“Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.” Acts 20:23
I wonder how many of us would decide to quit our walk with the Lord if we were told that the only thing we can be sure awaits us in the coming days is bonds and afflictions. Paul stayed faithful, even though he knew what lay in store for him. The secret to his victory is found in the next verse. He did not find his life dear to him.
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.†II Peter 3:15-16
It took humility for Peter to say that he had a hard time understanding some of the things Paul wrote. It is true for every one of us that some things written in the Bible are hard to understand. This is true even for ministers. When a minister is asked a question about a passage in the Bible, there is nothing wrong, in fact it is right, for him to admit he doesn’t know the answer when he doesn’t. It does not disqualify a man from teaching the body when he doesn’t know the answer to everything. In fact the opposite is true, he is disqualified from teaching when he thinks he knows it all.
“When I shall send Artemas unto thee, or Tychicus, be diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis: for I have determined there to winter.” Titus 3:12
When you decide to do something sensible and practical, do you always feel like you have to qualify it by saying, “the Lord is leading me to do this?” If there was a man who lived a life that was led of the Lord, it was the apostle Paul. Yet Paul made a decision, and the way it sounds, he made it through the use of common sense. Don’t over spiritualize your walk. Honor God with good sensible living. After all, doesn’t wisdom come from the Lord?
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 25:18
Jesus called Paul to open the eyes of the people and turn them from darkness. The simplest way there is to help people see is to turn on a light. Saints, the answer to the darkness this world is in is to show them the light of Christ. If we don’t have that light, then they won’t be able to see anything else we can do for them.
“Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you… Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!… Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” Acts 24:25, 26:24,28
Paul testified before two governors and one king. He got a reaction out of all three. Felix got scared, Festus told Paul he was a mad man and King Agrippa was almost persuaded to be a Christian. The scriptures do not tell us if any of these men were persuaded to the point that they become a Christian, but one thing is clear, Paul preached with authority and power. We believers don’t save souls, we preach to them. We must preach to get a reaction. Not by irritating people so they finally shout back in anger, but with genuine Holy Ghost authority. You cannot do this unless you are filled with the Spirit. We don’t need evangelism techniques and outreaches, we need believers to be filled with the Spirit.
“Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” Ph’p 4:9
Paul’s preaching had the one two punch. He spoke it and he lived it. If the people couldn’t understand the words he said they could see a demonstration of it in Paul’s life.
“And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. 12Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.” Acts 26:11-13
In the New King James version, verse 12 starts by saying, “While thus occupied.” I like that for you can see when you read that Paul was totally occupied with hunting the Christians down. He even thought He was doing it for God. However, a light from heaven stopped him in his tracks. I pray for every one of you that read this and have found yourself occupied with something other than God that a light would shine on you and bring you back to where you need to be.
As I stated in last month’s article, I will continue to expound on, what I consider poor theology, Christians considering themselves sinners. I will be the first to admit that I have sinned since I have been saved, and I do not know of any believers that have not sinned since they became a believer. However, sin must not be our habit. You are what you practice. If you practice righteousness, holiness and faithfulness, then that is what you are. If you practice or have a habit of sin, then you are a sinner.
In last month’s article I closed with the suggestion that some may ask, “what about Paul claiming to be chief of sinners?†I would like us to take a look together at this portion of scripture where Paul makes that statement. It is found in I Timothy 1:15; “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.†No doubt that the way this is translated into English it appears Paul is claiming to be the foremost sinner. Before I continue to look more into this verse I want you to consider a few things. If Paul is really stating that he is not just a sinner, but the worst of them all, why would he rebuke the Corinthians for allowing that man to have an incestuous relationship with his father’s wife? If Paul told them to remove that man from the church should they not remove Paul too, especially if he is a worse sinner than that man? If Paul was the worst of sinners, should he not heed his own warning to the Corinthians about the Lord’s Supper when he said, “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.†(1Co 11:29). The worst of sinners would most certainly drink in an unworthy manner.
Again I ask, do you think the great apostle Paul was the worst of all sinners after he became a believer? I am sure he wasn’t and I am sure you don’t really believe he was either. I am a stickler when it comes to reading the bible. I believe, for the most part, we must believe the bible for the simple words it says, but every once in a while something is said that seems contradictory. When that happens we have to take a closer look at the passage(s). One of the most important rules of good bible study is to take the verses around a verse and let it help bring a clearer understanding to the passages in question. I tell my church often, “let the scriptures interpret the scriptures†Of course we cannot leave out the biggest factor of true bible study and that is the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. As we apply the rule of keeping scripture in context, not just with the verses around it, but the text of the whole teaching of the bible, we can get a clearer understanding of what Paul was really saying. Let’s look at the few verses that surround what Paul said in regard to being a chief sinner. Notice how often he talks in past tense in I Timothy 1:12-16.
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; (13)Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. (14) And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (15)This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. (16)Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.â€
In verse 12, Paul acknowledges that God found Him faithful. In verse 13 he states that he “was before†a blasphemer and persecutor, who at that time obtained mercy. In verse 14 he states that grace “was†exceeding abundant. Then going on to verse 16, Paul tells us he obtained mercy (past tense). When you read these verses together you can come to a simple conclusion that Paul wasn’t considering himself a sinner at the writing of this epistle, but that his life prior to his conversion was when he considered himself to be chief of sinners. Don’t forget, Paul persecuted the church of Jesus Christ and that is one reason why he felt he was such a sinful man. If there is one verse that I would think summed up Paul’s life after his road to Damascus experience it is, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.†(Gal 2:20). I am certain none of you would argue against the point that if Christ’s life is being lived out in Paul and his natural life is reckoned dead, then he is not a sinner. The same is true for you as well. This truth helps bring clarity to what John meant when he said, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.†(1Jn 3:9). That seed of Christ, which is in us, cannot sin. When we live according to the Spirit of God that is in us, we live the life of a saint, not a sinner. This is what is called walking in the Spirit.
When you walk in the Spirit, you are walking according to the nature, character and righteousness of Christ, in the measure of light He gives you. If you walk in the flesh, you can’t help but to express the deeds of the flesh. That is a sinful life. As I said in last month’s article, this could be the reason some Christians make the statement that they are just sinners saved by grace. It may be because they refuse to walk in the Spirit and instead walk in the flesh. If you walk in the flesh you are not going to feel very saintly; if you live in the flesh you are not going to feel close to God. However, if you walk in the Spirit, you will have the peace and joy of the Lord, and you will go out with confidence and boldness to tell others they too can be delivered from being a sinner.
Let me finish by saying that when we became new creatures in Christ, we received the indwelling Spirit, but there also remained that old fleshly nature. Through the Spirit we have power to overcome our flesh, and through the cross we can reckon our old man dead and crucified with Christ. If you are one that insists that we are still sinners because we have that old nature that we give into once in a while, I won’t really argue that point with you. I am well aware of the battle between the Spirit and the flesh. However, if you would read the New Testament in its entirety, you will see that the title of being a sinner is not given to the saints of the living God. If God doesn’t call us one, I am not going to argue with Him.
