The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 24, verses 10 through 21.

Tony Clark: God bless you and welcome to Calvary Chapel. We are thrilled to have you here to worship and study the word of God with us. We are trying to make our way through everything in life. We have to stay in prayer as a church, and we must stay in prayer as a nation as well. We must make sure that we vote biblically and think biblically. We should not think or vote with our emotions, but according to the word of God. That is what we have to make sure we are mindful of. I am going to talk a little bit about those things as they will be mixed into today's message.

Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 24. We are going to be looking at verses 10 through 21. Father, we do pray that your Holy Spirit would teach us today. Lord, we pray that you would lead us and guide us into all truth and that you would prepare our hearts for all that you have for us. Dear God, we just pray that you would speak to our hearts in a way that only you can. In Jesus' name, amen.

Acts 24, looking at verses 10 through 21. The title of this message is The Hope of the Resurrection. This is such a great subject to study because surely there has to be more than just this life. There has to be something more and something better than the common saying of the Greeks. In 1 Corinthians 15:32, Paul quotes a Greek philosopher named Epimenides when he said, "Eat, drink, for tomorrow we die." That was the philosophy of the Greeks, and Epimenides had a saying that Paul quoted to them. It was a phrase that was also known throughout Israel because Isaiah quoted it to the unbelieving Israelites of his day in Isaiah 22:13.

The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Paul later said in 1 Corinthians 15:17 that without the resurrection, our faith is futile, and we are still in our sins. So, the resurrection is the cornerstone of our Christian faith, and this is going to be the subject of Paul's argument here. By way of background, here is Paul in court about to give his defense to Governor Felix. Tertullus, the hotshot lawyer the religious leaders hired to convict Paul, laid out in verses 1 through 9 what he thought was a slam dunk case against Paul. They quoted rumors, half-truths, and exaggerations which they were hoping the Governor would believe.

Now it is time for Paul to speak. Look at verse 10: "Then Paul, after the Governor had nodded for him to speak, answered: Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do more cheerfully answer for myself." When it was time for Paul to speak, the Governor nodded for him to give his own defense. Paul did not spend time trying to flatter Felix like Tertullus did previously in verse 2. He just acknowledged that Felix had been the Governor long enough to be able to give a sound judgment on this case. He had been the Governor for five years to this point and previously had served under Cumanus, the Governor of Samaria, for several years.

Paul was so confident that he could refute their charges against him that he felt he did not need some hotshot lawyer to speak on his behalf. This is why he said at the end of verse 10, "I do more cheerfully to answer for myself." Paul, being as brilliant as he was, will refute each of their false charges against him one by one. The first charge he refutes is sedition. Sedition, by way of definition, is conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch. Let me say that again. Sedition is conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.

I need to pause here because I never look at things as happening by chance. God orchestrates things, the timing of things, and the timing of messages. He orchestrates things such as this. I wonder if you are doing this on social media. Are you inciting people to rebel against authority, against a state, or a monarch? We do not have a monarch or a king, but we do have a president. Are you posting things inciting people to rebel against the president? It is something to think about.

The Bible says in Acts 5:29 that if the governing authorities are asking us to do something that is contrary to scripture, then we have to obey God rather than man. To take that a step further, if the governing authorities are not asking us to do something contrary to scripture, then we are called to obey. I wonder if you were accused of sedition, inciting people to rebel. We do not have a monarch or a king, but we have a president, and I wonder if you are inciting people to rebel. Just look at your posts from the last six months.

I wonder if you would be found guilty if you were brought into a court setting and one of the charges against you was sedition. Would you be innocent or guilty? Paul was totally innocent, but what about you? It is something to ponder. Look at what it says in verses 11 through 13: "Because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me."

Paul tells Felix in verse 11 that he could ascertain it was no more than twelve days since he went up to Jerusalem to worship God. What he is saying can easily be traced or verified if Felix wanted to do it. In other words, he was saying that he was not in Jerusalem long enough to stir up trouble. Also, the reason he came in the first place was to worship. He was actually there to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. He was not there to stir up trouble. I wonder if people see you as a person who stirs up trouble on the job, in the family, or on social media.

Do people view you as a troublemaker? If there is some mess to stir up, are you the spoon stirring things up? This is how they viewed Paul, but I wonder if people view us that way. If there is some mess, people do not have to tell me who was involved; they just ask, "Was so-and-so involved?" and I say, "I knew it." If the Governor wanted to, he could have found someone that Paul was disputing with if these claims were true. Surely you could find someone to come into this court and say, "Yeah, he was talking to me too, trying to get us all fired up."

Paul said, "Felix, if you really want to do some digging, you can go do some digging, and if you can find someone, bring them to the court here." Paul then confidently said in verse 13 that they cannot prove the things they are accusing him of, disproving the charges of sedition or inciting the crowd to rebel against Rome. He said these are false charges. Look at what he says in verse 14: "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets."

The second charge Paul answers is sectarianism. Sectarianism, by way of definition, means excessive attachment to a particular sect or party, especially in religion. I have to read that definition again. Excessive attachment to a particular sect or party, especially in religion. We would say such a person is a fanatic. Paul said, "I confess that I am a Christian, a follower of the Way which they call a sect." But it is not a cult or a heretical sect. Paul showed them that Christianity was the fulfillment of what was written in the law and the prophets. He said that in following Christ, he was only worshipping the God of our fathers.

Whether you believe it or not, we owe a great deal to the Jewish people. They preserved the word of God for us. One-third of the New Testament was written by Paul, who was Jewish, and the rest of the New Testament was written by Jewish fishermen. They were so meticulous about writing down the word of God that it would blow us away. We often treat this book as something we barely pick up or only open when we come to church. They looked at the scripture with a reverence that we should note. If they were copying the manuscript, they would copy it letter by letter. If they made a mistake, they would scrap the whole thing and start over.

They looked at the scriptures as God's word. We only know YHWH as the name of God; we do not have the vowels because they felt that the name of God was so holy they would not even say it. They would just write the consonants down and then they would pause at the name. They would take a bath, change clothes, and change their ink and pen to continue writing. This is how they reverenced the word of God, yet we look at it as something that collects dust or gets banged around in our car so we can have it whenever we decide to come to church.

I have to ask these questions because as I was going over my notes this week, the Lord impressed these things upon my heart. I was telling my wife that God revealed some things I have to share today. It is not by accident that this message is coming forward. Think about it. Paul was accused of sectarianism: excessive attachment to a particular sect or party, especially in religion. Are you guilty of sectarianism? Look at your political attachment. Do you have an excessive political attachment to a particular party? I wonder if you even know what that party stands for or what it is against, and how that lines up with scripture and your Christian beliefs.

Do you say, "I don't care what they are; this is my party and we're going to stick to it"? Is that you, or do you vote biblically? No matter what the party is, you should vote biblically. Many people vote based on their excessive attachment to their particular party, regardless of whether that lines up with scripture. Every four years, some vote in a way that is anti-Bible, but then they come into church and say, "Praise the Lord, hallelujah." They vote for things that go against this book. I wonder if you are guilty of sectarianism. This is what they accused Paul of, and he is going to refute these things.

Look at verses 15 and 16: "I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men." In these verses, Paul gets to the heart of his defense, which was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Notice what is attached to it: judgment. He said in verse 15 that he has hope in God which they themselves also accept. In other words, Paul was saying that even his accusers have this same hope: the hope of the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

Paul was referring to Daniel 12:2, which says, "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt." Paul's accusers believed this as well. This is the same thing Paul said before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, which won him the support of the Pharisees who were believers of the resurrection. However, it earned him the contempt of the Sadducees, who denied angels, spirits, and especially the resurrection. Because of the resurrection, Paul constantly sought to have a good conscience before God and men.

In making this statement, he was implying that one day he would have to stand before God and give an account of his life. As a matter of fact, everyone will stand before God, both the just and the unjust. I have to ask you, are you ready to stand before God and give an account of your life to Him? Paul expected to. Do you have the hope that there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust? Jesus said the same thing in John 5:28-29. He said, "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

Which resurrection will you be a part of? Keep in mind that when the Bible talks about the resurrection, it is referring to the resurrection of the body, not the soul or spirit. According to 2 Corinthians 5:8, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. In other words, when we die as believers, we immediately go to be with the Lord in heaven. Our bodies go to the grave until we are reunited with our souls in either the resurrection of life or the resurrection of condemnation, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Because of this fact, Paul said in verse 16, "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men." The Greek word for strive is *askeō*, and it means to train, to practice, or to exercise. It was used to describe training and exercising for the Olympics. The Greek word for "without offense" is *aproskopos*, and it means not causing to stumble, free from hurt or harm, not offending, or blameless. Paul was saying that he was living in such a way as to not have his conscience accuse him of anything that would offend God or man.

It reminds me of Ephesians 4:30, which says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." The word "grieve" there is *lupeō* in the Greek, and it means to cause pain to. Whenever we sin purposely and willfully, we are causing pain to the Spirit of God that is in us. I wonder how we are living our lives today. Are we living in such a way as to not cause our conscience to accuse us? Are we living in such a way as to not offend God or people? We know that there are times our Christian life will offend unbelievers, but are we exercising our Christian life in such a way as to not purposely offend people or God?

Someone may protest and ask why they have to live in such a way. It is because of the resurrection of the just and the unjust. One day we are going to be judged or give account of our lives here on this earth. This is why Paul said he was practicing and exercising himself to have a good conscience without offense before God and man. I put emphasis on the conjunction "and" because sometimes people have the mentality that as long as they are pleasing God, that is all that matters. But we will be judged on how we lived out our Christianity before our fellow man as well.

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