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Episode 74. I am Worthy of His Calling (because He is worthy)

Hello human.

During Paul’s first missionary journey they sailed to Asia.

Acts 13:13-16

 

13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

 

16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!

And Paul took them through God’s story of the chosen people of Israel over the next 450 years, bringing them to the promised land of Canaan by Joshua. Then through the judges, the kings, and finally King David, whom God called “a man after my own heart”… from this king, this man’s descendants, comes our Savior.

Unrecognized, and rejected by the people of Jerusalem. Put to death. But resurrected by God for 40 days on earth, then raised into heaven to sit at His right hand.

Paul goes on to warn them to “take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you.” By this, a warning that they are not the unbelievers of the One who is sent, that they do not scoff and turn away.

On this day, Paul delivered a major, detailed sermon to the Jews and attending Gentiles within the Jewish synagogue. Paul and Barnabas were invited to come back the next Sabbath. The people went away excited and anxious to tell others what they had heard.

So, what happened?

Joy Comes from Obedience to God

Acts 13:44-52

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

 

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

 

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,

    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

 

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

 

49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Paul and Barnabas were obedient to God, and to His prophecy. And because they followed God’s purpose for their lives, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and the joy that comes from living with abandon in the center of God’s Will for their lives.

This is how it feels when we fall in stride with our Heavenly Father, linked arm in arm with our Savior, fueled by the Holy Spirit.

But the scene in Psidian Antioch turned into a barrage of opposition when the Gospel message was received by the whole city. Out of jealousy the Jewish leaders began opposing Paul and Barnabas.

What is Paul saying, how does he defend an attack fueled by jealousy by talking about being worthy of eternal life? How can one not be worthy of eternal life when Jesus died for all?

Work Boots Required to do the Hard Work

I believe understanding worthiness is central to having a strong witness. In my study of verse 46, I came upon a scholar living primarily during the 19^th century who explained this in a way that pierced right into the center of my subconscious understanding of worthiness. I want to share it with you.

Meet Alexander Maclaren. He was a renowned Baptist preacher and writer. He lived from 1826 until 1910 holding the pastorates of Portland Chapel, Southampton and Union Chapel in Manchester, England. His stature was such that he twice served as President of the Baptist Union. But what made his godly fullness so transparent was his expository approach to interpreting the scripture. He was considered a master of it.

When you study a verse from a source that has commentaries, Maclaren’s exposition will likely be included. His weekly sermons to his congregations over 50+ years were widely read. He was an outstanding scholar, studied in Hebrew and Greek, with a gift for expository interpretation of God’s Word.  

Maclaren’s religious life was said to be “hid with Christ in God. He walked with God day by day. He loved Jesus Christ with a reverent, holy love and lived to make Him known.”

He was also said to enter his study every morning to work on his sermon, changing from his slippers to heavy outdoor work boots to remind him he had hard work to do for the Lord.

So here are a few excerpts from Maclaren’s Exposition of Acts 13:46. Please stay with me, human.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.

In referencing the Jews, Maclauren says,

“Their rejection of the message was a self-pronounced sentence. It proved them to be, and made them, ‘unworthy of eternal life.’ “

What Then is the Worthiness?

Maclaren’s first consideration was:

“I. What constitutes worthiness and unworthiness.

There are two meanings to the word ‘worthy’-deserving or fit. They run into each other and yet they may be kept quite apart. For instance, you may say of a man that ‘he is worthy’ to be something or other, for which he is obviously qualified, not thinking at all whether he deserves it or not.

Now in the first of these senses-we are all unworthy of eternal life. That is just to state in other words the tragic truth of universal sinfulness. The natural outcome and issue of the course which all men follow is death. But yet there are men who are fit for and capable of eternal life. Who they are and what fitness is can only be ascertained when we rightly understand what eternal life is…. But eternal life is a present possession as well as a future one, and passing by its deeper aspects, it includes-

• Deliverance from evil habits and desires.
• Purity, and love of all good and fair things.
• Communion with God.
• As well as forgiveness and removal of punishment.

What then are the qualifications making a man worthy of, in the sense of fit for, such a state?

{a} To know oneself to be unworthy. Consciousness of sin, leading to repentance.

{b} To abandon striving to make oneself worthy. By ourselves we never can do so.

{c} To be willing to accept life on God’s terms. As a mere gift.

{d} To desire it. God cannot give it to anyone who does not want it. He cannot force His gifts on us.

This then is the worthiness.”

And Maclaren’s second consideration:

“II. How we pass sentence on ourselves as unworthy.

It is quite clear that ‘judge’ here does not mean consider, for a sense of unworthiness is not the reason which keeps men away from the Gospel. Rather, as we have seen, a proud belief in our worthiness keeps very many away. But ‘judge’ here means ‘adjudicate’ or ‘pronounce sentence on,’ and worthy means fit, qualified.

The Absence of All Consciousness of Sin

And Maclaren continues…

“Consider then-

{a} That our attitude to the Gospel is a revelation of our deepest selves.

The Gospel is a ‘discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart.’ It judges us here and now, and by their attitude to it ‘the thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed.’

{b} That our rejection of it plainly shows that we have not the qualifications for eternal life.

No doubt some men are kept from accepting Christ by intellectual doubts and difficulties, but even these would alter their whole attitude to Him if they had a profound consciousness of sin, and a desire for deliverance from it.

But the great disqualification is the absence of all consciousness of sin. This is the very deepest reason which keeps men away from Christ.”

Give me a minute more human, to witness why this is mind-blowing to me…

I can intellectually check all the boxes Maclaren lays out. That I am unworthy, that I can commit to not striving to be worthy as if by my own power, that I can accept my life on God’s terms – that it is all a gift from Him, and that I can desire it, I can give my free will to Him every day.

But doing it requires His Spirit in my every thought and action, if I live by the premise that I am unworthy.

At one point, Maclaren characterized man’s rejection of God like this: “… but they are enamored with this present world, and such absorption in the things seen and temporal deadens desire. So the Gospel preached excites no longings, and a man hears the offer of salvation without one motion of his heart towards it, and thus proclaims himself ‘unworthy of eternal life.’ “

I thank God for you, Alexander. For your godly, spirit-filled life, and your exposition.

The world is such a distraction and people are rejecting the Gospel all along my path. Rejection is translated in verse 46 as to thrust away from one’s self, to drive away from one’s self. So, Paul is defining rejection as forceful intent to move away from God and toward one’s self.

So, as I am bringing the Gospel closer to someone, that person may be using all intent to drive it away.

This gives me a deeper resolve and urgency in my response to those who have judged themselves unworthy of eternal life by their own rejection of the Gospel. It deepens the intensity with which I live with transparent clarity as to my attitude toward the Gospel.

The Intensity with which I Witness

That I am matching my intensity for accepting and sharing the Gospel to the intensity with which so many are pushing it away. The Gospel is my witness. That I be bold like Paul.

I leave this BUOY with a few more words from Paul, that illuminate why Paul spoke so boldly to the dissenting Jews. Because He embraced a God worthy of his life, his devotion, and his earthly death.

2 Thessalonians 1:11

 

“May God make you worthy of his calling and fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power”.

If I start, if you start, if we start with our own unworthiness, we are convicted toward a witness lived in the power of an awesome God. A God, a Savior, a Holy Spirit that powers our faith in His worthiness.

The next episode of BUOY marks the three-quarter mark on mywitness99journey. I’m humbled by this. If my attitude to the Gospel is a revelation of my deepest self, then I ask you human, to pray for my witness, and join me for episode 75.