Along with all the others on the ship, Paul made it safely to the shore of the island of Malta. God had promised safe passage to Paul (27:23-25), and he would let nothing stop his servant.... For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and he said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul, for you will surely stand trial before Caesar! What’s more, God in his goodness has granted safety to everyone sailing with you.’ So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said. But we will be shipwrecked on an island.” Acts 27:23-26 They briefly stayed there and then again, set sail for Rome. Once they arrived in Rome, the Brothers and Sisters (these were the new followers of The Way), came to meet Paul. Scripture tells us that they met Paul at the Forum on the Appian Way. You might ask... where did the Roman believers come from? The Good News had spread to Rome by various methods. Many Jews who lived in Rome would visit Jerusalem for religious festivals. Some had been present at Pentecost, had believed in Jesus, and had brought the message back to Rome. Also, Paul had written his letter to the Romans before this time. These new believers openly went to meet Paul and encourage him. Paul wanted to preach the Good News in Rome, and he eventually got there—in chains, through shipwreck, and after many trials. Although he may have wished for an easier passage, he knew that God had blessed him greatly in allowing him to meet the believers in Rome and preach the message to both Jews and Gentiles in that great city. In all things, God worked for Paul’s good... And we know that God causes everything to work together* for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28 Christians were denounced everywhere by the Romans because they were seen as a threat to the Roman establishment. They believed in one God, whereas the Romans had many gods, including Caesar. The Christians were committed to an authority higher than Caesar. Christians in our current culture are going through very much the same thing. The new way of thinking is called Universalism. Many people believe that all roads lead to God. If you tell them that only Jesus leads to God, they call you intolerant. The basis of Universalism is that if God is all loving, He would never condemn someone to Hell simply because they didnt believe the correct thing. But Jesus never told us this. When we think this way, we are guilty of Worshipping other gods because we are deciding how our god would respond. But lets look at what Jesus Himself tells us... Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 The question that always springs up from this is Well what about people who have never heard about Jesus? The answer to that is that God is 100% just, and He will make sure every person hears about Jesus. In the Middle East today, many Muslims who are under strict Islamic rule are having angelic visits and visions. Our job is to be obedient to what Jesus asked us to do... Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:16-19 Paul was permitted to teach people under the supervision of the Roman guard. He used the Old Testament to teach the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, the fulfillment of God’s promise. Paul remained in Rome under guard in a rented house for two years. There sat the greatest apostle and spokesman for Christianity—unable to move freely and minister as he desired. However, Paul didn’t complain or despair. He simply did what he could. Able to receive visitors, he taught, preached, and counseled even while he was confined to quarters. He wrote letters, commonly called his Prison Letters, to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians—letters that have impacted millions of believers down through the centuries. He also wrote personal letters, such as the one to Philemon. Luke was with Paul in Rome. Timothy often visited him, as did Tychicus, Epaphroditus, and Mark. Paul witnessed to the whole Roman guard and was involved with the Roman believers. Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians while he was under house arrest in Rome. Though a prisoner, he was free to have visitors and write letters He wrote this letter to the Ephesian believers and all other believers to give them in-depth teaching about how to nurture and maintain the unity of the church. He wanted to put this important information in written form because he was in prison for preaching the Good News and could not visit the churches himself. Paul had been a Christian for nearly 30 years. In that time, he had taken three missionary trips, and established churches all around the Mediterranean Sea. . In this letter, Paul writes that God chose us to emphasize that salvation depends totally on God. We are not saved because we deserve it, but because God is gracious and freely gives salvation. We did not influence God’s decision to save us; he saved us according to his plan. Thus, there is no way to take credit for our salvation or to allow room for pride. God showered his kindness on us—this is also called God’s “grace.” This is his voluntary and loving favor given to those he saves. We can’t earn salvation, nor do we deserve it. No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God’s mercy and love. Without God’s grace, no person can be saved. To receive it, we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is through faith in Christ. Next Paul goes on to tell us about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that we belong to him and that he will do what he has promised. The Holy Spirit is like a down payment, a deposit, a validating signature on the contract. The presence of the Holy Spirit in us, demonstrates the genuineness of our faith, proves that we are God’s children, and secures eternal life for us. His power works in us to transform us now, and what we experience now is a taste of the total change we will experience in eternity. Paul reminds the Ephesians of the reality of personal sin. Like them, we must never forget our past, the condition from which Jesus saved us. Those memories are the best fuel for our gratitude to Christ for all he has done in our behalf.... Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. Ephesians 2:1-2 Here Paul is describing Satan, the devil, as “the commander of the powers in the unseen world.” Paul’s readers believed that Satan and the evil spiritual forces inhabited the region between earth and sky. Satan is thus pictured as ruling an evil spiritual kingdom—the demons and those who are against Christ. In the resurrection, Christ was victorious over the devil and His power. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the permanent ruler of the whole world; the devil is only the temporary ruler of the part of the world that chooses to follow Him. The fact that all people, without exception, commit sin proves that without Christ we have a sinful nature. We are lost in sin and cannot save ourselves. Does this mean only Christians do good? Of course not—many people do good to others. On a relative scale, many are moral, kind, and law abiding. Comparing these people to criminals, we would say that they are very good indeed. But on God’s absolute scale, no one is good enough to earn salvation... You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. Ephesians 2:2-3 Only through being united with Christ’s perfect life can we become good in God’s sight. Paul emphasizes that we do not need to live any longer under sin’s power. The penalty of sin and its power over us were miraculously destroyed by Christ on the cross. Through faith in Christ we stand acquitted, or not guilty, before God. God does not take us out of the world or make us robots—we will still feel like sinning, and sometimes we will sin. The difference is that before we became Christians, we were dead in sin and were slaves to our sinful nature. But now we are alive with Christ. We become Christians through God’s unmerited favor, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please ourselves. While no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service.. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 https://youtube/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 03:35:32 +0000
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