The Baptist Examiner Forum: pt. 7

August 9, 1980   Question:
        In regard to a born again believer who is not a member of a scriptural New Testament Baptist Church - please list all the things such a one could do that would be good and pleasing to our great God.
    Answer:

      The best I can do is to answer this question in part, for I do not know the fulness of God's mind in this matter, therefore I can  not 'list all the things' that the unbaptized Christian may do which would be pleasing to God.
    The unbaptized regenerate person may:
        1.) Pray acceptably unto God (Luke 23:41).
        2.) Study God's Word. Teaching precedes baptism (Matthew 28:19).

August 30, 1980   Question:
        Did those with Saul (Paul) at his conversion hear a voice or did Paul hear the voice only?
    Answer:

            (Acts 9:7)  "And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man."

        (Acts 22:9)  "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me."

        (Acts 26:14)  "And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."

    It would appear from a superficial reading or study of the above Scriptures that they who journeyed with Paul stood. Acts 26:14 says that they all fell to the earth. The other seeming contradiction,  Acts 9:7 says, "then they which journeyed with Paul heard the voice", and Acts 22:9 says, "They heard not the voice." Like all other supposed contradictions of Scripture, even those of higher criticism, these two may be erased with a brief, but diligent investigation. Acts 9:7 in connection with Acts 26:14 says, they which traveled with Paul stood and fell to the ground, and that is exactly what happened. The idea conveyed is, that when they first saw the light they stood speechless, and with quick subsequence fell to the ground prostrate. They stood as opposed to going forward, or ceased in going forward, and their falling to the ground was a normal reaction under such awesome circumstances. So, as the Scripture says, they which journeyed with Paul "stood speechless ... (and then) ... were all fallen to the earth." The same is much the case with hearing and not hearing at the same time. Many people hear the Word of God, but few hear it with understanding (Luke 8:18,  John 8:47). Acts 9:8 says they which journeyed with Paul heard the voice. Acts 22:9 says, they heard not the voice. Did you ever have some person say to you, "I heard you, but what did you say?" You were heard in the one sense but in another sense you were not heard. Thus was the case with Paul's traveling companions, they heard the audible voice, but not the articulation. We have a perfect example of this in I Corinthians 14:2 where Paul speaks about the use of unknown tongues. "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him." Had the translators rendered the word "heard' in Acts 229 'understand' as they did in I Corinthians 14:1 it would have greatly facilitated understanding of what Paul said. The men with Paul heard the voice, but they heard it not with understanding. In John 12:28-30 there is an analogy which should greatly enhance our ability to understand what Paul expressed regarding the hearing and not hearing of those with him when he was converted. Christ prayed saying, "Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, sayiing , I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered, others said, An angel spake unto Him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of Me, but for your sakes." Note: Jesus heard and understood that the voice from heaven spoke, but they that stood by only heard the sound of the voice.
    Some went so far as to admit that the sound which they heard was a language, for they said, "an angel spake to Him". So they heard the voice in one sense, but not in the sense of understanding what the voice said.
   Acts 26:14 says that the voice which spoke to Paul was spoken "in the Hebrew tongue". It is highly probable that the men which journeyed with Paul were Roman authorities and soldiers who understood not the Hebrew language. If this was the case, then it is easy to see how they could have heard the voice, but the meaning or understanding they heard not.
    "They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. {6} We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:5-6)     The world hears the voice of the faithful Christian, but he does not speak the language of the world, so the world hears not what he says.
    There are NO contradictions in God's Word!