God's providence for the salvation of the world (Acts 25:11-27)

[Stephan Choe]

April 20, 2024

Paul's appeal to the emperor

Key Verse 11: "But if I have done wrong and am worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if there is nothing in the things for which they accuse me, let no one give me up to them. I appeal to the emperor."

My second son is a few years older than the marriageable age of most young people. That's why I was a little impatient and hoped that he would finally get married. On April 11, he called me and announced that he was getting married to his fiancée at the beginning of September. He will marry the best woman for him. God's plan is always the best.

Today we want to get to know Paul's trial.

As Christians, we are often confronted with difficult circumstances. That is why it is easy for us to become pessimistic. When we look at events only through human eyes, we become frustrated. But when we recognize God's sovereign hand directing everything according to his good will, then we can be reassured.

Paul could be frustrated during his two-year imprisonment in Caesarea. Although Felix, as judge, was well aware of Paul's innocence, he simply left Paul in prison. When he was called back to Rome by the emperor because of the Jews' complaints, he left Paul in prison.

And Festus comes to Caesarea as Felix's successor. He first makes his way to Jerusalem to meet the leaders of the Jews. They use his visit to ask him to move the trial against Paul to Jerusalem. They want to murder Paul on the way to Jerusalem. But Festus wants to show by his refusal who is the master of the land: he tells them they can come to Caesarea and bring charges against Paul.

God also uses Festus' pride to protect Paul and carry out his divine plan to save the people of Rome.

The persistent murder attempt of the Jewish rulers shows us that the devil is stubbornly trying to destroy God's saving work. But God has the upper hand over all events. He uses the governor's pride to protect Paul. We can trust God in all circumstances.

As time goes on, Festus deliberates and wants to please the Jews to make his job as governor easier. He asks Paul whether he would like to be judged in Jerusalem. Paul then uses his right as a Roman citizen: he claims the right to be judged in Rome by the Roman emperor.

Of course, Paul knows that Nero, the Roman emperor, is not a fair judge, so he will not get a fair trial before the emperor. But he wants to follow God's will, because he remembers the word of the Lord: "As you were my witness in Jerusalem, you shall also be my witness in Rome." (Acts 23:11).

That is why he chooses the judgment in Rome. In this way, God brings him to Rome to save people in Rome through the gospel.

When Festus hears that Paul is appealing to the emperor, he is probably relieved to be relieved of responsibility in this delicate case.

But he has to give the emperor a reason for postponing the court. He therefore considers what he should write to Caesar about Paul. King Agrippa comes to Caesarea with his sister (and lover) Berenice to greet Festus. Festus tells Agrippa about Paul's court case. Agrippa wants to hear Paul directly. So God uses these circumstances for Paul to share the gospel with the Jewish king.

God had already said at Paul's conversion: "He (i.e. Paul) is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (Acts 9:15).

The Lord also said to Paul on the night after the interrogation before the high council in Jerusalem: "For just as you testified about me in Jerusalem, you shall also testify in Rome" (Acts 23:11).

According to the word of the Lord, Paul will preach the gospel to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites in the course of time. This prediction is also partially fulfilled here.

God will protect all his servants from the forces of evil. He will also protect us and use us according to his divine purpose.

The devil does not remain idle when a servant of the Lord tries to save people through the gospel. Here the devil uses two groups: the Jewish rulers and Festus. But neither group of enemies is a problem for God. He is able to destroy the devil's cunning: He gives Paul the wisdom to turn to Caesar.

When people stubbornly refuse to obey the truth of God, they are exploited by the devil and become instruments of the devil. They will try to destroy the saving work of God.

Paul himself had once been one of God's enemies. He wanted to destroy Christianity in the bud. But Christ turned him from a persecutor and murderer into a devoted apostle. Apostle Paul now wants to work for the spread of the gospel. He is even prepared to die for the gospel.

Jesus Christ is the victor over sin, death, and the devil. Jesus Christ can also save and change every sinner today through his grace.

Festus seems to have been a decent ruler. He does not want to hand Paul over to his enemies without a trial. He is probably aware of the potential danger to Paul's life. His weakness is that he wants to please the people so as not to jeopardize his position of power. He has probably already read Lysias' report to Felix about the plan to kill Paul. But he wants to make himself popular with the Jews. That is why he asks Paul whether he would like to be judged in Jerusalem.

Unfortunately, many pastors shy away from preaching the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures correctly in order to be popular with the people. They know that the Bible calls sin as sin and preaches the gospel. But some preachers do not like to name sin, but only the words that please their listeners. They are afraid of being criticized by their listeners. So they do not speak God's word correctly.

But the Bible proclaims the threat of hell to those who stubbornly reject Christ. But because hell is not a popular truth for people, many pastors do not say anything about the consequence of rejecting the gospel. They don't want to confront the congregation with the consequence of sin. That's why they mainly preach love. Their listeners mainly want to enjoy their life in this world, so the preachers bypass the core of the gospel in order to curry favor with the people. But Jesus Christ says to us: "Repent and believe in the gospel!" (Mk 1:15b).

Joy without repentance and faith in the gospel is only temporary. But if we repent of our sin and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will truly experience heavenly joy and have eternal life. This is the true good news of eternal salvation. We are to proclaim such a message. That is why we should preach repentance and then proclaim forgiveness of sins and eternal bliss of eternal life in Christ.

God works mightily and helps us, even though we usually cannot see him.

With our own strength, we often become desperate. But God protects us through his perfect guidance.

God protected Paul from the Jews' murder plan. God protects Paul again through Paul's appeal to Caesar.

Although we cannot see God with our physical eyes, He lives and works omnipresent. He uses circumstances and people to accomplish his sovereign will and save people with the gospel.

Let's take the evangelization of Korea as an example.

Catholic Christianity was introduced to Korea via China around 1770. But over 10,000 Catholic Christians were martyred by the government through no fault of their own because they believed in "a Western religion". But God used their blood as the seed of the Gospel. For the Korean people saw their innocent blood and began to open their hearts to Christianity.

In the late 1980s, Dr. Allen came to Korea as an evangelical medical missionary and worked as a personal affairs doctor at the American embassy. When the chief of the royal bodyguards, Min, was seriously injured in the head by an assassin during the attempted Korean revolution, Gützlaff, a German diplomat in Korea, immediately called Dr. Allen and cured Min through his treatment, winning the trust of the royal family. Through his suggestion, the first hospital was opened in Korea, and European medical missionaries cured more than 10,000 Koreans a year of serious illness. As a result, European missionaries gained the trust of the royal family and the Korean people and were able to spread the gospel in Korea without persecution. Today, Korea sends out the second most missionaries in the world after the USA.

These incidents show us that God directs all the events of Korea according to His best will.

If we only think of innocent Catholic martyrs, we might doubt God's good will. But if we broaden our horizons, we can realize that God also made the martyrdom of Catholic Christians in Korea for the good of Koreans.

God also made Paul's imprisonment and his attempted murder of the Jews a good thing for the world, and sent Paul to Rome as a missionary to make the gospel known to all the world.

God has also used my hip injury to save me and send me out as a missionary to Germany. In this way, I can preach the gospel to many people in Germany.

We should look at our circumstances, whether good or bad, from God's perspective, recognize God's will and do His will.

Let us conclude by summarizing what we should take from the text for ourselves.

Firstly, we are to trust in the love of the Lord.

Paul says that he has a blameless conscience before God and man (24:16). He has neither violated the law of the Jews nor the temple nor Caesar (25:8). Therefore, he can preach the gospel with a clear conscience and is certain that God is his shield and his defender.

He can enjoy peace with a clear conscience, even though he is under attack.

We can say from the heart:

"If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how can he not with him also give us all things? Who will accuse the elect of God? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us."

He goes on to show that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from God's great love in Christ Jesus our Lord! So we are to trust absolutely in God's love.

Secondly, we can have a firm confidence that God works all events for our good.

We can believe in the perfect providence of God and his perfect plan.

Time and again, we encounter events that seem to be bad. But God also makes good out of bad events and spreads the gospel worldwide to save people and bless them.

My hoping injury is an example of this. The injury itself was a tragedy for me and my family. But God turned this tragedy into a great blessing for me, my family and for many.

Because of this injury, I had to take a four-year break from elementary school. I was able to have Mr. So-Hee Yeon as my class teacher in 6th grade. He helped me to attend a middle school. So I was able to go to university with a scholarship, marry the lovely Esther, get a doctorate in Germany and preach the gospel to students as a missionary. God's will is good and perfect.

Thirdly, we should believe in the great will of God under all circumstances, who loves all people and wants to save as many as possible.

Because Paul has recognized the love of God in Jesus Christ, he wants to work for the salvation of many people. That is why he wants to go to Rome as a missionary and testify to the gospel of God's grace (20:24).

We should remember that God sacrificed his Son for us in order to save us from hell and give us eternal life.

We should follow God's will out of gratitude and work for the salvation of others.