Good morning. The Jews replied, we have neither received
letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and
reported or spoken anything bad about you. That was good. They did not have any
preconceived notions about him. Thank goodness they did not have cell phones
back then. They could judge for themselves based on what he said. But we desire
to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to
us that it is spoken against everywhere. They came back another day, and Paul
explained to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to
persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the law of Moses and from the
prophets, from morning until evening. Just like all the places that Paul went,
some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe.
Paul finished his presentation by saying, the Holy Spirit rightly spoke through
Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, you will keep on hearing, but will
not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart
of this people has become dull… Therefore let it be known to you that this
salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen. As
everywhere else he witnessed, that statement evoked a strong response from the
Jews. He stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all
who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. And that is the end of the book of
Acts. Father thank You that You give us opportunity to witness wherever we are.
Help us to be sensitive to those opportunities and to take advantage of them.
Law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners
Good morning. So, was the law a bad thing? We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully (not to control people, as some were), realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane…, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the Blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer etc. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. Formerly Paul was good in the eyes of the law, but unrighteous in the eyes of God. Despite that, God was more than able to use him in a magnificent way to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. Father thank You that Your Grace is gre...
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