Why do people turn away from hard places? Fear? Discouragement? A feeling of worthlessness? Excuses, like “I’m too young, I’m not ready for this, this is not my calling, I never heard a Voice from heaven, etc…” When the truth is closer to, “Wow, this ministry stuff is tougher than I had imagined when I first dreamed of doing it,” or “This Paul sure is demanding. I need to find a place where I can fit in without so much shock to my system.”
That was a long way of saying, “I don’t know,” because as in many cases, we have not been told. Unfortunately though, if we live long enough, we know.
Mark would be given another chance to grow and minister and even sacrifice his life one day, through the kindness of the second chance offered by Barnabas. We all need to be careful about giving up on those who have failed.
Acts 13:48. Can the latter part of this verse mean anything but what it seems to mean?
Not to me. Maybe others will try to force something out of it. Someone appointed certain people to live forever. They were out there when Paul came to town and preached. They heard Paul’s message and received it. Paul became the means whereby God’s appointment could take place.
Acts 14:22. Still true?
Why would this have changed?
Acts 15:21. Explain James’ line of reasoning. Is he adding to grace?
No, he agrees with Paul’s emphasis on grace. Paul would not have accepted his conditions if he thought James was adding law to grace. But as James explains, everywhere Paul goes he will run into Jewish people. Paul cannot approach them week in and week out with what appears to be a lawless God. He is signaling the Jews up front that God still wants His own people to live a righteous life. This little bit of introduction will allow him the time he needs to go ahead and preach the Gospel.
Acts 15:28. How did James know the Spirit was in this?
We are not told, but it is key to all church decisions that there be an awareness that God is in something before we go forward with it.
Perhaps a “word” came from one of the prophets. Perhaps there was such a sweet spirit of unity among the brothers that they just knew God was moving.
Acts 16:3. Can you draw the fine line between “wisdom” and “compromise”?
I speak here of the fact that Paul, the New Testament’s main advocate of freedom from the law for salvation, is immediately taking his new friend to be circumcised!
The text makes it clear that this was not for Timothy’s salvation, but rather for the Jews in the neighborhood, who might be watching Paul’s actions carefully. Except for the pain involved, no harm could be done to Timothy by taking care of this act, which his Greek father would never have deemed necessary.
Paul preached later that if a man was circumcised to be saved, a curse was on him. He had fallen from grace. But for Paul and Timothy in this situation, it was just good sense. Let the Jews think we are on their side. After all, Jesus did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. The law is fulfilled in us as the Spirit works in us. They’ll get all that later. Let’s not start our ministry here by offending.
No, this is wisdom. But we must pray constantly to be sure we judge our own motives in situations like these.
Acts 16:9. What is the significance of the Macedonian call? Why did Paul need a special vision for this?
This will be the first time the Gospel has passed from the East to the West. From here the message will spread throughout Europe, the Empire, the world. Oh, a very significant call, a very important vision. Nothing left to chance with this mission!
Acts 16:18. Why did Paul tolerate this evil spirit so many days?
There seems to be no good answer to this question except that the apostle was led of the Holy Ghost, and not by his own feelings of either grief or annoyance. Here again we are taken by the character of this man of God, so unlike us in so many ways.
So, the question must be, why did the Lord wait so long? To answer that is to ask millions of such questions which come from believers all over the world and in every generation. All we know for sure is that His timing is always perfect.
Was this a matter of allowing the devil to “hang himself” as the crowds got bigger every day, and the final result would be far more spectacular than if Paul had impatiently taken a swing at Satan the first time he came around? Possibly. But the wait was good, all around. Always is.
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