The text for this lesson is Acts 21:26–36

Key Point

  • God preserved Paul’s life from a mob through the intervention of His appointed servants, the Roman soldiers.
  • Law: In our fallen world, crime and violence will always be a tragic reality.
  • Gospel: Because we have been reconciled to God by Jesus’ cross, God does not abandon us to our senseless violence but graciously appoints governments to maintain peace and order through police and military forces.
 

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Discussion Points

  1. Why did the Jews try to kill Paul?
  2. Why and how did God spare Paul’s life on this day?
  3. What subtle forms of persecution may we or other Christians experience?
  4. How does enduring persecution share in the sufferings of Christ? (See Acts 5:41, Romans 8:17, and Philippians 3:10–11.)
  5. How can persecution actually serve to strengthen faith? (See Romans 5:3–5.)
  6. What doors has God opened to you in order for you to share the Good News of Jesus with others? How have you responded to these open doors? How might you more effectively share the Gospel with your neighbor?
  7. Why do we obey our government?
  8. How did God work through the humans in the Bible story to protect Paul so that Paul could continue in his vocation of proclaiming the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles?
  9. How does God work through people today to protect you and me?

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