Acts 26:16-23

As Paul continues to recount the amazing encounter he had with the Lord, the clear commission he received from Him, and his obvious obedience to this heavenly mandate, I have to think that everyone in the audience hall was moved in some measure by the realization that God was not just including the Jews, but the Gentiles as well, as recipients of His incredible grace poured out through Jesus.

And I am not sure how openly Satan was discussed in a public forum in those days, but Paul clearly articulates who holds people captive apart from the saving knowledge of Jesus—a point I am sure did not fall on deaf ears. Without Christ, we remain under the power of darkness. Oh, we may not knowingly worship Satan as some do in an attempt to gain power or advantage in this world, but apart from the atoning work of Jesus, we remain in the fallen condition into which mankind was born. That is why Jesus had to come and do what He did for us—to purchase our freedom.

But that freedom must be received. There must be a turning from the old life to the new. Notice Paul’s words when he says, “…that all must repent of their sins and turn to God—and prove they have changed by the good things they do.”

In other words, genuine repentance produces evidence. The good works do not purchase our salvation; rather, a changed life demonstrates that something has truly happened within us.

It was this very message that landed Paul in hot water with the religious Jews and was the reason he was standing before them that day. Yet even in the midst of his circumstances, Paul acknowledges God’s hand at work. God was fulfilling His word to Paul and accomplishing through him the very purpose for which He had sent him.

Think about it: Paul had been commissioned to take the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike, and there he stood doing exactly that! Only instead of preaching in a synagogue or marketplace, he was proclaiming Christ before kings, governors, military commanders, prominent citizens, Jews, and Gentiles—all gathered together in one audience hall.

Something else worth noting is how many influential people were in that room. Their salvation had the potential to spread the Gospel far beyond those walls and into their own circles of influence. Paul may have been the prisoner, but the Gospel certainly was not imprisoned.

We must bear in mind that God will accomplish in and through us what He intends, even when it doesn’t appear that anything is going according to plan. From Paul’s perspective, imprisonment could have looked like an interruption to his ministry. From God’s perspective, it became a platform for it.

In what other scenario would Paul have been able to garner such an audience?

Sometimes the very circumstance that appears to be preventing us from fulfilling God’s purpose may actually be the means through which He intends to accomplish it.