Study Desk

"For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

"And now I entrust you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And when they heard about them, they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law;

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today.

"And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear a message from His mouth.

Now looking intently at the Council, Paul said, "Brothers, I have lived my life with an entirely good conscience before God up to this day."

Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?"

"But I confess this to you, that in accordance with the Way, which they call a sect, I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and is written in the Prophets;

having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

"In view of this I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience both before God and before other people, always.

"And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers;

the promise to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve God night and day. For this hope, O king, I am being accused by Jews.

"Why is it considered incredible among you people if God raises the dead?

to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'

but continually proclaimed to those in Damascus first, and in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they are to repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance.

"So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place,

And Paul said, "I would wish to God that even in a short or long time not only you, but also all who hear me this day would become such as I myself am, except for these chains."

"For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong, whom I also serve, came to me,