by Roby Ellis

[Scripture Reading: Acts 26:24-29]

Introduction

A. As a man whose heritage was largely Jewish and whose family had ruled the Jewish people for many years, he was indeed “expert in all customs and questions” about the Jews (vs. 3).

B. When Paul tells Agrippa that these things “were not done in a corner” (vs. 26), what does he mean by this?

I. God had been announcing these things for centuries.

A. Paul was only declaring what the prophets of God had been saying for centuries (vss. 6-7,22-23,27).

B. Jesus often made this very point in His preaching (Luke 24:25-27,44; 18:31-33).

C. The prophets declared Christ’s suffering (Isaiah 53:3-5) and resurrection (Psalm 16:8-11) and the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles (Isaiah 2:2; 62:2).

II. It didn’t take long for the Gospel to reach around the world.

A. The Gospel was never preached in secret (John 7:25-26; 18:20).

B. It never took long for the Gospel to spread through any region (Luke 24:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; Acts 19:10; Colossians 1:23).

III. We must make sure we do not hide these things in a corner.

A. We mustn’t hide the Gospel (Matthew 5:14-16).

B. We mustn’t hide our works (John 3:18-21).

Conclusion

A. The acts of the apostles certainly didn’t go unnoticed, and the acts of God are apparent to all (Acts 14:17; Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-3).

B. As Christians, we mustn’t do our work in a corner!