The First Letter of Peter- 15

Subtitle: Our Witness before the World- Part 7

1 Peter 3:13-17.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, March 1, 2026.

The verses leading up to this section were a quote from Psalm 34 which declares that God is against evildoers and on the side of the righteous.  This was written by David expressing his faith in the midst of a time of persecution and suffering.  In other words, it was written in a time when he could easily have doubted this truth.

This begs the question of why righteous people suffer.  Peter doesn’t approach the issue this way, but it is at the back of all that he says about it.

Let’s look at our passage.

You may suffer for doing what is good and right (13-17)

When I say that you “may” suffer for doing what is good and right, I am keying off of the conditional words that Peter gives in this section.  The clincher is in verse 17.  There Peter uses the phrase “if God should will it.”

Of course, there are levels of suffering and different kinds of suffering. Yet Peter is preparing believers for whatever levels they may face.

There is a cognitive dissonance that occurs when we recognize that, though God is on the side of the righteous, He often allows the righteous to suffer at the hands of the wicked.  How can this be?

Whether we can answer this or not, Peter makes it clear that God does allow believers to suffer for doing what is good (verse 13) and right (verse 14).  He does have a reason, but we do not always know specifically what that is.

Of course, we are talking about good and right as God defines it and not as society defines it.  This is what marks a Christian.  We have stopped defining these things for ourselves or using society’s definition.  We are following the thinking and mind of Christ.

Even a society that was built upon the foundation of God’s definitions of good and right can drift away from them.  Eventually this becomes all out rebellion to the Word of God and to the Spirit of Christ.  We see this in the Bible with Israel, and we see it today in these united States of America.  An example is how our culture has been accusing Christians of not showing love when they do not approve of homosexuality or the transgender craze that happening.  The world makes a “moral” accusation that is equivalent to saying, “You are bad, even evil!”

Yet the truth is this.  There is nothing more loving than to protect your child against this wicked persuasion that has taken over our land.  It is fundamentally God’s will for parents to shield their kids from this.  It is an age-old problem.  Society’s love to call evil what God calls good and to call good what God calls bad.

In verse 13, Peter opens with this question.  Who would harm you for doing what is right?  Some translations use the word zealous for what is right and others have for following what is right.  Regardless of which of these is the right word, they both are saying the same thing.  Zeal refers to an internal drive for what is right.  The phrase “following good” (or imitating good) focuses on the external act that flows out of an internal zeal.  Yet the main point is about who would harm you for this.

We can approach this question like Paul does in Romans 8:31. “If God be for us who can be against us?”  The answer in one respect is, “No one of any consequence.”  Thus, Paul states that nothing (no one) can separate us from the love of God.  This is true even when God allows them to persecute us (harm us for doing good). 

Both Paul in the Romans 8 passage and Peter in this passage immediately bring up what God has done through Jesus and his suffering.  When we think about the suffering of Christ, we are reminded that he endured this for the sake of saving those who are lost.  Thus, we can contemplate this question of who might harm us for doing good in the sense that it would only be a person who is lost and under the judgment of God.  This is a judgment that God does not desire for them.  If my persecutors don’t repent, then they are going to face a judgment that they will not survive.

Whether we think of them as having no real power to affect our actions or we think of them as lost humans that Jesus wants to save, the Christian can face persecution without yielding to the temptation to be angry with God and even stop believing in His love for them.

In verse 14, Peter says, “even if you should suffer…”  The experience of suffering in the first century and in the twenty first century is not uniform.  On one hand, we are all guaranteed some level of suffering if we follow Christ.  Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”  You are going to pay a price.  But, on the other hand, the suffering of one person may be quite light compared to another.  The level of persecution is not the issue.  Rather, it is how we respond to it.

Peter challenges us to see that we are blessed even if we should suffer for the sake of righteousness.  He is using words from the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount.  Matthew 5:10 reads, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.”  Those these people are blessed because God speaks on their behalf, this word for blessing emphasizes the happy experience of a life that is lived in right relationship with God.  How can a person be “happy in Jesus” when they are persecuted for doing the right thing?  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus continually points to what God is going to do for such people.  The kingdom will be theirs.  They have a great reward in heaven.  You will be like the prophets (and Christ) before you.  You will be comforted.  You will see God!  He ended with Matthew 5:12. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad!  How can a person rejoice when they are being persecuted?  They have to trust in their heavenly Father greatly.

Peter then quotes a part of Isaiah 8:12. “Do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled.”  In the context of Isaiah, God is counseling Isaiah on how to respond to the fear and craziness of a society that is in rebellion to God.  He even tells Isaiah not to call a conspiracy the things his people called a conspiracy.  This is not to say that there is no truth to their fears.  Rather, they are only afraid of those things because they don’t know God.  The one who trusts in God should not fear the things that the godless fear.  When you have no fear of God and you walk away from Him, you feel exposed to everything.  You fear anything and everything because God is not with you.

Threats can even come from people claiming to know God.  Following the resurrection, the apostles were told by the religious leaders to quit preaching about Jesus.  If they didn’t quit, they would be thrown in prison.  Yet Christians are told by a man who faced such threats not to fear those who threaten us.

Think about David.  Saul sought his life and called him a traitor.  David could have let fear move him to protect himself.  He could have killed Saul several times.  Each time David refused to do so.  Saul was a man in rebellion to God, and so he was afraid of things he didn’t have to fear.  David was not a traitor, and even if he was, God called Saul and could protect him.  It was Saul’s awareness that God was not on his side that caused fear.

Instead of fearing their threats and actions of persecution, we should do like David.  He feared God too much to respond to Saul in like manner.  We too should fear God too much to respond to people like the world around us is doing. Jesus is our example and guide.

Peter then lists two things we should do (verse 15) in lieu of fear.  First, we are to set apart Christ as Lord.  To sanctify or set apart means to make this one thing more important than anything else.  Christ as my Lord must mean more to me than a perfect life of comfort and ease.  I would be willing to give up anything even suffer anything before I would give up Christ as Lord.  This is what Paul is driving home in Romans 8.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.  Yet I can let fears cause me to shrink back.  We are to guard our heart from such things.

The second thing we are to do is to be always ready to defend the reason for the hope that is in us.  People will be perplexed at the way you cling to Christ in the face of persecution and suffering.  How can you go through this suffering and not rant and rave against God?  How can you cling to Christ as your Lord when he doesn’t protect you from my torture?

They may never ask this question out loud, but we need to be ready to give a reason why we would have such faith in the face of such adversity.

Essentially, Peter is talking about testifying to your persecutors, your enemies.  In fact, the persecution of the righteous is one of the ways that God pricks the heart of those who do evil.  In those moments, we must not be overcome by their evil and return evil back to them.  This is our finest hour, our opportunity to slip the Gospel past their spiritual defenses.

Our great hope in Christ is still held in these weak, mortal frames.  It is easy for us to fear and balk under the threat of suffering.  However, we need to double down on trusting God.  When we are weak, the Spirit of God will be strong through us.  We can testify for Jesus and about Jesus to those who do us wrong.  This is the will and the mind of Christ.

Peter adds three descriptors to how we are to give our defense.  We are to do so with meekness, fear, and a good conscience. 

Meekness is strength under control.  It is hard to keep your composure when you are unjustly persecuted.  The Christian is called to control their flesh and follow the path of Christ.  Instead of letting anger cause us to rage, we are to let the Holy Spirit give us the words to say.  We are to trust God.

The fear (reverence) cannot be towards men.  He has just told us not to fear those intimidating us.  This is the fear of the Lord.  As I mentioned David earlier, he feared God too much to touch King Saul.  He would let God remove Saul.  When we give an answer to the ungodly, we are to know that we are to give the answer that God wants us to give.  It will be an answer that pleads with them to turn from their wickedness and turn towards the love of God that is even now extended to them through you.  Jesus is their judge, but he is also mine.  I must trust his judgments, whether with my own persecution or my ultimate judgment in eternity.

Finally, Peter mentions that we should have a good conscience.  This is also before God.  If I have done what I know God wants me to do (the good and the right as He defines it), then my heart and mind will have a simplicity (no ulterior motive) and the peace that comes from it.  David was no traitor.  He had a clean conscience before God.  Yet Saul still hunted him.  David didn’t understand why this was going on, but he knew that he was following God.  He didn’t deserve the things Saul was doing.  We may often struggle with the why of life, but there is a peace that can be found in having a clean conscience.  “I am following Jesus, and he will help me all the way.  He will be attentive to my prayer and against those who try to do me evil.”  I don’t have to know why; I just need to know Who.

Verse 16 ends with the challenge to do this in such a way that those who are slandering us (calling our good evil) will be put to shame.  All who falsely accuse the righteous of doing evil will one day face the shame of what they have done before God.  They may rail against your good conduct in Christ now, but they will be silent when they stand before God.  God will not be intimidated by the power and authority they had in this life.

Yet this can also go another way.  There is a certain public spectacle that happens when people given to righteousness are persecuted and slandered.  The person doing so may have their conscience pricked by the realization of what they are doing.  However, even if they don’t feel the shame of their actions, others watching may see the shame of it.  At the cross Jesus was truly paying the price for our sins.  Yet he was also pricking the conscience of everyone who ever hears the story of what was done to him and why.

Shame is real whether a person feels it or not.  Ultimately, we are challenged to live in such a way that those who do persecute us will only become a clarion call to the world around us drawing attention to the Lord we serve.

Verse 17 makes it clear, if it isn’t already, that God sometimes wills that we suffer for the good that we do.  This sounds strange, but Peter has laid the groundwork for the reasons He would do such things.  We are the goads in the hands of Jesus, pricking the dull conscience of this world.  We don’t do this just through our suffering, but also through how we suffer.

In these times, we must not lose sight of the purpose of God.  We must not let the enemy convince us that God doesn’t care about us.  We must not let the enemy separate our heart from the love of God, both for ourselves and for those who persecute us.

It was God’s will that Jesus suffer because it would make salvation possible, and it would draw people to that salvation.  Why do we tend to flee from suffering?  This is precisely what God uses to testify through us to others.  Perhaps we have fled too much, so much that there is no longer a testimony of Christ in our sphere of influence.

Peter ends with the encouragement that it is better to suffer for doing what is right than to suffer for doing what is wrong.  To suffer for doing wrong is not great feat.  You deserve it.  However, enduring undeserved punishments is a mark of someone who knows Jesus.  It is great righteousness.  We can only do this if we have a close relationship with Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  It is his vision, and it is what saved our soul.  He gave mercy to me and you through people who could have written us off.  If he did such for us, how can we not be his mercy in the lives of others, even those who persecute us for doing good?  We can’t, or better we shouldn’t.  We should say with Jesus, “Nevertheless, Your will be done!”

Our Witness 7 audio

The Acts of the Apostles 69

Subtitle: The Gospel Goes to Corinth

Acts 18:1-11.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 23, 2024.

We continue our look at the Apostle Paul on his Second Missionary Journey.  At the end of chapter 17, Paul had ministered in Athens, where there were some who believed.  However, Paul then left Athens and went to Corinth. 

We have two letters written by Paul to the church that he started there in Corinth (1^st and 2^nd Corinthians).

It would be helpful to bear in mind the tension between the good response to the Gospel in Corinth and the sinful culture that was still impacting these believers later when Paul writes to them.  Following Jesus is a new way of life in which we are transformed from a person who is animated by self to a person who is led by the Spirit of God to live like Jesus.

Let’s look at our passage.

Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla (v. 1-3)

When Paul arrives in Corinth, we are told that he finds a couple named Aquila and Priscilla.  Aquila is a Jew who was born in Pontus on the south side of the Black Sea.  Though it is not stated, it seems apparent that Priscilla is not a Jew.  They had come from Rome to work in Corinth as tentmakers.  This has led some scholars to make the connection that her name is a diminutive form of an important family in Rome called the Prisca Family.  This may explain why her name is put first 50 percent of the time when they are mentioned in the Bible (3 of the 6 times).  This was not normal and points to something being important about her.

We should also note that it tells us why they left Rome.  Claudius Caesar had issued a decree for all Jews to leave Rome.  This is attested by the Roman historian, Suetonius.  He lived from 69 AD to 122 AD.  He mentions that they were kicked out of the city because of riots over a man named Chrestus.  It is clear that this is talking about Christ (Greek is Christos).  Though it is tough to nail down exactly what year this decree was given, it would have been around 49 AD ( 1 or 2 years earlier than our story).

Paul made fast friends with these two.  They were tentmakers like him and Aquila was a Jew like him.  Paul was having to work and minister at the same time, so they were a perfect help for him.

Luke’s account is unclear when they became Christians.  In fact, it is quite possible that they were already Christians.  It has been 20 some years since the death and resurrection of Jesus.  News travelled fast and Rome was the capital of the empire.  We also know that the Jews were kicked out of Rome for rioting over a man named Chrestus (Christ).  Regardless, they not only become fast friends, but also fellow-workers in the sharing the Gospel.

It is important that people put their faith in Christ, and that is what an evangelist focuses on.  However, the Lord sometimes connects us with people who can help us in the ministry.  It is important to be led by Christ and to work with others who are led by Christ in this mission to take the Gospel to the world.  Jesus is the Anointed One of God to save the world from its sins and from the destruction we are hurtling towards.

Paul’s ministry in the synagogue (v. 4-6)

As was his pattern, we see Paul focusing on the synagogue first.  It would actually have Jews and God-fearing Gentiles who were attached to it.  They would know the Scriptures and more readily understand what Paul was teaching.  This makes it easier to communicate the Gospel, compared to speaking to an atheist, but it doesn’t ensure that a person will believe and be saved.

This is a practical reason to start in the synagogue.  However, Paul went to the Jews first because he also had a duty to share the good news with them.  They had served as God’s people for nearly 2 millennia.  They had been waiting for Messiah to come.  Many Jews had been dispersed through the centuries.  They needed to hear that all that service had been worth it.  Messiah has come!  It would be immoral to refuse to tell them, or try to avoid them.

At some point, Silas and Timothy show up from Berea.  We are told that this allowed Paul to minister full-time, but the reason is not explained here.  This is most likely because of money supplied by the believers in Philippi.  Paul mentions such a situation in 2 Corinthians 11.  There he challenges the Corinthian church with the fact that he could have expected them to take care of him when he ministered there.  However, it was the Philippians who covered his costs while he ministered among them.

Paul’s speaking in the synagogue eventually wears out his welcome.  We are told that some of them opposed him and blasphemed him (reviled him, spoke abusively against him).  This comes to a head where Paul shakes out his clothing and makes a public declaration that he is done coming to the synagogue.  This is a cultural thing that is related to the commands of Jesus in Matthew 10:14.  There he speaks of shaking the dust off your feet when you leave a place of people who reject your service for Jesus.  It is a symbolic gesture that serves as a witness against those you spoke to.  This dust testifies that it was on my sandals as I came into your midst to share the Gospel.  It also represents that he is leaving without taking anything from them.  Here, have your dirt back.

His statement does not mean he will never try to reach Jews again, or will not go into any synagogues.  Rather, this is clearly about the synagogue in Corinth, and we can imagine that he may have done so in some other synagogues as well.  Paul will continue to reach out to Jews in new cities and go into their synagogues, as we will see next week.

Paul continues to minister in Corinth (v. 7-11)

Sometimes the plan that we are following doesn’t go the way that we had hoped.  But, that doesn’t mean that God isn’t with you, or even helping you.  If you always interpret resistance as a sign that something is out of the will of God, then you will most certainly not fulfill what God has for you to do.  Did Adam and Eve give God any resistance?  What about Jesus and his crucifixion?  Surely God was not with such a man, and yet He most definitely was.  You will run into resistance in this world.  They key is to always look to Christ and His Holy Spirit to lead you in such times.

Paul most likely took time to pray about God’s direction for the ministry.  He had been successful to convince some of the Jews, even Crispus the ruler of the synagogue.  He had also convinced some of the God-fearers.  Thus, they begin meeting at the nearby home of a new believer, Justus. 

It is at this time that Paul has a vision of Jesus. The message of Jesus has four points to it.  First, don’t be afraid, which is another way of saying, “Fear not!”  This is a theme throughout Scripture.  If we are to do God’s will, then we cannot be driven and dissuaded by fear.  It may be scary, but you don’t have to be scared of it.  It may be fearful, but you don’t have to fear it. 

Jesus is not saying this like somehow Paul (or any of us for that matter) can reach a state where he never feels fear again.  Fear is a lot like whack-a-mole.  It is going to crop up from time to time because we are still mortals in the flesh.  However, we can take hold of that fear and put it on the altar before God.  Lord, I don’t want to be a fearful man!  Help me to overcome my fears and walk out your will! 

In fact, our flesh is not just fearful of the leading of the Holy Spirit.  It is downright hostile towards the things the Spirit wants to do in us.  When you go to pray, your flesh will fight you.  It will be a battle.  It will fight you to either quit praying, or it will convince you to pray only in ways that bring you glory.  Over time, we can develop a discipline in prayer, and in taking hold of our fears.

How does a person not fear?  You look to Jesus, ask for his help, and then do what he has told you to do.  You repent quickly when you miss the mark, and then you get back to doing his will.  Jesus is greater than anything that you will ever face.  They are all under his authority and answer to him.  Of course, they are not submitted to him, but he is still their boss.

Secondly, Jesus tells Paul to speak and not be silent.  I like the positive and negative way of saying the same thing.  This is just what it takes to get our flesh to move in the direction that God wants.  Open your mouth, and cease saying nothing!  Get out there and say something.  You may feel that it falls flat and is ineffective, but at least you are doing what the Lord has said.  He will continue to lead you and help you to know what to say.

Thirdly, He tells Paul that he is with him.  It is hard on our flesh that we cannot see Jesus.  We are told that he is with us and that we are authorized by him to take the Gospel everywhere (even communist countries).  Our flesh complains that it cannot see him.  It complains that Jesus being with us by his Holy Spirit isn’t the same as him being with us physically.  Yes, its not the same.  In fact, its better!  We will learn to lean upon God better.  We learn to grow in intimacy with him much deeper.  We also develop a much stronger faith.

Lastly, Jesus tells Paul that he doesn’t have to worry about being harmed because he has many people in this city.  When the mob grabs hold of you and drags  you through the streets, it is a relief when they take you to the courtroom.  They could do much worse things, and have throughout history.  Jesus gives Paul the understanding that he doesn’t have to fear such things in Corinth.  He would have freedom to minister, if he has faith to believe Jesus.  Isn’t this so true for all of us.

It is one thing to have a vision from Jesus in the night.  However, when you wake up in the morning, you have a decision to make.  Am I going to speak and not be silent today?  We can do this same thing with church and Sunday services.  We can find it easy to sing songs, praise God, worship, and say bold things for Jesus in a church service.  However, on Monday morning, our knees go wobbly and our hands hang down and our mouths stay silent.

This is where prayer is so important.  Take time to talk to Christ about your fears and your silent mouth.  Tell him that you don’t want to be a fearful person, and ask him to help you gain your voice.  Yet, in our immaturity, we want Jesus to zap us with courage.  This isn’t how it works.  If you are fearful, then Christ has strength for you.  Yet, it will come to you little by little as you choose to obey him.

Know this.  When you feel alone, God has people all around you and all around this world.  It is amazing how you can meet another Christian, half way around the world, and still have deep and meaningful conversations with them, even though you have never met them before.  This is because we have been serving the same Jesus with the help of the same Holy Spirit!

Corinth was a very sinful place.  Yet, God had a lot of people there.  Imagine that!  He even has Caesar kick the Jews out of Rome so that Paul will have some help when he arrives.  God is always working.  He just wants us to boldly join Him in the field.

Are you in doubt about this world today?  Do you feel like the Gospel doesn’t work anymore?  We can become fearful.  But always remember this.  If God is the one telling you not to be afraid, then who is telling you to fear?  The devil has a vested interest in stirring up your fears.  He uses governments, people in authority, media, friends, and even your own flesh to cause you to fear.  Our technology even makes it easier to pump us full of fear.  Perhaps, it is time to disconnect from the purveyors of fear and open our hearts to the one who can help us to boldly work for the souls of the people around you.

Gospel in Corinth audio

The Acts of the Apostles 65

Subtitle: A Quick Release

Acts 16:35-40.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on November 26, 2023.

Paul and Silas were in prison when an earthquake (God) opened their doors and loosed their chains.  We then saw how they led the Philippian Jailer to believe on Jesus.  A lot of things happened that morning from midnight to daybreak: they preached to the household, they baptized the jailer and his household, and their wounds were treated.

We don’t know the exact content of their prayers earlier that evening.  However, it seems likely that they asked God for favor to be released and things on that level.

We often pray for God’s help in different matters.  Sometimes, we have our heart and sights set on a particular answer, or a particular way for it to be done.  However, God in His power has a multitude of ways by which He can help us.  We, however, are not unlimited in power.  It is hard for us to trust, to believe, that God can answer the same prayer in a 1,000 different ways.  We tend to pray specifically for one way.  If we don’t see anything in the natural realm heading in that direction, we feel like God is not answering, or saying, “No.”  It is possible that God has already done everything, and things are simply falling into place.  We can fret needlessly when we neglect to trust God and wait upon Him in peace.

Think about the cross of Jesus.  It was not what any of the righteous in society were praying for.  When it happened, they all felt that it meant he had failed.  That was all they could see.  Yet, God’s power would bring Jesus even through death into victory.  In fact, his death itself was a victory over sin itself.

This is only in regard to God’s power.  Now, think about God’s wisdom.  In His wisdom, He may choose a way that we don’t understand, or take us in a different direction than we hoped for.  When God led Israel out of Egypt, He took them through the wilderness.  Part of it was to cut down on the number of enemies that they would have to fight.  Yet, part of it was to show Israel how He could powerfully care for them and loved them.  It was to be a time of intimacy.

The test for all of us is to know that, between God’s power and wisdom, our puny minds are  not going to figure out exactly what God is going to do beforehand.  We should pray, ask for help, and then trust Him to respond in His timing and in His way.

In our story today, God had Paul and Silas released from prison in less than 24 hours.  That is a quick release, a miraculous release, and it is all because of the help of God.  However, they didn’t know that when they were praying and singing hymns to God.  May God help us to grow in our patience and learn to trust our heavenly Father.

Let’s look at our passage.

Paul and Silas are released from prison (35-40)

Though Paul and Silas are taken to the warden’s house in the middle of the night, they are technically under his charge as prisoners.  He simply is responsible for producing them whenever the magistrates summon the prisoners.

Whether they go back to the jail or not is not clear from the passage and is really irrelevant for our purposes.  In the end, word will come to let them go.

Before we get into that, I want to deal with this aspect of singing and praising God in the midst of persecution.   I imagine that several hymns, psalms, came to mind as they prayed to God.  It is clear that even David’s psalms began as prayers to God.  At some point, he crafted them into a poetic prayerful song to God.  Songs are a powerful way of ensuring that we remember milestones of spiritual wrestling with God.  Some things are worth remembering, are worth building an altar over and giving thanks to God.

Paul and Silas prayed in physical agony before God, and by the night’s end, God had answered their prayer powerfully, even having the jailer wash and tend their wounds.

At dawn, the magistrates send word to the warden that Paul and Silas are to be released and told to leave town.  We do not know exactly why they made this decision.  It is possible that they believe that Paul and Silas will leave town quickly and everything will be over.  There had been such a raging mob the previous day, that they didn’t want to have such a volatile situation.  They had already beaten the men, and so perhaps they feel this will get rid of the opportunity for more mayhem, and for their ability to control the city to be questioned by Caesar.

It is also possible that the earthquake in the middle of the night after such a strange day was interpreted by them as a bad omen.  “The gods must be angry.”  Either way, they want them to leave and never come back.

You might be wondering why God would send an earthquake when He would know that they would be released the next day.  Of course, why would he let them be beaten when He knows they are innocent?  These kind of question can never truly be answered because we are asking about what exactly God was thinking.  Good luck with solving that.  Yet, we now know that the freedom of Paul and Silas is not due to the good graces of the magistrates.  It is at the good graces of God.  The earthquake and consequent freeing of the prisoners would stand as a witness to believers that God was powerfully working in Philippi.  They could know that God was with them, no matter what happened ahead.

When Paul and Silas are told that they can leave, Paul refuses to go quietly.  We should note that he is not above sneaking out of town, which we saw in Acts 9.  There, he was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall of Damascus.

Paul doesn’t have a principle of never sneaking out of town.  There is something else going on here.  We need to listen to the Holy Spirit and seek His wisdom in moments like this.  Instead of a principle of always doing such and such, there is a real flexibility, a liberty, of the Spirit of God for what needs to happen.

Paul tells the warden that they are Roman citizens.  Why did he wait until now to bring it up?  It is possible that he was unable to do so in the pandemonium and anger of the city.  They simply wouldn’t let them speak.  There was no reason to assume that these Jews had Roman citizenship, but it would have been a wise thing to determine before beating them without trial.

Roman citizens had certain rights.  In this case, they should have been tried in a court with the ability to speak in their defense.  To punish them without trial was a grievous offense.

Paul doesn’t usually make an issue of his Roman citizenship.  Yet, he does here.  I do not believe this is an ego-driven decision.  Paul couldn’t care less about Roman citizenship.  He was more concerned about his citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.  Yet, the reputation of the Gospel of Jesus was at stake here.  And, it was clear that God was working in this situation.  God would use this abuse of rights to turn the tables on the magistrates.

It is important to understand that, though we have natural rights as humans and as citizens of the United States of America, as a citizen of heaven, we can waive them for Christ if need be.  The decision is not about my rights, but about what is helpful to the Gospel.  Paul’s Roman citizenship is subservient to his heavenly citizenship.

Men had put Paul in prison unjustly.  Of course, Paul did not want to be stuck there.  Yet, it is not up to the men who put him there, or my own rights.  It really is about God’s will.  They knew that God had more things for them to do.  And, they knew that God was making a point here in Philippi with the exorcism followed by an earthquake, and the salvation of two households in Philippi.

When word is sent back to the magistrates that they were Romans, we are told in verse 38 that “they were afraid.”  Paul could sue them, and they knew that he had them over a barrel.  They went from having their way with Paul and Silas to being afraid of what they will do.

Paul wants the magistrates to come down and release them.  This is the difference between, we magnanimously let you go and admitting fault publicly.   A quiet release and departure would allow them to play up that they had taught Paul and Silas a lesson.  An official setting of them free as Roman citizens would demonstrate the gross negligence that they had exercised the day before.

It is interesting that part of their fear has to do with what Paul and Silas will do.  Wicked people are always afraid that others will be just like them.  These guys don’t know Paul, but they are sure that they are about to be called on the carpet by the power of Caesar, if they don’t appease these guys.

Yet, notice that their fear is about the power Paul and Silas have as Roman citizens.  They are afraid of the Roman system and their own breach of its rules.  They are not, however, afraid of the God of Israel and His Messiah, Jesus.  They are not afraid of mistreating the ambassadors of Jesus, but of citizens of Rome. 

We could give them some slack since the Gospel is relatively new.  How are we doing today, twenty centuries later?  If we are to fear any power structure, it should be that of Jesus, and the God of heaven.  What is our excuse today?  I know of no country that is making its decisions based upon a fear of God and His Anointed King, Jesus.

A confrontation is always going on between the power of Jesus and the power of the world.  It is not just at the natural level with governments and human authorities, but against wickedness in the spiritual realm.  Do you know that you are a part of that confrontation, just as much as Paul and Silas were?  When you come into the life of an unbeliever, there are spirits who have invested a lot of time in trapping that person in sin.  When you speak into that, you are stirring up a spiritual hornets’ nest, poking the nest.

Though this calls for sobriety, we should not forget that the retaliation of those spirits is a poking of the Lion of Judah, who is on our side.  We are the apple of God’s eye.  And though that does not call for arrogance, it doesn’t call for fear and weakness either.  God has a plan for you to assist in plundering these spiritual powers.  It starts with your own life and then moves out from there.  He is committed to you entering into glory with Him.  May we go forth boldly with His help!

We also see here that God sometimes uses the world’s systems against the devil.  I am sure that the devil does not want Paul and Silas released.  Yet, even when he has control of the whole Roman system, we see God using it against him.  You can see why there is a push in our world to coalesce the powers and systems of this world into one system controlled by one man, or very few men.  Such a global system will be achieve if only for a few years (see Revelation 13). 

This can give us some understanding to the judgment following the Tower of Babel.  Nimrod had led the world into a rebellion against the plan and purpose of God.  The judgment came in the form of confusing their languages.  They then separated because they couldn’t understand each other.  This barrier would take time to be overcome.  By then, different cultures and different ways of thinking would be entrenched.  Though this sounds bad from a sense of powerfully “fixing” problems in this world, it really is also a grace.  Often, God’s judgments have an element of grace within them.  These barriers to “global unity” would slow down and confound the devil’s ability to do anything that he wants, even when he has all of them under his influence.

The magistrates show up and “pleaded with them,” “brought them out,” and “asked them to depart from the city.”  God doesn’t determine what men will do, but every power and authority on earth is at the mercy of God’s decision, Roman empire or not.”  If we truly believed this, we would be far more careful in our lives, and we would be far more concerned for America.  Religion without relationship is not enough.  We are either serving God and His purposes, or we are resisting and rebelling against the Spirit of God.

Paul refuses to leave without saying goodbye to the new believers.  Thus he goes to Lydia’s house and encourages the brethren (believers) there.  Added to them now is the Philippian jailer and his house hold.  On top of this, we can hold out hope that the fortune-telling slave who was freed from the pythonic spirit would join the church as well.  Perhaps, she was on the auction block that next day, and either Lydia or the jailer, could purchase her freedom and attach her to their households.  Who knows?

These three people represent very different flavors of God’s grace.  Lydia was technically a believer.  However, once Messiah Jesus had come forth, she would need to put her faith in Messiah to demonstrate her faith in Yahweh, the God of Israel.  The Philippian jailer was no doubt an idol-worshipper.   The demon possessed girl who was now free had quite a different story.  Ultimately, it is not about how amazing your testimony is.  It may be wiser for us to think of it as God’s testimony in our life.  All three of these people needed Jesus just as much.  No matter how different the story, they were all in the same boat without Jesus.

Paul and Silas would leave, but not as whipped felons with their tail between their legs.  They would walk out of that city with their heads high, and rejoicing in what God was only beginning to do in this city.  May we too march forth into our cities and into our families so that God can use us to accomplish great spiritual work for His kingdom.

A Quick Release audio

The Acts of the Apostles 49

Subtitle: Will You Die for Jesus?

Acts 12:1-11. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on July 30, 2023.

Our title asks a question that can either be extremely uncomfortable for an American Christian, or it can be something that is so unreal that we don't give it the full gravity it deserves.  In other words, we can be quick to discount it because we think that we will never face such a thing.

My goal today is two-fold.  First, I believe that the point is not whether you would ever face martyrdom for Christ, but that you would have such a spiritual relationship with Christ that you could walk into the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil.  Even if God were to reveal to you that you were going to die for Him, it still takes faith and trust in God to walk forward and say, "Whether I live or die, it is all for the Lord!"  Yes, this is easier said than done.

Second, I believe that this question is itself at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus.  The word martyr actually means a witness.  In English, we connect it to those who are killed for their faith because that person is giving the ultimate witness of the worthiness of Jesus.  Yet, you cannot serve Jesus without dying to your own fleshly desires.  In this way, all Christians are called to die for Christ while they are alive.  Discipleship is continually facing this question.  Is Jesus worthy of my devotion to His leading?

On top of this, all saints will eventually die, and the biggest question will not be what took their life, but whether they lived their life as a witness of the love of Christ.  Our life needs to be a witness of the salvation of Jesus regardless of whether we are martyred or die in our sleep at home.  This is why Jesus tells us that we need to pick up our cross and follow him.  People who die for things really believe in them.  God helps us to be a people dying to our fleshly desires for the sake of Jesus.

Let's look at our passage.

The Apostle James is martyred (v. 1-4)

Luke explains another attempt to remove the apostles of the Church of Jesus.  This time it is by "Herod the king."  Initially, persecution came from the religious leaders and was imprisonment with threats.  It was the death of Stephen that took that persecution to a lethal level.  Saul of Tarsus hunted Christians down and brought them before the Council.  This seemed to fizzle out after his conversion in Damascus.  This introduces another serious persecution that seems focused upon the apostles themselves.

We know that this happens roughly 11-14 years after the death of Jesus because of the mention of Herod the King.

It is hard to keep track of the mixed up Herodian family, and what parts of Israel they are ruling over.  Herod the Great was alive at Jesus' birth and died several years later.  His kingdom was split up into four parts among his sons, but intrigues led to a soap opera like movement of who ruling what.  After Herod the Great's death, there was only one person during 3 years that could be called "Herod the King," and that is Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great.  He ruled shortly over all the parts of Israel from AD 41 to AD 44.  By the way, his son, Herod Agrippa II, is the Herod we will meet later in Acts 25.

Herod Agrippa started by ruling over a small city north of Damascus, but through his connection to several Caesars, he was given control of parts of Israel incrementally from AD 38 to AD 41.  Thus, he had rapidly rose from obscurity to Jerusalem to king over Israel.  In fact, some saw this as a possible restoration of the Kingdom of God to Israel.  It would be short-lived.  In three short years, it would fall apart again.

We are not told why this new king of Israel would seize James the apostle and execute him with the sword.  He is summarily dispatched in the span of two sentences.  James was one of the top three disciples with Peter and his brother John.  He should not be confused with James, the brother of Jesus, who didn't follow Jesus until after the resurrection, and is the writer of the book of James.

It is interesting that the three disciples closest to Jesus had such a variety of experience.  James is the first of The Twelve Apostles to be martyred.  He served as such for about 11 to 14 years.  Whereas, his brother, John, lived over 60 years after the death of Jesus.  He was the last of all the apostles to die.  Peter was in the middle, being martyred around 30 some odd years after the death of Jesus.

With the mind of flesh, we might ask which of them God loved the most.  Of course, they had argued so much about which of them was the greatest.  Is James the most loved because God took him home first?  Or, is John the most loved because he lived the longest?  Of course, you could make a case for both, but I think the question misses the point.  God loved them all, and their relative lengths of life have little to do with how much He loved (loves) them.

We will also see that there is no move to replace James as one of The Twelve like they did with Judas.  Judas did not serve the purpose for which God was calling him.  Whereas, James did fulfill his post.  He had given witness to his nation and to the Church about the identity and worth of Jesus, the Christ.  Why God only had him work about 14 years, Peter over 30, and John over 60, is an unknown to us.  Yet, they were taught directly by Jesus, and empowered directly by the Holy Spirit as gifts from Christ to the new believers.  They would help to ensure that the Church was founded upon a solid and true foundation by teaching and writing down the words of Christ.  No one needed to "take their place, or position," after they were gone.  They all finished the work that God sent them to do.

It reminds me of the parable of the workers.  Some men are hired to work for the day, but more workers are needed.  The owner hires new workers several times throughout the day, even hiring some to work the final hour of the day.  When they were being paid, the owner starts with those who worked one hour and gave them a whole day's wage.  This cause those who worked all day long to think they might get more, but instead they were paid a day's wage.

We need to understand that the labor of the Lord for each of us is not about mere numbers.  God does not need to maximize all He can get out of us.  Why is He not more protective of highly effective workers?  Why do some lazy Christians live long lives?  Historically, it is common for men and women who are spiritually powerful in the work of the Lord to die early.  We have stories of missionaries who traveled to Africa to spread the Gospel and were killed in the first year.  Yet, their witness broke open the Gospel in those areas.

When we became a believer, we didn't know all that the Lord would have us do, and what He was calling us to.  We can look at a person who dies at a young age and think that it is tragic because of what they could have done for the Lord had they lived longer.  We should be careful of this kind of thinking.

God has a purpose for each one of us that is important no matter how long it is.  However many days I may have to work for Him, it is my job to be faithful to the end.  The range between all of the Apostles dying was about 50 years.  Yet, each one of them would step into the presence of Jesus and hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"  The worrying about who is the greatest and will sit closest to Jesus is all gone in that moment, as you look into the glory of Jesus and are no longer in the flesh.

So, James is quickly killed, and little is made of it.  It simply was.  There is a story that surface in the early A.D. 300's by Christian bishop and historian Eusebius.  He relates that James actually led his guard to faith in Christ.  The guard was then executed along with James.  Whether this is true or simply a legend, James had done his part faithfully, whether we have all the details or not.  How many people have served the Lord and there is no book to recount their exploits.  Yet, the Lord knows those who labor for Him, and He will reward them fully!

We are told that Herod noticed that his execution of James "pleased the people."  Because of this, he proceeds to arrest Peter, intending to execute him as well.  However, it happens to be Passover week.  Therefore, he plans to hold Peter until the feast is done. 

Herod is a political creature of Rome.  He knows that he has to please the people enough to keep them peaceful, but in the end, he really has to please his Roman overlord, Caesar.  The leaders of this world have to become good at playing this tension between the people and their overlords, both in the natural and in the spiritual.  To them, people like James and Peter are merely fodder for their political intrigues.  We do not need such politicians.  What we need are people who are willing to be servants of the rights of the people, rather than serving their own flesh.  Yet, for all of their politicking, it really does come down to what God decides.

We can become so focused on the actions of politicians that we lose sight of the reality of what really matters.  "O, no!  Herod has executed James.  Now he has Peter.  O, woe is us!"  In fact, up until these verses, God has protected the apostles.  It is possible that the Christians had begun to think God would never let them be killed.

Herod Agrippa is actually falling into a classic trap of his abuse of power.  His arrogance in the face of God will only lead to his dishonor and demise.  Yet, his execution of James only gives him greater honor before Jesus.  We must resist the fleshly temptation to be fixated on what the powers of government do, rather than focused on pleasing the Lord Jesus.  He has the final word in all things!

Peter is freed from prison (v. 5-11)

In verse eleven, we see that an expectation had been built up.  Everyone knew that Peter was in prison, and that Herod planned to do to him what he did to James.  I'm sure there was much anticipation during the Passover feast and then the week of Unleavened Bread.  I'm sure they couldn't wait for Passover to finish so that they could see the spectacle. 

I pray that  you can hear me when I say this.  How many people are saying in their minds, "I can't wait for church to finish because there is something more exciting that I want to do."  Who cares about the old ritualistic traditions of our forefathers?  We just want to see something spectacular.  Yet, we forget that God has an expectation too.  We can be guilty of looking down on the things of God, whether in Israel or in the Church, and lusting after things that are actually in rebellion to His will.  O, how we need to seek God for a change of heart, a heart that is not lusting after the things of the world, but strongly desire the things of God.

Whereas James was summarily executed, Peter is going to be freed from prison, protected by God.  Yet, it is interesting that God let Peter stay in the prison until the night before he was to be brought before Agrippa and the people.  We don't want to read too much into the timing, but we should at least talk about the dynamics here.

What is God doing in this delay?  He could have set him free on day 1, but He waits until the last day.  He may be letting Peter sweat.  Maybe, this is more a time of intimacy.  The Lord could have revealed to Peter what He was going to do, but it doesn't say.  After the martyrdom of James, Peter could have wondered if it was his time.  As each day went by, he may have become convinced that he would be executed and surrendered himself unto God's will.  We just don't know.

This is where we need to learn to discipline of calming our hearts before the Lord in prayer.  It is typically the questions, the things we don't know, that agitate us and fill us will anxiety.  Why wasn't James released?  Why did God have Peter stay in prison to the last night?  Why is Peter released?  We can keep asking such questions that are all about why God does what He does.  However, it will not bring us peace.  The wisdom of God is so far above us that we can only receive glimpses of its glimmering glory.

Thus, the best thing that prayer can do for us has nothing to do with getting answers to all of our questions.  Rather, it is through prayer that we humble ourselves down before the Lord so that we can receive the strength to do for Him what He would have us do, what our flesh doesn't want to do.  Therefore, when you are in times of trial, and you do not know what God is doing, quiet your questions and fears before Him in prayer so that you can receive the strength to do His will.  The nice thing about being in prison is that you have tons of time to pray, to work things out with the Lord.  For James, it was to die in honor to Jesus.  For Peter (at least this time), it was to be set free by God in honor of Jesus.  May God help us to patiently serve Him as He leads us.

During Peter's incarceration, God's people are constantly praying.  We should not make too much of this, nor should we make too little of it.  Did they not pray for James?  Perhaps, James death happened before anyone knew about it, i.e., there wasn't time to pray.  We can latch onto the concept of constant prayer as the answer for everything.  We can then turn it into a mechanical lever to get what we desire from God.  Prayer is never about logging in hours, or impressing God with our unceasing devotion to saying things to Him.  It is about relationship.

Therefore, we must not look down on this privilege of the children of God to seek His favor in certain things that we are facing.  We should not quit praying because God did not answer in the way we hoped, in the way we asked Him to do.  Prayer has an element of wrestling with the Lord and discovering His purpose in the things that confront you.  Jesus tells us to pray, to ask.  The Word also says, "You do not have because you do not ask."  We need to be an asking, seeking, people, but not just seeking the answer that we want.  We are ultimately seeking the heart of God as we ask for specific help.

The best prayer always ends with a surrendered recognition that God knows best how our lives can bring glory to the cause of Christ.  And yet, this should not cause us to refrain from asking for specific things out of a false piety.  Wrestle with the Lord!  You may come out limping, but there is a blessing in it.

Notice that Peter is sleeping on the night of his trial, and sure death.  Lord, help me to be a man who can lay his head down to rest on the night of his execution.  I believe that Peter has prayed as well.  He has found a place of rest and peace in his soul in the midst of a turbulent time.  Do you remember the time when Jesus was sleeping in the boat during a storm?  Jesus wasn't afraid.  He was at peace with the Father's will.  Yet, Peter and the other disciples were desperately afraid of the storm.  Here, we see Peter demonstrating that he has not only seen things about Jesus, but he has also learned some things from him.

In the middle of the night, Peter is brusquely  awakened by an angel.  He is chained between two soldiers with two more at the cell door.  These men are supposed to be awake.  What are the chances of four guards all sleeping, as well as those who should have been guarding the outer part of the prison?  This is a supernatural sleep that has come over them.  A bright light is shining upon Peter as he gets up and dresses to leave, the chains simply fall from his wrists as he stands.  Multiple barred doors would be passed, but Luke especially mentions the iron gate that opened into the city from the prison.  These open of their own accord before Peter and the angel.  As they turn down a street, the angel is gone and Peter realizes that it wasn't a vision, or a dream.  It was real, and he was free!

One thing happens with James and a very different thing happens with Peter.  Even with Peter, God could have delivered him by any number of things.  Yet, it happens through, what we would call, a supernatural intervention.

I have entitled this sermon, "Will you die for Jesus?"  This can be a question of your faithfulness.  Would you choose Christ in the face of the threat of death?  Would you lay it down as an offering for His glory, and as a witness of Him to others?  Yes, we celebrate as we read that Jesus is worthy to open the scroll.  However, it is quite another thing to think that he is worthy for me to let go of the rest of my life and suffer death for his cause.  There are Christians all across this world today who are making such choices.  Sometimes you are not even given a choice.  It just happens, as we see in some of these attacks on churches.  Yet, Jesus is worthy of it all!

A cynic may ask what kind of God would ask such a thing from His followers.  However, that question can be turned around.  What kind of humans would put God in the position that the only way He could save us was to become one of us, and then sacrifice His perfect life for our sakes?  Jesus is the One who has loved us to the greatest degree.

It is not that God wants us to be martyred.  Rather, this is where sin leads us.  Back in the Garden of Eden when He told them not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they wanted to know anyways.  Knowledge here has the sense of an experiential knowledge.  We had to know for ourselves.  As much as our flesh likes sin, our flesh doesn't like the consequences of sin, where it takes us.  The moment of pleasure perhaps is fun, but then there is the payment of the results of the decision.  Those who live for the pleasures of their flesh pay a high price because we were not designed to live solely for pleasing the flesh.  Thus, we destroy ourselves and the people around us through our sin.  Sin leads to these kinds of places where people seek to put other people to death, or at least subjugate them.  They were putting to death people who are only trying to do good things.  How horrible is that?  The same is happening today all around this world, these united States included.

The title of this sermon can also be read as a question about God's will.  Has God decided that I will be a martyr for Him, or will I live a long life and die in my bed at home?  Of course, as a general rule, we don't know what our end will be.  Did God favor Peter over James?  Did God favor John over Peter?   These are questions of a weak faith.  No, God loved them all.  Yet, His purpose had differences within their lives.  Thus, by a manifold and glorious witness, the Church will show forth the great glory of Jesus Christ to the nations.

May God help us not to fear His decisions over our life.  I'm reminded of the song, "Lord, Don't Send Me to Africa."  It is a humorous song, but there is truth in it.  A man who doesn't want to serve in the nursery, will do so simply to avoid something that he thinks is worse, i.e., going to Africa.  In many ways, we can be a church that is telling God that we will serve him in all these ways that we want.  Be careful when you find yourself telling God the ways and places where you are willing to serve Him.  Yes, He could send you to the place you don't want to go, but He could also just pass you by looking for someone who is serious about serving Him.  Without saying it out loud, we have all kinds of limitations on what we are willing to suffer to follow Jesus, and it will not serve us well in the end.

Perhaps, the American Church is getting exactly what it has been asking for without realizing it.  We can tell God that we want revival, but our hearts are really saying that we want exciting services that conform to our comfort level.  God could care less how great our music sounds, building looks like, and soft our chairs are.  O God, we will serve in any way possible to keep having fun services, but just don't send us to (fill the blank for yourself).

Think about those who sign up for the military.  They all go to boot camp, and then, they receive training to be fighters.  However, when they get in the foxhole during a battle, some have the mettle to face it and some do not.  No boot camp and no human training can put that mettle in you.

What is the difference between courage and cowardice?  I believe that at the root of it is faith.  Not faith that we can't be harmed.  Cowards are not able to do the right thing by trusting God.  Whereas, a courageous person knows they might die.  Yet, they go forward in faith that it is better to die in honor than to die in dishonor.  They are not looking to die.  In fact, they work hard to avoid dying.  Yet, the situation becomes harder and harder, narrower and narrower, until you find yourself between that rock and a hard place.  There you are.  O Lord, help me not to be a coward, but instead, to bring you glory through courage.

Let me close by reminding us of Philippians 4:6-7.  "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

The real attack in life is not about Herod executing James, and then seizing Peter.  The real attack is what such things do to our hearts and minds.  Satan wants to bully you into the coward position.  He wants to get between you and Jesus in any way possible. 

This is why taking up your cross is so important.  In the end, all Christians are martyrs (witnesses) for the Lord.  We all are called to daily lay down our life and follow Jesus, whether life or death.  No saints of the past are alive today.  They all lived their lives and then laid them down for Jesus, whether in their beds or by a tyrant's sword.  Only a person, who has lived a life of crucifying their flesh to live for Jesus, will  be willing to die for Jesus because that is what they have been doing all along.  May we learn to die daily so that regardless how the Lord chooses we should die, it will all be for His glory!  Amen!

Die for Jesus? audio