Acts 21:17-26

Please take out your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you today.

I pray that it's well read and treasured in your heart.

And turn with me to the book of Acts chapter 21.

Acts 21 · chapter mention

We've now been in our verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Acts for quite some time.

This is Luke's second account of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

The first, the Gospel according to Luke, of Jesus' earthly ministry.

The second now, of Jesus' ascended ministry.

He's working in the lives of His church by the power of His Holy Spirit.

And so we see Him still at work.

And the main character in our past study, quite a few chapters now, has been Paul and Paul's missionary journeys.

He's completed his third missionary journey.

He has traveled now to Jerusalem.

And the series of events we're going to see in the coming chapters are hastening him along to Rome.

So we find ourselves in the conclusion of Luke's account, witnessing these things.

Our text for today is verses 17 through 26 of Acts chapter 21.

Acts 21 · chapter mention

And before I lead us in reading that, let me remind you that this is God's Word to us.

It's written for His glory and our good.

And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

And I begin reading in verse 17.

When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

On the following day, Paul went in with us to James and all the other elders were present.

After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through His ministry.

And when they heard it, they glorified God.

And they said to him,

You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed.

They are all zealous for the law.

And they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses,

telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

What then is to be done?

They will certainly hear that you have come.

Do therefore what we tell you.

We have four men who are under a vow.

Take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads.

Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you,

but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.

But as for the Gentiles who have believed,

we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols

and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.

Then Paul took the men and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple,

giving notice when the days of purification will be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.

So upon Paul and his companions arrival in Jerusalem,

we find them received gladly by the brothers.

These brothers are likely those Christians in close relationship with Mason of Cyprus,

who we find out in verse 16 of chapter 21,

Paul and his companions are lodging with.

So those that are in close relation, moving in and out of his home.

The next day they visit James and all of the other elders of the church of Jerusalem.

Here I think the word for church being used in a broader sense.

So likely church is as there's many, many, many believers now in Jerusalem,

but all of the elders that were in Jerusalem were gathered.

It is now almost three decades since the church of Jerusalem was founded on the day of Pentecost.

Tradition holds that all of the apostles are now on missionary journeys,

or in the case of James, the son of Zebedee,

not the James that we're referring to in this text,

but James, the son of Zebedee, martyred.

The James of our text is James, the brother of Jesus,

who is now serving alongside other elders to oversee the church.

It would appear that he has taken the place of Peter,

a spokesman on behalf of the elders.

In verse 19, we are told that Paul does not give them a sweeping overview

of his ministry amongst the Gentiles,

but rather he related one by one the things that God had done.

Rightly, Paul speaks to the power of God through his working, right?

He tells them the story one by one of the things that God had done through his ministry.

And it has its proper effect among the elders.

What do they do when this happens?

They hear the telling of what God has done.

They glorified God.

The elders of the church of Jerusalem recognized that God's amazing grace

was working in an ever-broadening way amongst the Gentiles.

That God would call those outside of Israel to himself,

and that he would not require them to keep the ceremonial or civil laws

was difficult for Jewish Christians to understand.

But further, so fierce was their sense of national identity.

Remember, that they are a conquered people, right?

They're living in their land.

They're living in Jerusalem, but under Roman rule.

And the suggestion that Jews were no longer bound by the ceremonial or civil law

and not justified by the moral law,

but now justified only by the grace of God in Christ's perfect life and perfect sacrifice,

was not always easy for them to wrap their minds around.

Paul speaks to this issue in Ephesians 2, verses 11-18.

Ephesians 2:11–18

In this case, he's writing to Gentile believers, but he speaks to this.

Beginning in verse 11, Paul writes,

Therefore, remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh,

called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision,

Gentiles and Jews, which is made in the flesh by hands,

remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,

alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,

having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus,

you who were once far off been brought near by the blood of Christ,

for he himself is our peace,

who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances

that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two,

so making peace,

and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross,

thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off

and peace to those who were near,

for through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father.

So Paul speaks to this very issue that the gospel has gone forth to Gentile believers,

to Jew and Gentile alike,

and he's broken down the dividing wall of hostility between the two.

That we now have redemption in Christ alone,

by grace alone through faith alone,

in Christ alone.

The law never justified anybody before God.

It was difficult for the Jewish population to always wrap their mind around this.

People professing to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ had gone forth,

they'd gone out into Gentile churches.

We call them the Judaizers, right?

And they went out and they said,

yes, faith in Christ,

but also circumcision,

but also ceremonial, sacrificial law.

They heaped onto the Gentiles burdens that weren't theirs to bear.

This is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But I think we have to really work,

we really have to have some imagination

to try to put ourselves in the shoes of first century Jewish believers, right?

People who had in their minds devoted their lives to God,

have been exposed to the proper way to be restored to Him in Christ,

but yet still holding their national identity and their customs all the same.

So there's a lot of confusion, I think, in these days for them.

And this sets the stage for the conflict of our text,

which is presented to Paul in verses 20 through 22.

Elders say to them,

there were many, many believing Jews.

And these Jews are zealous for the law.

I take that to mean the ceremonial law, right?

James is referring to, right?

Because of the text that follows

and the things that Paul is asked to participate in.

Luke is not suggesting that they didn't believe,

that they weren't followers of Christ, right?

They're shown here to be believing Jews, right?

But they still held to the customs.

And they had heard,

and they had believed a nefarious rumor

that Paul was seeking to strip Jewish believers

of their national and cultural identity.

Paul most certainly taught Gentile believers

that they were not to circumcise their children

or walk according to Jewish customs.

But that's not the concern here.

If you look in verse 21,

they've been told about you,

that you teach all the Jews

who are among the Gentiles, right?

Scattered amongst largely Gentile populations,

there were Jews.

And recall as we've been studying through Acts

that Paul's primary strategy

was to go first to the synagogue in a town

and to find the Jewish populace.

They had a basis for which to believe in God, right?

They had read the Old Testament Scriptures.

It was a starting point for him

to minister the gospel in those places.

And so there are Jews mixed in amongst Gentile believers.

So Paul did teach this to Gentile believers,

but not to Jewish.

We can read Paul's strong words

to the Galatian believers

concerning this very matter

in Galatians 3, 1 through 3, right?

So the Church of Galatia was infected by Judaizers, right?

Many of them were being convinced

that they needed to be circumcised

in order to please God.

And Paul says this to them,

O foolish Galatians,

who has bewitched you?

It was before your eyes

that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Let me ask you only this.

Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law

or by hearing with faith?

Are you so foolish,

having begun by the Spirit,

are you now being perfected by the flesh?

Well, Paul's rebukes were sharp to Gentile believers

who were beginning to believe

that they were justified by the law

and therefore keeping it for their justification.

But Paul did not instruct Jewish believers

to forsake their customs

and therefore their national identity.

He was very pleased to have Gentiles

in matters that were not sin

and Jews in matters that were not sin

maintain their national and cultural identities,

but united as a new people

who were ultimately identified by Christ.

The Jerusalem elders are not concerned

about Paul's teaching, right?

They know this to be true of him.

What they are concerned about

are the many Jewish believers

who have been misled to believe

that Paul was erring,

and they are concerned about the division

that this will cause.

They say,

they will certainly hear

that you have come.

This is going to cause an uproar

amongst the church in Jerusalem.

So they devised a plan

for Paul to participate

in a Jewish custom,

which brings us to our outline

for our study

of the rest of this text.

This morning,

I will ask three questions

and work by grace

to answer them for your benefit.

And those questions are as follows.

Number one,

what was the custom

Paul was asked to participate in?

What was the custom

that Paul was asked to participate in?

Number two,

why was Paul asked

to participate in the custom?

Why was Paul asked

to participate in the custom?

Now, I will answer

the first two questions in brief.

I hope.

That's my plan.

And then spend the majority

of our time together

answering the third,

which is,

number three,

why did Paul participate

in the custom?

Why?

Why did Paul participate

in the custom?

Number one,

what was the custom

Paul was asked

to participate in?

Verse 23,

in the first part,

the first part,

the first part,

the first part

of verse 24.

verse 24,

the elders say,

we have four men

who are under a vow.

Take these men

and purify yourself

along with them

and pay their expenses

so that they may

shave their heads.

And the vow

that these four men

were under

was called

a Nazarite vow,

which you may recall

we considered a bit

as Paul participated

in the same type

of vow

recorded in Acts

Acts 18:18

chapter 18,

verse 18.

The details

of the Nazarite vow

are expounded upon

in Numbers chapter 6.

Numbers 6 · chapter mention

So if you would like

to study the matter

at length,

I invite you to do so.

It's very interesting.

But for our purposes,

I'm going to give us

a brief version

of what a Nazarite vow

was

and what it was meant

to picture.

The Nazarite vow

symbolized

total separation

to God.

It was usually

made to express

gratitude for provision

or protection

or in seeking

future provision

or protection.

The person

who made the vow

was to abstain

from alcohol

and other products

derived from grapes,

so vinegar

would be an example,

let their hair

grow long

and cut their hair

during this period

of time

and avoid contact

with dead bodies,

which seems like

the easiest

of those expectations

to me.

The typical length

for a Nazarite vow

was 30 days.

But there are some

biblical exceptions

to this,

like Samson and Samuel

and John the Baptist

were all lifelong

Nazarites.

They kept a vow

of this nature

for the entirety

of their lives.

The vow would be ended

through a purification

ceremony,

part of which

was the shaving

of the head

and an offering

made of the hair

that was shaved off.

Now,

we cannot know

with certainty

how it is

that Paul

was to purify himself

along with them.

We just don't get

the details

in the text.

I read a lot

of commentary

this week

of people

guessing

at what was

happening here.

He would not

have had time

to begin a 30-day vow

in order to join them

in its completion.

There is no hint

in the text

that it took

that long

for it to happen.

In fact,

in verse 27,

possibly it was

only seven days

from the time

he agreed to do this

to the time

that it actually happened.

So,

he wouldn't have been

able to begin

it that way.

Now,

there was a Jewish

custom of purification

for one returning

from Gentile lands

back to Jerusalem.

They were seen

as unclean,

so there was

a purification process

they were meant

to go through

upon coming back

into Jerusalem.

So,

maybe this is

the purification

he underwent

before going

to the temple

with them.

But,

and this is my guess,

I want you to know this,

my postulation,

in Acts 18.18,

Luke states

that Paul shaved

his head,

but we see

no record

of him making

an offering

of the hair.

We see no record

of him traveling

to Jerusalem

in order to make

that offering.

In the following chapters,

we see him hastening,

he's working quickly

to make his way

to Jerusalem,

and the law

made provision

for travelers

upon completing

such a vow

to save

some of the hair

and offer it

at a later time.

So,

maybe,

again,

my postulation,

maybe,

he completed

his vow

along with

the four men,

even though

that 30-day period

had already passed

when he was

on his last

missionary journey.

So,

maybe he still

had that hair

and he still

intended to make

that final sacrifice

along with him.

We cannot know

with certainty

how he participated

in the purification,

but the point

is that

Paul

participated.

He participated

in the purification

custom.

And not only

did he participate

in the vows

of the four men,

but also

he paid

their expenses,

which would have

been charged

as part of

the offering.

So,

he came alongside

and showed

clearly

that he was

not against

the Jewish

custom.

So,

this was the

custom that Paul

was asked

to be part of.

Secondly,

why was Paul

asked to participate

in the custom?

We're

hinting around

this for sure

and we'll get

into this more

as we answer

the third question.

But if you look

at the last

half of verse

24 and

verse 25,

we can see

that the Jerusalem

elders wanted

the rumor

laid to rest.

They said,

this is going

to be a problem.

Let's get out

ahead of it.

Let's be wise

in the way

we deal

with this

potential issue

that's before

us.

The last

half of

verse 24,

they say,

thus all

will know

that there

is nothing

in what

they have

been told

about you.

There's

nothing

in what

they have

been told

about you.

It's

false

that you

yourself

also live

in observance

of the law.

As a Jewish

believer,

you yourself

are keeping

the customs.

At the same

time,

they wanted

Paul to know

that they

did not

desire to lay

any burden

on the

Gentile

believers.

They were

not

Judaizers.

They wanted

to be clear

of that.

They did

not expect

the Gentiles

to conform

to their

Jewish

national

identity

and culture,

but to be

sensitive

to it.

Working to

maintain

the unity

of the

Spirit.

So they

tell Paul

in the last

part of

verse 25

that they

sent a letter

with their

judgment

that they,

being the

Gentiles,

should abstain

from what

has been

sacrificed to

idols and

from blood

and from

what has been

strangled.

And from

sexual

immorality.

Which was

a restatement

of the decision

made at the

Jerusalem Council

in A.D. 49.

So about

11 years

earlier.

They're just

restating the

very same

thing.

There are

some culturally

sensitive

issues as

it pertains

to Gentiles

and Jews.

Don't do

those things.

Love your

brothers in

the faith

who are

Jewish.

And of

course,

sexual

immorality

is not

negotiable

in that

list.

You can

read more

about this

in Acts

Acts 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15.

And I would

encourage you

to go to

our website

if you'd

like to

hear a

sermon.

Clay

preached it

on that

text as

well to

understand

to greater

degree what

they mean

in sending

this letter.

But the

point being

that the

Jerusalem elders

did not want

Paul to think

that they were

laying the

burden of

ceremonial law

on top of

Gentile

believers.

Now,

thirdly,

why did

Paul participate

in the

custom?

Well,

for the

same reason

that the

Jerusalem elders

wanted him

to.

Paul did

not want

to see

the unity

of the

Jerusalem

church,

the unity

between

Gentile

believers

and Jewish

believers

severed.

But rather,

he desired

to see it

flourish

and was

willing to

submit to

the instruction

of the

Jerusalem

elders to

see it

so.

And I

love that.

I love

that the

apostle Paul

comes to

Jerusalem,

right,

having apostolic

authority,

and the

elders say,

hey,

we have a

suggestion

for you.

And he

follows that

suggestion,

right,

coming to

their city

and the

church they

were given

charge to

oversee,

and he

follows their

suggestion.

This text

today serves

as an example

of Paul's

desire to

become all

things to

all people,

as he states

in 1 Corinthians

9,

22.

I want to

look at the

larger portion

of Scripture

in 1 Corinthians

9,

but before

we do,

let's first

look at an

example of

what Paul

is not

doing,

right,

in this

activity,

right,

and the

activity that

he would

condemn in

doing this.

So,

turn with

me,

please,

to Galatians

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2.

So good

to hear

real paper

pages flipping.

Thank you.

Now,

I mentioned

previously,

the letter

primarily

written to

the church

of Galatia

was written

because of

the Judaizers,

right,

because they

had ceased

believing in

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ,

right,

that our

justification

comes by

grace alone

through faith

alone,

in Christ's

person and

work alone,

but they

had begun

to add

to that

laws,

right,

to begin

to find

themselves

justified

by those

laws.

And so he

writes this

letter to

them and

he uses

as an

example,

a poor

example,

Cephas.

So Galatians

Galatians 2:11–14

chapter 2

verses 11

through 14,

by recounting

an event

in order

to instruct

the Galatian

church.

It says in

verse 11,

but when

Cephas,

now Cephas

was Peter's

name in

Aramaic.

So Peter

is the

Roman

version,

Cephas

is the

Jewish

version

of his

name.

So Paul

here is

referring to

him by

his Jewish

name to

the Galatian

church.

But when

Cephas

came to

Antioch,

Antioch was

kind of

Paul's

home base,

his home

church,

all of the

missionary

journeys,

left from

there and

went back

to there.

That's how

we know

they concluded.

He went

back to

the church

that

commissioned

him to

go out.

So when

Cephas

Peter came

and visited

him in

Antioch,

I opposed

him to

his face

because he

stood

condemned.

For before

certain

men came

from

James,

James from

our text

today,

so elders

from the

church,

Cephas

was eating

with the

Gentiles.

But when

they came,

he drew

back and

separated

himself,

fearing the

circumcision

party.

And the

rest of the

Jews acted

hypocritically

along with

him, so

that even

Barnabas was

led astray

by their

hypocrisy.

But when

I saw

that their

conduct was

not in

step with

the truth

of the

gospel,

I said

to Cephas

before them

all,

if you,

though a

Jew,

live like a

Gentile and

not like a

Jew, how

can you

force the

Gentiles to

live like

Jews?

So you

see what's

happening

here.

Peter ceased

associating with

the Gentiles,

instead

associating

with the

party that

was called

the circumcision

party, those

that were

trying to

have people

circumcised

in order to

keep the

law.

But he

did so

out of

concern

for himself

at the

end of

verse 12,

fearing the

circumcision

party.

He ceased

associating with

the Gentiles

out of

concern for

himself, and

Paul rebuked

him publicly

and sharply

for this.

In today's

text,

Paul participates

in the

Jewish

custom for

the sake

of others,

not for

himself, for

the sake

of others.

And this

brings us to

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9, so

join me there.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 9:19–23

chapter 9,

verses 19

through 23.

1 Corinthians

9, 19

through 23,

which we'll

spend the

majority of

the rest of

our time on

together.

Paul writes,

for though I

am free from

all, I

have made

myself a

servant to

all, that I

might win

more of

them.

To the

Jews I

became as

a Jew in

order to

win Jews.

To those

under the

law I

became as

one under

the law,

though not

being myself

under the

law, that I

might win

those under

the law.

those outside

the law

became as

one outside

the law, not

being outside

the law of

God, but

under the

law of

Christ, that

I might win

those outside

the law.

To the

weak I

became weak,

that I

might win

the weak.

I have

become all

things to

all people,

that by all

means I

might save

some.

I do it

all for the

sake of the

gospel, that

I may share

with them in

its blessings.

So Paul

begins,

in verse

19, saying

that he

is free

from all.

Having been

justified

through grace

by faith

in Christ,

he is free

from the

condemnation

of the

law and

anyone who

would place

burden upon

him for

it.

This we

often call

Christian

liberty.

We've been

given freedom

in Christ.

many will

say that

this text

is about

Paul

foregoing

or laying

aside or

not exercising

his Christian

liberty.

And I

disagree

entirely.

I think

it's wrong

to say,

well, I

am free,

but I'll

no longer

be free.

No, we

are free.

We are

free in

Christ.

He didn't

forego the

use of his

Christian liberty,

but he

used it.

he used

the fact

that he

is free

for the

good of

others.

He made

decisions

within that

freedom for

the good

of others.

He willfully

bound himself

to the service

of other

people's

souls.

Jesus

stated in

Mark

Mark 10:45

chapter 10

verse 45,

for even

the Son

of Man

came not

to be

served,

but to

serve and

to give

his life

as a

ransom for

many.

Now, we

don't get to

give our

lives as a

ransom for

many in

the way

that Jesus

did.

But we

ought to

model our

lives after

our

Lord's,

following

him,

being

followers

of Jesus

Christ,

not to

be served,

but to

serve.

Paul

modeled his

ministry

after that

of our

Lord.

Fill in

the blank

in the

quiet of

your mind,

for to

me to

live is...

If you

put any

word in

that blank

other than

Christ or

some variance

of that

matchless

name,

then you're

faced with

two options.

number one,

you are not

a follower

of Jesus

Christ.

It's very

possible that

you have

never tasted

and seen

the goodness

of God

to us

in Jesus

Christ.

That you

couldn't

possibly say,

for to me

to live

is Christ.

This is from

Philippians

1.21.

He is my

greatest

treasure.

I would

gladly give

up all

else for

the sake

of his

name,

that I

might gain

more of

him.

It is

possible that

you have

not been

saved by

his grace

and you

need to

repent and

believe in

him.

The other

option is that

you are a

follower of

Jesus Christ,

but you

just have

simply stopped

following.

You have

forgotten that

Jesus came

into the

world to

seek and

to save

the lost,

and you

have started

living for

yourself.

And of

this,

you need

to

repent.

We need

to join

with Paul

in saying,

for to

me,

to live

is

Christ.

We need

to follow

him and

follow his

example in

laying our

lives down

for the

sake of

others.

Beginning in

verse 20 of

1 Corinthians

9, Paul

gives us

some of

the particulars.

He says

to the

Jews,

I became

as a

Jew.

Paul was

Jewish,

you remember,

but he

picked up

the customs

of the

Jews.

In order

to what?

Win

Jews.

To those

under the

law,

I became

as one

under the

law,

though not

being myself

under the

law.

And he's

saying that

is,

right,

his

righteousness

and our

righteousness

does not

come from

the law.

So in

the case

of our

text today

in Acts

21,

right,

he

participated

in the

custom,

fully

recognizing

that he

was not

justified

by the

custom.

Much in

the same

way,

we might

participate

in a

church

fellowship.

We're not

justified

by coming

to church,

right,

but it is

a good and

proper thing

for us

to do,

right?

It's

commanded

to us,

it's a

good thing

for our

soul,

it's a

means of

grace

to us,

so we

participate

in that

way.

He

goes on

to say

in verse

20,

that I

might win

those under

the law.

Verse

21,

to those

outside the

law,

he's not

talking about

Gentiles,

people who

are not

Jewish,

to those

outside the

law,

I became

as one

outside

the law.

So he

may have

picked up

and eaten

something he

may not

have eaten

in a

different

context.

And then

the

parenthetical,

not being

outside the

law of

God,

here he's

referring to

the

moral law

of God,

but under

the law

of

Christ.

But under

the law

of Christ.

Beloved,

Christianity is

unique from

every other

religion in

the world

because every

other religion

in the world

can be

boiled down

to this.

You must

act in

order to

be accepted

by God.

Do the

following things

in the right

way and

enough of

it and

maybe you'll

be accepted

by God.

This is a

frightful

proposition.

If you

know

yourself

at all,

you'll

know you'll

never do

enough.

It's

impossible.

My

wickedness

so often

far outweighs

any good

that I

could do.

You

act to

be

accepted.

Christianity

is the

opposite of

that.

We are

accepted

and therefore

we act.

And this

is a

proper

understanding

of the

gospel of

Jesus

Christ.

There

is

floating

out there

a teaching

that there

is a

heresy

called

lordship

theology.

And we

believe that.

So this is

what I'm

talking about

right now.

But there

are people

out there

even in

our own

denomination

that would

suggest

that those

who would

say that

the evidence

of your

salvation is

that you

pursue

Christ as

your lord

that that's

heretical.

They would

suggest that

you can have

Jesus as

your savior

and not

as your

lord.

And that

is a

lie from

hell.

The book

of James

says it's

our work

that evidences

our faith.

It's that

shows that

we are in

fact in

Christ.

That we're

regenerate,

we've been

made different,

that we've

repented,

we've turned

from our

sin.

We no

longer love

the things

we used

to love.

We now

love God

and his

ways.

This is the

truth of

the gospel.

Which is

why I

want to be

careful when

we try to

preach the

way we

should go.

There are

things we

should be

doing as

Christian

people.

They're

good for

us.

They're

good for

the kingdom.

They're

evidencing.

You want

to have

assurance of

your salvation?

Start

working it

out.

With

fear,

trembling.

Start

being

obedient to

the

commands

of God.

And when

you find

there's no

inclination in

you for

those things

at all,

you have

no desire

to pick

up and

read and

obey,

you're not

in the

faith.

Jesus is

not your

Savior because

he's not

your Lord.

You find

in you that

impulse,

as small as

it can be

sometimes,

in your

heart and

in mind,

as cold

as it can

be,

that impulse

to want

to please

God,

to want

to walk

in his

ways,

to recognize

that his

counsel is

good.

I'm a

child of

the Most

High.

This is

where our

assurance

comes from.

I can

stand before

you in

all my

failings and

say to

you,

I am

possessed

by God.

He has

saved me

and he is

keeping me

because he's

working in

me.

I know

this to

be true

because I

am laboring

in obedience

and I'm

seeing him

work in

and through

me to

accomplish

his good

pleasure.

That's what

Paul means

when he

says,

not being

outside the

law of

God,

but under

the law

of Christ.

Don't let

anybody sell

you a

cheap grace

theology

that simply

says,

make a

decision,

and that's

what's

expected of

you.

So much

more,

so much

better,

so much

good,

and it

gives the

evidence that

we are,

in fact,

in Christ.

And so

Paul says,

to those

outside the

law I

became as

one outside

the law,

that I

might win

those outside

the law.

To those

outside the

law I

became as

one outside

I read it

again.

Verse 22,

excuse me.

To the

weak I

became weak

that I

might win

the weak.

And I

believe here

Paul is

referring to

those who

are weak

in faith,

who still

have not

quite wrapped

their mind

around the

goodness of

God and the

gospel of

Jesus Christ,

who still

think the

customs,

have some

value,

have some

importance,

ultimate

importance in

their pursuit

of God.

He goes,

that's okay,

they're weak

in faith,

but I

myself,

I myself

can observe

these things

that I

might win

the weak.

They become

all things

to all

people that

by all

means I

might save

some.

And here's

the driving

force behind

Paul's desire

to give

his life

away,

to use

his liberty

for the

sake of

others,

to willfully

bind himself

to the

service of

other people's

souls.

Verse 23,

I do it

all for

the sake

of the

gospel,

that I

may share

with them

in its

blessings.

The blessings

of the

gospel are

far better

than anything

that we

may be

permitted to

experience as

a result

of our

Christian

liberty.

The blessings

of the

gospel are

better,

far better,

immeasurably

better than

anything you

might experience

temporally

because of

your Christian

liberty.

being set

free from

the law

is not

meant to

serve your

temporal

whims,

but your

eternal

soul.

Jesus Christ

kept the

law perfectly

because we

could not.

By faith,

he grants

us his

perfection.

Jesus Christ

died the