Good morning to everyone. Nice little warm stretch we're having here. We're enjoying that on the farm. We had a challenge on 51 this morning, but it was pretty good.

We're continuing our study in the book of Acts. Verse chapter 22, verse 22 is where we're gonna begin this morning, working on into chapter 23. We're in the middle of Paul's arrest in Jerusalem near the temple, trying to figure out what was going on, what Paul had done. The Roman commander is searching this out, so we have some events surrounding that pursuit. 

Paul had come to town, remember, to bring the financial gift to the poor saints in Jerusalem from the Gentile churches abroad. He had really gone the extra mile, literally traveling all around to the churches, gathering the money and some of the people to be representatives of the Gentiles to bring that money to the poor saints in Jerusalem, to bring unity in the body between Jew and Gentile. 

Having come to Jerusalem, he went even further in his efforts, going into the temple with the four men who had taken the Nazarite vow, as Paul had, and paid their expenses, and helped them to complete that vow. This he did to calm the fears of the Jewish believers there concerning what they had been told about Paul and his ministry, especially by those legalistic Jews who were always out to get Paul.

So we see when he gets to the temple with these men that they take the opportunity to whip up a tumult, attack Paul, shut him out of the temple, and begin to beat him, causing a riot. The Romans now move in and arrest Paul, taking him into custody. We saw last week that the Roman commander allowed Paul to speak to the people, and I think he was hoping to find out more about who this guy was and why they were so upset with him. 

But Paul's speech really did nothing to incriminate him. So we see that the head of the soldiers now turns to an examination by scourging for Paul to see if he can determine what it is that Paul has done to cause such a commotion. That's kind of where we pick it up in our text this morning. 

If you look at verse 22, it says this: "This is the end of Paul's speech, and they listened to him until this word; and then raised their voices and said, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live.'" Then as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust in the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that he should be examined under scourging so that he might know why they shouted so against him. 

As they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?" When the centurion heard that, he went in and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman." Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes." The commander answered, "With a large sum, I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen." 

Then immediately, those who were about to examine him withdrew from him, and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman and because he had bound him.

The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." 

The high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" 

Those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" 

But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am being judged." 

When he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. 

Then there arose a loud outcry, and the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, "We find no evil in this man, but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God." When there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the barracks.

But the following night, the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome." 

I've given you four points on your outline: first, we see God's man, God's witness; second, a clear conscience; third, the resurrection of the dead; and fourth, comfort and encouragement.

Well, things were going quite well with Paul's speech to the people as we looked at last time. He was explaining to them that he was a Jew through and through, that he was zealous for the law. He even said that he understood their motive in persecuting him that day, as he had done the same thing in his zeal before his conversion. And they were really starting to come around to Paul. 

It says until that one word in verse 21, then he said to me, "Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles." And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live." 

Well, it made me think of how we can often get along pretty well with lost men in our conversation, even talking about spiritual things, talking about charity and works, and a need for God and morality and such. Maybe how the world's going to hell in a handbasket. Things can be right down amiable until we get to the heart of the matter. 

And for these Jews, the heart of the matter was that God's intention in Jesus Christ was to make salvation available to every man, Jew and Gentile. It was not about being Jewish, nor was it about the law, which only they possessed. Salvation, the good news gospel truth, was for any man who would receive it, who would take it for himself by placing his faith in Jesus Christ. 

God had always intended salvation for all men. In fact, he had set Israel apart as a light, as a city on a hill, to draw all nations to himself. But the Jews of Paul's day did not understand things this way. They had developed an exclusivity in that they were the sons of Abraham. They had the law and circumcision, and the Gentiles were out. 

So when Paul said this word, "Gentiles," that was it. They blew their lid, and off to the races we go again: "Away with such a fellow from the earth! He's not fit to live!" They cried out, tore their clothes, and threw dust in the air, and they were upset because they could not handle the idea of salvation being available to the Gentiles, especially without converting to Judaism. 

Paul had such a great desire for the Jews to be saved, to come in faith to their Messiah, but just as God had said, they would not listen to him. They would not hear him. He was God's man for the job of witnessing to the Gentiles. 

And we will see in our text today that God's intention was to move Paul out of Jerusalem and bring him to Rome. Now, Paul was a special person. He had so many unique qualities and preparations to do what God wanted him to do and to get to where God wanted him to go. This is something that really jumped out at me in this text because we see Paul again and again calling on who he is and on his experience in order to be a witness for Jesus in all these amazing circumstances.

And I think this is true for us, probably to much lesser degrees most often, but we have unique experiences, we have unique qualifications that allow us to be used by God to have access to relate to certain people. 

And we see that Paul's unique qualities are in effect in the next verses in our text. In verse 24, it says the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that they should be examined under scourging so that he might know why they shouted so against him. 

Well, here's the commander, another character in this account, and he's in charge of finding out what's going on, why there's all this commotion. He's there to keep the peace, and it's logical for him to think that Paul has done some heinous thing in order for the Jewish people to respond this way. 

He tried to figure out who Paul is and what he's done. He let him speak, hoping to gain some insight by his words, but that ended in chaos again. And now he's decided that scourging him will be the best way to get him to talk, to bring out the truth of what was going on, just exactly what Paul has done. It says they were going to examine Paul with scourging, and this was indeed a severe examination. 

They would stretch him and tie him with the thongs, and they would beat him and rip his flesh. We saw this in a vivid way in the scourging of Jesus in the Gospels. But we see Paul, in verse 25, I think sort of casually, calmly mention that he's a Roman citizen. 

You see, it was a crime to do such a thing to a Roman who had not been condemned, and the crime was punishable by death. Paul's citizenship was a big deal, and we see that in verse 25. It says, "As they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, 'Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?'" 

Look at how they react: "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman!" And he went to him and said, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" "Yes." "Well, I had to pay all this money to get my citizenship." And Paul said, "Well, I was born a citizen." 

Immediately, they withdrew from him, and they were afraid because of what they'd done binding him. We see the commander tell Paul in verse 28 that this was a big deal for him to get a citizenship, but God had prepared Paul for this very thing, and he uses this to get to where he wants to go, not only to get out of the scourging, but we'll see later to get to Rome as well. 

Paul was a Jew, a legalistic Pharisee, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, with the greatest of Jewish educations, and this allowed him to debate in the synagogues, to relate to the Jews in those Gentile cities where he was a witness, to explain the Old Testament scriptures and the law and how it all pointed to Jesus. 

It allowed him to speak to the Jews in Jerusalem and find common ground with them, and we'll see later in this text that his knowledge of the Jewish religion and the Sanhedrin allowed him to get out of another tight spot. But Paul was also a Roman citizen. He also had education in that realm as well, and this served him well. 

And here we see that he used that to avoid the scourging, but also to keep him moving. That's what we see: we're gonna see him keep moving through the process to get him out of Jerusalem. Paul was God's chosen man, prepared and sustained for this important ministry, and Paul was God's witness. 

He was a preacher of Jesus Christ risen from the dead everywhere he went. He witnessed to the Jews, to the Gentiles, in prison, after being stoned, in the deep, on ships, in the temple, in a synagogue, in a Roman prison — it didn't matter where Paul went, what was going on, it didn't matter what the circumstances were — Paul was a witness first and foremost, and he understood this to be his calling, his duty, as well as his privilege. 

Well, as I've studied these passages week after week of Paul's unbelievable fortitude, his faithfulness in the face of all that he suffered, I keep asking myself how this is possible. How can he keep going? How can he continue to open his mouth and preach Jesus as he suffers such tremendous opposition and finds himself in so many dire circumstances? 

The truth that I keep coming back to is that Paul's confidence is in God. His confidence is not in himself. His confidence is not in numbers, or power, or money, or anything other than God himself. He believed and he knew that he was God's chosen vessel to be a witness to the Gentiles and the Jews and to everyone that he came across. He knew that God was in control, that God was working out his will, that God would sustain him and strengthen and encourage him in any circumstance. 

We see this as Paul stands before the Sanhedrin within the custody of the Roman authorities and makes a profound statement. Look at verse 30. It says, "The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them." 

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." We see the commander is still struggling to figure out what's going on with Paul and how he should proceed. So he calls the Sanhedrin to come and he sets Paul before them, hoping to find out a charge or an accusation. 

The Sanhedrin consisted of 71 members made up of three sects: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. The Pharisees were the conservative legalistic bunch who took the Word of God literally, believed in the supernatural; the Sadducees were theological liberals who did away with spirits and angels and any kind of afterlife; and the Essenes were fewer in number, lived in a sort of communal society, sharing property and taking vows of poverty and that sort of thing. 

But the two main sects on the Sanhedrin were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and we could understand them as fundamentalists and theological liberals. So Paul is set before them for the purpose of an allegation, a charge, so that the Romans could figure out what was going on, and Paul makes this monumental statement: "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." 

Paul calls on God as his witness and he says, "My conscience is clear. I have only served the Lord as best I could." You see, this had always been who Paul was, always full of zeal, always seeking with passion to serve God. And since his conversion, he had set this as his life, his purpose, his only goal. 

So here, after being beaten, after having clear murderous threats continually leveled against him, only to be rescued by being arrested by the Romans, you see what this would look like from the Roman perspective and from the Sanhedrin perspective. Surely Paul was guilty of something. There was an unbelievable uproar in Jerusalem these last days! Surely he had committed some great crime, and the Jews were convinced of it, but there was not even a charge. 

And here Paul stands with this proclamation, "I have lived to this day with a clear conscience before God. I've done nothing wrong. All that I have done, I have done to serve the Lord, to be His witness before men of the truth of the gospel." What Paul said was true, but what a stunning statement in light of his present circumstance and what confidence he had. 

And not in himself, not in his circumstances, not even in his conscience, I would say, but in God. It was an interesting study to look at the conscience in the New Testament. I don't know if you've ever done that, but I was surprised at how much Paul and the other authors emphasize a clear or a good conscience toward God. 

I want you to listen to some of Paul's words. 2 Corinthians 1:12, he said, "For our boasting is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God and more abundantly toward you." 

In 1 Timothy 1:5, he said, "Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith." In 1 Timothy 3:9, "Holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience." And in 2 Timothy 1:3, he says, "I thank God whom I serve with a pure conscience as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers day and night." 

There are many more similar statements by Paul, and Peter, and the author of Hebrews. It seems that serving God with a pure, clear conscience was of utmost importance to Paul. So I got to thinking about what this means. 

How is it? Why is it that I can have a clear conscience toward God? There are those passages that talk about searing your conscience or grieving the Holy Spirit, so a holy life with pure motives must be part of this. But I don't think this really gets to the heart of the issue. 

I want for you to turn to Hebrews 9 with me, please. Hebrews chapter 9, and in this chapter, we see a contrast between the Old and the New Covenants, the outward law and the inner regeneration, a new man in Christ. 

Hebrews 9 at verse 11: "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" 

The author of Hebrews says that the blood of Christ cleanses our conscience, gives us a clean conscience. Now look down to chapter 10 at verse 22. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." 

In verse... chapter 13, verse 18, he says, "Pray for us, for we are confident that we have a good conscience in all things, desiring to live honorably." I think what Paul is really saying in our text is that he knows that all he has done in his ministry, his preaching, his teaching, his salvation, his message of the gospel, in all that, he is sure that all of this has been done in the will of God. 

That this is what God has called him to do. And it has been his great desire and passion to do it faithfully. You see, the Jews were really challenging the gospel. They were really challenging Jesus, the truth of salvation by grace through faith for Jew and Gentile, whosoever would believe. 

Paul is not saying he's always done everything perfectly without sin or without mistake, and that would be especially ironic in light of the transgression he's about to commit. What he's saying, and this is so encouraging, my brothers and sisters, is that he knows that the gospel is right, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. 

That preaching Jesus is all that matters, and in this endeavor, with all desire and passion, he can have a clear conscience toward God. This is the will of God for his life. Do you see what a monumental statement that is in light of his circumstances? And again, Paul's confidence is not in himself, but in God. 

Turn over to 1 Corinthians 4 with me. 1 Corinthians 4 at verse 1. Paul says, "Let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 

For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord." John gives us a similar testimony in 1 John. Listen to chapter 3 verse 18. He says, "My little children, let us not love in word and tongue, but in deed and truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God." See, Paul could make this bold, incredible statement not because he was perfect, not because he had always done everything right, not because his confidence was in himself, but because his confidence was in God. 

We can have a clear conscience toward God in serving Christ, in preaching the gospel, in always speaking the truth in love, no matter if men are throwing stones at us, beating us, or taking us before the Sanhedrin. Because we have a promise from God based on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. 

Peter said in chapter 3 verse 21 in 1 Peter, "There is also a picture, an antitype, a figure which now saves us, baptism. Not the removal of the filth of the flesh, listen. But the answer, the pledge from God of a good conscience toward Him through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 

Sometimes this world can make you wonder. Sometimes circumstances can make you doubt. Can you imagine, can you fathom the circumstances of Paul that we've been studying? Can you put yourself in his position? How could he stand there and say, "I know that all I have done in striving to further the gospel of Jesus Christ has been the right thing to do"? 

"To this very day I have a clear conscience toward God." Peter says every believer can say this because we have an answer, a pledge from God that we can have a clear conscience, a good conscience toward God because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this was the issue. 

This is the issue; this is always the issue, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 1 of chapter 23. "Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, 'Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.'" The high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by to strike him on his mouth. 

Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall, for you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" And those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's high priest?" Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" 

But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am being judged." Ananias, the corrupt high priest, did not like what Paul said in verse 1. His goal was to get rid of Paul, to get rid of the truth, to get rid of Jesus Christ. 

So when Paul said that all that he did, he did with a clear conscience toward God, Ananias commanded him to be struck in the mouth, and the word for strike here is the same word that was used earlier in the riot, where it says they were beating him. This was a blow with the fist, or possibly even with a club if it was one of the law enforcement officers. 

Clearly, it caught Paul off guard, and he loses his temper, and he has an outburst of wrath against the high priest. We can understand Paul here, can't we? He's a man like we are, and he'd been through so much at this point. 

But the interesting thing is that he quickly recognizes that what he did was wrong when he finds out that he was addressing the high priest of God. He said, "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest, for it's written," and he quotes the Scriptures: "You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people." 

Now the question comes: Why did Paul not know who the high priest was? There are a couple of possibilities here that I think are plausible. We noted in verse 30 that the commander had called the Sanhedrin into the fort to examine Paul, most likely to avoid more riots near the temple. 

So they were not meeting in the Hall of Hewn Stones adjacent to the temple as they usually did, and it may be that they were not all decked out in their robes as a result. There were 71 of them, so it could have been a little crowded, a little chaotic, depending on the room in which they met. 

And then there's the issue of Paul's eyes. It seems that he may have had some difficulty with disease or condition that made his eyesight poor. We see in Galatians that he signs the letters, "See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand." Earlier in that epistle he said that there was such love between them that when he came to the Galatians, they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him. 

So there may have been several factors here, but I don't think Paul knew to whom he was talking. And we see that when they told him what he had done, he recognized immediately that he had transgressed the law of God and he quoted the Scripture and he apologized. 

This is another amazing example for us from the Apostle Paul. Ananias was a horrible man. He was a murderer, power-hungry, he was in bed with Rome; he was a really bad guy. But he sat in Moses' seat, and Paul recognized that he was the ruler appointed by God, and so he recognizes his sin. 

Now look at what comes next in verse 6. Paul's figuring out what's going on here, and he highlights the truth of why he's there and what he's really being accused of in order to get out of this tight spot that he finds himself in. It says, "When he perceived that one part were Sadducees, the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, 'Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It's concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I'm being judged.'" 

Paul knew exactly what he was doing here. You see, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, and the Sadducees did not. And this was an ongoing fight, a theological debate of great importance to them. And Paul knew it, and he used the truth of the essence of why he was there, the resurrection of the dead, to cause a dissension and chaos to ensue, and back into Roman custody he went. 

Unfortunately, the commander really got no further with his investigation as to what Paul had done. Look at verse 7 of our text. "When he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. 

Then there arose a loud outcry and the scribes and the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, 'We find no evil in this man; he's one of us. But if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.'" 

When there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the barracks. It just goes on and on for Paul, doesn't it? 

Everywhere he is, there's a tumult, there's a disturbance. We've seen in our text God's man and God's witness, Paul. We've seen a clear conscience. We've seen a resurrection from the dead. And finally, we see comfort and encouragement from God. 

Look at verse 11. "But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul, for you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.'" 

You can imagine how tough things have gotten at this point for Paul. All he wants is to be a faithful witness, to bring Jew and Gentile to faith in Jesus, and he's given his life, himself, completely. He's gone to great lengths to get to Jerusalem, bring the gift to the church, bring unity in the body. And now everything is a great big mess. 

The Jews are trying to kill him. He's been beaten openly outside the temple. He's been arrested. He's been taken before the Sanhedrin, beaten again. Now he sits alone in a cell. He must have been wondering what in the world was going on. Perhaps this was the end. What would come next? And if somehow, he had messed everything up. 

You've been there. I've been there, doubting, discouraged, in despair. What do we need in those times, my friends? Where can we go? Only to a word from God. We have to go back to God's word, His truth, His word, His truth, and get our minds straight. Renew our minds to His truth. Get our eyes back on Christ. 

Well, God knew what Paul needed, and Jesus comes personally to Paul to encourage him. It says, "The Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul. For as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.'" 

There's so much here, my friends. It's Jesus who is our encouragement. It's Jesus who is by us, with us, in us, will never leave us nor forsake us. Paul says we can rejoice in our tribulations because the Lord is at hand. And look at what he told Paul. Cheer up. Be of good cheer. And he commends him. He says he's been a witness for Jesus in Jerusalem. 

It wasn't all for naught. He didn't mess it up. The words mean he was a faithful witness, a complete witness. It wasn't out of God's will. Paul did serve God in Jerusalem in a complete and faithful way. This is an encouragement for Paul, sitting in chains. 

And then the best part — "And so you will be my witness in Rome." That's what Paul wanted. He's going to get there — maybe not the way he thought, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that he gets there, and he gets to be a witness for Jesus in Rome, and there is encouragement, and there's a refocus, and there's confidence because there's a word from God, there's truth to hold on to. 

Jesus does not stand by us and speak to us today like he did for Paul. But my friends, he lives in us. He has given to us his completed written word. He's given to us his Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, to encourage us, to strengthen us. 

When we're at the bottom, doubting, discouraged, in despair, we need to go to his word. Take his truth for ourselves and trust him. Place our confidence in him. You see, my friends, this is not a let-go-and-let-God relationship, this Christian life. It's a hold-on-and-let-God relationship that keeps us going, that keeps us focused, that produces fruit. 

Paul is learning this again and again. He is such an encouraging example to us. Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you again just for the account of the book of Acts and what the early church went through and how you built that church and how you produced fruit through them for your glory, Father. We thank you for Paul. We marvel at his faithfulness, his boldness, his testimony, his desire. Father, we're thankful that you've put that desire in us and given us your Holy Spirit, poured your love into our hearts. 

We just pray that you help us to be a witness for you in our spheres of influence, Lord, that men might believe and come to Jesus. It's in his name we pray.