Fit to Live
Go For I Will Send You…
SCRIPTURE:
Acts 22:21-23 NLT - "But the Lord said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!'" The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, "Away with such a fellow! He isn't fit to live!" They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
OBSERVATION:
Acts 22 is Paul's defense before the Jews regarding his arrest and the false accusation that he brought Gentiles into the temple. The crowd was stirred and furious by unfounded accusations. But when Paul began to speak in Aramaic, the crowd listened (vs 1).
Paul defended his former life, including his education under one of the day’s greatest minds, Gamaliel. He described his zeal for God, his training in the law and customs, and his persecution of the “Way,” even at Stephen’s death. While on his way to arrest believers in Damascus, the Lord met him and changed his life forever.
This testimony would be Saul's story for the rest of his life – I once was, but now I am!
The crowd listened until Paul said that Jesus had sent him to the Gentiles. At that point, the crowd lost control! Why?
In the minds of the Jews, Gentiles were regarded as dogs, the lowest of the low, vile, and only deserving of God's punishment. But how did Jesus view them?
Acts 22:21-23 NLT - "But the Lord said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!'" The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, "Away with such a fellow! He isn't fit to live!" They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
OBSERVATION:
Acts 22 is Paul's defense before the Jews regarding his arrest and the false accusation that he brought Gentiles into the temple. The crowd was stirred and furious by unfounded accusations. But when Paul began to speak in Aramaic, the crowd listened (vs 1).
Paul defended his former life, including his education under one of the day’s greatest minds, Gamaliel. He described his zeal for God, his training in the law and customs, and his persecution of the “Way,” even at Stephen’s death. While on his way to arrest believers in Damascus, the Lord met him and changed his life forever.
This testimony would be Saul's story for the rest of his life – I once was, but now I am!
The crowd listened until Paul said that Jesus had sent him to the Gentiles. At that point, the crowd lost control! Why?
In the minds of the Jews, Gentiles were regarded as dogs, the lowest of the low, vile, and only deserving of God's punishment. But how did Jesus view them?
The message of Jesus — that both Paul and the New Testament preached — is this: You may come to God just as you are — Jew, Gentile, foreigner, high, low, rich, or poor — but you must come to Him through Jesus Christ.
These Jews of that day did not have a problem with Gentiles becoming Jews. But they were incredibly offended at the thought of Gentiles becoming Christians just as Jews became Christians, because it implied that Jews and Gentiles were equal, having to come to God on the same terms. – David Guzik.
These Jews of that day did not have a problem with Gentiles becoming Jews. But they were incredibly offended at the thought of Gentiles becoming Christians just as Jews became Christians, because it implied that Jews and Gentiles were equal, having to come to God on the same terms. – David Guzik.
Ephesians 2:14-16 NLT - For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
APPLICATION:
Who do you believe is unworthy? Who do you think is unfit to live? Have we formed these ideas because we are frustrated with the state of the world? Have we forgotten that we were just as lost as those we see as “unfit for eternal life”?
What would you do if God called you, as God called Paul, to those whom everyone else sees this way? Would you go? Would you preach the Good News to the lost?
Or would you, like the crowds, respond the same way?
Acts 22:23 NLT - They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
This was a sign of mourning, but they did not mourn for the right reasons. Their mourning was because of one word – Gentile.
Joel 2:13 NLT - Don't tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead." Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
As we mourn the state of our world, let us not tear our clothes but our hearts. May we be like Paul and reach out to those whom everyone else says are “not fit to live.”
I know, for myself, that at one time I was – “Not fit to live.” Unworthy, evil, far from God, hopelessly lost on my own. But Jesus – found me!
I once was lost, but now I am found. I was blind, but now I see—Amazing grace!
PRAYER:
Jesus, give me your heart for the lost. For those I tend to think are “not fit for eternal life,” give me a heart to share the good news. Work in me as you did in Paul, transforming me from someone opposed to going to the Gentiles into the greatest evangelist.
APPLICATION:
Who do you believe is unworthy? Who do you think is unfit to live? Have we formed these ideas because we are frustrated with the state of the world? Have we forgotten that we were just as lost as those we see as “unfit for eternal life”?
What would you do if God called you, as God called Paul, to those whom everyone else sees this way? Would you go? Would you preach the Good News to the lost?
Or would you, like the crowds, respond the same way?
Acts 22:23 NLT - They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
This was a sign of mourning, but they did not mourn for the right reasons. Their mourning was because of one word – Gentile.
Joel 2:13 NLT - Don't tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead." Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
As we mourn the state of our world, let us not tear our clothes but our hearts. May we be like Paul and reach out to those whom everyone else says are “not fit to live.”
I know, for myself, that at one time I was – “Not fit to live.” Unworthy, evil, far from God, hopelessly lost on my own. But Jesus – found me!
I once was lost, but now I am found. I was blind, but now I see—Amazing grace!
PRAYER:
Jesus, give me your heart for the lost. For those I tend to think are “not fit for eternal life,” give me a heart to share the good news. Work in me as you did in Paul, transforming me from someone opposed to going to the Gentiles into the greatest evangelist.
Except for God’s grace, none of us deserves eternal life!
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