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God is the one who is the judge. We don’t get to decide what we think is right or wrong, he has declared it in his word. In and of ourselves, we are not able to be righteous. That is to say, “do right” all of the time. But the good news is, literally, Jesus lived that righteous life for us. By placing our faith in Jesus Christ, his righteousness becomes ours. Even faithful men like Abraham, were not counted as one of God’s children because of his great acts, but because of his faith in God. We are given the opportunity to have peace with God through Faith. Adam and Eve chose to go their own way, they fell into sin and chose not to follow God’s command. They brought sin and death into the world. We too, choose sin, every single one of us, and thus we prove that we are in Adam. Just as they went, so do we… but that need not be the end of our story. Jesus Christ died for us so that we can be saved. We don’t take this for granted, or we shouldn’t. The Law doesn’t have power over those who trust in Jesus, but we don’t come to him so that we can live however we want. We now live by the Spirit. We allow him to guide our ways. We become God’s children and we count Jesus as our brother. Life is tough, but it doesn’t compare to the future in store for believers who fully trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is with us always to give us the strength to carry on. He is the one in control, it has always been that way, and it always will be. Those who chose to follow the Lord are his, those who do not, aren’t. Choose to follow him today!

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Paul was always ready to make a defense of who he was in Christ. His most powerful message is also our most powerful message, how we came to know Jesus Christ as Savior, our testimony. This divided people. Paul would have even lost his life if god had not been for the provision of the Roman government. He was mistreated and bounced around from council to council before various rulers, never taking the opportunity to feel sorry for himself, and always taking the opportunity to tell the story of Jesus. His goal was always to go to Rome and beyond, and God got him there. It wasn’t through his own planning, but by God’s will. If God calls you to something, he will get you there. Even though storms and shipwrecks may happen along the way, if you will remain faithful to speak the gospel to all you encounter, the Lord will bless your efforts. In Rome Paul was able to preach God’s truth. The truth that God has a message for the heart of man. It’s not a message of compromise and easy-believeism but a real message of hope. Should we genuinely make God our God, and not our own selfish desires, he will lift us up and hold us close. Trust in the Lord, the only Lord, Jesus, and he will save you!

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Paul met a young man named Timothy and recognized his potential. He had been raised to follow God, by his mother and grandmother, and was faithful to the Lord. He began to mentor him and he became a leader in the church. Paul’s plan was to go to Asia, but his plan wasn’t God’s. They followed the Lord’s leading and he blessed them greatly. Even through he ended up in prison and suffered through many trials and hardships, the gospel went out. That’s all that mattered, and that’s all that really matters today. As much as we plan and do, as long as people hear about Jesus, that’s how success is measured. Paul founded churches all along the way, like the church in Philippi. He found a rich woman who was interested in the things of God, and started a group of believers there, the church in Philippi. Even in prison, Paul preached the gospel so that even a prison guard sees the light. Proof of Paul’s message “what must I do to be saved?” all you must do is believe, and you will be saved. Then the first step of obedience, as it was for Paul, is to be baptized. They continued to Thessalonica and other towns who needed the gospel, even Athens. Rich educated and powerful. The Athenians didn’t seem to need anyone, yet Paul knew better. It wasn’t just the poor and downcast who need a savior, everyone is lost without Jesus. He preached the same message in Corinth as everywhere else. He reasoned with all people, attempting to persuade them. Even in the midst of some amazing signs and miraculous works, a riot at Ephesus, and even raising someone from the dead(!), the message was what remained important. That’s still the most important thing today. Wherever we find ourselves, we must communicate the saving message of Jesus Christ, the gospel. Whether we be in a synagogue or the temple, at the Areoptogus or along the road, preach the good news to everyone you meet. Invite them to be part of the church through your local church. It’s the same message of John the Baptist, “repent and believe the gospel.” That’s all you must do, believe, and you too will be saved. 

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It’s always a miracle when God reaches out from heaven and changes our hearts. Look at the example of Saul. A young up-and-coming rabbi who was on the fast track to religious success. He was self-confident and sure of himself, God stripped that away. He made him depend on a follower of Jesus for his healing and he places his faith in Jesus as Lord. He became a Christian, was filled by the Holy Spirit, and then he was baptized. That’s how salvation works. Then he preached, he went to his own people in the Synagogues. This was no small task, he was the most Jewish of Jews, and he had trusted in Jesus. It wasn’t what they wanted to hear, but it was what they needed. Unapologetically he preached Christ, until they’d kick him out of the synagogues, then he’d found a church with those who left the synagogue. Over and over, this was Paul’s pattern, sharing the gospel, failing to win over the Jews en masse, then forming a church from those who would follow Jesus. Peter had his own ministry. He was a very devout and traditional Jew, and God showed him all people are made clean through Jesus, just as all food is clean. Peter becomes a missionary to a gentile, Cornelius, and God saves them just like his Jewish brothers. Peter’s report is that anyone is able to call upon the Lord. This is not his opinion or his desire, it is simply the fact. Peter had seen him save lives. Perhaps sometimes our lack of faith comes from our lack of witness to the saving power of God through Jesus Christ. When we’ve seen him save, we have to tell the story. It’s here, at Antioch, that the disciples were first called “Christians,” because they modeled their lives after Jesus. Through all the hardship and struggle, the gospel goes out, that was God’s desire, and it still is today. As Paul went out on what would be his general route, to cities like Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, he preached the saving message of Jesus Christ as Lord. And this was for everyone, no one is excluded, if they would simply turn, as he had done. And so it still is true. Do you know Jesus?

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The Holy Spirit didn’t come at some random time that just happened to be about a month after Jesus died on the cross, he came at Pentecost. The Jewish festivals were not just something to keep the Hebrews occupied until God really got his plan working, they pointed to what was to come, salvation through Jesus Christ. Peter, the hot headed, speak first ask questions later, denied Jesus three times, disciples of Jesus stood up and preached his first real sermon… and 3,000 people became Christians. He spoke the truth and the people were cut to the heart. These new christians devoted themselves to the truth of the gospel, to maintaining a helpful community, and communion with God. They were blessed and saw people coming to Jesus daily. They didn’t focus on giving people physical needs, nor did they stress over the idea they couldn’t provide for everyone, they simply continued spreading the gospel to every man woman boy and girl. Even when it caused them political trouble and it would have been much more comfortable to simply say less, Peter and the first Christians preached all the more. Their goal was to share the gospel. When they were afraid, they prayed for boldness. Their faith wasn’t about their own comfort, it was about bringing more honor and glory to Jesus Christ. Those who were selfish and wanted to hold back from this mission, were removed from the community. There was no room for half-hearted Christians among God’s people. Stephen stood before a crowd and preached a very similar sermon to Peter’s. Perhaps he expected the same result, but it was quite different. He became the first martyr of the Christian faith recorded in Scripture. Opposition grew and a young man, zealous to prove himself, Saul, was terrorizing the church. But terrorism cannot stop genuine believers. The gospel must be shared. The true mark of the Holy Spirit on someone’s life is the inability to hold back the truth of the gospel… and the church grows.

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