Acts Devotional Week 16

Acts: A Fearless Testimony

August 19, 2012

Acts 26:16-23

Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. You are to tell the world what you have seen and what I will show you in the future.  And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’  “And so, King Agrippa, I obeyed that vision from heaven.  I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.  Some Jews arrested me in the Temple for preaching this, and they tried to kill me.  But God has protected me right up to this present time so I can testify to everyone, from the least to the greatest. I teach nothing except what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Messiah would suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, and in this way announce God’s light to Jews and Gentiles alike.”

Paul spends two years in prison for a crime that everybody agrees isn’t really a crime at all.  He uses every opportunity he gets to share the message of Christ.  The Roman leaders don’t know what to do with him.  If they release him, his Jewish enemies will kill him.  If they keep him, they knowingly imprison a man who has done nothing wrong.  So they decide to send him to Rome.  Before Paul leaves he meets King Agrippa.  Paul stands before the leaders of the local Jewish and Roman societies in chains and uses his time to share about what Christ did in his life.  He tells about the ministry Christ was doing through him.  He paints a picture of what the Christian life looks like.  His message is simple.  1. God calls all people.  2.  People are to repent or turn from an old (wrong) way of living to the new life Christ offers.  3.  Turn to God (make the active choice to make God central to life).  4.  Live a life worthy of God by making sure a person’s deeds match his beliefs.

Agrippa sees what Paul is doing.  Paul is trying to convert to Christianity these powerful leaders.  He is not shy about it.  They are shocked at his fearlessness.  They are also intrigued.  They did not accept Paul’s attempt, but they recognized him as innocent.  While they still sent Paul to Rome, Paul’s testimony made a lasting impact.  How shy are we about sharing our testimony?  How willing are we to speak of God in difficult situations or in places where such things may not be accepted?  What if we were as fearless as Paul?