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I am continuing with the book of Acts, and I will be quoting from chapter 26 in just a few minutes. But to get us up to speed, where I left off last is when Paul appealed to Caesar (chapter 25, vs. 11). What happened next is that King Agrippa arrived in Caesarea, and to make a long story short, he wanted to hear what Paul had to say. And so King Agrippa gave Paul permission to speak for himself, and that he did.
And then Paul gave his testimony, beginning by describing his life before he met Jesus on that road to Damascus, and then he told of his encounter with Jesus, and about what Jesus said to him there.
In a previous writing titled, “Are You Persecuting Jesus?”(1), based off an earlier chapter in the book of Acts where Paul shared some of this same testimony, the Lord had me talk about what it means to persecute the Lord Jesus. For what the Lord was saying to him, in essence, is that by him persecuting the Lord’s servants and witnesses that it was the same as him persecuting Jesus himself (See: Acts 9:4-6; Matthew 25:31-46). And that is the case with us, as well. For how we treat other followers of Jesus Christ is how we are treating Jesus Christ.
And then the Lord gave Paul his calling of God, which in essence is to share the message of the gospel of Christ with the people, which is what we are all to be doing, if we are genuine followers of Christ. We just aren’t all called to do this full-time, although we should all be ready at any given moment to share the truth of the gospel (the whole counsel of God) with anyone anywhere, as the Lord opens up those opportunities for us. And none of us should be ashamed of Jesus and of his Word.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
Then verse 18 captures the essence of the gospel message which is that we all need to turn from darkness, i.e. from sin, to the light of Christ and his righteousness and holiness, in practice. For we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what our lips have professed.
And we all need to turn from the power of Satan to God. For, prior to receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we were under the control of sin and Satan, and we were separate from God and unable in ourselves to be righteous or to be acceptable to God. But when we die with Christ to sin, we leave those lives of sin behind us, and we are no longer under Satan’s control, and our lives are now surrendered to Christ to live under Holy Spirit control, in obedience to our Lord and Savior.
Then we have forgiveness of sins. And then we are included among those who are sanctified by God-given faith in Jesus Christ. For we do not have forgiveness of sins based on giving lip service only to the Lord. We must die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in his power and strength and wisdom. For if we continue living in sin, deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord, the Scriptures teach we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we don’t have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God, even if our lips professed him as Lord.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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(1) Are You Persecuting Jesus?
And then Paul gave his testimony, beginning by describing his life before he met Jesus on that road to Damascus, and then he told of his encounter with Jesus, and about what Jesus said to him there.
“And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” Acts 26:15-18 ESV (One of my all-time favorite Scripture passages)
In a previous writing titled, “Are You Persecuting Jesus?”(1), based off an earlier chapter in the book of Acts where Paul shared some of this same testimony, the Lord had me talk about what it means to persecute the Lord Jesus. For what the Lord was saying to him, in essence, is that by him persecuting the Lord’s servants and witnesses that it was the same as him persecuting Jesus himself (See: Acts 9:4-6; Matthew 25:31-46). And that is the case with us, as well. For how we treat other followers of Jesus Christ is how we are treating Jesus Christ.
And then the Lord gave Paul his calling of God, which in essence is to share the message of the gospel of Christ with the people, which is what we are all to be doing, if we are genuine followers of Christ. We just aren’t all called to do this full-time, although we should all be ready at any given moment to share the truth of the gospel (the whole counsel of God) with anyone anywhere, as the Lord opens up those opportunities for us. And none of us should be ashamed of Jesus and of his Word.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
Then verse 18 captures the essence of the gospel message which is that we all need to turn from darkness, i.e. from sin, to the light of Christ and his righteousness and holiness, in practice. For we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer living as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we will not inherit eternal life with God regardless of what our lips have professed.
And we all need to turn from the power of Satan to God. For, prior to receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we were under the control of sin and Satan, and we were separate from God and unable in ourselves to be righteous or to be acceptable to God. But when we die with Christ to sin, we leave those lives of sin behind us, and we are no longer under Satan’s control, and our lives are now surrendered to Christ to live under Holy Spirit control, in obedience to our Lord and Savior.
Then we have forgiveness of sins. And then we are included among those who are sanctified by God-given faith in Jesus Christ. For we do not have forgiveness of sins based on giving lip service only to the Lord. We must die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in his power and strength and wisdom. For if we continue living in sin, deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord, the Scriptures teach we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we don’t have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God, even if our lips professed him as Lord.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
(1) Are You Persecuting Jesus?
