Week 35
Monday, August 25
Acts
26
Commentary
Picking
up from the end of the last chapter, Paul now gives his testimony to King
Agrippa. Festus wanted Agrippa to examine Paul so they could decide a proper
charge against Paul. Paul gives his most detailed testimony yet to Agrippa, who
was more familiar with Jewish customs and thus more likely to consider Paul’s
message. The apostle gives a sort of spiritual resume that appears impeccable,
especially to someone partial to the Pharisees like Agrippa. Paul then narrates
his conversion and explains how the message of Christ is the fulfillment of
everything Judaism had been waiting for.
David Gooding noted that Paul had a key opportunity
for the gospel: “At stake and under question was the character of the Christian
gospel. Was it, or was it not, treasonable to the emperor? And then, way and
beyond that, was it a reasonable gospel, holding out a credible hope for the
world? In that context, then, the character of the Christian messianic hope,
based and centred as it was on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, could
rightly be judged and assessed by the effect it had had on Paul, the change it
had made on his outlook and behaviour, and the effect it was likely to have all
round the Roman Empire on those who believed his preaching.”[1] Paul
was not blasphemous to Judaism or treasonous to Rome; he was a faithful servant
of God.
Festus
interrupts Paul’s testimony to cry that Paul has gone mad, though the apostle
seems to be composed and reasonable. Festus’ problem is not that Paul is truly
crazy, but that Festus is truly blind to the gospel. As Paul himself wrote, the
cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor 1:18). Agrippa is also
resistant to Paul’s message. Yet Paul is not dissuaded – he will take any and
every opportunity to point people to the gospel, as we should too.
Application/Discussion
1. Paul subjected himself to prolonged imprisonment and repeated questioning
by authorities with an ear bent towards those who called for his death so that
he could spread the gospel. How far do you go to evangelize the lost? Do you
think this is all you can or should do?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: Praise God for keeping his Word by sending the promised
Christ.
Confession: Ask for God’s help to follow Paul’s example of testifying
to Christ with boldness and selflessness.
Thanksgiving: Thank God for the truth of his Word and the guiding
help of his Spirit.
Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and enlightenment
of your national leaders. Pray for them by name if you can.
Tuesday, August 26
Acts
27:1-26
Commentary
In today’s reading, Luke apparently rejoins Paul as he is sent to
Italy to be tried by Caesar. Aristarchus
also joins them, a Macedonian who is commended in Paul’s letters (Col 4:10 and
Phlm 24). As a Roman citizen, Paul was treated well. They let Paul bring his
friends, though he may have called them a servant and a personal doctor. He
could also visit friends when they stopped in Sidon. We do not know if Paul had
previously visited Sidon, but he may have had contact with people from its
church, knew people who moved to Sidon, or simply called them friends for their
common bond in Christ.
As the group continues to travel towards Rome, they encounter
terrible, frightening weather. Paul has a bit of an “I told you so” with the
captain and others, but he also encourages them that God sent an angel to
assure Paul that he would testify in Rome and that the ship and its people
would arrive safely. Kenneth Gangel observed the key lesson of this shipwreck
narrative is that, “We [are] totally dependent upon
someone else to rescue us from the water… Humanity flounders helplessly; and
without God, hopelessly... So many struggles, so many decisions leave us both
helpless and hopeless. In those lonely hours we throw ourselves upon God’s
sovereignty and trust his providence to provide whatever rescue we need.”[2]
Application/Discussion
1. More likely than not, you will not be visited by an angel with
a message from God in the midst of hardship. However, you can always find and
rest in God’s promises by looking at his Word. What promises in the Bible are
especially comforting for you?
2. While the stormy conditions suggested the sailors might be
doomed, God protected them. The storms did not go away; God was with them
through the storms. On the other hand, all sorts of people have lived in
perfect safety and luxury, yet faced God’s wrath when they died. Why should we
look to God for hope instead of our circumstances?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: Praise God for his power and wise, sovereign rule over
all creation.
Confession: Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in clinging to God’s
promises in your trials.
Thanksgiving: Thank God for how he has protected and sustained
you.
Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and
enlightenment of all world leaders, especially those in countries hostile to
the gospel.
Wednesday, August 27
Acts
27:27-28:10
Commentary
The brutal sailing continues in today’s reading. Some of the
sailors even attempt to flee the boat, but stop when Paul warns them that God
will only protect them if they stay on the boat. He also encourages everyone to
eat, as they had been so consumed with worrying about the storm and keeping the
boat afloat that had not eaten in two weeks. Paul even took the time to bless
and distribute the food. His continual calm, trusting demeanor and repeated
mentions of God surely left a strong impression on all the non-Christians
aboard. Even in what would have looked and felt like the face of death, Paul
keeps his head up and points people to God. What a remarkable example!
As the ship approaches land, the crew attempts to direct it to run
into the beach – one of the safer ways to “land” a battered vessel with much of
its equipment thrown overboard. However, the ship hits a reef and crashes
chaotically instead. The soldiers, still trusting their instincts instead of
the God Paul talks so much about, move to kill all the prisoners. The soldiers
expected the prisoners to escape in the chaos of the crash. The soldiers would
have preferred to kill the prisoners and keep the bodies rather than let the
prisoners escape because Roman soldiers were killed for losing prisoners. The
centurion, who developed a soft spot for Paul, comes to rescue and instead
tells everyone to rendezvous on shore. The grounded sailors find a warm welcome
committee on the island of Malta. Paul is mistaken as a god when he is bitten
by a viper and is not poisoned. God was certainly sustaining Paul in a mighty
way. God also used Paul in a mighty way to heal the island’s chief. Paul and
his friends likely preached the gospel to these folks and the ship’s crew and
soldiers saw even more legitimacy to Paul’s religious claims.
Application/Discussion
1. The sailors had to stay on the boat, continuing through the
rough weather, for God to protect them. You may feel frustratingly stuck in a
difficult position, but it may be that very difficulty where God will meet and
help you. Trust in his provision, not your worries!
2. Christians can exemplify the gospel and create opportunities
for gospel conversations by showing their godly integrity, even when that
integrity is not fun or easy to keep up. How can you be a light of the gospel
when you are reprimanded at work, punished at school, or called out for making
a mistake?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: Praise God for showing his power through his creation.
Confession: Ask God’s forgiveness for any ways you have fallen
short of his goodness today.
Thanksgiving: Thank God for giving believers the privilege of
sharing the gospel.
Supplication: Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help to boldly witness for
Christ in your family, work or school, and community.
Thursday, August 28
Acts
28:11-30
Commentary
After waiting out the winter weather in Malta, Paul’s company and
the soldiers set sail towards Rome once again. They even found believers in
Puteoli, a prominent seaport south of Rome, far beyond where, as far as we
know, Paul and Barnabas had ever traveled. Even with the captivity of the
church’s greatest missionary, the gospel continues to spread like wildfire! Paul
is allowed to stay in Rome on a sort of house arrest. The apostle wastes no
time, gathering the local Jewish leaders to preach the gospel to them on day
three of his time in Rome! He appeals to them, like he did with Agrippa, by
saying that Christ is the fruition of what the Jews had hoped for through the
centuries. Sadly, the Jewish leaders seem to reject the gospel after hearing
more from Paul, but like a faithful watchman, he warned them and let God sort
out the rest. Still, if Paul was going to be stuck somewhere, Rome was perfect.
He had a church to help him and for him to encourage, plus the main government
of the empire to influence. Paul stayed in Rome for two years, continually
welcoming and teaching any who would listen. Jew and Gentile alike probably
came to Paul and were converted.
Luke
seems to have left the story of Acts unfinished – what happened to Paul after
these two years? From the rest of the Bible and records from post-Acts church
history, we know Paul wrote his “prison letters” during this time and was
eventually executed in the 60s AD after another imprisonment. Luke’s account,
however, does give us a satisfying ending on its own. Stanley D. Toussaint
observed that “The last word in the Greek text of Acts is
the adverb akōlytōs which means without hindrance. Men may bind the
preachers, but the gospel cannot be chained! And so it
was that the kingdom message under God’s sovereign control went from Jew to
Gentile, and from Jerusalem to Rome.”[3] The ending of Acts is that the
gospel continued, and continues to be spread. You and I are beneficiaries of
this, and it's our job to spread the gospel to the next generation.
Application/Discussion
1. What has stood out to you or inspired you in the book of Acts?
Which character did you relate to the most? What has challenged your faith the
most?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: Praise God for the continual spread of the gospel
throughout the world.
Confession: Ask for God to help you to respond to the ministry
opportunities around you.
Thanksgiving: Thank God for the witness of the early church and
Luke’s faithful record.
Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and
enlightenment of a lost friend.
Friday, August 29
Galatians
1
Commentary
We are now reading the rest of Paul’s letters, filling in the gaps
of his life and ministry and learning more about what he taught. In the letter
of Galatians, Paul appeals to a group of believers he already knew well to
desert the false, legalistic “gospel” they foolishly bought into. We do not see
Paul visit Galatia in Acts, and scholars are divided as to when this letter was
written and to which part of Galatia it was sent. However, the letter itself
shows us that Paul knew the Galatians and the Galatians knew the real gospel;
they should not have given it up for lies so easily. Galatians is probably
Paul’s harshest letter, missing even a simple commendation or encouragement in
his greeting, but we can understand why, given the context of the letter.
Paul
begins to lay into the Galatians by emphasizing that there is only one gospel.
We might expect Paul to tie the truth of the gospel message to himself or the
apostles, but instead, he declares that if any of his company or even an angel
proclaims a different gospel, he should be cursed! The gospel Paul proclaims
does not come from apostolic authority, church authority, or popular opinion;
it comes from God himself. Paul is adamant that he will point the Galatians to
the true gospel and reject false teachers, regardless of the consequences.
Paul’s gospel comes from God and his identity comes from God. The disdain of
man, therefore, cannot shake him. The apostle then begins to give his
testimony. Likely, they knew at least part of it, but Paul gives details to
establish his authority to speak to these matters.
Application/Discussion
1. What is the difference between an insult, meant to hurt and
belittle someone, and a rebuke, meant to awaken and redirect a wayward person?
2. Who do you seek the approval of in life? Are you content
pleasing God, even if you are unpopular or hated?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: Praise God for the glorious gospel of the life, death,
and Resurrection of Christ for the salvation and restoration of God’s enemies.
Confession: Ask God’s help in making your life solely about
pleasing him.
Thanksgiving: Thank God for the correction and discipline he gives
his wayward children.
Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and
enlightenment of someone you know who is consumed by false teaching, and for
the opportunity to help him or her.
Saturday, August 30
Galatians
2
Commentary
Paul continues to narrate his life as a believer in this chapter.
He begins with mentioning that fourteen years passed from his conversion and
initial introductions to churches as a believer to his journey to Jerusalem,
likely for the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15. Paul only became a prominent
missionary after the Jerusalem Council, meaning he was “on the bench” for over
a decade after his conversion. God had a purpose for Paul and for those years
of waiting, just as he has a purpose for where he has placed each of his
children. At the right time, Paul became an important piece of the puzzle at
the Jerusalem Council because he and Barnabas could testify to the salvation of
Gentiles through their fledgling ministry. Paul also mentions an occasion when
Cephas (Peter) had leaned back into Judaistic tendencies in Antioch and had to
be corrected. Yes, even the greatest of God’s servants can go astray sometimes!
This is why we need faithful brothers and sisters around us, like Paul, who can
help us see when we are wandering.
Paul details how he corrected Peter so that he can simultaneously
correct the Galatians, who are making the same mistakes as Peter. Works of the
law cannot justify a person; being religious enough or Jewish enough cannot
make a person right with God. The great Reformer John Calvin explained that “justification simply [is] the acceptance
with which God receives us into his favor as righteous men. And we say that it
consists in the remission [forgiveness] of sins and the imputation [putting on]
of Christ’s righteousness.”[4]
In other words, justification comes by trusting in Christ to forgive you of
your sins and cover you in his perfect righteousness. He makes us anew as God’s
children rather than his enemies, destined for heaven, not for hell.
Application/Discussion
1. Have you trusted in Christ for salvation? Why or why not?
2. Why do people so easily stray towards legalism rather than
resting in the finished work of Christ? Do you struggle with the tendency to
make your relationship with God about your good works rather than Christ’s
perfection?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: Praise God for his love, grace, and mercy being
displayed in the miracle of justification by faith.
Confession: Ask for God’s help in trusting in Christ’s work, not
your own.
Thanksgiving: Thank God for the perfect obedience and atoning
death of Jesus.
Supplication: Pray for the Holy Spirit’s strengthening of your
church members to lovingly encourage and redirect each other and share the
gospel to the lost.
Sunday, August 31
Galatians
3
Commentary
In today’s reading, Paul returns to strong rebukes, asking if
someone has enchanted them into abandoning the true gospel, as if they were so
solid about the gospel that only magic could make them stray. Paul comments
that the sons of Abraham are those who are justified. Paul does not elaborate
on this sentiment, since his main purpose here is about justification. However,
this is a significant truth for believers. The true Israel, the true chosen
people of God, are those who come to Christ in faith. The ethnic Israelites are
favored in the sense of their heritage, but man’s blood cannot bring someone
into God’s family. Only the blood of Christ can make a son of the devil, as all
lost truly are, into a son of Abraham, a member of God’s covenant family.
Paul’s argument about justification stretches all the way back to
Abraham himself; he was justified by trusting in God, not by any of the things
he did. Further, the law of Israel was not given as a path to justification,
but to show our need for justification. As the Reformer Martin Luther
explained, “You may preach the Law ever so fervently; if the preaching of the
Gospel does not accompany it, the Law will never produce true conversion and
heartfelt repentance. We do not mean to say that the preaching of the Law is
without value, but it only serves to bring home to us the wrath of God. The Law
bows a person down. It takes the Gospel and the preaching of faith in Christ to
raise and save a person.[5]” The law
exposes our sin and unworthiness, and the gospel tells us that Christ has died
to save us despite our unworthiness: “We must learn that forgiveness of sins,
Christ, and the Holy Ghost, are freely granted unto us at the preaching of
faith, in spite of our sinfulness. We are not to waste time thinking how
unworthy we are of the blessings of God. We are to know that it pleased God
freely to give us His unspeakable gifts. If He offers His gifts free of charge,
why not take them? Why worry about our lack of worthiness? Why not accept gifts
with joy and thanksgiving?[6]”
Application/Discussion
1. How does justification by faith put everyone on the same level?
2. Why does Paul stress that people were justified by faith even
in the Old Testament?
Points of Prayer
Adoration: How can you praise God based on what you just read?
Confession: Is there unconfessed sin in your heart today?
Thanksgiving: How can you thank God based on what you just read?
Supplication: What can you ask for God’s help with based on what
you just read?
[1] David Gooding,
True to the Faith: The Acts of the
Apostles: Defining and Defending the Gospel, Myrtlefield Expositions
(Coleraine, Northern Ireland: Myrtlefield House, 2013), 476.
[2] Kenneth O.
Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New
Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998),
445.
[3] Stanley D.
Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B.
Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 431.
[4] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion,
ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, vol. 1 & 2, The Library of
Christian Classics (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011),
726–727.
[5] Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians, on
Galatians 3:1.
[6] Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians, on
Galatians 3:1.
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