Romans 2

Romans 2:1

The Lord’s Command to Paul

From now on, his life will take a radical turn. The Lord has not only spoken to him to bring him to repentance and salvation. He has to get up and stand on his feet, because the Lord wants to make him a servant and a witness. Paul immediately learns the purpose of his conversion. This also applies to us (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:14). There was a great work ahead of him. For this the Lord appeared to him.

His testimony has a glorified Lord as its object. He is a completely different witness than the twelve apostles who travelled through Israel with the Lord. Just as the service of Peter and John was typified by the Christ on earth, so his service is characterized by a glorified Lord, a Lord in heaven. Wherever the Lord will appear to him, it will have to do with revealing the mystery of Christ and the church.

His service will also be characterized by being detached from Judaism and all other people in order to be set apart for a service to them all. He occupies a chosen position both with regard to Judaism and paganism. He has a message from the Lord for both, Who sends him to them. He has to bring that message to blind Jews as well as to the Gentiles. Judaism has lost its privileged position.

In a similar way we have been detached from the world at our conversion (Galatians 1:4). This is not to live in isolation, but to be sent straight back into it (John 20:21) to serve the lost people for the purpose of their conversion.

Only God can open eyes (Psalms 146:8). If Paul is commanded to do the same, it means that he can act in the name of God. Opening eyes means that someone’s eyes are opened for who he is toward God to then see what has been given to him by God. In order to open the eyes of others we must have an eye for the possibilities God gives for that. For example, Paul opened the eyes of the Athenians by pointing out the altar to the unknown God (Acts 17:22-23). Here he stands before Agrippa, whose eyes he also wants to open. He speaks to him in a penetrating way what this opening of the eyes means.

The few words the Lord has spoken to him about this and which he passes on to Agrippa, contain the fullness of the gospel. Through the gospel one’s eyes are opened; he comes into the light and to God (cf. Colossians 1:12) with all the glorious consequences. In the first place it is about people turning from the power of darkness to light. Paul has just given an impressive personal testimony of this light. The power of darkness is the darkness in which the soul is enveloped by sin. This power of darkness also reigned in Paul’s soul, despite all his religiousness.

People must also turn from the power of satan to God. The power of satan focuses more on the outward bondage through which people come to a life that revolves only around themselves and the satisfaction of their own needs. Paul has testified to this as well. In order to live meaningfully, conversion to God is necessary. God is the Creator and knows perfectly what is necessary for a life to His glory and He also gives what is necessary for that. Such a life “is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and [also] for the [life] to come” (1 Timothy 4:8).

The consequences of conversion are also great. This is what Paul also speaks about. It is a life based on the forgiveness of sins received through faith “in Me”, that is in the Lord Jesus. The forgiveness of sins is the awareness that there is nothing more between the holy God and the sinful man who has converted. When sins are gone that make separation between God and man, it opens the way for the Lord to give every converted soul an inheritance among the saints.

Christendom is not some kind of fulfillment of Judaism, but goes far beyond it. It is about “an inheritance among those who have been sanctified”, an inheritance together with all the other saints, in the light. It is not an inheritance on earth, but “in the light” (Colossians 1:12). It is an inheritance with Christ (Ephesians 1:10-11). All these glorious things are connected with the faith in Him Who was once hated so much by Paul, but Who stopped him.

Romans 2:2

Paul’s Work as an Apostle

With the argumentative word “so” Paul again addresses himself to King Agrippa personally. If the king has heard all this, it is clear that Paul could not disobey this heavenly vision, could he? That was simply impossible for him. It is as much about direct obedience to Him Who appeared to him as it is about making known the great privilege he saw. You simply want to testify to this; you are inwardly just forced to do so it. Such a personal experience can be fought by anyone, but cannot be cancelled by anyone. Such personal encounters with the Lord also determine the way in which we testify today.

Paul tells us what effect this encounter and the task associated with it have had on him. With the same zeal with which he first fought against Christendom, he dedicated himself to spreading it through the proclamation of the gospel. He started with this immediately in Damascus. Then he proclaimed it in Jerusalem, then throughout the whole country of Judea and then also to the nations. He brought the gospel in its most elementary form.

He tells what he preached, with which he also shows Agrippa and everyone else, the way of salvation. It is about people repenting, that is, changing their minds, turning around and confessing their sins before God. At the same time with this inner change, a turning to God must take place, which means that God has the say in life and can determine the course of life.

Paul also tells his audience that it is not a confession with the lips. He points out that he has also proclaimed that repentance and conversion must be followed by works that are in accordance with this (Matthew 3:8). Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). These are not works that lead to salvation, but works that result from salvation.

This preaching is the reason the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him (Acts 21:30-31). That they did not succeed, he attributes to the help of God. God gave him life to testify and he still does, until this very moment. Here he stands before the great ones of the earth, but his testimony also applies to the little ones, the ordinary citizens. After all, small and great will have to account for and be judged according to everyone’s work (Revelation 20:12).

In all the testimonies he has given, he has in no way said anything that does not correspond with what the prophets and Moses have said. The prophets and Moses have announced the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. The Jews were not mistaken in their expectation of the Messiah and His kingdom, of which Israel will be the center. What they are blind to, however, is the testimony of the law and the prophets that the Messiah had to suffer and be killed and rise from the dead.

This means that Paul did not proclaim anything contrary to the Old Testament. He brings nothing new, no anti teaching, but what the Old Testament has always presented as hope for Israel and also for the nations (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:1-3). The Lord also makes this clear to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:26-27; 44-47). The suffering and resurrection of Christ form the core of the gospel for Jew and Gentile.

Romans 2:3

Paul’s Work as an Apostle

With the argumentative word “so” Paul again addresses himself to King Agrippa personally. If the king has heard all this, it is clear that Paul could not disobey this heavenly vision, could he? That was simply impossible for him. It is as much about direct obedience to Him Who appeared to him as it is about making known the great privilege he saw. You simply want to testify to this; you are inwardly just forced to do so it. Such a personal experience can be fought by anyone, but cannot be cancelled by anyone. Such personal encounters with the Lord also determine the way in which we testify today.

Paul tells us what effect this encounter and the task associated with it have had on him. With the same zeal with which he first fought against Christendom, he dedicated himself to spreading it through the proclamation of the gospel. He started with this immediately in Damascus. Then he proclaimed it in Jerusalem, then throughout the whole country of Judea and then also to the nations. He brought the gospel in its most elementary form.

He tells what he preached, with which he also shows Agrippa and everyone else, the way of salvation. It is about people repenting, that is, changing their minds, turning around and confessing their sins before God. At the same time with this inner change, a turning to God must take place, which means that God has the say in life and can determine the course of life.

Paul also tells his audience that it is not a confession with the lips. He points out that he has also proclaimed that repentance and conversion must be followed by works that are in accordance with this (Matthew 3:8). Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). These are not works that lead to salvation, but works that result from salvation.

This preaching is the reason the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him (Acts 21:30-31). That they did not succeed, he attributes to the help of God. God gave him life to testify and he still does, until this very moment. Here he stands before the great ones of the earth, but his testimony also applies to the little ones, the ordinary citizens. After all, small and great will have to account for and be judged according to everyone’s work (Revelation 20:12).

In all the testimonies he has given, he has in no way said anything that does not correspond with what the prophets and Moses have said. The prophets and Moses have announced the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. The Jews were not mistaken in their expectation of the Messiah and His kingdom, of which Israel will be the center. What they are blind to, however, is the testimony of the law and the prophets that the Messiah had to suffer and be killed and rise from the dead.

This means that Paul did not proclaim anything contrary to the Old Testament. He brings nothing new, no anti teaching, but what the Old Testament has always presented as hope for Israel and also for the nations (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:1-3). The Lord also makes this clear to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:26-27; 44-47). The suffering and resurrection of Christ form the core of the gospel for Jew and Gentile.

Romans 2:4

Paul’s Work as an Apostle

With the argumentative word “so” Paul again addresses himself to King Agrippa personally. If the king has heard all this, it is clear that Paul could not disobey this heavenly vision, could he? That was simply impossible for him. It is as much about direct obedience to Him Who appeared to him as it is about making known the great privilege he saw. You simply want to testify to this; you are inwardly just forced to do so it. Such a personal experience can be fought by anyone, but cannot be cancelled by anyone. Such personal encounters with the Lord also determine the way in which we testify today.

Paul tells us what effect this encounter and the task associated with it have had on him. With the same zeal with which he first fought against Christendom, he dedicated himself to spreading it through the proclamation of the gospel. He started with this immediately in Damascus. Then he proclaimed it in Jerusalem, then throughout the whole country of Judea and then also to the nations. He brought the gospel in its most elementary form.

He tells what he preached, with which he also shows Agrippa and everyone else, the way of salvation. It is about people repenting, that is, changing their minds, turning around and confessing their sins before God. At the same time with this inner change, a turning to God must take place, which means that God has the say in life and can determine the course of life.

Paul also tells his audience that it is not a confession with the lips. He points out that he has also proclaimed that repentance and conversion must be followed by works that are in accordance with this (Matthew 3:8). Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). These are not works that lead to salvation, but works that result from salvation.

This preaching is the reason the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him (Acts 21:30-31). That they did not succeed, he attributes to the help of God. God gave him life to testify and he still does, until this very moment. Here he stands before the great ones of the earth, but his testimony also applies to the little ones, the ordinary citizens. After all, small and great will have to account for and be judged according to everyone’s work (Revelation 20:12).

In all the testimonies he has given, he has in no way said anything that does not correspond with what the prophets and Moses have said. The prophets and Moses have announced the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. The Jews were not mistaken in their expectation of the Messiah and His kingdom, of which Israel will be the center. What they are blind to, however, is the testimony of the law and the prophets that the Messiah had to suffer and be killed and rise from the dead.

This means that Paul did not proclaim anything contrary to the Old Testament. He brings nothing new, no anti teaching, but what the Old Testament has always presented as hope for Israel and also for the nations (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:1-3). The Lord also makes this clear to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:26-27; 44-47). The suffering and resurrection of Christ form the core of the gospel for Jew and Gentile.

Romans 2:5

Paul’s Work as an Apostle

With the argumentative word “so” Paul again addresses himself to King Agrippa personally. If the king has heard all this, it is clear that Paul could not disobey this heavenly vision, could he? That was simply impossible for him. It is as much about direct obedience to Him Who appeared to him as it is about making known the great privilege he saw. You simply want to testify to this; you are inwardly just forced to do so it. Such a personal experience can be fought by anyone, but cannot be cancelled by anyone. Such personal encounters with the Lord also determine the way in which we testify today.

Paul tells us what effect this encounter and the task associated with it have had on him. With the same zeal with which he first fought against Christendom, he dedicated himself to spreading it through the proclamation of the gospel. He started with this immediately in Damascus. Then he proclaimed it in Jerusalem, then throughout the whole country of Judea and then also to the nations. He brought the gospel in its most elementary form.

He tells what he preached, with which he also shows Agrippa and everyone else, the way of salvation. It is about people repenting, that is, changing their minds, turning around and confessing their sins before God. At the same time with this inner change, a turning to God must take place, which means that God has the say in life and can determine the course of life.

Paul also tells his audience that it is not a confession with the lips. He points out that he has also proclaimed that repentance and conversion must be followed by works that are in accordance with this (Matthew 3:8). Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). These are not works that lead to salvation, but works that result from salvation.

This preaching is the reason the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him (Acts 21:30-31). That they did not succeed, he attributes to the help of God. God gave him life to testify and he still does, until this very moment. Here he stands before the great ones of the earth, but his testimony also applies to the little ones, the ordinary citizens. After all, small and great will have to account for and be judged according to everyone’s work (Revelation 20:12).

In all the testimonies he has given, he has in no way said anything that does not correspond with what the prophets and Moses have said. The prophets and Moses have announced the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. The Jews were not mistaken in their expectation of the Messiah and His kingdom, of which Israel will be the center. What they are blind to, however, is the testimony of the law and the prophets that the Messiah had to suffer and be killed and rise from the dead.

This means that Paul did not proclaim anything contrary to the Old Testament. He brings nothing new, no anti teaching, but what the Old Testament has always presented as hope for Israel and also for the nations (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:1-3). The Lord also makes this clear to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:26-27; 44-47). The suffering and resurrection of Christ form the core of the gospel for Jew and Gentile.

Romans 2:6

Paul’s Work as an Apostle

With the argumentative word “so” Paul again addresses himself to King Agrippa personally. If the king has heard all this, it is clear that Paul could not disobey this heavenly vision, could he? That was simply impossible for him. It is as much about direct obedience to Him Who appeared to him as it is about making known the great privilege he saw. You simply want to testify to this; you are inwardly just forced to do so it. Such a personal experience can be fought by anyone, but cannot be cancelled by anyone. Such personal encounters with the Lord also determine the way in which we testify today.

Paul tells us what effect this encounter and the task associated with it have had on him. With the same zeal with which he first fought against Christendom, he dedicated himself to spreading it through the proclamation of the gospel. He started with this immediately in Damascus. Then he proclaimed it in Jerusalem, then throughout the whole country of Judea and then also to the nations. He brought the gospel in its most elementary form.

He tells what he preached, with which he also shows Agrippa and everyone else, the way of salvation. It is about people repenting, that is, changing their minds, turning around and confessing their sins before God. At the same time with this inner change, a turning to God must take place, which means that God has the say in life and can determine the course of life.

Paul also tells his audience that it is not a confession with the lips. He points out that he has also proclaimed that repentance and conversion must be followed by works that are in accordance with this (Matthew 3:8). Faith without works is dead (James 2:17). These are not works that lead to salvation, but works that result from salvation.

This preaching is the reason the Jews seized him in the temple and tried to kill him (Acts 21:30-31). That they did not succeed, he attributes to the help of God. God gave him life to testify and he still does, until this very moment. Here he stands before the great ones of the earth, but his testimony also applies to the little ones, the ordinary citizens. After all, small and great will have to account for and be judged according to everyone’s work (Revelation 20:12).

In all the testimonies he has given, he has in no way said anything that does not correspond with what the prophets and Moses have said. The prophets and Moses have announced the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. The Jews were not mistaken in their expectation of the Messiah and His kingdom, of which Israel will be the center. What they are blind to, however, is the testimony of the law and the prophets that the Messiah had to suffer and be killed and rise from the dead.

This means that Paul did not proclaim anything contrary to the Old Testament. He brings nothing new, no anti teaching, but what the Old Testament has always presented as hope for Israel and also for the nations (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 60:1-3). The Lord also makes this clear to the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:26-27; 44-47). The suffering and resurrection of Christ form the core of the gospel for Jew and Gentile.

Romans 2:7

Interruption by Festus

When Paul speaks about the suffering and resurrection of Christ, Festus interrupts him. He believes that Paul has now gone mad and is talking gibberish. How many times over the centuries have Christians been declared mad (1 Corinthians 4:10; 2 Corinthians 5:13). The Lord has also been scolded for this (Mark 3:20-21; John 10:20). Festus sees Paul’s speech as the expression of a Jew’s superstition, a dream of a man addicted to reading and studying.

The madness is the ecstasy that Festus thinks he perceives in Paul, while he understands nothing of what Paul is saying. Festus has no idea of the content of the words he hears. He resembles Paul’s companions who traveled with him to Damascus, who heard the sound of a voice but did not hear what was said (Acts 9:7; Acts 22:9).

Paul was not disturbed or insulted by the value judgment of Festus. On the contrary, he sees a new reason for the gospel. Faith does not go against truth and reason. On the contrary, faith bears witness to truth and common sense. He used to be out of his senses (Acts 26:11), but not anymore (cf. Luke 8:35).

By the way, Festus has had his chance. Now Paul speaks to Agrippa who knows about these things. Paul speaks to Festus, but in the presence of Agrippa, expressing the conviction that Agrippa is fully aware of everything that has happened. It did not happen somewhere in a small town in a backward area. It is world news.

Romans 2:8

Interruption by Festus

When Paul speaks about the suffering and resurrection of Christ, Festus interrupts him. He believes that Paul has now gone mad and is talking gibberish. How many times over the centuries have Christians been declared mad (1 Corinthians 4:10; 2 Corinthians 5:13). The Lord has also been scolded for this (Mark 3:20-21; John 10:20). Festus sees Paul’s speech as the expression of a Jew’s superstition, a dream of a man addicted to reading and studying.

The madness is the ecstasy that Festus thinks he perceives in Paul, while he understands nothing of what Paul is saying. Festus has no idea of the content of the words he hears. He resembles Paul’s companions who traveled with him to Damascus, who heard the sound of a voice but did not hear what was said (Acts 9:7; Acts 22:9).

Paul was not disturbed or insulted by the value judgment of Festus. On the contrary, he sees a new reason for the gospel. Faith does not go against truth and reason. On the contrary, faith bears witness to truth and common sense. He used to be out of his senses (Acts 26:11), but not anymore (cf. Luke 8:35).

By the way, Festus has had his chance. Now Paul speaks to Agrippa who knows about these things. Paul speaks to Festus, but in the presence of Agrippa, expressing the conviction that Agrippa is fully aware of everything that has happened. It did not happen somewhere in a small town in a backward area. It is world news.

Romans 2:9

Interruption by Festus

When Paul speaks about the suffering and resurrection of Christ, Festus interrupts him. He believes that Paul has now gone mad and is talking gibberish. How many times over the centuries have Christians been declared mad (1 Corinthians 4:10; 2 Corinthians 5:13). The Lord has also been scolded for this (Mark 3:20-21; John 10:20). Festus sees Paul’s speech as the expression of a Jew’s superstition, a dream of a man addicted to reading and studying.

The madness is the ecstasy that Festus thinks he perceives in Paul, while he understands nothing of what Paul is saying. Festus has no idea of the content of the words he hears. He resembles Paul’s companions who traveled with him to Damascus, who heard the sound of a voice but did not hear what was said (Acts 9:7; Acts 22:9).

Paul was not disturbed or insulted by the value judgment of Festus. On the contrary, he sees a new reason for the gospel. Faith does not go against truth and reason. On the contrary, faith bears witness to truth and common sense. He used to be out of his senses (Acts 26:11), but not anymore (cf. Luke 8:35).

By the way, Festus has had his chance. Now Paul speaks to Agrippa who knows about these things. Paul speaks to Festus, but in the presence of Agrippa, expressing the conviction that Agrippa is fully aware of everything that has happened. It did not happen somewhere in a small town in a backward area. It is world news.

Romans 2:10

Agrippa Must Choose

Then Paul turned directly to Agrippa and forced him to make a choice. Paul knows that Agrippa believes the prophets. Now the kind of faith Agrippa has does not bring someone to repentance. Familiarity with the facts of Christendom is not enough. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the application of the Word of God to heart and conscience, through which someone confesses his sins and resorts to the Lord Jesus. This does not take away from the fact that Paul takes Agrippa at his confession. He sees this as a starting point to win him to the gospel.

For Agrippa, who will have listened very attentively, this confrontation is too frontal. With a feint he turns away from the confrontation. He wanted to know everything about this new religion, but he does not want to be addressed personally. With a remark, perhaps mockingly intended, he avoids the pressure that Paul puts on him. He realizes that Paul’s concern is to make him a Christian. He uses the name “Christian”, which indicates that this name has become widespread and used for the followers of Christ since Acts 11 (Acts 11:26). He may be using this excuse because he does not really want to expose himself to the high society (cf. Matthew 14:9).

In his reaction Paul makes an even broader appeal and speaks to all those present. The motivation of his heart is not only the salvation of Agrippa, but of all. He is rich in God and as such he can call himself an example of happiness. The years in captivity have been blessed years. The more than two years he has been unjustly imprisoned have not made him a bitter man, but a man who can make grace shine all the brighter.

He grants them his inward happiness, not his chains. He does not want someone to be treated as unjustly as he is. This is Christendom. Grace surpasses all evil. Grace desires the best, even for those who surrender to a temporary enjoyment of sin. For Felix, Paul was the preacher of righteousness (Acts 24:25). For Agrippa and Festus, he is the possessor of blessing far beyond all earthly glory.

After these words of Paul, there is no more mocking language, no more threatening language, but a standing up and going of the whole company. They retreat to confer. In these deliberations it is again established that Paul has done nothing illicit. The conclusion is that “this man” could have been set free. However, since he appealed to the emperor, he had to go to Rome. They cannot decide otherwise either, for it is the path that God has determined in His sovereignty for His servant.

Romans 2:11

Agrippa Must Choose

Then Paul turned directly to Agrippa and forced him to make a choice. Paul knows that Agrippa believes the prophets. Now the kind of faith Agrippa has does not bring someone to repentance. Familiarity with the facts of Christendom is not enough. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the application of the Word of God to heart and conscience, through which someone confesses his sins and resorts to the Lord Jesus. This does not take away from the fact that Paul takes Agrippa at his confession. He sees this as a starting point to win him to the gospel.

For Agrippa, who will have listened very attentively, this confrontation is too frontal. With a feint he turns away from the confrontation. He wanted to know everything about this new religion, but he does not want to be addressed personally. With a remark, perhaps mockingly intended, he avoids the pressure that Paul puts on him. He realizes that Paul’s concern is to make him a Christian. He uses the name “Christian”, which indicates that this name has become widespread and used for the followers of Christ since Acts 11 (Acts 11:26). He may be using this excuse because he does not really want to expose himself to the high society (cf. Matthew 14:9).

In his reaction Paul makes an even broader appeal and speaks to all those present. The motivation of his heart is not only the salvation of Agrippa, but of all. He is rich in God and as such he can call himself an example of happiness. The years in captivity have been blessed years. The more than two years he has been unjustly imprisoned have not made him a bitter man, but a man who can make grace shine all the brighter.

He grants them his inward happiness, not his chains. He does not want someone to be treated as unjustly as he is. This is Christendom. Grace surpasses all evil. Grace desires the best, even for those who surrender to a temporary enjoyment of sin. For Felix, Paul was the preacher of righteousness (Acts 24:25). For Agrippa and Festus, he is the possessor of blessing far beyond all earthly glory.

After these words of Paul, there is no more mocking language, no more threatening language, but a standing up and going of the whole company. They retreat to confer. In these deliberations it is again established that Paul has done nothing illicit. The conclusion is that “this man” could have been set free. However, since he appealed to the emperor, he had to go to Rome. They cannot decide otherwise either, for it is the path that God has determined in His sovereignty for His servant.

Romans 2:12

Agrippa Must Choose

Then Paul turned directly to Agrippa and forced him to make a choice. Paul knows that Agrippa believes the prophets. Now the kind of faith Agrippa has does not bring someone to repentance. Familiarity with the facts of Christendom is not enough. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the application of the Word of God to heart and conscience, through which someone confesses his sins and resorts to the Lord Jesus. This does not take away from the fact that Paul takes Agrippa at his confession. He sees this as a starting point to win him to the gospel.

For Agrippa, who will have listened very attentively, this confrontation is too frontal. With a feint he turns away from the confrontation. He wanted to know everything about this new religion, but he does not want to be addressed personally. With a remark, perhaps mockingly intended, he avoids the pressure that Paul puts on him. He realizes that Paul’s concern is to make him a Christian. He uses the name “Christian”, which indicates that this name has become widespread and used for the followers of Christ since Acts 11 (Acts 11:26). He may be using this excuse because he does not really want to expose himself to the high society (cf. Matthew 14:9).

In his reaction Paul makes an even broader appeal and speaks to all those present. The motivation of his heart is not only the salvation of Agrippa, but of all. He is rich in God and as such he can call himself an example of happiness. The years in captivity have been blessed years. The more than two years he has been unjustly imprisoned have not made him a bitter man, but a man who can make grace shine all the brighter.

He grants them his inward happiness, not his chains. He does not want someone to be treated as unjustly as he is. This is Christendom. Grace surpasses all evil. Grace desires the best, even for those who surrender to a temporary enjoyment of sin. For Felix, Paul was the preacher of righteousness (Acts 24:25). For Agrippa and Festus, he is the possessor of blessing far beyond all earthly glory.

After these words of Paul, there is no more mocking language, no more threatening language, but a standing up and going of the whole company. They retreat to confer. In these deliberations it is again established that Paul has done nothing illicit. The conclusion is that “this man” could have been set free. However, since he appealed to the emperor, he had to go to Rome. They cannot decide otherwise either, for it is the path that God has determined in His sovereignty for His servant.

Romans 2:13

Agrippa Must Choose

Then Paul turned directly to Agrippa and forced him to make a choice. Paul knows that Agrippa believes the prophets. Now the kind of faith Agrippa has does not bring someone to repentance. Familiarity with the facts of Christendom is not enough. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the application of the Word of God to heart and conscience, through which someone confesses his sins and resorts to the Lord Jesus. This does not take away from the fact that Paul takes Agrippa at his confession. He sees this as a starting point to win him to the gospel.

For Agrippa, who will have listened very attentively, this confrontation is too frontal. With a feint he turns away from the confrontation. He wanted to know everything about this new religion, but he does not want to be addressed personally. With a remark, perhaps mockingly intended, he avoids the pressure that Paul puts on him. He realizes that Paul’s concern is to make him a Christian. He uses the name “Christian”, which indicates that this name has become widespread and used for the followers of Christ since Acts 11 (Acts 11:26). He may be using this excuse because he does not really want to expose himself to the high society (cf. Matthew 14:9).

In his reaction Paul makes an even broader appeal and speaks to all those present. The motivation of his heart is not only the salvation of Agrippa, but of all. He is rich in God and as such he can call himself an example of happiness. The years in captivity have been blessed years. The more than two years he has been unjustly imprisoned have not made him a bitter man, but a man who can make grace shine all the brighter.

He grants them his inward happiness, not his chains. He does not want someone to be treated as unjustly as he is. This is Christendom. Grace surpasses all evil. Grace desires the best, even for those who surrender to a temporary enjoyment of sin. For Felix, Paul was the preacher of righteousness (Acts 24:25). For Agrippa and Festus, he is the possessor of blessing far beyond all earthly glory.

After these words of Paul, there is no more mocking language, no more threatening language, but a standing up and going of the whole company. They retreat to confer. In these deliberations it is again established that Paul has done nothing illicit. The conclusion is that “this man” could have been set free. However, since he appealed to the emperor, he had to go to Rome. They cannot decide otherwise either, for it is the path that God has determined in His sovereignty for His servant.

Romans 2:14

Agrippa Must Choose

Then Paul turned directly to Agrippa and forced him to make a choice. Paul knows that Agrippa believes the prophets. Now the kind of faith Agrippa has does not bring someone to repentance. Familiarity with the facts of Christendom is not enough. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the application of the Word of God to heart and conscience, through which someone confesses his sins and resorts to the Lord Jesus. This does not take away from the fact that Paul takes Agrippa at his confession. He sees this as a starting point to win him to the gospel.

For Agrippa, who will have listened very attentively, this confrontation is too frontal. With a feint he turns away from the confrontation. He wanted to know everything about this new religion, but he does not want to be addressed personally. With a remark, perhaps mockingly intended, he avoids the pressure that Paul puts on him. He realizes that Paul’s concern is to make him a Christian. He uses the name “Christian”, which indicates that this name has become widespread and used for the followers of Christ since Acts 11 (Acts 11:26). He may be using this excuse because he does not really want to expose himself to the high society (cf. Matthew 14:9).

In his reaction Paul makes an even broader appeal and speaks to all those present. The motivation of his heart is not only the salvation of Agrippa, but of all. He is rich in God and as such he can call himself an example of happiness. The years in captivity have been blessed years. The more than two years he has been unjustly imprisoned have not made him a bitter man, but a man who can make grace shine all the brighter.

He grants them his inward happiness, not his chains. He does not want someone to be treated as unjustly as he is. This is Christendom. Grace surpasses all evil. Grace desires the best, even for those who surrender to a temporary enjoyment of sin. For Felix, Paul was the preacher of righteousness (Acts 24:25). For Agrippa and Festus, he is the possessor of blessing far beyond all earthly glory.

After these words of Paul, there is no more mocking language, no more threatening language, but a standing up and going of the whole company. They retreat to confer. In these deliberations it is again established that Paul has done nothing illicit. The conclusion is that “this man” could have been set free. However, since he appealed to the emperor, he had to go to Rome. They cannot decide otherwise either, for it is the path that God has determined in His sovereignty for His servant.

Romans 2:15

Agrippa Must Choose

Then Paul turned directly to Agrippa and forced him to make a choice. Paul knows that Agrippa believes the prophets. Now the kind of faith Agrippa has does not bring someone to repentance. Familiarity with the facts of Christendom is not enough. There must be a work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, the application of the Word of God to heart and conscience, through which someone confesses his sins and resorts to the Lord Jesus. This does not take away from the fact that Paul takes Agrippa at his confession. He sees this as a starting point to win him to the gospel.

For Agrippa, who will have listened very attentively, this confrontation is too frontal. With a feint he turns away from the confrontation. He wanted to know everything about this new religion, but he does not want to be addressed personally. With a remark, perhaps mockingly intended, he avoids the pressure that Paul puts on him. He realizes that Paul’s concern is to make him a Christian. He uses the name “Christian”, which indicates that this name has become widespread and used for the followers of Christ since Acts 11 (Acts 11:26). He may be using this excuse because he does not really want to expose himself to the high society (cf. Matthew 14:9).

In his reaction Paul makes an even broader appeal and speaks to all those present. The motivation of his heart is not only the salvation of Agrippa, but of all. He is rich in God and as such he can call himself an example of happiness. The years in captivity have been blessed years. The more than two years he has been unjustly imprisoned have not made him a bitter man, but a man who can make grace shine all the brighter.

He grants them his inward happiness, not his chains. He does not want someone to be treated as unjustly as he is. This is Christendom. Grace surpasses all evil. Grace desires the best, even for those who surrender to a temporary enjoyment of sin. For Felix, Paul was the preacher of righteousness (Acts 24:25). For Agrippa and Festus, he is the possessor of blessing far beyond all earthly glory.

After these words of Paul, there is no more mocking language, no more threatening language, but a standing up and going of the whole company. They retreat to confer. In these deliberations it is again established that Paul has done nothing illicit. The conclusion is that “this man” could have been set free. However, since he appealed to the emperor, he had to go to Rome. They cannot decide otherwise either, for it is the path that God has determined in His sovereignty for His servant.

Romans 2:17

Introduction

This is a fascinating chapter. We find in it the account of the sea voyage of the prisoner Paul from Caesarea to Italy with Rome as his final destination. God wants Paul to be there so that he will bear witness before the emperor to Who He is. Luke, who is an eyewitness to all events, gives an account of Paul’s experiences and of all those who travel with him.

Paul has often travelled by sea, as Luke already stated in Acts (Acts 13:4; 13; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:14; Acts 21:1-3; 6). He did not give us a detailed account of those voyages. That Luke, just before the end of the book, describes in detail precisely this sea voyage of the ship on which Paul, as a prisoner, makes the voyage to Rome, must have a deeper meaning. We will also notice this deeper meaning in the course of the chapter.

Before I continue, just a brief account of the ‘deeper meaning’ I think I see in this history. There will be readers who question the ‘deeper meaning’, or some aspects of it, or reject completely or partly. I can understand that. The reader does not have to agree with me in everything in order to learn lessons from this sea voyage. It is also good to remember that the application of a history can never be extended to the detail. In this sea voyage it is all about the big picture. I have gratefully used what others have said and written about it. As far as I have recognized their application and consider it responsible for myself, I have included it in this commentary. It is up to the reader to form his own judgment about this.

We can say the following beforehand. In the book of Acts we have the description of the first thirty years of church history. With the last verse of Acts 28 the book seems to end abruptly, but it is, so to speak, an open ending. The history of the church has only just begun and continues. How that history continues is presented to us in the history of the sea voyage.

It is not strange that certain historical events also have a symbolic meaning. Since ancient times, countless writers have depicted life as a journey. In particular, the sea voyage with its storms provides a recognizable picture of human life, in which also very difficult periods can occur. This also applies to the people of Israel, to the believer, to the servant of the Lord and to the Christian church.

We will therefore see that this history has a metaphorical meaning, just as we have in other marine histories described in the Bible. For example, there is a history where the Lord Jesus lies asleep in the ship while a great storm arises (Matthew 8:23-26). There is also a history where He comes to His disciples who are in a boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 14:22-33). Both cases give a picture of the present time we are going through.

On the one hand, the Lord is in heaven, but on the other hand, He is also with us, although sometimes it seems as if He is absent. We also see that the faith life of the individual is compared to a voyage on a ship, where shipwreck can occur (1 Timothy 1:18-20). So we see that Scripture describes and uses events and expressions from shipping that are a picture for believers – see also the use of the word ‘anchor’ in Hebrews 6 (Hebrews 6:19).

If we look at the life of the believer and servant who is in the way of the Lord, we see in the journey that Paul makes that that way is not smooth. Paul is in the way that God wants him to go and is experiencing a huge disaster along the way. That shows that being in the way of the Lord does not mean that we will be saved from disasters. Anyone who wants to do a service for the Lord can get an accident or even die.

We do not read of wonders in this history. We know that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel, but here we see that Paul remains imprisoned. In the Gospels the Lord rebukes the storm, but here everything has its natural course. Here we see no intervention of God, but despair of people and the total loss of the ship. It is precisely in these circumstances that faith manifests itself and there is reason to witness to the living God. That is what Paul does. On his journey to Rome Paul is the master of the situation. He is just as calm during the storm as he is before rulers and kings.

Luke here shows how the faith of a single man can bring about a great change in the lives of many who are travelling with him. Paul is the one who gives advice in accordance with the message he received from God. He encourages and acts in every way in the Name of God in the midst of the scene that surrounds him, a scene full of false confidence and fear.

In this history we also see how to look at the forces of nature. God has placed enormous forces in nature. Here they are unleashed. They have a devastating power. Natural laws are not independent of God. They are the result of the Son’s action (Hebrews 1:3). They are in the hand of the Son. He disposes of them at His convenience. He Himself can walk on the sea and also enable Peter to do so (Matthew 14:25; 29), something that is normally impossible for a human being.

In connection with natural forces, angels also play a role. It is written of them that the Son makes them wind and fire (Hebrews 1:7). Was not Job struck by fire and wind when God allowed satan to make use of it (Job 1:12; 16; 18-19)? The Lord Jesus is also above that. He rebukes the wind and the sea (Matthew 8:26). The word ‘rebuke’ is used to rebuke demons (Mark 1:25; Mark 9:25). When the Lord rebukes the wind and the sea, He is actually rebuking the angelic powers that are behind the wind and the sea. In the storms, we can see the work of evil powers, but God remains in full control. Evil forces can do no more than God allows them to do, while serving His purpose.

The same goes for the storm that strikes the ship in which Paul is. Satan knows that Paul is on his way to Rome to bear witness before the emperor of God. This emperor was controlled by satan, so that the realm over which this emperor rules is in reality controlled by satan (cf. Luke 4:5 with Luke 2:1). Paul is on his way to preach the gospel to this satanic man. This makes the rage of satan all the stronger to torpedo this journey. But Paul gets there and performs the preaching during two imprisonments in Rome (Philippians 1:12-13; 2 Timothy 4:17).

As already mentioned, Paul’s journey to Rome also gives an impression of the development of the church after the first thirty years. The journey goes from Jerusalem to Rome and symbolically outlines the situation of Christianity that has arisen in Jerusalem and will completely decline to the roman-catholic church, where the professing church will find its end (Revelation 17-18). On that path Paul, as a representative of the truth of the church, is a prisoner. In the explanation of this chapter we will encounter several aspects of this.

A Calm Start and Headwind

Paul has appealed to the emperor and goes to the emperor. When the occasion arises, it is decided that the journey to Italy begins. By using the word “we”, we know that Luke will also go on board. He does not go along as a prisoner, but to keep Paul company on the ship. Paul, the bearer of the Christian testimony, is a prisoner. He is no longer a free man. As an application to our personal life, we can observe that it is a harbinger of a shipwreck if God’s Word can no longer act on us in its full force.

The man who has to make sure that Paul, together with some other prisoners, will arrive safely in Rome, is a centurion of the “Augustan cohort”, named Julius. It emphasizes that Paul is a prisoner of the emperor of Rome. Julius chooses a ship that sails a route that leads to Rome. Then the ship sails off for a long voyage.

Besides Luke, Aristarchus is also on board. Aristarchus has voluntarily chosen to accompany Paul and Luke on their voyage. In this way he makes himself one with the defamation of the gospel. He has suffered with Paul for the gospel (Acts 19:29), and in Rome he will voluntarily share Paul’s imprisonment with him (Colossians 4:10).

The beginning of the journey looks far from threatening. Julius treats Paul kindly. In the early days, the church did not suffer much from the secular government. The government even protected the church, as we have seen in Acts several times with Paul.

At Sidon Paul is allowed to go to the believers, who are called “friends” by Luke. In many places such a company of people has been formed by the grace of the Lord. Where the love of the brotherhood is present, one can speak of “friends” (3 John 1:15). Paul goes there to receive care from them, which means to enjoy the friendly attention of these friends for him. They will have given him what he needed for his body. This refreshment for his body will have meant an even greater spiritual refreshment.

After this encounter, both physically and spiritually invigorating, the journey continues. They experience a headwind, which forces them to sail close to Cyprus. Headwinds or storms do not mean that you are not in the way of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself has also been in a storm. It is important to sail the most cautious course, close to a possible harbor.

Then they sail through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, where Paul also sailed on his first missionary trip during his return to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:24-26). All these names will certainly have brought back memories to the apostle and brought him to (extra) prayer for the believers in those regions. Then they land at Myra in the province of Lycia on the south coast of Asia Minor.

Romans 2:18

Introduction

This is a fascinating chapter. We find in it the account of the sea voyage of the prisoner Paul from Caesarea to Italy with Rome as his final destination. God wants Paul to be there so that he will bear witness before the emperor to Who He is. Luke, who is an eyewitness to all events, gives an account of Paul’s experiences and of all those who travel with him.

Paul has often travelled by sea, as Luke already stated in Acts (Acts 13:4; 13; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:14; Acts 21:1-3; 6). He did not give us a detailed account of those voyages. That Luke, just before the end of the book, describes in detail precisely this sea voyage of the ship on which Paul, as a prisoner, makes the voyage to Rome, must have a deeper meaning. We will also notice this deeper meaning in the course of the chapter.

Before I continue, just a brief account of the ‘deeper meaning’ I think I see in this history. There will be readers who question the ‘deeper meaning’, or some aspects of it, or reject completely or partly. I can understand that. The reader does not have to agree with me in everything in order to learn lessons from this sea voyage. It is also good to remember that the application of a history can never be extended to the detail. In this sea voyage it is all about the big picture. I have gratefully used what others have said and written about it. As far as I have recognized their application and consider it responsible for myself, I have included it in this commentary. It is up to the reader to form his own judgment about this.

We can say the following beforehand. In the book of Acts we have the description of the first thirty years of church history. With the last verse of Acts 28 the book seems to end abruptly, but it is, so to speak, an open ending. The history of the church has only just begun and continues. How that history continues is presented to us in the history of the sea voyage.

It is not strange that certain historical events also have a symbolic meaning. Since ancient times, countless writers have depicted life as a journey. In particular, the sea voyage with its storms provides a recognizable picture of human life, in which also very difficult periods can occur. This also applies to the people of Israel, to the believer, to the servant of the Lord and to the Christian church.

We will therefore see that this history has a metaphorical meaning, just as we have in other marine histories described in the Bible. For example, there is a history where the Lord Jesus lies asleep in the ship while a great storm arises (Matthew 8:23-26). There is also a history where He comes to His disciples who are in a boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 14:22-33). Both cases give a picture of the present time we are going through.

On the one hand, the Lord is in heaven, but on the other hand, He is also with us, although sometimes it seems as if He is absent. We also see that the faith life of the individual is compared to a voyage on a ship, where shipwreck can occur (1 Timothy 1:18-20). So we see that Scripture describes and uses events and expressions from shipping that are a picture for believers – see also the use of the word ‘anchor’ in Hebrews 6 (Hebrews 6:19).

If we look at the life of the believer and servant who is in the way of the Lord, we see in the journey that Paul makes that that way is not smooth. Paul is in the way that God wants him to go and is experiencing a huge disaster along the way. That shows that being in the way of the Lord does not mean that we will be saved from disasters. Anyone who wants to do a service for the Lord can get an accident or even die.

We do not read of wonders in this history. We know that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel, but here we see that Paul remains imprisoned. In the Gospels the Lord rebukes the storm, but here everything has its natural course. Here we see no intervention of God, but despair of people and the total loss of the ship. It is precisely in these circumstances that faith manifests itself and there is reason to witness to the living God. That is what Paul does. On his journey to Rome Paul is the master of the situation. He is just as calm during the storm as he is before rulers and kings.

Luke here shows how the faith of a single man can bring about a great change in the lives of many who are travelling with him. Paul is the one who gives advice in accordance with the message he received from God. He encourages and acts in every way in the Name of God in the midst of the scene that surrounds him, a scene full of false confidence and fear.

In this history we also see how to look at the forces of nature. God has placed enormous forces in nature. Here they are unleashed. They have a devastating power. Natural laws are not independent of God. They are the result of the Son’s action (Hebrews 1:3). They are in the hand of the Son. He disposes of them at His convenience. He Himself can walk on the sea and also enable Peter to do so (Matthew 14:25; 29), something that is normally impossible for a human being.

In connection with natural forces, angels also play a role. It is written of them that the Son makes them wind and fire (Hebrews 1:7). Was not Job struck by fire and wind when God allowed satan to make use of it (Job 1:12; 16; 18-19)? The Lord Jesus is also above that. He rebukes the wind and the sea (Matthew 8:26). The word ‘rebuke’ is used to rebuke demons (Mark 1:25; Mark 9:25). When the Lord rebukes the wind and the sea, He is actually rebuking the angelic powers that are behind the wind and the sea. In the storms, we can see the work of evil powers, but God remains in full control. Evil forces can do no more than God allows them to do, while serving His purpose.

The same goes for the storm that strikes the ship in which Paul is. Satan knows that Paul is on his way to Rome to bear witness before the emperor of God. This emperor was controlled by satan, so that the realm over which this emperor rules is in reality controlled by satan (cf. Luke 4:5 with Luke 2:1). Paul is on his way to preach the gospel to this satanic man. This makes the rage of satan all the stronger to torpedo this journey. But Paul gets there and performs the preaching during two imprisonments in Rome (Philippians 1:12-13; 2 Timothy 4:17).

As already mentioned, Paul’s journey to Rome also gives an impression of the development of the church after the first thirty years. The journey goes from Jerusalem to Rome and symbolically outlines the situation of Christianity that has arisen in Jerusalem and will completely decline to the roman-catholic church, where the professing church will find its end (Revelation 17-18). On that path Paul, as a representative of the truth of the church, is a prisoner. In the explanation of this chapter we will encounter several aspects of this.

A Calm Start and Headwind

Paul has appealed to the emperor and goes to the emperor. When the occasion arises, it is decided that the journey to Italy begins. By using the word “we”, we know that Luke will also go on board. He does not go along as a prisoner, but to keep Paul company on the ship. Paul, the bearer of the Christian testimony, is a prisoner. He is no longer a free man. As an application to our personal life, we can observe that it is a harbinger of a shipwreck if God’s Word can no longer act on us in its full force.

The man who has to make sure that Paul, together with some other prisoners, will arrive safely in Rome, is a centurion of the “Augustan cohort”, named Julius. It emphasizes that Paul is a prisoner of the emperor of Rome. Julius chooses a ship that sails a route that leads to Rome. Then the ship sails off for a long voyage.

Besides Luke, Aristarchus is also on board. Aristarchus has voluntarily chosen to accompany Paul and Luke on their voyage. In this way he makes himself one with the defamation of the gospel. He has suffered with Paul for the gospel (Acts 19:29), and in Rome he will voluntarily share Paul’s imprisonment with him (Colossians 4:10).

The beginning of the journey looks far from threatening. Julius treats Paul kindly. In the early days, the church did not suffer much from the secular government. The government even protected the church, as we have seen in Acts several times with Paul.

At Sidon Paul is allowed to go to the believers, who are called “friends” by Luke. In many places such a company of people has been formed by the grace of the Lord. Where the love of the brotherhood is present, one can speak of “friends” (3 John 1:15). Paul goes there to receive care from them, which means to enjoy the friendly attention of these friends for him. They will have given him what he needed for his body. This refreshment for his body will have meant an even greater spiritual refreshment.

After this encounter, both physically and spiritually invigorating, the journey continues. They experience a headwind, which forces them to sail close to Cyprus. Headwinds or storms do not mean that you are not in the way of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself has also been in a storm. It is important to sail the most cautious course, close to a possible harbor.

Then they sail through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, where Paul also sailed on his first missionary trip during his return to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:24-26). All these names will certainly have brought back memories to the apostle and brought him to (extra) prayer for the believers in those regions. Then they land at Myra in the province of Lycia on the south coast of Asia Minor.

Romans 2:19

Introduction

This is a fascinating chapter. We find in it the account of the sea voyage of the prisoner Paul from Caesarea to Italy with Rome as his final destination. God wants Paul to be there so that he will bear witness before the emperor to Who He is. Luke, who is an eyewitness to all events, gives an account of Paul’s experiences and of all those who travel with him.

Paul has often travelled by sea, as Luke already stated in Acts (Acts 13:4; 13; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:14; Acts 21:1-3; 6). He did not give us a detailed account of those voyages. That Luke, just before the end of the book, describes in detail precisely this sea voyage of the ship on which Paul, as a prisoner, makes the voyage to Rome, must have a deeper meaning. We will also notice this deeper meaning in the course of the chapter.

Before I continue, just a brief account of the ‘deeper meaning’ I think I see in this history. There will be readers who question the ‘deeper meaning’, or some aspects of it, or reject completely or partly. I can understand that. The reader does not have to agree with me in everything in order to learn lessons from this sea voyage. It is also good to remember that the application of a history can never be extended to the detail. In this sea voyage it is all about the big picture. I have gratefully used what others have said and written about it. As far as I have recognized their application and consider it responsible for myself, I have included it in this commentary. It is up to the reader to form his own judgment about this.

We can say the following beforehand. In the book of Acts we have the description of the first thirty years of church history. With the last verse of Acts 28 the book seems to end abruptly, but it is, so to speak, an open ending. The history of the church has only just begun and continues. How that history continues is presented to us in the history of the sea voyage.

It is not strange that certain historical events also have a symbolic meaning. Since ancient times, countless writers have depicted life as a journey. In particular, the sea voyage with its storms provides a recognizable picture of human life, in which also very difficult periods can occur. This also applies to the people of Israel, to the believer, to the servant of the Lord and to the Christian church.

We will therefore see that this history has a metaphorical meaning, just as we have in other marine histories described in the Bible. For example, there is a history where the Lord Jesus lies asleep in the ship while a great storm arises (Matthew 8:23-26). There is also a history where He comes to His disciples who are in a boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 14:22-33). Both cases give a picture of the present time we are going through.

On the one hand, the Lord is in heaven, but on the other hand, He is also with us, although sometimes it seems as if He is absent. We also see that the faith life of the individual is compared to a voyage on a ship, where shipwreck can occur (1 Timothy 1:18-20). So we see that Scripture describes and uses events and expressions from shipping that are a picture for believers – see also the use of the word ‘anchor’ in Hebrews 6 (Hebrews 6:19).

If we look at the life of the believer and servant who is in the way of the Lord, we see in the journey that Paul makes that that way is not smooth. Paul is in the way that God wants him to go and is experiencing a huge disaster along the way. That shows that being in the way of the Lord does not mean that we will be saved from disasters. Anyone who wants to do a service for the Lord can get an accident or even die.

We do not read of wonders in this history. We know that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel, but here we see that Paul remains imprisoned. In the Gospels the Lord rebukes the storm, but here everything has its natural course. Here we see no intervention of God, but despair of people and the total loss of the ship. It is precisely in these circumstances that faith manifests itself and there is reason to witness to the living God. That is what Paul does. On his journey to Rome Paul is the master of the situation. He is just as calm during the storm as he is before rulers and kings.

Luke here shows how the faith of a single man can bring about a great change in the lives of many who are travelling with him. Paul is the one who gives advice in accordance with the message he received from God. He encourages and acts in every way in the Name of God in the midst of the scene that surrounds him, a scene full of false confidence and fear.

In this history we also see how to look at the forces of nature. God has placed enormous forces in nature. Here they are unleashed. They have a devastating power. Natural laws are not independent of God. They are the result of the Son’s action (Hebrews 1:3). They are in the hand of the Son. He disposes of them at His convenience. He Himself can walk on the sea and also enable Peter to do so (Matthew 14:25; 29), something that is normally impossible for a human being.

In connection with natural forces, angels also play a role. It is written of them that the Son makes them wind and fire (Hebrews 1:7). Was not Job struck by fire and wind when God allowed satan to make use of it (Job 1:12; 16; 18-19)? The Lord Jesus is also above that. He rebukes the wind and the sea (Matthew 8:26). The word ‘rebuke’ is used to rebuke demons (Mark 1:25; Mark 9:25). When the Lord rebukes the wind and the sea, He is actually rebuking the angelic powers that are behind the wind and the sea. In the storms, we can see the work of evil powers, but God remains in full control. Evil forces can do no more than God allows them to do, while serving His purpose.

The same goes for the storm that strikes the ship in which Paul is. Satan knows that Paul is on his way to Rome to bear witness before the emperor of God. This emperor was controlled by satan, so that the realm over which this emperor rules is in reality controlled by satan (cf. Luke 4:5 with Luke 2:1). Paul is on his way to preach the gospel to this satanic man. This makes the rage of satan all the stronger to torpedo this journey. But Paul gets there and performs the preaching during two imprisonments in Rome (Philippians 1:12-13; 2 Timothy 4:17).

As already mentioned, Paul’s journey to Rome also gives an impression of the development of the church after the first thirty years. The journey goes from Jerusalem to Rome and symbolically outlines the situation of Christianity that has arisen in Jerusalem and will completely decline to the roman-catholic church, where the professing church will find its end (Revelation 17-18). On that path Paul, as a representative of the truth of the church, is a prisoner. In the explanation of this chapter we will encounter several aspects of this.

A Calm Start and Headwind

Paul has appealed to the emperor and goes to the emperor. When the occasion arises, it is decided that the journey to Italy begins. By using the word “we”, we know that Luke will also go on board. He does not go along as a prisoner, but to keep Paul company on the ship. Paul, the bearer of the Christian testimony, is a prisoner. He is no longer a free man. As an application to our personal life, we can observe that it is a harbinger of a shipwreck if God’s Word can no longer act on us in its full force.

The man who has to make sure that Paul, together with some other prisoners, will arrive safely in Rome, is a centurion of the “Augustan cohort”, named Julius. It emphasizes that Paul is a prisoner of the emperor of Rome. Julius chooses a ship that sails a route that leads to Rome. Then the ship sails off for a long voyage.

Besides Luke, Aristarchus is also on board. Aristarchus has voluntarily chosen to accompany Paul and Luke on their voyage. In this way he makes himself one with the defamation of the gospel. He has suffered with Paul for the gospel (Acts 19:29), and in Rome he will voluntarily share Paul’s imprisonment with him (Colossians 4:10).

The beginning of the journey looks far from threatening. Julius treats Paul kindly. In the early days, the church did not suffer much from the secular government. The government even protected the church, as we have seen in Acts several times with Paul.

At Sidon Paul is allowed to go to the believers, who are called “friends” by Luke. In many places such a company of people has been formed by the grace of the Lord. Where the love of the brotherhood is present, one can speak of “friends” (3 John 1:15). Paul goes there to receive care from them, which means to enjoy the friendly attention of these friends for him. They will have given him what he needed for his body. This refreshment for his body will have meant an even greater spiritual refreshment.

After this encounter, both physically and spiritually invigorating, the journey continues. They experience a headwind, which forces them to sail close to Cyprus. Headwinds or storms do not mean that you are not in the way of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself has also been in a storm. It is important to sail the most cautious course, close to a possible harbor.

Then they sail through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, where Paul also sailed on his first missionary trip during his return to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:24-26). All these names will certainly have brought back memories to the apostle and brought him to (extra) prayer for the believers in those regions. Then they land at Myra in the province of Lycia on the south coast of Asia Minor.

Romans 2:20

Introduction

This is a fascinating chapter. We find in it the account of the sea voyage of the prisoner Paul from Caesarea to Italy with Rome as his final destination. God wants Paul to be there so that he will bear witness before the emperor to Who He is. Luke, who is an eyewitness to all events, gives an account of Paul’s experiences and of all those who travel with him.

Paul has often travelled by sea, as Luke already stated in Acts (Acts 13:4; 13; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:14; Acts 21:1-3; 6). He did not give us a detailed account of those voyages. That Luke, just before the end of the book, describes in detail precisely this sea voyage of the ship on which Paul, as a prisoner, makes the voyage to Rome, must have a deeper meaning. We will also notice this deeper meaning in the course of the chapter.

Before I continue, just a brief account of the ‘deeper meaning’ I think I see in this history. There will be readers who question the ‘deeper meaning’, or some aspects of it, or reject completely or partly. I can understand that. The reader does not have to agree with me in everything in order to learn lessons from this sea voyage. It is also good to remember that the application of a history can never be extended to the detail. In this sea voyage it is all about the big picture. I have gratefully used what others have said and written about it. As far as I have recognized their application and consider it responsible for myself, I have included it in this commentary. It is up to the reader to form his own judgment about this.

We can say the following beforehand. In the book of Acts we have the description of the first thirty years of church history. With the last verse of Acts 28 the book seems to end abruptly, but it is, so to speak, an open ending. The history of the church has only just begun and continues. How that history continues is presented to us in the history of the sea voyage.

It is not strange that certain historical events also have a symbolic meaning. Since ancient times, countless writers have depicted life as a journey. In particular, the sea voyage with its storms provides a recognizable picture of human life, in which also very difficult periods can occur. This also applies to the people of Israel, to the believer, to the servant of the Lord and to the Christian church.

We will therefore see that this history has a metaphorical meaning, just as we have in other marine histories described in the Bible. For example, there is a history where the Lord Jesus lies asleep in the ship while a great storm arises (Matthew 8:23-26). There is also a history where He comes to His disciples who are in a boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 14:22-33). Both cases give a picture of the present time we are going through.

On the one hand, the Lord is in heaven, but on the other hand, He is also with us, although sometimes it seems as if He is absent. We also see that the faith life of the individual is compared to a voyage on a ship, where shipwreck can occur (1 Timothy 1:18-20). So we see that Scripture describes and uses events and expressions from shipping that are a picture for believers – see also the use of the word ‘anchor’ in Hebrews 6 (Hebrews 6:19).

If we look at the life of the believer and servant who is in the way of the Lord, we see in the journey that Paul makes that that way is not smooth. Paul is in the way that God wants him to go and is experiencing a huge disaster along the way. That shows that being in the way of the Lord does not mean that we will be saved from disasters. Anyone who wants to do a service for the Lord can get an accident or even die.

We do not read of wonders in this history. We know that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel, but here we see that Paul remains imprisoned. In the Gospels the Lord rebukes the storm, but here everything has its natural course. Here we see no intervention of God, but despair of people and the total loss of the ship. It is precisely in these circumstances that faith manifests itself and there is reason to witness to the living God. That is what Paul does. On his journey to Rome Paul is the master of the situation. He is just as calm during the storm as he is before rulers and kings.

Luke here shows how the faith of a single man can bring about a great change in the lives of many who are travelling with him. Paul is the one who gives advice in accordance with the message he received from God. He encourages and acts in every way in the Name of God in the midst of the scene that surrounds him, a scene full of false confidence and fear.

In this history we also see how to look at the forces of nature. God has placed enormous forces in nature. Here they are unleashed. They have a devastating power. Natural laws are not independent of God. They are the result of the Son’s action (Hebrews 1:3). They are in the hand of the Son. He disposes of them at His convenience. He Himself can walk on the sea and also enable Peter to do so (Matthew 14:25; 29), something that is normally impossible for a human being.

In connection with natural forces, angels also play a role. It is written of them that the Son makes them wind and fire (Hebrews 1:7). Was not Job struck by fire and wind when God allowed satan to make use of it (Job 1:12; 16; 18-19)? The Lord Jesus is also above that. He rebukes the wind and the sea (Matthew 8:26). The word ‘rebuke’ is used to rebuke demons (Mark 1:25; Mark 9:25). When the Lord rebukes the wind and the sea, He is actually rebuking the angelic powers that are behind the wind and the sea. In the storms, we can see the work of evil powers, but God remains in full control. Evil forces can do no more than God allows them to do, while serving His purpose.

The same goes for the storm that strikes the ship in which Paul is. Satan knows that Paul is on his way to Rome to bear witness before the emperor of God. This emperor was controlled by satan, so that the realm over which this emperor rules is in reality controlled by satan (cf. Luke 4:5 with Luke 2:1). Paul is on his way to preach the gospel to this satanic man. This makes the rage of satan all the stronger to torpedo this journey. But Paul gets there and performs the preaching during two imprisonments in Rome (Philippians 1:12-13; 2 Timothy 4:17).

As already mentioned, Paul’s journey to Rome also gives an impression of the development of the church after the first thirty years. The journey goes from Jerusalem to Rome and symbolically outlines the situation of Christianity that has arisen in Jerusalem and will completely decline to the roman-catholic church, where the professing church will find its end (Revelation 17-18). On that path Paul, as a representative of the truth of the church, is a prisoner. In the explanation of this chapter we will encounter several aspects of this.

A Calm Start and Headwind

Paul has appealed to the emperor and goes to the emperor. When the occasion arises, it is decided that the journey to Italy begins. By using the word “we”, we know that Luke will also go on board. He does not go along as a prisoner, but to keep Paul company on the ship. Paul, the bearer of the Christian testimony, is a prisoner. He is no longer a free man. As an application to our personal life, we can observe that it is a harbinger of a shipwreck if God’s Word can no longer act on us in its full force.

The man who has to make sure that Paul, together with some other prisoners, will arrive safely in Rome, is a centurion of the “Augustan cohort”, named Julius. It emphasizes that Paul is a prisoner of the emperor of Rome. Julius chooses a ship that sails a route that leads to Rome. Then the ship sails off for a long voyage.

Besides Luke, Aristarchus is also on board. Aristarchus has voluntarily chosen to accompany Paul and Luke on their voyage. In this way he makes himself one with the defamation of the gospel. He has suffered with Paul for the gospel (Acts 19:29), and in Rome he will voluntarily share Paul’s imprisonment with him (Colossians 4:10).

The beginning of the journey looks far from threatening. Julius treats Paul kindly. In the early days, the church did not suffer much from the secular government. The government even protected the church, as we have seen in Acts several times with Paul.

At Sidon Paul is allowed to go to the believers, who are called “friends” by Luke. In many places such a company of people has been formed by the grace of the Lord. Where the love of the brotherhood is present, one can speak of “friends” (3 John 1:15). Paul goes there to receive care from them, which means to enjoy the friendly attention of these friends for him. They will have given him what he needed for his body. This refreshment for his body will have meant an even greater spiritual refreshment.

After this encounter, both physically and spiritually invigorating, the journey continues. They experience a headwind, which forces them to sail close to Cyprus. Headwinds or storms do not mean that you are not in the way of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself has also been in a storm. It is important to sail the most cautious course, close to a possible harbor.

Then they sail through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, where Paul also sailed on his first missionary trip during his return to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:24-26). All these names will certainly have brought back memories to the apostle and brought him to (extra) prayer for the believers in those regions. Then they land at Myra in the province of Lycia on the south coast of Asia Minor.

Romans 2:21

Introduction

This is a fascinating chapter. We find in it the account of the sea voyage of the prisoner Paul from Caesarea to Italy with Rome as his final destination. God wants Paul to be there so that he will bear witness before the emperor to Who He is. Luke, who is an eyewitness to all events, gives an account of Paul’s experiences and of all those who travel with him.

Paul has often travelled by sea, as Luke already stated in Acts (Acts 13:4; 13; Acts 16:11; Acts 18:18; Acts 20:14; Acts 21:1-3; 6). He did not give us a detailed account of those voyages. That Luke, just before the end of the book, describes in detail precisely this sea voyage of the ship on which Paul, as a prisoner, makes the voyage to Rome, must have a deeper meaning. We will also notice this deeper meaning in the course of the chapter.

Before I continue, just a brief account of the ‘deeper meaning’ I think I see in this history. There will be readers who question the ‘deeper meaning’, or some aspects of it, or reject completely or partly. I can understand that. The reader does not have to agree with me in everything in order to learn lessons from this sea voyage. It is also good to remember that the application of a history can never be extended to the detail. In this sea voyage it is all about the big picture. I have gratefully used what others have said and written about it. As far as I have recognized their application and consider it responsible for myself, I have included it in this commentary. It is up to the reader to form his own judgment about this.

We can say the following beforehand. In the book of Acts we have the description of the first thirty years of church history. With the last verse of Acts 28 the book seems to end abruptly, but it is, so to speak, an open ending. The history of the church has only just begun and continues. How that history continues is presented to us in the history of the sea voyage.

It is not strange that certain historical events also have a symbolic meaning. Since ancient times, countless writers have depicted life as a journey. In particular, the sea voyage with its storms provides a recognizable picture of human life, in which also very difficult periods can occur. This also applies to the people of Israel, to the believer, to the servant of the Lord and to the Christian church.

We will therefore see that this history has a metaphorical meaning, just as we have in other marine histories described in the Bible. For example, there is a history where the Lord Jesus lies asleep in the ship while a great storm arises (Matthew 8:23-26). There is also a history where He comes to His disciples who are in a boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 14:22-33). Both cases give a picture of the present time we are going through.

On the one hand, the Lord is in heaven, but on the other hand, He is also with us, although sometimes it seems as if He is absent. We also see that the faith life of the individual is compared to a voyage on a ship, where shipwreck can occur (1 Timothy 1:18-20). So we see that Scripture describes and uses events and expressions from shipping that are a picture for believers – see also the use of the word ‘anchor’ in Hebrews 6 (Hebrews 6:19).

If we look at the life of the believer and servant who is in the way of the Lord, we see in the journey that Paul makes that that way is not smooth. Paul is in the way that God wants him to go and is experiencing a huge disaster along the way. That shows that being in the way of the Lord does not mean that we will be saved from disasters. Anyone who wants to do a service for the Lord can get an accident or even die.

We do not read of wonders in this history. We know that Peter was delivered from prison by an angel, but here we see that Paul remains imprisoned. In the Gospels the Lord rebukes the storm, but here everything has its natural course. Here we see no intervention of God, but despair of people and the total loss of the ship. It is precisely in these circumstances that faith manifests itself and there is reason to witness to the living God. That is what Paul does. On his journey to Rome Paul is the master of the situation. He is just as calm during the storm as he is before rulers and kings.

Luke here shows how the faith of a single man can bring about a great change in the lives of many who are travelling with him. Paul is the one who gives advice in accordance with the message he received from God. He encourages and acts in every way in the Name of God in the midst of the scene that surrounds him, a scene full of false confidence and fear.

In this history we also see how to look at the forces of nature. God has placed enormous forces in nature. Here they are unleashed. They have a devastating power. Natural laws are not independent of God. They are the result of the Son’s action (Hebrews 1:3). They are in the hand of the Son. He disposes of them at His convenience. He Himself can walk on the sea and also enable Peter to do so (Matthew 14:25; 29), something that is normally impossible for a human being.

In connection with natural forces, angels also play a role. It is written of them that the Son makes them wind and fire (Hebrews 1:7). Was not Job struck by fire and wind when God allowed satan to make use of it (Job 1:12; 16; 18-19)? The Lord Jesus is also above that. He rebukes the wind and the sea (Matthew 8:26). The word ‘rebuke’ is used to rebuke demons (Mark 1:25; Mark 9:25). When the Lord rebukes the wind and the sea, He is actually rebuking the angelic powers that are behind the wind and the sea. In the storms, we can see the work of evil powers, but God remains in full control. Evil forces can do no more than God allows them to do, while serving His purpose.

The same goes for the storm that strikes the ship in which Paul is. Satan knows that Paul is on his way to Rome to bear witness before the emperor of God. This emperor was controlled by satan, so that the realm over which this emperor rules is in reality controlled by satan (cf. Luke 4:5 with Luke 2:1). Paul is on his way to preach the gospel to this satanic man. This makes the rage of satan all the stronger to torpedo this journey. But Paul gets there and performs the preaching during two imprisonments in Rome (Philippians 1:12-13; 2 Timothy 4:17).

As already mentioned, Paul’s journey to Rome also gives an impression of the development of the church after the first thirty years. The journey goes from Jerusalem to Rome and symbolically outlines the situation of Christianity that has arisen in Jerusalem and will completely decline to the roman-catholic church, where the professing church will find its end (Revelation 17-18). On that path Paul, as a representative of the truth of the church, is a prisoner. In the explanation of this chapter we will encounter several aspects of this.

A Calm Start and Headwind

Paul has appealed to the emperor and goes to the emperor. When the occasion arises, it is decided that the journey to Italy begins. By using the word “we”, we know that Luke will also go on board. He does not go along as a prisoner, but to keep Paul company on the ship. Paul, the bearer of the Christian testimony, is a prisoner. He is no longer a free man. As an application to our personal life, we can observe that it is a harbinger of a shipwreck if God’s Word can no longer act on us in its full force.

The man who has to make sure that Paul, together with some other prisoners, will arrive safely in Rome, is a centurion of the “Augustan cohort”, named Julius. It emphasizes that Paul is a prisoner of the emperor of Rome. Julius chooses a ship that sails a route that leads to Rome. Then the ship sails off for a long voyage.

Besides Luke, Aristarchus is also on board. Aristarchus has voluntarily chosen to accompany Paul and Luke on their voyage. In this way he makes himself one with the defamation of the gospel. He has suffered with Paul for the gospel (Acts 19:29), and in Rome he will voluntarily share Paul’s imprisonment with him (Colossians 4:10).

The beginning of the journey looks far from threatening. Julius treats Paul kindly. In the early days, the church did not suffer much from the secular government. The government even protected the church, as we have seen in Acts several times with Paul.

At Sidon Paul is allowed to go to the believers, who are called “friends” by Luke. In many places such a company of people has been formed by the grace of the Lord. Where the love of the brotherhood is present, one can speak of “friends” (3 John 1:15). Paul goes there to receive care from them, which means to enjoy the friendly attention of these friends for him. They will have given him what he needed for his body. This refreshment for his body will have meant an even greater spiritual refreshment.

After this encounter, both physically and spiritually invigorating, the journey continues. They experience a headwind, which forces them to sail close to Cyprus. Headwinds or storms do not mean that you are not in the way of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself has also been in a storm. It is important to sail the most cautious course, close to a possible harbor.

Then they sail through the sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, where Paul also sailed on his first missionary trip during his return to Syrian Antioch (Acts 14:24-26). All these names will certainly have brought back memories to the apostle and brought him to (extra) prayer for the believers in those regions. Then they land at Myra in the province of Lycia on the south coast of Asia Minor.

Romans 2:22

A Difficult Voyage

In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat.

The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms (Hebrews 5:12) and false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers.

This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous.

We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:25-26). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well.

Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; cf. Acts 20:29-30). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.

Romans 2:23

A Difficult Voyage

In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat.

The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms (Hebrews 5:12) and false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers.

This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous.

We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:25-26). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well.

Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; cf. Acts 20:29-30). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.

Romans 2:24

A Difficult Voyage

In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat.

The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms (Hebrews 5:12) and false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers.

This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous.

We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:25-26). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well.

Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; cf. Acts 20:29-30). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.

Romans 2:25

A Difficult Voyage

In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat.

The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms (Hebrews 5:12) and false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers.

This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous.

We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:25-26). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well.

Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; cf. Acts 20:29-30). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.

Romans 2:26

A Difficult Voyage

In Myra, there must be a change of ship. The centurion goes in search of a ship sailing for Italy and finds a ship from Egyptian Alexandria. The centurion and his prisoner are transferred to an Egyptian ship. That means that this ship becomes the ship of the Christian testimony. In Scripture we generally see in Egypt a picture of the world. By moving the prisoner Paul to that ship, we see how the world influences the church. The world takes in the church. This ship becomes the great trust of the entire crew, but how that trust is shamed. A great storm comes over this ship and it is eventually lost. Until it is no longer possible to save it, all kinds of things have been tried to keep it sailing or afloat.

The first characteristic of sailing with this ship is the slow progress, because they don’t have tailwind. Spiritually applied we see that in the church slowness, headwind and difficulty are caused by a clinging to religious forms (Hebrews 5:12) and false doctrine (Ephesians 4:14). These things put a brake on spiritual growth. Then it is time to reflect and not to continue, but to let ourselves be warned of imminent dangers.

This is the moment Paul admonishes. The time has come when it becomes dangerous to sail. Because of the headwind a lot of time has been lost. Luke mentions that “the fast was already over”, by which he means the fast of the day of atonement. This fast is at the end of September / beginning of October. That is a period in which it becomes dangerous to sail on. The following winter period is even more dangerous.

We have not heard Paul speak on this trip before, but now he is making himself heard. He says what he foresees will happen if there is any further sailing. He can say this because he has heard this from the Lord in his dealings with Him. He can also say this because of his great experience with sea voyages. He is used to travelling by ship. He has learned the dangers of the sea and on three voyages he has even been shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:25-26). So he really knows a thing or two about sailing. Paul doesn’t say or think that all will go well, or that he will be saved anyway because he has the guarantee of the Lord to come to Rome. This doesn’t say anything about the crew and he is concerned about the crew as well.

Here too the application is obvious with regard to the development of the Christian church. Paul warns in his letters of storms tugging at the ship (1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; cf. Acts 20:29-30). He who does not let himself be warned will suffer great damage in his life of faith and his faith may even be shipwrecked.

Romans 2:27

Deprived of All Hope of Salvation

Paul’s advice is ignored. He remains silent and does not open his mouth again until Acts 27:21. In the same way the professing church did not listen to ‘Paul’ and that is the cause of the decline. The warnings we find in Scripture are ignored. The commanders, the people who say they know it and can show their diplomas for it, are in charge of the church. The result is that the ship becomes a prey of the elements of nature, adrift and without any light.

It is a situation that we recognize in church history in the dark Middle Ages. Then the Word of God was utterly despised and only the word of man had value. The church teaches and the church people swallow. There is a clergy who decides for the lay people how the Bible should be read. This situation can be found especially in the roman-catholic church, but we also find these things in the protestant churches. Problems are approached in a human way and human solutions are offered. According to the democratic principle the majority decides.

So it is also aboard the Alexandrian ship where Paul is present, but where he is not listened to. The general opinion is that the harbor is unsuitable for wintering. Most of them think it is advisable to sail away and try to reach Phoenix to spend the winter there. When it says that the advice of “the majority” is followed, it also means that there are people who would rather follow Paul’s advice. However, they are a minority.

When the ship leaves the harbor, the first experiences seem to prove ‘the majority’ right and Paul wrong. With the moderate south wind, no one suspects what kind of strong character there is in the man Paul. That becomes manifest when the storm rises. Then the passenger and even prisoner Paul takes over. He makes decisions and gives instructions that mean death or life for all.

The impression of the right decision doesn’t last long, because they are barely on their way or off the island a northeasterly storm called Euraquilo suddenly rushes down. The storm is so violent that the ship cannot be kept on course. The crew is powerless in the face of this violence of nature. They surrender the ship to the whims of nature. It is a striking picture of a church dragged along with every wind of doctrine. Especially the roman-catholic church “has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird” (Revelation 18:2).

The only means of rescue is the boat or sloop. The sloop is the escape route when things threaten to go wrong. Man wants to keep control of it and to a certain extent he succeeds in doing so. But all escape routes and safety measures do not bring the ship ashore. The storm continues unabated. Another precautionary measure that is taken is undergirding the ship. By doing so, the planks of the ship have to be kept together, so that it remains a whole. With the undergirding of the ship we can compare the external means used to try to keep the church sailing as a ship, such as councils. In spite of these measures the ship remains adrift.

Because there is also a great threat of running aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor. What could still help somewhat to keep the ship on course, but what the storm has now taken control of, is eliminated.. Although it may prevent an immediate danger, it does not offer a real solution. The raging storm continues.

This leads the crew the next day to jettison the cargo. It will possibly be part of the corn, the rest of which will be thrown overboard in Acts 27:38. On the third day, they throw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. In this way, the storm wind is deprived as much as possible of any hold. Every piece of the ship or the cargo that is thrown overboard takes away a little more of the ship’s dignity and function.

Thus, over the course of the centuries, the Christian church has lost more and more of her dignity toward God’s thoughts and her functioning for God and toward the world. Think, for example, only of “the third day”, which recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Hasn’t that been jettisoned in almost all of professing Christianity? This may mean that the resurrection is radically denied, but it may also mean that the orthodox confession is there, but that its consequences for the life of faith are completely absent.

If this pillar of faith is undermined, the consequence will be that the faith will no longer be food for the heart and that people will wander in utter spiritual darkness. No more heavenly light is seen. What is characteristic of the dark Middle Ages because the Word of God is withheld from the people is also characteristic of today’s professing Christianity. There is no longer anything the Christian can use to determine his course. The hope of salvation, the salvation based on faith, has disappeared.

Romans 2:28

Deprived of All Hope of Salvation

Paul’s advice is ignored. He remains silent and does not open his mouth again until Acts 27:21. In the same way the professing church did not listen to ‘Paul’ and that is the cause of the decline. The warnings we find in Scripture are ignored. The commanders, the people who say they know it and can show their diplomas for it, are in charge of the church. The result is that the ship becomes a prey of the elements of nature, adrift and without any light.

It is a situation that we recognize in church history in the dark Middle Ages. Then the Word of God was utterly despised and only the word of man had value. The church teaches and the church people swallow. There is a clergy who decides for the lay people how the Bible should be read. This situation can be found especially in the roman-catholic church, but we also find these things in the protestant churches. Problems are approached in a human way and human solutions are offered. According to the democratic principle the majority decides.

So it is also aboard the Alexandrian ship where Paul is present, but where he is not listened to. The general opinion is that the harbor is unsuitable for wintering. Most of them think it is advisable to sail away and try to reach Phoenix to spend the winter there. When it says that the advice of “the majority” is followed, it also means that there are people who would rather follow Paul’s advice. However, they are a minority.

When the ship leaves the harbor, the first experiences seem to prove ‘the majority’ right and Paul wrong. With the moderate south wind, no one suspects what kind of strong character there is in the man Paul. That becomes manifest when the storm rises. Then the passenger and even prisoner Paul takes over. He makes decisions and gives instructions that mean death or life for all.

The impression of the right decision doesn’t last long, because they are barely on their way or off the island a northeasterly storm called Euraquilo suddenly rushes down. The storm is so violent that the ship cannot be kept on course. The crew is powerless in the face of this violence of nature. They surrender the ship to the whims of nature. It is a striking picture of a church dragged along with every wind of doctrine. Especially the roman-catholic church “has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird” (Revelation 18:2).

The only means of rescue is the boat or sloop. The sloop is the escape route when things threaten to go wrong. Man wants to keep control of it and to a certain extent he succeeds in doing so. But all escape routes and safety measures do not bring the ship ashore. The storm continues unabated. Another precautionary measure that is taken is undergirding the ship. By doing so, the planks of the ship have to be kept together, so that it remains a whole. With the undergirding of the ship we can compare the external means used to try to keep the church sailing as a ship, such as councils. In spite of these measures the ship remains adrift.

Because there is also a great threat of running aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor. What could still help somewhat to keep the ship on course, but what the storm has now taken control of, is eliminated.. Although it may prevent an immediate danger, it does not offer a real solution. The raging storm continues.

This leads the crew the next day to jettison the cargo. It will possibly be part of the corn, the rest of which will be thrown overboard in Acts 27:38. On the third day, they throw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. In this way, the storm wind is deprived as much as possible of any hold. Every piece of the ship or the cargo that is thrown overboard takes away a little more of the ship’s dignity and function.

Thus, over the course of the centuries, the Christian church has lost more and more of her dignity toward God’s thoughts and her functioning for God and toward the world. Think, for example, only of “the third day”, which recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Hasn’t that been jettisoned in almost all of professing Christianity? This may mean that the resurrection is radically denied, but it may also mean that the orthodox confession is there, but that its consequences for the life of faith are completely absent.

If this pillar of faith is undermined, the consequence will be that the faith will no longer be food for the heart and that people will wander in utter spiritual darkness. No more heavenly light is seen. What is characteristic of the dark Middle Ages because the Word of God is withheld from the people is also characteristic of today’s professing Christianity. There is no longer anything the Christian can use to determine his course. The hope of salvation, the salvation based on faith, has disappeared.

Romans 2:29

Deprived of All Hope of Salvation

Paul’s advice is ignored. He remains silent and does not open his mouth again until Acts 27:21. In the same way the professing church did not listen to ‘Paul’ and that is the cause of the decline. The warnings we find in Scripture are ignored. The commanders, the people who say they know it and can show their diplomas for it, are in charge of the church. The result is that the ship becomes a prey of the elements of nature, adrift and without any light.

It is a situation that we recognize in church history in the dark Middle Ages. Then the Word of God was utterly despised and only the word of man had value. The church teaches and the church people swallow. There is a clergy who decides for the lay people how the Bible should be read. This situation can be found especially in the roman-catholic church, but we also find these things in the protestant churches. Problems are approached in a human way and human solutions are offered. According to the democratic principle the majority decides.

So it is also aboard the Alexandrian ship where Paul is present, but where he is not listened to. The general opinion is that the harbor is unsuitable for wintering. Most of them think it is advisable to sail away and try to reach Phoenix to spend the winter there. When it says that the advice of “the majority” is followed, it also means that there are people who would rather follow Paul’s advice. However, they are a minority.

When the ship leaves the harbor, the first experiences seem to prove ‘the majority’ right and Paul wrong. With the moderate south wind, no one suspects what kind of strong character there is in the man Paul. That becomes manifest when the storm rises. Then the passenger and even prisoner Paul takes over. He makes decisions and gives instructions that mean death or life for all.

The impression of the right decision doesn’t last long, because they are barely on their way or off the island a northeasterly storm called Euraquilo suddenly rushes down. The storm is so violent that the ship cannot be kept on course. The crew is powerless in the face of this violence of nature. They surrender the ship to the whims of nature. It is a striking picture of a church dragged along with every wind of doctrine. Especially the roman-catholic church “has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird” (Revelation 18:2).

The only means of rescue is the boat or sloop. The sloop is the escape route when things threaten to go wrong. Man wants to keep control of it and to a certain extent he succeeds in doing so. But all escape routes and safety measures do not bring the ship ashore. The storm continues unabated. Another precautionary measure that is taken is undergirding the ship. By doing so, the planks of the ship have to be kept together, so that it remains a whole. With the undergirding of the ship we can compare the external means used to try to keep the church sailing as a ship, such as councils. In spite of these measures the ship remains adrift.

Because there is also a great threat of running aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor. What could still help somewhat to keep the ship on course, but what the storm has now taken control of, is eliminated.. Although it may prevent an immediate danger, it does not offer a real solution. The raging storm continues.

This leads the crew the next day to jettison the cargo. It will possibly be part of the corn, the rest of which will be thrown overboard in Acts 27:38. On the third day, they throw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. In this way, the storm wind is deprived as much as possible of any hold. Every piece of the ship or the cargo that is thrown overboard takes away a little more of the ship’s dignity and function.

Thus, over the course of the centuries, the Christian church has lost more and more of her dignity toward God’s thoughts and her functioning for God and toward the world. Think, for example, only of “the third day”, which recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Hasn’t that been jettisoned in almost all of professing Christianity? This may mean that the resurrection is radically denied, but it may also mean that the orthodox confession is there, but that its consequences for the life of faith are completely absent.

If this pillar of faith is undermined, the consequence will be that the faith will no longer be food for the heart and that people will wander in utter spiritual darkness. No more heavenly light is seen. What is characteristic of the dark Middle Ages because the Word of God is withheld from the people is also characteristic of today’s professing Christianity. There is no longer anything the Christian can use to determine his course. The hope of salvation, the salvation based on faith, has disappeared.