As Christians we stand for Truth

Acts 24:1-9

A man who I loved and admired, my dad, often said that mankind’s lack of understanding of history doomed him to repeat the lesson over and over again.  As I think of those who were born in 1993 who will be freshmen in college this year and many of them have no understanding of the history of traditional family, in that a large group comes from single parent homes, and a goodly number have no understanding of church and God’s love for them, in fact, many of them have no roots, no foundation.  They know more about technology than they do about who founded this great country of ours and the price they paid for freedom, and it seems to this writer that they have a moral compass that is built on the ends justify the outcome.  In that worldview truth is not relevant, and is this a new thing, or has what the news media calls Spin (lies) been in vogue even in the time of Paul?

If we look under the covers of Acts 24:1-9, we are going to see a good measure of (Spin) from the spokesman for the high priest, a man named Tertullus.  Who was Tertullus?  “Tertullus was an "orator" (Acts 24:1), a lawyer for the era. While the name, "Tertullus" was Roman, it wasn't uncommon for Jews and Greeks to take Roman names, so Tertullus may not have been Roman. And while Tertullus speaks from a Jewish perspective, it wasn't uncommon for orators/lawyers to speak directly from the perspective of their clients, so Tertullus wasn't necessarily a Jew either. Regardless of his nationality, Tertullus had been deemed best able to present Ananias and company's case against Paul.” (Taken from Bible Verse Study.com)

We are told it took the high priest and his chosen group five days to come down to Felix and you might assume that the group with him was Sadducees.  Doctor Luke gives this account of Tertullus the spin master: “And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying: “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.” (Acts 24:2-8 ESV)

In that we are in a Presidential debate time in the USA, after each debate we have “truth or fact checkers” and to our shame much of what one side is stating is just lies.  So lets do some facts checking on Tertullus, 1) “Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.”  False and reason and history gives clarity to this charge.  “If so, 470 Roman soldiers wouldn't have been needed to protect the transfer of one prisoner. Judea was a hotbed of simmering rebellion that often boiled over, not a place of great peace.” (Taken from Bible Verse Study.com)  2) did the Jews "accept this with all gratitude. (Acts 24:2)?  False, they were plotting to kill Paul and that would have required them to fight and kill Roman soldiers protecting Paul.  3) Did Paul try to "profane the temple" (Acts 24:6)?  False, he spent almost seven days in it in ritual purification.  4) Did they want to "judge him according to our law" (Acts 24:6)? False,
"They were seeking to kill him" contrary to their law.” (Taken from Bible Verse Study.com)

So what actions can we take from this?  As Christians we need to stand for truth, expose darkness by being light, and believe that Jesus tells the truth.  “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:7-10)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice