Acts 25:6 - And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.
The judgment seat is the Bema Seat. This means that it is the official Roman tribunal. And they pull out this movable chair and he sits on this throne and that makes it an official Roman trial.
Acts 25:7 - And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.
Interesting, the term could in the phrase "could not" in Verse 7, it's not your normal word for ability. This is the word for strength. There wasn't any substance, no clout, in their presentation against Paul at all, just empty words.
"Here's our complaint." It's like, okay!
Acts 25:8 - While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
And while Paul answered for himself, he says neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
The word offense, HAMARTON, it's the word sin in the bible. Literally Paul says I haven't sinned. And the word sin is also a part of the judicial system. If a person has broken a law, they have sinned, HAMARTIA. They have fallen short of being a law-abiding citizen.
And that's how Paul is using it here. He's using professional language that's used in the Roman judicial system. And he says I have not offended the law of the Jews, I have not offended anything against the temple, nor yet against Caesar. Nothing at all!
Acts 24:24 - And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
The term "the faith in Christ," is literally translated the into Christ faith. It has a very special meaning. In Greek, it is in the Attributive Position. It is the faith into Christ. Not in Him, but into Him. The preposition always shows a shift in transfer of trust from oneself to someone else. Not believing psychological truth or the mental truth about Christ, but rather entrusting one's life to Christ.
Acts 24:25 - And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Paul ministered to them about three things:
First, righteousness. When you're speaking to a Roman authority, righteousness means lined up with the justice system. Second, of temperance (or self-control). The word for self-control, EGKRATOS, means to be gripped from within, to be held or controlled from within. Galatians 5:22 tells us that EGKRATOS is a fruit of God's Spirit.
Interesting because he's talking to Felix and his wife Drusilla. Drusilla at this time according to historical documents is not even 20 years old yet. Felix was struck with her beauty. Over a period of time, he talked her into divorcing her husband and coming and living with him. So, here's a man who's been told about righteousness, what's right, and self-control. Obviously, the man has no self-control. He is impulsive. He has to have what he wants.
Third thing is judgment to come. The Greek indicates any moment. You can imagine Felix is feeling a little shaky! In fact, it tells us that Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; (literally for now), and when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Acts 24:14 - But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
But this I do confess unto thee, and there are three things here to look at that Paul is going to say in his confession: that after the way which they call heresy. Remember the Christians are now called "The way."
The Jews would not call them Christians at this point. They would not even acknowledge that they are a religious group and that's why they called them "The way," because Christianity was not a religion, it was a way of life. I kind of like that myself!
But this way, which they call heresy, so worshipping I the God of my fathers. Now the word worshipping is the Greek word LATRUO. It is a Greek word used for the service of the high priest in the temple.
And so, Paul is saying I am in service like a high priest, I and the God of my fathers. That's the second thing. Thirdly, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
So, then he presents himself as a Jew who is fulfilling Judaism. The sect is "The way." I serve the God of my fathers, and I believe everything in the law and in the prophets. So, I'm not a side group. I am very much the real thing!
Acts 24:17 - Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.
The term "bring alms" literally means acts of mercy. That's what almsgiving is. It comes from the Greek word for mercy. So, to give an alm is an act of mercy.
And what he is talking about is that he has come to Jerusalem with the offering from Macedonia and Greece and all the churches.
Remember he went back through and collected, and he brought some people from those churches with him over to Jerusalem so that they could deliver the offerings.
So, he says first of all, I came worshipping. And secondly, I came with an offering. That's why I came here. I didn't come here to stir up a riot.
Acts 23:10 - And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
And when there arose a great dissension, and in the Greek, it says war. When war arose, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force.
And that phrase "take him by force" is the same word used in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 for the rapture, HARPADZO!
They snatched him out of there as fast as they could from amongst them, and to bring him into the castle.
Acts 24:1 - And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.
The term orator is the official Greek word for a lawyer. This is a professional lawyer. And his name is Tertullus in English. It is actually TERTULLOS in Greek.
The Jews often hired professional lawyers because the lawyers had to be proficient in Hebrew and Greek, and proficient in Roman law as well as Jewish law.
So, in hiring this attorney, they were better equipped to bring charges against Paul in what's turning out to be a very professional presentation against him.
Acts 24:5 - For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
For we have found this man a pestilent fellow. That's one Greek word that means disease or a plague.
So not only are they calling him a pest, but basically, he's like a plague in our land.
Romans 7:18 says that no good thing dwells in humans and verse23 says that the law of sin makes humans captive to it.
Romans 8:7-8 says that the carnal (unregenerated) mind of humans are at enmity towards God, refuse to be subject to God's law, and cannot be. Verse 8 says that unregenerate man cannot please God in any way.
This is a quote from Ps. 14:1-3
Eccl. 7:20 says that there is not one human who is righteous in himself, that does not sin; nor who does good.
Is 53:6 says that all of humanity like sheep have gone astray from God.
I think I will stop quoting Scripture now since by these it is abundantly clear that because sin came into the world God created by Adam's sin and in Adam all sinned, we should view unregenerated humans as not having any ability to rectify their sinful disposition. They will inevitable freely choose to sin but are unable to choose what pleases God.
Gen. 2-3 Gives the account of God creating Adam and Eve, the garden, tree of life and tree of knowledge of good and evil. It says that when God created Adam and Eve He said they were very good (not perfect, not redeemed, nor incapable of sinning).
Gen. 3:7-10 tells us that after Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God when they heard speaking while walking in the Garden. They felt ashamed and were afraid of God and tried to hide their nakedness with fig leaves.
Gen. 3:21 tells of how God killed an animal and used the skin to make coverings for Adam and Eve.
Gen. 3:15 is God's gospel promise of a Savior to Adam and Eve.
In this chapter of Genesis, God did not kill Adam and Eve physically as soon as they sinned. He was gracious to them and gave them both long lives and may children to populate the earth. But they died spiritually and also, the dying process began in their bodies.
FALLEN MAN
Gen. 6:3 says that man is continually evil and all of his thoughts and actions are wicked.
Romans 1:18-21, 25, 28 says that mankind freely chooses to substitute idols for the true God. And that man has exchanged to truth of God for a lie. That they did not choose to retain God in their knowledge so God gave them over to a reprobate mind. And vs 29-32 list the ways mankind freely gives themselves over to sinful living with pleasure in doing so.
Romans 3:9-19 , says that both Jew and Gentile are all under sin. That there are none righteous, there are none that understand or seek after God, none that do good and do not fear God and that all of humanity is guilty before God
Romans 3:23 says that all humans have sin and fall short of God's glory (His perfection and expectations for man to live an obedient life of service and worship of God without exception).
Romans 6:2 says that we are dead in sin
Romans 6:23 says that death comes as a wage for our sinfulness.
I would appreciate if you feel to pray for me please, my mental health is very poor currently. Thank you in advance I appreciate you reading this. God Bless
Your posts are helpful, I understand how long it would be on this site with 2000 characters to go verse by verse, but what you do should inspire us to study all the verses around what you post. The conscience: I understand what you are saying but I understand it a little differently. I understand our conscience which is sometimes called our heart, Proverbs 4:23, is a gift God gave us to help us overcome the curse that we received when Adam and Eve ate that fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
The law and sacrifices could not cleanse our conscience, and we have been told to guard our conscience. When we repent and are born again our conscience is cleaned Hebrews 9:13-14, Hebrews 10:22 and when we slip, we are given confidence if we repent it is cleaned by the blood of Christ, 1 John 1:9. Our conscience and our mind are separate, Titus 1:15.
Our subconscious mind learns from experiences without us being aware of it. It processes information and makes connections effortlessly. We operate 80 to 90 percent with this part of our mind. This kind of learning affects our actions and choices without us consciously realizing it. My thoughts, this is the part of us that is attracted by the world, the part of our flesh that is tempted.
Our conscience can be weak and defiled 1 Corinthians 8:7 and seared like in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 and our minds can become so corrupt 2 Timothy 3:8, that God can turn us over to a reprobate mind Romans 1:28. I feel people can get to a point where their conscience is dead, and they live on the instinct of their subconscious mind for just survival in this earthly world. But there is always hope, I have seen where people have been restored and their conscience cleansed and made alive again, Jesus's blood can wash away all sins.
This is just me, but I believe our conscience is the spirit of man, Zechariah 12:11 Corinthians 2:11.
Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you do, thank you for forgiving us of our sins. I pray for my daughter she is struggling right now. Pray that she has a breakthrough with her finances, health. Give her the strength and faith to believe that you are a God of hope. Prayer for me and my family to overcome this hardship. In Jesus name I pray. Amen
Thanks, from conversations with you I did not think you meant the first resurrection is a spiritual resurrection, that is why I said I may be wrong. I have heard, not on this site, that some say Revelation 20:5 is a spiritual resurrection. When I read what you wrote, "You've taken part in the first resurrection" my little mind went there, sorry about that.
I agree, we are on the same page, we are justified by Jesus and our judgment will not be for salvation but for what we have done after we were Justified in Christ, Colossians 2:13-14. There are different understandings of the two resurrections in Revelation but that would be for other discussions.
Lord Jesus thank you for how you worked during our recent prayer gathering. I continue to cry out for breakthrough concerning deliverance, healing, salvation (those not saved) and strong protection for us and all in need. Please also move powerfully all over the world so that many are still saved. May you be glorified in our lives and everywhere. Thank you.
Please don't let this confuse you. This all has a reason. So therefore, the conscience is an information gathering device in the mind.
Secondly, this information forms standards of right and wrong. Now here's something we need to understand. I always thought that if a person does things against the law, or they do something wrong, it's because their conscience doesn't bother them. It's like everybody is born with a conscience from God, and that if you do something wrong against God, you're going to be convicted, like it is an automatic thing. But it isn't!
The conscience is formed by the information or data that it is given. That's why in our prison systems, we have people who have grown up in neighborhoods where it is nothing but gangs, and when one young man is asked why he killed the other gang member, he responds that if you do us wrong, we kill you!
That is his standard of right and wrong. He doesn't know anything more than that. His conscience, so to speak, is skewed but yet it is still developed out of the data and the information that he receives. He's not taught any differently.
To him, right and wrong is different than what it would be for you and I. The conscience will judge right and wrong based on the data it receives. Not everybody's conscience is programed the same.
Paul says in Verse 1, that he lived in all good conscience until now. The word good is the word AGATHOS. It's a word that is associated with spiritual things in the bible. It's not KALOS, a good conscience, meaning good and right in a human way, but spiritually, he is saying that his conscience is good with God.
Next it says, in all good conscience before God until this day. A very special word. The word until is the word ACHRI, and it means up to this very moment right now. All the time up to this very moment that I am standing before you, I have a good conscience towards God. He grew up in Judaism. How is his conscience programmed? Under Gamaliel!
Acts 23:1 - And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Paul, earnestly beholding the council, and it means that he was intently staring at them. So, he's not like some guy cowering. He was staring right at them. He said, Men and brothers, because they are Jewish, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
I don't know if you know the implications of that? It means everything that that council believes about Paul for the last 25 to 30 years, everything that they know about Paul, Paul is saying, "My conscience is clear before God and I have done everything right in the sight of God." And they want to kill him!
I want to take this apart carefully because there is some good teaching here. He says, ""I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day"
It is very important to understand from a Greek concept what a conscience is. Conscience is made up of two Greek words. The first word is SUNE and it's a preposition that means with. And the second word is OIDA. OIDA means to perceive from knowledge.
The word SUNE, with the word OIDA, means to perceive from knowledge.
Taking OIDA a step further:
GNOSKO is the Greek word for knowledge. GNOSKO is the verb that means I know, that is, I know knowledge! When you are in school, that's what you are learning, GNOSIS, knowledge! OIDA comes from GNOSKO, and it means to perceive from the knowledge. Hopefully this makes sense. You gain the knowledge first, and then you perceive from out of that knowledge.
You can use the term recognize. If you were given a description of someone before you met them, and they gave you information about what they look like and how you would know them from out of the crowd, you would have the knowledge. But as soon as you saw them, it would be perceiving that that person is the person based on the knowledge.
Acts 22:15 - For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
This is a great verse as a definition for the word witness. We don't get this by reading our English text. In the Greek text, the word witness is MARTOUS, which is where we get our word Martyr from. It also is a judicial term like some of the other terms Paul uses.
A witness is somebody who can share "What thou hast seen and heard." In Romans 15:18, Paul says "I will not speak except those things which Christ has worked out in me."
You're not a witness unless you know it to be real. Also, the reason why MARTOUS, or martyr is used for witness is because in biblical times, your death, your martyrdom is the testimony that Jesus Christ is real. No one is going to give up their life for a religious system that's not real.
Acts 22:16 - And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Some people use this verse to prove that this is the order or process of salvation. It says arise and be baptized so they say you have to be water baptized first. Secondly, and wash away thy sins, they say that's what baptism is for. And then thirdly, calling on the name of the Lord. The problem with that theory is that the term calling on the name of the Lord is an Aorist Participle.
Here's how it literally reads:
Be baptized for the washing away of your sins, AFTER having called upon the name of the Lord. Which means calling upon the name of the Lord happens first, and then you go out and be baptized to display and express the washing away of your sins.
Baptism is an external testimony of the internal work of the Spirit of God. So, when I submit to believer's baptism (water baptism), it is a testimony. It is an external, outward testimony of what God's Spirit has done internally when He saved me.
Acts 21:40 - And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,
Paul stood there and waved his hand for everyone to be quiet. But there was a great silence, and he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, and the word tongue is the word DIALEKTOS.
So, he spoke in the Hebrew dialect, saying,
How do you like that for an end of a chapter? Saying, to be continued!
Acts 22:1 - Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
Hear ye my defence. That's the Greek word for apology, APOLOGIA, which I make now unto you.
Acts 22:5 - 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.
Here is a piece of information that is overlooked a lot, "To bring them who HAD BEEN bound." It is in the Perfect Tense in the Greek. In other words, Christians had already been rounded up and they were already in chains waiting for Paul to come in and pick them up and to lead them back to Jerusalem for them to be punished.
So, Paul was a persecutor. He spent his life trying to catch these Christians who they considered to be a cult and an enemy of Judaism.
Acts 22:13 - Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
Came unto me, and stood, literally in the Greek text, stood over me.
So, Paul obviously was sitting down or lying down. But Ananias came in and stood over him, and said unto me, Brother Saul, and here's a command, receive thy sight. This had nothing to do with Paul and his faith or anything else. He commanded him, receive your sight!
Acts 25:6 - And when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto Caesarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to be brought.
The judgment seat is the Bema Seat. This means that it is the official Roman tribunal. And they pull out this movable chair and he sits on this throne and that makes it an official Roman trial.
Acts 25:7 - And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove.
Interesting, the term could in the phrase "could not" in Verse 7, it's not your normal word for ability. This is the word for strength. There wasn't any substance, no clout, in their presentation against Paul at all, just empty words.
"Here's our complaint." It's like, okay!
Acts 25:8 - While he answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
And while Paul answered for himself, he says neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all.
The word offense, HAMARTON, it's the word sin in the bible. Literally Paul says I haven't sinned. And the word sin is also a part of the judicial system. If a person has broken a law, they have sinned, HAMARTIA. They have fallen short of being a law-abiding citizen.
And that's how Paul is using it here. He's using professional language that's used in the Roman judicial system. And he says I have not offended the law of the Jews, I have not offended anything against the temple, nor yet against Caesar. Nothing at all!
Acts 24:24 - And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
The term "the faith in Christ," is literally translated the into Christ faith. It has a very special meaning. In Greek, it is in the Attributive Position. It is the faith into Christ. Not in Him, but into Him. The preposition always shows a shift in transfer of trust from oneself to someone else. Not believing psychological truth or the mental truth about Christ, but rather entrusting one's life to Christ.
Acts 24:25 - And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Paul ministered to them about three things:
First, righteousness. When you're speaking to a Roman authority, righteousness means lined up with the justice system. Second, of temperance (or self-control). The word for self-control, EGKRATOS, means to be gripped from within, to be held or controlled from within. Galatians 5:22 tells us that EGKRATOS is a fruit of God's Spirit.
Interesting because he's talking to Felix and his wife Drusilla. Drusilla at this time according to historical documents is not even 20 years old yet. Felix was struck with her beauty. Over a period of time, he talked her into divorcing her husband and coming and living with him. So, here's a man who's been told about righteousness, what's right, and self-control. Obviously, the man has no self-control. He is impulsive. He has to have what he wants.
Third thing is judgment to come. The Greek indicates any moment. You can imagine Felix is feeling a little shaky! In fact, it tells us that Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; (literally for now), and when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Acts 24:14 - But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
But this I do confess unto thee, and there are three things here to look at that Paul is going to say in his confession: that after the way which they call heresy. Remember the Christians are now called "The way."
The Jews would not call them Christians at this point. They would not even acknowledge that they are a religious group and that's why they called them "The way," because Christianity was not a religion, it was a way of life. I kind of like that myself!
But this way, which they call heresy, so worshipping I the God of my fathers. Now the word worshipping is the Greek word LATRUO. It is a Greek word used for the service of the high priest in the temple.
And so, Paul is saying I am in service like a high priest, I and the God of my fathers. That's the second thing. Thirdly, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
So, then he presents himself as a Jew who is fulfilling Judaism. The sect is "The way." I serve the God of my fathers, and I believe everything in the law and in the prophets. So, I'm not a side group. I am very much the real thing!
Acts 24:17 - Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.
The term "bring alms" literally means acts of mercy. That's what almsgiving is. It comes from the Greek word for mercy. So, to give an alm is an act of mercy.
And what he is talking about is that he has come to Jerusalem with the offering from Macedonia and Greece and all the churches.
Remember he went back through and collected, and he brought some people from those churches with him over to Jerusalem so that they could deliver the offerings.
So, he says first of all, I came worshipping. And secondly, I came with an offering. That's why I came here. I didn't come here to stir up a riot.
(Acts Part 51):
Acts 23:10 - And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
And when there arose a great dissension, and in the Greek, it says war. When war arose, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force.
And that phrase "take him by force" is the same word used in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 for the rapture, HARPADZO!
They snatched him out of there as fast as they could from amongst them, and to bring him into the castle.
Acts 24:1 - And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul.
The term orator is the official Greek word for a lawyer. This is a professional lawyer. And his name is Tertullus in English. It is actually TERTULLOS in Greek.
The Jews often hired professional lawyers because the lawyers had to be proficient in Hebrew and Greek, and proficient in Roman law as well as Jewish law.
So, in hiring this attorney, they were better equipped to bring charges against Paul in what's turning out to be a very professional presentation against him.
Acts 24:5 - For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
For we have found this man a pestilent fellow. That's one Greek word that means disease or a plague.
So not only are they calling him a pest, but basically, he's like a plague in our land.
Pt. 2
Romans 7:18 says that no good thing dwells in humans and verse23 says that the law of sin makes humans captive to it.
Romans 8:7-8 says that the carnal (unregenerated) mind of humans are at enmity towards God, refuse to be subject to God's law, and cannot be. Verse 8 says that unregenerate man cannot please God in any way.
This is a quote from Ps. 14:1-3
Eccl. 7:20 says that there is not one human who is righteous in himself, that does not sin; nor who does good.
Is 53:6 says that all of humanity like sheep have gone astray from God.
I think I will stop quoting Scripture now since by these it is abundantly clear that because sin came into the world God created by Adam's sin and in Adam all sinned, we should view unregenerated humans as not having any ability to rectify their sinful disposition. They will inevitable freely choose to sin but are unable to choose what pleases God.
Romans 5:12-14
Gen. 2-3 Gives the account of God creating Adam and Eve, the garden, tree of life and tree of knowledge of good and evil. It says that when God created Adam and Eve He said they were very good (not perfect, not redeemed, nor incapable of sinning).
Gen. 3:7-10 tells us that after Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God when they heard speaking while walking in the Garden. They felt ashamed and were afraid of God and tried to hide their nakedness with fig leaves.
Gen. 3:21 tells of how God killed an animal and used the skin to make coverings for Adam and Eve.
Gen. 3:15 is God's gospel promise of a Savior to Adam and Eve.
In this chapter of Genesis, God did not kill Adam and Eve physically as soon as they sinned. He was gracious to them and gave them both long lives and may children to populate the earth. But they died spiritually and also, the dying process began in their bodies.
FALLEN MAN
Gen. 6:3 says that man is continually evil and all of his thoughts and actions are wicked.
Romans 1:18-21, 25, 28 says that mankind freely chooses to substitute idols for the true God. And that man has exchanged to truth of God for a lie. That they did not choose to retain God in their knowledge so God gave them over to a reprobate mind. And vs 29-32 list the ways mankind freely gives themselves over to sinful living with pleasure in doing so.
Romans 3:9-19 , says that both Jew and Gentile are all under sin. That there are none righteous, there are none that understand or seek after God, none that do good and do not fear God and that all of humanity is guilty before God
Romans 3:23 says that all humans have sin and fall short of God's glory (His perfection and expectations for man to live an obedient life of service and worship of God without exception).
Romans 6:2 says that we are dead in sin
Romans 6:23 says that death comes as a wage for our sinfulness.
I got that one from the email.
God bless
I am getting emails on replies the last was from Jesse 15 hrs. ago.
RLW
I'm no longer getting them.
These are his very Words!!!
"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.
Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." John 17:11 KJV
Amen!
I don't mind at all. And thank you for sharing your thoughts on the human conscience. Also, thanks again for your kind and encouraging words!
Blessings in Christ!
I've prayed for you.
May the Lord comfort you.
God bless.
I hope you don't mind brother.
Your posts are helpful, I understand how long it would be on this site with 2000 characters to go verse by verse, but what you do should inspire us to study all the verses around what you post. The conscience: I understand what you are saying but I understand it a little differently. I understand our conscience which is sometimes called our heart, Proverbs 4:23, is a gift God gave us to help us overcome the curse that we received when Adam and Eve ate that fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.
The law and sacrifices could not cleanse our conscience, and we have been told to guard our conscience. When we repent and are born again our conscience is cleaned Hebrews 9:13-14, Hebrews 10:22 and when we slip, we are given confidence if we repent it is cleaned by the blood of Christ, 1 John 1:9. Our conscience and our mind are separate, Titus 1:15.
Our subconscious mind learns from experiences without us being aware of it. It processes information and makes connections effortlessly. We operate 80 to 90 percent with this part of our mind. This kind of learning affects our actions and choices without us consciously realizing it. My thoughts, this is the part of us that is attracted by the world, the part of our flesh that is tempted.
Our conscience can be weak and defiled 1 Corinthians 8:7 and seared like in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 and our minds can become so corrupt 2 Timothy 3:8, that God can turn us over to a reprobate mind Romans 1:28. I feel people can get to a point where their conscience is dead, and they live on the instinct of their subconscious mind for just survival in this earthly world. But there is always hope, I have seen where people have been restored and their conscience cleansed and made alive again, Jesus's blood can wash away all sins.
This is just me, but I believe our conscience is the spirit of man, Zechariah 12:1 1 Corinthians 2:11.
Keep up the good work and God bless,
RLW
I've heard of that spiritual ressurection before as well.
Here on this site!
The bodily ressurection is rejected by some of the cults.
Blessings Brother.
You said you just about lost all hope and you're going to need a miracle.
The world offers such distress.
A miracle is a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws.
There's nothing natural or scientific in our Lord.
His glory is defined by such matters!
There's nothing to big for the Lord.
Romans 8:32 reads
"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
God has already gave us his best! Anything afterwards is small.
Go to the Lord and he will give you hope.
God bless.
Thanks, from conversations with you I did not think you meant the first resurrection is a spiritual resurrection, that is why I said I may be wrong. I have heard, not on this site, that some say Revelation 20:5 is a spiritual resurrection. When I read what you wrote, "You've taken part in the first resurrection" my little mind went there, sorry about that.
I agree, we are on the same page, we are justified by Jesus and our judgment will not be for salvation but for what we have done after we were Justified in Christ, Colossians 2:13-14. There are different understandings of the two resurrections in Revelation but that would be for other discussions.
Thanks, brother,
God bless,
RLW
in the crowd of people,that are telling him to stop calling/reaching out,is likened to what the world does to people.
holding people back with all of its stuff. him taking off his cloak,would be like taking off the cloak of the world and disbelief
he Asked and Received his sight immediately...a new follower of Christ. his passport to Heaven
For a person to see for the first time to look at Jesus......
when the cloak is removed,and the eyes opened
that's who you will see
Please don't let this confuse you. This all has a reason. So therefore, the conscience is an information gathering device in the mind.
Secondly, this information forms standards of right and wrong. Now here's something we need to understand. I always thought that if a person does things against the law, or they do something wrong, it's because their conscience doesn't bother them. It's like everybody is born with a conscience from God, and that if you do something wrong against God, you're going to be convicted, like it is an automatic thing. But it isn't!
The conscience is formed by the information or data that it is given. That's why in our prison systems, we have people who have grown up in neighborhoods where it is nothing but gangs, and when one young man is asked why he killed the other gang member, he responds that if you do us wrong, we kill you!
That is his standard of right and wrong. He doesn't know anything more than that. His conscience, so to speak, is skewed but yet it is still developed out of the data and the information that he receives. He's not taught any differently.
To him, right and wrong is different than what it would be for you and I. The conscience will judge right and wrong based on the data it receives. Not everybody's conscience is programed the same.
Paul says in Verse 1, that he lived in all good conscience until now. The word good is the word AGATHOS. It's a word that is associated with spiritual things in the bible. It's not KALOS, a good conscience, meaning good and right in a human way, but spiritually, he is saying that his conscience is good with God.
Next it says, in all good conscience before God until this day. A very special word. The word until is the word ACHRI, and it means up to this very moment right now. All the time up to this very moment that I am standing before you, I have a good conscience towards God. He grew up in Judaism. How is his conscience programmed? Under Gamaliel!
Acts 23:1 - And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
Paul, earnestly beholding the council, and it means that he was intently staring at them. So, he's not like some guy cowering. He was staring right at them. He said, Men and brothers, because they are Jewish, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
I don't know if you know the implications of that? It means everything that that council believes about Paul for the last 25 to 30 years, everything that they know about Paul, Paul is saying, "My conscience is clear before God and I have done everything right in the sight of God." And they want to kill him!
I want to take this apart carefully because there is some good teaching here. He says, ""I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day"
It is very important to understand from a Greek concept what a conscience is. Conscience is made up of two Greek words. The first word is SUNE and it's a preposition that means with. And the second word is OIDA. OIDA means to perceive from knowledge.
The word SUNE, with the word OIDA, means to perceive from knowledge.
Taking OIDA a step further:
GNOSKO is the Greek word for knowledge. GNOSKO is the verb that means I know, that is, I know knowledge! When you are in school, that's what you are learning, GNOSIS, knowledge! OIDA comes from GNOSKO, and it means to perceive from the knowledge. Hopefully this makes sense. You gain the knowledge first, and then you perceive from out of that knowledge.
You can use the term recognize. If you were given a description of someone before you met them, and they gave you information about what they look like and how you would know them from out of the crowd, you would have the knowledge. But as soon as you saw them, it would be perceiving that that person is the person based on the knowledge.
Acts 22:15 - For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
This is a great verse as a definition for the word witness. We don't get this by reading our English text. In the Greek text, the word witness is MARTOUS, which is where we get our word Martyr from. It also is a judicial term like some of the other terms Paul uses.
A witness is somebody who can share "What thou hast seen and heard." In Romans 15:18, Paul says "I will not speak except those things which Christ has worked out in me."
You're not a witness unless you know it to be real. Also, the reason why MARTOUS, or martyr is used for witness is because in biblical times, your death, your martyrdom is the testimony that Jesus Christ is real. No one is going to give up their life for a religious system that's not real.
Acts 22:16 - And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Some people use this verse to prove that this is the order or process of salvation. It says arise and be baptized so they say you have to be water baptized first. Secondly, and wash away thy sins, they say that's what baptism is for. And then thirdly, calling on the name of the Lord. The problem with that theory is that the term calling on the name of the Lord is an Aorist Participle.
Here's how it literally reads:
Be baptized for the washing away of your sins, AFTER having called upon the name of the Lord. Which means calling upon the name of the Lord happens first, and then you go out and be baptized to display and express the washing away of your sins.
Baptism is an external testimony of the internal work of the Spirit of God. So, when I submit to believer's baptism (water baptism), it is a testimony. It is an external, outward testimony of what God's Spirit has done internally when He saved me.
Acts 21:40 - And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,
Paul stood there and waved his hand for everyone to be quiet. But there was a great silence, and he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, and the word tongue is the word DIALEKTOS.
So, he spoke in the Hebrew dialect, saying,
How do you like that for an end of a chapter? Saying, to be continued!
Acts 22:1 - Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
Hear ye my defence. That's the Greek word for apology, APOLOGIA, which I make now unto you.
Acts 22:5 - 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.
Here is a piece of information that is overlooked a lot, "To bring them who HAD BEEN bound." It is in the Perfect Tense in the Greek. In other words, Christians had already been rounded up and they were already in chains waiting for Paul to come in and pick them up and to lead them back to Jerusalem for them to be punished.
So, Paul was a persecutor. He spent his life trying to catch these Christians who they considered to be a cult and an enemy of Judaism.
Acts 22:13 - Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
Came unto me, and stood, literally in the Greek text, stood over me.
So, Paul obviously was sitting down or lying down. But Ananias came in and stood over him, and said unto me, Brother Saul, and here's a command, receive thy sight. This had nothing to do with Paul and his faith or anything else. He commanded him, receive your sight!