Veprat e Apostujve 24:14

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Por unë po të rrëfej këtë: sipas Udhës që ata e quajnë sekt, unë i shërbej kështu Perëndisë së etërve, duke u besuar të gjitha gjërave që janë shkruar në ligjin dhe në profetët,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I confess: Psalms 119:46, Matthew 10:32

after: Acts 9:2, Acts 19:9, Acts 19:23, Amos 8:14, 2 Peter 2:2

heresy: Acts 24:5, 1 Corinthians 11:19, Galatians 5:20, Titus 3:10, 2 Peter 2:1

so: Micah 4:2

the God: Acts 3:13, Acts 5:30, Acts 7:32, Acts 22:14, Exodus 3:15, 1 Chronicles 29:18, 2 Timothy 1:3

believing: Acts 3:22-24, Acts 10:43, Acts 26:22, Acts 26:27, Acts 28:23, Luke 1:70, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44, John 5:39-47, 1 Peter 1:11, Revelation 19:10

in the law: Acts 13:15, Matthew 7:12, Matthew 22:40, Luke 16:16, Luke 16:29, John 1:45, Romans 3:21

Reciprocal: 2 Chronicles 15:12 - seek Acts 4:2 - preached Acts 22:4 - this Acts 26:5 - sect Acts 28:22 - for

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But this I confess unto thee,.... What was truth he was not ashamed of, but ready to own, and bear his testimony for, whatever was the consequence of it:

that after the way which they call heresy; referring to the charge of his being a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, Acts 24:5 and meaning by the way the Christian religion, or the doctrines of Christianity, which the Jews called heresy; and as early as this were the Christians, by them, called heretics: so we read r of

ברכת המינים, "a prayer against the heretics", which Samuel (the little) composed before, or in the presence of R. Gamaliel the elder, he approving of it; which R. Gamaliel was Paul's master; and some have thought, that Samuel the little, the composer of this prayer, was Saul himself; so that he knew very well that the Christian doctrine was called heresy, and the Christians heretics, for he had called them so himself in the time of his unregeneracy; but now he was not ashamed to profess that way, and walk in it, and according to it worship God, as follows:

so worship I the God of my fathers; even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, suggesting, that by embracing Christianity, he had not denied, and gone off from the worship of the one, only, living, and true God, the God of Israel; and that there was an entire agreement between the saints of the Old Testament, and the Christians of the New, in the object of worship; the Vulgate Latin version reads, "so serve I the Father, and my God"; that is, God the Father, who is the Father of Christ, and the God and Father of believers in him:

believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets; which the Sadducees did not; and strictly adhering to these, and not to the traditions of the elders, as did the Scribes and Pharisees; so that since he believed whatever was contained in the sacred writings, he could not be charged justly with heresy; and as he believed, so he taught nothing but what was agreeably to the Scriptures of the Old Testament.

r Ganz Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 25. 2. Vid. T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 28. 2. & 29. 1. Maimon. Hilch. Tephilla, c. 2. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But this I confess ... - The next specification in the charge of Tertullus was Acts 24:5 that he was “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” To this, Paul replies in this and the two following verses. Of this reply we may observe:

(1) That he does not stoop to notice the contempt implied in the use of the word “Nazarenes.” He was engaged in a more important business than to contend about the name which they chose to give to Christians.

(2) He admits that he belonged to that sect or class of people. That he was a Christian he neither denied, nor was disposed to deny.

(3) He maintains that in this way he was still worshipping the God of his fathers. Of this, the fact that he was engaged in worship in the temple was sufficient proof.

(4) He shows them that he believed only what was written in the Law and the prophets; that this involved the main doctrine of their religion the hope of the resurrection of the dead, Acts 24:15; and that it was his constant and earnest desire to keep a pure conscience in all things, Acts 24:16. These are the points of his defense to the second charge, and we shall see that they fully meet and dispose of the accusation.

After the way - After the manner or mode of worship.

Which they call heresy - This translation does not express to us the force of the original. We have attached to the word “heresy” an idea which is not conveyed by the Greek word, since we now commonly understand by it error of doctrine. In Paul’s answer here, there is an explicit reference to their charge which does not appear in our version. The charge of Tertullus was, that he was the ringleader of the sect (τἦς αἱρέσεως tēs haireseōs) of the Nazarenes, Acts 24:5. To this Paul replies, “After the way which they call “sect” ἁιρεσιν hairesin, not error of doctrine, but after a way which they affirm is producing division or schism), so worship I the God of my fathers.” Paul was hot ashamed to be called a follower of that sect or party among the Jewish people. Nor should we be ashamed to worship God in a mode that is called heresy or schism, if we do it in obedience to conscience and to God.

So worship I - I continue to worship. I have not departed from the characteristic of the Jewish people, the proper and public acknowledgment of the God of the Jews.

The God of my fathers - My father’s God, Yahweh; the God whom my Jewish ancestors adored. There is something very touching in this, and suited to find its way to the heart of a Jew. He had introduced no new object of worship (compare Deuteronomy 13:1-5); he had not become a follower of a false or foreign God; and this fact was really a reply to their charge that he was setting up a new sect in religion. The same thing Paul affirms of himself in 2 Timothy 1:3; “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience.”

Believing all things ... - Particularly respecting the Messiah. So he more fully explains his meaning in his speech before King Agrippa, Acts 26:23.

In the law and in the prophets - Commanded in the Law of Moses, and foretold by the prophets. That Paul had ever disbelieved any of these things they could not prove; and his whole course had shown that he fully credited the sacred records. Most of his arguments in defending Christianity had been drawn from the Jewish writings.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 24:14. That after the way which they call heresy — See the explanation of this word in Clarke's note on "Acts 5:17", and see before, Acts 24:5, where what is here translated heresy, is there rendered sect. At this time the word had no bad acceptation, in reference to religious opinions. The Pharisees themselves, the most respectable body among the Jews, are called a sect; for Paul, defending himself before Agrippa, says that he lived a Pharisee according to the strictest αιρεσιν, sect, or heresy of their religion. And Josephus, who was a Pharisee, speaks, της των Φαρισαιων αἱρεσεως, of the heresy or sect of the Pharisees. LIFE, chap. xxxviii. Therefore it is evident that the word heresy had no bad meaning among the Jews; it meant simply a religious sect. Why then did they use it by way of degradation to St. Paul? This seems to have been the cause. They had already two accredited sects in the land, the Pharisees and Sadducees: the interests of each of these were pretty well balanced, and each had a part in the government, for the council, or Sanhedrin, was composed both of Sadducees and Pharisees: see Acts 23:6. They were afraid that the Christians, whom they called Nazarenes, should form a new sect, and divide the interests of both the preceding; and what they feared, that they charged them with; and, on this account, the Christians had both the Pharisees and the Sadducees for their enemies. They had charged Jesus Christ with plotting against the state, and endeavouring to raise seditions; and they charged his followers with the same. This they deemed a proper engine to bring a jealous government into action.

So worship I the God of my fathers — I bring in no new object of worship; no new religious creed. I believe all things as they profess to believe; and acknowledge the Law and the Prophets as divinely inspired books; and have never, in the smallest measure, detracted from the authority or authenticity of either.