King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Tuesday. November 29, 2022
Chapters: ACTS 18-19
Study: The Confusion of Religion
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
Yesterday, at work, I messaged this guy who was doing some work on my house, but was not very good at showing up when he said he would, then would come when we were not home. I told him that we work and are not home all day for him to show up any time. Then he wanted to come by right at that second, and when I told him no because no one was home, he said to get someone else. Well, I had a full blown panic attack thinking that this guy knew that no one was home and would break in and steal everything we owned, even the Christmas tree. Then God so graciously reminded me, [John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.]
Well, as I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [1 Corinthians 14:26-28,33 How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. 27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. 28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. 33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.]
[Confusion; A mixture of several things promiscuously; hence, disorder.] Confusion, has Satan’s name written all over it, and the one place that he loves to bring confusion is in the Church. You see, he can care less about the religions that do not preach Christ, he can care less about the religions that make up their own versions of Christ, but what he fears most is a God fearing, in one accord, Christ’s Gospel believing and preaching church. Why? They are winning souls to Christ. Once Jesus gets into someones soul, Satan cannot touch that soul for it is filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember what Jesus said, [Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.]
For a long time I believed that Jesus was referring to Satan when He said that, but it is actually God that He is referring to. Fearing God is not the same thing as the fear we get when we are afraid of something or someone, fearing God is honoring and respecting Him, and that includes everything about Him being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And as we return to the reading of Acts, we learn that Paul left Athens and found himself in Corinth, where he met a God fearing couple, Aquila and Priscilla, and actually stayed with them a while.
[Acts 18:1-6 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; 2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. 3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. 5 And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. 6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.]
[Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean:] We, who are saved are actually commanded to go out into our world and preach the Gospel, that does not mean that all will accept Christ, in fact, most will not. That does mean that we have done our part and are not responsible for their actions should they reject Christ. Paul, is doing what Jesus had said, shake the dust off, and move on to the next town, [Matthew 10:7-8,14-15 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.]
As faithful Christians, we sometimes can feel like we are all alone in this world, and that is our biggest discouragement, especially when we feel as though our efforts have no affect on people. As Paul walks through Corinth he is discouraged because no one would listen to him, it was then in a dream that Jesus told him that He is with him, and that He does have some faithful people in Corinth. However, that did not stop those reprobate Jews from causing trouble when many started turning to Christ.
[Acts 18:8-10,12-16 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. 9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. 12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, 13 Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. 14 And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: 15 But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. 16 And he drave them from the judgment seat.]
[the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul,] Okay, there is one thing that the world has on us than Christians do not, and that is that they stick together like glue. They may not all agree, but when it is time to be united, they stand. I was watching a conservative talk show talking about how our nation is so divided because we as conservatives are “too busy” or “too scared”, to stand up to these reprobates. It is time for all true Christians to stand up and fight for what is right, with the reminder that we have God on our side, [Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.]
Part of the reason why we are sent out into the world is to help those who do want to be Christians to know and understand exactly what that means. We cannot do this alone, we need help from other God fearing Christians. Aquila and Priscilla, came along with Paul up until they got to Ephesus, this was where they were able to show the Gospel to a man named Apollos. Apollos, taught the Gospel of Christ as John the Baptist had taught them, but he lacked the one thing needed in order to be saved.
[Acts 18:18-19,24-26 And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. 19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. 24 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.]
[and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.] When Apollos heard the whole truth, that was when he gladly accepted Christ as his Saviour. This was actually me when I was younger, I knew about Jesus dying on the cross, but never knew what it meant to be saved or that I had to ask Jesus to save me. You see, religion is great at teaching you about hell, but very bad at teaching you about how to be saved from hell. Those who truly have the desire to know God and love Him will be led to the truth of the Gospel, and willingly accept Christ as their Saviour, [Romans 5:8-10 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.]
Romans 5:8, reminds me that no matter how many times I fail God, He still loves me, and gave His life for me. That alone is my vow to stay faithful and keep myself accountable, even if I do mess up. Just this morning I asked God why He keeps me doing this when I am a complete failure at it. Of course, God always answers me in that stern way that He does whenever I ask Him something that I already know the answer to. He reminded me that while I may fall behind because I have so much on my plate, I am still faithful to Him and get up every morning, sometimes with only a few hours of sleep just so that I can get in His Word and teach its truth. More importantly, I make an effort to apply what I learn and teach. Paul, returns to Ephesus, and upon discovering that they were not actually saved yet, shows the importance of teaching the whole truth of the Gospel.
[Acts 19:1-6 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.]
[We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.] This was me also when I was younger growing up as a Catholic, we had no knowledge of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, let alone that He would come upon us through our faith in Christ. We all believed that Jesus died for us, but that was where it stopped, and I am so glad that God led me to the truth when He did. The reason people do not receive the Holy Spirit through religion is that they never hear the Gospel, [Romans 10:14-15 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!]
[And when Paul had laid his hands upon them,] As soon as you hear the Gospel, and accept Christ as your Saviour, you become God’s child and while we do not need the Word of God to know and believe in the Gospel, it does help us with everything else pertaining to our relationship with God. Remember, we are not under the Law, but we are lead by the Spirit to do the things contained within the Law for our own profit. Paul, did not actually lay his hands upon them and that was how the Holy Spirit entered, their faith in Christ did that. God, just enabled Paul to have some incredible healing powers that the mere touch of the handkerchief that Paul wiped the sweat off his forehead with healed some who were sick and even removed evil spirits.
[Acts 19:9-13 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. 10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.]
[We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.] [Adjure; To charge, bind or command on oath, or under the penalty of a curse.] These fools, somehow convinced people that they had the power to remove evil spirits from those who were possessed by them, and on top of that. Well, even the devil called them out.
[Acts 19:15-20 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.]
[Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?] It is an incredible thing to discover that if Jesus does not know you, Satan does not either. Satan has to get permission from God to afflict us, he definitely knows who Jesus is, and is forbidden to touch one soul who knows Jesus as their Saviour. As for those who think they have the power to cast him out in their own name, he makes a mockery out of them, [James 2:19-20 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?]
One thing I have learned is that the closer your relationship with God the more souls you are going to bring to Christ, and you can be sure that if you are bringing souls to Christ the devil is going to try to stop you. The Jews used Alexander to plead their cause before a mob of people defending their worshiping of a goddess, all started by a man name Demetrius who made a living off of making idols of her.
[Acts 19:23-27 And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; 25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.]
[Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation,] Do you see what their biggest fear was? Losing money. The Word of God will always prevail over a godless society and even one that makes up their own version of Him and even their own god. Why do you think there are so many books about how Christians or said religion perceives God to be with their own instructions? If they knew the truth they would lose a lot of money. A Jew of Ephesus, Alexander, became a prominent part of a riot that began in a theater as Paul preached and people started receiving Christ.
[Acts 19:29,32-36 And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. 32 Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. 34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. 35 And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.]
[and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.] Does this not sound familiar? Well, people argue and fight over things that they have no idea why they are fighting. Most of the time riots are caused by a couple of fools interpretation of something that is not even true. Why were they so confused? Well, the unbelieving Jews were angry that the Gospel was being preached to the Gentiles. How strange it is, that people would grudge others the privileges they will not accept themselves? We should never be afraid to approach someone with the Gospel, regardless of their race or religion, God is God of all believers, and saves all who believe in His Son, [1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for the day that You saved my soul, not because I got baptized in the water professing my faith in You, but because I believed You alone saved me from my sin, and I was baptized with the Holy Spirit that second I accepted You as my Saviour. Lord, I am Your witness, and I know that You commanded me to preach the Gospel to all You lay upon my heart. Lead me and guide me, give me Your wisdom and the words to speak. Put Your hedge of protection around me, and let me not be hindered from preaching the Gospel. Fill me with Your mercy and grace, and release the power of the Holy Spirit inside of me. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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