Evidence of Faith (Continued): Acts 22

"You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard." 

Acts 22:15

        Witness. Someone whose personal observation renders credibility to a report. An individual who verifies critically important details of an occurrence.
The term “witness” is typically attributed to legal settings where both prosecuting and defending attorneys rely upon human accounts to solidify the merit of a case and help establish facts. In that context, witnessing is more than the awareness of circumstances; it is the attestation of them as well. This train of thought is relevant to the Christian faith because believers are charged to speak of the things that we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). Scripture validates God’s followers are not only called to enact a relationship with Christ, we are called to exemplify Christ. A vital part of the Christ-exemplifying process is the dedication to unashamedly witness about the glory and greatness of Jesus.  

To an apathetic, spiritually dark world, Christians should be beacons of light and demonstrate that Jesus’ salvation yields undeniable hope and security. Sadly, this honorable obligation is one that I took for granted for the better part of my young adult life. Because of my self-perceived limitations and weaknesses, I did not actively beseech God to utilize me as His spokesman. But when I was challenged to share a testimony with my church fellowship at the age of twenty-one, I realized that being a witness of God is a tremendous privilege, a privilege that should not be dismissed or trivialized. 

One day, my music minister asked me to present a message to our church. He was making the final preparations for a youth musical service and felt my testimony would complement the theme of the worship drama, which was that the world’s standards are ever-changing and ever-declining (whereas God’s standards are forever-strong and forever-holy). In my flesh, I wanted to reject the music minister’s invitation, but the Holy Spirit encouraged me to pray about the speaking proposal. I was convicted because I had never really spurred myself to be in a place where my witness could be noticed or heard. Like Moses, I rationalized the reluctance to publicly testify with my inability to adequately articulate my heart. But the more I dwelled on it, the more I recognized that my stance was a feeble excuse for refusing to let God use my life for His great purpose. After all, if I continued to wait for ideal conditions (from my selfish vantage point) or the eradication of my many faults then I would never do anything significant for God’s kingdom. When I firmly acknowledged that I needed to view the event as an opportunity to be an instrument of praise, I accepted the testimonial prospect. 

Because I longed for my witness to be meaningful in the youth musical service, I asked the music minister what theme I should base my message on. He wisely told me that my question was a matter I needed to bring before God. I spent the next several weeks praying about it and searching for an appropriate topic. As I reviewed the youth musical’s score, one song in particular kept circulating in my mind. The lyrics contrasted how different man’s definitions of success and beauty are from God’s. Humanity attributes success to accomplishments and beauty to appearance, but God attributes success to conduct and beauty to character. Reflecting on that disconnect, I was moved by how destructive mankind’s behavior is. Humanity’s lowly and sinful desires often wound our ability to fully appreciate God. It soon became apparent what central point I should convey to the congregation: the carnal, self-pleasing lifestyle is both debilitating and demoralizing. 

The subject was intensely personal to me because I had witnessed the aftermath of an alcoholic addiction in a family member, as well as in college classmates. It was painful to watch loved ones slip into a detached, depressed, and dysfunctional state because they were enslaved by drunkenness. I was determined to not journey down the same ruinous road. Sinful obsessions, like alcoholism, do not strengthen a bond with God; they fracture it. In essence, that was the core declaration I extended to the church a short while later. It was a difficult testimony to share because it was an emotionally-stirring and near-to-my-heart consideration. But such real-life encounters make witnessing that much more compelling and convicting.     

Being a witness carries with it a great imperative: vocalizing what a person knows to be true through firsthand experience. Paul was very familiar with challenges that often accompany Jesus-centered witnessing. Having given himself wholeheartedly to the cause of Christ, he traveled to distant lands and preached to hostile audiences. The apostle received much affliction and harassment because of his pronounced faith. His beliefs were often misunderstood and misconstrued, as was the case in Acts 21 when some Jewish followers from the Asian province made some faulty assumptions about Paul’s reverence for Hebrew practices and religious customs. In hate, they initiated a vicious sequence of episodes.
Because of a hasty smear campaign, Paul was apprehended inside the Jerusalem temple and forcibly carried outside the perimeter gates. He was then brutally assaulted and beaten. News of an uproar made its way to the Roman guard commander (who is later identified as Claudius Lysias in Acts 23:26) posted in the city of David. The officer momentarily quieted the unrest by incarcerating Paul. The apostle was hastily taken to the military barracks quickly thereafter, but the bloodthirsty mob trailed the soldiers to Paul’s holding facility. Even as the apostle was being marched to confinement, the anger of the people erupted into additional violence. Their venomous shouts of “Away with him!” insinuated Paul was not worthy to live. Paul petitioned to address the people, a request Lysias authorized. Paul’s appeal to his Jewish brethren comprises the lion’s share of the text in Acts 22. 

Paul opened his address by referring to the people as his kinsmen. In designating the men assembled “brothers” and “fathers”, the apostle not only conferred a spirit of respect for the Jewish nationality, but he drew attention to his association with it. Paul was raised in a Hebrew home and spent a considerable deal of time studying the customs and doctrine of the Jewish community. As Paul preached, he orated in Aramaic, the common tongue of the Jewish people at this juncture in ancient history. This caused most, if not all, of the virulent yelling to cease. Paul’s usage of the Aramaic dialect further validated his connection and affection for the Hebrew populace. Paul spoke to the antagonistic crowd, a crowd directly responsible for physically assaulting him, with a calming compassion. There was no hint of hatred or vengeful thought in the apostle’s speech. Like Christ on the path to Calvary, Paul had a supernatural composure, a composure which bestowed upon him the ability to nobly communicate to a body of individuals bent on bringing about his sudden demise. 

Paul confirmed both his genealogical and educational credentials in his defense. Born in Tarsus, he later went to Jerusalem to train in the religious school (presumably around the age of thirteen) under the tutelage of Gamaliel, an esteemed, eminent scholar. As a Pharisee, Paul possessed and expressed fervor for the Mosaic law. Because of this zeal, he became fiercely reactive to anyone who attempted to teach about anything or anyone outside of the Old Testament writings (as the Christians were by heralding the life and lordship of Jesus). Thus, Paul persecuted the followers of Christ for propagating a creed that he initially assumed was heresy. He imprisoned and murdered Christians, justifying that they were enemies of God and needed to be punished as such. 
Having aptly outlined his disdain for the tenets of Christianity, Paul revealed the miraculous and divine manner in which Jesus invited him into the Christian faith on the road to Damascus. The apostle recounted how he had been blinded by a heavenly light and heard the voice of Christ. He said that Ananias, a highly respected Jewish man and follower of Jesus, had been instructed to meet him and disclose Paul’s future purpose: to be a witness of everything he had seen and heard. Paul then mentioned a trip that he had taken to Jerusalem some years after the Damascus conversion where he prayed for God’s direction as he worshipped inside Jerusalem’s temple. As Paul entered into supplication in the house of worship, he fell into a trance and saw Jesus, Who told Paul to hastily leave Jerusalem because most of its citizens would refuse to accept his testimony (this narrative, incidentally, is not captured in any other section of Scripture). Paul pressed the matter with Christ for he longed to be an agent of change in the epicenter of Hebrew culture. But Jesus reiterated Paul’s need to depart Jerusalem and reminded Paul that he had been commissioned to be a witness to the Gentiles. 
It was at this point that the attentiveness of the mob suddenly vanished. The implication that outsiders of the Jewish sect, uncircumcised Gentiles, could have an equal stake in God’s eternal kingdom and blessing was absolutely preposterous to those who had long held to the perception that God’s love and favor were solely reserved for His chosen nation: Israel. History teaches us that Israel was tasked to share God’s message and glorify Him by their righteous example, but over time covenantal relationship with God, by and large, turned into a source of pride, a pride that drove many to exclude those outside their lineage from learning about God’s Word or His magnificence. Paul was very familiar with this sentiment because he once subscribed to it. For most of his life, the apostle had held tightly to the principle that there was to be a strong, distinct division between Jewish and Gentile people. But upon receiving salvation, Paul realized that all of humanity could find connection and unity through Christ’s forgiveness. 

Paul, the former Christian persecutor, hoped that his repentance might compel some, if not all, of the Hebrews listening to him to remove blinders from their souls and petition Jesus to do a similar work in them. Unfortunately, Paul’s crowd that day was full of stubborn, obstinate hearts. The people began screaming, ripping off their cloaks, and flinging dust in the air. Their behavior implies many had pronounced a death sentence on Paul by way of stoning, similar to the pattern that was recorded in Acts 7 with Stephen’s murder. Lysias sought to prevent this from occurring and demanded Paul be rushed into the barracks. Because of the explosive reaction of the people, the Roman commander probably assumed Paul was worthy of extreme punishment for inciting the Jerusalem residents and visitors to anger. Therefore, Lysias ordered Paul be subjected to harsh examination by way of flogging. This tactic was an attempt to forcibly extract the nature of Paul’s business and determine the root cause of his supposedly malicious intentions. This was not uncommon treatment for non-Roman citizens in this era. 

As Paul was being prepared to be tortured, he questioned whether it was legal to flog a Roman national who had not been found guilty of any wrongdoing, knowing it was not. When Lysias was made aware that Paul had claimed Roman citizenry he immediately went to see the apostle to authenticate it. Paul confirmed that he had been born a freeman of Rome. Lysias and the soldiers subsequently halted their course of violent interrogation, lest they violate the civic rights afforded to a Roman inhabitant and risk being punished themselves for failing to adhere to the official protocol and process in such matters. Instead, Paul was released, but kept in the care of soldiers. The apostle, who was formerly under guard because of a speculative crime, was now being given the resources of the Roman military for his protection. Lysias set out to investigate the impetus of the Jewish hostility towards Paul. The Roman commander had the Sanhedrin gather so that Paul could bring his defense before them. 

Paul’s charge from Christ was to be a witness to all men. Clearly, Paul had a fondness for his Jewish brethren. He routinely offered the first fruits of preaching in the Jewish synagogues of the cities he visited post-salvation. But Jesus made it clear that by being a witness to Gentiles the apostle needed to look further than his religious genealogy and be a messenger to those outside the Hebrew community. Paul became a most excellent ambassador for Christianity and made an enduring impression upon Gentiles across the ancient western hemisphere. Through Paul’s testimony in Acts 22 we discover three critical components of a sound witness.     

One, a sound witness involves perception. Although we often liken perception to a casual mindfulness, perception entails so much more. To perceive is to gain amplifying discernment or knowledge. It provides pivotal insight, an insight which cultivates a clearer picture of someone or something. As Paul described the way in which Jesus met him on the road to Damascus, he declared that a bright light from heaven flashed around him and he heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 22:6). When Paul inquired as to who was speaking to him, the voice said, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 22:7). Paul’s ability to perceive the communication from the Lord prompted him to reconsider and reevaluate everything he had wrongly believed about Jesus. 

What makes Paul’s testimony so compelling is that there were men traveling with him who saw the light but did not perceive the message or its significance. Whether shielded from hearing the divine correspondence by Jesus Himself or shielded from hearing the heavenly dispatch because of the callousness of their own spirits, the men accompanying Paul on the road to Damascus did not share the redemptive breakthrough that Paul did. They could not perceive or appreciate that God’s Son and humanity’s Savior was in their midst. Sadly, there is no indication in Scripture that these men were changed as a result of their introduction to Christ.    

Perhaps a vital lesson to be learned from this passage is that perception implies something much more than a dispassionate mental deliberation; it is a soul-rousing reflection that causes one to put the things of God before the things of man. This truth is reinforced by how quickly Paul’s persecutory plan was abandoned after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Perceiving Jesus’ eternal existence, the former adversary of Christianity was immediately moved to dedicate ample time in meditation and prayer to Jesus. Paul’s heavenly solicitation produced a yearning to intimately know Christ and submit to His governance. Upon surrendering belief that Jesus is the Son of God Who sacrificially offered His life for mankind at Calvary, Paul received the blessing of spiritual deliverance and the gift of the Holy Spirit, which were essential to his eternal life, as well as his earthly life.      
Two, a sound witness involves provocation. Provocation is often evaluated in a negative sense because people correlate provoking with the generation of irate feelings. But to provoke is to evoke a powerful response. It is a method utilized to elicit activity, which means a provocation can either be positive or negative. The intent of the provocation and the nature of the one exercising it differentiate a positive provocation from a negative provocation. Paul received the purest provocation of all: a holy prodding from heaven’s Prince. Christ’s personal and passionate contact with Paul acknowledges Jesus lovingly engages mankind and seeks to excite our complacent temperament.
Paul highlighted his divine provocation in Acts 22:10 when he asked Jesus, “What shall I do now, Lord?” Paul was intellectually endowed with the ability to educate, strategize, and organize (as evidenced by his cunning crusade to eradicate Christianity), but he found himself unable to know what he should do with his life, a life that had been suddenly turned upside-down. His previously concocted agendas and tasks were exposed as shameful and destructive. Jesus’ intervention provoked the apostle to acquiesce to Christ’s sovereignty and plead for the Lord’s guidance. 

“What shall I do now, Lord” was a cry for heavenly aid. Broken of his ego and religious vanity, Paul deduced that the path he was on was not approved or sanctioned by God. The divine collision left him dumbfounded and searching for answers from the Savior, the very One Paul should have been seeking all along. God’s provocations shatter our spiritual barriers. When we sense the overwhelming wisdom and superiority of God it cannot help but provoke our spirit and motivate us to ask, “What shall I do now, Lord?” 

Three, a sound witness involves a proclamation. The intersection of a Christ-oriented perception and a Christ-oriented provocation naturally beget a passion to proclaim Jesus. Numerous passages affirm Paul convincingly proclaimed Christ to the world. In the Savior’s exchange with Paul in Acts 22:18, Jesus identified Paul’s abiding allegiance to make known his testimony, even in the face of adversity. Clearly, Paul was a workman for God’s kingdom and displayed an ever-thankful outlook for his salvation. He made himself available for proclaiming the hope, truth, and emancipation of Jesus.       
Acts reminds us that witnessing is no easy endeavor, but it is a most honorable endeavor. Paul’s persistence, devotion, and esteem for witnessing produced a lasting legacy, a legacy worth following. The apostle taught us that carrying the banner of Christ in this world yields a sweet contentment for the life committed to it.    

Are you a witness for Christ in this world? 

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?