Expectation; Grace and sanctification

Acts 20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. ⁹ And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” ¹¹ When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. ¹² They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted…

¹⁷ From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they had come to him, he said to them,

“You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, ¹⁹ serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; ²⁰ how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, ²¹ solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. ²⁴ But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

²⁵ “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. ²⁶ Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. ²⁸ Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. ³² And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me. ³⁵ In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

³⁶ When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. ³⁷ And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, ³⁸  grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.

In the beginning of today’s text we read the account when Paul:  began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. A young man was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.      With very little fanfare Paul, went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.”   Paul and the rest of the people returned upstairs and went on with their meeting until daybreak. Jesus says: “where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." (Matthew 18:20)   Certainly He was there, present at that gathering. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the Resurrection and the Life was there. There was no hysteria, no fanfare simply an expectation, faith and confidence in the presence of Jesus. We too should have that same confidence, the same expectation, that the same God, Jesus Himself will be present when we gather in His name. We should expect miracles, not be surprised by them.

As the text continues, Paul declares another thing which he anticipates and has an expectation of:   that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.    Paul knew and expected these afflictions would come because as he says:  “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house,  solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”        The message of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ will offend many. Some will be offended, for no real reason, by Jesus Himself. He says:    “He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.  But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’”(John 15:23-25)      It is Jesus works, His living and being light in the darkness which causes some to hate Him. In John 3:19-20, following the verse which says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”        Jesus says: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

You see that brings us to the second part of what Paul says, the other thing which will offend people:  testifying of repentance toward God.     Few if any will be offended if we share and proclaim only the part where God so loved the world. But the message of the need for repentance, the message of the need to choose between the Light of Christ and the darkness of the world will offend many. We, like Paul can expect that if we too will testify and declare of both the unconditional love of God and the need for repentance, the need to turn from the darkness of the world, many will be offended.   Paul says:  But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.     Will we too, in the face of expected bonds and afflictions, finish the course and the ministry we received from the Lord Jesus Christ, to testify of the gospel of the grace God?

Paul issues this warning to the church:   “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;  and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”    These savage wolves come from among the believers. This is not the rejection and persecution of believers by unbelievers. What Paul is warning against is those who will speak perverse, contrary or opposing things. Those who speak only half of the truth actually speak contrary or opposite of the truth. Both those who focus only on repentance and judgment, without love and grace as well as those who focus only on love and grace, without the need for repentance draw people away from the whole truth of God’s word. Either or both can ravage the flock.

Paul says: “I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”     To God and the word of His grace, we are justified, redeemed from our sin through the cross, by the grace of God. There is nothing more we can do or add to our salvation than to believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But if we want to walk in the fullness of the inheritance we have in and through Christ, we must also be:  those who are sanctified. We must respond to God’s love and grace in repentance, in choosing light rather than darkness. Only when we have both halves of the truth will we have the whole truth.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit thank You for Your love and grace, the finished work of the cross which justifies and redeems me from sin. Thank You also for the ongoing revelation and work of sanctification in my life. That as I continue in turning to You, in choosing daily to live in the light rather than the darkness, I gain the fullness of the inheritance available in Christ. May I live and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit.    Amen