⁴Do you (who practice evil) think lightly of the riches of God’s kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God should lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.⁶  He will render to each person according to his works. ⁷ To those who by perseverance in good work seek for glory, honour and immortality, eternal life; ⁸ but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth but unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who practices evil; of the Jew first and also of the Greek. ¹⁰ But glory, honour and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

¹¹ For there is no partiality with God. ¹² For all who have sinned apart from the Law will also perish apart from the Law. And all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; ¹³ for it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. (Rom2:4-13)

Bona fide Paul?

Yes, this really is Paul’s writing and it really is from his letter to the Romans! Yet for many, including myself for the first 28 years of my Christian life, Romans 2 was an enigma . It is apparently at odds with what most understand the apostle to be teaching in the rest of his epistle: in particular, those phrases I have bolded.

Firstly, the God I had learned from the Reformers could hardly be described as “kind” (Greek: χρηστότητος^G5544), at least not in a humanly intelligible sense. For I had been led to believe that His intention was to dispatch the souls of many of the beings created in His image to Hell, apart from the proportional few He had chosen to receive undeserved mercy by enabling them to apprehend salvation in Christ. [My concept of predestination at the time was sound enough – its context within overall providence was not]. Far from being tolerant the Creator I perceived could not endure the foibles of anyone who did not match His own perfection, punishing them to a disproportionate degree (i.e. eternally) for what He knew them to be incapable of achieving unless He were to aid them, which in most cases He would chose not to do.

Divine love versus human love?

That, incidentally, is diametrically opposed to the quality of love as Paul later goes on to define it. If a human being treated a child or an animal in such a way (punishing it for that of which it was incapable) he would rightly be detested. It is no wonder the likes of Luther and Calvin regarded God’s nature as unintelligible from any human perspective. Given that Scripture defines God as love personified (1Jn4:8) that must also mean that divine Love is entirely different in nature to human love as that quality is described in Scripture (1Cor13:4-5).

Such depictions provide ammunition for the likes of Richard Dawkins and former Evangelical Dan Barker (no relation) to write a book entitled “God: The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction”. Thankfully, god as I previously understood him is  fiction whereas the God of the Bible is very real. What is more He is potentially capable of being universally adored; at least once the true nature of His character, purposes and plans for humanity have been perceived.  “Truly, we shall praise You with uprightness of heart, when we have understood Your righteous judgments” (Ps119:7)

The Romans 2 enigma

Romans 2, an enigma to many sets out Paul’s understanding of God’s justice and how it will be exercised in final judgement. The Apostle’s description is in this instant clear, concise and as ever accords with the teaching of the Man Christ Jesus, who it must be remembered is the One who will judge humanity (Rom2:16). In terms of rewards and punishments, the Bible is consistent. Such judgement will be exercised on the basis of human works (Rom2:6 cf. Mt16:27; Rev20:13) which is effectively the legacy of our lives.  “To those who by perseverance in good work seek for glory, honour and immortality, eternal life;but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey truth but unrighteousness, wrath and indignation”.

Yet as will be shown, Paul’s teaching here does not contradict what the apostle teaches elsewhere. Whether or not a person is justified in God’s sight is ultimately determined by the absence or presence of faith. But that faith is not mere belief, still less something along the lines of  “coming to an end of my pursuit of personal righteousness and trusting in the merits of Another”, an earlier understanding of mine which is entirely invalidated by these passages in Romans 2, and more clearly so by the teaching of Jesus Himself.

Faith – a virtue

For faith itself is undeniably a virtue that itself results in virtuous intentions and endeavour. That is why Paul goes on to say that “it is not the hearers but the doers of the Law who will be justified” (v11). For faith actually enables (indeed ensures) one fulfils the essentials of God’s Law, not in letter but in spirit. And according to Jesus and Paul the heart of the Law focusses on the relationship with our fellow human beings:  

Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law (Rom 13:8)

Love does no harm to a neighbour therefore love is the fulfilment of the law (Rom13:10)

The entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (Gal5:14).

In terms of our love for God, which to the surprise of many Paul does not mention when defining the heart of the Law, if one truly loves another in the agape sense of showing compassion for their needs, one is effectively loving Christ, who as Son of God and Son of Man identifies himself with every human in need (Mt25 again). Now, if it were a matter of maintaining the letter rather than the spirit of the law, then it would be a case of “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (Jam2:10). That would be an issue if justification were on the basis of works or compliance with rules and regulations.

Thanks to God’s grace and the fact that Jesus “abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the Law of commandments contained in ordinances” that is not and never has been the basis for justification, even for the Old Testament Jew (Hab2:4). For, I say again with Paul, “the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’” (Gal5:14; cf. Mt25:31-46).

Why Romans 2 is difficult

So much of the above has been obscured by Augustine and the Reformers’ fundamental misunderstanding of Paul’s polemics. That concerned justification being on the basis of faith in Christ rather than Torah observance (i.e. works of the Law). Through a more detailed study of first century Judaism, aided by an analysis of the Dead Sea scrolls, this misreading of Paul has become more widely acknowledged, especially in scholarly Protestant circles where it is often referred to as “The New Perspective on Paul”. However, that particular endeavor does not of itself reconcile all of Paul’s teaching with Jesus’ or even Romans chapter two with the rest of his epistle for that matter.

Full coherence cannot be accomplished without returning once again to the role of natural law. In its anthropological context it pertains to God-given spiritual faculties provided to man which still function in spite of the Fall. Abel utilized them, Cain did not. One evinced he was a child of God, the other a plant of Satan (cf. Mt15:13; 1Jn3:12). Neither was (or could be) “saved” in the sense the New Testament means by that terms (cf. Jn6:53-54). Its precise meaning will be clarified as we proceed through Paul’s writings. In the process I shall show that natural law is on occasions subsumed within aspects of Paul’s teaching; at other times is more explicit. But in the latter cases it can be obscured by passages being poorly translated or just simply misunderstood. Such will be the case in the next post concerning the role of the conscience.

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⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.²⁸ And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; ³² and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Rom1:18-32 NASB)

The above is taken from the New American Standard Bible. Unfortunately, a number of Protestant Bible translations (e.g.  New International Version, King James) choose to insert a comma at Rom1:18 where Paul is talking about God’s retribution being revealed against men “,” who suppress the truth by their wickedness and go on to be sexual perverts (v27), rotten, greedy, malicious, envious, murderous, treacherous, spiteful (v29), libelous, slanderous, God-haters, rude, arrogant, rebellious to parents (v30), brainless, loveless and pitiless (v31). These translators make this out to be Paul’s description of humanity as a whole by means of their punctuation (v18).  The apostle is not here referring to all mankind or indeed all Gentiles. As is more easily demonstrated with regard to the critique of his fellow Jews (Rom3) Paul is  drawing and linking together various Old Testament scriptural texts which highlight a particular group’s wickedness to set out a typically Jewish critique of the pagan world and the inevitable consequence of idolatry. As we shall also see, Paul recognized that many Gentiles, though not possessing the Law, do by nature the things contained in it in response to their conscience (Rom2:14). The context of his tirade against ungodly Gentiles was the previous verse (17) that those who are righteous live by their faith whereas the ungodly do not, hence: “We are sure that the judgement of God is in accordance with the truth against those who commit such things” (Rom2:2). The apostle is undoubtedly in the business of affirming the universal sinfulness, not total depravity.

My parents were non-Christians, but they assuredly were NOT sexually perverted, malicious, murderous, brainless, loveless or merciless. Adding a comma to verse 18 implies that that is at heart what they were by nature. In reality my parents were generally caring, conscientious, respectful and kind to most if not all people with whom they dealt. They were certainly not sinless, nor will they have claimed to have “known God” in any personal sense. Yet as I have been endeavoring to adduce, in responding to the natural precepts that made them the conscientious caring people that they were, they were effectively responding to the light of Christ provided to every person coming into the world that governs the functioning of the conscience . Some people however DO suppress the innate light of reason and sound judgement provided to them – these are those whom God and Paul are condemning.

Largely thanks to Augustine and the Protestant Reformers these will be alien concepts to many – they were not so to the likes of 2^nd/3^rd century theologians such as Justyn Martyr, Polycarp, Clement of Rome, Irenaeus, Eusebius and Origen as we have recently demonstrated. As I also stated, unless such principals of natural law are accommodated, only then can Jesus’ final judgement (sheep and goats) passage in Matthew chapter 25 be reconciled with what Paul is teaching in Romans. Much more needs to be said concerning what the Apostle is intimating concerning who is or is not “righteous” but that will feature once we arrive at chapter three.

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 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, ³ concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, ⁴ who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, ⁶ among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; ⁷ to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. ⁹ For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, ¹⁰ always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. ¹¹ For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; ¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. ¹³ I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. ¹⁴ I am under obligation both to Greeks and to  barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. ¹⁵ So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. ¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹⁷For in it is revealed the saving justice of God; a justice based on faith and addressed to faith. As it says in Scripture, “Anyone who is upright through faith will live (Romans1:1-17)

The gospel, says Paul, is God’s Good News focused on the coming, living, sacrifice and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. When Paul’s take on faith and justification is rightly understood it truly becomes good news for the world, even for the vast majority  of people who were not chosen by God to become “His holy ones” (i.e. saints) such as those he is writing to in Rome (v7).

An essential feature of Paul’s gospel that we are all likely to agree about is his emphasis on the fact that in order to be righteous in God’s sight, the key is faith rather than moral perfection or compliance with law. The question is – what exactly is faith? The New Jerusalem Bible is perhaps one of the more accurate translations of the key verse 17: “For in it (the gospel) is revealed the saving justice of God; a justice based on faith and addressed to faith. As it says in Scripture, “Anyone who is upright through faith will live” . Note here that Paul is quoting from the Old Testament (Habakkuk2:4). Quoting from my earlier post: “This surely affirms that the apostle was not introducing an entirely new concept: for ”AS IT IS WRITTEN, the just/righteous shall live by faith/faithfulness”. That, indicates Paul, had always been the case. Habakkuk likewise is indicating that “the just” are not regarded as righteous in God’s eyes because they have perfectly fulfilled a law or are morally perfect but because they are faithful to what they know to be right, which in the Jews’ case meant being faithful to Torah. Such faith or faithfulness (same word in biblical Greek) is a virtuous quality that furnishes a guiding principle resulting in endeavour, as opposed to aspiring to a standard which in God’s case is likely to be perfection, for He is perfect. If justification were dependent on the perfect fulfilment of a law or moral perfection, fallen man, including God’s chosen people would indeed be scuppered”.

“Faith alone” on the other hand is rather a meaningless concept. Faith that saves is never alone as the Apostle James points out, as more importantly did Jesus in the New Testament’s definitive passage on final judgement (Mt25:31-46). Herein lies the challenge: if that passage in which the “sheep” who had shown compassion to others were accepted and the compassionless “goats” were rejected appears to you to be denying the principle of justification by faith (as frankly it did to me for 25 or so years), then you don’t currently understand the concept in its entirety. If Paul really were contradicting Jesus Christ, then I know Who I would believe – but he is not. Yet that vital “sheep and goats” passage and Paul’s teaching in his pastoral letters can never be reconciled interpreting faith and justification as either Augustine or Luther came to understand it. The solution has already been provided and highlighted in the definition of faith I have quoted from my earlier post. That not only provides resolution but also vastly enlarges the scope of God’s grace and saving justice through the redemptive actions of His Son – to the glory of His name and the joy of all people of good will. All hopefully will become clearer as we proceed through Romans. Alternatively read chapter three of my book** where the matter is set out in full.

In the meantime I will finish with a statement from a relatively obscure fourth century Eastern Church Bishop Acacius of Caesarea, who contrary to his more illustrious western counterpart Augustine comes close to summarizing  what Paul is teaching concerning faith and the gospel in Romans and elsewhere:  “The Jew has been brought from the faith of the appointed Law to the faith which is through Christ and the Gentile from the faith of nature to the same faith in Jesus Christ”.

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¹⁶ When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him. ¹⁷ After three days Paul called together those who were the leading men of the Jews, and when they came together, he began saying to them, “Brethren, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ^[fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. ¹⁸ And when they had examined me, they were willing to release me because there was no ground for putting me to death. ¹⁹ But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar, not that I had any accusation against my nation. ²⁰ For this reason, therefore, I ^]requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.” ²¹ They said to him, “We have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere.” ²³ When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening. ²⁴ Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. ²⁵ And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, ²⁶ saying,

‘Go to this people and say,
“You will keep on hearing, ^]but will not understand;
And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
²⁷ For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes;
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.”’ ²⁸ Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will also listen.” ²⁹ [^[When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.]

³⁰ And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, ³¹ preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. (Acts28:14-30)

In Acts 19 we read that Paul had purposed in his spirit that after his work at Jerusalem was completed, “I must see Rome” (v23). Four chapters later, after his hearing before the Sanhedrin, Luke reports that the Lord stood at Paul’s side and told him “As you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.” (23:11). That same Lord will have known how Rome would become an important centre of Christianity, humanly speaking through the conversion of a future emperor Constantine a few centuries later.  It is appropriate that the apostle’s Magnus Opus should be his letter to the Roman Church, whom at the time (mid-50s) he described as “full of goodness and filled with all knowledge” (Rom15:14). And they were to enjoy the presence of Paul in their vicinity for the next two years as the apostle was permitted to stay in his own rented accommodation, “preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered”.

What would be truly enlightening would be to know the apostle’s assessment of the Roman Church a century later. What we do know from the writing of  Irenaeus (130-202)  and Church historian Eusebius (263-339) is that the churches of the mid-second century in Rome and throughout the world were broadly united in their doctrine, the implications of which I covered in a previous post.  Of course, Paul’s own influence on future Christianity was probably greater than anyone’s, apart from its Founder, largely through his pastoral letters enshrined in the New Testament. Indeed, for many Christians Christ’s teaching in the Gospels is interpreted through the prism of their particular understanding of Pauline theology, at least where that is possible, for they sometimes appear to be contradictory. A part of this process is to show that when Paul is rightly interpreted such is not the case, starting with an examination of his epistle to the Romans in the posts that follow.

A final point concerning the quoted narrative: Whenever Paul arrives somewhere new to preach the gospel he always seeks to obtain the hearing of the Jews first, and Rome was no exception (v17). For he knew that the Jews were originally intended to be the “children of the Kingdom” (Mt8:11-12). But having quoted from Isaiah concerning Israel’s hardness of heart and unbelief he adds “ let it be known to you (Jews) that this salvation of God has now been sent to the Gentiles; (v28). This reaffirms that to which I have been testifying (contrary to Augustine’s assertions) that the privileges of gospel salvation were entirely new and had never been the sole means by which the soul could be saved from perdition. Rather it was and is the means by which those elected to benefit from it (which now included Gentiles as a result of Jewish unbelief – Rom11:11) through cleansing of sin and empowerment of spirit may become God’s royal priesthood on Earth and Christ’s corporate partner through eternity.

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When they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. ² The natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and received us all. ³ But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” ⁵ However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. ⁶ But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. (Acts28:1-6)

The Lord had made it clear to Paul that after Jerusalem, Rome was his most important port of call – it was to be the focus of the apostle’s future ministry (next post). After another adventurous sea journey ending in shipwreck, Paul and his party arrive in Malta. Luke narrates that the native people showed them “extraordinary kindness”. That was in stark contrast to the kind of welcome he had received from many of his Jewish compatriots and in the context of recent posts is another example of common grace and natural theology. The former is indicated by the Maltese people’s kindness, the latter by their reaction to Paul’s misadventure with a venomous snake who fastened itself to the apostle’s hand (v3). It led the native people to believe Paul must be a murderer or suchlike: “justice has not allowed him to live” (v4). But whose justice one might ask? It could only be that of a higher being or the outworking of some universal law which in turn must indicate the existence of a higher power or force.

Likewise, the natives recognized that murder is wrong, should be punished and ultimately will be punished: “what goes around comes around” might have been stated in modern parlance. This is a typical trait of those who possess a moral compass and a right sense of justice, which with the early fathers I am asserting is the majority of people regardless of whether or not they have responded to the gospel. Such people are “of God” but being ignorant of the gospel and its Hero they will not know God in any personal sense. Some readers will regard such awareness as mere superstition – but it is a far better predisposition than that of those who reject or willfully rebel against the sense of justice that, whether people know it or not, has been provided to them through the spiritually derived faculty of conscience. [It should be noted from Scripture (e.g. Heb9:14) that, unlike any other organ or bodily faculty, the state of the conscience directly affects our relationship with God]. Those who consistently do rebel against such natural precepts are in a category of their own, examined in detail in part six of The Little Book of providence** – the chapter entitled “Children of the Devil”.

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 And I (Paul) said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; ¹⁷ rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ (Acts26:15-18)

It is interesting to see the account Paul gives of himself before the Roman Governor Festus and in particular King Agrippa (chapter 26). What strikes me is the Apostle’s simplicity and honesty in recounting his experience as a one-time persecutor of Christians, his Damascus experience, His dealings with fellow Jews and the nature of his ministry to the Gentiles, whom it should be noted, as a result of  Jewish unbelief (Rom11:11) were to be offered “an inheritance amongst the sanctified“(Acts26:18)

 Whilst the likes of Governor Felix, his successor Festus and King Agrippa were at times incredulous, they were at least reasonable in respecting the fact that Paul had done nothing worthy of death as so many Jews claimed. The latter’s hatred and intransigence is at times staggering to behold. Regrettably, it is often those most steeped in their particular religious tradition who are the least open to new revelation or the idea that they or their tradition have interpreted the Scriptures wrongly which as Paul asserted these Jews certainly had. For as he said he was “saying nothing different from what Moses and the prophets had said should happen – that Christ should suffer and rise from the dead(26:22-23).

To be fair, prophecies concerning the death and resurrection of a coming Messiah are distinctly obscure in the Old Testament. The twelve disciples clearly had not apprehended the matter (Luke 9:44-45); nor for that matter had the scholarly Saul of Tarsus before his conversion.  But the truth was there for those to whom God’s Spirit granted prescience.

And such might be the case for the New Testament. For whilst the essentials of salvation in the current age should be clear enough, certain mysteries concerning broader providence – i.e. God’s intentions towards those not elected to Christian salvation and His plans for His earthly creation in  the age to come  have lain almost imperceptibly beneath the pages of Scripture, ready to be revealed in the last days, A classic example is a proper understanding of what Paul was indicating in Romans8:21-23 concerning the restoration of creation. 

Whilst the Book of Enoch was rightly excluded from the biblical canon (mainly in view of there being too many variations in manuscripts), many of the early Church Fathers including Clement, Irenaeus, Origen, Augustine and Tertullian believed it to be divinely inspired and a genuine work of the patriarch, which is hardly surprising since it is directly quoted in the New Testament (Jude14,15) . It contains a number of intriguing prophecies** and according to the book’s opening verse (1:1) was specifically written for the benefit of the final generation of Christians living at the time of the Parousia.

**In particular Enoch ch.104 vv11-13 https://www.worldstudybible.com/Enoch/Enoch-Chapter-104.htm

And Enoch ch. 93 verses 8-10

(https://www.worldstudybible.com/Enoch/Enoch-Chapter-93.htm

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 Felix arrived with Drusilla, his ^[ife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.” ²⁶ At the same time too, he was hoping that money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to send for him quite often and converse with him. ²⁷ But after two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, and wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul imprisoned. (Acts24:24-27)

After risking life and limb preaching the Way to Jewish congregations in Jerusalem (chapters 22 &23) and  being unjustly accused of subverting the Jewish Law and traditions before the Sanhedrin, Paul is despatched to Caesarea partly for his  own safety and also to be presented before the Governor Felix. Whilst some of his Pharisee listeners had been open to the idea that Paul may have been inspired by God so should be listened to (23:9), the majority were baying for his blood and some pledged to refrain from food and drink until the apostle had been killed. Humanly speaking, Paul’s plight was aided by the fact that he was a Roman citizen, as a result of which he received the protection of a staggeringly large military escort in his journey to Caesarea (23:23), the size of which would put any present-day US President’s motorcade in the shade. In the presence of  Governor Felix, Paul presents his defence against his detractors , affirming that he had said nothing against the Jewish Law or the Temple, “ever ensuring to maintain a conscience void of offence towards God or man” (24:16)..

Why Felix trembled

The most interesting aspect of this passage concerns Felix himself in the verses quoted above for it gives a unique insight into an individual’s response to Paul’s personal evangelism. According to 24:22 Felix seemingly already had a better knowledge of the Christian Way than many of  Paul’s Jewish detractors, as a result of which  he postponed his decision on the case until he had had a personal discussion with Paul about what it really meant to have faith in Christ (v24). “But as  Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you’”.

Dear reader, if personal righteousness, self-control and final judgement are what you would expect to be at the heart of Paul’s presentation of the Gospel, then all may be well. If however, like me in the past,  these emphases surprise you in view of what you understand Paul to be saying  in his epistles, then bear with me as I hope in future posts (or by your accessing my book**) to show that Paul’s preaching and evangelism in Acts, though theologically less dense, is essentially consistent with the teaching of his pastoral letters that we will be reviewing shortly.  

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Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, in which you tend the church of the Lord that He acquired with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. ³⁰ And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. (Acts20:28-30)

This is a section from Paul’s farewell speech to the Ephesian church. I have highlighted the two main points I wish to comment on. The first concerning Christ’s blood (v28) is slightly problematical in translation. In referring to the “Church of the Lord” I am utilizing an ancient textual variant referred to in some bibles (e.g. the RSV). The majority of versions translate the verse as the “Church of God that He acquired with His own blood”.  Given that Paul NEVER refers to Christ as God, that is unlikely, for which reason some amplified versions amend it as “His Son’s blood”.

Many translations refer to the Church as  being “purchased” by Christ’s blood whereas the Greek verb περιεποιήσατο has more the sense of reserving something for oneself, i.e. the Lord making the people He has called out from the world His own treasured possession. For that is what the elect of God are – they are not the totality of the people upon whom God shall show mercy and bring into His eternal Kingdom but those who shall reign in partnership with His Son as princes of that Kingdom: “For with Your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the World (Rev5:9-10)

Paul warns the Ephesians that “savage wolves shall come among you”. These would be false teachers who the apostle said would “draw disciples after them”. However, in the context of the previous post, that of itself could not result in the Church as a whole (universally) falling into apostacy. Rather, it would (and did) result in rival congregations and heretical sects developing outside the Church. As we have shown, the second century Catholic Church (as they always referred to themselves) remained united in its essential doctrine. Developments and potential distortions to the pure gospel that had been handed down from the apostles affecting the understanding and practice of the whole Church could only really come about as a product of  deliberations of “Ecumenical Councils”. At these, the leaders of churches throughout the world would meet together to settle doctrinal matters so as to secure the approbation of the whole Church . None had been held at this point, apart from the “Jerusalem Council” (Acts15) in which the apostles themselves had been overseers. This re-emphasizes the importance of examining the writings of the Apostolic Fathers** of the first and second century, which although (rightly) excluded from the Biblical Canon are, in view of the course of Church history, an invaluable resource to every open-minded seeker after Truth.    

**Agreed on by all church historians as genuine writings of the Apostolic Fathers are: Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, the Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles), Epistle of Barnabas and Shepherd of Hermas. Bear in mind also that Irenaeus was a pupil of the aforementioned Polycarp and provided more substantial works which cover and concur with many of the issues raised in my book, The Little Book of Providence, a free PDF of which is available HERE

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And (Paul) entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts19:8-10)

Paul arrives at Ephesus and stays there for a considerable amount of time – at least two years. As a result the narrative reports that “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord” (v10). “Asia”  in this context is referring to the west coast province of Asia Minor as some Bible versions make clear. A few years later, around the early 60s AD, Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesus Church, at which point it would appear from the tone of his letter to be in good shape. Such was to be expected in view of Paul’s influence but also that of the Apostle John, who after Paul’s death had oversight of the church there, probably until the very end of the first century.

The Ephesus Church in Revelation

The Ephesian church is sited again in Revelation. Christ speaking through John chastised the assembly for “losing their first love”. Nevertheless, He also commended them for their patience, hatred of evil and in particular the fact that they had resisted those who falsely claimed to be apostles (2:2). The church had certainly not at this stage (c. AD96) descended into disunity, still less apostacy. 

All this impinges upon the vital matter considered in an earlier post concerning the unity of doctrine within the second century church as affirmed by Irenaeus. For he was a pupil of Polycarp who in turn was a pupil of the Apostle John, Yet as I have pointed out on several occasions, Irenaeus’ teaching and that of the second century writers we have access to will scarcely be recognizable to many modern day Christians. Like Luther before them they will have regarded the second century Church fathers to be in “great darkness”, especially concerning faith, justification and natural law [1]. That cannot possibly be the case given the apostolic connections I have just outlined. Yet in due time a measure of darkness would pervade the whole of Christendom resulting in division and widespread apostacy. The question being examined is at what stage or stages in the Church’s development did this occur and who were the main protagonists.     

[1] Martin Luther “Table Talk” # DXXX Marshall Montgomery Collection

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After these things (Paul) left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, ³ and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. ⁴ And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. ⁵ But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the ^[a]Christ. ⁶ But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” ⁷ Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. ⁸ Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ⁹ And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; ¹⁰ for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” ¹¹ And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them (Acts18:1-11)

There are a number of points to make from this phase of Paul’s missionary journeys, one being vastly more important than the rest (the clue’s in this post’s surprising title).

1.  As the apostle made clear in his letters, he wished to be a financial burden to no-one and earnt his keep as a tent-maker, sharing his business activities in Corinth with fellow Jewish convert Aquila. He had been exiled with his wife Priscilla from Rome under the Jewish expulsions instigated by Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54AD), albeit far worse was to follow for Christians under his successor Nero.  
2.  As has been the case up to this point the focus of Paul’s preaching was in the synagogues “trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks” (v4). Many were hostile but not all – the leader of the synagogue, Crispus believed along with many other Corinthians and (as always) they were immediately baptized (v8)
3. The Lord exhorted Paul to continue in spite of hostilities “for I have many people in this city” Who might they be one might ask? It is those of God’s children who are to be been given to Christ. As He prayed to His Father: “I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of this world. They were Yours but You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your word (Jn17:6). This pertains to the mystery of predestination and its context within the broader providence I am outlining. Likewise, the final point:
4. Paul warns the Jews hostile to his message:  “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles” (v6) But why should Paul not be clean (i.e. innocent, having a clear conscience) if he brought such a message of salvation to the Gentiles and the Jews had NOT rejected it?  Was not such salvation envisaged for all? As I hope I have already demonstrated, that was not the case: “For as a result of the Jews’ rejection, salvation has come to the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy” (Rom11:11). This was not a matter of protocol or order it was to be a transfer of privilege with respect to the future heirship of God’s Kingdom. That is an eluded mystery that has the profoundest eschatological implications – considered in detail in The Little Book of Providence (free PDF HERE)

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