Acts 24:1-21

Oh, praise the name of the Lord, our God. We will sing His praise for endless days. So wonderful to be with all of you this morning, as we have come to do just that, to sing the praise of the One who came, who died, who rose again, and who is coming back again. So grateful to see all of you, especially all the guests that are here. We welcome you to our church. So glad that you chose to worship with us this morning.

We are continuing with our series, Church on the Move, as we have gone through the Book of Acts for almost two years now, and we are in Acts 24:1-21 this morning. Acts 24:1-21. We saw last week, we ended by the transportation of the Apostle Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea, a journey of more than 100 miles that was undertaken over one night and the next day, and he would finally reach the palace that was built by Herod, and he would stand in trial before Felix.

Many theologians make the argument that Acts 24 is probably one of the most dramatic chapters in the entire Book of Acts because of all the different personalities that you find and encounter in Acts 24. You have Ananias, the high priest. You have Felix, the governor. You have Tertullus, the lawyer. You have Drusilla, the wife of Felix, and all of these characters, along with the Sanhedrin members from Sanhedrin, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, all coming together, all coming from diverse backgrounds, and one man who is on trial, the Apostle Paul.

And as I mentioned to you last week, there is much to be said about Felix, which I will do next week because of the lack of time, but I do want to focus on these verses in which Paul stands before Felix.

Verse 1 tells us this, Acts 24:1, five days later, the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. So it took about five days. Maybe it took a couple of days for them to realize, I mean, obviously they realized the next day Paul was gone, probably could not find out how he found out about the plot to kill him. And they would make their journey, five days, a very short period of time, all the way back to Caesarea. I don’t think Ananias, who is aged by now, really enjoyed that trip that Paul had taken to go down to Caesarea, but also shows the hatred in their heart towards Paul, that they would make this journey and they will not make this journey alone. They would take a very able lawyer with them as well.

The only thing we know about him is his name, but that also communicates a lot to us. His name is Tertullus, which is a Roman name. So he’s a Roman lawyer who is very familiar with Roman law. And he’s arguing before a governor who is appointed by the Roman Empire, makes sense. And he also probably spoke in Latin, which used to be the language of the legal system of that day. But being a Roman, he also spoke probably Latin as well. And this is probably, again, great news to the heart of the Apostle Paul, because he is fluent in Latin as well. I thank God for the education, the upbringing that is given to the man of God. He knows Aramaic, he knows Hebrew really well, he knows Greek, he knows Latin, and all of these languages in the last few chapters you have seen how every single one of them have come in handy in the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

So they have a trial that is now being held, the man of God standing before them and before this lawyer Tertullus and all the men, Sadducees and probably Pharisees as well, who had traveled with Ananias, the high priest, and they have brought their charges against the Apostle Paul. A few weeks ago, I told you about Ananias, the high priest, how he was given to such corruption in his term as a high priest. In fact, even the term priest should be something that should not be applied to him because of the life that he lived, nothing to do with the high priest that we find in the Old Testament. But so he is here leading the people of God, even though him being a Sadducee does not even believe in the entire Old Testament, but he has the title of the high priest.

Verse 2, when Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix. What we see in the account of Luke is that he has given like an equal portion of Scriptures to the argument that is made against Paul and the rebuttal of Paul as well to show how balanced this argument was. And here is the lawyer Tertullus, probably a famous lawyer at that time, probably someone bought with a lot of money, who is presenting the case against the Apostle Paul before Felix. And he starts by doing something that sometimes a lot of lawyers do. “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.” There is some truth to this, but like all politicians, there’s also a lot of falsehood in this statement as well. It is not really true that we have enjoyed a long period of peace under you. By the time this is happening, Felix has been governor of Judea, just like Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea during the trial of our Lord, for a period of almost six, seven years by now. These times cannot be called as long periods of peace. In fact, one of the Roman historians writes about this period, there has never been such unrest against the Roman Empire as during the leadership of Governor Felix.

But you know one thing that he did, and we’ll talk more about him next week, well, one thing that he did is that he was really good at crushing any kind of rebellion against the Roman Empire. In fact, he was instrumental in catching a lot of robbers, thieves, and even an insurrection that happened between some Egyptians and Caesarean Jews, Felix was able to crush it with an iron fist. He was a very cruel governor who killed so many people, but because he ruled with such an iron fist, there was really a sense of peace from the eyes of the Roman Empire. But to the common man in the streets, this was not a time of peace. It was a time of great brutality, a lot of violence, a lot of thievery, and a lot of unrest because of the brutal suppression of any kind of rebellion against the Roman rule. So when this lawyer makes a statement that we have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, he’s speaking from a Roman perspective and that is true. But to the common man on the streets, the rule of Felix has been anything but peaceful. “Your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.” To this day, nobody knows what reforms he’s talking about. In fact, the only reform that he did was that he was really good at taking bribes. We will see that later on in Acts 24. In fact, he even took bribe from some of the robbers that he arrested. “I will release you early if you give me a bribe.” In fact, eventually that would cause his downfall as he’ll be brought before Nero himself for taking bribe from robbers. So all this foresight, all the reforms, all that he’s doing is buttering him up for the argument that he’s making before Felix. This is not like the jury of today where you have 12 people sitting on a jury. The judge is instrumental in seeing how the case moves forward. But oftentimes, unless you have a trial by a judge, he is not the ultimate ruler of the judge. But in this case, Felix is the jury. Felix is the judge. He has ultimate authority on what happens to the Apostle Paul, freedom or continuous in prison or maybe even death.

Verse 3, “Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.” He’s continuing with bringing, lifting him up, and Felix is probably enjoying this tremendously as Tertullus is telling about what a great ruler you are and how much peace we are enjoying in the midst of your rule.

Verse 4, “But in order not to wear you further,” in the heart of Felix probably saying, keep on going. I’m enjoying this really further. But he says, “I don’t want to keep you much longer. I will request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.”

Verse 5, “We have found this man to be a troublemaker.” In some of your translations, we have found this man to be a pain in the neck. Sometimes it says we have found this man to be a plague. What a way to describe the man of God. We have found this man to be a troublemaker, one who is causing all kinds of disease of the heart among the people of God, and the word that is used, the word that is used usually of a plague. What does a plague do? A plague usually goes and kills people without any kind of discrimination because of the ravaging effects of the disease. But what is so ironic about this description of the Apostle Paul is that here is the only person in that room that actually holds the words to eternal life, and he is being accused of being a plague. And he says, “You are a troublemaker. You have been a pain in the neck, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world.” To them, by the way, the world is the Roman Empire. So when they say all over the world, they’re not necessarily talking about India. They’re talking about everywhere Rome has its rule. He is stirring up riots. There’s a little bit of a truth behind that statement. If you remember our travel through the Book of Acts, everywhere the Apostle Paul goes, two things happen, revival or rioting. And you can see this pattern throughout every place he’s gone. He’s a troublemaker. He does not go to a place and sit still. The gospel is scandalous. This is exactly what the gospel does today as well. Either the gospel leads to revival or the gospel will lead to rioting in the hearts of the unbeliever and the wicked. You cannot be neutral towards the gospel. Why is there so much persecution in the world? It’s because of the other side of what the gospel does. You cannot listen to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and be neutral. So you can listen to the Bhagavad Gita and walk away thinking there are much ways to get to heaven. But when you listen to the pure gospel, it tells you there’s only one way. Such that gospel does not give you or afford you the ability to be neutral as you listen to it. Either you are on the side of the Lord Jesus Christ or you’re on the side opposite who says, “I don’t believe any of these things.” There’s no neutrality when it comes to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“And then he says not only that, he is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect.” Now these words are chosen very carefully by this brilliant lawyer. These things that he’s mentioning in verse 5 are the things that Romans do not tolerate. First of all, the only thing that Rome cares about ultimately is what is known as the Roman acts, which is the peace of Rome. So they don’t care what god you worship, just don’t cause any riots. He says this man is causing riots all over. First accusation. Second thing, he is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. We already talked about this word Nazarene is a derogatory term that is only used here in the Book of Acts describing followers of the Nazarene who is the Lord Jesus Christ. The term, a derogatory term that is used to kind of put them away. And it is not only that he is a ringleader of this sect. There’s a problem with that. By identifying this as a separate sect, Tertullus is saying this is a new religion. Up until now, Rome has tolerated Christianity. You know why? They always thought of it as part of Judaism, and as such, they were tolerant of Christianity. Even as you study history later on, the reason why persecution will break out on Christians in the 60s of AD is because of the fact that Rome for the first time saw Christianity as a separate religion. And there is a rule the Romans have: if you want to establish a religion, you have to first get permission from the Roman Empire. You cannot just start your church tomorrow if you want to. You have to get permission from the Roman Empire before you can start a new church or a new religion. And here’s a problem. If he is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect, this is a sect that is unknown to the Roman people. Judaism, we are okay with, as long as the Jewish are worshiping their gods and following the God and the Roman rule, they’re fine with it. But this is a brand new way. And there is also another problem. This way is telling that it’s only one Lord, and that goes directly against the emperor worship and the worship of Caesar as the Lord as well. And this is a problem in their eyes.

“Not only that, these charges against Rome,” verse 6, “he even tried to desecrate the temple and then we arrested him.” So verse 5 are the things that he has done against the Roman Empire. Verse 6 is what he has done against our own people. He has defiled the temple that is so near and dear to us, and because of that, we have arrested him. In your Bibles, as you read through it, in some of your—depending upon what translation you have, what version you have—the Bible in your Bible mainly skips from verse 6 to verse 8. That’s not because the editor of that Bible missed a verse. And I have put it in brackets here, the end of chapter 6 to the beginning of chapter 8. And the reason for that is this: in the earliest Greek manuscripts, these verses are not found. In the later Greek manuscripts, these verses are found. So NIV includes it, NASB puts it in brackets, NIV I think takes it out. Some ESV includes it. So depending upon what version you’re looking at, you will find this in the Bible. Most theologians say that this was not original to Luke, that someone later added this to the writing of the Holy Scriptures. And that is this: “We wanted to judge him according to our own law, but Lysias the commander came along and with much violence took him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to come before you.” Now there’s a problem with this statement itself. It’s not factually true. Lysias is not the one who created the violence. It was the Jews who tried to kill him. Lysias was the one who rescued him. They make it sound like there was much violence that was caused by Lysias. And here we are here as his rescuers bringing him before you.

The last part of verse 8, “By examining him yourself, you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.” Verse 9, “The other Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.” So he has made his case. This man causes riots. This man is in charge of a new sect not approved by the Roman rule. He is against the Jewish religion as he has defiled the most holy place that we have, our temple. We arrested him. All these are reasons why we have brought him before you. And this man is a troublemaker to the Roman Empire, unfit to live, unfit to live as a free man.

Now it is the turn of the Apostle Paul. Verse 10, “When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied, ‘I know that for a number of years, you have been a judge over this nation.’” I want you to pay close attention to what he is saying. There’s no flattery, only facts. He doesn’t say you’ve been a good judge. “I just know that you’ve been a judge for many years,” which is true. He was the administrator of Samaria for four years before he became a governor of Judea. So these terminology, but the Apostle Paul is 100% factually correct. Look at the difference between the man of God and a lawyer of this world. We have some lawyers in our midst. Be like the Apostle Paul, only speak those things that are factual and not given to flattery. And we should be like that as well. Even if you’re not standing before a judge, when you say things, say things that are factual, not things that are filled with flattery. As someone has said, flattery is what you say to a person’s face that you will never say behind his back. Flattery is what you say to a person’s face that you never say behind their back. You know why? It’s not true. And here is Paul being factually correct. “I know that for a number of years, you have been a judge over this nation. So I gladly make my defense.” He says, you know what? I’m standing before you, and I want to make this case before you. Why? You’re experienced in the way of the Jewish people. You understand how the law works. You have been a judge for many years. You have a lot of experience. So I make my defense before you.

Verse 11, “You can easily verify that no more than 12 days ago, I went up to Jerusalem to worship.” Again, very much grounded in facts.

Verse 12, “My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.” He says, you know what? There was no argument inside the temple. I did not cause any riot. I did not bring up a huge crowd with me. I did not cause any problem in the synagogue or anywhere else in the city. Again, very much rooted in facts.

Verse 13, he says, look at the brilliance of the Apostle Paul. Not only are these are the facts; all these charges against me, they are not able to prove every single one of them before you.

Verse 14, again, a brilliant tactic. Wherever you can agree with the accuser, you should agree, to show that you are a person that’s honest and given to integrity. Whenever you’re having an argument with somebody, how many times do we say, well, I agree with that point? The reason you say that is because you’re trying to come to some kind of a common ground before you come to the point of dissension. And I think this is often used in courts as well. The defense lawyer will often say, “I agree with the persecution that my client was there in that house.” What is that doing to the jury? It’s really showing the jury that you’re an honest person who is willing to admit the things that are true. And so that’s what he does in verse 14. “However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors as followers of the Way.” That word is carefully chosen. God of our fathers. I worship—I don’t worship a different God. Stephen said the same thing. We worship the God of our fathers. Peter said the same thing. We worship the God of our fathers. Paul says the same thing. We worship the God of our fathers. What is he saying? It is not us that is the problem. It is them that is the problem, because they’re not worshiping the same God the right way. We worship Him by believing everything that is in accordance with the law and that is written by the prophets. Their problem is that they’re picking and choosing what they want to believe, whereas we believe the same God of our fathers. But our belief is something that is a complete belief. That is a belief that is based upon everything that is written in the Scriptures and in the prophets. We are believers of the Word of God. We are believers of the Old Testament. We believe in that.

And then in verse 15 it says, “I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” He says, you know what? Not only do we believe the same God, we also agree that at least with the Pharisees that one day there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. You know that in all the writings of the Apostle Paul, this is the only time in Scriptures where he mentions the resurrection of the wicked. He writes and preaches extensively about the resurrection of the righteous. This is the only place where he makes the affirmation, which is true, that there is a resurrection for the wicked as well. Now the Bible is not silent in regards to the resurrection of the wicked. Daniel talks about it. Revelation talks about it. Many Old Testament passages talk about it. Our Lord Himself talked about it. There is a resurrection for the righteous and the wicked. As I often say, eternal life, if it means length of life beyond death, it is for everyone. The only difference is what kind of resurrection you will have. Everybody will rise up again, the righteous to everlasting life and with life with God forever. The wicked also will rise to stand before the white throne judgment of the living God. So there is a resurrection that is promised for every person. When you share the gospel with someone, this should be a message as well. Do you know that you will one day rise again? Your body that is in the ground, maybe not a bodily resurrection, but you will also have a resurrection. You will stand before the God that made you. You will have to give account for your life on earth. When you die is not the end of your life. See, if we preached annihilation, if we preached that the wicked just perishes in the ground, then people could say, I will just live my life the way I want to. And no matter what happens when I die, everything ceases to exist. It doesn’t matter how I live on the face of the earth. But the gospel tells you there’s a resurrection of the righteous and there’s a resurrection of the wicked as well. The death is not the end of your life. You will one day stand before the living God, the Maker of your life, the One who created you, and whether you’re a believer or not, you will have to give account for your actions before Him. That is why receiving Christ in this life, living for Him, is very important. No one can escape judgment. That’s what the Bible says: it is appointed unto not only Christians, but every man once to die and then the judgment. You see how God’s Word is phrased? It is not appointed just to Christians to die and then to face the judgment. It is appointed unto every man once to die and then the judgment. Nobody can escape that.

So what does he do? Verse 16, “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” In light of God’s judgment, you know what I try to do? I strive to keep my conscience clear before God and man. I spoke extensively about conscience a few weeks ago, but I think it’s worth mentioning in light of this verse also what kind of conscience we need to have in our life. We’re living in an age where people have no conscience, and that is so true. And having no conscience, they have achieved a sense of peace that is not real. It was Ogden Nash who once said, “There’s only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to either have a clear conscience or none at all.” You know what is happening in the world today? People have no conscience, no conscience. No matter what they do, they have no conscience. And so they continue living the life that they live. As one man has said, “The world has achieved brilliance without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.” Ours is a world of nuclear giants—so much technology, so much knowledge. But when it comes to ethics, morality, right, wrong, being pricked in the conscience, we are infants not knowing what is right and what is wrong. You are living in an amoral age where nothing is wrong, nothing is right. If it feels good, do it. Pagan philosophies have infiltrated the mind of the people, and we are living in an age of wrong conscience.

But as I reminded you a few weeks ago, we as Christians are meant to be permeated by God’s Word so that everything that we do is in the lens of God’s Word. Our conscience that we have—clear conscience—is based upon God’s revealed Word that is given to us. When a person comes to faith in Christ, his conscience becomes acutely sensitive to sin. No longer can a Christian sin with impurity. I remember the story of an old chief, an Indian chief, who was converted. Later a missionary asked him, “Chief, how are you doing spiritually? Are you experiencing victory over the devil?” The chief replied, “It’s like this: I have two dogs inside me, a good dog and a bad dog. They constantly fight with each other.” “Which dog is winning?” asked the puzzled missionary. “Whichever one I feed the most,” retorted the wise old man. His conscience was being shaped by the Scriptures. So which dog is winning inside of you? Depends on which one you’re feeding. Yeah, television, that’s feeding. Internet, that’s feeding. What you read, what you look at, what you fill your mind with is feeding something. You are not someone who is looking at things and watching things and hearing things and not being affected by it. You’re feeding one or the other. That is why this Word is so important that “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord,” because it is important to make sure that that dog that is good is being fed daily and nourished daily so that he is able to attack, devour, and kill every thought, every motive, every intention of the human heart that is against the revealed Word of God. That is the principle of God’s Word. That is what God wants us to do.

Only a man like that can stand before the rulers of the world and say, I stand before you with a clear conscience between God and man. It doesn’t happen automatically. It happens with a great deal of discipline in your own life. It happens with a lot of hard work. It happens with a lot of determination. You don’t automatically become spiritual. It takes hard work. It takes a lot of time in prayer. It takes a lot of time in God’s Word. You don’t just automatically become spiritual by coming to church. It helps, but it’s only one step. You need to nourish your soul, feed your soul with the things of God. You need to enlarge your mind with the mind that God was able to give to you. Oh, if you put rubbish things in your soul, what will come out of it will also be rubbish in nature. No one can filter it. No one can purify it inside of you. Put things in your life that are wholesome, that are godly, that are creating righteousness, purity of intention of the soul of the heart that creates a clear conscience before you.

Martin Luther said, “My conscience has been taken captive by the Word of God, and to go against my conscience or Scripture is neither right nor safe.” That’s what God wants us to do. Many people say, I have a clear conscience. As one man has said, many people have a clear conscience because they have a bad memory. That’s not the kind of clear conscience the Bible is talking about. That is a heart that has forgotten what it means to be touched by the Spirit of God and the Word of God that is being preached to you.

Verse 17, he continues with his defense, “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.” All the gifts that he collected through his missionary journey, bringing to the poor Christians in Jerusalem.

Verse 18, “I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.”

Verse 19, “But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.” Paul knows where it all came from. It is because of the Jews from Asia who were trying to kill him there in Ephesus, who had now come to Jerusalem for the Passover, saw him at the temple, who were the real reason why he was arrested and brought to trial. This is also a brilliant statement by the Apostle Paul. The Roman law said this: if an accuser of the accused is not found in court, then the accused is to be set free. That’s why Paul is saying, where are my original accusers? The Jews from Asia who actually were instrumental in getting me arrested—they are nowhere to be found in verse 19.

Verse 20, “Or these who are here,” he said, “should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin.”

Verse 21, “Unless it was this one thing as I shouted as I stood in their presence, it is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.” He says, you know what? I have done nothing against the Roman government, nothing against the Jewish people. I followed all the laws and did everything that was right. But here is my crime: I believe in the resurrection of the dead, and I’m on trial because of my belief in the resurrection, and that’s the only crime against me.

God chooses people for certain tasks, but He does not just leave them alone. He always gives them the right words to say and the wisdom to go along with it. In Acts 24, we are finding the fulfillment of the word that came to Apostle Paul: one day you will stand before the kings and governors and testify about Me. That was fulfilled in Acts 24. The people that brought the charges against the Apostle Paul traveled many miles with an expensive lawyer from Rome to make their case. The Apostle Paul is his own lawyer, but he is not alone. There is a Paracletos, an Advocate, that was already given in his life as he stood before trial on that day—the Holy Spirit, who is the greatest Advocate in the world. What a great way to stand before the people who are accusing us of the gospel. We don’t stand alone. We stand with the help of the Holy Spirit. And don’t you love the terminology that is given in God’s Word of the Holy Spirit? He is your Advocate. He is your Helper. He is there. And that’s why Jesus said, “You don’t even need to prepare overnight before you stand before the kings. When you are there, I will give you the exact words to say at that very moment.” Because the Holy Spirit is always with us, being our Advocate, strengthening us, and giving us the right words filled with wisdom, what He is to say. God wants us to be people who are always in tune to that Spirit and willing to respond to the prodding of the Spirit so that our daily lives are cleansed and we have a clear conscience before Him.

I’ll end with this. Most of you have heard the name Paul Brandt. He was a medical missionary to India, especially his work among lepers are legendary. He writes about lepers who had terrible deformities because their nerve endings could not feel pain. It did not hurt them when they stepped in a fire or cut their finger with a knife. So what happens is they will actually put their hand in a fire and they will not take their hand away because all the nerve endings are gone. They will step on a sharp object; they will hurt themselves, but they do not know how to take their feet away because the nerve endings are gone. This led to infections and deformities in all these lepers that he would serve them. So he constructed a machine that would beep when it came in contact with fire or sharp objects. It signaled the warnings of injury in the absence of pain. Soon, machines were attached to the patients’ fingers and feet that worked well until when? They decided to play basketball. See, you can’t really play basketball with machines attached to your fingers. So you know what these patients would do? They would take the machines off, and often they became injured while playing basketball because they could not play basketball with machines.

He writes and says this: like physical pain to our bodies, our conscience alerts us to our spiritual harm, but habitual and unrepentant sin can numb the conscience. To keep a clear conscience, we need to respond to the pain of appropriate guilt by confession, just like you would take your hand away when it is feeling the sharp effects of a fire or a sharp object. When confronted with sin in your life by God’s Word or the Holy Spirit, if you keep on putting your hand there without confessing your sins before the Lord, guess what happens? You will become numb. You will lose your nerve endings. You will become injured and you will keep on sinning without repenting before the Lord. The right response when presented with sin in your life is what? Getting away from it, repenting of it, confessing it, and asking God to forgive it. If you don’t do that, just like the nerve endings of a leper are lost because of his physical deformity, your spiritual life also will become one of numb, no conscience at all, unable for the Spirit of God to work and lead you to repentance. I pray that those things will never happen to any one of us. That is a dangerous place to be. Respond to God’s Word. Respond in contriteness, confession, and humility before the Lord so that as we are about to take part in the table of the Lord, you are able to say, I have a clear conscience before God and man as I come before the table of the Lord.

This table that we have is a wonderful thing. It is a reminder and opportunity week after week to clear your conscience the right way by confessing our sins before the Lord. What a great privilege the Holy Spirit gives to us week after week. But don’t wait till Sunday. Daily, cleanse your life. Cleanse your conscience. Have a clear conscience before God and man. You do not know when you will take your last breath on the face of the earth. May we always live with a clear conscience before God and man. That is God’s great desire for our lives. That is the pinnacle of the Christian faith. That is the pinnacle of spirituality—a clear conscience before God and man. May God, by His Spirit, help each one of us in the days to come.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for a man like Apostle Paul, who speaks and stands for Your gospel so boldly, but not only with boldness, but with a clear conscience. That is a great example for all of us to follow. Help us to be people just like that, O God, in tune with the Spirit, listening to the Spirit, and willing to make the changes when the Holy Spirit is probing us to do so. Be with us as we now enter to celebrate Your death on the cross for us, to remember what You’ve done for us, O God. Thank You for this time. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen.