The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 14:1-2,
“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.”
There is an underlining truth about the way God has wired us in these couple of verses that is quite sobering to me. That is that God has given each of us a free will. In these two verses we see people who have exercised their free will to bring about two very different outcomes of many people. As I think of salvation I think of that which determines the destinies of each one of us. Will we spend an eternity in the agonizing torment of the Lake of Fire or will we enter into the resurrection of life and spend an eternity in the endless pleasures of enjoying our Lord God and all he has created us for?
As Paul and Barnabas take the gospel message to Iconium, this is what lies in the balance for each of the individuals they had opportunity to reach. I recognize that God gifted Paul and Barnabas with those things that would enable them to take the gospel to previously un-reached regions and that the Holy Spirit himself commissioned Paul and Barnabas to just this task at hand. But there is something to notice in this passage.
We are told that there were “a great number of Jews and Gentiles” that believed the message that Paul and Barnabas brought. The cause for it according to Acts 14:1 was that Paul and Barnabas “spoke so effectively”. Certainly this is an exercise of the gifts the Holy Spirit had endowed them with, but just as certain was the willingness and effort these two men had to take in order to speak effectively. Just because we are gifted by God to serve him with the work he wants us to do does not mean it happens automatically or that we will even comply with what God wants done. This is why Peter exhorts his readers to use the gifts given them to serve others, 1 Peter 4:10. Why exhort readers to use the gifts they have received from God unless a choice needs to be made to do so? I see a wonderful coming together of the Holy Spirit and the commitment of two godly men that result in the saving of many in Iconium. While other disciples might be discussing theology in the coffee shop, Paul and Barnabas are out making things happen for the Kingdom of God because they made a choice to do so.
Another thing I notice is the opposition to Paul and Barnabas by those “who refused to believe”. These made their choice and the text could not be clearer. They themselves refused to believe. They were culpable for the choice they made. It was not made for them. They made a conscious decision to refuse the gospel message. Free will is an awesome thing. With it we can serve our God and participate with him in the change of outcomes of many: from eternal damnation to eternal life. With it we can also refuse our God and suffer the consequences that such a horrific choice will certain bring.
God has given us a wonderful thing in providing us a free will. But as I say, how sobering it is to consider the responsibility and eternal destiny that flows from the exercise of it.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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1 comment:
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