Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Luke records the story of Paul’s Damascus Road experience three times in the Book of Acts. Two of them are taken from accounts Paul gave in trial situations and are recorded towards the end of the book. The other account is the one described by Luke in Acts 9. Given that Luke was an intimate companion of Paul he would have heard the story from Paul’s mouth. In the early days of Paul’s Christian experience, he is addressed as Saul, which may reflect that he was then ministering primarily in Jewish settings. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is one of the great turning points of history because of the incredible consequences that followed. All we need to do is recall the places to which Paul took the gospel and the books of the New Testament that he wrote and which have influenced life all over the world since then. The conversion was also an occasion of great personal change for Saul. As Calvin put it, ‘such a cruel wolf was not only turned into a sheep, but did also put on the natur...

On several occasions, Paul refers to his way of life before he was a Christian. He says that he grew up in Tarsus before moving to Jerusalem to study under a famous rabbi called Gamaliel. Paul was aware of the significance of Tarsus because he describes it in Acts 21:39 as not an obscure city. Tarsus was the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia and was noted for its schools of philosophy and rhetoric as well as being a centre for trade – it had a large harbour and ships sailed there from many parts of the world. It was inevitable that Paul would have been influenced in some ways by such an environment. Moreover, a sizeable Jewish community lived there, which would have provided Paul with a sense of belonging and a culture to absorb. When was Paul born? Again, there is no way to be precise about this. He became a Christian several years after Jesus ascended to heaven around the years 29 or 30. At the time of the death of Stephen, which was about three or four years la...

We have been thinking in recent weeks about Bible passages that tell us what a Christian is. The word ‘Christian’ now has many different meanings and usually when it is used further clarification is needed. Sometimes it is used as an adjective, as when we speak of a Christian country as opposed to an Islamic country or a communist country. When used in this sense, it may have little connection with its biblical meaning. Putting it simply, a Christian in a biblical sense is an individual who has experienced God’s saving grace. Yet even that short statement contains several allusions that need to be explained. What do we mean by God? What do we mean by experience? What do we mean by saving grace? Paul answers those questions in this passage. Many have wondered if this set of verses is a small creed that Paul composed as a summary statement of basic beliefs or if it was a memory help that was circulating in the Christian churches. While a definite answer cannot be given to those specu...

The previous chapter had closed with Jesus making a contrast between his yoke and the yokes that other teachers placed on their followers. In the two incidents about the Sabbath we see examples of how his method was very different from what the Pharisees did or expected from others. The first example concerns what Jesus prioritised and the second concerns works of mercy. When we think of the Sabbath, what ideas should come to mind? The first one is that it is a creation ordinance along with work and marriage. So it is not a Jewish practice. Second, the Sabbath originally was God’s rest when he chose to delight in all that he had done in the first week of time. So it was not designed to be drudgery. Third, it is part of the moral law, one of the ten commandments, which means that it is not something that passed away with the passing of the ceremonial law. Fourth, it was a day for showing mercy as we can see from Isaiah 58. Fifth, it was the day when God’s people gathered together to...

As we come to the closing section of this amazing book, we hear the voice of Jesus speaking through an angel to his servant John. He reminds John that the fulfilment of what was described was near. How do we interpret the meaning of near? I suppose the answer to that question is that it is near in a relative sense in comparison to the length of time that will exist afterwards. Although almost two thousand years have passed since the message was given, there is a long eternity ahead. We should also bear in mind that with the Lord a thousand years can be as one day. A second detail to observe is what should be our attitude to the Word of God that is trustworthy and true. In the first chapter, a special blessing was promised to those who would keep the instructions of this book, and that promise is repeated in verse 7. Other comments are made about the importance of this particular book as well. In verses 18 and 19, a threat of judgement is made against any who would attempt to alter ...

In this set of verses, we see the response of Jesus to the circumstances he was facing. The verses highlight three things – a prayer, an explanation of his role, and a most gracious promise to those who were burdened. We can see how observing this and listening to what he said would help and encourage the disciples as they listened to what he had to say. Prayer Not many of the prayers of Jesus are recorded. Most of us are familiar with his prayer for his people in John 17, a prayer that is much longer than the one recorded here by Matthew. This prayer is connected to the situation that the Saviour was facing as attitudes towards him began to change among the people in general. It is striking that he prayed when the opposition increased, and what is also striking is the particular petitions he made. His prayer is one of thanksgiving. The first detail that we see is that Jesus addressed the Father by two names – Father and Lord of heaven and earth. One describes the intimacy o...

Several of these trustworthy sayings are found in the Pastoral Epistles. They were probably short statements of faith that early Christians used as summaries. Perhaps Paul composed them or else he made use of them, and with this one he added a comment at the end. Obviously, this saying is short and we might be tempted to say that it is also simple. Yet we would have to qualify such a comment and also say that while it is simple enough for a child or for a new Christian to understand, it also contains truths that volumes could be written about. I would like us to make our way through the verse and comment on the words that Paul uses. His title The title that Paul gives to Jesus is Christ, which is the transliterated form of the Greek word for Messiah. Right away we can see that Paul has crammed a great deal into the first word of his sentence. The Messiah is the main subject of the Old Testament and hundreds of predictions are made about him in its pages. We can summarise what ...