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Paul Before Agrippa
Obey all the way. You have probably
memorized 1 Sam. 15:22 by this time. Our lesson for today is found in
Acts 26:12-29. In this passage, Paul recounts the events that led to his
conversion. He tells of what Jesus said to him. And then he says,
“Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly
vision” (Acts 12:19). Let us glean some lessons from this brief reading,
one or two of which are not about obedience but still an important part
of the whole story.
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Notice that Paul reveals things in this
report to Agrippa that we did not have in the other records or Acts 9
and 22. In this one Paul is told that he will be a minister for Jesus,
especially unto the Gentiles.
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Remember that the requirements for
apostleship were that one be a witness of Jesus from the time of his
baptism to his ascension (Acts 1:21-22). How did Paul meet those
requirements? We often refer to Paul’s statements in 2 Cor. 12:1-4 as
the time when Christ was revealed to him. This is not doubt true.
However, our present text makes a much plainer statement of how he came
to be a witness of Jesus. Jesus said Paul would become a witness of
those things “in which Jesus would appear unto him (Acts 26:16).
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When discussing Paul’s conversion, we
usually point out his obedience to the command of God received from
Ananias to “…arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins” (Acts 22:16).
But I believe Paul was referring to more than just his initial obedience
to the gospel when he talked before Agrippa. He was also referring to
his work of turning men from darkness to light, from Satan to God, from
sin to forgiveness. To this also, he was no disobedient.
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We must, if we are to please God, be
doing the same work. Evangelism is not an option for the Christian. It
is our Lord’s life’s work. For us to live is Christ (Gal. 2:20).
Evangelism was His passion and therefore ours.
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Obedience became immediate for Paul once
he learned the truth. When one’s heart is toward God, all that is left
is to learn what God wants. Obedience always immediately follows. If
there is hesitation when the truth is learned, God does not yet have our
heart and he will not accept us.
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Paul was unashamed of the seemingly
awkward position of being in jail. He penned, “Yea, and all that will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12) and
“If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12).
Full and unquestioning obedience will often put us at odds with the
thinking of the world and our fellow Christians (?). Let us only use the
circumstance to try to further the cause of the kingdom as Paul did.
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