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Reflections on the New Testament: The Book of Acts

“…Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless, He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness,” Acts 14:15-17, NKJV.

It is a little acknowledged fact that God allows the nations to walk in their own way. In so doing, God removes His divine government from them, leaving the nations in a state of spiritual anarchy and moral disintegration. Outside of God, there is but one spiritual force that retains power over the sons of man: namely, evil. If God then removes His government, the government of Satan is all that is left (as long as God’s hand is upon a nation, Satan has no power to corrupt it). To “walk in their own way,” as used in this context, is to walk apart from God—to walk, in short, with the devil. But, while He may withdraw His government, God does not hide Himself—and in what is God’s divine nature more clearly shown than in the good things of this earth? “The living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them,” retains power over all these things, even when He has cast off the nations, and those to whom it has been given to understand the mystery of the gospel will see the “rain from heaven and fruitful seasons” as divine blessings, and seek the merciful God who bestowed them. Readily does the world receive the blessings of creation and blindly partakes of the “food and gladness” without recognizing them as God’s witness—how can they, if they are blind to their own debauchery, see any distinction in the marvels of creation and wonder at its message? Nevertheless, those whom God has foreknown will see, therefore the witness remains. Moreover, these “foreknown” shall become themselves witnesses, as the following verses so beautifully express:

“The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard,” (Acts 22:14-15, NKJV).

 

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God,” Acts 20:24, NKJV.

And indeed, why ought we, as Christians, to count our lives dear to ourselves? All men die—by the grace of God, we are rescued from the second death. In what light, then, are we to view this fleeting vapor of a life, after which we are assured an eternity in paradise? Not dear, to be sure! Not a crown, but a cross. If we have been assured salvation, then our lives are no longer our own, but God’s. Who are we to presume peace, security, and blessings in this life, when our eternity is Paradise purchased with the blood of our Savior, the Son of God? How can we count our life dear, when Jesus Christ made His wretched—that we might not cling to this cursed earth as those with no hope, but, rather, “finish the race with joy, and the ministry received from the Lord Jesus”? “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” We cannot serve God as He wishes to be served if we demand a say in a life that is not ours and a reward for a work we have not done. In the words of Anne Bronte, “Shall I with joy Thy blessings share, and not endure their loss? Or hope the martyr’s crown to wear, and cast away the cross?” The reward will come—but the race must be run first. When complaints arise, self-pity, etc., only recall: not your life, but His. Not a crown, but a cross.

 

“But he said, ‘I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason,’” Acts 26:25, NKJV.
The Word of God is both truth and reason—but to the world, blinded as they are by the lies of the devil, it must ever be madness. How clear, how sensible, is the Word of God to those who have ears to hear! Every facet of Scripture is consistent with the very laws of the universe—every passage convicts, searches, and provokes as only truth can do—even so, to those who have neither ears to hear nor eyes to see, it is only madness and folly. God grant that we may speak His Word without embellishment or selfish motive, that we may be able to say in good conscience “we speak the words of truth and reason”—but beyond this, God must govern who is to receive the Word and who is not.

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