使徒行传

Meditative Reflection
The Power of the Teaching of the Word

The conversion of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, reminds us of the power of the gospel. I am not referring to how Paul blinded the sorcerer, Bar-Jesus, but the fact that the proconsul believed, “for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord ” (Acts 13:12).

We are far too easily impressed with miraculous signs. Sure, a remarkable miracle resulted when the Holy Spirit empowered Paul as he told the sorcerer that he was going to be blind, for an “immediate, mist and darkness came over him [Bar-Jesus]” (13:11). It was reminiscent of his own experience on the road to Damascus. However, if miracles themselves can convert people, we would have read about the immediate conversion of this sorcerer. But we do not. Instead, we read that the proconsul believed — but that was not really a result of the miracle, but a result of “the teaching about the Lord”.

I have come across people who have experienced miracle after miracle in their lives, and every time a miracle happened, they would openly attribute this as from the Lord. However, I have not seen any real conversion in their lives. There are no signs of true repentance. I think the ultimate reason is that they have not been truly convicted by the teaching about the Lord.

If a person is not convicted by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God of guilt "in regard to sin, and righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8), there is no amount of miracles that can really turn them to true repentance and conversion.

On the other hand, if we follow Paul’s example in teaching nothing but the gospel of Jesus Christ, with or without miracles, the Holy Spirit is able to turn people’s hearts to repentance according to His will.

Meditative Reflection
Knowing Your Audience

As much as we firmly believe that the Word of God has “power”, we also learn from these apostles, especially from Paul, that we need to know our audience in order to effectively present the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul, in delivering his sermon recorded in Acts 13, knew clearly who his hearers were—“Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God.” By so addressing them, his hearers knew that what Paul had to say would have direct relevance to them.

In presenting the gospel, we find that Paul took care to mention specific numbers, like the forty years in desert (13:18), the overthrowing of seven nations (13:19), the 450 year span before they were actually given the Promised Land (13:20), and the forty-year reign of Saul (13:21). Paul was not so much emphasizing the spiritual implications of these numbers, but he was emphasizing to the Gentiles that the Word of God, as contained in the Old Testaments, is verifiable historical fact, not the figment of men's imagination, like the mythology of the Greeks.

Then to the Jews, Paul powerfully proved who Jesus is—the Messiah unmistakably prophesied throughout the Scripture. He fulfilled the following:

-Through His birth, He was a descendant of David (13:23).

-His ministry was confirmed by the  testimony of John the Baptist, a man highly revered by them (13:25).

-His death fulfilled what was already written about him (13:29).

-His resurrection was confirmed by the witness of many who saw Him alive (13:31).

The result of this sermon was very encouraging, as

“many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.” (13:43)

Of course, we believe that Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to preach such a powerful sermon, but I am sure Paul had also waited before the Lord and done his own due diligence as well.

Meditative Reflection
Appointed for Salvation

I know I cannot solve the mystery or controversy of “election” with this article (even if I write a whole book). Since, the “plain reading” of the Bible, including Acts 13:48 (which says, “all those who were appointed for eternal life believed”) appears to point to a prior knowledge, if not determination, by God, in terms of salvation, the more pressing question by mission-minded Christians is, “Why then should we seek to share the gospel, since who will be saved have been pre-determined by God?”

I find that what Rev. J. Vernon McGee of Through the Bible ministry once said to be very helpful. He believed in pre-destination, and likened those who are “appointed for eternal life” as people who wear a yellow ribbon, except that the ribbons are only visible to God, not to us. So, our responsibility is to share the gospel with everyone that God has brought to our path. As we share the gospel diligently with these people, those who happen to be wearing the yellow ribbon will respond with belief. It is not our job to find out those who indeed have the yellow ribbons before we share the gospel. God means for us to be faithful in sharing with everyone, irrespective of their response.

Perhaps, this is the reason why Paul says that

“we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” (2 Co. 2:15-16)

Meditative Reflection
Usurping the Glory of God

In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas healed a crippled man, and were mistaken as Zeus and Hermes. I think you and I would have acted exactly like Paul and Barnabas if we were treated as gods because we could perform miracles. We dare not take the place of God so blatantly. But I am afraid there are settings that we do so in more subtle ways.

You might have had such an experience: You preached a powerful sermon or led a very insightful Bible study. Afterwards, you received sincere thanks or even praises. Then for the next little while, or when you go to bed that night, scenes of your preaching or Bible study keep replaying in your mind.

Other times, you knew you had been greatly used by God, perhaps also through a sermon, a Bible study or a Sunday School class. Unfortunately for whatever reason, no one came to thank you and no one cared to make any mention about it. So, in the next little while, instead of replaying some of the scenes of your ministry, you tried to prompt people to comment on your work, “What do you think about my sermon or my class?”

The same could have happened, when you knew you had bombed big time with your sermon or talk. You felt so badly that you did not want to think about it. But just the same, you tried to make people talk about it, hoping that someone might say, “Hey, I appreciate you bringing up this point. It is very helpful.” You knew you were trying to find some solace, even though you knew the comment was not exactly genuine.

In all these cases, it reveals how self-centered we are. Yes, we dare not take the place of God, but subconsciously, we do want to take some credit for what is entirely the work of the Holy Spirit.

Meditative Reflection
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

It is quite shocking to see that the men of Lystra could change so quickly. As they witnessed the healing of the crippled man by Paul, they jumped to worship Paul and Barnabas as Zeus and Hermes. Even when the two men of God tore their clothes and ran from them, telling them that they were not gods, they disbelieved them. The Bible says, “Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.” (Acts 14:18)

Yet when some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came, the crowd was so easily swayed to turn against Paul that they stoned him almost to death. No wonder the Bible says, “Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for He knew all people.” (Jn. 2:24)

Today, I invite you to reflect on the lyrics of this famous hymn by Edward Mote, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, the last two verses of which were written for a dying Sister King whom he visited earlier the same day.

Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

1
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

2
When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

3
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

4
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Edward Mote, circa 1834

Meditative Reflection
He Could Have Sent Angels

As we come to Acts 15, which marks the end of Paul’s 1^st missionary journey, it also marks the midway point of the 28 chapters of the Book of Acts. Perhaps, it is helpful to reflect upon how the first disciples did in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

If we follow theologians like Charles Puskas in dating Jesus’ death and resurrection at AD 33, and Paul’s conversion at AD 34, with the end of his missionary journey at AD 51, the first 14 chapters of Acts would have covered a span of roughly 18 years.

If this is the case, the apostles obviously began their powerful ministry in Jerusalem. They tarried there for a little more than a year before persecution broke out, forcing the disciples (minus the apostles) to leave and spread the gospel beyond Jerusalem.

Then, in the ensuing three years, while Paul spent time in the desert of Arabia, the gospel slowly spread to Samaria and to Caesarea where Peter helped convert the Italian centurion. Even then, the gospel appeared to have been spread mainly within the mainland of Palestine.

The death of King Herod in AD 44 gave us another marker which signified that the concentration of the evangelistic activities of the apostles was still centered around the region close to Jerusalem.

Therefore, the intentional outreach beyond the mainland appeared to begin with the sending of Paul and Barnabas by the church in Antioch in AD 51/52.

Paul and Barnabas took the gospel to the island of Cyprus and then to the southern part of Asia Minor during their 1^st missionary journey.

So the mandate by Jesus to evangelize to the ends of the earth took a good 18 years. Through the marvelous anointing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), through miraculous signs and deeds (Acts 5:12-16, in particular), through severe persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1) and through direct intervention of the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2), the first disciples were able to move their feet for the gospel beyond their own region and their own race, albeit gradually and insensitively.

God is indeed very patient with us. As one song writer wrote, God could have sent angels who would have worked much more quickly and far more effectively, but He has chosen to use us to accomplish His all-important plan of salvation. The reason? He loves us, He trusts us and His desire is that we may be molded into His likeness—a people who truly love the world as He does.

Meditative Reflection
The Apostle James

For the longest time after I became a Christian, I felt really uncomfortable with the Apostle James. Then I found out that I was not alone, for even Martin Luther felt uncomfortable with him too. Although he did include the book of James in his canon, he called it a “book of straw”, which is not exactly a very flattering label. If you read also how Paul talked about James in Galatians, and the incidents in Acts 15, you would, perhaps, agree with me. However, when I came to understand the person of James a bit more, I began to appreciate him as a faithful servant of the Lord. Allow me to quote from Ajith Fernando who, in turn, quoted from F.F. Bruce about the Apostle James in his commentary on Acts 15:

"(But we can find a lot of material) about James in extra biblical writings of the time. He was respected even among non-Christians, 'largely because of his ascetic way of life and his regular participation in the temple services of prayer, where he interceded for the people and their city.' He was stoned to death in Jerusalem in AD 62, and many of the people were gravely shocked at this. 'Some years later some ascribed the calamity which overtook the city and its inhabitants to the cessation of James’ prayers on their behalf.'  Bruce says that the church’s readiness to recognize his leadership was due more to his personal character and record than to his blood relationship with the Lord. His role in the council is evidence of this character.” (Fernando, Acts, 417)

How James chose to deal with the controversy in Acts 15, especially in his admonition of the Gentile Christians to “abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality” (15:29), also bothered me for a long time, until I came to understand the background for his exhortation. The Gentiles of his time were surrounded by immorality that tied closely with idol worship, and much of the eating of the food also had to do with feasts held in the temples of idols. Such a directive would help the Gentiles believers distant themselves from temptations. And since James has already iterated that salvation is through faith in Christ alone, these “add-ons” had nothing to do with salvation, but would go a long way in reconciling the Gentiles and Jewish believers. Therefore, I have come to understand that James did these out of both prudence and love.