Paul is now on his way to Jerusalem, and is determined to get there as soon as possible. Paul did not want to go to Ephesus itself, but the leaders from Ephesus came out to him. Paul seemed to know he would never see them again, and so gave final instructions to them.
"You know how I lived..." Our lives should be consistent with our preaching, and a demonstration of the truth. This was certainly true of Paul. Paul served with humility and tears. He cared about the people he was serving. He was under constant pressure. He taught them the whole truth, both publicly, and in house visits..
The essence of his message was that all, whether Jew or Gentile, should repent and have faith in Christ.
Paul felt that the Holy Spirit was leading him to Jerusalem. Paul did not know exactly what would happen there. We do not always need to know exactly what God is going to do. Abraham followed God, even though he did not know where he was going (Heb 11:8). But Paul did know that he would face hardships wherever he went. He was not motivated by wanting to know what would happen next, but by the desire to preach the good news of God's grace. His goal was to complete the work given to him by the Lord.
No comments:
Post a Comment