Have you ever felt the sting of unfair criticism? The whisper is behind your back. the accusations that twist your intentions. It hurts, doesn't it?
Well, today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl continues his in-depth biographical series on Paul, a man of grace and grit. In this study, we'll examine several shocking stories recorded in Acts chapters 24 and 25. Paul was repeatedly confronted with false accusations from corrupt officials, even a conspiracy to kill him. Rather than drowning in bitterness or self-pity, Let's discover Paul's response to godless attacks. and we begin with prayer.
We thank you, Father, for the gift of life itself. For the breath that you brought into our lungs when we were first born. For the parenting that we received from loving moms and dads. For neighborhoods and friends and school. for family and church.
And all the things that assisted us as we grew up. We thank you for our country. As long as we have been alive, it has been a land of the free. And a home of the brave. It has been purchased with an enormous price.
As long as we have breath in our lungs. We will give you our praise. for your presence Sustaining us and defending us and shielding us. and providing for us. We bow before you, our Father, for you are our rock.
and our fortress. our refuge. our very present help. As long as we have breath, our Father. We will look up.
From whence comes our help. And we will remember. It is from you. Thank you for meeting our needs so. Often and so abundantly.
And it is from the midst of those provisions that we dig deeply today and give sacrificially to your work. It is good that we do that. There are a few ways we have of expressing to you in a tangible manner. that we mean what our lips are saying. And this is one of them.
And so our Father We continue to see you as worthy. of our worship. and praise As we consider you worthy of our treasure. and our possessions. Out of the abundance we give, Full of gratitude.
Enjoy. For as long as we have breath. This will be our devotion. In the name of Christ. We pray these things.
And everyone said Amen. You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into the life of the Apostle Paul on your own, be sure to purchase our Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbook. by going to insight.org slash workbooks. Chuck titled today's message, Dealing with Critics as Paul Did.
For as long as I have been in the ministry, I have asked the Lord for a balance between a tender heart and a tough hide. It isn't an easy balance. In fact, the latter is harder. to cultivate than the former. Because I think to be engaged in ministry, a tender heart is almost a given.
It's the tough hide. That's hard to work on. and hard to cultivate. Our home is not a home where there are a lot of mottos and plaques and sayings hung here and there, but. Interestingly, in my study, there is only one statement that I have fixed on the wall just above where I study.
I read it every day. I haven't memorized it, but I can tell you the author. Whom I've never read in anything else, William Arthur Ward is his name. And the statement only has four lines. For every achievement there is a price.
For every goal. There is an opponent. For every victory there is a problem. And for every triumph. There is sacrifice.
And so, by reading that, I think it might help me to cultivate a hide that's a little tougher. Another example is that I read rather widely and I often look for insights or techniques. stories Truths that other people who have had that balance were able to use in their lives. Came across one recently of Abraham Lincoln. How did he handle criticism?
Well He ignored it. If I were to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me. wrote Lincoln. This shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how.
The very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, 10,000 angels swearing I was right would make No difference. Not a bad statement. I've tried to ignore criticism.
Sometime it works. Usually it doesn't. Mm-hmm.
So I read on ha uh Charles Haddon Spurgeon thought maybe he would have an insight on it. This is what he said. Just the opposite. Get a friend to tell you your faults, or better still, welcome an enemy who will watch you keenly and sting you savagely. What a blessing.
What a blessing such an irritating critic will be to a wise man. What an intolerable nuisance to a fool.
Well, that hasn't worked either, I. Not going there. The fact is that sometimes criticism comes from people who are just plain evil. And their words are not worth concerning yourself with, and you swear you will not think about them, and then you memorize them.
Some people are not worth a thought. There are a few people like that, but there are some. A friend said, I have a moral question for you. This is an imaginary situation. But I think it is fun to decide what one would do.
The situation. You're in the Middle East. And there was a huge flood in progress. Many homes have been lost. Water supplies compromised and structures destroyed.
Let's say that you're a photographer. And getting still photos for a news service, traveling alone, looking for particularly poignant scenes. And you come across Osama bin Laden, who has been swept away by the floodwaters. He's barely hanging onto a tree limb and is about to go under and drown. You can either put down your camera and save him, or take a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of him.
As he loses his grip on the limb.
So here's the question. Think carefully. Before you answer the question below. Which lens would you use? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
That is great. Any lens is a great answer. Those in ministry are especially lightning rods and targets for criticism. Every pastor, every Christian worker, every Christian entertainer, every Christian author I know can tell you a whole litany of stories of things that have been done and said against them. many of them unfairly.
Not all. But many of them. And it seems as though the greater the ministry. the larger number of critics. I found encouragement in reading a single verse in First Corinthians 16, verse 9.
I really want you to look at it. One verse. Before we get back into Acts and the study of Paul's life. This is Paul, of course, writing. Paul is sort of off the cuff making a closing comment at the end of his letter to the Corinthians.
And 16 verse 9 states it so well. A wide door for effective service has opened to me. And about the time you feel like applauding, he adds, and There are many adversaries. Never seen that verse before? Maybe not in this light.
Eugene Peterson in the message renders the last part of that. There is also mushrooming opposition. The more doors that open, the greater the opposition. Or, as that statement reads, for every goal, There is an opponent. Have another friend who says on occasion, Our Lord was nailed to a cross, so you can count on being nailed to the wall.
For years, I've appreciated the writings of David Roper. David and I were seminary students together. back about the time the Earth's crust was cooling. And David graduated a year ahead of me. Actually, a couple of years, he and I went to Peninsula Bible Church out in Palo Alto, California, to serve alongside Ray Steadman.
I was there just for the summer. David stayed on as part of the staff and remained there for years and later went up to Cole Community Church in Idaho and ministered there very faithfully and is now still serving there, not at the church, but in the region around that area. He's written a fine book, in fact, several, but this one is from A Burden Shared. He states four truths about criticism that are about as good as you can get. If you would like, you could write them down.
I call them the four laws. It's the other set of four laws. You've heard of the four spiritual laws. Here are the four spiritual flaws, we could say, or statements of criticism. Number one, Criticism always comes when we least need it.
Isn't that true? Never seems to come when you're on top, always seems to come when you're kicking the bottom out of the bottom. After you've already blown it and you're on your face, there's always some there ready to kick you further. Here's the second. Criticism seems to come when we least deserve it.
when we least deserve it. Often after an innocent mistake or an off-the-cuff comment, and then we're blasted by someone who has the gift of criticism.
So criticism seems to come when we least deserve it. There's a third law. That Roper suggests criticism comes from people who are least qualified to give it. You know who's qualified to give it? The person who knows you the best.
and loves you the most. And usually they're the last ones to give it. Criticism comes from people who are least qualified to give it. No extra charge for a little extra comment on this one. If you don't really know the person you're getting ready to criticize, Just Pass up the opportunity.
Because loving someone begins with really knowing them, and faithful are the wounds of a friend. Proverbs 27, 6, the Hebrew reads: Faithful are the bruises caused by the wounding of one who loves you. I've rarely seen it fail when someone truly loves me. and understands me. And has been alongside me for enough.
time to really know me. Their their wounds are invariably worth listening to. They hurt. But they're faithful. But rarely will I hear from people like that.
I usually hear from those. who couldn't even tell you my middle name. Or have no idea of what I am going through at a particular time. And that's true for you as well. Criticism comes from people who are least qualified to give it.
And the fourth law, criticism frequently comes in a form that is least helpful to us. Aren't those encouraging? Just one, two, three, four. In our study of the life and times of Paul, we've begun to approach his later years. And have you noticed?
The criticism is intensifying. Isn't it strange? You would think by now there would be parades, there would be banners, there would be people thinking of. I started to say painting is portrait. But I don't want to go there today.
Here is a man who has cultivated a tender heart and at the same time a tough hide. Because as he gets toward the end of his life, he becomes, it seems, even more compassionate. Even more understanding, even more gracious. and tougher. Stronger of heart.
more determined to hang in there. Stop and think. He has just finished his third missionary journey. None of them have been journeys of comfort and enjoyment. He went where no tourist would ever want to go.
and he did what no novice would ever undertake. He has been beaten. He has been mistreated. He has been maligned. He has been misrepresented.
The Apostle Paul, while in the process of writing letters to churches and founding churches and mentoring the younger men who were to follow in his steps, He came back home and he got to Jerusalem, and there was no ticker tape parade. There was no applause. No church opened the doors to say, Welcome back, you hero. You have been our model while you've been gone. There was none of that.
There was, in fact, a group of people who had followed him. Like a bad dog. They're called simply the Jews from Asia. They didn't even live in Jerusalem. But These Jews from Asia.
were determined to make life miserable for him. Verse 27 of Acts 21. Mentioning the days of purification when the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia. See, they've followed him all the way back to Jerusalem. Seeing him in the temple, they began to stir up all the crowds and lay hands on him.
Here we go again. Criticism that doesn't help. Working with people who cannot do anything about it, they weren't men enough to come directly to Paul with their evidence. They went out into the streets and began to ruin his reputation. In fact, they said to Nameless people, verse 28, they were crying out, men of Israel.
Come to our aid. This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people. Wrong. This is the man who preaches against the law. Wrong.
This is the man who preaches against this place, the temple. Wrong. And besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. Wrong. Paul doesn't say a word.
Not here. You see, they had based their criticism on faulty conclusions. Verse 29 says they had previously seen. Trophimus The Ephesians in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
Well, isn't that nice? And so it's worth a riot, isn't it? I mean, let's stir up all the people because, after all, this is Paul. You know what the problem here is? It's old wounds.
It's the bleeding of bitterness coming out. From the past. He used to be one of them and now he is this turncoat. Following this Jesus. which to them was like a curse word.
Telling us he has been raised from the dead. Output transcript. How dare he do such a thing?
So he goes on defense. We looked at two of them already. The first defense begins in chapter 22. Where he speaks Aramaic to them, verses 1 to 21, speaking to them about the truth. They're standing there trying to decide what they really believe.
When he gets to the subject of the Gentiles, he uses the G word, verse 21. They turn back to their riot. How dare he even mention that? blasted name in their midst. And that defense then stops, and he is taken by a commander from the Romans who is named Lassius.
Lassius brings him ultimately to the Jews' Supreme Court called the Sanhedrin translated verse 30, the council. Chapter 22, verse 30, he stood before all the council, and Paul was brought down, and he addressed them. And he's hardly two verses into that before he's punched in the face by one of those individuals because they didn't like the way he went about it. And to add insult to injury, once he is secreted away by the commander, he's put into a Um a cell. And the bars kept the people from him rather than keeping him from them.
And while he is there, A plot is formed against him, a conspiracy. But before the conspiracy, Look at 2311. And if you don't have a red-letter Bible, you won't see these words stand out. But if you do, you'll see 'em in red. On the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side.
And said, and now it's in red. Take courage. For as you have solemnly witness to my cause At Jerusalem, so you must Witness at Rome. Also. Doesn't seem much to uh A hurried reader looks rather innocuous on the page.
If you were reading through the passage, you'd probably shrug at that point and think not that much of it. What you need to know is that it was the promise. Paul had waited to hear. Who was in Rome? Mm.
the ruler of the world. The Roman Emperor Nero sat on his throne in Rome. And the Lord is saying to him, Paul. You've stood for me in the streets. You've been out in the wilds and you have been on the sea and you have been before riots and you have been mistreated by those who had no reason to lay hands on you.
You have witnessed for me faithfully, Paul. You're going to Rome. And you're going to speak for me there. You can almost hear his heart pounding in his chest at that point. This was great.
Mm-hmm.
But while that's going on, there's a conspiracy being planned against him. You remember this. Over 40, verse 13, formed this plot. And they placed themselves under oath, verse 12, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. How's that for a study in contrast?
Here's Paul waiting in his cell for the Lord to open a door, and the Lord speaks and says, You're going to represent me in Rome. At the same time, we've got these clods outside with their heads together making plans to kill him. And they're not going to eat and drink until the plot is fulfilled. There's much more to this unfolding story ahead. Chuck titled today's message Dealing with Critics As Paul Did.
You know, Chuck has a way of bringing the heroes of our faith, like Paul, to life. To access the many different resources for digging deeper into Paul's remarkable story, just go to insight.org/slash offer. While on his missionary journeys Paul was busily engaged in making disciples, just as Jesus commanded. And here at Insight for Living, we believe it's our God-given responsibility to do the same. Just before saying goodbye to his earthly friends and just before his ascension into heaven, Jesus made our mission crystal clear.
He said, Go and make disciples of all the nations. Here's Chuck. Have you noticed, when good friends say goodbye, some of the most profound statements are exchanged in their final moments together? Imagine what it was like for the men who stood with Jesus just before he ascended into heaven. Scripture tells us that the 11 disciples went up to the mountain where they saw Jesus.
And they worshipped him. but some of them doubted. Doubted Really? Seems incredible that even in that sacred moment Some of Jesus' closest friends were second-guessing him.
Well, you and I have the benefit of watching history unfold, don't we? and an insight for living ministries we're not second guessing Jesus whatsoever. What our Lord said to his closest friends on that hilltop has become the driving force of my life. Jesus said without apology or qualification of any kind. Go and make disciples.
and his mandate was not isolated to those first disciples. or to preachers or missionaries or evangelists. is for every Christian. In fact, it's for you. For this reason, I'm calling on you to join me in this all-out campaign to make disciples.
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Can I count on you to do your part? Please don't wait for someone else to fulfill your role. Don't be like the individuals who stood in the shadows and doubted Jesus. Pick up that phone. Or go online.
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By the way, in recent days, you may have received an exclusive resource from Insight for Living in your mailbox. It's called Guided by Grace. If not, we'd be happy to send one to your home. It's an inspirational statement that creatively portrays the impact of Insight for Living all around the world. Plus, this multicolored tabletop booklet is filled with behind-the-scenes pictures, compelling stories, and creative illustrations about the scope of Insight for Living Ministries.
In addition, you'll find comments from Chuck and his daughter Carissa about their vision for the future. After 46 years of God's faithfulness, we have absolute confidence that His grace will guide us into the future. To receive the Guided by Grace vision statement, call us at 800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org/slash grace. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us next time when Chuck Swindahl resumes his study of Paul, a man of grace and grit.
Monday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Dealing with Critics as Paul Did, was copyrighted in 2001, 2003, and 2024, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2024 by Charles R. Swindahl, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
