(Acts
20:17-38)
By
Ps Nelson Koh
preached at CACV on 09/09/12
Introduction
The title of today’s message is taken from a 1966 best
Oscar movie of that name. It was a story of Sir Thomas More, played by Paul
Scofield in 16th Century England.
Sir Thomas More, while as Chancellor, stood up to Henry
VIII who against the Catholic Church ruling, wanted to divorce his then wife and queen
Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, on the excuse that she could not bear
him a son.
As a good Catholic, More stood up against the King, as he
couldn’t go along with the heresy.
Hence, Sir Thomas More became known in the movie as a
“man for all seasons” for being a man of conscience who remained true to
himself and beliefs under all circumstances and at all times, for which he paid
the ultimate price of public execution.
Background
to Paul, the Apostle
Centuries earlier, we had Paul, the Apostle, a man who
would be more by far than Sir Thomas More, who stood for Christian doctrines
and matters of faith and practice in the early church and who in the end paid
the ultimate price.
We owe much of our Christian belief and heritage to this
man Paul – certainly, a Man for all Seasons. Perhaps no other single man or
person, through his ministry or writings, apart from Christ himself has influenced
and impacted on Christianity, more than Paul.
He was a Church Planter, Missionary Extraordinaire,
Pastor, Evangelist, Spiritual Father to many, Preacher, Teacher, Apostle,
Theologian, an indomitable and tireless worker, Prophet and Martyr for God.
Most of all he was a Servant of God.
His letters were weighty and forceful but in appearance,
he was described as being unimpressive and with speaking that amounted to
nothing” (2 Cor 10:10), probably short and bald headed with a big nose. He
declared himself to be not eloquent. Face to face, he was timid but bold when
away. (2 Cor 10:1)
He was born in Tarsus, in present day Turkey. He was a
Jew, a Roman citizen and once described himself as a “Hebrew of Hebrews” and a
Pharisee, in strict adherence to the Jewish law. He was zealous in hunting down
Christians and said in Acts 22:4, “I
persecuted the followers of the Way to their death…” He would drag men and
women to prison and torture them. He was a witness and gave approval to the
stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
He wrote a total of 13 epistles in the New Testament,
completed 3 and possibly 4 missionary journeys. He was said to have been
beheaded in Rome around 67 A.D., 33 years after his conversion.
1.
He
was a man called of God
Who would think that a man like Paul or Saul, a Christian
persecutor would be called of God? Yet, he had an amazing conversion experience
on the road to Damascus. In Acts 9:1-2, he was breathing murderous threats
against the Lord’s disciples and had asked for letters from the High Priest, to
the synagogues in Damascus, so that he could drag men and women of the Way, to
Jerusalem, to imprison them.
Then he met the Lord in a flashing light, fell to the
ground and heard a voice saying in v4, “Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me?” Then in v5 we have, “Who are you Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
So we read that Saul was blinded for 3 days, without food
or drink, till he met a disciple called Ananias in Damascus. Then the Lord said
to him in v15, “Go! This man is my chosen
instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the
people of Israel.” Then in v16, “I
will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” So after Ananias had
laid his hands on Saul, his sight was restored and he was baptized.
Then after a period of 3 years in Arabia (Gal 1:17), he
preached Christ in Damascus and then in the synagogues in Jerusalem.
The lesson we learn is that God is sovereign and can use
the foulest man or woman to be his chosen instrument.
2.
He
was faithful to his call
We see this in the text. Paul was towards the end of the
3rd Missionary journey. He needed to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost
(50 days after Passover). But he chose not to stop-over at the major port of
Ephesus, even though he had founded and spent about 3 years there. He by-passed
that great city and called for the Elders from Miletus.
Here we see a measure of his greatness…a man who had been
faithful and was true to his call in declaring, all this while, the gospel of
God’s grace to the Gentiles and that he might finish the race in-spite of all
the difficulties encountered and was about to face for his focus was on
proclaiming the will of God, come what may.
So, after giving a word of advice to the Elders, he
forged ahead to Jerusalem, in-spite of warnings against it by the disciples and
one prophet called Agabus. True enough, he was seized, bound, beaten and
imprisoned for 2 years before being sent to Rome.
3.
He
was a man of great courage and conviction
Daniel entered the lion’s den, but Paul was as bold as a
lion. He entered the den of the Judaizers, heretics, false teachers, chief
priests, Pharisees, Sadducees, Governors, Kings and the Emperor. He spoke out
against such as legalism, liberalism, antinomianism (to live as they pleased as
grace would save them), false teachings, sexual immorality, idolatry, greed,
evil and all kinds of depravity, often to his own detriment. He was completely
uncompromising when it came to teaching of the truth of the gospel.
He chastised the church in Galatia for perverting the
gospel by insisting that Gentile Christians should go through certain OT rites,
like circumcision. In the book of Romans
the largely Gentile church found it hard to reconcile Jewish law with freedom in
Christ. Paul highlighted the faith of the Jews through the law and encouraged
them to think more deeply about the roots of their faith. Yet he also
encouraged the Jews to look outside the law and to see a God of grace. He provided
the right balance between law and grace to the mostly Gentile Christians.
At another instance, he even chastised Peter, who had
somewhat yielded to Jewish prejudice of not having meals with Gentiles. Gal
2:11 says that Paul resisted him to the face.
At other times he had to defend his apostolic authority
and remind his listeners of his amazing conversion and God’s call, to lend
credence to his message.
He was perhaps the most misunderstood of all the Apostles
and often accused as one who was harsh, insensitive, hurtful and judgmental. In
fact, he was a largely unpopular character. But while he did challenge
individuals and churches and found it necessary to be uncompromising, he was
full of encouragement, affirmation and love to the right audience. One should
never miss out on his loving support, exhortation and teachings that he gave to
the early church.
He taught the primary teachings of the Christian faith,
such as justification by faith, salvation is by grace through faith, the
Trinity, the Virgin birth, the humanity and divinity of Christ, the full
authority of Scripture, the resurrection and the second coming.
Without all these fundamental teachings, Christianity in
its purest form would no longer exist. We would not be where we are today. Instead
we would have been subsumed by a different kind of gospel. Hence, Paul knew
that he had to put it right from the start…to never compromise or abandon the
fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith.
4.
He
had a passion for souls
While Paul directed displeasure over all sorts of false
teachings and practices, he never deviated from his primary call, which was
bigger, and that was to reach and save the lost.
He knew what he was called to do and he did it without
fear or favour. He had a passion for souls. In v24, he considered his life as
worth nothing to him, if only he might finish the race and complete the task of
testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.
Then he made a declaration after saying that they would
not see him again, that he was innocent of the blood of all men, for he had not
hesitated to proclaim to them the whole will of God.
Paul knew what Pr
11:30 meant by “…he who wins souls is
wise.”
Then in 1Cor 9: 20-23, he said, “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the
law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so
as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one
not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's
law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win
the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I
might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in
its blessings.”
Here we see Paul in action as truly a man for all
seasons.
Paul wept at the very thought of people going to hell. In
Ro 9:2-3 he said “I have great sorrow and
unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and
cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers…” That was a very profound
statement, for he was willing to go to hell for the sake of his brothers.
Indeed, like Paul, we are called to weep and pray for our
unsaved loved ones, friends and relatives.
5.
He
was a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering
Paul once said in Phil 1:21, “I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him
in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
His satisfaction and life’s
pursuit was to know Christ and to be like him in every way, suffering included
and even to death. The wonderful thing was that he did not take his salvation
for granted and neither did he take the resurrection from the dead for granted.
He wasn’t a pew warmer, but
believed in working out his salvation with fear and trembling so that somehow
he may receive the promise of the resurrection.
As in Is 53, Paul was a man of sorrows and familiar with
suffering. He was the embodiment of what Jesus said in Mt 16: 24-25 “If anyone would come after me, he must
first deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
True to his call, the Lord showed him how much he had to
suffer in his name. Paul himself mentioned in 2 Cor 11:23-30:
|
“Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.)
I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been
flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times
I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
|
||
|
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I
was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
|
||
|
I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers,
in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from
Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea;
and in danger from false brothers.
|
||
|
I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have
known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold
and naked.
|
||
|
Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for
all the churches.
|
||
|
Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not
inwardly burn?
|
||
|
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
But even though he was
sorrowful because of his sufferings, he had reason to rejoice in Christ
because he had such a healthy view of God through the eyes of faith.
He cared nothing of his own
life, only that the gospel may be preached and people may be reached for
Christ. In the end, he had this to say, “What
has happened to me has resulted in the advance of the gospel.” Phil1:21
6.
He was a humble man
This is a character trait that
often escapes people because of his indomitable zeal and dominance. Mohammad
Ali once said that it is difficult for one to be humble when one is the
greatest.
Well, Paul was perhaps the
greatest Apostle for all time. But there was no hint of self-adulation. This
was some of what he said of himself:
“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even
deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” (1
Cor 15:9)
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full
acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am
the worst.” (1 Tim 1:15)
“Although I am less than the least of all God's people,
this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of
Christ,”
(Eph 3:8)
“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my
sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry
it out.” (Ro 7:18)
“Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a
fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will
think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.” (2 Cor 12:6)
In other words, Paul wanted
people to evaluate him on the basis of his everyday words and actions rather
than his impressive list of credentials.
Paul’s experiences were so
spectacular and incredible, that he would have struggled with pride. Even his
fellow apostles, let alone ordinary Christians would have been tempted to
envy him. But to keep him from being conceited, we read that he was given a
‘thorn in his flesh’, a messenger from Satan, to torment him.” (2 Cor 12:7)
For centuries, people have
wondered about what this meant. The fact remains that the thorn was there to
keep him humble and make him weak. So he prayed for its removal. But God gave
a surprise answer “My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” V9
Instead of removing Paul’s
thorn, God chose to give him grace to endure it. Instead of taking away
Paul’s weakness, God chose to demonstrate his power through Paul’s weakness.
God’s promise applies to us all…that anything that makes us weak, humble and
dependent will see a demonstration of God’s power.
7.
He was a powerful Missionary
It is estimated that Paul’s
travels by ship covered at least 12,000 miles. In addition, he travelled
several hundreds of miles overland. He visited at least 50 cities, wrote 13
epistles and yet he never complained of hardship, of wasted years, lack of
family time, wealth or fame. There was just the simple joy of knowing and
serving Christ and of the blessed hope in the life to come.
He completed 3 missionary
journeys and possibly a 4th all the way to Spain. He planted
several churches throughout Asia and Europe and no doubt set the stage for an
incredible spread of Christianity in the known world.
Close
Paul was truly a “man for all
seasons”. He preached what he lived and lived what he preached. His greatest
value was centred on Jesus Christ and the gospel.
That was the secret of his
greatness.
He pursued not after personal
greatness but after a great God. In the end he found real joy above his
circumstances and his own comfort and freedom, so long as the gospel was
preached and souls won to Christ.
Finally, he was able to claim
for sure “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Phil 1:21
Amen.
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment