“And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a MURDERER, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a GOD.” Luke writing in Acts 28:3-6.
No sooner shipwrecked … then Paul is snake bit!
“When it rains, it pours!”
The Story (our Text printed above) is fairly simple. Little explanation needed.
By the way, clearly God’s Hand is still on Paul. The man is literally living (illustrating) Psalm 91. “Surely the Lord shall deliver thee from the noisome pestilence. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” Wow, I’d say God is certainly not through with this Preacher yet!
But today I am interested in the reaction of the people of the island … to Paul’s snakebite and its aftermath.
At first they thought him a murderer!
At last they thought him a god!
I’d call these two evaluations … “extremes!”
And to that extent this miracle is a “parable.” The old British Preacher Alexander Maclaren used to say … “Every Bible Parable is a Miracle, and every Bible Miracle is a Parable!” He may have been right!
Folks today are extremists, even a lot of us Christians!
It’s all about “Hell” (Judgment) with some Preachers. And that doctrine needs to be preached, granted! But then it’s all about “Heaven” (Grace) with other Preachers. When truthfully the Bible is about both Heaven and Hell! All I am saying … there needs to be “balance!”
Paul was not a murderer!
Neither was he a god!
He was a Holy Spirit filled Proclaimer of the Word, the Truth!
Soul winning is a human responsibility. Because Jesus died for all! (Easy believe-ism is an extreme! “Repeat these 12 words after me and you will go to Heaven!”)
Yet real soul-winning also requires the convicting Power of the Holy Spirit! But man does indeed have “to believe” in order to be born-again! (It is not regeneration first, then faith! That’s an extreme! It is faith, then regeneration! This of course is a Holy Ghost induced application of man’s faith!)
Somehow even in soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) … there must be balance!
And this principle applies to nearly every area of life!
Think of Jesus … the most Balanced Person to ever grace the earth!
One example … “Bring Me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And He saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at Him.” Mark 12:15-17
If that’s not balance, I need a level!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
By the way, there is a “balanced approach” to this influenza pandemic that’s infecting the whole world right now as well!
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5
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