Week 6, Day 1

Acts 27-28

Some thoughts from Friday’s reading…

Have you ever tried to put yourself in the place of the Bible characters?  Often, you can imagine putting yourself in the place of characters on both sides of a given situation.  However, in chapter 26 of Acts, I want you to consider for a moment that you are in the place of King Agrippa.  This man sat and listened to the apostle Paul proclaim the gospel message.  Paul laid out for Agrippa the background of his own conversion, and expanded his teaching to include more information about Jesus and His resurrection.  He used facts that were well known among the Jews, and had obviously been heard by Agrippa himself.

Paul, as he concluded the message before Agrippa, brought the point home quite clearly.  He challenged Agrippa with his teaching, forcing Agrippa to make a decision with the gospel message.  He asked him directly, “Do you believe the prophets?  I know that you do!”  Agrippa was put on the spot.  He had heard the gospel, and he had the opportunity to either accept it or reject it.  Paul had done his job!

We have the same job today.  We have the obligation to teach the gospel message plainly, and pointedly so that hearers have the opportunity to either accept or reject the pure gospel message.  Far too often, we are timid with our presentation (or at least I am).  We lay out the instructions of God’s will, but we are afraid to drive the point home.  We teach that one must repent, but we don’t tell the specific person we are studying with what they have to repent of, or that they are the ones who need to repent.  We speak in generalities, instead of speaking in specifics so that we don’t make people feel too bad about their circumstances.  But, if that is the case, then we have missed the whole point.  Paul made Agrippa feel uncomfortable with his circumstances.  Unfortunately, Agrippa never obeyed the gospel.  It is our job to teach plainly enough that those we teach are made uncomfortable.

So, put yourself in the place of Agrippa.  Think about what he felt as Paul was teaching and especially what he must have felt when Paul asked him directly whether he believed or not.  That is the very feeling that we want to instill in every person that we have the opportunity to teach.  Bring them to the pont that they have to make a choice.  To do that, we have to teach them clearly the simple message of the gospel.  Once we have done the teaching, it is up to the hearer to make a choice of whether to accept or reject.  But, we want to make sure that we do not conceal the gospel because we are afraid of offending someone.

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