Acts 24:10-End Bible Teaching

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If you haven’t been with us we have deconstructed these gatherings down to the essentials:

We begin with prayer
Sing the Word of God set to music (as a means to get it into our heads) and then we sit for a moment in silence here at the Church/Studio.

When we come back we pick up where we left off last week in our verse by verse study.

And that takes us to Acts chapter 23 verse 12.

Prayer
Song
Silence

Acts 24.10-end
Milk
August 6th 2017

So last week Paul stood accused by one Tertullus before the Governor of Judea, one Felix.

After the accusations were leveled at him by Tertullus, which were

He undermined the temple
That he was a plague
That he was a stirrer up of things established and
that he was a ringleader of Nazarene heretics

Felix gave Paul the microphone, as it were, and this brings us to verse 10

10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:
11 Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.
12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:
13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.
14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

All right, back to verse 10

10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, “Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:

Felix and and another leader named Cumanus had been joint-governors of Judea but after Cumanus had been condemned for his bad administration of things the government fell entirely into the hands of Felix.

This was about seven years before Paul was arraigned before him, enough time for Felix to become acquainted the customs and habits of the Jews. It was to this time of tenure as judge that Paul seems to be referring.

It is really remarkable that Paul does not begin with a bunch of flattering remarks but he simply points out that it appeared to him that Felix had been prepared to judge this case impartially.

Because of this Paul says that he “more cheerfully” responds to the accusations leveled against him.

11 Because that thou mayest understand, (or to help you know the background to my time in Jerusalem I want to explain the following) that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.

In other words, “I have only been in town a total of twelve days and all of this has taken place.

Verses 11-13 seem to be Paul’s defense or his expressed denials against what was said against him.

Regarding the twelve says they seem to have been

Day one: when he came to Jerusalem, Acts 21:15.

Day Two he spent with James and the apostles, Acts 21:18.

Then six days were spent in fulfilling his vow, Act 21:21,26.

Then on the ninth day the tumult arose, which may have been on the seventh day of his vow. On this ninth day he was rescued by Lysias, Ac 21:27; 22:29.

On the tenth day he was before the sanhedrim, Ac 22:30; 23:10.

On the eleventh the plot was laid to take his life; and on the same day, at evening, he was removed to Caesarea, which could have been counted as twelve days in total in Jerusalem.

We know that it took another five days for his trial to begin in Casarea so these are not included in Paul’s accounting.

Paul explains honestly that he came to Jerusalem “for to worship,” during the Holy Days – which is supported by the content of Acts 20:16.

This being said, we have to admit that from the Greek what Paul really says is NOT that he went to Jerusalem to worship but that he came to Jerusalem worshipping – a minor difference but a difference none-the-less.

Because of insight from other passages (Romans 15:25-‘s 26 and Acts 24:17) Paul’s main purpose in going to Jerusalem was to bring the collections from the Gentile churches to the suffering saints in the City of Peace.

Paul continues (verse 12)

12 And they (his accusers) neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city:

The first charges Tertullus laid against Paul was that he was “a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition.”

It seems that the charge of his being a pest was so general that Paul did not think it necessary to even address it but to the more serious charge of “a seditious mover” he presents a strong denial saying they neither found me

in any synagogue
or in the city
or in the temple
either disputing or exciting a tumult.

In other words, “my conduct there was been entirely peaceable.” So he adds

13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they now accuse me.

At verse 14 we – me and you – and all people who read it – are faced with an important insight – one I personally take very seriously. I hope you do to.

It is very easy to just read this and pass it over as we are accustomed to doing in our reading of the scriptures.

We took the time last week and read this passage and did so in hope that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to what is really being said and how it relates and applies to us.

So standing there Paul has been accused of being all sorts of things – seditionist, a plague, a heretic, a defiler of the temple.

This was Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisee, who knew AND embraced the Law and the Prophets – so much so that he recently has complied with a Nazarite vow to show He was NOT fighting against the law AMONG HIS BRETHREN – he merely taught that it was no longer a necessary element in the Christian faith since Christ had fulfilled the law and the prophets.

We might suggest that Paul was doing would be like the woman who was preparing a brisket for her family one day and she took it and cut both ends off (giving them to the dog) salted the beef then put it in a pan with a half cup of water.

Her young daughter asked, “Why do you cut the ends off the meat mom, and the woman thinks then says, “You know, I’m not entirely sure. I do it because my mom did it. “

So she calls her mom who tells here she didn’t know why either, that she did it because her mother did it, and so she calls her grandmother and says, Grandma, why do we cut the ends of the brisket off before we cook it? And the grandmother says, “I don’t know why you do that. I did it because I never had a pan big enough to hold the brisket.”

To the Jews, Paul was willing, perhaps in some ways to still cut the brisket ends off. But he was trying to let the world he taught that it was no longer necessary . . .
that the pans could now receive the whole thing without any more rites or rituals required!

So in terms of the Law he refused to be labeled a heretic or insurrectionist. This was NOT his aim.

Now stay with me.

After making this clear, he does ADMIT to some things. And what he admits to is terrifically important – even to us sitting here today.

Let’s read verse 14:

14 But this I confess unto thee . . .

WHICH OUGHT TO BE WHAT WE TOO WOULD CONFESS TO ANY AND ALL WHO WONDER . . .

“But THIS I confess to you . . . that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:”

I believe that this was a direct response to the last charge leveled at him by Tertellus – that he was the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

We will address his willingness to be openly associated with this group in a minute.

But take note of what the actual verse says. It says:

“But THIS I confess to you . . . that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:”

Paul says that he worships the God of my Fathers.

Who is that God? He is called Jehovah. That is his personal pronoun name, articulated in scripture only by the consonants YHWH – also known as the tetragrammaton.

Going all the way back to the book of Deuteronomy the Jews have their most important verse which they recited daily.

It is called the Shema or the Great Shema with the word shema meaning HEAR.

Hear.

Can you hear how the Jews, whom Paul says He still believes, understood God over all the centuries.

The Great Hearing says:

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Hear, o Israel, the Yahway our Elohim is one Yahway. Thou shalt Love Yahway Elohim with all of thine heart, and with all of thy soul and with all thy might.

Paul, a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Human Son of Yahway, tells Felix right here that He still – still – still worships the God that His fathers worshipped.

Not a new vision or form or reconstruction of that God. The God that His forefathers, in opposition to all the pagan ideas of polytheism around them, worshipped and acknowledged which was one and ONLY one God.

Yahway.

Paul repeat this allegiance to the God of the Old Testament when he says in 2nd Timothy 1”3

“I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience.”

Right here before Felix Paul says – after having been visited by Jesus, taught by Jesus, and has preached Jesus as the only way to get to the Father – that he still worships the God of His Fathers – and folks . . .

Let’s be honest.
Let’s be clear.

The God his Fathers worshipped wasn’t some constructed amalgamated incomprehensible notion called, the Trinity that men created to answer some strange teachings back in the day.

If this is your view you are welcome to it. But Paul does not illuminate us here (or anywhere else) about the new way to understand the God of His forefathers.

He does not explain ANYWHERE that God Jesus is the second co equal, co eternal person of three of the One trinitarian God.

He calls Jesus “the Lord, the Savior, God’s only begotten Son, and the man,” all through his epistles and purposely distinguishes between the One True God whom His forefathers worshipped and His only human Son, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

That is the first thing to notice here. No equivocation on the One true God whom His fathers worshipped.

The second thing Paul does, which I love about Him, is he does not reject Tertullus’s underhanded slam of him being associated with “the Nazarene” as he says:

14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

In other words, he does not stoop to notice the contempt implied in the use of the word Nazarenes that Tertullus used.

He was engaged in a more important business than to contend about the name which they chose to give to Christians.

Of course to be called a Nazarene was akin to being called someone from the other side of the tracks today, or some other pejorative term.

No matter to Paul, he was not ashamed of Jesus Christ. And here is admits that he belonged to that sect or class of people. That he was a Christian he did not in any way deny.

He simply maintains that “in this way” as a Christian, as a ringleader of the Nazarenes, he is still worshipping the God of his fathers.

He also admits that he believed what was written “in the law and the prophets” and interestingly enough he ties his belief in the hope of the resurrection of the dead to this ancient book!

From this we know that Paul saw NO DOCTRINAL DIFFERENCE in His beliefs and reception of Jesus as Lord with those that were born of the Law and the Prophets!

Their God was the same!
And as a Jew of Jews, a Pharisee or Pharisees he had not issue standing firmly by the Old Testament as a follower of the Messiah.

For me this shows such liberty in the life of a follower of the Nazarene.

LISTEN!

It proves that religious allegiance does NOT need to be a factor that divides, but that Jesus is the factor that unites!

What you and I choose to do in the realms of worship and religious devotion is between you and God. The real, determining factor is “Do you unconditionally have the Nazarene as your Lord and Savior?

When we get to Paul’s speech before King Agrippa he will more fully explain his meaning.

Okay, he also says:

15 And I have hope toward God, which they (the Pharisees) themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

I mean, this is really a remarkable defense of the faith Paul promotes!

He clearly says that He still worships the same God that those who want Him dead worship, He admits to respect for the Law and the prophets, and then even as a follower of the Nazarene and a proponent of the resurrection of all people, he shows that he is still in harmony with at least PART of those who want him dead!

It’s remarkable! Inspired and impregnable argumentation.

15 And I have hope toward God, which they (the Pharisees) themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
16 And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

Now Paul says something here that is important to us and because he has brought it up I have to talk about it.

“that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. And herein do I exercise myself . . .”

The resurrection of the dead.

Let’s do a quick biblical audit on the subject.

First, Christ was the first-fruits of the grave. His resurrection was material as a means to be materially observed and witnessed by others AND because He was to reappear within a generation to save His church or those who were looking for Him to return.

Scripture tells us plainly that His return would initiate the first resurrection of believers which would be immediately followed by the resurrection of the damned (or the just and the unjust).

We know from both the Old and the New Testaments that all will be resurrected.

Daniel 12:1-2 says of this day:

“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Jesus said, speaking of the coming hour in His day

John 5:28-29 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Paul wrote of the Resurrection like this in Romans 2:6-16

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;
God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

He added further end time clarification in 2nd Thessalonians 1:6-10 saying to the believers in Thessalonica, as a means to encourage them:

6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

We also know from scripture that the qualitied of the resurrected body will be different from those of the body laid in the grave.

Philippians 3:21 says

“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Speaking of the future glory believers would be bestowed with John wrote in
1st John 3:2

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

But perhaps the greatest insight into the Resurrection is given to us in 1st Corinthians chapter 15 – a chapter of magnificent insights to a number of things.

Turn there with me and let’s work through it quickly. In the opening verses Paul describes the Gospel which he says is simply that

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

He then goes on to detail all who were witnesses of Christ’s resurrection.

At verse 12 Paul continues to elaborate on the topic of resurrection and says:

12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

At this point he begins to get more specific about resurrection and says:

20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

In Christ shall all be made alive – all will overcome physical death, by and through the resurrection, which is gifted to all by Christ and the power of His resurrection but is ESPECIALLY potent and powerful to those who believe, those who are His.

Listen, Christ’s very resurrection secures and illustrates the very resurrection of all who are His!

In other words, His resurrection seals and consummates his redemptive power that is placed on those who are His!

Listen to Romans 8 where Paul writes:

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Paul wrote this in a letter to the believers in Rome. He was helping them earnestly anticipate that at the coming of Christ they would receive the redemption of their respective bodies.

Going back to 1st Corinthians 15 Paul continues to discuss the resurrection and he says at verse 23

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

Then jump with me to verse 35 and listen closely to what he says about the resurrection which he has been discussing:

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

Here Paul brings out attention to the fact that some people, speaking of the resurrection, are wondering how exactly the dead rise up out of the grave?

You know all the questions that we talk about – people who have been lost at sea, who were burned up in the Chicago fire, cremation. HOW are these raised up, Paul says they ask, and with what body do they come into heaven?

How does Paul respond to these unified views toward a physical resurrection? He begins by saying to such men who ask such questions:

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened (made alive – resurrected), unless it dies! (this is speaking of the physical body. It dies! Don’t forget this. To be resurrected the first physical body must die). Verse 37

37 And that which thou sowest (the physical body that dies), thou sowest not that body that shall be, (did you catch that line – the physical body that dies in order to bring about the new body DOES NOT SOW A BODY THAT WILL BE NEXT!

This is a plain statement folks. That which dies will not cause another body like that which died to rise up!

But . . bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

What he is saying is that once the physical body is dead it will bring forth another type of body (for one, it will be spiritual – which he will prove in a minute).

But the words MAY CHANCE means we really don’t know what sort of body we will receive. Who decides? Go to the next verse!

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed (every physical body planted or died receives from God) “his own body.”

I would strongly suggest that the body God gives every person is related to

His grace
Their faith
And what they sowed to while in the flesh – the spirit or to the things of this world.

As an example of how all resurrected bodies will be different, Paul gives two examples and in verse 39-41 sets the stage saying:

39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

Here he says that all material bodies of God;s creations are different depending on species – men have one kind of body, beasts have another, as do the fish and birds. Then he says

40 There are also celestial bodies (this means stars and suns in the heavens), and bodies terrestrial (planets like earth): but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

He adds

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

Now remember all of these things are to help describe the resurrection – nothing more. And what he is telling us is that all people will receive a different type of body depending on the will of God.

Having made this clear in these examples he adds at verse 42

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption (planted when the physical body dies); it is raised in incorruption (with the new and divergent heavenly body is given):

43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a natural body (physical, fleshly body); it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Because of time I am going to just read through to the end here. But it amazes me that people do not clearly read what Paul says here – the natural body goes into the ground and then God gifts all people with a spiritual body of variant glories and powers.

So Paul ends with the following – which are very important too saying at verse 45

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

From this passage we know that Jesus’ resurrected body which they touched and handles and felt the wounds in his flesh was special and unique and given according to His purposes on earth! But our resurrection will NOT be the same.

Then Paul writes something to those believers then. Ready?

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? {grave: or, hell}
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Why would he end with this? Because what he is telling them is that their labors for Christ is directly related to the resurrection they will receive of God – that it is not for nothing but will be recompensed at the resurrection which would commence at His coming.

I strongly suggest that since His coming was when He and His apostles said it would be, that the resurrection of all continues to occur at the very death of the natural body of all, and that at that time everyone receives the body they deserve, predicated on whether they sowed to the spirit or to the flesh while alive.

Let’s end here.

Question/Comments

Tomorrow Night 6pm here at CAMPUS
Recovery From Addiction Group

August 20th 11:30am to 1:30 PM Heart in the parking lot.
Open water baptism and hot dog barbeque. Come join us one and all.