The Word Made Plain

Tony Clark: Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia.

Tony Clark: Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts.

Tony Clark: Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 22, verses 22 through 30.

Tony Clark: Remember, Paul addressed the crowd in the Hebrew language. More specifically, it was Aramaic.

Tony Clark: A language the commander didn't speak.

Tony Clark: And so, as he observed, the angry crowd quieted down to listen, then erupted in anger, throwing dust in the air and ripping off their clothes, he said, "Look here, let's examine this man by scourging him and really get to the bottom of why this crowd is reacting the way that they are towards him."

Tony Clark: We know that the scourging process is a very cruel and bitter method the Romans used to get information out of people.

Tony Clark: It used to be called the third degree, and they used an instrument as I mentioned previously in the past called a flagellum.

Tony Clark: which was a wooden handle with 9 to 12 leather straps with balls on the end of each strap.

Tony Clark: The balls consisted of every sharp object embedded in them for the purpose of ripping the skin from the body of the victims.

Tony Clark: Also, a scribe will be there to write down the crime that he would confess to have committed.

Tony Clark: Oftentimes people died under scourging because of the blood loss and from the infection that was set in.

Tony Clark: And this is what Jesus went through in John 19 and verse one.

Tony Clark: So, they were about to examine Paul under scourging to see why the crowd reacted towards him as they did.

Tony Clark: And as they bound him with thongs in verse 25, which meant that they would stretch out the arm so the skin of the back would be tight.

Tony Clark: So, when that flagellum hit it, it would just break through the skin and rip the skin from the body. So they bound him with thonged in verse 25.

Tony Clark: Stretched out his arms and Paul speaks and said to the Centurion, who was a captain over 100 soldiers.

Tony Clark: He said, "Let me ask you something, bro. Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"

Tony Clark: Oh, see Paul, who was a Roman citizen, knew Roman law and knew how to use it.

Tony Clark: Oh, this is key for us to understand. I wonder how much of the law do we know.

Tony Clark: If we don't know the law, how can we really tell whether our civil rights are being violated or not?

Tony Clark: As Christians, we really need to know the law because it is changing all of the time.

Tony Clark: And the changes are not favorable towards our Christian views.

Tony Clark: Many of you really don't even know that in the past, there used to be laws against blaspheming God.

Tony Clark: There were blasphemy laws, if you were convicted of it, you were fined, $500 and could go to jail up to three years. Blasphemy laws.

Tony Clark: And we all know there used to be sodomy laws on the book.

Tony Clark: And now, all of these things have been removed.

Tony Clark: They like to change the law at night when we're asleep and pass these laws and then we wake up and look up and say, "Guess what? This is changed now." When did that happen? Well, many of them while we were asleep.

Tony Clark: So, you need to know the law, know the history of the law, and know what is still on the books and what is not on the books. You need to know the law.

Tony Clark: And Paul knew Roman law.

Tony Clark: See, you could go to jail if you would bind a Roman citizen without following the proper legal procedures.

Tony Clark: And you could get capital punishment if you scourged a Roman soldier without going through the proper proceeding, which they were about to do, and Paul had them right where he wanted them.

Tony Clark: And we have already said that Paul knew the law and we will see him use it to his advantage.

Tony Clark: So the question is, should a Christian stand up for his civil rights?

Tony Clark: Should we use the judicial system?

Tony Clark: Oh, I believe that Paul is showing us that we should use it when our civil rights are being taken away from us.

Tony Clark: Oh, the Bible is very clear in first Corinthians 6 and verses 1-8 that we are not to go to court against another Christian.

Tony Clark: But it is the world or the world of the unbeliever. Paul gives us an example that is not only appropriate, but sometimes it's very necessary to use the judicial system.

Tony Clark: Oh, we see this here.

Tony Clark: I have a pastor friend in Maine, who has taken the governor and all that sort of stuff to court that's forbidden them to meet as a church.

Tony Clark: There was a church not that long ago, over a month ago, over in Chicot, over in the Eastern Shore.

Tony Clark: They had 16 people, 16 people in the church service.

Tony Clark: They got arrested and all that kind of stuff, they took it to court and won. And one and said, "You can't stop these only 16, you can't stop these folks from meeting," won, won the case.

Tony Clark: Then, this is not by coincidence, then there's a pastor friend of mine in North Carolina.

Tony Clark: He went online and said, "Hey, guess what? May 31st is Pentecost Sunday, we're meeting." North Carolina was closed at the time.

Tony Clark: He said, "We're going to meet because we obeyed the laws of the land. We were for two months."

Tony Clark: And weed places, abortion clinics, the liquor store, all that is necessary.

Tony Clark: But we can't meet?

Tony Clark: And guess what? All of a sudden, he posted breaking news about five hours later. Breaking news, two churches, pastors took the governor's thing to court. The judge said, "Governor, you can't stop these churches from meeting if they're practicing social distancing and all that. You can't stop them from meeting." And all the churches in North Carolina said, "Amen."

Tony Clark: And that's what and it's happening around the country, around the country.

Tony Clark: So, there's been arguments on both sides of the issue.

Tony Clark: But here it is here, they are taking these folks to court and the judges are siding with the churches. That should tell you a whole lot.

Tony Clark: It's one thing, yes, we're called to obey the laws of the land. But this has gone beyond obeying just the laws of the land.

Tony Clark: Now it's coming to a point where now our civil rights as citizens here are being violated.

Tony Clark: And to show you, the judges are siding with the churches.

Tony Clark: That should tell you a whole lot because there's a lot of arguments, please don't get me started.

Tony Clark: Well, I can be in I can be with 500 people in Walmart and half of them don't even have a mask on, but can't come to church. Don't get me started on that, please don't.

Tony Clark: I've been in too many arguments over that.

Tony Clark: And it don't take much to get me going again.

Tony Clark: But I will just say, judges in courts are siding with churches.

Tony Clark: So that goes to show you there's one thing to okay, we've been good citizens and we obey the laws of the land, we quarantine, we're good.

Tony Clark: And it's another thing to where now we're telling you not to not to gather together. That's a whole different thing.

Tony Clark: That's a different thing. Thank God, our governor said 50%, we can okay, I'm good with that. I'm good.

Tony Clark: But I was letting you know, May 31st, I was going to have church too.

Tony Clark: I'm just letting you know, I was thank God our governor kept me from exercising my civil rights.

Tony Clark: But I'm telling you, there are times by which, we need to use the judicial system and many of my brothers around the country are doing it and winning in court.

Tony Clark: So that goes to show you there's a difference here.

Tony Clark: Total difference. Yes, we do what everybody else is doing, we're quarantine.

Tony Clark: But now you can say these folks can open, but churches, y'all keep y'all doors closed.

Tony Clark: Judges around the country are saying, "You can't do that."

Tony Clark: And this is a case where Paul is showing us how this is done.

Tony Clark: And we're going to get more into that. Look at verses 26-28.

Tony Clark: When the Centurion heard that, he went and told the commander saying, "Hey, bro, you better take care what you do for this man is a Roman."

Tony Clark: Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He says, "Yes."

Tony Clark: The commander answered, "With a large sum I have obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "I was born a citizen."

Tony Clark: See, once the Centurion heard what Paul had to say, he went in verse 26 to the commander and said, "Take care what you do for this man is a Roman."

Tony Clark: See, the Roman law that was called the Lex Julia, allowed citizens to appeal to Rome if they felt that their civil rights were being violated.

Tony Clark: The ancient Porcian and Valerian laws forbade such ill treatment of Roman citizens.

Tony Clark: So Paul being schooled in Roman law, being from the city of Tarsus, he asked, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"

Tony Clark: Oh, he knew the law and the answer to this rhetorical question. It was not lawful, nor legal.

Tony Clark: There had not been a trial, a hearing, nor any form of charges presented against Paul.

Tony Clark: Now, the question becomes this.

Tony Clark: Why didn't Paul submit to the beatings like he did in the city of Philippi?

Tony Clark: Paul told the church in Philippi, the Philippian church in chapter 1 and verse 29, it says, he says, "For you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake."

Tony Clark: So why didn't he endure this brutal scourging process?

Tony Clark: Let me tell you why. Because there was nothing fruitful that will come out of it.

Tony Clark: When it came to the Philippian jail that Paul was in, Philippians chapter 16 and verses 16 to 34, the Philippian jail where Paul was sent after he was brutally beaten. The Greek of that, the Greek construction of that verse, talks about Paul he was beat beyond what was necessary.

Tony Clark: So he endured a brutal beating.

Tony Clark: And we know that once he went to the Philippian jail, that the Philippian jailer, his entire family and the other prisoners were all set free and soundly saved as a result of the beatings Paul endured.

Tony Clark: Here in these verses, Paul decided to use his Roman citizenship.

Tony Clark: See, the question is, did it work?

Tony Clark: Oh, it sure did because the commander said in verse 27 and asked, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" Paul said, "Yes."

Tony Clark: Then the commander said in verse 28, "With a large sum of money, I've obtained this citizenship."

Tony Clark: Let me give you the history behind that. See, the history is that the wife of the Emperor Claudius encouraged him to raise money for their personal treasury by selling Roman citizenships.

Tony Clark: The commander Claudius Lysias took advantage of this kind of bribery because you had to bribe, the more money you gave, that's how you got your citizenship.

Tony Clark: And he was not ready for Paul's response at the end of verse 28 when he said, "Guess what, bro? You bought yours? I was born a citizen."

Tony Clark: Meaning that Paul's father was a Roman citizen, so he was born into that citizenship.

Tony Clark: And those who were born citizens of Rome had a higher status than those who bought their citizenship.

Tony Clark: Oh, I'm sure that the commander was thinking that they had badly misjudged their prisoner Paul.

Tony Clark: They first thought that, you remember, they first thought that he was an Egyptian assassin that came into town to stir up trouble.

Tony Clark: Then Paul spoke Greek to Claudius Lysias, which meant that he was a cultured and educated man. Now, they find out that he was a born citizen of Rome. They really misjudged old Paul.

Tony Clark: Oh, let us not be like the commander Lysias, who badly misjudged Paul.

Tony Clark: We can start to think that a certain group of people are beneath us in our hearts. But when we take the time to talk and hear their story like they heard Paul's story, you will see that you badly misjudged them.

Tony Clark: Oh, this can happen when we see people standing on the corners with their signs asking for food or money.

Tony Clark: Yes, some of them are scammers, we know that. But some of them have fallen upon hard times.

Tony Clark: Some of them have lost very important jobs because of substance abuse. Some of them are like many of us, one paycheck away from holding up our own sign on some corner.

Tony Clark: And since the pandemic, there's going to be a lot of more people on a lot more corners holding up a lot more signs.

Tony Clark: Oh, let us learn from this story here and not turn up our noses at those who are out there holding up signs. And, you know, I'm telling you not to do it.

Tony Clark: Not to do it because the pandemic will have a whole lot of people out there.

Tony Clark: And let us not find ourselves turning up our noses, "Oh, they're with the scammers and" Hey, let me tell you something. If you only heard their story, many of them just got caught up.

Tony Clark: They got caught up not only with the pandemic, but they got caught up with substance abuse. They got caught up with they just fallen upon hard times.

Tony Clark: And if you just took the time to hear their story instead of looking at them and just rolling your eyes and lifting your, hey, let me tell you something.

Tony Clark: Don't misjudge those people. You never know what kind of jobs they had, what kind of career they had, what kind of lifestyle they were living before they started holding up signs. And I'm telling you, mark my words, there's going to be many more corners with many more people holding up signs because of this pandemic. And you better do all you can to give. There's more blessed to give than receive. Yes, some of them are scammers, but some of them are just fallen upon hard times. Lost jobs that they can't even get back anymore.

Tony Clark: And we just better watch our little hearts that we don't just immediately turn our head as if we're in disgust of them being out there like that. I told you before, just for them having the courage to stand out there and look like a fool, I would give them money just for that.

Tony Clark: But I'm telling you, some of them are just fallen upon hard times. They're just struggling. And having a tough time and if you got it, you better give it.

Tony Clark: Because you guess what? Because you want somebody to give it to you when you're out there holding up your sign.

Tony Clark: Just be careful, because they misjudged Paul. They thought Paul was just this troublemaker.

Tony Clark: And when they heard all this about Paul, when they got his story, this man was cultured, educated in Tarsus. He can speak Aramaic and Hebrew and Greek. This man was an educated man. He didn't buy his citizenship, he was born a citizen of Rome. They misjudged this dude altogether and we can be the same way if we don't watch it.

Tony Clark: Oh, let's see what else happened in verses 29 and 30.

Tony Clark: Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him, and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman and because he had bound him.

Tony Clark: In verse 30, the next day because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them.

Tony Clark: Oh, I'm sure that Paul saw this as another chance to speak to this council that he used to be a part of.

Tony Clark: Seeing that his last speech before the crowd ended with a riot in Acts 22 and verses 22-23.

Tony Clark: Like I mentioned before, Paul was a very unique person. He was educated, intelligent, he was a devout Jew, who was also a Roman citizen. Very unique skill set there. Very unique resume.

Tony Clark: And God used his unique background in a special way. Even as he wants to use your unique background, or and your education, or lack thereof, your cultural environment. He wants to use it for his glory.

Tony Clark: He wants to use your economical status, whatever that might be. God can use you in a unique and special way to minister to the people he has allowed for you to be around.

Tony Clark: So, instead of looking at yourself as being inadequate, or underqualified, because many people, "I can't talk to people, I'm just I'm just not, you know, I don't know enough and I" Hey, hey, just look at ways on how God can use you.

Tony Clark: For his glory, use your unique abilities to bring glory to his name.

Tony Clark: And we will see what happened when Paul stood before the very group that he used to be a part of, and we will see that God's will next time. Let me conclude with this.

Tony Clark: Civil rights.

Tony Clark: In this message, we saw how Paul used his Roman citizenship when his civil rights were being violated. Because he knew the law, he used it to defend his civil rights.

Tony Clark: And so too, we can use the judicial system when we feel like our civil rights are being violated as American citizens or as Christians living in America.

Tony Clark: The only time we are not to use the court system is when another Christian is involved.

Tony Clark: And we also saw how we can make the same mistakes as Claudius Lysias did by misjudging Paul. And thinking that he was a person beneath them.

Tony Clark: And we need to guard our hearts. Guard your heart, guard our hearts in this area.

Tony Clark: And let us make sure that we aren't looking down on people because once you hear their stories, you may be surprised at what status they had in life before they got caught up in some substance abuse. Or before they were down on their luck, or and I had to add this, or before the pandemic hit.

Tony Clark: You'd be surprised at the people and what they have done.

Tony Clark: And for us to look down upon them because your job continued and to look down upon them because these folks trying to get their hustle on and all this sort of stuff and you got your nice paying job through the pandemic. Let me tell you something, don't look down on these people. Don't misjudge them.

Tony Clark: You'd be surprised at what they were doing before the pandemic. This is what they did to Paul and this is what we can do to people so often. That stand on the corners, when you see them going in Walmart or on the corner.

Tony Clark: Remember seeing the guy with a trombone, he out there getting his hustle on, you know. Give him a few dollars, you can play your you do your thing.

Tony Clark: But don't look down on these people. We're living in some different times now.

Tony Clark: And we need to reflect Jesus in the midst of these different times that we're living in. So there are times by which we should use the judicial system or the court system when our rights are being violated. And just know, when I started the book of Acts back in 2016, when I started the book of Acts, I said, "Some of the things that we're seeing that we're going to study is going to start happening in America."

Tony Clark: And they're here. They're here right now.

Tony Clark: And their brothers and sisters around the country taking these folks to court and winning, and winning.

Tony Clark: Hey, that tells me a whole lot, a whole lot.

Tony Clark: So that doesn't mean we be foolhardy and be foolish. No, we mask up, we do what we're supposed to do. We do what we're supposed to do. But if they're going to try to take advantage, then we got to there's times by which Paul showed us, we have to definitely use the court system.

Tony Clark: And winning. Oh, that that part right there is what I love to hear the most. And winning. Judges are saying, "You can't do that to the church." And I won't let you. And I'm just like, God bless you, court. God bless you, judge. I love it. I love it. Let's pray. Father, thank you.

Tony Clark: Thank you so much for your word. We pray, God, that your spirit will move in our midst. And Lord, we pray that God, that you will write this word upon our hearts.

Tony Clark: Lord, I pray, oh God, that you would comfort us and comfort your people.

Tony Clark: There are some who are still afraid and I just pray that you comfort them. Bring your peace to them.

Tony Clark: And dear God, I just pray, Lord, that you would just meet your people. Be in the midst of us, oh Lord.

Tony Clark: Oh, Lord, thank you for this example that Paul has given us in this in this word here. And Lord, we just pray that you'll give us the wisdom of how to navigate through this time that we're living in.

Tony Clark: And Lord, I just pray, if there's any wickedness, any racial wickedness in people's hearts, Lord, I pray that they will confess that today.

Tony Clark: Oh, the Jews, they could not take just even the word Gentile. Oh, God, I just pray, if we had that in our hearts, forgive us.

Tony Clark: Have mercy upon us, Lord, for racial issues in our hearts. Lord, forgive us, forgive us as your people, forgive us.

Tony Clark: And Lord, I pray if there's anyone there who's out there, who has not repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Tony Clark: I pray today will be the day of salvation. I pray that they would just pray a simple prayer, just say, Lord Jesus.

Tony Clark: Forgive me of my sin.

Tony Clark: I believe you died on the cross and was buried and rose again.

Tony Clark: Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and Savior. Help me to live for you from this moment forward.

Tony Clark: In Jesus's name. Amen.

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