SATURDAY March 23, 2024
The Salvation of God
“Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.
Acts 28:28-31
Some Jews had rejected the divine Word of God. Paul rebuked them for their hardened hearts. He let them know that, as they refused to hear, God had given His salvation to the Gentiles; they would receive it. Hearing these words caused the Jewish leaders to engage in a great dispute among themselves.
Although Paul remained under house arrest for two years, we see that he was comfortable in his own rented house. While waiting for his trial, the Apostle had freedom to have visitors and to do his ministry work. During this period of time, he wrote the prison epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Eventually, Paul would be released from Roman imprisonment to do even more missionary work.
Paul wrote I Timothy and Titus before his second Roman imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison, which some have referred to as a “House of Darkness.” There Paul was alone, in chains, in a cold, dark and damp cell. According to a Roman historian, Sallust, the dungeon’s “neglect, darkness, and stench” gave it “a hideous and terrifying appearance.”
Later on, just as the Lord had told Paul, he would stand before Caesar Nero, the infamous persecutor of Christians. Paul would die a martyr. Historically, it is recorded that when he was martyred, one of the Roman guards who stood before Caesar Nero instantly converted to Christianity. He walked into the Roman arena and confessed his faith, “I, too, am a Christian.” Paul’s testimony and witness for Christ impacted him that much.
Your life as a Christian should make nonbelievers question their disbelief in God.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
