Acts 26:29

Acts 26:29

Sermon preached on January 21, 2007 by Laurence W. Veinott. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Other sermons can be found at http://www.newlifeop.org/.

Art Buchwald, the great humorist, died this past week. He was 81. Last July, the New York Times did an interview with him and it began with Buchwald saying,

"Hi, I'm Art Buchwald and I just died."

It was part of the New York Times, 'write your own obituary' series. They interview people before they die (naturally) but it's not shown until after they die. It gives people an opportunity to tell a little about themselves and how they want to be remembered. In that interview, the reporter asked him about a recent column Buchwald had written about the big questions—questions of life and death. Buchwald said,

"The question isn't, 'Where are you going,' but, 'What are you doing here in the first place?'"

So he asked Buchwald, "What are you doing here?" Buchwald replied,

"I haven't figured it out yet."

Then he went on to say that if he had to give an answer, it would be,

"I was put on earth to make people laugh."

Buchwald did that. Entertaining people is important and worthwhile. Humor and laughter are among the blessings of life and helping people to experience them can be a good thing to do.

But the apostle Paul had a grander purpose—and even though you may not be a full time Christian worker—you should incorporate this purpose of Paul more and more into your life. When Paul was before Festus and King Agrippa and the king asked Paul if he thought he could make him a Christian in such a short time, Paul replied,

"Short time or long—
I pray God that not only you
but all who are listening to me today
may become what I am,
except for these chains."

The great truth we see from our text is that

Paul had a great desire to see people saved.

He wanted all of them to become Christians. He wanted them all to know, praise, honor and worship Jesus. Paul had a great passion for God to be glorified in the conversion of sinners. He wanted, to use the words of Isaiah 11:9,

"the earth to be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea."

This is very relevant to us. One of the contributing factors in church growth is a desire to see people saved. Paul had this desire and it led him to be instrumental in the conversion of thousands of people and the establishment of many churches throughout the Roman world. We need to have this desire. If we're going to see our church grow we as individuals need to incorporate this principle into our lives. You and I need to have a greater desire to see sinners saved. We need to be like Paul.

The first thing I want you to see about Paul's desire was that it was not ordinary, it was not just a little. Rather,

it was great and overwhelming.

There are many things that show us this is our text—Paul's chains, the respect he showed for Festus and King Agrippa, his repeating the gospel message and pressing it home. We're going to look at these things shortly. But perhaps the best place to begin is with Paul's statement in Romans 9:1-5. More than any other statement of Paul, that shows us the depth of his desire to see people saved. The particular people he was referring to were his fellow countrymen, the Israelites. He wrote,

"I speak the truth in Christ—
I am not lying,
my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—
I have great sorrow
and unceasing anguish in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself
were cursed and cut off from Christ
for the sake of my brothers,
those of my own race,
the people of Israel.
Theirs is the adoption as sons;
theirs the divine glory,
the covenants,
the receiving of the law,
the temple worship and the promises.
Theirs are the patriarchs,
and from them is traced
the human ancestry of Christ,
who is God over all,
forever praised! Amen."

Paul describes his sorrow at Israel's unbelief and 'great' and says that he has 'unceasing anguish' because of it. This was something that moved him to the very core of his being. His desire to see his fellow Jews saved was overwhelming.

Not only that, but Paul says that if it were possible, he would wish that he could be abandoned to perdition if it would mean the salvation of the people of Israel. Cranfield paraphrases it this way, (Romans, Vol. 2, p. 456-457)

"For I would pray (were it permissible for me so to pray and if the fulfillment of such a prayer could benefit them)…"

John Murray writes, (Romans)

"It is hypothetical to the effect that if it were possible and of avail for the salvation of his kinsman he would be willing to be accursed on their behalf."

Isn't that incredible? Paul loved unbelieving Israel so much that, if it were possible, he could wish to be accursed if they could be saved. Think of it. Could any desire be greater than this? Could he express it in stronger terms? Paul had an absolute passion for people to be saved, to become Christians. His passion could not have been stronger.

But someone might object and say that Paul's statement only referred to the salvation of the Israelites and that he never said anything like that about the Gentiles. So they would conclude that his desire to see the Jews saved was greater than his desire to see the Gentiles saved. Would that be correct? I think I would grant them that because in Romans 11:13-14 Paul wrote,

"I am talking to you Gentiles.
Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,
I make much of my ministry
in the hope that I may somehow
arouse my own people to envy
and save some of them."

Paul asserted that part of his hope in winning the Gentiles to Christ was to inspire jealously in the Jews so that they would see the Gentiles believe and that would cause them to believe.

But you don't want to make too much of this and conclude that just because his desire to see the Israelites saved was greater—that it was much greater. That would be incorrect. There are at least two things to consider here.

First, Paul was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles.

That was the great mission of his life. He wanted to save both Jews and Gentiles but his focus was on the Gentiles. He gave himself to that work fully. Jesus called him to that (Acts 22:21) work and his love for Jesus involved him loving the Gentiles and wanting to see them saved. We see that in our text.

Secondly, what was involved in the salvation of sinners was nothing less than the glory of Jesus Christ.

We must not think of Paul's evangelism merely in terms of who is saved—Jews or Gentiles. But we must remember that in both of those things was a more prominent goal—the glory of Jesus Christ. Twice in Ephesians 1 (verses 12 and 14) the apostle Paul refers to how sinners are believe (Jews in verse 12 and Gentiles in verse 14), 'to' or 'for',

"the praise of his glory"

God is glorified when sinners are converted. Angels, men and all creatures will honor Him because of it. Jesus, the lamb at the center of the throne, looking as if it had been slain—so worthy. Consider what He has done—He suffered and died for sinners. He is worthy of all glory, honor and praise. It is proper that all serve and praise Him, whether they were Jews or Gentiles. When they come to find life in Him His glory is displayed. The glory of God and of Jesus Christ—that was Paul's ultimate and preeminent goal. The salvation of the Gentiles contributed to that—just as much as the salvation of the Jews. That means that Paul's desire to see Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice, and the others there saved, was exceedingly great and overwhelming.

What this means for you is that

you are to have a great and overwhelming desire to see people saved.

If the glory and honor of Jesus Christ is tied to the salvation of sinners—how can you have this as just a little desire in your life. Pray to the Lord that He would fill your heart with a love for those who are lost, with an overwhelming desire for them to come to know Jesus. Lenski writes of Paul,

"here is a man whose whole soul is wrapped up in God, whose one fervent prayer could ever only be this, to see all men, just as he himself is, completely won for God…"

That's the way that you and I are to be.

The second thing we see about Paul's desire is that—

it was not discriminatory.

He did not want just some who were listening to him to be saved—he wanted all of them to be saved. Paul said to King Agrippa,

"Short time or long—
I pray God that not only you
but all who are listening to me today
may become what I am,
except for these chains."

Paul wanted all of them, from the least to the greatest, from the worst to the best—to be saved.

Paul could have been contemptuous of King Agrippa. A king committing incest with his sister. How disgusting! But Paul was very respectful to King Agrippa. He began his defense this way, (Acts 26:2-3)

"King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate
to stand before you today
as I make my defense
against all the accusations of the Jews,
and especially so
because you are well acquainted
with all the Jewish customs and controversies."

Even after King Agrippa rebuffed Paul, saying to him, (Acts 26:28)

"Do you think that in such a short time
you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

Paul's great wish for him was that he come to know Christ. King Agrippa was unmoved by Paul's preaching about the sufferings, death and resurrection of Jesus. He downplayed Jesus' great work and the urgency of the gospel. He snubs Paul. How does Paul react? He reacts with love, praying to the Lord that King Agrippa would be saved.

Paul was the same way with Festus. Remember how Paul responded to Festus when he interrupted him and suggested that Paul was insane. Paul said, (Acts 26:25)

"I am not insane,
most excellent Festus,"

He addressed Festus as, "Most Excellent Festus". Festus was a corrupt judge. He failed to give Paul justice. Yet Paul addressed him as, 'most excellent Festus'. The Greek word that is used here is a, (BDAG)

"strongly affirmative honorary form of address, most noble, most excellent,"

J. A. Alexander tells us that this form of address was optional. Paul was not required to use it when addressing Festus. His use of it shows us that Paul was showing great respect and deference to Festus.

Paul had great love for those who abused, ridiculed and insulted him.

But of course Paul was not preaching just to Festus and King Agrippa. His words that he prayed that,

"all who are listening to me today
may become what I am,
except for these chains,"

show that he wanted everyone in the room to come to know Jesus. The gospel is for kings, queens, governors, officials, servants, guards—for everyone. Paul did not discriminate.

Paul did not just minister to kings and governors. In Acts 16 we see that he told the gospel to the Philippian jailor and his family. The book of Acts shows that he preached to all—to rich and poor, to rulers and slaves, to the healthy and the sick. He wanted all to come to Christ.

The lesson for us is that we must not discriminate in our ministry.

We as a church must not discriminate. We have been called to minister to sinners—all types and all kinds. We need to remember the words of James 2:1-4.

"My brothers, as believers
in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ,
don't show favoritism.
Suppose a man comes into your meeting
wearing a gold ring and fine clothes,
and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
If you show special attention
to the man wearing fine clothes and say,
'Here's a good seat for you,'
but say to the poor man,
'You stand there' or
'Sit on the floor by my feet,'
have you not discriminated among yourselves
and become judges with evil thoughts?"

We are to desire the salvation of all sinners. Paul's words, actions and desires toward King Agrippa, Bernice, Festus and others were based on respect for people being made in the image of God and for them being 'sinners' — the exact kind of people that Jesus came to save. He did not discriminate.

Of course we all pay lip service to this principle. But I think that we're often like Charlie Brown in the Peanuts cartoon when he said,

"I love humanity. It's people I can't stand."

The unbelievers that we know—the people that sin and annoy, frustrate and exasperate us—they are the ones that we are to love and desire for the Lord to save. Those are the ones that we are to love deeply and have an overwhelming desire for the Lord to save.

The third thing that we see about Paul's desire for sinners to be saved was that

he was willing to suffer for it.

Paul said to King Agrippa,

"I pray God that not only you
but all who are listening to me today
may become what I am,
except for these chains."

Many commentators have taken this to mean that Paul stood before them in actual chains and that when he said this he perhaps held them up for all to see. (F. F. Bruce) But in any event, what John Calvin says is true,

"this reply is evidence of how greatly the holy man's breast was inflamed with zeal for increasing the glory of Christ, when, patiently carrying the fetters put on him by the governor, he desires that the governor be rescued from the deadly snares of the devil, and to make both him and the others sharers and partakers in the same grace and himself, at the same time being content with his own irksome and ignominious lot."

Paul was not one who was willing to preach only when it was easy, when it was profitable, when it involved no suffering. No. He desired the salvation of sinners so much that he was willing to suffering greatly for it. For Paul, there was great cost involved.

Paul embraced the cost. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Paul told how he adjusted his lifestyle so as to win others to Christ. He wrote,

"Though I am free and belong to no man,
I make myself a slave to everyone,
to win as many as possible.
To the Jews I became like a Jew,
to win the Jews.
To those under the law
I became like one under the law
(though I myself am not under the law),
so as to win those under the law.
To those not having the law
I became like one not having the law
(though I am not free from God's law
but am under Christ's law),
so as to win those not having the law.
To the weak I became weak,
to win the weak.
I have become all things to all men
so that by all possible means
I might save some.
I do all this for the sake of the gospel,
that I may share in its blessings."

The lesson for you here is that

your desire for the salvation of sinners is to cost you.

You are called to desire the salvation of sinners. Is that desire in you great? Or perhaps another way of asking that question is: Is it costing you? Are you suffering because of it? If it's not costing you perhaps that means that it's not nearly as great as it should be.

Christians, earnestly desire the salvation of sinners. Ask the Lord to increase it in you. The desire we see in Paul before King Agrippa is merely a reflection of our Lord's desire to see sinners saved. In Matthew 9:34-38 we read,

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the good news of the kingdom
and healing every disease and sickness.
When he saw the crowds,
he had compassion on them,
because they were harassed and helpless,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
'The harvest is plentiful
but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore,
to send out workers into his harvest field.'"

In John 4:35f He said to His disciples,

"I tell you,
open your eyes and look at the fields!
They are ripe for harvest.
Even now the reaper draws his wages,
even now he harvests the crop for eternal life,
so that the sower and the reaper
may be glad together."

Lastly, for those of you who are not Christians.

Why don't you believe in Jesus? Agrippa seemed to suggest that Paul's efforts were inadequate. He said,

"Do you think that in such a short time
you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

He suggested that Paul's preaching wasn't adequate, that it couldn't convert him in such a short time.

There's nothing like the message of Jesus Christ. It's perfect. God loves sinners. He sent His Son to die for them. Jesus took our nature upon Himself, suffered and died for sinners, and rose for the dead. Anyone who believes in Him will receive eternal life.

The message is perfect. You don't need anything else. Agrippa didn't need anything else.

What if God had sent an angel to King Agrippa? Would he have believed then? Perhaps he would have thought that that would have been adequate. But God didn't send an angel to King Agrippa. God has committed the gospel of reconciliation to men. (2 Corinthians 5) He send Paul to King Agrippa.

Those of you who are not Christians—realize that this is all you're likely to get. You're probably only going to get Christians telling you about Jesus. It is very unlikely that you're going to see a light from heaven like the apostle Paul did. It's unlikely that you're going to have an angel appear to you and tell you about Jesus. All you're likely to get is us Christians telling you about Jesus.

But do you know what? It's adequate. It's all you need. Although Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message," with Christianity the message is central, the medium is secondary. The message is perfect. Although Christians are imperfect, you can see Christ's life in them. You have enough to believe.

You need Christ. You need Him to save you from your sins. Ask Him to save you. Don't be like King Agrippa. Go to Jesus now.

• Acts 26:29