Nathan Morrison
06/24/15
(Nathan Morrison, of Soldotna, Alaska will preach Sunday morning, June 28).
The gospel appeals to man’s self-preservation (physical) and one’s soul-preservation (spiritual). In Acts 16:25-33 the Philippian jailer was sleeping on the job and awoke to find all the prison doors open. Under Roman law he would have been executed in disgrace so he was about to do the “honorable” thing: take his own life. Paul shouted from the darkness to tell him the prisoners were still there and said, “Do yourself no harm!” (physical self-preservation). This event caused the jailer to ask, “What must I do to be saved?” No longer thinking physical, the jailer was concerned about his soul. Paul told him what he needed to do for his soul’s preservation (I Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18).
We ought to give heed to Paul’s instruction to the jailer to “Do yourself no harm!” Paul knew what it was like to cause harm to himself. On the road to Damascus, Christ said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (NAS: Acts 26:14).
“It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). Goads were sharply pointed instruments used to force stubborn animals to move ahead. It commonly refers to an ox-goad, which was a sharp piece of iron stuck into the end of a stick (anywhere from 6-8 ft. long), with which the ox is urged on. Goads among the Hebrews were made very large (Shamgar killed 600 Philistine men with one of them – Judges 3:31).
The expression “to kick against the goad” is derived from the action of a stubborn and unyielding ox kicking against the goad. As the ox would injure no one but himself; it came to denote “rebellion against lawful authority.” Many people look at this as “the parable that changed Saul.” Saul had only been hurting himself – Persecuting the church, breathing murder and threats, imprisoning men and women, and casting his vote against them to be put to death (Acts 8:1; 9:1-18; 22:4-5; 26:9-11). He had innocent blood on his hands! This is also the condition of every sinner! Kicking against the goads only hurts the one kicking. Christ was saying to Saul, “Stop hurting yourself!” There are ways both physically and spiritually people harm themselves!
Sinful practices may harm one physically. The fruits of the flesh such as drunkenness (Galatians 5:21) can result in a fatal accident, divorce, disease, and even cause innocent people to suffer. Sexual promiscuity (Galatians 5:19) can result in disease, emotional trauma, pregnancy out of wedlock, can divide families and hurt the innocent. A life of loose morals can result in one suffering as a murderer or a thief, or committing other acts that can land one in jail (1 Peter 4:15; Js. 4:1-3).
More than just the physical, sinful living will harm one spiritually! The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Those not found in the Book of Life will suffer the second death (Revelation 20:14-15). Christ’s message applies to those living in sin, “Stop kicking against the goads!”
Refusing to obey the gospel results in one still in sin, thus harming themselves. It is like a cancer victim (or other disease) that refuses treatment; or like a drowning victim rejecting the lifeline. The unrighteous will not inherit Heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel will be eternally separated from God (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). The gospel is God’s power to save (Romans 1:16) so if one refuses God’s power to save, they remain in and will die in their sins! Christ’s message applies to those refusing to obey the gospel, “Stop kicking against the goads!”
Christ’s message applies to the unfaithful, “Stop kicking against the goads!”
Life on earth is brief and uncertain (James 4:13-17) and all of mankind are headed to one of two destinies: the horror of Hell (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:14-15), or the happiness of Heaven (Matthew 25:34, 46; Revelation 21:3-7). The one not preparing for eternity is harming their soul! The gospel can save (Rom. 1:16) and keep one from (or reduce) some physical harms by the abstaining of evil practices (1 Thessalonians 5:22) and can save one’s soul from Hell. To those who obey, eternal life, to those who do not obey, eternal punishment. Obeying the gospel saves one from the wrath of God, and Christians who remain faithful till death have a reservation in Heaven (Romans 5:8; Revelation 2:10). Christ’s message applies to those not preparing for eternity, “Stop kicking against the goads!”
The gospel appeals to one’s sense of self-preservation, both physically and spiritually. At Christ’s urging Saul stopped kicking against the goads and became Paul the apostle, a faithful servant of God. If you have been “kicking against the goads” in any way, listen to Paul speak directly to you as he once did the jailer, “Do yourself no harm!”