Acts 21:27-37 – Paul Arrested
- “A Question about Spiritual Mathematics”
- What if God does not come through for you?
- Most Christian live under the teaching of promises; if you do this then this will happen.
- We are taught spiritual mathematics; we are encouraged to invest knowing that the odds are for us.
- If we give we will receive many times over.
- If we forgive and give God our bitterness then things will go much better for us.
- But what if they don’t?
- Paul as we read yesterday lived above the line.
- He decided to take advice and at great cost to himself in both time and money sponsored four men to go through their purification rites.
- He did not need to but he did it for the sake of the Kingdom.
- Today we read that it did not make any difference.
- Five lies were told about him:
- He did not teach against the people
- He did not teach against the Torah
- He did not teach against the Temple
- He did not bring some Goyim into the Temple
- He did not defile the holy place
- He had done none of those things and yet he may as well have because a group of people who were threatened by him stirred up the people and no-one stopped to ask questions.
- The ancient lynch mob dragged him off.
- The Romans were very sensitive about the trouble someone could cause in and around the temple – they did not want trouble and even allowed the execution of Roman Citizens to prevent this.
- Fortunately at the temple was a resident police station; the Antonia Fortress it was connected at the north end by two flights of stairs. The Romans had this elevated barracks so that they could keep watch over the temple.
- It did not take long therefore for Claudius Lysias to stop the murder of Paul.
- Yet Paul was still arrested, had been beaten and was now put in chains.
- So here’s the question;
- Will i/you do the right thing, just because it is the right thing?
- Even if it appears that God does not come through the way we hope he will?
- Will I serve just because God wants me to no matter the reward?
- Last night on ABC two silhouetted Pastors confessed [anonymously] that they were leading their churches but no longer believed in God.
- Their biggest question: why should I go on doing good when I no longer believe that I will be rewarded or punished for my actions?
- Think about that; is that our motivation?
- Praying today that it is not, I was never good at math anyway.
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