We're going to be continuing ahead in the Book of Acts. We're moving into chapter 26, and we'll be seeing this gospel testimony that Paul gives to King Agrippa in this courtroom setting. I'll be reading from verse 23 of chapter 25 through to verse 12 of chapter 26, and we'll be looking closely at verses 1 through 11. Let's stand together, please, brothers and sisters, for the reading of God's Word. So the next day when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great pomp and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus' command, Paul was brought in. And Festus said, King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer. But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. I have nothing certain to write to my Lord concerning him. Therefore, I have brought him out before you and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him. Then Agrippa said to Paul, you are permitted to speak for yourself. So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I'm accused by the Jews, especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise, our 12 tribes earnestly serving God night and day hope to attain For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. While thus occupied as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O King, along the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. And thus ends the reading of God's word. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. Matthew Henry says about this section, he says, we left Paul at the bar. and Festus, and Agrippa, and Bernice, and all the great men of the city of Caesarea upon the bench, or about it, waiting to hear what he has to say for himself. So that's the setting. Paul is here in Caesarea in this courtroom setting, and all the great people of Caesarea are there, King Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus. Of course, Festus is basically asking Agrippa to help him figure out what to write to Caesar because there's really no charges against Paul. There's a lot of things we could focus on here in this text. But what I think we'll learn the most from what I want to highlight is the way that Paul shares his testimony and the shape of a good gospel testimony for us to each learn from and consider when we have opportunities to have extended conversations with people. Do you know how to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to present your life? And this is for the little ones too. Even though you haven't been on the earth as long as us older people with gray hair, you too need to begin to consider how you would tell the story of God's grace in your life. And we'll have certain shapes to it, certain aspects and elements to it as you tell that story. So first Agrippa grants Paul permission to speak and we'll look at how special that is. And we'll talk about Paul's happy introduction. He uses the word they're blessed. And again, we see Paul just as Jesus promised that he would give him the words to speak. And he's confident, he's cheerful like he has been before. He's got the boldness and yet the humility on display. And he then goes on, after giving his introduction, to talk about how he was brought up as a Pharisee and that he is on trial for the hope of the Jews, that that's why he stands before him. And then he goes back and he talks about how he persecuted this very way that he is now on trial for believing. And all of this just mounts up to this question, what could cause a man like this change his mind, to be different, to become someone different. And that sets the stage for Paul to share his conversion story. Conversion's maybe not the best word because true Judaism and Christianity are the same religion. But it's when he came to have faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, and that utterly and completely changed his life. So today we'll see Him setting the stage for that. And I hope that you'll see that when you share the Gospel with people, you're going to have a story to tell. Even you little ones. You know, we pray for you little ones that you will never, you'll look back on your life and you won't remember a single day that you didn't believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, as the Savior of His people. that you will always look back over your life and think, Jesus has been my savior as long as I can remember. But even for you little ones, there's going to come a time in your lives where you realize that the faith that you have is your faith. Not the faith of your parents, but it is your faith. And that will have an appearance to it. And you'll be able to tell people what happened in your life when the faith of Christ became your faith. And the way your life changed and what happened in your life. So first of all, Agrippa grants Paul permission to speak. Verse 1 says, So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself. So we see here that now Festus has transferred a certain authority to Agrippa He's apparently now presiding over this in the praetorium there in Caesarea, which you recall is Herod's praetorium. So Agrippa belongs here. This is the great palace of his family. I want us to note the Lord's providence in Agrippa's curiosity regarding Paul's case. He didn't have to agree to be here. He didn't have to agree to help Festus. Now, you do recall, of course, the connections between Agrippa and Bernice and Festus and Felix in that Felix's wife, Drusilla, is also the sister of Bernice and Agrippa. So there's a family connection there that God's providence has bringing all this together. But what we want to see here in this moment, and this is something to consider, this leads to Paul being granted the ability to speak freely in this courtroom setting. And that's not always something that is granted to folks who are on trial. Most courtroom settings are going to be governed by some allowances, sometimes strict on when they can speak and even what they can say. Their answers may be limited by the questions that they're asked. Commentary says, this was a favor which the Jews would not allow him or not without difficulty, but Agrippa freely gives it to him. And Paul's cause was so good that he desired no more than to have liberty to speak for himself. He needed no advocate, no tertullus to speak for him. And think back, remember in Acts 23, what happened when Paul started to speak freely before the Sanhedrin? Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. So we see here the contrast, and it's another contrast where in a pagan courtroom setting, he's granted more due process and more liberty to defend himself than in the courts of the church of God. So sometimes the Lord's providence does not allow somebody the opportunity to defend themselves. I want you to think about your life. When you're misrepresented, when you're misunderstood or maybe even falsely accused, people are perhaps talking poorly about you, how do you respond when you don't have the opportunity to defend yourself? That's what Paul went through in Acts 23. Does this bother you? Does it gall you? Does it eat you up? Or can you be like Paul and submit to God's providence and look for opportunities to open up the gospel, which really is our only defense in any situation, is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul is granted this opportunity. And now we're going to see, of course, that makes him very happy. And you and I, are you happy when God opens the door for you to share the gospel? Are you happy with that when you have that opportunity? Here's what Paul says. I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently. So first, it's worth noting that Paul is happy for this opportunity to defend himself before Agrippa He could have been murmuring and complaining about being in custody still. They should have released him. That's what justice would have demanded is for him to be released. But, you know, political games are being played in the background. Festus is wanting to gain favor with the Jews. Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jews. Paul's not complaining. He doesn't open up by saying, look, you know, you are mistreating me. You should have released me if justice were the real concern of your heart. He's happy for the opportunity. And so, you know, often when we are mistreated, we might not open up like this. And I think it's worth noting Paul's, if you will, his modesty, his humility. He knows how much he's been mistreated. He's already said to Festus, as you well know, that there are no charges against him. So in contrast to the deranged Jewish leadership and the pagan Roman leadership, he's now before Agrippa. And so he's happy to be presenting his case to Agrippa for general reasons, because he's not one of these deranged Jewish leaders who all they can do is see red and desire blood when they hear Paul's name. Or the pagan Roman leaders who are going to be confused by the concept of resurrection. So he knows he's got a unique moment here to communicate directly with someone who's not likely to be as hateful as the Jews. and not as bound up in Roman politics as Felix and Festus. It's a unique opportunity for him. But even more because of who Agrippa is, not just because he's not Festus, not Felix, and not the evil Jews, but because of who he is. He's an expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. So that's quite a statement. Agrippa understands the Old Testament writings and all of the customs and disputes that are in play between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He understands the dispute over spirits, the controversy over resurrection from the dead. So the ignorance and the consternation, which is a wall to communication that the pagan Romans would have will not hinder his communication with Agrippa. Agrippa knows about the Old Testament promised Messiah, and he's well aware of the resurrection from the dead debate. Commentary says, since Paul is forced to answer for himself, he is glad it is before King Agrippa, who being himself a proselyte to the Jewish religion, understood all matters relating to it better than the other Roman governors did. If I remember correctly, their lineage is from Edom, so he's an Edumian, Edumian, I think is how you say it. But he and his family were proselytes to the Jewish religion. And Paul says of him, I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews. It seems Agrippa was a scholar and had been particularly conversant in the Jewish learning, was expert in the customs of the Jewish religion, and knew the nature of them, and that they were not designed to be either universal or perpetual. He was expert also in the questions that arose upon those customs in determining which of the Jews themselves were not all of one mind. Agrippa was well-versed in the scriptures of the Old Testament and therefore could make a better judgment upon the controversy between him, that is between Paul, and the Jews concerning Jesus being the Messiah than another person could. So you see, Agrippa had this background awareness of this storyline that, hey, a Messiah's coming. Maybe he believed it, maybe he didn't, but at least he knew about it. And so for him to then hear this astonishing story from Paul about being met on the Dabascus Road and utterly transformed, Agrippa's later gonna say, you would have me almost become a Christian. So he's hearing the gospel in a way that's deeply impacting him. Now, as a part of this introduction, Paul asks for patience. Now, we don't we probably don't have all of his defense. He asked for patience because it's about to be a long and involved description of his life, his persecution of the church, his conversion and his service to the Messiah and a discussion of how the Jews have come against him and sought to kill him for no other reason other than he believes in Jesus and he is following him as the Messiah. So he designs a long discourse, the commentary says, and begs that Agrippa will hear him out and to not be weary by what he's about to say. He designs a plain discourse and begs that he will hear him with mildness and not be angry. Paul had some reason to fear that as Agrippa being a Jew was well-versed in the Jewish customs and therefore the more competent judge of his cause, So he was maybe soured in some measure with the Jewish leaven and therefore prejudiced against Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles. He therefore says this to sweeten him. I beseech thee, hear me patiently. So it's instructive to us to see Paul's mildness, his humility, his care, and his introduction in this particular setting. And it should serve as an example for us anytime the Lord opens such a door for us to share the gospel. Especially if it has an opportunity to be a longer conversation. Maybe it's over a meal with someone and you could even say, hey, look, this is not necessarily a short story. I don't want to give you the elevator version. So bear with me as I explain these things to you. So I do want us to note Paul's gentle, kind, and poised introduction. It's especially worth noting that he does not take an adversarial tone. Paul treats Agrippa like a fellow human being. He's seeking to love his neighbor as his self. And it came up this morning in our Christian instruction hour, very helpful. Are you prone to take an attacking, demeaning, strident, adamant tone when you're falsely accused, when you're in a disagreement, or when you feel the need to clarify something or to defend yourself? Are you prone to start off in an adversarial way? Now, I would say that in many ways, that is the spirit of the age. That's the algorithm of our world right now. Are you prone to go along with that spirit of the age and use dehumanizing language toward others? I think I've been guilty of this. And I think we have to be very careful, especially in terms of murmuring against those whom God has set over us, regardless of what we may think about their character or their policies. And so we see Paul here talking to one who in many ways is so similar to our rulers today. The likely incestuous relationship that he has with his sister was reported in the Roman histories. He was not a respected leader in that regard in terms of his character. And Paul treats him with respect. He treats him with kindness in his tone towards him. I just hope this will encourage all of us that no matter who you're talking to, if it is another human being, that we will always remember that they're made in the image of God. This is important everywhere we go, and we want to really try to embrace this in how we communicate with one another. And again, everything in our world today is teaching us otherwise. There's very serious dehumanizing language in play right now in our world, Whether you're on one side of the political spectrum or the other, both sides are using dehumanizing, ungodly language towards one another. So brothers and sisters, let's really be careful about not getting caught up in that. And I confess that's a problem for me. I pray for me as well. Next, Paul refers to his upbringing as a Pharisee. So he's given his introduction. He set the stage here with kindness, with gentleness, but also with boldness. He says, My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation in Jerusalem, all the Jews know they knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. So first of all, Paul makes this important point in his defense, and it also sets the stage for his gospel conversion story, that the Jews know that Paul was raised in Jerusalem as a Pharisee. They know this about him. His past is not a mystery to them. It's not something that they've addressed. It's something that needs to be explained. How could someone like this, with this reputation, be so hated now? Is it really Paul's problem? Paul's gospel testimony and defense goes back into his youth. He knows that his full history is important to his testimony. And I want us to see that, especially, all of us, but especially children, to see that God has written a story with your life. And he's bringing it to pass all of your days. And one of the wisest things that we can come to is that we can look back and we can see God's hand of providence in our lives, bringing us through stages and being able to present that to people in ways that are redemptive. Paul knows how to do this. So he emphasizes that all the Jews know of his history. He emphasizes that Israel is his own nation. He hasn't abandoned his people. He's still one of them. And the Jews in Jerusalem saw him come up, he says, from the first. So whenever he came from Tarsus to Jerusalem and began studying there, and went through the Pharisaical school there, or wherever he started, they knew him from the first. And this would be probably the chief priests when they were young in their careers, seeing him come up. Knowing him to be a devout Pharisee, there was no question about his past. He doesn't reference any problems. There was no letters that we know of in his file. Now, if they were willing to tell the truth, their testimony would support Paul's defense. The question arises, why would a man of such full devotion to Judaism become a follower of Jesus of Nazareth claiming Jesus to be the promised Messiah of the old covenant writings. That is a story. That is a question that demands an answer. And the Jews are refusing to allow that question to surface. Instead, they're just accusing him of being deranged and they're trying to kill him, laying out all these false accusations about him that we've looked at before. Commentary says he was not only called a Pharisee, but he lived the life of a Pharisee. All that knew him knew very well that never any Pharisee conformed more punctually to the rules of his order than did Paul. Nay, and he was the better sort of Pharisees, for he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, who was an eminent rabbi of the school of house of Hillel, which was in much greater reputation for religion than the school or house of Semei." So he had a really special reputation in his past that all of these Jews knew about. Now the Pharisees, he refers to them as the strictest sect of our religion. And he doesn't say that with any sort of negative connotation. He was not a nominal Jew. Paul was not someone who just went to church on Sundays and then forgot about serving God the rest of the days of his life. He was of the most strict of Judaism. He was strict to know God's word. He was strict to keep God's word. He was strict to reject heresy. He was strict to advance God's kingdom. He was amongst the strictest. Now, of course, there is a Phariseeism that's legalistic and that is false, but there is a part of what the Pharisees did that is just simple obedience to God's word and love for God. It is wrong to paint the Pharisees with a broad stroke as nothing but a sect of hypocritical legalists. It is wrong to do that. Now, this is important because when it comes time for Paul to talk about his past and for them to know who he is, it really matters. They know him. His reputation is before them all. Now, about Paul being a Pharisee, commentary says, One, he was a scholar. He was a man of learning and not an ignorant, illiterate mechanic. You see, the Pharisees knew the law and they were well versed in it and in the traditional expositions of it. So Paul, as we've already said, we've looked at Agrippa would have been a form of a scholar. Well, Paul is no less a scholar of the Old Testament than Agrippa. Secondly, as a Pharisee, he was a moralist, a man of virtue and not a rake or loose debauched young man. He was aiming to keep God's law. That's what his goal was. And when we get to why he persecuted the church, we'll see it was an expression of his deceived conscience, but he was seeking to do good, which is one of the most dangerous things that someone can do, is to be deceived about what they think is good, but they're doing evil instead. Going on, the third point of being a Pharisee, he was orthodox. He was sound in the faith. He was not a deist or a skeptic. He was not a man of corrupt principles that led to infidelity. He was a Pharisee in opposition to the Sadducees. He received those books of the Old Testament, which the Sadducees rejected. So the Sadducees rejected some Old Testament scriptures. He believed in a world of spirits, which the Sadducees rejected. He believed in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and the rewards and punishments of the future state. All of these, which the Sadducees denied. So Paul was in that group of Jews who were faithful in terms of trying to believe the scriptures and live it out. Now, of course, we know that they had terribly drifted away. And we see throughout the Gospels that the Pharisees are listed as the most frequent enemies of Jesus in his ministry. So certainly they had taken on self-righteousness through all of this. Now, Paul's emphasis of his upbringing emphasizes God's work throughout his entire life, leading up to his persecution of the church and his subsequent embracing of Christ as Messiah, and then going on to serve Christ as Christ's apostle to the Gentiles. And so the question for each of us, and I hope you will do this when you think of your life, old people, young people, and in between, have you considered well your own upbringing as it pertains to your gospel testimony? Who you were as you came up, the home you were raised in, the things that you were taught, and as Paul's gonna talk about also, the things that you did that were contrary to God's ways. Have you taken time to trace the threads of God's grace and providence in your past in order to glorify him and his work in your life? You know, I look at my life and the things that I've been through, and I go back to my childhood, and I can look at it now with a certain kind of providential objectivity. and then to be able to tell that story to people in light of who Jesus Christ is and how He changed my life. And each of us should be able to tell a story. If all you have to say is an academic description of the Gospel, but no application of the Gospel in your own life, in your own heart, you don't have a story to tell. You don't have a Gospel testimony. And if you don't have any stories like that in your life, are you even a Christian? Because to become a Christian, to be a Christian, is to be filled with the work of God in your life, and to be aware of it, and to be joyful, and to be thankful for the givenness of sins, and to tell others about what He has done for you. So, be prepared, right? Be prepared to tell your story, and to think it through, So he's on trial for hope is what he says. Verses six through eight, he says, and now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise, our 12 tribes earnestly serving God night and day hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I'm accused by the Jews. Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? So he's given him his background, and now he brings up the concept of being accused by the Jews. And it's a contrast. It's like, why would a man like this end up being accused by the Jews, especially for the very hope that they all are looking for? So first we see that he says he's judged because he believes God's Old Testament promise. He says it four different ways in this section. He talks about hope of the promise. This promise, he calls it. The hope to attain to the promise And then he says he's judged for this hope's sake. So, you know, the Old Testament writings, it's that flower that's gradually opening, right? Oh, how the rose are blooming. This is what Paul is referencing. This gradual dawning of salvation that comes to the world through Jesus Christ that everyone has been hoping for throughout the ages. The one who will crush the serpent's head and bring life. from the dead. This is what we've always been about and now I'm on trial for it. He had hope in Christ as the promised seed. He hoped to be blessed in him, to receive the blessing of God and to be truly blessed. He had hopes of heaven. This is expressly meant, as appears by comparing chapter 24, 15, where he says that there shall be a resurrection of the dead. Paul had no confidence in the flesh, but in Christ. No expectation at all of great things in this world, but of greater things in the other world than any of this world can pretend to. He had his eye upon a future state. And this is the same hope currently being sought by the Jews. It's not a new hope that Paul made up. It's not some bizarre hope that's come into his mind because he hit his head or he's lost his mind like what Festus says to him later. What is this hope? God raises the dead. And the Pharisees got it right. And the heart of the distinction between the Pharisees and the Sadducees finds itself right here. Do you or do you not believe in the resurrection of the dead? And so they look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Paul says, and this is what I look for also, he says, commentary. Why should I be looked upon as advancing something dangerous and heterodox or as an apostate from the faith and worship of the Jewish church when I agree with them in this fundamental article. I hope to come to the same heaven at last that they hope to come to. And if we expect to meet so happily in our end, why should we fall out so unhappily, by the way? Nay, the Jewish church not only hoped to come to this promise, but in the hope of it, they instantly served God day and night, the New King James says, earnestly. So we see all this temple activity that's taking place, all of that activity, Paul points to it and he says, everything that's happening there is in light of this great hope that we are seeking in God. And I want to tell them about this. I want to help them see that Jesus is, Jesus of Nazareth, this man is the Messiah. And then Paul directly addresses Agrippa and he says, you shouldn't think it's incredible that God raises the dead. He directly references Agrippa's distinction from the Sadducees and the pagan Romans. So remember how we talked before about the consternation that always takes place with the pagan Romans? That consternation is not a problem for Agrippa. There's no concern that Paul has gone crazy. Right? And so that's what he's always dealing with when he's dealing with the pagans. And the Jews are just so enraged. They're literally deranged. They can't even listen to what he has to say. He speaks and they hit him in the mouth. There's no reason why we should think it at all incredible that God should raise the dead. We're not required to believe anything that is incredible, anything that implies a contradiction. It's from the commentary, Matthew Henry. There are motives of credibility sufficient to carry us through all the doctrines of the Christian religion and this particularly of the resurrection of the dead. Now, you may think it's an odd thing to believe that the dead can come back to life, but has not God an infinite almighty power to which nothing is impossible? Did not he make the world at first out of nothing and just with the words speaking? Did he not form our bodies, form them out of the clay and breathe into us the breath of life at the first? And cannot the same power form them again out of their own clay and put life into them again? So the resurrection of the dead is an article of our faith that we hold to. But I do think I think a lot of us may find that hard to believe and be somewhat incredulous at the concept of the resurrection of the dead, that people are actually going to come out of the earth in new perfect bodies someday, like Jesus did the first one. And many other saints at that time who wandered about in Jerusalem were told. We should not be surprised about the doctrine or the teaching of the resurrection of the dead. And there are many in today's world who attack this doctrine, whether they're liberals who mock it or whether it's supposed orthodox folks who deny a bodily resurrection who are not orthodox. So Paul has made his point. I'm on trial for nothing new. It's just the hope of the resurrection from the dead. And then he goes on and he says, look, I have persecuted this very way that I'm on trial for. I persecuted it extensively. And again, brothers and sisters, this is instructive for you and for me when we share our testimony. Paul is going to, in a helpful way, lay out a catalog, a list of his sins against Jesus and his church. Can you do that? Looking at your life, can you look at your life and lay out the sins, the ways that you have rebelled against Jesus and his church and harmed other people? Now, for those of us like me who came to faith later on in life, I have 22 years of easy fodder for something like this, to make a list like this, like Paul did before he came to faith in Christ. For those of you who are growing up in the faith, and maybe you're not, you never rebelled against God in your life openly, outwardly, you still need to look at your own soul and ask yourself, is this my faith? Do I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? And am I choosing to live a life of love towards Him because this is my faith? And what you will notice is that when you make that transition, you've gone from foolishness to maturity. You've made that transition into the world where you can then become mature because it's your faith. It's not just the faith that's been given to you by your parents. And you'll have a story to tell as well. You'll have a story to tell of a cold heart, a heart that wasn't interested in God and a transition Paul says, indeed I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem. And many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme. And being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. So Paul first gives a summary of his past life regarding the church. Many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. That's how he phrases it. Many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. I think especially for those like me who lived many years outside of Christ, that would be a good summary of the life that I lived. And he also summarizes his behavior as persecuted them and that them here is the saints, the precious holy ones of God in Christ. So he goes into detail about his past sins against Christ and his church in order to emphasize God's great grace to him and to defend himself. There's two main points here. You can almost hear Paul crying out, oh, that God would save one such as me who hated and attacked his precious Messiah. He doesn't want to leave anyone present with the idea that he somehow earned God's favor. that he somehow earned the friendship of Jesus Christ. We'll see in the next section, he says, while thus occupied. So he is filled with hatred towards Jesus Christ and the people of Jesus Christ when he is saved. You could write to the Romans, while we were his enemies, that's what he says. So he doesn't want anyone there to think that this salvation comes in any other way than through God's unmerited grace to us in Christ. Next, we could hear Paul saying, why would one such as me, reared in Scripture, devoted to piety, hating this very sect, suddenly embrace Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah? Why would that happen? Because he's telling them, look at where I've come from. And where I am now, what made the difference? It's the same way you want to tell your story. Look where I came from. Look where I am now. What made the difference? Was it me? Did I earn this change? No. And of course, we're going to get to it next week. Paul's Damascus Road testimony will answer both questions. So where did this happen? See, Paul goes into a lot of details where, when, why, what he did, how he did it, who he did it to. He goes through all the details of his sin against Jesus and his church. Where was it? Was it just in Jerusalem? No. Was it just in one synagogue? No, every synagogue. And was it was it just in Judea? No, even to foreign cities. Paul was utterly and completely enraged and passionate about the complete destruction of this, what he considered to be great and terrible heresy against Judaism. His rage swelled so against Christians and Christianity that Jerusalem itself was too narrow a stage for it to act upon, but being exceedingly mad against them, he persecuted them even to strange cities. He was mad at them to see how much they had to say for themselves, notwithstanding all he did against them, mad to see them multiply the more for their being afflicted. You see, this is the heart of the devil, enraging people against Christ and his church. And it's the same today and since then as well. Never content to just kill here or imprison there, but an attempt at global destruction. When did this happen? Was it just on certain days of the week? No, it says often, many, many are the words used here. There's no limit to where such a heart will go and there's no resting until the evil has been let out. An evil heart will not rest until its evil has overflowed. It cannot be quenched. And especially when we have this Great deception that he's doing good. He's doing God's will. Why did he do it? Was he just was he just a violent person who enjoyed hurting people? No, he said, I thought I must. I thought I must, his conscience bound him towards this. And we know already what in his mind was binding his conscience, the law of God, the word of God. In his mind, he was compelled by piety before God to destroy these evil doers who were blaspheming God in his mind. And he'll say that later, you forced them to admit they were blasphemous. Now, also we need to see that this whole evil was supported by the authority of the chief priests. He said, I must do it, and he says, and the chief priests gave him letters. They gave him authority. Think about this. Paul's confused conscience compelled him, and his church leaders confirmed his sinful urges. By no means did they say, whoa, wait a minute, Paul. tomorrow, you're off base here. Let's consider this more fully. There was no Gamaliel even trying to speak any common sense into his life that we know about. I hope, brothers and sisters, you'll see how terrible it is when our sin is encouraged and fed by God's appointed church leaders. Oh, please tell me if I ever do anything like that. May God have mercy on me. And I will warn you against searching for the right podcast until you find somebody that you have as an authority in your life to then go ahead and feed that little sinful urge you want to believe. So Paul had the authority of the chief priests to make him feel good. This that I feel is for God. And the chief priests have given me a letter. So he did it everywhere, he did it all the time, and he did it with an utterly, completely clean conscience as he was doing it. A deceived conscience, but he just knew he was the one doing God's will. What did he do? Well, he used every form of coercion and destruction that he had. He shut him up in prison. He voted for their execution. He punished them, a broad phrase which probably involves scourging, compelled them to blaspheme, also probably involves some sort of torture as well. Commentary says he filled the jails with Christians as if they had been the worst of criminals, designing hereby not only to terrify them, but to make them odious to the people. Anybody here ever known someone who was put in jail? You know, when you decide to go see them in prison, that's a pretty big decision. You are connecting with them. You are associating with them. You're making a decision to be known as one of their associates. Imprisonment is meant to break the bonds of fellowship. Next, he not only punished them for their religion, but taking a pride in triumphing over men's consciences, he forced them to abjure their religion by putting them to torture, compelling them to blaspheme is what it says. So we know that Paul believed that Christianity was blasphemy against the one true God. I just want us to note how far deceived conscience and evil church leadership can go toward harming God's people. May the Lord spare us, brothers and sisters, from from this in our lives here at Cornerstone. And how did he do it? Was he mild mannered? Now we see him poised and kind and and respectful and and gentle in his tone, happy and cheerful as he speaks to this king, who in some regards has power over his life. Not back then. He was exceedingly enraged. He was like foaming at the mouth, red in the face. Commentary says persecutors are mad men and some of them exceedingly mad. Paul was mad to see that those in other cities were not so outrageous against the Christians and therefore made himself busy where he had no business and persecuted the Christians even in strange cities. There's not a more restless principle than malice, especially that which pretends conscience. So he's painting a picture here of a completely different man than the one standing here talking to Agrippa now. Not only has he changed in what he supports, but even in his being, his bearing, his demeanor, everything about Paul has changed. And who did he do this to? He says the saints. It was directed, it was targeted, it was focused on those who believe in the name of Jesus as the Messiah, the saints of the Holy One, the precious ones of God, those washed in Christ's precious blood, the holy ones of God, his chosen, his elect, the apple of his eye, his bride, Paul was attacking those for whom Christ Jesus shed his precious blood. So Paul's gospel testimony requires him to tell the truth about himself. The truth about himself. The ugly truth and the regular kind of truth. Pharisee, that's a pretty good side of the story. but then what he did to the church? That's terrible. That's terrible. And I want us to see it's not any sort of boast, nor is there any jesting with it. You know, sometimes when we talk about our past outside of Christ, there can be maybe a veiled sense of boasting or a little bit of jesting about it. I don't think that's helpful. We want to talk about, when we share our testimony, the things that we used to do that we don't do anymore. We want to have the appropriate attitude towards sin when we discuss our past sins. So are you able to tell of your sin in a helpful way? You know how to talk about your own sin in a helpful way that demonstrates its ugliness, its rebellion towards God, and yet doing so without at all glorifying your sin. You know, there can be this thing like, oh, listen to how sinful I am. I mean, you think you were bad? I mean, I was really bad, right? We don't want to have that spirit at all. And I think Paul helps us to see that. So when you tell your story, you know, some of us have more chapters in our story than others. But you know, one of the things you'll hear if you want to be a writer Often you'll be encouraged, the very first thing you should do is write your own story. The first thing that any true writer should do is write their own story, an autobiography. And it's something that would be very helpful for your family members in the future and for the history of your family as well. And will be very helpful in you being able to share the gospel, especially if you have these types of extended opportunities, to give glory to God in your story. Every one of you has a story that reveals God's glory in His grace to you, in the way that He's worked in your life. You have the scriptures to teach you about God's great works in the past, and you have the scriptures in His spirit now to teach you about His continued great works in your life and around you. You have the eyes to see these things, and you can testify to it. And this story When you tell it, I want to know we'd be motivated to demonstrate the grace of God to undeserving sinners. You know, Paul didn't tell his story in a way that gave himself any glory. He did not tell the story in any way that gave himself any glory. He's clearly presenting himself as a man under God's judgment who has earned nothing but God's wrath. And instead, he's received God's favor and God's mercy. And he's very happy right at the very beginning. He's very happy. He's very cheerful. He can't wait. He's glad. He's thankful for the opportunity to tell people this story. Is that true of you? Is that true of you? Do you overflow with hope and opportunities to speak of God's undeserving grace to you? Do you tell the gospel story in a way that, like Paul, demonstrates the powerlessness of lost sinners? not only showing the grace of God to undeserving sinners, but connected to that, showing the powerlessness of lost sinners. When we get to Paul telling the story of how he was saved, we will see it again, but the stage has already been set. Paul has already said without saying, I could have never gotten off this path of enraged, Madness towards the church. I would have gone down this path until I died or until every Christian was dead. You can see it in the way the story is being told. He is completely enslaved by this focus. Sin had completely controlled him. He was powerless to get free of the situation, the deception and the sin associated with it. And then finally, when you tell the story of your salvation, is it ultimately to give all glory to God and your salvation? You know, I think there's a sense that sometimes when we share our testimony, we can want it to be at the end something like this, and, oh, look at me now. Look at me now. I'm so much better now than I was. We really have to watch out for that. It may be true, it should be true, that we are better now than we were before, but that's not where the focus should be. Brothers and sisters, may it be that we have our minds saturated with the focus of God, the focus upon Christ, marveling in His majesty and His glory and His greatness and the radiance of His being and the unmatched glory of who He is. That would be why we speak. And that our goal, and we'd be captured by this, would be for us and others to be captured with His glory. This is what Paul was after may be true for us as well. Amen? Let us pray. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for Paul's example to us, for how he was imitating you, Lord Jesus, the way that you behaved in the path that you took to the cross. And we see Paul demonstrating that same trust in God, Lord, that same desire for you to be glorified, Father. Lord, we ask that you would, like you did for Paul, continually deliver us from our sin and make us the happy recipients of your grace, and that you would bless us with the increase in faith, and that our hearts would swell with praise and gratitude and worship to you. and that our old man would indeed be crucified and set aside day by day, that you, Lord Jesus Christ, would be formed in us and through us more each day. All for your glory, O God, in Jesus name.