Acts 26:31-32 are in our Bibles because it makes it obvious that there are no legitimate charges against Paul, and because the reader of Acts is well aware of the divine intentions of the furtherance of the gospel, we know that getting Paul out of chains was not God’s intention of these trials in the previous few chapters. And neither was Paul mainly concerned with saving his own neck because his freedom was not the driving force of his life, but rather to be bold and faithful with the opportunities for gospel proclamation given to him. This is something he’s already declared back in 20:22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (ESV) And then most recently in 25:11, he said in front of Festus and the Jews who hated him, that his ultimate mission was not to escape death.
However, it’s easy for us to get so wrapped up in anxieties and/or strategies about protecting our own freedoms that we often miss out on gospel opportunities. We miss out on opportunities to have one’s eyes opened through the gospel; we miss out on being an instrument of change in one’s life. That’s when the message deviates from turning to Christ in repentance and faith leading to salvation to making sure one is a faithful conservative or American or championing the cause of social justice. There’s no salvation in those messages because there’s no turning from sin to the One who suffered, died and rose again on sinners’ behalf.
Paul’s Freedom From Being Bound to Maintain His Freedom
