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: 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 Old Testament—especially the Old Testament—but one third of the New Testament was written by Paul, who was Jewish. The rest of the New Testament was written by Jewish fishermen. We owe a great deal to the Jewish people. They were so meticulous about writing down the Word of God that it will just blow us away.

We treat this book as just something that we barely pick up or we open it when we come to church. They looked at the scripture. We owe a great deal to them. 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 don't really know—all we know is Y-H-W-H as the name of God. We don't have the vowels because they felt that the name of God was so holy that they wouldn't even say it. They would just write the consonants down and then they would pause and say, "The name." They would go and take a bath, change clothes, change ink and pen to continue to write.

This is how they referenced the Word of God and we look at it as just this thing that collects dust, something that gets banged around in our car so we make sure it's in the car whenever we do decide to come to church. It's banging around in the car, in the window, back of the window somewhere, clanging under the seat. You've got to move the seat up and kind of dig up under it and pull out the Bible so you can come into church. They referenced this Word. We owe a great deal to them for this particular Word.

I just have to ask us these questions because as I was going over my notes this week, the Lord just impressed these things upon my heart. I was telling my wife, I said, "God just revealed some things that I just have to share today." As I said, it's not by accident the timing by which this message is coming for.

Think about it. He was accused of sectarianism. Once again, I'm going to give you the definition: excessive attachment to a particular sect or party, especially in religion. Once again, let me pause and ask you, are you guilty of sectarianism, which is excessive attachment to a particular sect or party? Look at your political attachment, your excessive political attachment to a particular party.

Do you even care what that party stands for? Do you know what it stands for? Do you know what it's for and what it's against, and how does that line up with scripture, your Christian beliefs? I don't care what they are, this is my party and we're going to stick to it. Excessive attachment to a particular party or sect—is that you? Do you vote biblically? No matter what the party, you're going to vote biblically.

Many of you vote based upon your excessive attachment to your particular party, whatever that party is. I just wonder, are you guilty of sectarianism? You can't wait—you're excited to vote because of your excessive attachment to your particular party, whether that lines up with scripture at all. You have an excessive attachment to it.

Many of you don't even know. Every four years you vote so anti-Bible. Then you'll come into church, "Praise the Lord, hallelujah." But then every four years you vote against everything that goes against this "Praise the Lord, hallelujah" and this Book. I just wonder, are you guilty of sectarianism? This is what they accused Paul of and he's going to refute these things.

Look at verses 15 and 16. He says, "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 towards God and man." In these verses, Paul gets to the heart of his defense, which was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Notice what's attached to it and judgment.

He said in verse 15, "I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept." In other words, "The hope I am describing," Paul was saying, "even my accusers have the same hope, the hope of the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust." Paul was referring to Daniel Chapter 12 and verse 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, and the contempt of the Sadducees, who denied angels, spirits, and especially the resurrection when Paul was on trial before, according to Acts 23, verses 6 through 9. Because of the resurrection of the just and the unjust, Paul constantly sought to have a good conscience before God and man, according to Acts 23 and verse 1. In making this statement, he was implying that one day he would have to stand before God and give an account of his life. Everyone will stand before God, the just and the unjust.

I have to ask you here, are you ready to stand before God and give an account of your life to Him? Paul expected to. This is why he said, "I have hope in God." Do you have this hope, the hope that there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust? Jesus said the same thing in John 5 and verses 28 and 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: the resurrection of life or the resurrection of condemnation?

Keep in mind when the Bible talks about the resurrection, it is referring to the resurrection of the body, not the soul or spirit. According to Second Corinthians 5:8, it says, "To be absent from the body"—which is a phrase that refers to physical death—"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 that First Thessalonians 4:13 through 18 describes.

Because of this fact, Paul said in verse 16, "This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense towards God and man." The Greek word for "strive" is *askeo*, 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 to not cause to stumble. It means 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, not causing hurt or harm to God or man. It reminds me of Ephesians 4:30 that says, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." "Do not grieve." The word "grieve" there is *lupeo* in the Greek. It's a Greek word that means to cause pain to.

Whenever we sin purposely, willfully, we're causing pain to God. The Spirit of God that is in us is doing this when we purposely sin. It means to cause pain to, *lupeo*, to cause pain to. I just 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 striving, practicing, exercising our Christian life in such a way as to not purposely offend people or God? Someone may protest and say, "Why do I have to live in such a way?" Because of the resurrection of the just and the unjust. One day we're going to be judged or give an account of our lives here on this earth. This is why Paul said, "I am striving, practicing, exercising myself to have a good conscience without offense before God and man."

Why did I put emphasis on the conjunction "and"? Because sometimes people have the mentality of, "As long as I'm pleasing God, that's all that matters." But we will be judged on how we lived out our Christianity before our fellow man as well. Look at verses 17 through 19. "Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor turmoil. They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me."

In these verses, Paul answers the third accusation, that he tried to desecrate the temple, which is sacrilege. Desecrate the temple. Paul said, "Now after many years," which is a reference to the twenty-plus years he was gone from Jerusalem on his missionary trips to preach the gospel to the Gentiles or the non-Jews. He tells the governor the reason why I came back to Jerusalem was to worship, according to verse 11, and bring an offering to the struggling Jewish Christians suffering there because of a severe famine that was in the land, according to Acts 11, verse 28. Paul tells him in verse 18 everything was going well, "I was just being purified in the temple until some Jews from Asia"—he's talking about modern-day Turkey—"some Jews from Asia came," we know this from Acts 21:27, "and caused an uproar."

They neither found me in the temple with a mob or a crowd. Then Paul said in verse 19, "If these Jews had any real charges against me, they would be here before you to object to what I am saying." Paul lays out a strong argument that was against their false accusations. Look at verses 20 and 21. "Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, 'Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.'"

In these verses, Paul tells Felix the governor to ask those who were there in verse 20 if they found any wrongdoing in him while he stood before the council of the Jewish Supreme Court in the other trial that he had to go through. Before they can answer, Paul says in verse 21, "Unless it was for one statement concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day." Paul's argument was so convincing that the 80-year-old Ananias, who was the High Priest, and the other councilmen, they were silenced. When we strive to have a good conscience without offense towards God and man, God will give us a mouth and wisdom which all of your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist, like Luke 21:15 says.

When we live with a guilty conscience, it will have a way of silencing us and have us looking guilty before our enemies, like we see in these verses in the lives of these religious leaders who were silenced in the face of Paul's truth. The charges given by Tertullus against Paul were all answered brilliantly and now all that is left is for the governor Felix to respond. What will he say? Who will he side with? Will he side with the religious leaders or will he side with Paul? You've got to wait until next week to find out.

Let me conclude with this. The hope of the resurrection. I just wonder, do you have this hope, the hope that you will be resurrected with the just? How do you know? If you don't have this hope, you can leave here today by repenting of your sin and accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior. Everyone is not RIP, "Rest In Peace," or RIH, "Rest In Heaven," that we see plastered over social media whenever anyone dies. No matter how they lived their life, it's not happening.

Everybody isn't going to heaven. Stop it. Everybody isn't going. Only those who have repented of their sin, accepted Christ, the one who died for our sins—they are the ones that are going to heaven. As soon as I see someone die, "Rest in paradise, rest in peace, rest in heaven," and I'm just like, "I know that dude. That dude ain't going nowhere near heaven." It went immediate up, boom, it went right down.

I know this dude. I'm reading those posts and I know it's good, happy thoughts, but everybody isn't going. There would be no need for Christ to come and die if everybody was automatically just going. Why did He come and die? He came to die for sin, which all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He came to die for our sin.

You only go by accepting Him into your life and the way that you know that took, it will be reflected in your life. You will live for Him. Then those people, yeah, "Rest in peace, rest in heaven," whatever you want to say. But everybody isn't going. Finally, how is your conscience? Are you living without offense before God and man?

If your conscience is bothering you about something, this is time for you to give it to God. Confess it to Him and do what He instructs you to do. Maybe that means apologize to someone. I hate when He tells me to do that because that goes against my flesh. I don't want to apologize. I don't want to say I'm sorry. I just want to be stuck on spite.

But God said, "Nah, that's not how I want you. You've got to go and apologize." And when I do, this flesh dies a slow death. Or maybe the Lord will instruct you to repay money stolen. I don't know what that means for you. Whatever it is that your conscience is bothering you, this is why you can't sleep at night. Melatonin and all this other mess that you're trying to take at night, sleeping pills, all this stuff—your conscience is bothering you.

When a person's conscience is bothering them about something, you're guilty of something. That's that little mechanism God gives us. You're guilty. If you want to sleep, if you want your sleep to be peaceful like the scripture says, you've got to deal with that conscience. You've got to deal with it. Maybe it's just something between you and God. Your walk or your relationship with Him either doesn't exist or is not where it used to be.

We were talking about it in leadership this morning. The pandemic has just robbed a lot of people of their walk with God. Stripped them. Satan just came and just said, "Give it here." Folks said, "I'm good." Now Sunday that used to be church and I'm growing and I'm growing close and I'm serving—now Sunday is "Sunday Funday" because they're good on this thing called Christianity.

Maybe that's what it is. You hear me online, maybe that's what it is for you. Maybe that's what it is for somebody here. You've got to deal with your conscience. It's bothering you for a reason. Don't you want to be free? Don't you want to have a peaceful sleep? Don't you want to walk around and be at peace and not have your conscience just constantly knocking on the door of your heart?

You can be free today. Today you can experience a freedom that you haven't experienced in months by dealing with God and your conscience. Somebody needs to get right with God. Somebody needs to return to God. Somebody needs to apologize to a spouse. Somebody needs to return some money. Whatever it is, God knows and He's pointing it out right now. You don't want to leave here without getting it right with God.

Let's pray. Father, we do pray in the precious name of Jesus. We pray that Your Spirit will move in our midst. Lord, thank You that You love us to share these things with us. You love us so desperately. Lord, I just pray if there's anyone here that they know that they're not right with You. They've never repented of their sin and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. Lord, there's some who need to come home to You. They've drifted. The pandemic has robbed them of whatever relationship they thought they had with You. Lord, draw Your people home. Your word says it is Your loving kindness that You have drawn us. Draw them by Your loving kindness.

For those who haven't prayed to accept Christ and ask Him into your life, just pray this simple prayer. Just say, "Lord Jesus, forgive me. I believe You died on the cross and was buried and rose again just for me. Come into my heart. I make You my Lord and Savior. Help me to live for You by the power of Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name. Amen."

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