act 22v01 Hear Ye My Defence

"HEAR YE MY DEFENCE" Acts 22:1

Reading Paul's defence of the faith in Acts 22, I am greatly impressed by its simplicity. Paul was a learned man, well trained in Jewish law, theology, customs, and traditions. He had been trained at the feet of Gamaliel, the most reputable scholar of the day. But he does not offer one argument in defense of the faith based upon the traditions of the "church fathers". Paul had also been taught in the philosophy, literature, and reasoning of the Greeks. But he does not use one reference to Greek reasoning, Hellenistic philosophy, or human logic to defend the faith of the gospel. Without question, Paul was capable of poetic fire, oratorical imagery, eloquent imagination, and precise logic. But when he stands to defend the faith of the gospel before this blood-thirsty throng, he spoke in simple, childlike terms. In this most dramatic moment, PAUL SIMPLY TOLD THE STORY OF HIS CONVERSION. He simply told these people what God had done for him by his almighty grace in Christ.

THIS IS THE WAY THE GOSPEL OUGHT ALWAYS TO BE PREACHED. When a man stands to preach, let him simply tell what he knows, what he has experienced of God's grace, in the simplest, most childlike terms possible. THERE IS NO ROOM IN THE PULPIT FOR LEARNED PHILOSOPHY, SPECULATION, CARNAL WISDOM, OR HUMAN REASONING (I Cor. 2:1-5). That man preaches best who stands before men and declares with clarity, "This I know."

AND THIS IS THE WAY WE OUGHT TO WITNESS TO OTHERS. Do not try to match wits with unbelievers, or argue with people about vain questions. Just tell people what God has done for you. Tell them what you know, what you have experienced. That is the most powerful defense in the world. "One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25). Who can argue with that? Who can resist that? You may be able to argue with what I have read, or heard, but you cannot argue with what I have experienced. I know what I have experienced!