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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Acts 24: Paul Defends Himself.

Paul is put on trial. The prosecution arrived and gave their statement.
They said that Paul stirred up trouble everywhere he went. (Which is only true because they chased him around stirring up trouble against him)
They also said that he defiled the temple. (Which he did not do)
They also accused him of being the "ringleader of the sect of nazarenes." (They were right that he was one of the leaders of Christianity at the time.)

In his response he focus on what he does believe.
He says that he believe in the God of their fathers, that the prophets spoke of. And he says he does what he does in good conscience due to the fact that he believes the just and the unjust will both be resurrected.
The idea behind what he is saying is that the just will be resurrected for eternal reward in heaven, and that the unjust will be resurrected for eternal damnation, and Paul wants to be in the just category. He does also admit to being a follower of "the way". But he argues very strongly that this does not contradict the Old Testament, that God-fearing people will believe in "The Way". His reason for saying this is because Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Paul is arguing that he is in the right, and that since the messiah has come all Jews should believe as he does.
After this Paul was held in prison because the governor was hoping to get money from him, but he had ample opportunity to speak with the Governor concerning what he believed.

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