If you brought a Bible with you this morning, I invite you to turn to the Book of Acts, specifically Acts chapter one. As we begin this evening, it is good to be back with you. It was at this time last week that Mark Stamper and I were in the Philippines worshiping with our brothers and sisters in Christ there. And as I brought greetings to them from you, I bring greetings to you from them. And it is a blessing, no matter where in the world we go, there are believers in Jesus Christ. I've said it many times, the greatest social network in all the world is not Facebook or Twitter, but it's the body of Christ around the globe. And it was a real treat for us to be there and to serve and administer to teach pastors there. Mark and I will be reporting to you in a fuller way on that trip in the weeks to come. Yesterday, we left Tokyo, Japan, at four o'clock in the afternoon, and we arrived here at one o'clock in the afternoon, if you follow that, and crossing fourteen time zones in the course of eleven hours, and I was able to catch a few winks last night, but I confess that I am tired, and so I will do everything I can to stay awake during our study this morning if you do the same. My wife is not worried about my preaching this evening this morning. It's the baptisms this evening. She doesn't want me to drown anyone. And but I think the Lord will stay in spite of a lack of sleep. It was on Sunday, February 2nd of this year, nine months ago that we began our study in the book And you are to be congratulated for enduring thirty two sermons in this series. On some occasions we covered an entire chapter in a single study. Other times just a few verses. But in it all, there is a thread that Luke has woven throughout this historic record of the early church. And that thread is Jewish opposition to the gospel. That thread is Jewish opposition to those who would declare the gospel to the witnesses of Jesus Christ, but first Israel rejected their Messiah, of course, by nailing him to a cross. Jesus arose from the dead and charged his disciples to be witnesses of his resurrection, and the Jews then opposed those messengers, those witnesses, and they persecuted those messengers and witnesses. And so beginning this morning in Acts chapter one, I'd like us to go back to the beginning, Acts one, and I would like for us to trace that thread quickly this morning through the book of Acts and review the occasions when the Jews oppose the gospel. so that after thirty two individual studies, we can regain the big picture this morning before we continue in the next twenty two and twenty three beginning in Acts chapter one verse number one. You follow as I read the former account I made O Theophilus, that is Luke speaking of his gospel, the gospel of Luke, the former account I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up After he to the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles who he had chosen to whom he also presented himself alive after suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during forty days and speaking of things pertaining to the kingdom of God and being assembled together with them. He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the father which he said you have heard from me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not many days from now. That was the promise. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And he said to them, it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. I want you to follow me now as we turn the pages to the book of Acts in Acts chapter number two. Turn the page. Acts chapter two records the supernatural phenomenon on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given as promised. Now Pentecost or Penta means fifty. That is, fifty days after Passover was the Feast of Pentecost. Jesus, of course, was crucified on Passover. He rose from the grave three days later, and then for forty days he presented himself to his himself to his disciples. So that a total of fifty days has now passed, and Peter and the apostles are in Jerusalem for the feast and the celebration of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was given, and Peter preached a profound message declaring Jesus Christ. The one whom they had crucified was, in fact, Acts chapter three, you turn the page again. Peter healed a lame man and preached the resurrection of Jesus, so that in Acts chapter four, if you turn the page again, the Jewish authorities arrested Peter, Acts chapter four, verse number one. Now, as they spoke to the people, the priest, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. and they laid hands on them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. In Acts chapter five, the religious leaders in prison, the apostles again chapter five. Look at verse seventeen. Then the high priest rose up and all those who are with them him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and they were filled with indignation and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. In chapter five, verse number 40, they beat the apostles for preaching chapter five, verse number 40. And they agreed with him. And when they had called for the apostles and had beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus. And they let them go. In Acts chapter six and seven, they seized and they murdered Stephen, the first of the Christian martyrs. They murdered Stephen for boldly preaching Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter eight, turn the page again. In Acts eight, verse one, there arose a persecution against the church, and the believers were scattered because of it. Acts eight, verse one, now Saul was consenting to his death at Stephen's death. At that time, a great persecution arose against the church, which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. In Acts chapter twelve, if you'll turn ahead there, James was executed. Peter was arrested. In Acts 13, Paul was opposed on the island of Cyprus and in the city of Antioch. The same was true in Chapter 14 in Iconia and Lystra. In Chapter 17 in Thessalonica and Berea. In Chapter 19 in Ephesus. And of course, now after his arrival in Jerusalem, Chapter 21. And here's what we need to know. There is story after story after story after story of the opposition and the persecution toward those who declared the gospel of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. And now things have come to a head in Acts 21. Paul is in Jerusalem. A riot has ensued because of the angry mob. The commander of the garrison has interceded on Paul's behalf and rescued him from beating. Look at chapter 21, verse 30. twenty one verse thirty and all the city with the third and the people ran together. He's all right now. The couple immediately the doors were shut. No, they were seeking to kill him. News came to the command of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and centurions ran down to them and when they saw the command of the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then, the commander came near and took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains. And he asked who he was and what he had done. And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So, when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. Paul then asked to speak. And in Acts 22, Paul told his story. Paul shared his personal testimony of a guy who gloriously saved him and called him to be a witness. Chapter twenty two verse fifteen. So you see folks beginning in Acts one verse eight. God's intent was that there be a witness. Of him and his resurrection, but alas, in Chapter twenty two verse twenty two. The people raised their voices and they demanded that Paul be destroyed. Acts 22, 22. And they listened to him until this word. And then they raised their voices and said, away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live. The commander there didn't understand what was going on. So, in Acts 22, verse 30, the next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he, why Paul was accused by the Jews, he released Paul from his bond and commanded the chief priests and their councils to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them. And so, this morning, from our scripture text, Acts 22, verse 30, through chapter 23, verse 11, I prepared a message titled Confidence in the Face of Criticism. How is it that we can be bold and courageous in our gospel witness? After observing this pattern of oppression and persecution and imprisonment and and beating and even martyrdom for the sake of Jesus Christ, let's pause briefly for prayer. Lord God, we thank you for the opportunity we have to assemble this morning in this place and study your holy word in freedom and liberty. God, I pray that you would go before us now in our study and that you would embolden us in our gospel witness because of the things that we read and learn this morning. Lord, I pray that you would give me strength, enable me to preach better than I know how. I pray that you would give sharp attention to the hearer. And no matter our physical fatigue, Lord, I pray that you would renew us in the inner man so that we might go from this place rejoicing. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I prepared an outline for you and provided that to you if you're following in the notes. Number one, Paul's confrontation with the Council chapter twenty two verse thirty Paul's confrontation with the Council. The Council of the Sanhedrin were the religious ruling body consisting of high priests and elders and scribes. They were divided into two religious parties. That is the Sadducees and the Pharisees and Paul was brought before these men to answer what I am calling Paul's confrontation with the Council. Now this is the fifth and the last time that the Sanhedrin are given the opportunity to evaluate the claims of Christ. The first time was when Jesus himself stood before them in Mark fourteen. The second time it was Peter and John acts for the third time was after the arrest of all the apostles at five. The fourth time was the trial of Stephen and finally now here Paul brought before them again to give testimony to Jesus Christ and his resurrection and on each of these occasions. These spiritual elite of Israel rejected the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and opposed his witnesses. Look at verse number one twenty three verse number one. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said Men and Brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. That's number two Paul's conscience before God. Paul's conscience before God now the conscience is that moral mechanism implanted in every man that approves or disapproves of his actions. However, each man or each woman. conscience or moral mechanism develops differently. And consequently, each man's conscience may be described differently. On the back of your notes, there are included a chart that lists some of the Scripture references regarding man's conscience. And you can see different designations of the conscience there. If our conscience is the mechanism that passes moral judgment on our actions, whether they are right or wrong, it is only to the degree that our conscience has been framed and fashioned by the word of God that we can properly know if our actions or what are right or wrong. That is why Romans twelve verses one and two calls us not to be conformed, not conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we might prove that is that we might discern or we might test or we might judge or know what is that good and perfect will of God. So it is the conscience that is governed by the word of God that is able to perceive what is right and wrong and respond properly to it. That is a good conscience. Here in our text, Acts 23 verse 1, Paul claims to have a good conscience. Now, does that mean that Paul never did anything wrong? No. In fact, Paul will do something wrong in these very next few verses. The key is that he will immediately identify that wrong and make it right because his conscience is governed by the word of God. And the illustration in verses two through five is a very powerful example, and it's a point of application for us. Look at verse two. And the high priest, Ananias, commanded those who stood by Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall, for you sit to judge me according to the law. And you do. And you command me to be struck contrary to the law. And those who stood by said, you revile God's high priest. Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest, for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. So here is the situation. Paul is declaring himself to have a good conscience before God. The High Priest Ananias was incensed by Paul's claim, by Paul's testimony and told those near Paul to slap him or to strike him. It is the very same word used in Acts 21 verse 32 for when they beat Paul. The High Priest is in fact instructing those near Paul to beat Paul in the face. And since Paul had not been formally charged of a crime, much less convicted, it was illegal to beat Paul. at that time, and so he responded in verse number two, that the high priest was in violation of the law in ordering Paul to be beaten. I call this number three Paul's conflict with the high priest. There's Paul's confrontation with the council, Paul's conscience before God, and now Paul's conflict with the high priest. Paul called the high priest a whitewashed wall in verse three. Now, what does that mean? Some think this is an allusion to when Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tunes that is they look good on the outside, but on the inside they were full of death. However, remember when interpreting the scripture context is always king and in the context here versus four and five. Paul didn't seem to actually even recognize the high priest. OK, so why was it that Paul did not recognize the high priest? Some scholars suggest that this meeting was hastily put together without a formal arrangement or without one formally presiding over the meeting, sitting in a prominently defined seat. Perhaps everyone was talking or yelling at the same time, and Paul wasn't quite sure who it was who had spoken. Perhaps, and this is what I believe might be the case, perhaps Paul had poor eyesight. There are indications of that in other places in the New Testament that he was not able to see well across the chamber or across the court, and all he could see was a bunch of white robes standing in a crowd, and his eyes were dim, and they looked like a whitewashed wall. Of course, the white being a symbol of righteousness, yet the white robe that had spoken whichever white robe it was when that white robe had spoken. He was commanding Paul to be beaten unrighteously, contrary to the very law that they were to uphold. But as soon as it was pointed out to Paul that he had responded to the high priest, he immediately apologized. citing Scripture. And Paul's conscience was so governed by the Word of God that when he brought the Bible to bear upon his life, he quickly made it right. And that is a good conscience. Even if the high priest had disgraced his own office, and even if the high priest was wrong, the high priest was still a God-ordained position of authority, and Paul was Bible-bound to honor the high priest. And so there you see in in verse number four, how the Paul first number five Paul sites that scripture. And I think this is a classic case study of one with a functional good conscience. And that always be our practice that when the Holy Spirit of God confronts us with the Holy Word of God and convince us of wrongdoing that we immediately go and make it right. surrendering herself to the spirit in his word. And may I suggest to you that this may in fact be a a daily exercise for us to maintain a good conscience. But look at verse number six. When Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, there's no way in the world that Paul is going to get a fair hearing at this point before the Sanhedrin. So Paul decides to divide and conquer. As I explained, remember the Sanhedrin are made up of two religious factions, the Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul used to be a Pharisee, so he identified himself as a Pharisee. There in verse six, the middle of verse six, he cried out in the council, men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. And then Paul identifies the issue of the conflict to be the resurrection. The end of verse number six concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead. I am being judged. This is number four pulse cry. Pulse cry of the resurrection. Pulse cry of the resurrection. I remember the Pharisees believed in a resurrection and the Sadducees did not. That's why they were sad. You see, they did not believe in a resurrection. And so, Paul has effectively turned the council against themselves. The Pharisees against the Sadducees. Look at verse seven. And when he had said this, an ascension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. over the matter of the resurrection of the dead. There is no resurrection and no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. Then there arose a loud outcry, and the scribes of the Pharisees party arose and protested, saying, We find no evil in this man, but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. Now, when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing less Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and taken by force from among them and bring him back into the barracks again, if you will. And Paul was kept there in the barracks, that is, the barracks of Fort Antonio. And I can only imagine that at this point, Paul is physically and emotionally battered. And he's now alone. and perhaps he's afraid, and he is probably second-guessing everything that he has just said and done. Have you ever been there? If you were the hindsight analytical type, you replay the events over and over in your mind and you torture yourself with doubts. or regrets, and you reason and you rationalize with yourself and you replay those events over and you're fearful that maybe you didn't handle the situation as you ought to have handled it. And I know you do that because I do that too. The times when I have suffered criticism, some of it well deserved. All right, but some of it undeserved. And when I have suffered undeserved criticism or opposition, I find myself mentally and emotionally obsessing, as I can only imagine Paul is doing now in the barracks and for Antonio alone. And perhaps he's asking himself, was I wrong? If I'm wrong, how can I make it right? Or he's asking himself, am I right? If I'm right, how can I exaggerate myself? Why is there opposition to my ministry and these gospel efforts? In the face of criticism. So look what happens in verse 11. The following night, the Lord stood by him. Isn't that good? The Lord stood by him. And this is what the Lord said to Paul. Be of good cheer, Paul. For as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. Now, we began this morning, the book of Acts began, Acts chapter one, verse eight, where God has called his disciples and the apostles and his followers to be witnesses of him. And that continues to be fulfilled throughout the book of Acts. The idea of a witness remains, of course, there's there's opposition in the face of that witness. But in the face of that opposition, there is then comfort from the Lord, and that is number five in your notes, but don't pack your things up just yet. Number five, Paul's comfort from the Lord, Paul's comfort from the Lord. And perhaps you want to jot near the margin. Second Corinthians one. Paul told the Corinthians, God comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now, if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation. Second Corinthians one verses four through six. Paul was comforted by the Lord, he received comfort from the Lord. Most often when we think of comfort, we think of a point of relief. We think of comfort as a means of escape from pain. However, consider this. The comfort that God gave to Paul in verse 11. Paul is not only being oppressed, Paul is not only being opposed, Paul is being persecuted, beaten, imprisoned. It is not only from the Jews. Now it's also from the Romans and the comfort that God gave to Paul in verse eleven did not remove opposition or oppression. Quite the opposite. The comfort that God gave to Paul in verse eleven did not eliminate trial or tribulation. Quite the opposite. Paul was now going to go from the fire to the frying pan or from the frying pan to the fire, which is it? Paul is going to go from Jerusalem to Rome. What comfort is there in that? For you see, Paul did not go to Rome as a free agent. Paul went to Rome bound in chains, imprisoned, ultimately to die. But here's the comfort. The comfort is the confidence in knowing that you are doing what God wants you to do. See, folks, we will all experience hardship as a soldier of Jesus Christ. You can count on it. You can bank on it. You will experience that hardship, but when the marching orders are clear, and I think they've been clear to the book of Acts, when the marching orders are clear, we can endure that hardship as a good soldier. And I think that's where we get confidence, where we gain confidence in the face of criticism. As I've titled my message. Now, this scripture text is framed by two ideas. At the beginning is a good conscience. Paul had a good conscience before the Lord. At the end was comfort. Comfort from the Lord. I believe in this way, Paul could have confidence, and I believe in this very same way we can, too. If you have a good conscience before the Lord and you know whatever the Spirit of God and the Word of God confronts you with, did you have made that right? You have a clear, good conscience. And if you are comforted from the Lord and knowing that you are doing what he would have you to do as a Christian witness, we can have confidence going forward. And whether we are imprisoned in Jerusalem or whether we are imprisoned in Rome, it makes no difference. Or whether we are criticized in the city of Minnesota, we have confidence in our risen Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord, I thank you so much. For the example of the Apostle Paul, I thank you for his testimony. I thank you for his courage. Lord, may these things be instructive to us. Lord, none of us stand the threat of of beatings or imprisonment. But Lord, at times we are opposed and at times we are criticized for our faith in Jesus Christ and for our gospel witness. But what I pray that you would give us confidence, encourage, May we have a good conscience and may we be comforted in knowing what you would have us to do. I pray, Lord, that we would be salt and light in our city. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.