A Promise Kept
Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 25 viewsGod promised Paul that he would be safe as he remained in Corinth and now we see that God keeps His promise and protects Paul from rising persecution.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
In the previous verses we clearly saw God’s providential hand at work connecting the lives of Paul and Aquila and Priscilla and providing Paul the opportunity to continue the ministry to which he had been called even without financial support.
God also spoke to Paul in a night vision promising him safety and successful ministry in the city of Corinth.
This evening we will take a look at the persecution of the Jews in Corinth and how God kept His promise to Paul.
The Promise
The Promise
We must be careful as we look at the specific promise that God made to the apostle Paul in these specific circumstances. We cannot make the mistake of universally applying such a promise.
What we can glean from this passage is that God always keeps His promises. There are many wonderful promises in the Word of God that we can apply personally in our lives.
There is the promise to all who believe of eternal life- I John 5:13 There is the the promise that God will never leave or forsake us- Hebrews 13:5- Jesus has promised that He will one day return- John 14:2-3
II Peter 1:4- exceeding great and precious promises/II Corinthians 1:20- every promise in Christ is fulfilled/ Hebrews 10:23- He is faithful that promised
There are 100’s and maybe thousands of promises recorded in the pages of scripture, and there is not one that God will fail to keep!
What a joy to have access to God’s Word and all of the promises contained within its pages. God will keep the general as well as the specific promises that he makes to you and to me.
God promised Paul that he would be safe in Corinth and that he would see great success in the ministry there and these promises God would surely keep.
The Persecution
The Persecution
With a change in the leadership of the city of Corinth came a fresh wave of persecution.
The Jews once again mounted serious opposition against Paul and his teachings. It would seem that Paul was once again to experience suffering and punishment for the cause of Christ.
Paul was apparently ready to answer the charges leveled agains him but he never had the chance. This new ruler had no interest in bringing charges against Paul and the Christians.
Those who reject the truth will never stop and will always seek to seize every opportunity to silence those who declare it. Satan and those who work against the truth will not give up or give in and will always be looking for ways to frustrate the furtherance of the gospel.
We should not think it strange when unbelievers fight against the truth and attack and criticize those who proclaim it. The truth always divides and there will always be those who would rather believe a lie than to accept the truth.
As long as you and I live for Christ and take a stand on the Word of God, we can expect opposition. II Timothy 3:12- all who live godly/ II Timothy 2:3- endure hardness
The Protection
The Protection
It seemed that Paul would surely be punished and yet he did not even have to speak and the persecution was unsuccessful in its aim.
Once again we see the providence of God in bringing Paul to Corinth at this particular time. Paul would surely have been punished harshly had the new deputy been sympathetic to the Jews accusations. Instead Gallio had absolutely no interest in prosecuting Paul on the charges the Jews brought up against him.
Paul had likely grown used to facing punishment for the sake of the gospel but on this occasion he would be allowed to continue to teach and preach Christ without interference from the local government.
Paul had remained at Corinth and had continued to preach and teach the scriptures in spite of the opposition because he was confident that what God had promised He would surely keep.
Paul’s trust in God is evident and ultimately he would be kept safe and would win many converts in the city and establish a large church there.
God is able to protect you and I even in troubling circumstances if we will remain yielded to His leadership and continue to seek to fulfill His will for our lives.
Paul was absolutely convinced that it was the will of God for him to remain in Corinth. Each of us must seek the will of God and then determine that we will live in accordance with it.
There can be no safer place to be than right in the center of the will of God.
We may feel that the direction God leads is fraught with danger and difficulty but if we are following God’s leading we can be sure that He will be by our side.
We know that ultimately Paul would give his life for the sake of the gospel but not until He had completed the course that God had set for him.
The same will be true for you and I as we follow the Lord. He will protect us until we have finished the work that He has called us to do!