When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed.

This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul stared intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed,

When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate with them, the church appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this point of disagreement.

Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate about this matter.

The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written,

After this I will return, and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,

They sent this letter with them: From the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings!

but Paul insisted that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this,

and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days.

She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out of her at once.

explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were asking, "What does this foolish babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods." (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)

So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming?

For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an unknown god.' Therefore what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you.

Now when they heard about the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, "We will hear you again about this."

After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.

because I am with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city."

saying, "This man is persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law!"

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,

This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

(Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.)

This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised.

In this way the word of the Lord continued to grow in power and to prevail.

He gathered these together, along with the workmen in similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this business.

And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all.

There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing, and she whom all the province of Asia and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness."

When they heard this they became enraged and began to shout, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"

For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause we can give to explain this disorderly gathering."

After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

We went on ahead to the ship and put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. He himself was intending to go there by land.

And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

He came to us, took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, "The Holy Spirit says this: 'This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"

When we heard this, both we and the local people begged him not to go up to Jerusalem.

When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law.

shouting, "Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this sanctuary! Furthermore he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple and made this holy place ritually unclean!"

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today.

I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison,

The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!"

the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way.

When the centurion heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen."

The commanding officer answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." "But I was even born a citizen," Paul replied.

Paul looked directly at the council and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day."

When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.

There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, "We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy.

So now you and the council request the commanding officer to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine his case by conducting a more thorough inquiry. We are ready to kill him before he comes near this place."

Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commanding officer, for he has something to report to him."

So the centurion took him and brought him to the commanding officer and said, "The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you."

So do not let them persuade you to do this, because more than forty of them are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request."

He wrote a letter that went like this:

This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, when I came up with the detachment and rescued him, because I had learned that he was a Roman citizen.

When I was informed there would be a plot against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges against him before you.

When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, "We have experienced a lengthy time of peace through your rule, and reforms are being made in this nation through your foresight.

Most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way with all gratitude.

For we have found this man to be a troublemaker, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, "Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense.

But I confess this to you, that I worship the God of our ancestors according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law and that is written in the prophets.

This is the reason I do my best to always have a clear conscience toward God and toward people.

other than this one thing I shouted out while I stood before them: 'I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.'"

At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, and for this reason he sent for Paul as often as possible and talked with him.

"So," he said, "let your leaders go down there with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, they may bring charges against him."

Then Festus said, "King Agrippa, and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace petitioned me both in Jerusalem and here, shouting loudly that he ought not to live any longer.

But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write.

a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty!

"While doing this very thing, as I was going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the chief priests,

But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you.

For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and were trying to kill me.

I have experienced help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen:

For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely to him, because I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.

and as they were leaving they said to one another, "This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment."

Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar."

Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island.

Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said, "Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss.

Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your survival. For not one of you will lose a hair from his head."

After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat.

and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. And in this way all were brought safely to land.

When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul's hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself has not allowed him to live!"

After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick also came and were healed.

There we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome.

So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel."

But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know that people everywhere speak against it."

when he said, 'Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive.

For the heart of this people has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them."'

"Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!"

This gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures,

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,

but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person's praise is not from people but from God.

God publicly displayed him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins previously committed.

This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus' faithfulness.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter?

Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the uncircumcision? For we say, "faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness."

For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants -- not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God's glory.

Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to him.

Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.