Take Courage
Take Courage
Acts 22:30-Acts 23:11
In C.S. Lewis’s, The Screwtape Letters,” he writes of how God uses courage to test one’s true virtue. He writes,
This, indeed, is probably one of God’s motives for creating a dangerous world - a world in which moral issues really come to the point. He sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions. Pilate was merciful till it became risky.
Courage is a barometer on whether someone truly believes something. Courage is the form of every virtue at the testing point. When your faith is tested, will you have courage?
For example, if you are in a group of friends and they start talking about what happens after death and one says, “I believe we all just die and cease to exist.” Or another says, “I believe everyone goes to heaven which is reliving all your favorite memories on earth.” Or, “I believe our souls are just put in another person and we perpetually live on the earth.” In that moment will you have the courage to say, “I believe everyone will go to an eternal hell for their sins unless they repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior trusting in his finished work on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.” You may say you believe in Christ, but when your faith is tested in reality, do you have courage?
Lewis said that Pilate was merciful until it became risky. Pilate looked at Jesus and declared him innocent, but he was not willing to let him go because he was afraid of the people. He lacked courage to do what he felt was right. His mercy had conditions. What conditions does your faith have? Are you willing to stand with God against opposition? It may be easy to say yes in theory, but what about in a real life situation. Are you willing to lose your job if they make you to affirm and accept homosexuality or abortion? Are you willing to be looked at as weird to those at work or school? Will you have courage to stand with God or not?
God has given us examples throughout the Scripture to show us men and women of courage. Many who were tested with persecution on whether they really believed or only sort of believed in God? One of the reasons God put Paul on trial again and again was to reveal his faith. His faith was tested each and every trial. His courage is a reminder and example to us to take courage and stand with God with a clean conscience against our adversaries in the truth of the gospel.
God wants his people to take courage to live for him in the face of opposition. I pray today God will reveal to you ways in which you need to take courage to stand with God so that our faith in Jesus Christ will not have conditions. We must not follow Jesus Christ only when it is convenient, but in every way on every day we must take courage to stand with him.
Take Courage as you live before God with a Clean Conscience
The Apostle Paul had courage to share his faith in Jesus Christ after he was beaten by the Jews in Jerusalem. Paul was willing to be beaten for the truth. He was arrested and was about to be flogged before he challenged the tribune of his level of justice. Paul should not be condemned without cause since he was a Roman citizen. The situation was not yet resolved so the Roman tribune called Paul to defend himself to the Jewish council. Acts 22:30,
But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. [1] And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”
I wonder what thoughts were going through Paul’s mind in verse 1 when it says he was, “looking intently at the council.” Was he thinking what would come from this defense? Was he thinking about them and their state before God? Was he thinking of what God did in his life?
Paul begins his defense in relating how he has done all things according to his conscience. “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” This could mean several things. Paul could have meant he had lived for God with a good conscience during his whole life. Even when he was pursuing and prosecuting the Jews was doing what he felt was best in the eyes of God. He could have meant that he is living before God with a clean conscience since his conversion on the Damascus road. Either way, Paul is making an argument that he is living rightly before God “up to this day.” Paul’s claim is he is still a good Jew. He is acting according to his conscience.
Paul speaks often of his conscience throughout his epistles. Conscience is an inward moral impression of one's actions and principles. Paul believed he acted according to his conscience. Our conscience is an inward sense of right and wrong, but our conscience is not infallible. The Holy Spirit works on our conscience to give us an inward sense of what is right and good and what is wrong and sinful. We have to be careful in our day because many people use conscience as the supreme determining fact of what is good, turning their conscience merely to what they feel is right. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:1-2,
[1] Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, [2] through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.
Our consciences can become seared meaning they have become calloused. The first time we sin we may feel extreme guilt for our actions but in time the feeling of guilt subsides. When we go back to that same sin, we do not feel as guilty. And every time we go back, our hearts become more and more desensitized to sin and our consciences become calloused. A calloused conscience does not feel as it should because a hard shell forms. Titus 1:15-16,
[15] To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. [16] They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.
We have to protect our consciences by repenting of sin when our consciences are pricked. Paul says to Timothy in first epistle, 1 Timothy 1:18–20,
[18] This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, [19] holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, [20] among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
If you do not wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, you may shipwreck your faith.
Our ultimate guide is not our conscience but the Word of God. The Word of God reveals what is right and good. It works on our conscience to soften our hearts towards sin and strengthen our resolve to follow Christ. Martin Luther stood before the council of Worms being challenged for his faith,
Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason - I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other - my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me
Beloved our consciences must be captive to the Word of God.
Paul was captive to the Word of God. After the Holy Spirit opened his eyes to the truth about Jesus, Paul lived definitely. He had courage to stand before his accusers and to testify he was living as a good Jew who followed the Messiah.
Take Courage as you live before God against your Adversaries
And in this world, when we stand with God’s Word and with a good conscience, we will face opposition. Acts 23:2–5,
[2] And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. [3] Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” [4] Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” [5] And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
Ananias took Paul’s words as blasphemous and had him struck. There are several reasons for Paul’s harsh response. He may have responded this way, much like Jesus did with the Pharisees, called him a whitewashed wall! Paul rebuked the high priest for his hypocrisy outside appearing beautiful and pure, but inwardly having no depth and substance. Others have claimed that Paul did not know he was the high priest since he was away from Jerusalem for over twenty years. It being an informal setting, the high priest may not have easily been identified. Others claim Paul did not have good eyesight making the “whitewashed wall” comment more of a direct reference to a white robed figure across the room. We may not know his exact reason for his comment, but we do know Paul is quick to submit himself to the law. Being a good Jew, he was quick to follow God’s word, quoting Exodus 22:28, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”
Remember one of Luke’s aims in this section is to show Paul’s innocence to the Roman leaders. Paul did not want to speak evil of the high priest or of Rome. His referencing Exodus 22:28 was fitting for the context. And may be instructive for us in our day for I believe we as Chrsitians often speak evil of our leaders. Is it possible we have been desensitized in our consciences in how we view and receive authority? Authority is from God and should be respected.
Paul realized the council was made up of both Sadducees and Pharisees. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection from the dead while the Sadducees were strict followers of the Torah and did not believe in the resurrection. Sadducees and the Pharisees were common enemies who have come together against Paul. And Paul gets directly to the main point of why he is on trial, Acts 23:6–10,
[6] Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” [7] And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. [8] For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. [9] Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” [10] And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. (ESV)
Paul causes an argument about the resurrection from the dead and for a third time had to be rescued by the Roman commander.
Paul was exactly right, “It is with the respect to the hope and the resurrection from the dead that I am on trial.” As with Paul, so also with us. Most people are fine with many of the teachings of Jesus.
Matthew 7:1 - [1] “Judge not, that you be not judged.
Matthew 7:12 -[12] “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:39
Love one another. John 13:35
The problem comes when we focus on the resurrection. When we talk about the hope and resurrection from the dead things get personal. If we talk about the resurrection that means we have to talk about death. And if we talk about death, we have to talk about sin. And if we talk about sin, we have to talk about eternal separation from God’s presence because of that sin.
We are called to take courage as we live before God against our adversaries. They are not our true adversaries for our real adversaries are not flesh and blood. We are fighting against false ideologies and worldly wisdom that are contrary to the Word of God. And yet, are we living with courage to actually put ourselves on trial with the hope for the resurrection from the dead? Are we making the resurrection enough in our lives?
Paul was willing to be beaten and imprisoned for the cause of Christ. I fear we are unwilling even to have an awkward silence at dinner with our families or slight discomfort when we talk to our colleagues at work. Are we willing to be put on trial for the resurrection from the dead? Is the resurrection from the dead a central element of our lives? How often are we talking about it? Think of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:7–11,
[7] But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. [8] Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—[10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul was willing to give up all things and to share in the sufferings of Jesus Christ so that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Or maybe his words to Corinth, 1 Corinthians 15:12–19,
[12] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? [13] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14] And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. [16] For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
If there is no resurrection, we are of all people most to be pitied. Beloved, are we putting all our hope in the resurrection from the dead?
Friend, maybe you are here and you haven’t given much thought about death or the resurrection from the dead. Let me challenge you to think about what is going to happen when you die. Death is coming for us all. What will happen after death? The Bible says that every single person will experience the resurrection from the dead, Acts 24:15, “there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust.” Romans 2:6–11,
[6] He will render to each one according to his works: [7] to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; [8] but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. [9] There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, [10] but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. [11] For God shows no partiality. (ESV)
We all will experience a resurrection, but the question is what kind of resurrection? Will it be a resurrection of blessing or of condemnation? Your relationship to Jesus Christ will determine the answer. Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. He offered his perfect life in the stead or as a payment of all who would turn to him in faith. Jesus died on the cross but God raised him from the dead. So now through faith in Jesus Christ, you can receive the resurrection of the dead, a resurrection to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading to be with Christ forever, eternally blessed. But if you reject Jesus Christ, you will die. You will not only die in this life, but you will be cast to outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, to the place of unquenchable fire.
Friend, what resurrection awaits you? Turn to Christ today. For if you are in Christ, you are safe. Because you are forgiven and blameless in God’s sight. The record of Christ Jesus is accredited to you. But if you resist him, you will have to pay for your own sin forever and ever and ever.
Paul’s life is wrapped up with the resurrection. He is all about eternity. And yet, even Paul may have faced discouragement as he sat in his cell almost being torn to pieces. And the Lord remembered Paul, he was not alone.
Take Courage as you live before God as the Lord stands with you
We can take courage not in that we are strong, but because God, our Savior and Lord, is always with us. Acts 23:11,
[11] The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
When Paul was saved, God told Anaias to go to Paul, “for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. [16] For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
Paul was faithful to testify before the Roman tribune and the Jewish council and because of that faithfulness, God will allow Paul to carry his name to kings. As he testified in Jerusalem, he will also testify in Rome.
Let me draw out two things as we close. First, the Lord stands by his people. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord is with us. His rod and his staff comfort us. We are never, ever alone. Pauls words to Timothy at the end of his life have always given me great comfort, 2 Timothy 4:16–18
[16] At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! [17] But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. [18] The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Lord stood by me and strengthened me. He rescued me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. The Lord is with his people.
Secondly, the Lord is with us so that we can testify about him. The Lord reminded Paul that he was with him so he would be confident to continue to testify about him in Rome. And even in the passage above, verse 17, “The Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” The Lord is with us so we would help others be with him. The Lord does not only want to comfort us, but he wants to comfort us so that we can testify to his name so others may know him.
Beloved, we need to take courage to share the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was willing to be beaten and imprisoned for the faith, can we take courage to speak up for Christ in our neighborhoods and offices. God is with us. We have no need to fear. Joshua 1:9,
[9] Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Beloved, as Lewis noted above, “God sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means, at the point of highest reality. A chastity or honesty, or mercy, which yields to danger will be chaste or honest or merciful only on conditions.” Or we could heed the warning of the Lord Jesus of the word sown on the rocky ground, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. “And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. (Mark 4:17). Take courage, the Lord is with you. Let us not have faith with conditions. Let us have faith regardless of our circumstances whether through tribulation or persecution or famine or sword or awkwardness or rejection. There is nothing that can separate us from the Lord of God in Christ Jesus.
If you have acted without courage, take heart. God’s mercy never comes to an end for mercy is new every morning. Great is His Faithfulness. God allowed Paul to testify in Jerusalem and now, he will allow Paul to testify in Rome. It is a privilege to believe in God, to suffer for him and to share the glories of his salvation.
Beloved, take courage, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.