Acts 24-26

Paul’s accusers come before Felix in Caesarea, however nothing comes of it, and he is kept there under house arrest for another 2 years.  Felix talks with him a lot, but he is primarily hoping to get a bribe from Paul, but that never happens.  After 2 years a Felix is replaced by Festus as Roman Governor, and the Jews attempt to gain his help in condemning Paul, but that doesn’t work out for them.  Eventually Paul appeals for a hearing before Caesar, which is his right as a Roman citizen, so Festus makes plans for him to be sent to Rome.  Meanwhile, King Agrippa and his wife make a visit to Festus, and he gives the king an opportunity to hear Paul’s case.  Agrippa was the grandson of King Herod the Great, and he was knowledgable about the Jews and the scriptures, since he was an Idumean (a descendant of Esau), and his grandfather (Herod) had funded the expansion of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.  Paul attempts to win Agrippa over to Christ, but it doesn’t seem to be successful, and so Paul ends up with the final decision to be sent to Rome, so that he can appeal to Caesar.

Acts 21:17-23:35

Paul and his team finally return to Jerusalem and meet with the Christian elders and apostles in the city.  They rejoice over all the things that Paul reported from his journeys, but warn him that there are many Jews in the city who are on the look out to kill him.  Paul goes to the temple and performs the rites of purification and sacrifice, but when he leaves the temple, the Jews attack him, and would have killed him except that the Roman commander intervened and arrested him.  Paul is given an opportunity to tell his story to the crowd, but they kind of lose their mind when he tells them that God had sent him to preach to the Gentiles.  A gang of 40 Jews devise a plan to kill Paul, but their scheme is discovered, and the Roman Commander sends him under guard to Felix, the Roman Governor at Caesarea, who agrees to hear Paul’s case after his accusers from Jerusalem come to provide their testimony against him.

Romans 16 | Acts 20:2-21:16

Even though Paul did not found the church in Rome, there were many there that he knew, and had ministered together with in previous times, including Priscilla and Aquilla, in whose home the church was meeting at that time.  Paul warns them, just like he did with many other churches, to guard against divisions within the church, and to be on the lookout for wolves (men) who would come in to create disagreements and arguments within the body of Christ.

Prior to sailing back to Syria, Paul makes another quick trip through Greece (Macedonia and Achaia).  After sailing from Troas, they stop in Miletus, on the coast of Asia Minor, and Paul sends for the elders in Ephesus to come and meet with them there.  Paul didn’t want to go to Ephesus because he would end up staying there too long, and he wanted to be in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.  He meets with the Ephesian elders, and gives them parting instructions, knowing that it was very unlikely that he would ever see them again.  He tells them to shepherd the people in their church like Jesus, and warns them that wolves will rise up even within their own group, so they must be on guard.  He told them that chains awaited him in the near future, and he left them after many tears, since they would never see him again.  They then set sail for Tyre, in Syria, where they stayed a week before traveling south to Judea, and they stayed with Philip (the deacon) in Caesarea.  In every place they went Paul kept getting warnings of his future arrest, and people tried to talk him out of going to Jerusalem, but he knew that all of that was going to happen according to the Lord’s will.

Romans 12-15

In light of all that God has done, Paul says it is a reasonable thing for us to serve God with our entire being, with a willingness to die for Him, and a commitment to living for Him as separate from the world.  He will transform us into the image of Jesus Christ if we allow His Spirit’s work in us to succeed.  Love God and each other like Jesus first loved us, and work to be a peace with everyone.  Be in subjection to our governing authorities, let love be the measure we apply to all people, and do not behave like those in this world.

Do not judge one another over the things they believe or do, but provide them with a godly example.  It is foolish to think that righteousness is bound up in rules of behavior, like what we eat or drink, or the day we worship God on, since righteousness can only be found in Jesus, and in following His simple examples of serving others in God’s love.  We are to bear one another’s burdens, and build each other up in Christ.

Romans 9-11

Paul takes a 3 chapter departure to talk about the condition of Israel before God, as it was a burning question among Christian Jews at that time - “if the Jews rejected the Messiah, God’s Son, has God rejected the Jews?”  Paul provides a resounding “NO” to this question in these 3 chapters, and confidently tells us that God will be faithful to save a remnant of Jews before He comes to judge the world.  The Jews are not saved because of a different covenant, as Jesus Christ is the only way to God, but a remnant of them will turn and accept Jesus as their Messiah during the great tribulation at the end of the age.

There is no scriptural basis for anti-semitism, yet it has been a cancer within some of the Christian church for more than 1,500 years.  Some of the Christian church fathers taught that God had rejected the Jews for killing Jesus, and they deserved to be wiped out as God’s judgement upon them.  There were many christian churches who cooperated with the Nazi’s during world war 2, even though there were many other Christians who gave their lives trying to protect the Jews.  Anti-semitism is from the devil, who tries to thwart the plan of God by eliminating the Jews, however God will protect a remnant throughout remaining human history, and they will turn to Him in faith at the end.

Romans 7-8

God’s laws in the Old Testament are perfect, however they were never intended to save anyone from sin.  They only proved the impossibility of obeying God’s laws because every person is born with an inherent tendency to do the wrong thing, and were designed to show us the need for a solution of rescue from God, Who came in the form of man to do that very thing.  Even we prove the impossibility of perfectly obeying God’s law when we try to do so in our own strength, however Jesus has sent His Spirit to us, so that we might be successful in living for God as He leads us.

God does not condemn anyone who is in Jesus Christ, but quickly forgives us when we ask, and His Spirit leads us moment by moment, and gradually forms our character into the image of Jesus, Who is the perfect model for us to follow.  When we follow the leading of God’s Spirit, we prove that we have become His children, and He will take control of the circumstances in our lives, working all things for our good, and for His glory.  Nothing in this world, or from the devil can separate us from the love of God, and His care for us as His adopted children.

Romans 4-6

There are no works sufficient for reconciliation with God, as that is only available through faith.  Paul points out that Abraham believed, and was counted as righteous (Genesis 15:6) before he was circumcised, proving that faith alone is important, and not works of the flesh, or being a circumcised descendant of Abraham.

God demonstrated His love for us, in that while we were still sinners Christ came and died for all.  Sin is forgiven in the blood of His sacrifice, and we are raised to eternal life with Him.  The disobedience of one man, Adam, introduced sin and death into the whole world.  The obedience of one Man, Jesus, annulled original sin, making it possible for every person to escape the curse of death in Him.

We are expected to sin less after being saved.  We have been baptized (or buried) into His death, and we have likewise been raised from the dead with Him to eternal life, so we shouldn’t let sin have control of us any longer.

Everyone is given a choice - receive eternal condemnation for sin in our own unrighteousness, or accept the free gift of eternal life in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1-3

The book of Romans is considered the greatest of Paul’s epistles, which provides a systematic commentary on the gospel of salvation by faith alone.  It is believed to have been written by Paul from Corinth, as he was preparing to head back to Troas, and then back to Judea.  Paul did not found the church in Rome, and this epistle does not address any problems with the church there (as he did with the Corinthians and other churches he wrote to).  The central theme of this book is stated in chapter 1…

Romans 1:16-17 NKJV - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

God will judge the whole world with righteous judgement, and even those who have not heard the name of Jesus, or been told the things of God, will be judged rightly, and no one will be able to say “not fair” to Him on that day.

There is no partiality or unfairness with God, and we should therefore keep ourselves from judging others, since only God is qualified to do so.

Not even the Jews can claim to be righteous because of their heritage (sons of Abraham), or because of keeping the laws of Moses, as it is only those who approach God in faith (like Abraham did), who will be justified.  Every person ever born proves they are sons of Adam because they all sin, and they all die (which is the curse of sin), and there are none who are good enough to be accepted by God in their own righteousness.  As stated in Romans 3:23, every person has sinned, and failed to live up to God’s standard of righteousness.  So, acceptance by God must come another way - through faith in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, Who came to the world in God’s grace to take upon himself the punishment for sin that every person deserves.

2 Corinthians 10-13

Paul defends his ministry against the accusations of the many who were against him, and speaks briefly of the authority he had from Christ as an apostle to punish such enemies of God.  He warns the Corinthians to beware of false apostles and prophets, who are continually attempting to deceive any who will listen to them.  Even so, there were none of those false teachers who could point to the things they suffered for Christ, which Paul lists as evidence of his own selfless service for Jesus, and for his readers.  He also relates the time that he was taken up to see the third heaven, which probably occurred when he was stoned in Lystra (Acts 14:19), and left for dead, although he was not allowed to speak about what he saw and heard in heaven.  He also makes mention of his own infirmity in the flesh, which the Lord would not heal, even after much prayers.

Paul commended himself in many ways to the Corinthians, but he was not seeking to promote or puff himself up in their eyes, but rather to show them the lengths that he had gone to, so that they might believe, and grow into Christian maturity.  He’s telling them that he has earned the right to speak to them as a father, which none of the false teachers could likewise prove.

2 Corinthians 5-9

However, he also tells them that there was a personal struggle that was going on in himself, since he knew that it would be far more pleasant if he were to die, and then be in the presence of Christ thereafter.  He knew that all things would be perfect when he was with Jesus in eternity, but he also acknowledged that the timing was not yet right for him to die, as he still had more unbelievers to preach to before God had destined for him to die.

As he often wrote about the critical importance of faith towards God in Christ, he reminds the Corinthians that “we walk by faith, and not by sight”, knowing that our primary aim is to please the One Who has called us into His service.  Like he did in 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds them again that every person must stand before Jesus at the Judgement Seat of Christ, to receive the Lord’s recognition and rewards for service to Him in this life.

Paul warns the Corinthians against partnerships with unbelievers, indicating the need to remain unentangled with people of this world.

Titus had visited Corinth on Paul’s behalf, and he brought back much good news for his rejoicing and comfort.  He tells them how happy he is that they had made changes following his first letter, which he had worried was too strong.  He also reminds them of the ongoing collection of money that will go to the needy believers in Jerusalem, as the time was approaching for it to be taken to Judea, and he was going to send someone through Corinth to pick it up.

Acts 19:23-20:1 | 2 Corinthians 1-4

Paul spends some time in Ephesus, but he eventually has to leave for Macedonia, as a great uproar had arisen in Ephesus when the silversmiths there became angry at the number of people who were becoming Christians, and therefore no longer worshipping the goddess Diana (Artemis).  He spent several months in Philippi, and wrote again to the Corinthians, about a year after his first letter to them.

Paul explains to the Corinthians in his second letter that even though it had been his desire to pass through their city, he had not done so because of two things - He was equally pulled towards Ephesus, and the needs of the gospel in Asia Minor, and he was reluctant to go to Corinth when there were so many spiritual problems going on, which he had previously written to correct.  However, he is also very joyous over the news he had heard from Corinth, where the man who was expelled because of sexual sin had repented, and the couple had separated.  Paul tells the Corinthians to rejoice in the man’s repentance, and to forgive him, and welcome him back into the fellowship of believers.

He then goes on to tell them about the persecutions and trials that they had been experiencing for Christ, knowing that the Lord is always faithful to take care of them, even though it seemed that they were going to be killed many times.

1 Corinthians 15-16

The first four verses of chapter 15 provide a simple declaration of the gospel - namely, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Christ’s resurrection from the dead is an essential component of our faith, as Paul tells us that we have no hope if He wasn’t raised from the dead, since our eternal future is in Him alone.  All people exist as eternal spirits, and what happens in the next life pivots on every person’s belief in Jesus (or not).

In the final chapter Paul writes about his upcoming travel plans, with the possibility that he will visit the Corinthians before winter sets in, and potentially stay with them, or go on to Ephesus.  He tells them that any money they collect for the saints in Jerusalem will be taken when he returns there, or by someone they mutually agree on as faithful to take it.

1 Corinthians 12-14

In these chapters Paul shifts his focus to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, what is most important, and some of the abuses that the Corinthians were guilty of in their church meetings.  Chapter 12 provides a list of many Spiritual Gifts that are available to believers through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but such gifts are given for the benefit of the church as a whole, and not for the individual.  Each believer is a small part of the whole body of Christ, with each one having unique roles that they are best suited for.  The whole body suffers when individuals do not use their gifts for the benefit of each other.

Yet, Paul tells us in chapter 13 that there is no benefit to all of the Spiritual gifts when the person wielding them does not do so in the love of Jesus Christ.  Without love for God and each other, all the Spiritual gifts we might have accomplish nothing.

Lastly, the Corinthians were allowing chaos to reign in their church services, with some people suddenly speaking in tongues (with no interpretation), and men and women talking at all times.  Paul tells them that God is a God of decency and order, and such things are not pleasing to Him.  There should be no more than a few messages in tongues, and then only when interpretations are given.  It is not a sign of spiritual maturity for such things to be going on in our church services.

1 Corinthians 9-11

Paul tells the Corinthians that even though he could expect them to provide monetary support for his ministry, as it was ordained by God that priests and ministers be supported from the gifts given, he refused to do so.  He served Christ without personal agendas, and did whatever was necessary to win some to the Faith, and avoided every possibility of being accused of serving for selfish gain.

He directs the Corinthians to look at the things recorded in the Old Testament, and what happened to Israel in the wilderness.  All that was placed there was written for our benefit, and for our learning, with everything pointing in various ways towards Christ in the future.  The Corinthians were surrounded by pagans and idol worship, and that same problem had brought down countless numbers of Israelites in their history.  Paul instructed them to stay away from all forms of idolatry, as there is no value in mixing with worldly pagan practices.

Paul teaches that there are different roles, and different ways that men and women worship God, and it is not appropriate for us to destroy the distinctions that God has created between the sexes.  He also admonished the Corinthians for treating the Lord’s Table (Communion) with no respect, as they were treating it like a meal, rather than eating at home.  The Corinthians were not only failing to obey the words of Jesus regarding the remembrance of His sacrifice, but they were completely disrespecting the practice, and in the process the Lord Himself.

1 Corinthians 5-8

Paul then addresses outright sin within the church, where a man was living with his step-mother as if they were married, and the church was proud of their tolerance of this couple.  Paul told the church leaders to bring discipline to them, and to put them out of the church, so that their sin did not corrupt the whole church.  The purpose of this excommunication was to bring them to repentance, and eventual restoration to God and the church, which we discover was successful in Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians.

He then chastises them for the situation where fellow believers in the church were suing each other in civil court, bring the Name of Jesus to shame among unbelievers.  He tells them that it would be far better that they accept the loss, and be willing to be cheated, rather than taking such issues before unbelieving pagans.  Such things should be judged and resolved within the family of believers, and not in the courts of pagans.

Paul then gives advice on marriage, indicating that it is best for people to stay in the condition they are in, and not seek something different.  Marriage is better for most people, who are not given the gift of celibacy, as Paul was.

He then gives advice about eating food that has been previously offered to idols.  There is nothing inherently bad or evil with eating such things, however believers should not do so if they end up causing a weaker Christian to stumble by their example.  This is the same with other things, like drinking alcohol in moderation - some Christians are free to do this with a clean conscience, but they should not do so if it causes another person to stumble.

1 Corinthians 1-4

It was during Paul’s 2nd missionary journey that he went to Greece (Macedonia and Achaia) after receiving a vision of a man who begged him to come to that region.  After founding fellowships in Philippi and Thesallonica, he lived and taught for almost 2 years in Corinth.  However, after his departure, false teachers came in and corrupted the believers there, and when Paul heard of these things, he wrote this first epistle while he was in Asia Minor (Ephesus).  The first 6 chapters deals with correction and discipline from Paul, and the rest of the book deals with doctrinal questions he had received from them.

The first issue Paul addressed was the problem of division that had cropped up in Corinth, where people in the church were arguing about which of the apostles was the most important.  Groups within the church had formed, where some claimed Paul as their highest authority, others claimed to follow Apollos, others followed Peter, and even some said “I only follow Jesus”.  Paul explains to them that none of the apostles are in competition, as they are all just servants of Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church.  However, he also tells them that he was writing to bring correction, and he had earned that right to do so because he had been the instrument of their salvation - only he could be called their spiritual father.

Paul tells them to stop their arguments and disagreements of such foolish things, as spiritual divisions like these are just a tool of the devil to disrupt the work of the gospel to unbelievers.

2 Thessalonians | Acts 18:12-19:22

It is presumed that Timothy went back to deliver Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, and while he was there it became evident that they were in a great deal of turmoil over the events that were overtaking them.  They were under a great deal of persecution, and some false teachers had told them that Jesus had already returned, and they had missed it.  Consequently, when Paul heard about this, he penned this second letter to clear things up for them regarding the last days, and there errors they were being told.

Paul tells them that the Day of the Lord had not yet come, and that it would not come in the future until the “lawless one” (the anti-christ) is revealed in the world.  Until that time comes in the future, Paul said that God is restraining, or holding back all of the evil that satan would like to do in this world, which we understand to be an active work of the Holy Spirit.  When the time is right, the Spirit of God’s restraint will be removed, the man of lawlessness will be revealed in the world, and he will bring about great destruction and evil until Jesus returns to execute final judgement upon him, and upon the Lord’s enemies in this world.  He concludes by encouraging them, and telling them to stand firm in their faith until the Lord accomplishes what will be done.

Meanwhile, Paul was preaching and teaching in Corinth, and after experiencing little fruit while preaching to the Jews, he determined to just focus his ministry on the Gentiles in that city.  At the end of his time in Corinth, Paul and his group return to Ephesus, where he spends some time before heading back to Caesarea and Antioch, but he leaves Priscilla and Aquilla to minister in Ephesus.  It is there there they meet Apollos, who is a skilled preacher, but who has an incomplete understanding of the gospel.  They help him understand the full gospel of Jesus Christ, and he then travels to Achaia and preaches in Corinth.  After this Paul returns to Asia Minor, and spends another 2 years in and around Ephesus.

1 Thessalonians

After leaving Athens, Paul went to the city of Corinth, where he stayed for almost 2 years.  However, since he had only been in Thessalonica for about 3 weeks, he was concerned about them, and he sent Timothy back to check on how they were doing.  He writes this letter to encourage them in the faith, and to also remind them of the things that he had taught them in the limited time he was there.  He tells them to take comfort in the fact that those who have died are with the Lord forever, and then reminds them that Jesus will return soon to take those who belong to Him.  He encourages them to remain faithful in all that the Spirit leads, and to live quiet and faithful lives for Jesus in this world.

Acts 16:1-18:11

After Paul and Barnabas had returned to Antioch with the letter from the elders in Jerusalem, Paul takes Silas with the intention of visiting the people they had let to Christ in Asia Minor, first going to Derbe and Lystra, which marks the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey.  It was there that they met Timothy, who was a young man of good report, and who began traveling with Paul from that point.  They traveled to various places in Asia Minor, but nothing was happening, until Paul received a vision of a man in Macedonia (Greece), who was asking them to come there.  So Paul and his party immediately traveled there, stopping first in the city of Philippi.  Paul and Silas were imprisoned, but God saved his jailer, and all of his household through that experience.  The Philippian magistrates ultimately let Paul and Silas go, but only after (essentially) apologizing for having them beaten, since it was not lawful for them to do that to Roman citizens without a court ruling.  Thus, the church of Philippi was started.

They then traveled to Thessalonica, where many believed as Paul preached for 2-3 weeks before being thrown out of the city by an angry mob of Jews.  Still in Macedonia, they traveled to Berea, where others also believed, and the Bereans proved to be solid believers, testing the things Paul said against the scriptures.  However, it wasn’t long before he left Berea (ahead of Timothy and Silas) and went to Athens, as the angry Jews were beginning to follow him around.

While Paul was waiting in Athens for Timothy and Silas to catch up to him, he started reasoning with any who would listen, as the city was full of temples to false gods.  They even had a monument to the “unknown god”, which gave Paul a great opportunity to explain to the Greek philosophers that He knew who that God was, and that He was the One Who made all things.  The Greeks were intrigued by the things he said, but they were mostly just interested in hearing new things to discuss.

James

The book of James is called a general epistle, as it was written for circulation among many churches, and not to address a specific church issue.  It was probably written by the James the son of Alpheus, who was one of the 12, and not the brother of John, who was killed by Herod.

The behavior of a child of God is to be upright before the world, which is something that can be seen in action, and not just heard.  We must learn to put away anger, as it does not accomplish the righteousness of God.  Our faith in Christ is demonstrated through our actions towards each other, without partiality or discrimination, showing the love of God to all.  Our tongues are so small, yet cause so much trouble, and it is a rare thing for us to control it as God desires.  Do not speak against one another, but humble yourself in the sight of the Lord - draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.  Let the Lord have control of your plans.  Pray for one another, because the effective and persistent prayer of a righteous person will accomplish much in His Name.