Paul's Defence of the Faith

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. examined him...: Or, tortured him On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them. - Acts 22:1-30

    Acts 22 opens with Paul standing before an angry, religious mob. Bound with chains like a dangerous criminal, he beckoned to the people with his hand and got their attention (21:40). Then he gave a solemn and powerful defence of the faith. Speaking in calm, conciliatory terms in the Hebrew language, Paul addressed these angry Jews as brethren. Though they were not his brethren in any spiritual sense, they were in a natural sense. Paul spoke to them as he did because he wanted to calm their tempers and incline them to listen to what he had to say. In that, he was successful (22:1-2).

    We should take special notice of the simplicity of Paul's language as we read this chapter. Though he was a very well-trained intellectual, capable of fetching arguments and illustrations from history, tradition, philosophy, literature, logic and theological orthodoxy, though he was capable of using poetic imagery, oratorical eloquence and stunning imagination, he carefully avoided doing so (1 Cor. 2:4-5). In this dramatic moment, the great apostle to the Gentiles simply told the story of his conversion. He told his hearers, in the simplest language possible, what God had done for him by his almighty, free grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the way the gospel ought always to be preached. And that is the way we ought to witness to men. The very best defence of the faith is the testimony of men and women who have experienced the transforming power of God's saving grace in Christ, and know it. To be a good preacher, a man must simply tell what he knows. To be a good witness for Christ, saved sinners must simply tell other sinners what they know (John 9:25). Three spiritual lessons are clearly set before us in this chapter.

    I . A person may be very religious and yet be lost (22: 1-5)

    It is entirely possible for a person to be well learned in the letter of Holy Scripture, consecrated and devoted to the point of self-denial, and very zealous towards God—all without knowing God. The angry mob that Paul was addressing was a mob of people who were very zealous for their religion, but who did not know God. In verses 3-5, Paul told them that before God saved him he was just like them, 'as ye all are this day'.

    He was born and reared in a strictly orthodox Jewish family: 'I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia.' He had a religious pedigree that was unrivalled (Phil. 3:4-6). His mother and father were respected, loyal members of the synagogue. He had been religious all his life. But grace does not run in blood lines. Grace does not come by natural descent (John 1:11-13).

    Paul was very well trained in the letter of the law too: '. . . brought up in this city (Jerusalem] at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law'. He knew the Scriptures. He was strictly moral. His life was an example of moral and religious purity. He was a Pharisee who lived such a good life that he even made other Pharisees look impure! Paul was raised in religion and raised to be religious. But he did not know God, though he was sure he did. Faith cannot be learned. It must be given (Phil. 1:29). Salvation is not the result of training, but of revelation (2 Cor. 4:5-6).

    Moreover, Paul was devoted, consecrated and zealous in per forming his religious works. He was 'zealous toward God’. He was not someone whose profession of religion was a sham. He did not take the things of God lightly. He gave himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of his religious profession (22: 4-5). But grace cannot be earned by religious works (Rom. 3:20; 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9).

    Without question, Paul was a religious man from his youth; but he was without God, without Christ, without life, lost in the world (Eph. 2: 12). In spite of his religion, Paul obtained mercy and never lost a sense of amazement at the mercy he had obtained (1Tim. 1:12-17). It may be that as you read these lines you are made to realize that you are like Paul—religious but lost! If you would be saved, you must have something more than religion. You must have Christ (John 17:3; Col. 1:27; 1 John 5:11-12).

    2. Salvation is of the Lord (22:6-21)

    Inverses 3-5, Paul tells us what he was before God saved him. In verses 6-21, he tells us what God did for him and in him by his almighty grace in Christ. From start to finish, the apostle ascribes the whole of his salvation to the grace of God. The essence of every thing he says in these verses is: 'By the grace of God I am what I am' (1 Cor. 15:10). In these verses, the servant of God tells us four specific things in which he stands as 'a pattern to them which should hereafter believe' (1Tim. 1:16).

    First, Paul was confronted in his path of rebellion by the sovereign Christ, the living Lord (22:6-11). Sooner or later, God will cross the path of every sinner whom he has chosen. Notice the words at the beginning of verse 6: 'And it came to pass. . . ' What came to pass? God's eternal purpose of grace towards Paul. How did it come to pass? By God's gracious hand of providence. Here again we see a marvellous display of God's providence overruling evil for good. Paul went to Damascus full of hatred for Christ. But Christ brought him down the Damascus road because the time of love had come when Saul of Tarsus must be saved (Ezek. 16:8). He was not seeking the Lord. The Lord was seeking him. At the time appointed, and in the place appointed, the Lord Jesus revealed himself to this chosen, redeemed sinner in sovereign grace and saving power. Overwhelmed by the dazzling revelation of Christ's glory, con fronted with the claims of Christ's lordship, called by the personal, particular and effectual call of the Saviour, Saul of Tarsus was broken in repentance.

    Secondly, by the instruction of a faithful, gospel preacher, Paul was granted spiritual illumination and given understanding in the gospel (22:12-15). Even in Paul's case the rule of grace was not broken. 'Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God' (Rom. 10:17). He had heard the gospel from the lips of Stephen (7:1-59). But now he heard it from Ananias. Though he had learned the letter of the Word at the feet of Gamaliel, Saul was as ignorant of spiritual truth as any barbarian. Spiritual truth must be spiritually revealed and spiritually learned (1 Cor. 2:11-16). And God's appointed means by which the Holy Spirit teaches spiritual truth is the ministry of the gospel (Eph. 4: 11-14).

    The very first thing Ananias taught Paul was God's electing grace: 'The God of our fathers hath chosen thee.' Then he told him that the object of election is salvation: '. . . that thou shouldest know his will'—that is, his revealed will, the gospel, how that through Christ's blood atonement God can be just and the justifier of all who trust his Son (Rom. 3:24-26). Next, Ananias told Paul that salvation comes by knowing Christ, the sinner's substitute, the only mediator between God and men, by seeing 'that Just One' (John 17:3). Next, he talked about an effectual call: 'and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth'. The only way any sinner can ever know Christ is by the call of his Spirit (1 Thess. 1:4-5; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; Ps. 65:4). Finally, Ananias told Paul that God had chosen him to be 'his witness'. That is the lifelong business of every saved sinner (Isa. 44:8; John 20:21).

    Thirdly, Paul then confessed Christ in public, believer's baptism (22:16). Baptism has no saving, redeeming efficacy; but it is a symbolic picture of the washing away of the believer's sins by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

    Fourthly, being a believer, Paul was led by, and walked in, the Spirit (22:17-21). Believers are men and women whose lives are ruled by Jesus Christ through the indwelling power and grace of God the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9-16).

    3. The gospel of the grace of God is an offence to unregenerate men

    (22:22-30)

    The message of grace which Paul preached to these religious people, his testimony of the grace he had experienced in Christ, enraged them. Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone always infuriates lost, religious people, but the saints of God rejoice in it (1 Cor. 1:22-24).