of the long form mission statement:

God’s Word
The divine utterance of God, revealing not only His nature, but His desire to forge a relationship with His creation.

Compels mankind to accept
God’s action inspires a reaction from mankind. God has always been the Great Initiator of communion and He seeks a gratifying response from us.

The sacrifice Jesus Christ offered through Calvary
There is no greater act of love the world has ever known. Words cannot express the beauty of the Creator voluntarily leaving the glory of heaven to associate with His creation, enduring rejection and torture along the way. He overcame a lifetime of hurt on earth so that mankind could experience hope and secure an eternal future.

And in that mindset we as a church
In order to understand the will of God, Paul reminds us we must be transformed through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). This entails a necessary surrender of our fleshly pursuits in exchange for heavenly pursuits. The ways of God are illogical and irrelevant to the world, but the ways of God are sound and significant to believers.

Respond by loving God
Every man and woman was created by a loving God, a God Who rejoices when humanity recognizes how great He truly is. We should desire to associate with Him on a daily basis through prayer, praise, and personal study.

Through worship
Worship could be defined as the willing act of believers to sacrifice time, treasure, and talents to God.  He deserves our very best. 

And loving one another
Only by loving God can we ever posses the ability to love others. If the vertical perspective (God-to-man) is intact then a horizontal perspective (man-to-man) will surely follow. 

Through fellowship
If we yearn to honor God then we will strive to connect with one another. The single most transparent way this can be accomplished is through spending time with each other.

Discipleship
If we aspire to honor God then we will regularly offer opportunities to teach people about Who God is, what He has to say, and why His message is so vitally important.

And ministry
The all encompassing aspect of a Christian’s mission. Our love for God develops our need to serve God. Within this service exists a desire to help others and lift them up. 

  Not long after I submitted my mission statement, the staff met together to collaborate on it. Together we produced a completed copy, which was released shortly thereafter. It set a hopeful, high-spirited tone for our congregation and made an immediate, positive impact. Ascertaining the essential traits of a Christ-centric church helped me better understand the necessity of knowing the Lord’s will. It forced me to evaluate my personal position within the structure of God’s work, as well as the position of fellow believers. Church service requires the sacrifice and effort of all Christians, not just ministers and missionaries. 
The apostle Paul had a mission-oriented focus throughout his ministry, a ministry that was riddled with hardships and challenges. One such obstacle arose in Ephesus while Paul was finishing a nearly three year period of dedicated service in the Asia Minor city. At the conclusion of Acts 19, a revolt emerged in Ephesus. It was rooted in a severe disdain for Paul. Some unbelievers claimed that the apostle’s evangelistic effort was directly responsible for the diminishing commerce at the idolatrous temple of Artemis, the Greek goddess of fertility. When the craftsmen who profited considerably from the manufacture and sale of artifacts commemorating Artemis saw their income decrease, they were incensed. The rage-filled environment in Ephesus subsided after an astute city clerk warned the people that they were on the verge of being charged with rioting, which often carried severe consequences under Roman law.  
  Per Acts 20, Paul stayed through the aftermath of the short-lived rebellion in Ephesus. Previous experiences in Acts show Paul was often encouraged to leave similar tumultuous settings by his fellow disciples. But the apostle remained on this occasion, presumably to ensure that the upheaval did not linger or uproot the spiritual seeds he had sown in Ephesus. Thereafter, Paul met with the Ephesian disciples, encouraged them, and set out for Macedonia. As he traveled through various cities (including Philippi and Thessalonica most likely), he offered many words of exhortation and encouragement, which were no doubt timely and precious to the young fellowships. Paul later arrived in Greece and ministered there for three months. Before the apostle left Greece he learned of a Jewish plot to inflict harm upon him, so he backtracked through Macedonia to avoid falling into the hands of the Jewish conspirators. Timothy, the great protégé of Paul who was left at Ephesus for a season, rejoined Paul, as did Luke it would seem (Acts 20:4-5). 
  Paul and company traveled to Troas, where the group tarried for seven days. On the first day of the following week, the missionaries united with the Troas Christians to break bread, perhaps in observance of the Lord’s Supper. Because Paul was intent on leaving the city the next morning, he preached a lengthy, all-night sermon to the church. The service was held in an upstairs chamber, where a young man named Eutychus was seated upon a window ledge. Around midnight, Eutychus was overcome with drowsiness, so-much-so that he fell asleep and dropped from the upstairs chamber window three floors onto the street. When the believers rushed down to investigate the severity of the young man’s injury, he was determined to be deceased (although Eutychus may have only been momentarily unconscious). Paul threw himself on Eutychus’s body, indicating the apostle’s genuine concern for the young man’s life. Paul found Eutychus was not dead but alive. As breath returned to the young man’s body, Paul went back upstairs and spoke until daybreak. The fact that the worship resumed, despite the frenzy surrounding Eutychus’s three-story plummet, highlights the persistence of Paul’s discipleship-focused spirit, as well as the earnest passion of the believers in Troas. 
  From Troas, the missionaries sailed to Assos, but Paul decided to journey on by foot. This personal time was likely used for refreshment, akin to what Jesus did before and after many of His excursions into the villages and cities of Judea. Such moments alone with God are often meaningful and memorable. When Paul arrived in Assos, he climbed aboard a ship with his fellow disciples, where they trekked through various seaports. The group eventually landed in Miletus, a town not far from Ephesus. Because he had resolved himself to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost, Paul did not venture into Ephesus for he knew that he would likely be unable to pull himself away from the people or the mission there. Paul petitioned the elders of Ephesus to come to Miletus instead. The elders of Ephesus responded favorably to Paul’s invitation and met him shortly after the apostle sent for them. 

     Paul delivered the Ephesian elders a sober farewell address. He charged them to carefully shepherd the church. In a practical sense, shepherds not only guide flocks, they protect them, which intimates that the Ephesian disciples had a responsibility to guard and embolden the spiritual state of their congregational members. The apostle referred to the men as both elders and overseers in his address, thereby implicating that the Ephesian fellowship had produced and solidified some semblance of a leadership structure. Paul articulated a yearning for Jewish and Gentile people to experience repentance through faith in Jesus, which is a fitting summary of Christianity’s mission. Paul professed his innocence of everyone’s blood for he had striven to identify God’s plan of salvation. The apostle was a noble and worthy ambassador of Christ, who diligently warned others about the pending judgment of God. He emphasized the criticality of sound doctrine by chastising false teachers, who he labeled “savage wolves”. It is humbling to realize that eternity hinges on correct instruction and reception of the gospel.     

Reinforcing his example and beliefs, Paul encouraged the church in Ephesus to remain strong and resist the evil work of deceivers. At the urging of the Holy Spirit, Paul was bound to journey to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit had repeatedly informed the apostle that he would endure many hardships, including imprisonment. Convinced he would never see the Ephesian elders again, Paul underscored the importance of abiding with God. He concluded his message with prayer, a most appropriate send-off. Afterwards, the elders, one by one, embraced Paul. The possibility that they would never again experience fellowship with their spiritual patriarch deeply moved the elders. They struggled to let Paul go initially, but the men soon mustered the resolve to accompany Paul to his ship, where they said goodbye to their mentor.            

  Paul’s stirring sermonette to the Ephesian elders elicits many thought-provoking reflections. Acts 20:24, in particular, stresses the power of a mission-oriented life. Paul said, “I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” From Paul’s testimony, we discover three important elements of a mission-oriented life. One, a mission-oriented life possesses the proper mindset. Paul told the Ephesian elders that he considered his life nothing. This was not a self-deprecating perspective; it was a sacrificial perspective. Paul viewed his life within the framework of God’s overwhelming purpose. A holy purpose was the consuming contemplation of Paul’s mind, not personal fear, conflict, or worry. 
  Paul made no account of the adversity that was in store for him. He did not list grievances against God for current or future mistreatment. Although he had offered so much to the gospel ministry, he indicated there was so much left to do. Paul’s pending pain and punishment did not burden his heart or dissuade him from mission work. If anything, it emboldened him because it compelled him to rely more on the Holy Spirit for strength and support. 
  Paul was willing to give his life to the cause of advancing the name of Christ. If bringing new believers into a saving relationship with Christ required affliction and captivity so be it. The apostle was captivated by the permanence of God’s kingdom and aspired to help others encounter Jesus’ redemption. He allowed the Holy Spirit to daily lead his heart and renew his mind. He did not allow the cumbersome, but temporary, issue of suffering for Jesus on this earth weigh down his soul.  

     Two, a mission-oriented life presents the proper motivation. Paul said to the Ephesian elders that he longed to finish the race set before him. Paul’s analogous use of a life race evokes some very penetrating implications. Races are not for the lazy or idle for they require unyielding participation and stamina. Furthermore, races have a starting point and an ending point, signifying they are not without limits. This consideration is enormously important because it reminds mankind that the earthly existence is an interim one. This world is not humanity’s final destination. It is not our eternal home. Although believers are sure to find satisfaction in this life through an active, thriving relationship with God, we must not become so attached to this planet that we lose the desire to leave it. After all, for those who have experienced salvation, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). 

     Paul placed a high value on his call to missions. His service and speech confirm he viewed it as a great privilege, a vital opportunity that had been entrusted to him directly from God. Clearly, a mission-oriented life carries a great burden: to declare Christ’s redemption to a largely obstinate, unbelieving people. But a mission-oriented life also carries a great blessing: being chosen and called by God to participate in the outreach of rescuing people from eternal peril. 

     Three, a mission-oriented life promotes the proper ministry. Paul stated his pressing aspiration was to complete the task Jesus Christ had given him: to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. Paul’s commission and conviction to testify to the gospel of God’s grace not only compelled him to declare God’s grace existed, it compelled him to prove that it existed. Paul’s life yielded bona fide evidence that God’s grace is transformative. Although he was once an outspoken critic of Christianity, Paul became a devout proponent of Christianity. Salvation conquered his heart and inspired him to submit to a Christ-glorifying ministry.

     In summary, Paul exhibited a mission-oriented life. He was not motivated by money or material possessions (Acts 20:33). He was not obsessed with status or self-praise (Acts 20:34). He was fervently fixated on serving God. Paul’s mission statement, so-to-speak, could be summed up in his final words to the Ephesian elders, a precept he credited to Jesus: it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). This proclamation of Jesus is not specifically listed in any of the four New Testament gospel accounts, but not everything Jesus said or did was recorded, according to the apostle John’s own admission in John 21:25. Regardless, Paul’s needs and wants, including his safety, were secondary to the primary objective of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace. God’s love was so overwhelming that the apostle could not help but share it with others. The promise of seeing his Savior face-to-face upon reaching earth’s finish line was the ultimate reward that spurred Paul to embrace God’s mission and run the race of faith.

In life’s race, are you an active participant in God’s mission?

Evidence of Faith (Continued): Acts 19

"When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor." 

Acts 19:17

        Reverence. An acknowledgment of nobility. A confirmation of honor. A recognition of virtue, a virtue which stands in stark contrast to the corrupted morals practiced in this world.
Throughout my ministry tenure, one person has garnered my admiration like few others. I will refrain from using his name because his humble spirit would resist drawing attention or commendation to himself. This man has served in ministry faithfully for nearly fifty years. Well-schooled, including a doctoral degree from a prestigious seminary, he has held many notable appointments: music pastor, interim preacher, and a denominational executive leader focused on church and family equipping. He has conducted choirs overseas for evangelistic crusades, as well as directed thousands of youth in worship for one of the largest summer Christian camps in the country. Although this individual possesses impeccable religious education and qualification, perhaps his most distinguished trait is the exhibition and preservation of a broken, contrite heart.       
I was first introduced to this saint not long after I was called into bivocational music ministry, when my pastor and I experienced discord regarding the direction of the worship program. Being a freshman to staff conflict, I was in desperate need of guidance. I contacted the man I have since come to revere a great deal after I was referred to him. At the time, he was a senior administrative director for our state’s denominational convention. In the hierarchy of ecclesiastical responsibilities, I was on the bottom rung of the ladder; he was near the top. Remarkably, he was genuinely approachable. We arranged to meet in his office shortly after I initially spoke with him on the phone. 
When we convened face-to-face, I was struck by the gentleman’s positive demeanor and hopeful disposition. Even though I was riddled with panic because of my predicament, the man displayed a bold confidence throughout our exchange. His confidence was not directed towards me; it was directed towards God. He encouraged me repeatedly to take the matter before the throne of grace. He shared practical information about how to cope with church strife, much of which had been gleaned from his own personal travails. He underscored how God had carried him through so many hardships. When I left the gentleman’s office, I had no discernible solution to my crisis, but thanks to the exhortation-filled conference, I was certain that God would provide me the patience and wisdom that I required. The discussion was a catalyst to me, reminding me that life’s dilemmas are best placed at the feet of God.   
Ten years later, I received a call from a youth minister seemingly out-of-the-blue. He and I worked together at an Oklahoma City church for almost two years before he went to serve in a rural town over two hundred miles away. The youth minister informed me that he was still on staff in the countryside fellowship and that his congregation was planning a four day long revival. He wanted to know if I would be available to lead worship for it. I told him I needed to pray about my involvement, as well as verify a short term work leave request could be approved. Out of curiosity, I inquired about who would be preaching for the revival services. His response filled me with profound joy. The gentleman with whom I had voiced my ministry struggles with several years earlier was going to be the speaker for the event. Not long after I conversed with the youth pastor, my work leave request was granted. But more importantly, through supplication, God made it abundantly clear that He endorsed my desire to participate in the revival services. I accepted the invitation with much excitement and anticipation.
The moment I was reunited with the gentleman I revered I was reminded how noble his conduct is. An example from that week supports why this saint has inspired me. He and I went with the youth minister to the rural city’s school one morning. With the administration’s permission, the three of us greeted students as they walked through the hallways during a class changeover period. I marveled at the gentleman’s transparent affection for the young people. He had a comforting presence that emitted authenticity and warmth. He was personal with the students. As the young people passed him, he found a doorway into a discussion. He commented on the kids’ shoes, backpacks, demeanor, and a host of other topics in an effort to draw the students into conversation. The teenagers that demonstrated apprehension or timidity as they neared him softened their rigid stances when the verbal exchanges transpired and prolonged. 

Within seconds, the gentleman transitioned into a motivational word for the students to strive for excellence in all that they did, an excellence consequently that can only be found in a relationship with Christ. He spurred them to not settle for anything less than God’s best because the worldly standard will only result in disappointment and despair. This saint’s sincere, straightforward style of evangelism reinforced why this man has merited my respect and appreciation. Time after time, he has shown a deep concern for others. He has consistently revealed he cares enough about people to inquire about their hurts and needs in order to help them grow closer to Jesus, just as he did with me when I first surrendered to the ministry. Suffice to say, reverence is not easily earned. It requires steadfastness, loyalty, and humility, which are just a few of the qualities the aforementioned man has produced for the majority of his life.

Reverence denotes a very profound sense that a person commands a character worthy of recognition. A character worthy of commemoration. Akin to honor, reverence is a very deep-seated admiration for another, as evidenced through actions, thoughts, and expressions. From a biblical standpoint, reverence should be rendered unto God, the Creator, first and foremost. Those who have an earnest yearning to revere God will exalt Him (Revelation 4:8-9). Secondly, reverence should be extended to Scripture, the written, passionate revelation of God’s existence (Proverbs 30:5). Thirdly, reverence should be offered to parents, the individuals God ordained to usher the next generation into this world (Deuteronomy 5:16). Fourthly, reverence should be rendered to a spouse (Hebrews 13:4). Marriage is a sacred institution that God designed to help combat the loneliness and adversity that the earthly life can often bring about. Fifthly, reverence should be given to those who maintain a vibrant walk with Christ and dedicate themselves to bringing glory to His name (Psalms 15:4). Lastly, reverence should be presented to civil authorities, the people God has furnished with governing powers (Romans 13:1). 

Paul heralded a reverence for Jesus. He solemnly sought to help the world find a life-altering connection with God’s only begotten Son. The apostle’s forthright, faith-elicited message was very effective. Some communities developed a reverence for Christ as a result of Paul’s Holy Spirit-advocated statements, as was the case with Ephesus in Acts 19. After serving in Corinth for roughly eighteen months, Paul began encouraging believers and evangelizing en route to Antioch. On his way to Syria, the apostle stopped momentarily in Ephesus, where he witnessed in the city’s synagogue. He made such a strong impression on the Hebrew community that several people implored him to stay with them longer. Paul refused (likely because of a compelling need to present an offering in Jerusalem in correlation with a vow he had taken), but told the people in Ephesus that if God wanted him to return then he would. After Paul visited Jerusalem, he traveled to Antioch where he ministered for a time. Thereafter, he launched his third missionary trip. He passed through Asia Minor, building up the believers in Galatia and Phrygia. Ultimately, Paul made good on his pledge and went back to Ephesus, which led to a most remarkable ministry.
When Paul arrived in Ephesus, it was one of the principal cities commercially and politically in Asia Minor. Like Corinth, Ephesus had a rich past. Inhabited as far back as 1,000 B.C., the city endured a fair share of battles and conquests. Despite changing power bases numerous times and undergoing assorted cultural assimilations, one legacy in Ephesus that survived many decades was the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis (Diana being the Roman goddess equivalent), who pagans believed was the sanctioning source of fertility (both in humanity and in agriculture). So widespread was the adulation of Artemis in Ephesus that a grand temple was built for her not far from the metropolis. The original structure was damaged by a flood. A rebuilt edifice stood tall for around two hundred years until an act of arson destroyed it in 356 B.C. Yet another reconstructed temple was later erected and survived for around six hundred years. It earned acclaim as one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.
Ephesus expanded in size and scope prior to the New Testament era. Archeological excavations reveal that the city, at one time, enjoyed gymnasiums, public baths, a library, and a theater that could seat over twenty thousand people. It was a very densely populated city, but also an important thoroughfare for tourism (perhaps in part because of the stately temple dedicated to Artemis). Ephesus, therefore, provided a critical opportunity for Paul to reach a sizeable segment of the world and turn them to the saving truth of the gospel.
      On his way to the synagogue in Ephesus, Paul met some disciples and asked if they had received the Holy Spirit upon their confession of Christ’s lordship. The disciples responded that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit. Paul pressed the matter further and raised the issue of baptism. The disciples said that they were baptized into belief through John’s message of repentance, somewhat resembling Apollos’s account in Acts 18. By John’s own admission, his appeal for atonement was a preparatory measure for Jesus’ coming (Matthew 3:11). It was incomplete for it was a temporary, sin-purging process that served to help people discover the permanent salvation that only Christ can yield. When Paul explained this to the disciples, they confessed Jesus is the Messiah and were baptized in His name. Immediately thereafter, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples.
When Paul reappeared at the synagogue in Ephesus, he argued persuasively about the kingdom of God for three months before his teaching was sternly turned away. Scripture indicates the objection in Ephesus was a severe criticism, which was aired in a derogatory, public fashion. When the apostle perceived that his witness was bringing about a negative view of Christ within the Hebrew community, he pulled away so that Jesus’ name might not be disrespected any more, a move that was in line with Jesus’ directive in Luke 9:5. Afterward, Paul and his disciples began assembling in the lecture hall of Tyrannus, a place of learning and debate. This forum exposed a substantial number of both Jewish and Gentile citizens to the gospel on a daily basis, which was a better prospect afforded to the apostle than the once-a-week Sabbath worship in the synagogue. The ministry at the lecture hall of Tyrannus was so impactful Acts 19:10 states that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord during the two years Paul labored in Ephesus.
The Holy Spirit not only enhanced Paul’s message, the Holy Spirit enhanced the apostle’s supernatural gifts. Paul performed many miracles during his Ephesian ministry. His divinely-bestowed powers were so potent that even clothing garments he had contacted could heal the sick and remove evil spirits from the afflicted. Some within the Jewish populace were attracted to this influence. Because they craved Paul’s ability to send Satan’s minions fleeing from tormented souls (presumably for monetary gain or notoriety), the would-be exorcists searched Ephesus for demon-possessed people. When they encountered those who were overcome with evil spirits, they insisted the demon, or demons, leave in the name of Jesus, citing Paul as the reference point for their proclamation. 
The group of power seekers included seven sons of a Jewish chief priest. One day, the young men confronted a dark spirit, bidding it to release its grip on a man it had inhabited. The demon knew the seven sons had not surrendered their hearts to Jesus through faith and therefore had no remnant of Christ’s authority to exorcize evil spirits. Attune to the spiritual voids and vulnerabilities of the young men, the demon manipulated the human frame it was controlling, causing its host to attack the seven sons, overwhelm them, tear off their clothes, and batter them repeatedly. The young men, humiliated, injured, and bloodied, ran away naked. This was a supreme sign of dishonor since the Jewish people maintained an unfavorable view of public nudity. This perspective was a longstanding one, tracing as far back as the patriarchal figure of Noah (Genesis 9:23).
When the incident surrounding the demon-spawned beating of the seven young men was shared throughout Ephesus, the city was seized with fear and held the name of Jesus in high honor. The people became aware that the pronouncement of the Messiah’s God-given designation should not be profaned or used for nefarious purposes. Jesus’ name, like Jesus Himself, is mighty and esteemed. The widespread reverence for Jesus’ name in Ephesus offers us three important considerations. One, Jesus’ name is hallowed. It is set apart. It trumps all other titles. In the echelon of names, Jesus stands alone atop the apex. His name deserves and demands reverence. God established Jesus’ name as part of Christ’s glorious mission: to redeem creation. God specifically chose the name Jesus because, as an angel informed Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, Jesus would save people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Jesus, the Greek form of the Aramaic name “Yeshua” (which itself derives from the Hebrew name “Joshua”), literally means “the Lord saves.” The connotation being that only in Jesus is the eternal forgiveness of disobedience made possible.
Sadly, we live in a society that has carelessly embraced the utterance of Jesus Christ as an expletive, which is an appalling perversion. Jesus embodies love, mercy, and grace. And yet so many callously profane His name in a way that reeks of depravity. This flippant idiom, which may seem trivial in the modern culture, is not trivial to God. He gave His Son the name that is above all other names because His Son is like no other son. Jesus is the Almighty Prince of heaven. His enduring heritage speaks to the benevolence of God. We would do well to recognize it and revere His hallowed name.
Two, Jesus’ name is holy. Holiness denotes that Jesus and His name are set apart. To believers, this consideration is underscored by way of Jesus’ superior earthly example. Jesus led a blameless life. His behavior is synonymous with integrity, obedience, and sacrifice. He demonstrated absolute reign of moral behavior, total mastery of spiritual conduct, and a transcendent identity. Jesus, having the holy nature of God, bears the goodness of God, the pureness of God, and the perfect constitution of God, all of which validate Christ’s distinguished character.
The contrast between God’s righteousness and the inability of man to reproduce it immediately became apparent after man was formed. Adam and Eve, the inaugural man and woman, ignored the decree of God and refused to submit to His rule by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God had explicitly instructed Adam not to do (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve’s immoral temperament has affected every subsequent member of the human race. This reality should compel God’s followers to marvel at Jesus, Who temporarily donned the skin of man without giving in to the sin of man. If we desire to revere Christ, our Rescuer, then we will habitually aspire to magnify His holy name. 
Three, Jesus’ name is honorable. That is to say, His name is worthy of honor. In Romans 10:9, Paul wrote that those who acknowledge Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him to life after His death at Calvary will be saved. Jesus’ name is so profound that the very confession of His name opens up the gate to redemption. Truly, Jesus’ name is worthy of honor.
The fact that the Ephesian people treated Jesus’ name as sacred is nothing short of astounding. The city soon became a central location for the transmission of the Christian message. Several residents entered into faith. Some even freely confessed their wicked acts as a sign of their desire to pursue a spiritual purity. Many who were addicted to witchcraft and sorcery abandoned the practice of it. To show there was no going back to the observance of the dark arts, several individuals compiled their magic spells and enchantments and torched them in a city square. This occurrence was so dramatic that the value of the scrolls that were burned was tabulated. According to Acts 19:19, the cost of the material was estimated to be some fifty thousand drachmas. The drachma was a Greek silver coin that was similar to the Roman denarius, which typically equated to a day’s wage. Clearly, transformed lives remove the hindrances that prevent them from honoring God, even if it comes at an extravagant price.
After this happening, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. Once again, Paul longed to journey to Jerusalem (maybe because he had a collective offering from the Asia Minor churches to take to the city of David). Luke records that it was at this time that Paul acquired a yearning to visit Rome. Apparently, Paul believed his missionary efforts in the eastern portions of the Roman Empire were complete. His gaze was directed westward (Spain in particular). Before Paul set out for Jerusalem, he sent two of his helpers ahead of him (one of which was Timothy who was discussed at length in Acts 16) while the apostle stayed a little longer in the province of Asia. 
A disturbance later arose in Ephesus regarding Christianity. Per Acts 19:24, a man known as Demetrius, a silversmith, began to suffer financially from the Ephesian faith conversions. His salary, or at least a significant sum of it, was dependent upon the manufacture and sale of shrines memorializing Artemis. As the people of Ephesus (as Asia abroad) surrendered belief in Christ, they systematically discarded their idols, which correspondingly reduced the artifact procurements from the temple of Artemis. Demetrius was so enraged that his earnings had decreased that he gathered fellow silversmiths and tradesmen. He told the people of irreverent industry that if they allowed Paul’s evangelistic efforts to continue not only would their businesses collapse but the temple of Artemis would be discredited. Relinquishing a supposedly comfortable, materialistic life has been an impediment to salvation and discipleship for many people (Matthew 19: 20-24). The craftsmen became furious at the conclusion of Demetrius’s fear-based, emotion-provoking speech.
An uprising broke out in Ephesus. Mobsters grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul’s traveling companions and forced them into the central theater. If the crowd could not nab Paul then they would accept the next best thing: his friends. Although anger and hostility were rampant, there was also mass confusion for not everyone knew what the primary issue was (Acts 19:32). Paul was ready to make a defense before the protestors and intended to brave the fray, but he was implored by disciples and officials of the province not to go into the enraged environment. Acts 19:31 documents some of the city’s civic leaders were friends of Paul, signifying the respectability and credibility the apostle had pioneered. 

The disciples and provincial representatives knew Paul was the chief transgressor in the eyes of the scoundrels, not Gaius or Aristarchus. Paul’s confrontation of the mob’s grievances, therefore, would surely result in the apostle’s assassination. Although Paul would eventually lay down his life for the cause of Christ, there was no sense in wasting it. His death in Ephesus would be premature since God had more work for Paul to accomplish still. Paul accepted the advice of his spiritual brothers and stayed away from the theater. To corroborate how inflamed the atmosphere was in Ephesus, Acts 19:33 conveys the Jewish attendees shamefully pushed one of their own, Alexander (likely a Hellenist Jew), to the front of the horde to conceivably absorb the brunt of the peoples’ fury. The involuntary propitiation of a kinsmen does not speak well of the community’s mindset. If anything, it portrays the Ephesian Hebrew populace as a body who lacked loyalty or family devotion.  

The commotion was finally quieted down by a city clerk, who reminded the citizens of Ephesus that they should not take justice into their own hands. Instead, they should bring the matter before a court of law. If Demetrius, or the other craftsmen, had a legitimate case against Paul and the disciples then the dispute could be settled in a legal setting. As it stood, the residents were on the verge of being charged with rioting, which carried with it severe penalties. As reason set in, the peoples’ rage ignited by Demetrius subsided. The city clerk’s rationale and capacity to restore order and civility proved that the Christians in Ephesus had not violated any Roman regulations. It is remarkable to discover how God can communicate and employ heathen hearts to accomplish His will (as He did with Gamaliel in Acts 5).

Although there were some in Ephesus who did not revere the name of Jesus, like Demetrius, Acts 19 confirms many did. Such reverence for Christ stemmed from a consciousness of the Messiah’s high standing: at the right hand of God. Jesus is preeminent and sovereign. The disciples in Ephesus preserved this mindset and appropriately ascribed the Lord awe, praise, and reverence. In an age that tempts us to belittle and depreciate the soul-saving name of Jesus, the Ephesian church’s veneration for Christ affirms the Savior’s name is laudable in every era.   

Is a reverence for Jesus Christ transparent in your life?

Evidence of Faith (Continued): Acts 18

"When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ."

Acts 18:5

        Testimony. A message that acknowledges the superiority of God’s reign. A word that exposes the supremacy of Christ’s love. A lifestyle that honors the sufficiency of the Holy Spirit’s presence.
Testimonies are typically viewed within the framework of depositions and trials, where written and verbal statements are rendered or recorded daily. In the courtroom of law, to testify is to authenticate that an event or a series of events transpired. Testimonies are declarations of fact, which can often carry severe penalties if the people professing them knowingly dispense false information. In both civil and criminal matters, witness observations and reports are critical to discerning the truth. Testimonies do not relate to legal proceedings exclusively; they apply to Christianity as well for believers encounter moments daily to present and represent Jesus Christ. I remember such an opportunity that I had some years ago.

In college, I served as a part-time praise band director at a large metropolitan church. The church possessed a sizeable staff and considerable resources. Therefore, it was not uncommon for the leadership to receive calls from other congregations seeking guidance or interim assistance, as was the case when a small, rural church contacted our music minister. A representative from the countryside church explained that their youth pastor had recently accepted a ministry position at another fellowship. As a result, they were in need of guest speakers for an upcoming youth group summer camp trip. The music minister mentioned that I should consider preaching at one of the retreat services. I was tempted to decline the offer on the spot, but God urged me to dedicate thought and prayer to the proposition, so I requested time to think about it. 

“As an aspiring music minister, what business do I have giving impressionable youth a gospel message,” I initially asked myself. I rationalized that I was not a skilled orator and that I lacked sufficient experience composing sermons, particularly sermons tailored to young people. But as the days went by, my excuses and self-contrived limitations were eliminated one by one. God convicted me and compelled me to accept the invitation. Committed to the event, I began to prepare a testimony. I sat motionless in front of a computer for hours on end, unable to write anything of substance. Because sharing my testimony had never been an active discipline, it took me awhile to develop the ability to document Christ’s movement in my life. Eventually, I found the inspiration and encouragement to put an outline on paper. 

As the day of the speaking engagement neared, I grew more and more apprehensive about it. Although God had affirmed that I should publicly disclose my testimony, I continued to allow personal inhibitions to flood my mind. A tidal wave of internal tension engulfed me. I beseeched God to remove my reservations and doubts and let the Holy Spirit work through me. It was an appeal that I prayed repeatedly. 
On the night of the youth service, I was introduced to the teenagers by one of the camp sponsors. As I stood in front of the adolescents, I scanned the eyes of those in attendance. I was moved by the expressions of longing and sadness. I sensed many of the young people were dealing with emotional heartache and discouragement, perhaps in part with having to bid farewell to their youth minister. It was apparent to me that they were eager for truth and desperate for hope. As I opened my Bible, the Holy Spirit inundated me with assurance. He furnished me with the heart and voice to testify of His greatness. All my uncertainties, specifically my capacity to proclaim an enthusiastic testimony, were immediately absent from my mind. All I could feel was a hunger to communicate what God had done in my life, that God had saved me through His Son, Jesus Christ, and that I was being renewed daily through the Holy Spirit’s constant provision of grace, mercy, counsel, and encouragement. In the Lord, there is the dawn of a new day, whether it is in this life or the life that is to come. In Him, there is a satisfying peace, even when confronted with troubling circumstances. Therefore, no heart should be distressed if the God of eternity is controlling it. 

My testimony was not natural; it was supernatural. On my own, I would have either been too fearful to speak or too prideful to admit my dependence upon heavenly aid. But in God, I found the desire to witness, as well as the urgency to witness. That event validated God can overcome all fears and inadequacies if we trust Him enough to supply us with the necessary purpose, perspective, and passion.

The apostle Paul possessed a spiritual drive to testify about Jesus. Even though he was the recipient of brutal attacks and protests, Paul exhibited an unrelenting mission to tell the world about Christ. Often harassed and mocked, Paul never stopped evangelizing. He was undeterred in his quest to help people find salvation. As the narrative of Acts 17 closed, Paul was preaching in Athens. The text does not indicate Paul was physically harmed or threatened by the intellectually, idolatrously-prone elite in Athens, but the people were not especially warm to Paul’s message either. When the peoples’ receptiveness in Athens withered away, the apostle left and journeyed some fifty miles southwest to Corinth (Acts 18).   

Corinth would soon become a vital city for the propagation of the gospel. It was a maritime city, which had established substantial infrastructure and influence. Positioned between two seaports in modern-day Greece, the city had a storied past. Archaeology excavations reveal the Corinthian territory was populated as far back as 2,000 B.C. By 350 B.C., Corinth had become the most inhabited and productive city of mainland Greece. But eventually Corinth drew the ire of Rome, resulting in its decimation in 146 B.C. at the hands of the Roman military. The city was burned to the ground. The Corinthian men were slaughtered on site while the women and children were sold into slavery. For nearly a century, Corinth was largely vacant. But just before he was assassinated, Julius Caesar ordered Corinth be rebuilt in 44 B.C. Corinth soon reemerged as a place of economic significance via a lucrative shipping trade in the Mediterranean area. 

Much like Athens, the residents of Corinth embraced the worship of Greek gods. The city contained many idolatrous shrines, including memorials dedicated to Apollo, Hercules, and Poseidon. When Paul arrived in Corinth he met a man named Aquila who had been forced to flee Italy with his wife, Priscilla, because of an edict released by the Emperor Claudius. The edict banned Jewish people from living in Rome. Aquila and Priscilla were apparently knowledgeable and approving of the message of Christ for Acts 18:2 states Paul sought out Aquila and Priscilla to converse with them and, it would seem, to lodge with them. After determining them to be committed, loyal believers, Paul teamed up with them. We discover that Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla not only shared a zeal for holy truth but they also shared a common profession: tentmaking. 

Although we tend to think of Paul as the great evangelist, apostle, teacher, writer, and preacher, Paul was also a capable tradesman. Tents were a necessity for soldiers and shepherds, vocations that demanded portable quarters since such people were always on the move. Tentmaking, in general, was not an elevated position in the first century career hierarchy. Paul was not ashamed of his skillset, which is something he had probably acquired and refined during his youth in Tarsus. He was disposed to put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. He even financed his own missionary endeavors so that he might not be an economic burden on the churches and communities he was serving, or planning on serving (Acts 20:34). Though he was imminently trained and educated, Paul took on a practical and unassuming occupation so that his Christ-centered mission could advance.       

That Paul would devote himself to serving alongside Aquila and Priscilla signifies he valued a person’s character more than a person’s class. Paul took many otherwise unnoticed individuals in his charge and tutelage. He cared more about a believer’s heart more than anything else. If someone was sincere to the cause of Christ and displayed a steadfast spirit, then Paul was determined to put that person’s dedication and effort to good use (which helps explain why Paul was hesitant to let John Mark rejoin him in Acts 15). Aside from his mentorship and business partnership with Aquila and Priscilla, Paul actively reasoned the Christian stance in Corinthian synagogue worship services. Time and time again we see Paul’s motivation to persuasively argue the case for Christ. He did not advocate an insolent gospel, but an inviting and intelligent gospel. He was not afraid or ashamed to speak the truth in love. 

Eventually, Silas and Timothy, who had been in Berea, came to Corinth. Upon their arrival, Paul was all the more eager to preach and testify to the Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah. It could be that the update Silas and Timothy shared about the churches in Macedonia encouraged Paul so much that he was spurred to carry on and honor that which had been started. Or perhaps the reuniting of his support team spiritually revived Paul and gave him a newfound impetus to effectively present the gospel in Corinth. Either way, Paul was not shy or timid about conveying his testimony. His desire to proclaim Christ did not stem from a self-serving nature; it was a response to the Holy Spirit’s movement in his soul. 

But many Jewish people resisted Paul’s message and became abusive. Paul symbolically shook out his clothes, akin to removing unwanted dust from dingy cloth fabric, denoting that the apostle was free from the obligation to testify to such an obstinate people. The Jewish people were responsible for their hardheartedness and defiance. Paul said their loss would be another’s gain for he would exclusively occupy himself with witnessing to the Gentile Corinthians. Even though Paul turned his evangelistic focus away from the Hebrew community in Corinth, some Jewish residents and proselytes became believers in the Lord, as documented with the conversion of Crispus, a synagogue ruler, and Titius Justus, a Gentile who lived near, and was likely a member of, the synagogue. After this we read that many Corinthian people were saved and baptized. 

Later, Paul had a vision of Jesus. Christ reinforced Paul’s calling to testify of Him. He told the apostle to keep preaching in Corinth for the Lord’s protection would be upon him. Therefore, Paul stayed in Corinth some eighteen months. But his prolonged tenure was not without further conflict. The Jewish people formed an alliance to thwart Paul. They apprehended him and brought him before the Roman governor of the province of Achaia (which Corinth was the capital city of), Gallio. The swiftness upon which this plan was carried out identifies a seething desire on the part of the Jewish people to see Paul painfully punished, if not murdered.

The charge the people levied against Paul was that he had persuaded Israelites and Israelite sympathizers to worship Jesus, which they deemed to be an act contrary to the Mosaic law. As in previous chapters of Acts, this accusation was a distortion of the truth. Paul did not forbid the practice of Old Testament traditions and observances; he endorsed the acceptance of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament sacrificial offerings. A vast majority of Jewish people could not understand this. As a result, they were adamant Christians, like Paul, be brought to justice for their perceived blasphemy. Because of their spiritually stubborn resolve, they utilized any means necessary, including the Roman courts, to justify their rejection of the gospel.  

When the matter was brought before Gallio, Paul was prepared to give his defense. But before he could address the Roman governor, Gallio turned away the case since it pertained to Jewish law and customs, of which he obviously had no interest in. After summarily dismissing the proceeding and ejecting the people from his presence, the Jewish people became furious. Demanding retribution, they seized a man named Sosthenes and beat him in front of the court. One would hope that Gallio would have maintained decency and order in his precinct and put a stop to the abuse of Sosthenes, but Acts 18:17 states Gallio showed no concern for Sosthenes’s wellbeing. It is probable that the Sosthenes identified in Acts 18 is the same individual Paul referred to in the opening address of his first epistle to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 1:1) Maybe he, like Crispus, was a synagogue ruler who found Paul’s testimony to be convincing and true. Sosthenes presumably accompanied the apostle to his trial with Gallio as a sign of his support for Paul’s ministry.                   

Paul tarried in Corinth after this incident but later set out for Syria with Aquila and Priscilla. Before Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla left Corinth, Acts 18:18 denotes the apostle shaved his head because of a vow he had made (although some scholars make the case that Aquila may have shaved his head, not Paul, based on the Greek text construction). There is a plausible indication that this action was, in fact, performed by Paul because of a compelling yearning to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, where the apostle intended, presumably, to deliver a hair offering. This may seem like an unusual account in the modern-day setting, but this deed was not bizarre in the ancient Hebrew-centric culture for God outlined such criteria in a select vow known as a Nazirite vow (Numbers 6:18). The Jewish community, by and large, considered vows a sacred, critically important undertaking, which deserved a strong sense of urgency and sacrifice (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). In the upcoming verses of Acts 18, Paul refused to be delayed in Ephesus (conceivably to make his sacrifice in the city of David), which solidifies that a Paul-initiated vow (rather than an Aquila-initiated vow) is more logical. 
After Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla sailed from Corinth, they landed in Ephesus. Aquila and Priscilla decided to remain there while Paul made preparations to journey on. But before he departed, Paul went to the local synagogue and presented his testimony, attempting to excite the Jewish people to believe Jesus is the Messiah. The Hebrew residents in Ephesus did not arbitrarily dismiss Paul’s message. Because their curiosity was peaked, they requested Paul spend more time in Ephesus to speak further about salvation in Christ. Paul graciously turned down their recommendation (probably because of his aforementioned zeal to go to Jerusalem), but promised if it be the Lord’s will then he would return to Ephesus. 

Scripture supports Paul maintained the right balance of divine and human autonomy. The apostle had private ambitions for God’s kingdom-building work, but those ambitions were secondary to God’s overarching providence. He mindfully purposed to perform the mission and tasks sanctioned by God. Thereafter, Paul went to Caesarea and then greeted the church (probably referring to the church in Jerusalem) before going on to Antioch, thus completing Paul’s second missionary expedition. One wonders if the visit to Antioch refreshed Paul as he fondly remembered the evangelistic harvest he and Barnabas had sown so many years earlier. 

After spending some time in Antioch, Paul commenced his third missionary journey, strengthening the believers throughout Asia Minor. As Paul visited many places, including Galatia and Phrygia, a Jewish man named Apollos, a native of Egypt, appeared in Ephesus. Acts 18:24 says Apollos was fluent in Scripture and possessed extensive schooling, which is validated by his former residency in Alexandria, a city well-known historically as being a center for scholarship and academic excellence. Apollos was educated in the way of the Lord (confirming Christianity’s westward expansion) and began teaching in Ephesus with great vigor and fervency. 

Acts points out that Apollos had only experienced the baptism of John, not the baptism of Jesus, prior to his arrival at Ephesus. John’s baptism was a moral repentance in preparation for the work of Christ. Jesus’ baptism, on the other hand, is a spiritual repentance that symbolizes a lasting grace and enacts the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. Although Apollos was gifted in speech and intellect, he did not fully comprehend the legacy of Christ. Apollos’s understanding of Jesus’ life and ministry was not as comprehensive as it should have been, in regard to training up new or young disciples. This passage underscores that the mature Christian must maintain both a thorough knowledge (of the Bible) and a thorough faith.

Aquila and Priscilla, Paul’s former students, heard Apollos preach and invited him into their home so that they could convey the way and Word of God (as it related to Jesus) more sufficiently to the eager convert. Already the investment Paul made in Aquila and Priscilla was yielding huge dividends. After Apollos had sufficiently been instructed in truth under Aquila and Priscilla’s guidance, he longed to employ his wisdom and eloquence for communication by pronouncing the tenets of Christianity. Desiring to go to Corinth (where Paul had recently departed), the disciples in Ephesus wrote a letter of commendation informing the Corinthian church that Apollos was an authentically skilled spokesman who merited service opportunities. When Apollos started witnessing in Corinth, he made an immediate impact. Acts 18:28 states he convincingly refuted the Jewish unbelievers in Corinth by efficiently debating that Jesus is the Messiah predicted in Scripture. Once again, Scripture is highlighted as the essential source for evangelism and bringing about lasting, spiritual transformation.
The power of testifying about Christ is a theme repeated throughout Acts, specifically in Acts 18:5, when Paul dedicated himself to preaching and proclaiming Jesus’ lordship. His example, like that of so many other disciples, imparts three key aspects of God-honoring testimonies. One, God-honoring testimonies are devoted. Paul routinely experienced rejection and pain because of his willingness to share his faith. He was frequently injured and afflicted, both emotionally and physically, due to his allegiance to Jesus. He was persecuted and hounded by numerous unbelievers. But Paul never gave up testifying about the grace of God. He endured the hardships, recognizing that he was not working unto man, but unto the Lord. Paul would come to write of the challenges of ministering to the world, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7). Clearly, a heart filled with salvation is a heart that flows with devoted surrender. 
Two, God-honoring testimonies are demonstrative. Paul was not ashamed to demonstrate the measure of his relationship with God for he proclaimed Jesus unto the ends of the earth. The apostle’s testimonies were not unspoken convictions. They were not secret stirrings. They were outward expressions that corroborated the permanent change that engulfed his life. Paul’s testimonies verified Jesus had ransomed and revived him. They overwhelmingly articulated the goodness of Christ’s love. 
It is important to note that the demonstrative nature of God-honoring testimonies are not elaborate productions laced with superficial speech. They do not base their appeal on a sensational script or story, nor do they base their allure on a generic formula or fanciful form. God-honoring testimonies base themselves on the direction, digression, and delight of the Holy Spirit. They declare and display honesty, integrity, and humility. They draw attention to the incredible and glorious nature of salvation, as made available through Jesus’ atonement. 
Jesus told His disciples that they did not need to be concerned with rehearsing evangelistic lines or developing a persuasive speaking finesse. What they needed to do was trust God and let the Holy Spirit provide the words to say when witnessing opportunities were unveiled (Matthew 10:19-20). Therefore, testimonies rely on God’s ability, not man’s. No eloquence on our part could ever adequately expound the greatness that accompanies Christ’s eternal forgiveness of sin, but we should endeavor to disseminate the Lord’s redeeming message with sound speech and coherent reason.
Three, God-honoring testimonies are direct. Paul did not conceal his testimony or reserve it for one sect of society. When one audience spurned him, he sought another one. Paul relentlessly enunciated God’s saving grace. His own reformation through Christ offered undeniable evidence of God’s propensity to effectively and drastically alter lives.
The righteous model of the Jesus was ever before Paul’s spiritual gaze. The apostle aspired to emulate Christ’s character. Throughout Christ’s earthly ministry, the Lord was direct and approachable. He moved people to evaluate and exercise God’s standard, as opposed to the fleshly inclination to adopt the world’s standard. Jesus continually pointed humanity to His Father. His sincere, straightforward method was not widely accepted at the time, but it was necessary.
The ears of many are attentive to what we say. We bear witness to our beliefs daily through our discussions and our decisions. In the courtroom of life, where our actions and confessions are examined, challenged, and scrutinized, testimonies are pivotal to helping those lost in darkness find the light of Jesus, where we receive emancipation and liberation. May we actively strive to tell others about it.

Do you have a heart and voice that perpetually renders God-honoring testimonies?