A Devotional Thought From Acts

While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the Temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.     Acts 25:8

          Paul, having been taken into custody by the Romans because of the complaints of the religious leaders of Jerusalem, now stands before Festus the governor. In response to complaints made against him, he says, “I have not broken the law. I have not broken the religious law of my people, and I have not broken Caesar’s law, the law of the Romans. Those who are making complaints against me, and want me punished, cannot prove anything. They just complain in an effort to silence my message and get me out of their hair.”

          There are two things of deep significance in how Paul defends himself and his actions. The first is that he definitely states that his faith in Jesus, the Messiah of God, is not in disagreement with the ancient law of his people. It’s a clear statement of the Jewish roots of biblical Christianity: For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground; (Isaiah 53:2). We learn in other places that Paul specifically says that Jesus is the fulfillment of what the prophets have been telling God’s people for centuries. At the time Paul was preaching, just like today, it would require a change in their thinking to recognize that God had fulfilled exactly what He said He was going to do. But even if Paul’s accusers decided to reject Jesus it did not change the reality that Jesus was the Son of God in human flesh Who is the Promised One of ancient Israel, and savior of the entire world. It is to Jesus that all the messianic prophecies of Old Testament scripture lead, and His resurrection from the dead proves that He is the One.

          Secondly, Paul indicates that in his preaching of the resurrected Jesus as savior, and the One to Whom people of all sorts and conditions should give their hearts in faith, was not a crime against Roman governmental law. We who live in the freedom of western civilization recognize that today, and our societies should do everything possible to accommodate the religious values of people of faith, all faiths. At the same time people of all faiths must realize that God’s word declares (written by the very same Paul, I might add) Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers (Romans 13:1). The government that is governing rightly must not say to its religious citizens change your faith or go to jail, it must find an alternative that will keep freedom of religion viable, especially in dealing with Christians who, because of the teaching of the word of God, are predisposed to be good citizens, even under Nero. And, of course, Christians must find a way with God’s help to maintain their biblical faith in a country that is continually turning from the values put forward in the Bible.