Acts 22:1-2 (KJV)
Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
What follows from here is Paul’s testimony of his salvation and call into the ministry. The Jews were willing to hear him, partly because he spoke in the Hebrew language.
Acts 22:21-22 (KJV)
And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
When they heard him say that God had called him to preach to the Gentiles, they remembered what their problem was with him. They were so angry that the Roman soldiers were forced to put him in “protective custody”.
Acts 22:25-28 (KJV)
And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Freedom is a great privilege.
Some would argue that it is a God given right, and I would agree, except that so many people in the history of the world have not had it.
The founders of our country all believed themselves to be free born.
As citizens of Britain and subjects of the King, they had always understood that they were unique from all the rest of the world.
They were subjects to a monarchy, but the British monarchy had, for centuries, given the people of their land representation.
· The earliest form was in trial by jury
· Later the Magna Carta was signed to provide property rights and other protections and then
· A Parliament was established to give actual representation for the people
It was heartbreaking to those on this continent to discover that their freedom was in name only.
They only obtained real freedom “with a great sum.”
I happened to have been free born.
But many of my:
· Friends,
· Classmates,
· Family members, and
· A significant number of you listening to this message
voluntarily[1] traded your own freedom, at least for a time, to insure that others like me would be born free.
Liberty of the soul is so hated by Satan, and by the governments over which he is prince that almost every generation has had to win back the status of “free born.
What interested me in my meditations this week was that Paul, who was free born, gave up that liberty for something much greater.
In no particular order,
I. HE GAVE UP THE SANHEDRIN FOR SALVATION
Acts 9:1-9 (KJV)
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
Whether Saul of Tarsus was a member of the ruling council known as the Sanhedrin is a bit speculative.
What does seem apparent is that:
· He had a lot of authority
· He had access to the Sanhedrin and the High Priest
· He was on a career path that would have made him a Sanhedrin eventually
What is also apparent is that when he got saved, that career path got derailed immediately.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to lead to Christ a hand full of people whose decision to follow Christ meant that they had to immediately stop pursuing the career they were on.
What they did for a living was so obviously opposed to the direction Jesus sets for his people that they knew immediately, that to be saved required that they give up that life.
I know they could have called upon the Lord and asked Him to save them without their quitting their work.
But they knew that to do that would be hypocrisy.
Secondly,
II. HE GAVE UP THE TEACHING OF GAMALIEL FOR THE WORD OF GOD
Acts 22:3 (KJV)
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
One of those evidences that Saul of Tarsus was either a Sanhedrin, or on a path to become one, is that he had been trained by such a noted authority in his day as Gamaliel.
Gamaliel’s name is actually recorded in the Jewish Talmud.
He was the first person to be titled “Our Master.”
And was on the Sanhedrin, or the Presidency of it during the reigns of:
· Tiberius,
· Caligula, and
· Claudius
The voice of Gamaliel was so revered in those days that the Bible says,
Acts 5:33-40 (KJV)
When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.
And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
The Sanhedrin were about to kill Peter and the Apostles and they were going to do it out of anger.
Gamaliel was able to calm the anger of these leaders and get them to reverse their decision.
Saul of Tarsus, gave up what he had learned from Gamaliel when he said,
Acts 9:6 (KJV)
…. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Saul of Tarsus, later to be known as Apostle Paul, spent the rest of his life listening to the voice of the Lord.
Thirdly
III. HE GAVE UP THE PRAISE OF MEN FOR THE PLEASURE OF GOD
1 Thessalonians 2:4 (KJV)
But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.
Apostle Paul is an inspiration and challenge to me.
Everything in me wants to be liked.
I want to be:
· Loved,
· Included,
· I want people to say nice things about me.
· I want them to be loyal friends to me
But then I hear the words of the Apostle Paul, “even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God,”
And I know I have to meet this standard above my own desires.
It’s not like these were empty words.
The message Paul preached made him
· Hated by the Jews and
· Mistrusted by many of the Jewish born Christians.
His message got him beaten, stoned, shipwrecked and jailed.
Eventually the message he preached got him killed.
At one point he said,
2 Timothy 4:16-17 (KJV)
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
But in the end he could say, 2 Timothy 4:7-8 (KJV)
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Fourth,
IV. HE GAVE UP THE CONVICTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
He said in Romans 7:24 (KJV)
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I believe it is this that the Bible refers to in Acts 9:5 (KJV)
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
I do not know that he was there to witness the crucifixion of Jesus. I believe it is very likely though.
I know that he consented to the stoning death of Stephen which means he at least heard that sermon Stephen preached that ended with his audience being cut to the heart and gnashing with their teeth.[2]
He would have heard Stephen when, just before he died he said, Acts 7:56 (KJV)
… Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
And all of this pricked him like stickers, and convicted him of his wretched sin.
But then he got saved.
And soon, it wasn’t just Stephen who was filled with the Holy Ghost. The Bible says, Acts 13:9 (KJV)
Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, …
Fifth
V. HE GAVE UP FREEDOM OF BODY FOR LIBERTY OF SOUL
Acts 23:1 (KJV)
And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
As I said earlier, pleasing God rather than men cost Paul plenty.
· Beatings
· Stoning
· Shipwreck
· Prison
At this point in Acts 23, Paul is captured and must defend himself for his life.
But he was able to say that he had lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Man may try our bodies and try our actions, but it is God who tries our hearts.
Paul obeyed the words of Jesus when He said,
Matthew 10:28 (KJV)
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Sixth
VI. HE GAVE UP THE PRISON OF SIN TO BE A PRISONER FOR CHRIST
Ephesians 3:1 (KJV)
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
Once Paul was captured at the Temple in Jerusalem, he spent the rest of his life in one prison cell or the other, on his way to Rome and execution.
But he did not waste that time at all.
Paul wrote half of the New Testament and most of it while he was a prisoner.
Remember when he said, Romans 7:24 (KJV)
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
The passage does not end there. It goes on to say,
Romans 7:25-8:2 (KJV)
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
And finally
VII. HE GAVE UP BEING CHIEFEST OF SINNERS TO BEING COUNTED WORTHY OF THE LORD
1 Timothy 1:12-15 (KJV)
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
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.
The unsaved world has Christianity all wrong.
They think Christianity beats people up over their sin. It’s just the opposite.
Christianity confronts the sin of people honestly so they can receive:
· The grace
· The mercy and
· The favor
of God through Jesus Christ.
God never leaves a person hanging in their sin.
All He asks of any of us is that we confess our sin.
And then He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of ALL unrighteousness.
Conclusion
The Apostle Paul did something similar to what
· John Adams
· Thomas Jefferson
· George Washington
· The other founders of our country and
· Especially the soldiers that fought and died for our freedom did.
He gave up his freedom so that others could be free.
I wonder, will you do the same?
Will you give up at least some of your own liberty, in order that someone else might gain the liberty you know in Christ?
If you have never come to Jesus and been forgiven, Jesus promises,
John 6:37 (KJV)
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
If you will ask Him, He will save you.
[1] For a lot of you, it wasn’t so voluntary. The draft system essentially demanded that you were not free born but must obtain it at a great sum.
[2] Acts 7:54 (KJV)
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.