When Paul had the opportunity to defend himself in front of governor Felix, he first refuted the accusation that he was stirring up the world. The lawyer of Paul's opponents, Tertullus, accused him of being a troublemaker who went around to stir up riots among the Jews. It actually wasn't Paul who stirred up the riots, but the Jews rioted on their own. Paul told them that he was in Jerusalem for twelve days and was arrested before he did anything, so there was no way that he caused the riots.
From a spiritual perspective, we wish that the gospel could spread around quickly and widely like a spiritual plague. We need the spiritual power and fire in our life like Paul had. Fire cannot be concealed, so when one had fire in his heart it will be obvious from the outside and become visible to others. Fire can also easily spread out and often cannot be contained. In the ministry of the gospel, we really need God to give us fire like Paul had.
Paul also publicly acknowledged the resurrection of Jesus. Resurrection didn't just happen, for the Lord's death was planned by God and a historical fact. Jewish historian Josephus wrote about the fact that disciples of Jesus were spreading the news of His resurrection after death, and he also mentioned about the empty tomb of Jesus, which were indeed historical facts. Paul stood firm for the truth; he fought for the truth and died for the truth. May the Lord give us the same fire in our hearts to fight for the truth like Paul did!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.